OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East

The WGAE Women’s Salon presents a series of four live recordings of OnWriting in honor of Women's History Month. In each episode, we’re speaking with women screenwriters whose latest projects center on women’s stories.

To wrap up the series, Geri speaks with Eliza Hittman, the writer and director of the acclaimed 2020 film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS.

Eliza Hittman is an award-winning writer and director from Brooklyn, NY. She is the writer and director of the 2013 drama IT FELT LIKE LOVE and the 2017 drama BEACH RATS, the latter of which earned her the 2017 Director Award at Sundance Film Festival. She is also the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award from Lincoln Center and is a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow.

Her latest project is the drama film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS. The film follows Autumn, a 17-year-old who, after learning that she’s pregnant but unable to get an abortion without her parents’ consent in her native Pennsylvania, embarks on a trip to New York City with her cousin Skylar in order to get an abortion there.

The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award for Neo-Realism. It also won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. It is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

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Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

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Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to Sharon Horgan about how she kept her stories straight when writing across two timelines, her tips for pitching a project, the universal ideas at the heart of a story about four sisters failing spectacularly at attempting murder, and more.

Sharon Horgan is an acclaimed writer, actress, producer, and director, best known for her multiple award-winning sitcom CATASTROPHE, which she co-wrote and starred in with Rob Delaney.

Her other writing credits include the BBC comedy series PULLING, the comedy series SHINING VALE, and the BBC sitcom MOTHERLAND. As an actress, Sharon is known for her roles in feature films like GAME NIGHT, DATING AMBER, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT, among others.

Her latest project is BAD SISTERS, which she co-created, wrote, and stars in. The ten-part comedy thriller follows a group of five sisters (the Garveys) and the promise they make to always protect each other after their parents’ premature death.

The Writers Guild Award-nominated series premiered in the US in August 2022 and is available to stream on Apple TV+

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Greg Iwinski talks to Greg Mottola about leaning into the absurdity of the everyday, bringing a 70s-era whodunnit into the 21st century, our rediscovered love of murder mysteries, and much more.

Writer and director Greg Mottola began his career with his 1996 indie dramedy film THE DAYTRIPPERS, for which he received a Golden Camera nomination at the Cannes Film Festival for best first feature film. He then went on to direct the hit 2007 coming-of-age comedy SUPERBAD, then wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2009 film ADVENTURELAND, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay. Since then, he has gone on to direct other film projects like PAUL and KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES.

Mottola has also directed episodes of several hit television series, including the pilots of FX’s DAVE and HBO’s THE NEWSROOM, as well as episodes of the THE COMEBACK, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, UNDECLARED, and THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS.

He most recently wrote and directed the crime comedy film CONFESS, FLETCH, which is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Gregory Mcdonald and a reboot of the hit 1980s series starring Chevy Chase.

CONFESS, FLETCH stars Jon Hamm as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit - from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized.

The film will be released simultaneously in limited theaters and on paid digital streaming platforms on Friday, September 16, and will be available to stream on Showtime starting October 28.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Marina Fang talks to Jessica Knoll about the extensive process of adapting her own book, how her personal experiences shaped the film, why Gillian Flynn is her guiding light, and so much more.

Jessica Knoll is a screenwriter and novelist known for her thrillers Luckiest Girl Alive, and The Favorite Sister. In 2021, she was named a screenwriter to watch by Variety, and in 2019 her original script, 'TIL DEATH sold to Amazon and made The Black List.

Her feature screenplay debut, LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, is an adaptation of her first novel (of the same name). The mystery-thriller stars Mila Kunis as Ani Fanelli, an up-and-coming writer at a glossy magazine who is set to get married at a lavish Nantucket wedding. But when a director of a documentary urges Ani to go on camera to tell her side of a school shooting that took place when she was a teenager, Ani is forced to confront the dark truths of her past that threaten to unravel her meticulously crafted life.

The film premieres on October 7, 2022 and will be available to stream on Netflix.

Marina Fang (she/her) is a senior culture reporter at HuffPost, based in New York. She primarily covers film and television, examining their intersection with politics, race and gender. She can be found on Twitter at @marinafang.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole talks to John Hoffman—co-creator and showrunner of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING—about the art of putting together a compelling mystery in a writers' room, how his own life experience shaped his connection to the series, and the creative value of staying in bed.

Spoiler Alert: This episode contains lots of big reveals. We recommend you watch the series before you listen.

John Hoffman is a writer, director, and actor who wrote and co-starred in the 1997 Disney Channel original movie NORTHERN LIGHTS before making his theatrical film debut (as both writer and director) with the 2003 MGM/Jim Henson Pictures comedy GOOD BOY!. Since then, his credits have included the 81st Academy Awards (for which he earned an Emmy nomination), the HBO series LOOKING, and the Netflix series GRACE AND FRANKIE.

Hoffman is currently the showrunner of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, which he co-created alongside Steve Martin. The mystery-comedy series follows three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years, but the secrets they keep from one another might be even more explosive. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late.

The 10-episode first season is now streaming on Hulu, and the series was renewed for a second season in September 2021.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast