TheProcess.Ink

Tom Benedek talks the creative process with writers, showrunners, directors, producers, actors, executives, agents, managers and other cultivators of truth and beauty.

You are here: Home / Archives for Stranger Things

#5 – Joe Swanberg (writer-director-producer) from Chicago

by

Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas) discusses his new 8-episode series Easy for Netflix using the same improvisational style he developed to make his numerous indie features.

We talk about:

  • Writing, directing and producing Easy
  • Casting over Skype
  • Improvising vs. sticking to a script
  • Scheduling in movies vs. TV
  • Shooting in Chicago (as much as possible)
  • A typical day on a Swanberg set
  • Pitching an idea to Netflix
  • Post-production strategies

Quotes from the show:

“There was no rule book for how to do a show like this.”

“The characters are all coming from autobiographical places in terms of my connection to them.”

Read More

#13 – Ben Jacobson (literary TV agent) at United Talent Agency

by

Ben Jacobson (United Talent Agency) discusses representing drama and comedy television writers, directors and producers and the nature of today’s industry

We Talk About:

  • Staffing season and the selling cycle
  • Developing and branding for a network vs. cable
  • Different kinds of working writers today
  • Breaking in with a new voice
  • What a pitch meeting is really like
  • Current trends in comedy and drama
  • Navigating and structuring deals
  • Curating digital content and its future

ben-uta-20162016-07-22-11-39-1211

Quotes from the Show:

“It really comes from an idea, a book or a format or an original idea, and it’s about where can it live in the purest form for that idea instead of trying to jam everything into one box or the other.”

“Young people grow up and they want to create something… those creative juices are now naturally gravitating towards television.”

Read More