Paul Weitz

Oh, and he's produced or EP'd more than a dozen other films with Chris and had numerous plays produced.

So, who am I talking about here? Well, his name is Paul Weitz, and we're going to get into his secret origin story, what makes Murderbot so great and what's coming in Season 2, and, in his words, his distressingly diverse body of work.

If you're interested in how to build a great career as a filmmaker, have an aversion to pretension, or suffer from the fear of spending your creative life trapped in a box, Well, you've come to the right place today because this episode is custom made for you.

If you enjoy my conversation with Paul, be sure to subscribe to 5AM Story Talk here or at Substack so more conversations like it keep showing up in your life.

But this one is a lot of fun, guys, especially if you're interested in better understanding how to pull off great comedy on screens.

All right, let's do this.

Let me introduce you to playwright, producer, screenwriter and director Paul Weitz.

Paul, it's so great to finally meet you.

But then, this past week, I, like so many of you, watched as multiple AI company employees went rogue, screaming about how AI has a greater than 10% chance of wiping out all human beings in the next 10 years, some suggesting as soon as the next six months, and now I don't know what to think.

I've spent much of the week since this news nauseous, unable to focus on much, which is why you're not listening to my new conversation with Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Paul Weitz right now, as planned.

Every time I tried to finish my edit of the episode, I just couldn't.

I felt I had to talk about this instead.

Maybe it would just be an accident, a side effect of some other plan it puts into action because it never even stops to think about us.

None of this should shock anyone, since science fiction, film, and TV have been warning us about all of this for decades.

Sometimes with eerie precision, this is why I couldn't make myself finish editing that Paul Weitz episode, which I'm really looking forward to sharing with you.

I am.

But okay, without further ado, let's get into it.

With episode one, Free Commerce, directed by Paul Weitz, written by Martha Wells, Paul Weitz, and Chris Weitz.

Described as, on a fresh assignment, Murderbot's newfound free will leads to odd behavior, sparking suspicion from the Preservation Ox team.

So...

If you want to hear more from me this week, or at least read more, head to 5am Story Talk at Substack, where I've been publishing a lot more lately.

As for this podcast, I'll be back soon with more screenwriting tips, and in two or three weeks, still working on the exact schedule there, another great guest, this time director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and TV creator, Paul Weitz, who took time away from the production of the second season of Murderbot to talk to me about storytelling and his incredibly diverse filmography.

Be sure to hit subscribe if you haven't already to make sure 5am Story Talk episodes like this one keep showing up in your life.

That's it for now.