STATE OF THE STORY – NEW YORK 2025
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
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.
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.