Shows
The ISA PodcastCaitlin Gallo & Brittany Harris: Don't be Afraid to Stand Out, Be Uniquely YouYou will quickly see how Caitlin and Brittany are writing partners as they practically finish each other’s sentences. These two are high energy, fiercely hard working and driven writers who are part of our ISA Top 25 Writers to Watch in 2023.2023-11-2251 min
You Can't Make This Script UpBuild, Baby. Build!This week we’re talking about world building - from the minutiae to the BIG ideas. We discuss the ones who did it best and our strategies for recreating that magic.Pod Racing, George Lucas and the Star Wars prequelsKathleen Kennedy - President of Lucasfilm and patron Saint of our career endeavors The 2021 Cannes Film Festival and Brit’s fave - the red carpet fashion Pink suits are in! Spike Lee in Vuitton, Olivia Rodrigo in vintage Chanel, Kamala Harris in Sergio Hudson! (Even Kate Middleton at Wimbleton!)Which reminds us - Wimbledon just happened and it was high f...2021-08-101h 39You Can't Make This Script UpSequels: Second Time's the Charm!Hi! We are very burnt out and discussing sequels. This episode may be best consumed with cold medicine. (Kidding. Exhaustion is a drug in and of itself! Let's party!)Pixar’s newest film - LUCA (2021)The most recent DC/Twitter discourse re: Harley Quinn’s animated series on HBOmax - does Batman give head?Funniest tweets from that day. The Room (2003), The Disaster Artist (2017) and Tommy WiseauAudrey Hepburn’s best quotes - “The mind reels!”2022 sequels coming down the pipeline - Jurassic World: Dominion, Scream, Thor: Love and Thunder, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.Erza Miller - actor (Ju...2021-07-161h 21You Can't Make This Script UpWe're back, babyyy!Our unplanned hiatus is OVER and we are ready to RAMBLE! Err... rumble?Screenwriting competitions, festivals, fellowshipsSpreadsheets are our savior. (Even if Caitlin is a psycho about it!)Reflecting on our pre-2021 episodes and our predictions and excitement (Inauguration fashion, Disney+ Marvel shows!)Amazon buys MGM for $8 BillionWizard of Oz sequels - Return to OZ (1985)John Chu - Director (Crazy Rich Asians, In The Heights, Wicked)Our college days in NYC circa 2007-2012 and theater school antics at AMDAAnthony Ramos - actor and AMDA alum (Hamilton, In The Heights)Acting school tries to make every student a “blank sl...2021-06-221h 26You Can't Make This Script Up~ INSPO ~We're pulling inspiration from Pinterest boards, Spotify playlists, Google street view - anything we can get our grubby little hands on 'cause this shit is hard, okay?! (Recorded November 2020) Things we talked about in the episode include:Our creative process - research and development Pinterest boardsSpotify playlistsGoogle Street ViewTudor England and British Invasion classic rock Bad habits we had as young writersJane the Queen, our Lady Jane Grey adaptationPrincess Leia, Alderaan and learning how to crystalize the inspiration down to brief but descriptive action linesChristian Davies, our friend and amazing writerBo Welch, production designer Rugs in movie...2021-03-3042 minYou Can't Make This Script UpDon't Judge a Book by It's On Screen AdaptationNote: This episode was recorded November 2020, AKA before the Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Oprah interview. Let it be known - we stan Josh O'Connor, we pan Prince Charles. MARKLE HIVE, RISE UP!Things we talked about in the episode include:“Modern Austen” Deadline press release (Y'all are not ready for Caitlin's RANT here, whew apologies!) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and her body of work Clueless (1995)“Modern Austen” writer, Eleanor Burgess (Perry Mason)Optioning books for development in film and tv“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy BlumeJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (20...2021-03-231h 16You Can't Make This Script UpThe Movies that Made Us*insert Keanu's "gosh I love movies!" meme here* (Recorded November 2020)Ryan Murphy’s 2021-02-181h 21You Can't Make This Script UpSCORE! Music in MoviesWe only scratched the surface but don't worry - Brittany still found a way to bring up Almost Famous! (Recorded November 2020)Things we talked about in the episode include:The Queen’s