Our first episode comes from a discussion between legendary writers, directors, and producers, Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick, recorded December 11, 1993.

While the business of screenwriting has changed dramatically over the last 32 years, their advice about structure and character remains evergreen.

With five Emmys, an Oscar, and multiple Humanitas Prizes between them, Marshall and Ed have a storied partnership spanning film and television.

They met as students at American Film Institute (AFI) and have gone on to write, produce, and direct projects such as The Last Samurai, Legends of The Fall, Traffic, Thirtysomething, and My So-Called Life.

This conversation was moderated by Greg Apparcel during the Humanitas Master Writers Workshop series held in the early 90s through the early 2000s. – If you’d like to hear more about Ed Zwick’s time in Hollywood his memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood, was released in 2024 by Gallery Books and is available where books are sold.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode include Shakespeare (King Lear), The Oresteia, Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and Aristotle.

Link to the full Humanitas Industry 101 resource collection is here: https://www.humanitasprize.org/101-resource-page.

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Host/Writer-Producer: Michelle Franke

Featuring: Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick

Audio Editor-Producer: Campbell Moore

Writer-Producer: Daniel Plagens

Mixing/Mastering: Jeff Schoeny at Voxstop

Music: "We Don't Stop" and "Got to Be" by Mooveka

Music Licensing: Artlist.io