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Episode 12: Steve Goldbloom

Episode 12: Steve Goldbloom

"Part of your job is to be rejected," Steve Goldbloom says, and offers great inspiration for developing chutzpah and surviving failure and thriving. This far-ranging conversation talks about social media and handling feedback on your work, the collaborative effort of film-making and why Steve will never again direct, write and act in one film, the secrets of great interviews, long form v. short, comedy and tension, nano-budget filmmaking, the golden age of television (i.e. now), improving and taking risks as a performer, looking back at old, old work, and strategies for trusting yourself and really going for it. Loads of humor and fire-you-up motivation.  Further topics include: mining autobiographical material and using exaggeration, believing you have something to offer, and ignoring both props and barbs when it comes to your creative work.

Links:

Pilar Alessandra: http://www.onthepage.tv/

Ken Vansickle, photographer: http://www.sinobarr.com/ken/life_bio_ken.htm

Nanou Matteson and Heather Haggarty http://sparklightfilms.com/

Danny Strong: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0834960/

Mark Maren WTF http://www.wtfpod.com/

Transparent

Fargo

Your show of shows, Sid Caesar

Saturday night live

Mel Brooks

Elizabeth Bowen

Films shot with available light and moving cameras:

Wild (the film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/

Children of Men: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/

Jenni Konner: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1493255/

Jim Uhls: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0880243/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Safehouse: https://screenwritingfromiowa.wordpress.com/2015/07/29/start-your-own-writeractor-workshop/

Steve Goldbloom:

http://www.briefbutspectacular.com/

@SteveGoldblum for Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevegoldbloom

Remember Me the movie: https://www.facebook.com/RememberMeAMovie

Steve Goldbloom

Steve Goldbloom

Steve Goldbloom is a writer, producer, and performer based in Los Angeles.

In 2015, he created "Brief but Spectacular" a weekly interview series for PBS NewsHour. Guests include Michael Lewis, Robert Reich, Marina Abramović, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Carl Reiner, the stars of "Broad City" and many more. "Brief" is a Facebook-First series with segments published on NewsHour's page every Thursday morning and broadcast nationally in the evening.

Previously, he created and hosted "Everything But the News" for PBS Digital Studios. The satirical show lampooned Silicon Valley and public broadcasting. USA Today ranked the show as Best Web Series of 2014.

Since 2014, Steve has also served as a Special Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour. He has primarily covered tech and culture in California for the national broadcast based in Washington.

Steve is currently in post-production on his first feature film "Remember Me" which he wrote and directed. The film stars Oscar Winner Rita Moreno and was produced by Sparklight Films in Berkeley, CA. The feature will premiere in 2016.

Steve has a new satirical variety series with AOL’s Engadget, which will be released in February of 2016.

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia — Steve is a dual citizen of Canada and the US. He runs his production company Second Peninsula LLC out of Los Angeles.mpshire.

 

Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival--everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.

The hosts:

Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.

Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.

Episode 11: Anthony Lucero

Episode 11: Anthony Lucero

Anthony Lucero is the writer/ director of the indie feature hit East Side Sushi, and he joins us to talk about storytelling in film. We discuss the differences between the storytelling processes for a short and a feature, character arc, the necessity of backstory, and the joys of research for fictional work. With a background in editing and special effects, Anthony talks to us about the advantages an editor has in becoming a writer/ direction, and the differences between the display of special effects and the simple power of story. Tips abound, about plot point grids, what to do when you are tired of your characters, reordering your scenes to create the right arc, and the importance of index cards. We talked about avoiding Hollywood endings, the contrast between the screenplay on the page and what ends up happening at the shoot, how much feedback is too much, and when and how to keep the audience in mind. Anthony made the excellent point that you can’t test a screenplay--you only really know what you have when you are editing it! And of course we talked about sushi and sushi competitions, and how East Side Sushi is the Rocky/ Creed of gourmet raw fish . . .

