(Highlights) TOM PERROTTA

Tom Perrotta is the bestselling author of nine works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning HBO series. His other books include Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Joe College, The Abstinence Teacher, Nine Inches, and his newest, Mrs. Fletcher. His work has been translated into a multitude of languages. Perrotta grew up in New Jersey and lives outside of Boston.

TOM PERROTTA

Tom Perrotta is the bestselling author of nine works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning HBO series. His other books include Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Joe College, The Abstinence Teacher, Nine Inches, and his newest, Mrs. Fletcher. His work has been translated into a multitude of languages. Perrotta grew up in New Jersey and lives outside of Boston.

(Highlights) MICHAEL MAREN

Michael Maren is a journalist, filmmaker and former aid worker. He’s written scripts for HBO, Sony Pictures, and many independent producers. His film, A Short History of Decay was a funny and moving examination of a writer  Bryan Greenberg visiting his ailing parents, played by Linda Lavin and  Harris Yulin. His forthcoming film is an adaptation of Chris Belden’s novel Shriver. It’s a comedy set at a writers conference and stars Michael Shannon, Kate Hudson, Don Johnson, and Zach Braff.  Maren has taught screenwriting at Wesleyan University, Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Taos Summer Writers’ Workshop, and co-directs the Sirenland Writers Conference. He created the film screening/discussion series Under the Influence: Writers on Film.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

I don't know how you like to define yourself, you're a writer, you're a director. You came up as a foreign war correspondent, as a volunteer. It's quite an interesting trajectory, I think, for anyone who might want to become a director. Could you describe how you fell in love with telling stories?

MICHAEL MAREN

When I was in fifth grade. We used to have a little creative writing class, and people would write stories. And I don't know why I did this, but I remember when I was in the class, they started their student stories with–so I woke up in the morning and I went to the... I just thought, I'm nine years old, I just cut to the chase and talked about being in the air with the go-cart rolling over, and the teacher was blown away. In fifth grade, she said, "You're a really good writer." And I never forgot that.

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So, I'm very, very much a natural journalist in that way. I had a lot of opportunities to get involved in things overseas, whether it was to stay in aid work or to work for, when I got out of graduate school, offers to like join financial institutions and World Bank kind of stuff or investment banking. I have a masters from Columbia, but I took a job for seventeen thousand dollars a year writing for this little magazine about Africa.

And it gave me the opportunity to keep traveling and keep reporting. And I just loved it. I loved it for years and years. And part of my interest in Africa came from watching movies set in Africa as a kid. And I actually tried my hand at writing screenplays during the 1980s a couple of times just by myself and actually trying to option them. I was reporting out of Uganda in the mid-80s when Yoweri Museveni, who's now the president, was still a guerrilla leader fighting against the regime.

And during that time, I was sort of sleeping outside and doing a lot of stuff. I read a copy of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, and I thought, "Wow, this would make a great movie." When I got back to New York, I at one point I called, but I ended up realizing that the rights had been owned for many, many years, and I wasn't about to get the rights to make the screenplay.

My mentor in journalism was it was a guy named Richard Ben Cramer, one of the great journalists of all time. And I met Richard in Africa in the early 1980s. And Richard taught me one thing. He said every five minutes as a journalist, stop and ask yourself, what's the story? What's the story? And the point is, you can walk into any world and kind of get lost in the details. But when you know the story you're trying to tell, you know what the details are and pay attention to them.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Katherine Vasiliev. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. “Winter Time” was composed by Nikolas Anadolis* and performed by the Athenian Trio.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

MICHAEL MAREN

Michael Maren is a journalist, filmmaker and former aid worker. He’s written scripts for HBO, Sony Pictures, and many independent producers. His film, A Short History of Decay was a funny and moving examination of a writer  Bryan Greenberg visiting his ailing parents, played by Linda Lavin and  Harris Yulin. His forthcoming film is an adaptation of Chris Belden’s novel Shriver. It’s a comedy set at a writers conference and stars Michael Shannon, Kate Hudson, Don Johnson, and Zach Braff.  Maren has taught screenwriting at Wesleyan University, Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Taos Summer Writers’ Workshop, and co-directs the Sirenland Writers Conference. He created the film screening/discussion series Under the Influence: Writers on Film.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

I don't know how you like to define yourself, you're a writer, you're a director. You came up as a foreign war correspondent, as a volunteer. It's quite an interesting trajectory, I think, for anyone who might want to become a director. Could you describe how you fell in love with telling stories?

MICHAEL MAREN

When I was in fifth grade. We used to have a little creative writing class, and people would write stories. And I don't know why I did this, but I remember when I was in the class, they started their student stories with–so I woke up in the morning and I went to the... I just thought, I'm nine years old, I just cut to the chase and talked about being in the air with the go-cart rolling over, and the teacher was blown away. In fifth grade, she said, "You're a really good writer." And I never forgot that.

