533: AKELA COOPER - M3GAN / MALIGNANT

533: AKELA COOPER - M3GAN / MALIGNANT

Author: Hilliard Guess October 12, 2025 Duration: 1:35:04

In this episode, Hilliard and co-host writer/prod/author James Moorer sit down with incomparable TV/Film writer/producer AKELA COOPER!


There's almost two hours worth of game dropped and the last 30 mins of this super fun conversation was opened up to a group of writers sitting in the audience so that they could “Ask Us Anything!”

Akela Cooper wrote M3GAN, produced by Universal, Blumhouse and James Wan/Atomic Monster and Akela is a credited writer on THE NUN 2 for New Line/Atomic Monster and wrote the film MALIGNANT, directed by James Wan, for WB/Atomic Monster. In 2021 Akela was named one of Variety’s Top 10 Screenwriters to Watch.


On the TV side, Akela has written on such projects as STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (Paramount+), MAGIC ORDER (Netflix), Steve DeKnight’s JUPITER’S LEGACY (Netflix), Marvel’s LUKE CAGE (Netflix), Ryan Murphy’s AMERICAN HORROR STORY (FX), and THE HUNDRED (CW) among others.


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Step inside a space where the polished veneer of Hollywood gets stripped away, replaced by the raw, unfiltered conversations happening behind the scenes. Screenwriters' Rant Room is guided by Hilliard Guess, a working WGA writer, director, and producer whose own path includes a role as Director of Development and now executive producing an Amazon series. He brings that grounded, insider perspective to every episode. Rather than rehearsed interviews, you’ll hear the kind of frank talk that happens after a long day on set or in a writers’ room. Hilliard sits down with guests or engages with rotating co-hosts, and together they drop what he aptly calls "industry bombs"-those unvarnished truths, frustrating anecdotes, and hard-won insights about writing, producing, and surviving in TV and film. The tone is as hilarious as it is candid, making the complex machinery of entertainment feel human and relatable. This isn't a lecture on structure; it's a living, breathing, and often laughing chronicle of the creative grind. For anyone curious about the real stories behind the screen, this podcast offers a front-row seat to the rants, revelations, and camaraderie that define a life in storytelling.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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