All Panels
State of the Story crossed the Atlantic for the first time, landing at BFI Southbank — one of the world’s great cinema institutions — for a full day on the craft and profession of storytelling. Twenty storytellers across panels and keynote conversations took on what gets a script read, what gets it made, and what separates a good story from one that changes everything. The day was anchored by a keynote conversation with Emmy and BAFTA-winning, Oscar-nominated director Sir Stephen Frears, and included Emmy-winner Richard Gadd on the making of Baby Reindeer. Writers, showrunners, agents, script editors, and development execs from across the UK industry filled the room for a first edition that felt like anything but.
Gurinder Chadha – Writer, Bend it Like Beckham
Jason Solomons – Film Critic, Producer
Christina Pickworth – Agent, Imagine Talent
Queenie Miller – Producer, Hat Trick Productions, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee
James Watkins – Director, Black Mirror, Speak No Evil
Zoe Ross – Literary Agent, United Agents
Arran Shargall – Script Editor, Producer
Andin Ngwa – Development Exec, Firebird Pictures
PANEL 1 – The First Read
Speakers: Christina Pickworth, Zoe Ross, Queenie Miller, Andin Ngwa, Megan Halpern (Moderator).
The day opened with the people who read first. Agents, producers, and development executives took on the questions every writer wants answered honestly: what actually gets a script pulled off the pile, what a UK agent looks for that an American one doesn’t, how development really works inside a production company, and what separates the writer who gets signed from the one who gets a polite pass. Frank, specific, and occasionally uncomfortable — exactly what the room came for.
PANEL 2 – Series That Travel
Speakers: Joe Barton, Joy C. Mitchell, Monica Beletsky, Charmaine DeGrate, Neil Marshall, Arran Shargall (Moderator).
A panel of television creators whose work has defined the last several years of prestige and popular TV, from period juggernauts to Emmy-nominated limited series to global streaming hits. The conversation ranged across the shape of a season, what a writers’ room actually does, the difference between writing for a British audience and a worldwide one, and how a specific story becomes a show that crosses borders. What makes a series worth returning to — and what makes it worth making at all.
PANEL 3 – The Long Game
Speakers: Richard Gadd, Gurinder Chadha, Matt Charman, Thea Sharrock, James Watkins, Tony Grisoni, K.J. Yossman (Moderator).
Writers and directors behind some of the most singular film and television work of the past decade sat down to talk about endurance: the years between an idea and a greenlight, the gap between writing a thing and directing it, turning lived experience into something an audience can hold, and building work that outlasts its opening weekend. A candid hour on what the business asks of the people who make it, and what they give up to keep making it.
KEYNOTE — Sir Stephen Frears in Conversation with Jason Solomons
The inaugural London conference closed with a career-spanning conversation between Sir Stephen Frears and film critic and producer Jason Solomons. Five decades of work across film and television — My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity, The Queen, Philomena, A Very English Scandal — and an hour of exactly the kind of unguarded, unhurried talk this series exists to make room for.
Storytelling360 returned to Los Angeles for its third State of the Story conference with its largest and most decorated speaker lineup to date. Three panels and a keynote brought together Oscar winners, Emmy nominees, agents, managers, producers, and development executives for a day that ranged from the business of breaking in to the art of writing something that lasts. The day closed with a keynote conversation between one of Hollywood’s most beloved writer-directors and Backstory’s Jeff Goldsmith.
Speakers: Franklin Leonard, Adam Kolbrenner, David Boxerbaum, Scott Glassgold, Kate Oh, Lee Jessup, Paris Barclay, John Quaintance, Hayden Schlossberg, Alison Flierl, Stephanie McFarlane, Graham Moore, Cord Jefferson, Nia Vardalos, Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan, Diablo Cody, Joe Russo, Kevin Smith, Jeff Goldsmith.
PANEL 1 – The Market, the Material, and the Moment
Franklin Leonard · Adam Kolbrenner · David Boxerbaum · Scott Glassgold · Kate Oh · Moderated by Lee Jessup
The founder of The Black List, two of Hollywood’s most active literary reps, a producer with a track record in short-form storytelling, and a development executive from one of the industry’s most distinctive production companies tackled the big picture: what the market wants, what it actually needs, and where the opportunities are for writers willing to look in unexpected places. One of the most candid industry conversations State of the Story has hosted.
PANEL 2 – Craft, Career, and the Long Game
Paris Barclay · John Quaintance · Hayden Schlossberg · Alison Flierl · Moderated by Stephanie McFarlane
An Emmy-winning director. A showrunner with credits spanning Will & Grace to Reboot. The co-creator of Cobra Kai and the Harold & Kumar franchise. A writer whose work on BoJack Horseman helped define animated drama for a generation. Four storytellers at different stages of long, varied careers talked about what sustains a creative life — and what you have to be willing to let go of along the way.
PANEL 3 – Writing Something That Matters
Graham Moore · Cord Jefferson · Nia Vardalos · Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan · Diablo Cody · Moderated by Joe Russo
Three Oscar winners. The only woman to have solo-written an original film franchise. Two writers redefining what a studio comedy can look like. And the writer of Juno, Jennifer’s Body, and Young Adult. This panel brought together six writers whose work has left a genuine mark on the culture — and who had a lot to say about how it gets made, what it costs, and why it’s worth it.
KEYNOTE — Kevin Smith in Conversation with Jeff Goldsmith
Thirty years after Clerks changed what independent filmmaking could look like, Kevin Smith sat down with Backstory Magazine’s Jeff Goldsmith to talk about the career that followed — the hits, the misses, the fandom, the heart attacks, and the films he still wants to make. Funny, generous, and completely unfiltered.
