112 - Elaine Loh (Gossip Girl, Dynasty)

This week, host Gray Jones interviews Elaine Loh, TV writer on the new "Gossip Girl" and "Dynasty," and also award-winning film writer/director and actor.

Elaine Loh Biography

Elaine recently wrote on the new "Gossip Girl" reboot for HBO Max and is now writing on "Dynasty" for The CW. She is humbled to be a fellow in the HBO Writers Program, as well as to have been named on the coveted Young & Hungry List and as one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch by the International Screenwriters Association. She has had scripts place in the world-renowned PAGE Awards (Silver Prize), Austin Film Festival (3 times), Final Draft Big Break (Top Ten), Tracking Board Launch Pad (Top 50), the ISA (Grand Prize), and the second round of the Sundance Episodic Lab (twice).

Elaine is also a director and her short form series "DOXXED" won Best Short Comedy at Catalyst (formerly itvfest), Best Achievement at Raindance, and a Telly Award (find out more at www.doxxed-series.com). She won the Grand Prize and Audience Vote at the NewFilmmakers LA On Location Project ($60k in cash and prizes) and scored an honorable mention in the Justin Lin/NBCUniversal Interpretations short film contest. She has also directed two short films that screened at Academy-qualifying festivals.

On a personal note, Elaine was born in Singapore, grew up in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and then moved to Massachusetts. She studied Psychology and Math at Brown University, does not speak any Chinese, loves Wendy's junior bacon cheeseburgers, and can solve a Rubik's cube in less than two minutes.

INDEX TO THE EPISODE:

1:03 - Interview start; her background, studying psychology and math at Brown, and how she pivoted into acting.
3:30 - When she started writing, and why.
4:04 - Her filmmaking and writing before TV, including placing and being recognized in many competitions. Why she considers competitions so important.
7:39 - How she developed as a writer, going a less traditional route into the industry.
12:45 - Compares Gossip Girl and Dynasty, how they helped prepare her to write a script.

14:14 - Sponsor break - visit drivingfootage.com for 4K 9-angle driving plates for TV & film, and podcast viewers get 10% off photo/video scanning and importing at avgearguy.com. 

15:21 - Getting into and going through the HBO writing fellowship.
18:45 - Getting staffed on Gossip Girl.
20:07 - Being in the writers room for the first time.
22:59 - The pandemic hit, but she was able to land a job on Dynasty. How that show has been different.
25:00 - How her acting experience, and writing directing films has helped her as a TV writer.
27:48 - On developing for TV.
31:45 - Her volunteer work, and what it means to her. 
32:21 - Advice to greener writers, especially when asking someone to read your script.
44:05 - Not giving up.
47:30 - On her award winning web series (www.doxxed-series.com), and how it was great training in telling episodic stories, and in the future, how to run a show.

Elaine runs a political advocacy group that encourages greater civic engagement and raises money for charities. Check it out at www.operationchecksandbalances.org.

Visit Elaine's website at www.ElaineLoh.com and follow her on Twitter: @ThatElaineLoh.

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Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,200 TV writers. Find previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com.