With close to 30 years experience in the business, Nicholas Kazan knows a few things about screenwriting. He has mastered research skills to write scripts based on true events like Frances, At Close Range, Patty Hearst, and Reversal of Fortune, which earned him an Oscar nomination. He has the knowledge of handling life after the nomination and how to manage studio notes and incorporate changes without weakening the script. He has the expertise of directing his own script, Dream Lover, and writing with a partner, including a collaboration with his wife Robin Swicord on the adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic, Matilda. And on top of all that, this seasoned professional offers insight as to why he doesn't do lunches, what it takes to develop screenwriting muscles, and why life is always a comedy.
Your Host: Producer Mike De Luca is responsible for some of the most groundbreaking films of the last 15 years. After enrolling in New York University's film studies program at 17, De Luca dropped out four credits shy of graduation to take an unpaid internship at New Line Cinema. He advanced quickly there under the tutelage of founder Robert Shaye and eventually became president of production. The Mask (1994), Se7en (1995), Boogie Nights (1997), Dark City (1998), Pleasantville (1998), and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) were all released under his supervision. In 2003, De Luca left New Line to become president of production at DreamWorks. After a brief tenure there, he left and signed a deal with Sony Pictures, where he produced Zathura (2005) and Ghost Rider (2006). A writer as well, De Luca wrote the screenplays for Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) and In the Mouth of Madness (1994).
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