Jose Rivera's pivotal screenplay for The Motorcycle Diaries was one of the most celebrated works of 2005. It earned him Writers Guild, BAFTA, and Academy Award nominations, and was his first major screenplay. His foray into movies came after establishing himself as an award-winning playwright and a hugely accomplished writer for television, where his credits include co-creating and producing the critically acclaimed television series Eerie, Indiana. In this interview, Rivera discusses how his theatre training helped pave the way to screenwriting and why he compares the writing process to building cabinets. The Puerto Rican-born writer also talks about his latest project, the adaptation of Jack Kerouac's literary classic On the Road, which re-pairs him with Diaries director Walter Salles. 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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