Links

Eastsidesushifilm.com

https://www.facebook.com/eastsidesushi/

Anthony's shorts The Ballerina and I Need My Mocha

SFWeekly article about Anthony Lucero

Pulp Fiction

21 Grams

Sushi champion Tomoharu Nakamura

Documentary called the King of Kong

Micheline Aharonian Marcom

Anthony Lucero

Anthony Lucero

Bay Area filmmaker Anthony Lucero’s newest project reflects a fusion of cultures and flavors in East Side Sushi, an original screenplay that tells the story of a Latina working-class single mother who strives to become a sushi chef. As with many of his other films, Lucero’s inspiration for the story came from his observations of people from all walks of life. “I’ve always liked lesser-known stories of everyday people,” he says. “I wonder what their life is like. And I often want to pick up a camera, and follow them, ask them questions about their lives. It’s my documentary background.”

He writes and directs films involving subjects ranging from comedic to deeply serious, such as the poignant 2007 documentary film Angels and Wheelchairs. This intensely personal slice-of-life short film won Best Drama/Documentary and Best Overall Film awards at the Alice 5th Annual Independent Film Festival in San Francisco and played in numerous film festivals around the world. Some of Lucero’s other award-winning projects include 2011’s San Francisco Is… and 2005’s I Need My Mocha, which captured Best Short Film at the San Francisco International Latino Film Festival and screened at numerous film festivals throughout the country. It was also selected as one of the top short films and aired on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). These films can be seen on his website at http://www.lucerofilms.com.

Lucero’s evolution as a filmmaker reflects a diverse path traveled. After receiving his B.A. in Film from San Francisco State University, Lucero worked as a commercial editor for several years with clients such as Nike and Yahoo. His move into the visual effects world for companies such as Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic and Tippett Studio has led him to work on such blockbusters as Star Wars - Episode II, Pirates of the Caribbean, Iron Man and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. Keeping a balance between more commercial films and projects with social commentary and a focus on community, Lucero has also worked as a cameraman and editor on documentaries such as the PBS series Not In Our Town. East Side Sushi marks his feature film directorial debut.

Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival--everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success. The hosts: Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com. Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.

Episode 10: Nina Schulyer

Episode 10: Nina Schulyer

Our conversation with Nina takes place as she launches into the writing of a new novel, beginning by exploring whether it is, indeed a novel--or a short story. We discuss the differences, including revelation, character change, build and transformation. Where do new ideas come from and how do they develop? We dig into readers’ shifting expectations through the centuries and what today's reader wants. Other topics include watching (or not watching) the market, pushing the boundaries, entering into new territories, looking for what hasn't been said. We examine the fascination of unlikable characters and the role of strong, cutthroat women in fiction. Tips include creating a scene list, looking at the character web or cast of characters, how to find and stay true to the beating heart of your book, writing out of chronological order and going back to create a build and consequence, structuring a revision, tracking reader question, and developing theme and character arc. We talk about getting feedback from readers who are not writers, and about style, sentences and dialog. A far-ranging and deep discussion.

Books and Links Mentioned

The Painter by Nina Schulyer

Buy The Painter


The Translator by Nina Schulyer


Buy The Translator


Ursula K Le Guin Steering the Craft


Buy Steering the Craft


Annie Dillard The Writing Life


Buy The Writing Life


My Mistress’ Sparrow is Dead edited by Jeffrey Eugenides, esp. the short story in it by Harold Brodky called "First Love and Other Sorrows"

Buy My Mistress’ Sparrow is Dead

Dragon Ball Z

http://www.ninaschuyler.com/
http://fictionadvocate.com/category/stunning-sentences/ http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/11/07/the-translation-wars

Nina Schulyer

Nina Schulyer

The Translator won the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Award for General Fiction and was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Writing Prize. It was named a Recommended Book by the San Francisco Chronicle,  and has been translated into Hebrew, Taiwanese and Chinese.

Nina Schuyler's first novel, The Painting, (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2004), was a finalist for the Northern California Book Awards. It was also selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the Best Books of 2004, and dubbed a “fearless debut” by MSNBC and a “great debut” by the Rocky Mountain News. It’s been translated into Chinese, Portuguese, and Serbian.

Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and her poems and short stories have appeared in ZYZZYVA, Santa Clara Review, Fugue, The Meadowland Review, The Battered Suitcase, and other literary journals. She writes a column for Fiction Advocate that focuses on stunning sentences and reviews books for   The Rumpus and The Children’s Book Review. She teaches creative writing at the University of San Francisco and writing classes at Book Passage.

She attended Stanford University for her undergraduate degree, earned a law degree at Hastings College of the Law and an MFA in fiction with an emphasis on poetry at San Francisco State University.

Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival--everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.

The hosts:

Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.

Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.

Episode  9: Lea Page

Episode 9: Lea Page

Lea Page is a wonderful writer and long-time Book Writing World student whose first book--Parenting in the Here and Now: Realizing the Strengths You Already Have--was recently published by Floris Press. She has also written two moving and evocative memoirs. In our conversation, we discuss juggling writing projects and developing a daily writing practice. Lea, who has placed many short pieces for publication, shares great insights about the benefits of the submission process (besides occasional publication) as well as how to persist, cheer rejection, and succeed! We covered resistance, inspiration v. planning, and some structure questions you can ask yourself. Finally, we looked at finding your beginning and your ending in memoir, the power of story and how to think about memoir as taking steps on your arc. We learned a lot from this promising and disciplined writer.


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Links Discussed:

Creative Writing Opportunities Group List: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CRWROPPS-B/info

Joan Gelfand, submissions coach: http://www.joangelfand.com/

Find Lea, her blog and her parenting book at: http://www.leapageauthor.com/

Lea Page

Lea Page

Lea Page has mentored Steiner-Waldorf homeschooling mothers for a decade and has many years experience as a La Leche League leader. She and her husband homeschooled both their children in rural Montana. Lea has studied education, literature and leadership. She now lives and writes in New Hampshire.

Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival--everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.

The hosts:

Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.

Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.

Episode 8: Carolina De Robertis

Episode 8: Carolina De Robertis

We met with Carolina just after she sent her work-in-progress to its first, early readers. The main questions she had, she told us, was: is it a book? This led into a wonderful discussion when  a work is ready for readers and when it needs to be kept private. We talked about early writing, the need to let it be bad--even trying for bad--and then the deep and powerful art of revision. She talked about the gap between what the book wants to be and what it is on the page, and how to develop the muscles to get through that gap. The key word in this conversation was risk.

We also delved into research, especially for fiction--ways to go about it, how to fill the well, when to start writing . . . and the imaginative leap and the mysterious mirror that fiction can be in our lives. Each of Carolina’s three books had a different journey and relationship to structure and she laid that out for us. We talked about the importance of telling undertold or silenced histories and stories and the importance of steadfastly showing up. Carolina had some inspiring tools for tracking her writing work. And of course we touched on the nuanced portrayal of sexuality in The Gods of Tango, Carolina’s enthralling third novel.

Books and authors discussed:

Carolina De Robertis/The Gods of Tango

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Edward P. Jones/ The Known World

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Elizabeth Strout/ The Burgess Boys

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Gertrude Stein/ The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

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Carolina De Robertis/Perla

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Carolina De Robertis/The Invisible Mountain

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Toni Morrison

Jerry Seinfeld/ chain of exes

Links:

http://www.carolinaderobertis.com/

Carolina De Robertis

Carolina De Robertis

Carolina De Robertis is the internationally bestselling author of The Gods of Tango, Perla, and The Invisible Mountain, which was a Best Book of 2009 according to the San Francisco Chronicle, O, The Oprah Magazine, and BookList. She is the recipient of Italy’s Rhegium Julii Prize and a 2012 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages. Her writings and literary translations have appeared in Zoetrope: Allstory, Granta, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. She is also the translator of Alejandro Zambra’s Bonsai, which was just made into a feature film, and Roberto Ampuero’s The Neruda Case.

Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival--everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.

The hosts:

Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.

Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.