5 Awesome podcasts for screenwriters

It took me a long time to get on the podcast bandwagon. How am I supposed to have time for podcasts while I'm also watching every show, reading every screenplay and cultivating Michelle Obama arms? Eventually, I realized that a lot of cool people say a lot of cool things on podcasts, and like Rebel Wilson, you can do your learnin' while hiking up canyons.

If you decide to go deep into the world of podcasts, you'll probably want a podcast manager for your phone. I tried out a couple free ones and hated them, so I invested in BeyondPod and have found it to be super user-friendly and worth the money.

Here are 5 of the best podcasts for TV and film writers:

1. Scriptnotes with John August and Craig Mazin
I'm sure you all already know about this one, but just in case: pro writers John and Craig tackle everything from the writing process and getting notes to the broader world of studio film, independent film, representation and more. They're also planning a live episode in LA July 25 (tickets should go on sale July 1).

2. On Story by the Austin Film Festival 
The On Story Podcast is the companion to Austin Film Festival's television show, On Story. Get an uncensored inside look at the creative process of film making through the eyes of some of the entertainment industry's most prolific writers, directors and producers. The recent episode with Bridesmaids and The Heat director Paul Feig was one of my favorites!

3. Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin
Alec usually interviews actors, but their points of view about storytelling (and the entertainment industry) are both interesting and useful to writers. Also, Alec is a fearless and intuitive interviewer who delves into what's behind the impressive work of his guests. His podcasts with Girls creator Lena Dunham and The Wire creator David Simon are absolute must-listens.

4. Nerdist Writers Panel with Ben Blacker
Do you like Justified? Homeland? Key & Peele? New Girl? Breaking Bad? Lost? Parks & Rec? Ben Blacker has interviewed the creative minds behind all these shows and more - and since he's a writer too, he asks exactly what you want to know. Episode 85 with The Goldbergs creator Adam F. Goldberg was one of my favorites.

5. Comedy Bang Bang with Scott Aukerman
If you're a comedy writer, don't miss Comedy Bang Bang, which features all sorts of unpredictable conversation, music, improv and games. Recent guests include Paul Scheer, Seth Rogen, Lennon Parham, Jessica St. Clair and Adam Scott.

Get inspired by pro writers' early scripts!

Note: this post was written by new blog contributor Rob Pilkington. 

If you’ve logged even just a couple years in this whole “aspiring screenwriter” thing, you’ve probably discovered that revisiting your old material isn’t always a picnic.  Sure, there are lessons to be gleaned from some of those crude, bumbling, early pages, but the spirit of learning is likely trumped by the urge to lock those embarrassing attempts forever inside a fireproof safe - and to drop that safe into some shark-infested waters.

If nothing else, it's comforting to know that even the most successful professional screenwriters were once just like us. We now have proof: a few online resources have cropped up that allow us to examine early scripts by actual working writers. Show Us Your Specs is a new online library of the spec scripts that first got now-showrunners noticed. Early entries already include Revenge’s Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts, Once Upon a Time’s Jane Espenson, and Don't Trust the B’s Dave Hemingson.

While all these writers can stand to leave these specs off their resumes now, it’s easy to see why they’ve become responsible for what’s piped into our living rooms every week. I haven’t watched Homicide: Life on Street in over a decade, but Matt Olmstead’s spec, which landed him both a Sopranos offer and a NYPD Blue gig, conjured tone and character voices I recognized in an instant. Here’s hoping that more TV pros join int he fun and send Show Us Your Specs a little love.

If you’re looking for something a little more on the raw and vulnerable side, look no further than the Scriptnotes podcast by John August (Big Fish, Frankenweenie) and Craig Mazin (The Hangover Part II, Identity Thief). In episode 58, John and Craig are brave enough to summarize, discuss, and even post (post!) the first three pages of their very first screenplays (Here and Now and The Stunt Family, respectively). It’s heartwarming and inspiring to hear these two pros tear apart their maiden voyages, knowing that they've both grown into highly successful and super cool screenwriting dudes.

Ideally, this level of transparency that Show Us Your Specs and Scriptnotes offer will continue to rise on the web, particularly concerning those first (and sometimes gruesome) milestones every TV and film writer must endure. As John eloquently puts it, “you just need to get that [first] one out of your system” before graduating to the good stuff.  And if you can, and people pay you for it, the good news is that sharing your first scribbles will be an enormous generosity…and not a requirement.

Because seriously: no one is finding that safe.