Skip to main content

Interviews with filmmakers Erik Bork and J.R. Bookwalter

A filmmaker looks at an actress on a monitor

Just a quick post to point you toward two great interviews posted in the last week. (I know, a post. Can you believe it?

The first is with Erik Bork, Emmy-winning screenwriter and producer of From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers. Bork talks about what it takes to make the journey from Dayton, Ohio, to the Emmy stage, and gives valuable insight into the screenwriting craft.

The second is with J.R. Bookwalter, an Akron-native who has moved back to the Midwest after more than a decade in Tinseltown. Bookwalter wrote, produced, directed, edited, acted in, and scored the ultra low-budget cult phenomenon The Dead Next Door. He's still in the biz, helping produce and distribute from his offices in Akron.

More later!

PS: I'm always looking for folks who might like to contribute. If you'd like to write or do some design work, e-mail me at midwestmovies@gmail.com.

Comments

Popular Posts

A chat with Erik Kripke, creator of 'Supernatural' and 'The Boys'

Erik Kripke on the set of 'The Boys' Those that know Eric Kripke from when he was a boy growing up in the Toledo, Ohio, suburb of Sylvania often tell him they didn’t know that he was “secretly disturbed.” And even the filmmaker admits that his happy, idyllic life seems out of place for the guy that created the horror sensation, Supernatural . “I guess the only thing weird may have been how normal everything was,” Kripke says. Kripke’s Supernatural, which ran for 15 seasons on The CW, tells the tale of two monster-hunting brothers – Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles respectively. Think of it as a sort of Route 66 with chainsaws, muscle cars and a boatload of demons. It's a bit of a 180 for a guy who started his career as a comedy writer. Dangerously obsessed Kripke says that since he was 8 or 9 years old, his focus was on becoming a filmmaker. “I never really wanted to do anything else. You could say I was ‘dange...

Everything we know about Hulu’s ‘The Land’ TV pilot

Actor Christopher Meloni hanging with the Cleveland Browns (photo Christopher Meloni) >> Does Hulu’s new streaming series, The Land , focus on the Cleveland Browns? Maybe? Here’s everything we know about Hulu’s The Land  streaming series. What is The Land  TV series about? Nothing official has been announced, but some digging suggests that The Land , aka 17 Sundays , is This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman‘s upcoming Hulu series set in the world of pro football, starring Christopher Meloni and William H. Macy. Meloni was spotted in Cleveland over the summer in Berea, attending a Browns' training camp session, according to News 5 Cleveland . Meloni’s Instagram account confirms it, with snaps of Meloni alongside Miles Garrett and other Browns players. Meloni also visited the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. On August 27, Deadline reported that “'The Land' … got the largest allocation (of California tax credits) … with nearly $43 milli...

Is 'Superman' coming home? Everything we know about 'Superman' sequel 'Man of Tomorrow'

James Gunn's Superman swoops into Ohio this summer >>> Looks like Superman is flying home to Ohio this summer. In early January, nearly $2 million in Ohio Film Tax Credits were awarded to Warner Bros Discovery for a feature film titled Exodus . Exodus is widely believed to be the production code name for Man of Tomorrow , filmmaker James Gunn’s sequel to 2025's  Superman . Hard to refute, too, when the film tax credit application contains the same contact information as Superman . Per the application, James Gunn is listed as director. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan - Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively - are listed as principal casting directors, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer . A little odd, we admit. Chalk it up to a typo? S&K Pictures, Inc., which shares an address with Warner Bros., and Lex Pascual, vice president of production incentives at Warner Bros. Discovery, applied for the tax credit in January. Lex Luthor and Superman team up in 'M...