-

So, I'm very, very much a natural journalist in that way. I had a lot of opportunities to get involved in things overseas, whether it was to stay in aid work or to work for, when I got out of graduate school, offers to like join financial institutions and World Bank kind of stuff or investment banking. I have a masters from Columbia, but I took a job for seventeen thousand dollars a year writing for this little magazine about Africa.

And it gave me the opportunity to keep traveling and keep reporting. And I just loved it. I loved it for years and years. And part of my interest in Africa came from watching movies set in Africa as a kid. And I actually tried my hand at writing screenplays during the 1980s a couple of times just by myself and actually trying to option them. I was reporting out of Uganda in the mid-80s when Yoweri Museveni, who's now the president, was still a guerrilla leader fighting against the regime.

And during that time, I was sort of sleeping outside and doing a lot of stuff. I read a copy of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, and I thought, "Wow, this would make a great movie." When I got back to New York, I at one point I called, but I ended up realizing that the rights had been owned for many, many years, and I wasn't about to get the rights to make the screenplay.

My mentor in journalism was it was a guy named Richard Ben Cramer, one of the great journalists of all time. And I met Richard in Africa in the early 1980s. And Richard taught me one thing. He said every five minutes as a journalist, stop and ask yourself, what's the story? What's the story? And the point is, you can walk into any world and kind of get lost in the details. But when you know the story you're trying to tell, you know what the details are and pay attention to them.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Katherine Vasiliev. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. “Winter Time” was composed by Nikolas Anadolis* and performed by the Athenian Trio.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

(Highlights) JACK THORNE

Jack Thorne is an internationally acclaimed playwright and BAFTA award-winning screenwriter. His adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is currently airing on HBO and the BBC, and his new series The Eddy was recently released for Netflix. Thorne’s screenwriting career began on the Channel 4 series Shameless and BBC series Skins. Later this year, his feature adaptation of The Secret Garden will be released and feature films Enola Holmes and Swimmers are on the way. Thorne’s films include The Aeronauts, starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, Wonder, starring Julia Roberts and A Long Way Down starring Toni Collette. As a playwright, Jack’s credits include the Tony and Olivier award-winning West End and Broadway hit Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Photo by Gage Skidmore

TRISH SIE

Trish Sie is a multi-talented director whose work spans the realms of music videos, commercials, and short and feature films. After spending a decade as a professional dancer, championship ballroom competitor and choreographer, she built a successful and championed career in filmmaking. The first music video that she produced, “Here it Goes Again” for the band OK Go,  won her a Grammy award. Her success expands to the world of films, where she has directed the likes of PItch Perfect 3 and Step Up: All In, using her dance and choreography experience to make magic happen on camera. Along with the Grammy, Trish has won a number of awards such as the Youtube award for most creative video, the smithsonian ingenuity award, and multiple accolades for best short film at various film festivals. 

(Highlights) JOSH PAIS

Joshua Pais has appeared in over a hundred movies and TV shows, including recurring roles in Ray Donovan, Mrs. Fletcher, The Good Wife, Maniac, The Sopranos, and Law and Order: SVU. His film work includes Motherless Brooklyn, Joker, Touchy Feely, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Music of the Heart, Assassination of a High School President, and I Saw the Light. The son of holocaust survivor and theoretical physicist Abraham Pais, Josh is the founder of Committed Impulse, a comprehensive acting technique which involves creating from the energetic (atomic) truth in the body.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Emma Ryan. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

JOSH PAIS

Joshua Pais has appeared in over a hundred movies and TV shows, including recurring roles in Ray Donovan, Mrs. Fletcher, The Good Wife, Maniac, The Sopranos, and Law and Order: SVU. His film work includes Motherless Brooklyn, Joker, Touchy Feely, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Music of the Heart, Assassination of a High School President, and I Saw the Light. The son of holocaust survivor and theoretical physicist Abraham Pais, Josh is the founder of Committed Impulse, a comprehensive acting technique which involves creating from the energetic (atomic) truth in the body.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Emma Ryan. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

(Highlights) GREGORY JBARA

Gregory Jbara is a Tony award-winning stage actor with a impressive career spanning over four decades . On Broadway, Gregory has stared in renditions of Chicago, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Billy Elliot, which earned him the 2009 Tony award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Since departing from the stage, Gregory has spent ten seasons alongside Tom Selick in the CBS drama Blue Bloods.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Bret Young. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process & One Planet Podcast (Conversations about Climate Change & Environmental Solutions).

GREGORY JBARA

Gregory Jbara is a Tony award winning stage actor with a impressive career spanning over four decades . On Broadway, Gregory has stared in renditions of Chicago, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Billy Elliot, which earned him the 2009 Tony award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Since departing from the stage, Gregory has spent ten seasons alongside Tom Selick in the CBS drama Blue Bloods.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Bret Young. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process & One Planet Podcast (Conversations about Climate Change & Environmental Solutions).