45 episodes

Part comedy, part tragedy, it’s the life of a writing team trying to make it in Hollywood. We’ve sold movies, we’re in the Writer’s Guild, we’ve pitched TV shows to networks – but we’re still working on our big break. Our show is about writing, Hollywood and our experiences on the way to…we wish we knew what.

samandjimgotohollywood's Podcast Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn

    • Arts
    • 4.5 • 26 Ratings

Part comedy, part tragedy, it’s the life of a writing team trying to make it in Hollywood. We’ve sold movies, we’re in the Writer’s Guild, we’ve pitched TV shows to networks – but we’re still working on our big break. Our show is about writing, Hollywood and our experiences on the way to…we wish we knew what.

    NEW PODCAST: "The Writer's Room with Sam and Jim"

    NEW PODCAST: "The Writer's Room with Sam and Jim"

    Okay, it took 6 years since that last post, but we finally got around to podcasting again.  But we chose a new format: inviting aspiring writers to bring their ideas into a virtual writers' room with us to work on their ideas.  It's funny, surprising, and a way for us to help others go to Hollywood, now that we've made it in ourselves!  Check it out, and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    • 12 min
    Show #44: The New TV World Order

    Show #44: The New TV World Order

    Where the #@$% have we been?! 

    ...Scouting out the new landscapes of business
    in Hollywood, among other things.

    • 35 min
    Show #43: Discrimination

    Show #43: Discrimination

    Ageism?  Sexism?  Racism?

    That's the big listener mail topic this time.  There's more mail, of course, and the inevitable career update (hint:  we're being flown to Seattle!  Woo-hoo!)

     

    • 32 min
    Show #42: Between Scenes

    Show #42: Between Scenes

    That's a good time for things to happen in a screenplay.

    In real life, though, it's a good time to do a podcast.  While we're waiting for, well, anything to happen, we do a quick career check-in and answer MORE listener mail. 

    • 38 min
    Show #41: In The Mix

    Show #41: In The Mix

    That's what they call it when you're up for a staff job...

    ...but they haven't called your name yet.  A little career update and lots of listener Q&A, including our thoughts on videogame writing.

    • 43 min
    Show #40: Three Years Old

    Show #40: Three Years Old

    Three years of podcasting, forty shows in the can...

    and finally, we listen to our audience.  This episode:  listener mail, and some overview on what we've learned so far.

    • 36 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
26 Ratings

26 Ratings

guyfromjerzee ,

Entertaining and insightful

I may be a bit biased, because I'm sort of an aspiring screenwriter myself. I don't think people with no desire towards screenwriting will be as entertained by this podcast. But if you are, you probably will have a ball listening to these guys provide great insight into this much-overshadowed world. Since they've both written sitcoms themselves, they each have a sharp, witty sense of humor and I always find myself cracking up when listening to their podcasts. I'm sure there are people out there who feel that writing a screenplay is easy as 1-2-3. Sam and Jim prove that it's not. There were certain episodes where they mentioned certain elements of screenwriting that made a light bulb shine brightly in my head. For example, one of them said the key to writing a character is "What would you find about this person if you were to meet him/her at a party?" Another "Eureka!" moment was when they said your screenplay should have a certain style to it, rather just writing stage directions like "He walks to end of the room." The style of the screenplay should fit the tone of the film.

Draisydre ,

Great podcast

This is a fantastic podcasts. Sam and Jim are funny and self-deprecating and honest and real. The process they describe is excruciating yet they tell it with levity and heart.

Very entertaining and informative.

SVesely ,

A down-to-Earth exploration of the path to becoming a working screenwriter

Balancing enthusiasm with caution, Sam and Jim walk any aspiring screenwriter through a frank and often disheartening preview of the years between "I'd like to be a writer" and any modicum of actual success. In spite of the often-disheartening subject matter, the podcast is brimming with humor, the occasional triumph, and multiple years worth of fantastic advice, warnings, and, in the end, encouragement to the prospective author.

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