Jenna Milly

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Jenna Milly is Editor-in-chief of ScreenwritingU Magazine, an inside source for the latest scoop from the screenwriter's POV on upcoming movies. She interviews some of the top writers in Hollywood for such movies as The Revenant, The MartianMission: Impossible and many others. She co-created the TBS microseries Gillian in Georgia. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Georgia and a M.F.A. in Screenwriting from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. She has written for CNN.com, The Los Angeles Times, Script Magazine, TwelvePoint, and a variety of magazines. You can follow her on Twitter: @jennamilly

Posts by Jenna Milly 132 results

THE REVENANT, a harrowing thriller from screenwriter Mark L. Smith

“What they went through was just incredible. I’d watch for hours as Leo was just laying submerged in an icy river,” says screenwriter Mark L. Smith of his time on the set of The Revenant, the film about the true story of 19th century fur trapper Hugh Glass. “It was miserable at times for people, but I do think it served the film ...

THE MARTIAN from screenwriter Drew Goddard

When a producer called up screenwriter Drew Goddard (World War Z, Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods) and told him he should adapt an e-book called The Martian, Goddard told him that sounded like a terrible idea. But it wasn't long before Goddard along with many other fans realized this e-book about an American astronaut stranded on Mars ...

BLEEDING HEART, an emotional thriller from writer/director Diane Bell

“She’s incredibly brave and open. She had no ego and no vanity at all,” says writer/director Diane Bell of working with actress Jessica Biel on her thriller Bleeding Heart. The film is set in the serene world of the Southern California yoga community. Biel plays May, a peaceful yoga instructor who discovers she has a half sister. ...

IRAQI ODYSSEY, a family film about living outside your homeland from writer/director Samir

“What’s the meaning of identity? How do you create your identity?” asks writer/director Samir when talking about the inspiration for his documentary Iraqi Odyssey, the story of how one family came to live outside its home country. After Samir finished his 2002 documentary Forgotten Bagdad: Jews and Arabs – The Iraqi Connection, a ...

THE LETTERS, a biopic on Mother Teresa from writer/director William Riead

Do you need divine intervention to write and direct a film about Mother Teresa? William Riead didn't think so, although that’s not what he kept hearing while making The Letters, the new biopic about the life of a nun who dedicated her life to helping the "poorest of the poor" in the slums of India. Riead came up with the idea after ...

CAN YOU DIG THIS, a documentary about planting gardens in Compton from Delila Vallot

Writer/director Delila Vallot had a mother from Hollywood and a father from south Los Angeles. So, when she visited her father’s neighborhood from time to time, she became fascinated with its residents. After seeing a recent trend in planting gardens in Compton, she decided to make a documentary about it. “When I was a kid I used to ...

THE NIGHT BEFORE, a raunchy Christmas movie from Jonathan Levine

Christmas is about lights, trees, joy and family. Well... not when you’re in a Seth Rogen movie. Or is it? That’s the genius behind the R-rated Christmas movie called The Night Before. Written and directed by Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies, 50/50, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane), the film is about three friends who come together on Christ...

CAROL, from screenwriter Phyllis Nagy

More that 60 years ago novelist Patricia Highsmith wrote a controversial book about a relationship between two women in New York City in the late 1940s. The book’s title was The Price of Salt, and the author used a pseudonym due to the story’s content. Finally, after a long battle by one of the author’s friends, the book has been adapted ...

MAN UP, a romantic comedy from writer Tess Morris

Just when you thought the romantic comedy was dead, along comes this little beauty staring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg. Man Up is the story of two people who meet on a blind date, only one of them isn’t supposed to be on that date. Wait, let’s back up for a minute. Because this is a true story based on something that happened to screenwriter ...

24 HOUR RENTAL from showrunner George Mihalka and writer Al Kratina

“It’s about a video store who makes its money off of porno and powder,” says screenwriter Al Kratina when describing the new series 24 Hour Rental. Described as a mashup of Clerks and The Sopranos, 24 Hour Rental is part of a new crop of online shows who push the boundaries of what you can do when you don’t have to answer to a networ...

WRECKER, a road thriller from writer/director Micheal Bafaro

Wrecker is the story of two women who after getting lost on a road trip, they become the random target of a psychotic truck driver. Writer and director Micheal Bafaro always loved chase movies and had a particular soft spot for one of Steven Spielberg’s first films, Duel, the story of a commuter who is terrorized by a menacing tractor ...

TRUMBO from screenwriter John McNamara

“This was literally non-paid labor for seven or eight years,” screenwriter John McNamara laughs when asked how he came across the idea to write Trumbo, the biopic about Hollywood’s most famous blacklisted screenwriter. “I wrote the screenplay on spec back in 2008. It’s the best David and Goliath story that Hollywood and Washington D.C. ...
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