Rewind. Sandy and Terry will discuss Billy Wilder's 10 tips for screenwriters. Few screenwriters are as pedigreed as Billy Wilder, who is renowned as one of the most creative filmmakers of American cinema's Golden Age. Wilder was nominated 21 times at the Academy Awards, 13 for screenwriting and 8 for direction. He won the Best Director award for his 1945 film "The Lost Weekend" and again 15 years later for "The Apartment." Thanks to the success of "The Apartment," Wilder became the first per...

In today’s episode, we're diving into a key principle of screenwriting: SHOW DON’T TELL. This simple yet powerful rule can truly elevate your writing to new heights. These three words hold a lot of meaning—so what exactly does SHOW DON’T TELL mean? Join us as we explore this idea and share some great examples from well-known films and TV shows that beautifully illustrate this principle. Executive Producer Kristin Overn Creator/Executive Producer Sandy Adomaitis Producer Terry Sa...

REWIND. Two PAGE Awards Judges, Victoria Lucas and Laurie Ashbourne, discuss how they evaluate your screenplays, whether you're just starting or have a script in the competition. You do not want to miss this inside talk. ⭐️ Laurie Ashbourne began her film career in Disney animation and has worked over the past 20 years as a story consultant, writer, and producer for Disney, Amazon, and many independent producers. She has more than 30 features and short films to her credit, including her new ...

REWIND of two more PAGE Awards Judges, Dwayne Smith and Mike Kuciak, continues the conversation about how they evaluate your screenplay. Mike Kuciak has two movies coming out in 2022; he's the writer-director of one and the writer-producer of the other. He's a producer on a third film scheduled to begin production in late 2022. He has served as a producer and executive producer on several independent films. He was the senior vice president of development for a literary management-production c...

REWIND. PAGE Awards Judges David Portlock and John Evans continue our conversation about how they evaluate your screenplay. These two judges share a lot of helpful information in this interview. ✰ David Portlock has worked as a script reader for United Talent Agency and currently works for Bassett Vance Productions. Over the past 15 years, David has consulted and assisted dozens of writers in developing their films. Also a screenwriter, David wrote and directed a feature film picked up by HBO...

REWIND. We continue our conversation about how PAGE Awards Judges evaluate your screenplay with Karen Craig and Scott Barkan. Next week, to wrap up this four-part series, we’ll be talking to Kristin Overn, the Founder and Executive Director of the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards. Karen Craig is a professional screenwriter and script doctor whose credits include AMERICAN PSYCHO II, starring Mila Kunis and William Shatner, and FORBIDDEN SECRETS, starring Kristy Swanson. Karen has served...

Rewind. Spend some time with Sandy and Terry as they explore one of the most iconic last lines in cinema, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown," from the 1974 film CHINATOWN, written by Robert Towne, directed by Roman Polanski, and starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. In this episode, they reveal the fascinating story of how this memorable line nearly didn’t make it and why! Executive Producer Kristin Overn Creator/Executive Producer Sandy Adomaitis Producer Terry Sampson Music by Ethan Stol...

In today’s show, Sandy shares some fun insights about onomatopoeia, which can be a writer’s best friend when you want to avoid using the same dull words repeatedly—especially in action scenes. Onomatopoeia is when a word is formed to imitate a sound, like “Boom!”, “Pow!”, or “Splat!”. If you're a screenwriter, it’s a handy trick to keep in your toolkit, especially when crafting exciting action moments. Using onomatopoeia can really bring your writing to life and make it more engaging for your...

Rewind. Did you know that our host and creator of The Writers’ Hangout, Sandy Adomaitis, has extensive experience in script development for both television and film? She has worked with some of the industry’s top showrunners, including Carlton Cuse, John Wirth, and Tom Spezialy. Now, for the first time, Sandy has compiled a list of ten warning signs that could dampen her enthusiasm for reading your script, available exclusively to our devoted listeners. Executive Producer Kristin Overn ...

HAPPINESS INCLUDED: It’s finally time for Jan, Jan, Jan! Sandy has a groovy chat with the legendary Eve Plumb, famously known as the misunderstood middle child, Jan from The Brady Bunch. Eve offers delightful insights into her new memoir, “HAPPINESS INCLUDED: Jan Brady and Beyond.” Since Eve and Sandy are longtime friends, their conversation feels like a cozy, personal catch-up—plus, they even talk about George Glass! Executive Producer Kristin Overn Creator/Executive Producer Sandy Adomaitis...