Show notes
Mark Melara joins us at the Art Bazaar on this episode to discuss cinema, writing, AI & the Double Strike in Hollywood. Mark Melara is a writer from Los Angeles, CA who's written for shows like Superior Donuts starring comedian Jermaine Fowler and the remarkable Judd Hirsch. Not keeping his writing to just television, Mark also co-wrote the video game Freedom Finger, which is available on all gaming consoles and he's currently developing a Y2K era video game into a TV series for a major studio. 00:00 - Intro01:21 - NYC Film Industry & Celebrity Ghost Stories04:25- Mutiny against the production09:08 - When NYC was built for artists10:38 - Road trip from NYC to LA17:20 - What interested Mark in becoming a writer? 20:08 - Getting first jobs in Hollywood21:36 - WWE Monday Night Raw22:30 - Moving to LA to become a screenwriter23:00 - Working with Julia Louis-Dreyfus26:15 - Trying to produce original screenplays27:18 - Surf Pope29:53 - Matt Berry31:48 - The Writers Strike & SAG-AFTRA Double Strike34:23 - History of labor strikes in Hollywood38:27 - Corporate Greed41:00 - Is the Double Strike coming close to an end? 43:08 - Wealth Inequality 43:55 - Artificial Intelligence is changing our world44:53 - How do people spend their free time? 46:00 - The spirit of the people on the picket lines47:42 - The Wall Street speech48:35 - More support for artists after the Double Strike51:05 - The pandemic was a pilot for Universal Basic Income51:50 - Andrew Yang53:15 - Artificial Intelligence being used for language learning56:00 - Would AI have invented art without humans having invented it first?57:45 - AI is an even bigger issue for SAG-AFTRA58:15 - Actor Stephen Fry has voice unknowingly replicated by AI01:00:14 - What happens if negotiations breakdown again during strike?01:02:35 - What is a mini room? 01:04:46 - Any advice for aspiring writers?01:07:33 - MAJOR UPDATE ABOUT WRITER'S STRIKE
