A rundown of the articles “from the inside” written by me and WGA guest contributors — I’ve been a member of the Writers Guild of America West since the aughts. The sacrifices past members made on behalf of the union won me every protection I have today as a screenwriter. In fact, I would have nothing in my career without their efforts. Consequently, I must do…

These essays about my career in the US film/TV business will hopefully leave aspiring screenwriters better prepared than I was when I arrived in Los Angeles. — After fifteen years as a professional screenwriter, I think it’s fair to say I have accumulated some war stories. Anyone who’s managed to stick around for that long in this business can say the same. When I joined Medium, one of my goals was to share some of them with…

After fifteen years as a professional film and TV screenwriter, I’ve started talking with old and new friends about who they are and how their personal stories inform the screenplays they write — Earlier this year, I turned to Medium and, more recently, Substack as ways to both discuss the arts and explore my own passion for them. The exploration part of this commitment involved interviewing artists I admire — authors, filmmakers, musicians, fine artists, and more — something I hadn’t done in…

A compilation of arts-related articles that you might’ve missed — Note: You can read this article in its entirety at my arts newsletter on Substack, 5AM STORYTALK, which I encourage you to subscribe to for free. It’s my preferred way of communicating with readers. On the first and third Wednesday of every month, I share a list of arts-related articles…

From real life crime to crime writing — and, of course, superheroes — the comic book titan turned TV creator discusses his creative journey — When Ed Brubaker’s name showed up in the comments section of my Substack, the art junky in me screamed. The multi-hyphenate storyteller — who has won more Eisners than I feel like counting — has been a part of my creative life since I first discovered his semi-autographical comic book…

A compilation of arts-related articles you might’ve missed — Note: You can read this article in its entirety at my arts newsletter on Substack, 5AM STORYTALK, which I encourage you to subscribe to for free. It’s my preferred way of communicating with readers. On the first and third Wednesday of every month, I share a list of arts-related articles…

‘AHSOKA’ is the latest example of the company strip-mining the STAR WARS Expanded Universe for parts without properly crediting creators — I was sixteen the first time I saw a copy of the STAR WARS novel HEIR TO THE EMPIRE in the hands of one of those “cool kids” from high school who had made my life a living hell for loving “geek shit” as he would invariably refer to STAR…

In this second part of our conversation, the screenwriter walks me through how art has become both her way of trying to change the world…and surviving it — Miranda Kwok, creator of hit Fox television series “THE CLEANING LADY”, has spent the better part of her life in a reciprocal relationship with her art. As she creates it, it seems to create her back. At the heart of this dynamic is her drive to inspire empathy and understanding…

In exclusive interviews, three members of the WGA Negotiating Committee break down the MBA’s mysterious Appendix A and how the streamers are exploiting the writers covered by it — When Greg Iwinski joined the Writers Guild of America East, his work as a late-night writer was covered under what is known as Appendix A in the Guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement with the Association of Motion Pictures and Television Producers. “It’s called Appendix A because our contract is literally stapled…