State of the Story came to New York with one of its most ambitious lineups yet. The DGA Theater hosted a day of conversations that moved between the television landscape, the feature world, and the larger question of what storytelling means in a city — and an industry — in constant flux. The day closed with a keynote that brought down the house.
Speakers: Adam Kolbrenner, Noah Ballard, Kailey Marsh, Lee Jessup, Michelle King, Robert King, David Guggenheim, Candace Bushnell, Warren Leight, Lee Daniels, Tony Kushner, Michael Arndt, Celine Song, Craig Brewer, Spike Lee, Cynthia Lopez.
Adam Kolbrenner – Literary Manager/Producer, Lit Entertainment
Noah Ballard – Verve Agency Literary Agent
Kailey Marsh – Variety’s Future Leaders
Lee Jessup (Moderator)
Robert and Michelle King – Creators, The Good Wife
Warren Leight – Showrunner, Law & Order
David Guggenheim – Creator, Designated Survivor
Craig Brewer (Moderator) – Director, Hustle & Flow / Footloose
Tony Kushner – Playwright/Screenwriter, Lincoln / Munich
Michael Arndt – Oscar Winner, Little Miss Sunshine
Lee Daniels – Director, Precious / The Butler
Celine Song – Oscar Nominee, Past Lives
Cynthia Lopez (Moderator) – CEO, NYWIFT
Spike Lee – Academy Award Lifetime Achievement Honoree
PANEL 1 – Breaking In and Moving Up
Adam Kolbrenner · Noah Ballard · Kailey Marsh · Moderated by Lee Jessup
What does the path actually look like in 2025? A literary manager, a literary agent, and one of Variety’s Future Leaders joined forces to map the current terrain for writers trying to find their footing — and for those trying to take the next step. Practical, honest, and grounded in the reality of how the business works right now.
PANEL 2 – Television at the Top
Robert and Michelle King · David Guggenheim · Candace Bushnell · Warren Leight · Moderated by Lee Jessup
The creators of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, the creator of Designated Survivor, the woman who invented Carrie Bradshaw, and one of television’s most prolific showrunners shared a stage for a conversation about what it means to build worlds on television — and keep them running. From pilot to series finale, from network to streaming, from the writer’s room to the set.
PANEL 3 – Writing for the Screen
Lee Daniels · Tony Kushner · Michael Arndt · Celine Song · Moderated by Craig Brewer
A Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright turned Oscar-nominated screenwriter. The Oscar-winning writer of Little Miss Sunshine and multiple Star Wars films. The writer-director behind one of the most celebrated debut films in recent memory. And a director whose work spans indie film and studio blockbusters. This panel covered the full range of what it means to write for the screen — from the first image to the final cut.
KEYNOTE — Spike Lee in Conversation with Cynthia Lopez
Few filmmakers have had a more singular or more consequential career in American cinema. In a keynote conversation with NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez, Academy Award honoree Spike Lee reflected on five decades of filmmaking, the state of the industry, representation, independence, and what he still has left to say.
Storytelling360 launched its State of the Story conference series in Los Angeles with a full day of conversations that set the tone for everything that followed. Three panels brought together some of the most accomplished writers, agents, managers, and directors working in Hollywood today — capped by a keynote conversation with one of the most decorated screenwriters of his generation. From the mechanics of breaking in to the art of sustaining a career, the day covered the full arc of a life in storytelling.
Speakers: Adam Kolbrenner, David Boxerbaum, David Beaubaire, Lee Jessup, Marta Kauffman, Jon Hurwitz, Dan Goor, Katie Robbins, LaToya Morgan, Stephanie McFarlane, Kristen “Kiwi” Smith, Zak Penn, Edward Ricourt, Jenna Milly, Eric Robinson, Eric Roth, Jeff Goldsmith.
- Adam Kolbrenner – Literary Manager/Producer, Lit Entertainment
Zak Penn – Screenwriter, Avengers / X-Men
PANEL 1 – The Industry Side
Adam Kolbrenner · David Boxerbaum · David Beaubaire · Moderated by Lee Jessup
Before a script becomes a movie, it passes through a lot of hands. This panel brought together a literary manager, a talent agent, and a producer to pull back the curtain on how material moves through the industry — what gets read, what gets passed, and what separates a script that generates heat from one that disappears into the pile. Candid, direct, and full of the kind of insight you usually only get if someone already knows you.
PANEL 2 – The Writers’ Room and Beyond
Marta Kauffman · Jon Hurwitz · Dan Goor · Katie Robbins · LaToya Morgan · Moderated by Stephanie McFarlane
Five working television writers — between them responsible for some of the most beloved and acclaimed series of the past three decades — gathered to talk about the realities of a TV writing career. The conversation ranged from first jobs and first breaks to running a room, navigating the streamer era, and what it actually takes to get a show made and keep it on the air.
PANEL 3 – The Spec, the Sale, and the Screen
Kristen “Kiwi” Smith · Zak Penn · Edward Ricourt · Jenna Milly · Moderated by Eric Robinson
Four feature film writers with credits spanning romantic comedy, comic book blockbusters, thriller, and indie drama came together to talk about the feature landscape from the inside. How specs get sold, how assignments get won, how careers survive the gaps between projects, and what it looks like when a script you’ve lived with for years finally makes it to the screen.
KEYNOTE — Eric Roth in Conversation with Jeff Goldsmith
A career that spans Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Dune doesn’t happen by accident. In a wide-ranging keynote conversation, Eric Roth — one of the most consistently working and recognized screenwriters in Hollywood history — sat down with Backstory Magazine’s Jeff Goldsmith to talk about craft, collaboration, longevity, and what he’s still learning after five decades in the business.