Season 3
Oct. 10, 2024
Take 131 - Writer and Showrunner Michael Rauch, Beautiful People, Royal Pains
We talk to Michael Rauch. He starts with an extraordinary film school firing, then a late-night 'show being un-picked up' call and how he recovered from those early career setbacks. He tells us about his casting frustrations…
Oct. 3, 2024
Take 130 - Writer and Showrunner Mark Goffman, West Wing, Sleepy Hollow, Bull, Irrational
We talk to the fascinating Mark Goffman. He tells us about swapping real Government speech writing at the State Department for writing on the West Wing, some extraordinary career luck and ventriloqism documentaries. Mark tal…
Sept. 26, 2024
Take 129 - John Wirth Part Two!
We weren’t finished with John Wirth, so he comes back for more. This time we talk leadership style, drinking too much soda and the use of the red pen. John talks about being blunt, some more failure stories and even more adv…
Sept. 19, 2024
Take 128 - Showrunner and Writer John Wirth, Dark Winds, Nash Bridges
We speak to the legendary John Wirth. He talks about a Hollywood career so long that he can't even remember all of the shows he has run, the shows he has been fired from and arguing with actors who hadn't won Emmys. He talks…
Sept. 12, 2024
Take 127 - Writer, Showrunner, Memoirist SJ Hodges, The Player, Uneven Ground
We talk to the extraordinary SJ Hodges. She talks about changing her name to a gender neutral one to get read, jumping from staff writer straight to show runner and what she learned from managing a literal car crash on The P…
Sept. 5, 2024
Take 126 - Writer Gary Whitta, The Book of Eli, Rogue One
The podcast is back for the second half of season three and we have a cracker. Gary Whitta, writer of Book of Eli and Rogue One gives an extraordinary interview about his transition from video game editor to writer, working …
Sept. 5, 2024
We're back!
After a long mid-season break, we are back up with the second half of Season Three of Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss. Noah and Dan talk about what they have been up to the last few weeks - Noah's show got cancelled! - an…
May 30, 2024
Take 125 - Writer, Producer, Director Ed Zwick, Shakespeare in Love, Blood Diamond, the Last Samurai
Our first Oscar winner! For the last episode before our mid-season break we have Ed Swick on the show. He talks about his new book - Hits, Flops and Other Illusions. And we talk winning Oscars, writing truthful books about H…
May 23, 2024
Take 124 - Showrunner and Director Jim Mickle, Sweet Tooth
We talk to the fascinating Jim Mickle. He tells us about this start in independent movies, taking a break during the strike and the upcoming final season of Sweet Tooth. He explains how he got in to tv, becoming a showrunner…
May 2, 2024
Take 123 - Showrunner, writer Emily Fox, Hindsight, Watchful Eye, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
We talk to the fascinating Emily Fox who tells us about getting fired, trying to stuff a large chair into a car in the rain while in tears and the importance of connection in a writing room during a pandemic. She tells us ab…
April 25, 2024
Take 122 - Writer, Producer, Showrunner Wendy West, Law and Order SVU, Dexter, FBI: Most Wanted
We talk to Emmy-nominated writer and producer Wendy West. She talks about researching murder, her love of morgues and being the only woman in the room early in her career. Wendy talks about mentoring young female writers, su…
April 18, 2024
Take 121 - Producer, Director, Showrunner Eddie Schmidt, Good One: A Show About Jokes
We talk to Oscar and Emmy award nominee Eddie Schmidt. He talks about being comedy adjacent, his time in an improv troupe and how he moved into the showrunning part of Hollywood. We discuss leadership style, the fun of worki…
April 11, 2024
Take 120 - Comedian Ray Ellin
In a slightly different style of episode we talk to comedian Ray Ellin. We discuss how social media has changed comedy, hear some magnificent failure anecdotes from comedy clubs and bars and talk through the process of creat…
April 4, 2024
Take 119 - Writers and Producers Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy, The Fighter, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
We talk to Oscar-nominated writing partners Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy, They talk about their fight to get the Fighter written, battling both the mob and Hollywood, the joy of an Oscar nomination and the slog of the promot…
March 7, 2024
Take 118 - Writer Tom Vaughan, Winchester, The Haunting of the Queen Mary
We talk to screenwriter Tom Vaughan who opens up about his Hollywood journey. He talks about his early career, the arrogance and refusal to take notes even from Disney and the mistakes he made. He talks candidly about being …
Feb. 29, 2024
Take 117 - Director, Writer, Showrunner Matthew Carnahan, Dirt, House of Lies
We talk to the fascinating Matthew Carnahan. He tells us about his early work with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, why he didn't want to work in TV and how he broke in to that world. He talks passionately about choosing mean…
Feb. 22, 2024
Take 116 - Writer, producer, showrunner Ted Cohen, Friends, Veep, Succession
The One with 4-time Emmy winner Ted Cohen. We speak to Ted about his time on Friends, what’s it like to win an Emmy and how we coped after coming off Friends and spending ten years in the development wilderness. We talk abou…
Feb. 15, 2024
Take 115 - Steven O’Neill, Head of Casting, Universal Content Productions
We talked to Head of Casting at Universal Content Productions, Steven O’Neill. He proudly talks about his work helping people achieve their dreams, how he fell in love with casting and what the pandemic did to change the pro…
Feb. 8, 2024
Take 114 - Writer and Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, Luke Cage, Creed II
We talk to legendary showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker. He talks about his journey from music journalist to writer, what he learned from the tough world of hip-hop and how he used those skills in Hollywood. Cheo talks about the s…
Jan. 25, 2024
Take 113 - Showrunner and Executive Producer Keith Geller, Wipeout, The Floor, Floor is Lava
We speak to Keith Geller who talks us through his unscripted journey. We talk game shows versus docu-follows, shrinking budgets and higher expectations and picking only proven formats. He talks about his journey from Shakesp…
Jan. 18, 2024
Take 112 - Writer Daniel Kunka, 12 Rounds, Lift
We talk to the lovely Daniel Kunka, writer of Netflix number one movie Lift. We talk zombie apocalypses, impregnating wolves and the unlikely demise of a great script. He tells us about his 15 year gap between movies, writin…
Jan. 11, 2024
Take 111 - Producers Marc Benardout, Hugh Broder - He Went That Way
Back from the winter break and we have another 'case study' episode of the podcast. We talk to Marc Benardout and Hugh Broder, producers of He Went That Way, a new movie out tomorrow. They talk about working with Jacob Elord…
Dec. 21, 2023
Take 110 - Ashley Michel Hoban - Marco Polo, Girl from Plainville
We talk to the effervescent Ashley Michel Hoban. She talks about the excitement for her new show coming out today, her journey from assistant to showrunner and what she learned along the way. She tells about self belief, imp…
Nov. 16, 2023
Take 109 - Writer and Showrunner David Slack - Person of Interest, Law and Order, Teen Titans
We speak to the excellent David Slack. We talk about how an independent movie failure led him to Hollywood, the path from animation to live action and getting fired from Law and Order. David tells us about the shows that did…