003.5 - Bassam Tariq [WGA Mini-season]

07/13/23 • 46 min

This is the third episode in the WGA inspired mini-season. A break from the usual "Directors on Directing," this season is focused on the granular mechanics screenwriting. Each of these conversations were recorded as a part of a remote writer's group that I ran in early 2020. Though they weren't ever intended to be released publicly - given the WGA (and now SAG) strikes, I thought it would be a small act of solidarity to bring our attention back to the work that goes into the creation of the screenplay This episode features a conversation with BASSAM TARIQ. Bassam was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and later migrated to the United States, where he grew up in Queens, New York. His dual-cultural upbringing significantly influenced his work, providing him a distinctive lens through which to explore and portray complex issues related to identity, belonging, and the immigrant experience. Tariq's debut feature film, "These Birds Walk," premiered at South by Southwest in 2013 and was named one of the best indie films of the year by The New Yorker. In 2019, he directed "The Ghosts of Sugarland" - a documentary short he wrote and directed about his post-9/11 high school experience. The film premiered at Sundance in 2019. He then directed "Mogul Mowgli" in 2020, starring Riz Ahmed, which earned rave reviews for its exploration of diaspora identity and the physical and emotional toll of ambition. The film premiered at Berlinale in 2020. Throughout his career, Tariq has consistently demonstrated his ability to deftly intertwine personal narratives with broader societal themes and his profound dedication to storytelling continues to resonate powerfully in the work he creates. In this conversation we specifically discuss page count, finding and maintaining a "voice", the movement from documentary to narrative storytelling, and the importance of protecting your vision.

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002.5 - Bradley Jackson [WGA Mini-season]

This is the second episode in the WGA inspired mini-season. A break from the usual "Directors on Directing," this season is focused on the nuts and bolts of screenwriting. The second episode features BRADLEY JACKSON, another co-writer on my debut feature, STAGES. Bradley also co-wrote my short film, THE HEIGHTS. But, once again, these two projects are just one of many other credits under Bradley's belt. His first produced screenplay, INTRAMURAL, a comedy about Intramural football, starred Kate McKinnon (SNL), Jake Lacy (The White Lotus) and Beck Bennett (SNL). Just prior to the strike, Bradley had just finished setting up his script GYM RAT - a gritty basketball drama - with A24 and Oscar winning director Ezra Edelman, in addition to writing an original feature for Bill Simmons and Spotify. Bradley is also a talented documentary director and producer. His directorial debut, FACING NOLAN - about the legendary Major League pitcher and Texas legend Nolan Ryan - premiered at SXSW 2022 to rave reviews and then premiered on Netflix. Other credits include writing and producing the feature documentary DEALT which won the Audience Award at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival and producing the 4 part docu-series for Showtime and Boardwalk Pictures called ACTION - about the legalization of sports gambling in America. His current project is writing/producing the Milli Vanilli documentary for MRC that was bought by Paramount+ and will be released in late 2023. During this conversation, we spoke about revealing character through comedy, the third draft "subtext" transition, and how a co-writer can help wade through determining if the pages you're writing are actually good.

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004.5 - Marc Menchaca [WGA Mini-season]

This week's episode features the incredibly talented actor, writer, and director, MARC MENCHANCA. Marc was one of the first directors to ever hire me as a cinematographer, bringing me on board to shoot his debut feature, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE. Marc wrote, directed, and starred in the film back in 2013. It played SXSW in competition and then went on to a small theatrical run. That film was the starting point for a long friendship and frequent collaboration over the years. Marc was one of the first "real" actors that I ever had a chance to direct and I've been incredibly fortunate to learn from many on set experiences with him. Marc is an actor by trade and he has had an incredible run over the past 5-7 years. Most notably he played RUSS LANGMORE on OZARZ, creating a nuanced and complex portrait of a man in crisis. He played JACK HOSKINS on HBO's THE OUTSIDER as well as roles on White House Plumbers, American Rust, Homeland, Black Mirror, Hawaii-Five-O, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jack Ryan, and GENERATION KILL. I invited Marc into our writer's group to speak about the script from the perspective of an actor - what they're looking for, how they imagine the roles after those first read-throughs, and what collaboration between writers and actors might look like. Especially in light of the SAG strike, this episode - recorded in our writer's group in early 2020 - has only felt more relevant to the current climate.