Gambit TV show (2020) and novel (1983)Cuban Chess prodigy from 1922 - Maria Teresa Mora Pride & Prejudice (2005) Dir. Joe Wright. Score by Dario MarianelliLove Actually (2003) Dir. Richard Curtis. Score by Craig Armstrong.Cameron Crowe and Almost Famous (2000)Steven Spielberg and the John Williams PBS tribute concertTangled (2010), “When Will My Life Begin (Reprise)” and Alan Menken13 Reasons Why and “Take Me Back to the Night We Met” by Lord Hur...2021-02-0951 minYou Can't Make This Script UpWriting from Personal Experience 101We’re diving deeeeeep. Gird your loins! (Recorded November 2020)Hillbilly Elegy (2020 film and 2016 book by J.D. Vance)Caitlin brings up ~ screenwriting twitter ~ YET AGAIN.A Million Little Pieces (2003 book by James Frey)Why does having a personal connection to the story make a script more desirable?Sketchy Hollywood Nonsense!The “White Trash Narrative” and male, southern writersAn ode to Ron Howard, director of our hearts.White Trash: The 400 Year Old Untold History of Class in America (2017 book by Nan...2021-02-021h 23You Can't Make This Script UpI Survived: Being a Hollywood AssistantFew things scarier than working for rich, high-powered narcissists! (Recorded November 2020)THR’s article on Hollywood assistants in the pandemic Personal anecdotes on being assistants in entertainment Luddite bosses, boomers, narcs - the works. Catholic, Jewish and Southern Baptist guilt. Hollywood is dead from Thanksgiving through New Years Day - just accept it! Vaccines! A new administration! The hope of 2021!“No one wants to be first in Hollywood - they want to be second!”Game of Thrones, the spinoff series, et all. 2021-01-2939 minYou Can't Make This Script UpRipped from the headlines!Extra, Extra - read all about it. We’re talking current events and adaptations. (Recorded November 2020)Things we talked about in the episode include:Disney+ Press Release re: subscribersDisney+ Press Release re: restructuringJohn Malone wanted to buy Netflix apparentlyMulan (2020), Hamilton, Soul (2020) releasing on Disney+Netflix model versus Disney+ modelExamples of Onboarding on appsWhat is user experience?Netflix Trending Bar...2021-01-0843 minYou Can't Make This Script UpWe love you, DC.Disclaimer: We love DC Comics! We just have… a lot of questions! Things we talked about in the episode include:The Batman spinoff TV series “Gotham Central” on HBOMax The DC Universe - highs and lowsMarvel Cinematic Universe versus the DC Cinematic Universe: an impossible but inevitable comparisonThe messy rights ownership of X-Men, Spider-man and Fantastic FourChris Evans’ journey to becoming Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Listen to the story here in THR’s podcast “Awards Chatter”)End of credits scenes from the MCUThe Batman (2021) with Robert Pattison and all the other batmans of our lifetimes (Christian Bale...2020-12-1134 minYou Can't Make This Script UpIf music be the food of biopics - green light!Surprise! Nelly’s gonna play Chuck Berry... only in Hollywood! Things we talked about include: Breaking on camera and Caitlin’s bad auditionEllen Chenoweth, casting director (True Grit, A Bronx Tale, Meet the Parents, Doubt - the list goes on!) The Buddy Holly biopic “Clear Lake” with Colin Hanks, Ruairi O'Connor and NellyThat Thing You Do! (1996)Our endless ongoing discussion of Almost Famous (2000). What a biopic? Franklin Leonard and The Black ListElizabeth Shapiro, actress, writer, singer - multi hyphenate AF! Impact Creative Systems, Imagine Entertainment’s incubator program Walk the Line (2005) and Rocketman (2019)Actors who sing in music biopics...2020-12-081h 10You Can't Make This Script UpWhat's in the box?!Hey, what gives?! Why do creatives get boxed into corners of the industry? Things we talked about include:Deadpool 3 writers are Bob Burger’s Writer/Producers - Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin aka The Molyneux Sisters. Fox animated series - The Great North (coming 2021) and Bless the HeartsJillian Bell, actress (Workaholics, Godmothered!, 22 Jump Street)Scriptnotes, John August and writing GO (1999) on specWhy aren’t comedies recognized at awards shows?Jim Carrey’s performance as “The Grinch”Why is it so hard to be known for multiple genres as creators?How