A Conversation with John Logan

This week on On Story, a conversation with Cord Jefferson on adapting the novel Erasure into his strikingly sharp debut feature American Fiction.

Cord Jefferson is an Emmy-winning writer who earned his chops on some of television’s most formative shows in recent years: Master of None, The Good Place, Succession, and Watchmen. His debut feature, American Fiction, won the Audience Award at the 30th annual Austin Film Festival.  

American Fiction is an adaptation of Percival Everett’s novel Erasure. The film introduces us to Thelonius Monk, played by Jeffrey Wright, a weary writer frustrated by the publishing industry’s obsession with reducing artists of color into stereotypes. In an effort to show the industry its own foolishness, Monk offers up a pandering manuscript that, much to his chagrin, becomes wildly successful.

Cord discusses bringing his own perspective and sense of humor to the source material, and marrying comedy and drama in one film.

Clips of American Fiction courtesy of Amazon/MGM Studios.

This week on On Story, a conversation with Joanna Calo, showrunner of the character-driven dramedy The Bear.

Joanna delves into her experience sharing showrunning duties with creator Christopher Storer, and discusses their approach to incorporating real life events into the show’s deeply grounded characters and high stakes world. 

As a television veteran, Joanna’s writing credits include Bojack Horseman, Hacks, Beef, and today’s subject, The Bear. The Bear tells the story of Carmy Berzatto, played by Jeremy Allen White, an award-winning chef who returns home to Chicago in the wake of his estranged brother’s suicide to find that he has inherited the family sandwich shop. Audiences fell in love with The Bear’s fast-paced dialogue, anxiety-inducing stakes, and deeply human characters in the show’s first season. In season 2, the show’s stakes raised even higher as Carmy attempted to open his own fine dining restaurant in Chicago. In today’s On Story conversation, Joanna share her insights surrounding the infamous mid-season episode Fishes featuring guest star Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as the well-crafted characters of Richie, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Marcus, played by Lionel Boyce.

This week on the On Story Podcast a conversation with James V. Hart, writer of the science fiction drama Contact directed by Robert Zemeckis.

In his decades-long career, Hart has written beloved films including Hook, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Tuck Everlasting, and August Rush. Hart discusses the process of adapting Contact from Carl Sagan’s novel about a scientist who discovers definitive proof of extraterrestrial life. From working with the author to discern his original intent and establishing a thematic purpose, to embedding a story with high stakes and finding the story’s emotional core, Hart lends us a close look at the intricacies of structuring a screenplay.

Clips of Contact courtesy of Warner Bros.

This week on On Story, a conversation with writer-director Shane Black about the making of Iron Man 3.

Shane Black, the original creator of the Lethal Weapon franchise, is well-known for his irreverent comedic style and witty dialogue, as well as turning established genre tropes on their head. Black does just that in Iron Man 3, a superhero film that sets aside hero's bravado to dissect the man inside the suit.

Barbara Morgan sat down with Black to discuss finding larger-than-life characters' interiority, navigating fan expectations, and working within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Clips of Iron Man 3 courtesy of Marvel Studios.

This week on On Story, a conversation with the creative team behind Lawmen: Bass Reeves, a show based on the incredible real life of Bass Reeves, a man who was born into slavery and later became a Deputy U.S. Marshal. He was the first black man west of the Mississippi River to hold that title, and according to creator and showrunner of the series Chad Feehan, he was “arguably the greatest lawman in the history of this country.”

Taylor Sheridan is responsible for making it all happen, and this limited series is the latest installment in his television universe.

Creator Chad Feehan has written on shows known for their gritty realism, like Southland and Ray Donovan. A meeting with David Oyelowo made him obsessed with Bass Reeves. Enough to create this series. Oyelowo plays the title role. He had been trying to get a show made about Reeves for years.

Christina Voros is very familiar with the Taylor Sheridan universe. She directed and co-executive produced for megahits Yellowstone and 1883. She is the executive producer of the Bass Reeves series, and she directed the pilot beautifully.

Damian Marcano, director on the intense, fast-paced Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and the neo-noir television series, American Gigolo, directed several episodes of Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Barbara Morgan talked with Chad, Christina, and Damian about how they took on the material and some of the challenges that come from making historical fiction.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves Clips Courtesy of Paramount Plus.

This week on On Story, a conversation with two of the writers on Justified: City Primeval.

VJ Boyd is a writer and producer. He did both on hits like Justified and S.W.A.T. He co-created and co-showran the crime drama Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, and he’s currently showrunning The Madness, expected to release next year. 

Chris Provenzano was a writer on the first season of Mad Men. Since then, he’s written on an incredibly diverse number of hits, from Archer to Justified to Silicon Valley. 

Barbara Morgan spoke with the two at the Austin Film Festival.

Justified clips courtesy of FX Networks.

This week on On Story, writer Edward Neumeier discusses his creative process behind the sci-fi cult classics RoboCop and Starship Troopers. Neumeier explores the particulars of writing for the genre, as well as his knack for disguising deep issues within expansive and captivating stories. 

Clips of RoboCop courtesy of Orion Pictures.

Clips of Starship Troopers courtesy of TriStar Pictures.

This week on On Story, we're joined by Lang Fisher for a conversation on her process of co-creating, writing, and showrunning Netflix’s hit series, Never Have I Ever. Fisher has a long history of writing and producing funny yet intelligent television, and Never Have I Ever is no exception. This fresh, coming-of-age series follows Indian-American teen, Davy Vishwakumar, who after a difficult year, is determined to heighten her social status at Sherman Oaks High Schools. Both co-created with and inspired by Mindy Kaling’s own childhood, the show's current three seasons are a remarkable masterclass on witty dialogue, a leader in diverse representation on screen, and adept at presenting relatable themes for teens and adults alike. The show's highly anticipated fourth and final season is scheduled to be released by Netflix on June 8th, 2023.

Prior to her work on Never Have I Ever, Fisher was a writer-producer for many comedy series, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project, and the final season of 30 Rock, where she co-wrote the episode “A Goon’s Deed in a Weary World,” which was named one of Variety’s “25 Best TV Episodes of the Decade.”  Before venturing into television writing, Fisher used her humor to write for six years at the satirical news outlet, The Onion. 

AFF moderator Casey Baron sat down with Lang Fisher to dive deeper into the process of writing and creating Never Have I Ever and to give our audience a craft conversation. Never have you ever learned so much on the art of comedy writing!

Clips of Never Have I Ever courtesy of Netflix.

This week on On Story, we're joined by writing partners Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, known for their collaboration on projects such as the award-winning film based on the life of Mr. Rogers, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, their work writing and producing the Amazon series, Transparent, and co-creating and co-showrunning their upcoming Netflix series, Painkiller.

Known for their talents writing stories based on true events, Painkiller is no different, as it's an honest exploration of the birth of the opioid crisis in the United States, starring Matthew Broderick and Uzo Abuda. Together, Harpster and Fitzerman-Blue have won the Peabody Award, the PEN award, and the Humanitas Prize for their collaborative work as screenwriters, in addition to receiving Emmy, Golden Globe, People’s Choice Awards, and WGA writing nominations. 

AFF moderator Harrison Glaser sat down with both writers during the 2022 Writers Conference to discuss what makes a successful writing partnership, the process of crafting stories based on real events, and how to build a career that includes writing across genres, and within both television and film.

You know what they say - two heads are better than one, and the truth is stranger than fiction. Harpster and Fitzerman-Blue embody these timeless statements.

Clips courtesy of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. and Amazon Studios.