In our last episode of the year, journalists Joanna Robinson and Dave Gonzales, the authors of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, discuss making a living as a "pop culture pundit," mapping the story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the missing "DC vs Marvel" chapter, lessons the MCU might take from recent successes like Deadpool & Wolverine and Agatha All Along, what other franchises might learn from the MCU, what Kevin Feige really does, and what the MCU can teach writers.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

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Heath Corson (Animal Kingdom; Batman: Assault on Arkham) discussing his new 4-issue comic, The Brood. Set in the “Minor Threats” universe, The Brood is a story about family, the patriarch of which happens to be a criminal mastermind.

Heath Corson talks about writing from a personal place, how good and evil don't apply to family dynamics, human moments in a comic book world, and more.

And after that, a recording from the Minor Threats universe panel from San Diego Comic Con in July 2024 featuring Minor Threats creators Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Scott Hepburn, writers Heath Corson (The Brood), Gail Simone (Secret Six; Batgirl), Kyle Starks (Barfly; Where Monsters Lie), and artists Ryan Browne (Barfly; Eight Billion Genies), and Soo Yee (The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos).

With a cameo by Reno 911's Thomas Lennon!

Want to watch a video of the panel? Go to benblacker.substack.com

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

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Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dana Ledoux Miller (co-writer/co-director of Moana 2; creator/showrunner of Thai Cave Rescue; Kevin Can F*** Himself; Narcos) discusses turning the Moana sequel from a TV series to movie, learning the rules of musicals, wrong turns, trusting herself, creating a work worthy of 101 years of Disney features, and lots more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this craft-centered episode, Roma Roth (creator, Sullivan's Crossing; Virgin River) discusses finding and adapting IP.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this craft-centered episode, Dean Lorey (showrunner of Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, Poppa's House, Creature Commandos, and Harley Quinn) discusses running multiple shows, writing drama so that the comedy shines, defining Harley Quinn as a solo act, shepherding James Gunn's vision for Creature Commandos, relying on his collaborators, when to stop fiddling, and more.

Come see Dead Pilots Society live on Sunday, November 17, 2-4pm at the Elysian Theater in LA! Also available to watch on demand.

In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve.

The November 17 show features scripts by John Enbom (co-creator, Party Down) and Brendan Scannell (Loot) & Amy Reed (Diary of a Future President).

Cast includes: Martin Starr (Party Down; Spider-man), Olivia Liang (Kung Fu), Maria Bamford (Kite Man: Hell Yeah!), Ryan Hansen (Party Down; Veronica Mars), Anna Seregina (The Civil Dead), Chris Witaske (The Bear), Brendan Scannell (Heathers), Ellie Reed (Diary of a Future President), Patrick McDonald (Smosh), and more to be announced.

GET TICKETS HERE.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this craft-centered episode, The Lincoln Lawyer showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez (Queen of the South; The Night Shift) discusses writing procedurals. Dailyn has worked in that genre frequently, including The Glades, Lie To Me, In Plain Sight, and others.

Come see Dead Pilots Society live on Sunday, November 17, 2-4pm at the Elysian Theater in LA! Also available to watch on demand.

In Dead Pilots Society, scripts that were developed by studios and networks but were never produced are given the table reads they deserve.

The November 17 show features scripts by John Enbom (co-creator, Party Down) and Brendan Scannell (Loot) & Amy Reed (Diary of a Future President).

Cast includes: Martin Starr (Party Down; Spider-man), Ryan Hansen (Party Down; Veronica Mars), Olivia Liang (Kung Fu), Chris Witaske (The Bear), Anna Seregina (The Civil Dead), and more to be announced!

GET TICKETS HERE.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gremlins: The Wild Batch's Tze Chun and Brendan Hay discuss the smooth sailing of their show, writing animation scripts, bringing little monsters to the Wild West, keeping a stress-free environment during lockdown, and lots more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Soo Hugh (showrunner, Pachinko; The Terror) discusses international filmmaking, the translation process, rewriting, her first second season, mild, medium, and spicy takes, and more.

Come see The Thrilling Adventure Hour at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater on October 13, 6pm and 8pm, or stream it live or on demand!

"An Evening Beyond Belief" stars Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster as married mediums. It's kind of like The Thin Man with ghosts. You don't want to miss it.

Two different shows, two different scripts, all spooky October fun. Get tickets now: ThrillingAdventure.live

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colin from Accounts creators and stars Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer discuss falling into making this show, writing for themselves, creating flawed and funny characters, who's allowed access to the shared document, and more.

Come see The Thrilling Adventure Hour at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater on October 13, 6pm and 8pm, or stream it live or on demand!

"An Evening Beyond Belief" stars Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster as married mediums. It's kind of like The Thin Man with ghosts. You don't want to miss it.

Two different shows, two different scripts, all spooky October fun. Get tickets now: ThrillingAdventure.live

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Covell (creator of Kaos and The End of the F***ing World) discusses their influences in retelling classical myths, creating a "contemporary kinked" world, threading the tonal needle, why they love first drafts, their playlists, and more.

Want to check out one of the playlists Charlie made as they were creating the characters? Visit benblacker.substack.com

Come see Ben Blacker's live show, RETROSPECS, on Sunday, September 29, 2-4pm PT at the Elysian Theater in LA! In Retrospecs, we dig those old scripts by established writers out of their drawers and expose them to the warm light of the stage. Starring actors you know and love from TV, film, comedy, and the stage. From Girls to Gilmore Girls, from the Big Bang Theory to Buffy, get NEW EPISODES of your favorite shows, written by writers who never wrote for those shows!

The Sept 29 show features a Seinfeld written by David Iserson (New Girl; The Spy Who Dumped Me) and Succession written by the notorious parody account creator Fake Carol Lombardini. Starring Paul Scheer (The League), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black; She-Hulk), Sherry Cola (Nobody Wants This), Ayden Mayeri (Mr. Throwback), Andrew Lopez (The Bear), Chris Grace (Superstore), Jaime Moyer (The Great North), and more!

Live or streaming/VOD tickets here: https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/retrospecs

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sherman Payne (creator, Emperor of Ocean Park; Shameless) discusses how to tell a great story, the different kinds of writers in TV, adaptation, what it takes to thrive as a TV writer, "prestidurals," and more.

Come see Ben Blacker's live show, RETROSPECS, on Sunday, September 29, 2-4pm PT at the Elysian Theater in LA! In Retrospecs, we dig those old scripts by established writers out of their drawers and expose them to the warm light of the stage. Starring actors you know and love from TV, film, comedy, and the stage. From Girls to Gilmore Girls, from the Big Bang Theory to Buffy, get NEW EPISODES of your favorite shows, written by writers who never wrote for those shows!

The Sept 29 show features a Seinfeld written by David Iserson (New Girl; The Spy Who Dumped Me) and Succession written by the notorious parody account creator Fake Carol Lombardini. Starring Paul Scheer (The League), Hannah Simone (New Girl), Sherry Cola (Nobody Wants This), Ayden Mayeri (Mr. Throwback), Parvesh Cheena (Frasier), and more!

Live or streaming/VOD tickets here: https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/retrospecs

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.

Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social

Twitter: twitter.com/benBlacker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.