“On Story is film school in a box, a lifetime’s worth of filmmaking knowledge squeezed into half-hour packages.”
—Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times

Austin Film Festival (AFF) is the first organization focused on the writer’s creative contribution to film. Its annual Film Festival and Conference offers screenings, panels, workshops, and roundtable discussions that help new writers and filmmakers connect with mentors and gain advice and insight from masters, as well as refreshing veterans with new ideas. To extend the festival’s reach, AFF produces On Story, a television series currently airing on PBS-affiliated stations and streaming online that presents footage of high-caliber artists talking candidly and provocatively about the art and craft of screenwriting and filmmaking, often using examples from their own films.

On Story—Screenwriters and Filmmakers on Their Iconic Films presents renowned, award-winning screenwriters and filmmakers discussing their careers and the stories behind the production of their iconic films such as L.A. Confidential, Thelma & Louise, Groundhog Day, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Silence of the Lambs, In the Name of the Father, Apollo 13, and more. In their own lively words transcribed from interviews and panel discussions, Ron Howard, Callie Khouri, Jonathan Demme, Ted Tally, Jenny Lumet, Harold Ramis, and others talk about creating stories that resonate with one’s life experiences or topical social issues, as well as how to create appealing characters and bring them to life. Their insights, production tales, and fresh, practical, and proven advice make this book ideal for film lovers, screenwriting students, and filmmakers and screenwriters seeking inspiration.

BARBARA MORGAN cofounded Austin Film Festival in 1993 and has served as executive director since its inception. A feature filmmaker and producer, she also developed and produces the TV series On Story: Presented by Austin Film Festival.

MAYA PEREZ is a producer/consultant for On Story: Presented by Austin Film Festival and a board member of the Austin Film Festival, for which she has also served as conference director. She has also been a Michener Fellow in Screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin.

• Foreword: Tips by James Franco
• Acknowledgments
• Biographies
• Introduction by Maya Perez
• 1. Creating Classic Characters
  • A Conversation with Shane Black, David Milch, and Sydney Pollack, Moderated by Barry Josephson
• 2. Heroes and Antiheroes
  • A Conversation with Paul Feig, Jenny Lumet, and Aline Brosh McKenna
• 3. ”In the name of my father and of the truth!”
  • Up Close with Terry George
  • Terry George on In the Name of the Father
• 4. ”Can it be done, father? Can a man change the stars?”
  • A Conversation with Brian Helgeland, Moderated by Barbara Morgan
• 5. ”Attica! Attica!”
  • Brian Helgeland Presents Frank Pierson with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2003 Austin Film Festival
  • Robin Swicord on Dog Day Afternoon
  • Up Close with Frank Pierson
• 6. ”Houston, we have a problem.”
  • A Conversation with Ron Howard, Moderated by William Broyles Jr.
  • A Conversation with Ron Howard, Jim Lovell, Sy Liebergot, John Aaron, Jerry Bostick, Michael Corenblith, Al Reinert, and William Broyles Jr., Moderated by Jane Sumner
• 7. ”If nobody loses their head, nobody will lose their head.”
  • Up Close with Callie Khouri
  • Callie Khouri on Thelma & Louise
• 8. ”It's Groundhog Day!”
  • A Conversation with Harold Ramis, Moderated by Judd Apatow
  • Danny Rubin on Groundhog Day
• 9. ”Have the lambs stopped screaming?”
  • A Conversation with Jonathan Demme, Moderated by Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Ron Nyswaner on Philadelphia
  • A Conversation with Ted Tally, Moderated by Álvaro Rodríguez
• 10. ”I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
  • A Conversation with John Milius and Oliver Stone
• 11. ”I am Groot.”
  • A Conversation with Michael Green, Ashley Miller, and Nicole Perlman, Moderated by Álvaro Rodríguez
• 12. ”Which story do you prefer?”
  • Up Close with David Magee
• Afterword: Some Things I've Learned by Bill Wittliff