#2 Stephen Shields: Screenwriter

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan.

This episode features an interview with Stephen Shields. Stephen is an acclaimed screenwriter. After winning RTÉ's Storyland in 2010 with his webseries 'Zombie Bashers' Stephen went on to write on RTÉ's flagship comedy show 'The Republic of Telly', where he was the longest-serving writer. He was nominated for two Irish Writers' Guild awards for his work on the show. Stephen also wrote for many other Irish comedy shows including the highly rated 'Callan's Kicks', 'Des Bishop's: This Is Ireland' and created and wrote 32 episodes of RTÉ's children's show 'Tim's Tactical Tips'.

Stephen's first produced feature film, 'The Hole In The Ground', which he co-wrote with director Lee Cronin premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2019 to critical acclaim. Stephen's latest film, 'Abigail' is slated for release on April 19th 2024 and marks his first studio feature film.

In our conversation, we discuss how Stephen got started in the industry, the similarities in structure between horror and comedy, collaborating with directors and writing in the studio system versus the independent sector. Stephen also offers unique insight into the craft of screenwriting and shares his own writing process. 

The purpose of this podcast is to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the filmmaking process and to make information about filmmaking accessible to everyone, so whether you're a casual film fan, an aspiring filmmaker, or a seasoned pro, I hope you enjoy today's episode and find some inspiration in Stephen's insights, honesty and observations.

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Follow Stephen on X at @steshields87 and instagram @steoshields

Music by Ken Baker.