we connect the lines from our “brand” to our b...2020-12-041h 04You Can't Make This Script UpA Pirate's Life For MeYo, ho, yo, ho - let’s talk about sequels, reboots and spinoffs! Things we talked about include:STARZ's historical women anthology seriesThe definition of “novel” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”, composed by Klaus BadeltThe original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy “The Pirate King”, Gilbert and Sullivan and British operettaHunter Harris - Instagram, Twitter and the Vulture articleSuper Yaki, the clothing brand that we always talk aboutThe tweet about The Mummy 2 and masksMargot Robbie and Christina Hodson’s Pirates spin-offCraig Mazin's Pirates rebootThe Shining tweet that makes fun of the Disney movie scheduleBob I...2020-12-0143 minYou Can't Make This Script UpIt Takes TwoOnce upon a time… Our Origin Story!Things we talked about in the episode include:Cedartown, Georgia (Brittany’s hometown)Pacific Palisades, California (Caitlin’s hometown)The baby born on the Mayflower (Oceanus, NOT Americus - sorry! #correction)The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)YA aka the genre of Young Adult Contact, the dance showMissed Connections on CraigslistRipley Grier is OPEN! (Chelsea Studios however is closed.)The New SchoolThe OC and Gossip Girl - tv seriesLittle Miss Sunshine (2006) and Brittany’s homeworkBlake Snyder’s Save the Cat (aka where to find the “Beat Sheet”)Theme in storytelling...2020-11-271h 15You Can't Make This Script UpMartha, My DearTwitter got into it re: Iron Man 2 versus Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Naturally, we had ~thoughts~! Things we talked about in the episode include:Hot tweets on the topic at handA Tale of Two Marthas - The clip and the Zack Snyder BTS intelAll the DC features are available on HBOMax - go watch em! Kevin Feige, president and CCO of MarvelCorrection: Caitlin called phase 1-4 of the MCU just phase 1... obviously that's wrong. Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Black Widow (2020), and Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (2020).Caitlin on the Marvel Cinematic Universe WikiChris Evans, his...2020-11-2437 minYou Can't Make This Script UpThis Is UsPlucked from obscurity! An overnight success! But… not really!Things we talked about in this episode include:Day jobs and being support staff in Hollywood (Here’s a pretty good idea of what a typical day as an assistant looks like.)Life after AMDA - actors in the wild. Classes, auditions, commercials!Being a casting assistant and a development/production internRonnie Yeskel, casting director (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs) Teri Weinberg, producer (The Office, The Tudors, Ugly Betty)Doing background acting for film, tv and commercialsReading scripts and writing coverageThe Social Network (2010) and screenwriting icon, Aaron...2020-11-181h 08You Can't Make This Script UpIs this thing on?The Scorpion King reboot, monster movies and the Tom Cruise coconut cake!Things we talked about in the episode include:Dwayne Johnson reboots The Scorpion King with UniversalStephen Sommers’ The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001)Jonathan Herman, screenwriter (Straight Outta Compton, F9, Scarface reboot)Tom Cruise’s The Mummy (2017)Universal Movie MonstersEarwolf’s How Did This Get Made “Van Helsing” Episode Dwayne Johnson’s Tequila - TeremanaDwayne Johnson’s stylist, Ilaria Urbinati (@ilariaurbinati on IG)Mallory O’Meara’s “The Lady From the Black Lagoon” The Ringer’s Binge Mode: Marvel “The Incredible Hulk” Episode Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water...2020-11-1734 minYou Can't Make This Script UpTeaserWe're Caitlin Gallo and Brittany Harris. We’d like to introduce our new podcast - You Can’t Make This Script Up. We’re two best friends, born worlds apart - brought together by a need for applause and strong coffee. We live in LA and have been working in various facets of the entertainment industry for the last ten years. We’ve been actors, interns, assistants, development execs, talent reps - the list goes on. But in 2018 we finally decided to go where... many, many have gone before - and turn our writing hobby into a writing c...2020-11-1702 min