Screenplays & Screenwriting

Writer Cari Beauchamp is the author of the new book, "Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood" (Scribner). She was the highest paid writer, male or female, for three decades, and was also the first woman to win an Academy Award twice for screenwriting. Her stories were directed by George Cukor, John ford, and King Vidor. She was married four times (she has said, "I spent my life searching for a man to look up to without lying down.") But her friendships with women in Hollywood were legendary.

Screenwriters Mike Werb and Michael Colleary first collaboration is the script for "Face/Off" which they wrote in 1990. The two attended UCLA film school together. Werb wrote the screenplay for "The Mask" and Colleary's first writing jobs were for Roger Corman and Cannon Films. Since they wrote "Face/Off" they've worked for every major studio and their TV credits include "Darkman3 - Die, Darkman Die!" for MCA and "Bump in the Night" for NBC.

Smith's work has won acclaim in the independent film community, including awards at the Cannes and the Sundance film festivals. His new film "Chasing Amy" is the third installment of his New Jersey Trilogy, a series set in central New Jersey, where Smith grew up and still lives. "Chasing Amy," like Smith's other films, deals with the complexities of human relationships during the confusing time before adulthood with an off-beat sense of humor.

The novelist and screenwriter's is new book "The Dogs of Winter" is the story of a photographer who hopes to jumpstart his career by capturing pictures of surfers on California's most dangerous waters.

Screenwriter John Gregory Dunne. He and his wife, writer Joan Didion, have been working in film for 25 years. Their latest project was the screenplay for "Up Close and Personal" the movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford, based very losely on the Jessica Savitch story. In Dunne's new book "Monster: Living off the Big Screen" (Random House) he chronicles their eight year odyssey with the project.

Henry was also screenwriter for the popular film "Get Smart" with Mel Brooks, "Catch-22," "What's Up Doc," and other films. He also co-wrote the script for the 1967 film "The Graduate" and played the role of the hotel clerk. It is now 30 years later and an anniversary presentation of the film is being held at the New York Film Forum February 14th to the 27th. (This interview was held before an audience at the Film Forum, Feb 13th).

Actor Vondie Curtis Hall was raised in Detroit. He plays a doctor on the TV series "Chicago Hope" and has had roles in the movies "Broken Arrow," "Passion Fish," and "Romeo and Juliet." His latest project is the writing and directing of the new film "Gridlock'd," a comedy about the troubles two men encounter when they make a pact to overcome their heroin addictions, starring Tim Roth and Tupak Shakur.

Brooks' latest film is a comedy called "Mother," starring Debbie Reynolds. He joins Fresh Air to talk about humor, writing movies, acting, and his relationship with his own mother.

Two guests discuss their work in Hollywood.

Tucci has appeared in the films "Kiss of Death" and "The Pelican Brief." On television he was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of the slimy billionaire on "Murder One." His latest project is the film "Big Night," a homage to Italian food and family, which he co-wrote, co-directed, and co-stars in.

Director and writer of the film version of Jane Austen's "Emma," Douglas McGrath. Already known as a playwright, screenwriter and columnist, this is his debut as a director. "Emma" is generally regarded as Austen's most accomplished and wittiest novel--a matchmaker doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons. McGrath is author of the New Republic column, "Flapjack File."

Puzo's new novel is "The Last Don." He is best known for "The Godfather." This new book returns him to that genre: the inner workings of the Mafia. The main character is an old man trying to secure his family's future in an era of legalized gambling, motion picture investments and the threat of government informers. His goal is threatened by familial in-fighting. The two-time Academy Award winner has also written several screenplays, including are all three Godfathers and Superman I and II.

Independent film director, writer and editor Mark Rappaport. His newest film is "From the Journals of Jean Seberg," about the actress Jean Seberg. The movie is a "fictitious autobiography" and places Seberg's life and work in a political context of the 1960s. Seberg's life ended in a tragic suicide. She grew up in Iowa, was best known for her role in Jean Luc Godard's "Breathless," and Otto Preminger's "Saint Joan." In the 60s she got involved with the Black Panthers.

Terry talks with Stephen Schiff about his work as a screenwriter.

Larry McMurtry is considered one of Texas most prominent fiction writers even though he has not lived in that state for nearly two decades. Over his career, he has written 19 novels...including the 1986 Pulitzer Prize winning book Lonesome Dove.. His newest Dead Man’s Walk (Simon & Schuster 1995) takes readers to the early days of his Lonesome Dove heroes Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call. Other books by McMurtry include: Streets of Laredo (sequel to Lonesome Dove), Terms of Endearment and The Last Picture Show.

Haynes made his directing debut in 1988 with "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story." His first feature film "Poison" won the Grand Jury Prize Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991. The film was partly funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and created a controversy because of its adult themes. His latest project,"Safe," is a modern horror film about environmental pollution.

Writer, director and co-star of the new horror flick "Tales From The Hood," Rusty Cundieff. He has been featured in such diverse projects as Spike Lee's "School Daze," and the daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives." He broke into filmmaking when he teamed up with friend Darin Scott to write and direct "Fear of a Black Cat."

Auster has been called "America's most spectacularly inventive writers." He recently "broadened his creative reach" with his work on two films, "Smoke" and "Blue in the Face,"in a double collaboration with director Wayne Wang , who also directed "The Joy Luck Club.” Auster's novels include "Moon Palace," "The Music of Chance," "Leviathan," and "Mr. Vertigo."

Price's books include The Wanderers, Bloodbrothers, and Clockers, which was a National Book Critic Circle Award nominee. He was also nominated for an Academy Award in 1986 for his screenplay of "The Color of Money." His newest credit is "Kiss of Death," which stars David Caruso, Samuel Jackson and Nicholas Cage.

Egoyan's newest movie won the International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival at the 1994 awards. Exotica is considered his breakthrough movie. Andrew Sarris of the New York Observer says when the movie ended, "I sat stunned in the theater...Exotica [was] high on my ten best list."