WATCH LOS FRIKIS: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Los-Frikis/0H49M436MMS223JUKJ26Q95EKJ

READ ALONG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a3QojbCeXG11xowk5u6y-RONQhCSguwG/view?usp=drive_link

Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz are the first to admit "they're not the cool kids." Their widely celebrated debut THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON was bootstrapped by grit, hard work, and a ferocious commitment to making something authentic, and that same spirit fills every frame of their follow-up film, LOS FRIKIS. Like the filmmakers themselves, the movie follows a group of lovable outsiders finding their own way to make beautiful art in a system that opposes it. In today's conversation with Jeffrey Crane Graham, they discuss how filmmaking is like building a house: pre-production is a blueprint, production is about "collecting lumber," and post-production is an act of construction.

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We are launching a brand new monthly BONUS show this Thursday in feed, hosted by our producer Jeffrey Crane Graham. Don't miss it!

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Whether you're on your billionth draft, or stuck in post on a docuseries, finding a connective THEME to tell your story is one of the most valuable ways to create a cohesive and satisfying story. Today's guest, John Henion, understands that better than anyone. His impressive career as an episodic documentary filmmaker includes shows like CHEF'S TABLE and WELCOME TO WREXHAM, but whatever the project may be, John tells us how it always comes down to finding the emotional center of your story.

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The Molyneux Sisters (BOB’S BURGERS, THE GREAT NORTH) believe that character is at the center of all great comedy. For Wendy and Lizzie, specificity, character quirks, and close observations about the friends (and strangers) around them will always provide the cocktail for a great character. Hear about how these two found their voice, honed their craft, and became important voices in the world of adult animation.

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George Saunders is a writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction, whose work has amassed a collection of awards, including The Booker Prize for his debut novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. His essay collection A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, which focuses on the storytelling prowess of four Russian masters, was not only a bestseller, but invited passionate responses from his readers, who are as obsessed with story math as we are. George is the ultimate story junkie, as evidenced by his wildly popular Substack, Story Club, which features his musings about the mechanics, mystery, and magic of great storytelling.

CHECK OUT GEORGE'S SUBSTACK: https://georgesaunders.substack.com/

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Dana Fox offers an incredibly generous admission in today's conversation: "I find writing REALLY torturous." And yet, she's one of Hollywood's most successful writers, having written on major franchises like CRUELLA and recently WICKED, which has earned her countless industry award nominations. What's her secret? Tune in as she discusses why writing can feel so hard and how she pushes through those blocks - or perhaps more fittingly, defies gravity.

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For decades, if you wanted to make it as a Hollywood writer, the first step was simple: move to Hollywood. But increasingly, screenwriters have found that they're able to create and foster screenwriting careers outside of Los Angeles. Two folks who have done that successfully, Will Fetters and Chris Sparling, join us today to talk about the practical logistics of making your Hollywood writing career work no matter where you live.

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It's no secret that plays and movies are entirely different mediums, so how do you give the cinematic treatment to a play as celebrated as "The Piano Lesson" by Pulitzer Prize-winning August Wilson? From the start, co-writer and director Malcom Washington came in with a very specific take on the material, and was incredibly grateful when Oscar-nominated "Mudbound" co-writer Virgil Williams came on board to help nurture that take on the page. In today's conversation, you'll hear how the two of them wrote together in the desert, creating a routinized approach to the material, while still leaving space for discovery.

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What sounds harder? Writing a pilot alone at your desk, or running your own TV show with 300 folks trying to execute your vision? For Liz Feldman, it's the former, which affirms what we often say on this show: writing is really, really hard. Despite that, Liz has almost 30 years of TV writing experience under her belt, including two hits for Netflix that she created and showran: Dead To Me and No Good Deed. Join us as she unpacks her creative process.

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Pixar story genius Mike Jones gets candid with Meg about endings: what makes a great ending, and more important, what makes an emotional ending. Meg and Mike also discuss selfish characters, narrative feature film engines, and how to keep our storytelling fresh when we feel like we're locked in the same old patterns. DREAM PRODUCTIONS, which Mike developed (and even helped direct!), is on Disney+ now.

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To say that Kelly Younger is a fairy tale expert is an understatement. He's built an entire career around his obsession with fairy tale principles, so much so that he's become a coveted story consultant, and a frequent writer for THE MUPPETS universe, with credits on MUPPETS NOW and MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION. Younger has developed at Amazon, Apple, Hulu, Disney Studios, Paramount Animation, Warner Animation Group, DreamWorks Animation, Disney Originals, and has also consulted at Skydance Animation, in addition to Illumination on both SHREK 5 and PUSS IN BOOTS 2.

So why should we care so much about a centuries-old art form? Today, Kelly breaks it all down.

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