STORIES-TALK

LegalDispatch 136

Jul 11, 2025

5 AM STORYTALK

For a few years now, my friend Cole Haddon (Dracula) has been publishing an excellent Substack newsletter of his own about writing and art called 5AM StoryTalk. (I commend it to your attention by clicking here.)

Now, being more talented and ambitious than I, Cole has expanded his growing empire to podcasting, with a show that’s currently on Spotify. You can check it out here.

But what’s the podcast about In Cole’s words:

Every week, I’ll be joined by some of the biggest artists and intellectuals in the world to try to make sense of the 21^st century, explore what it’s like to create in such a chaotic time, and discuss a single seminal piece of art from their lives.

But what’s important to understand is that this isn’t just a screenwriting podcast. It’s an arts & culture podcast, on which I’m joined by filmmakers, scientists, activists, philosophers, and much more. For example, in the first ten episodes, I was joined by the head of NASA’s Ocean Worlds Lab that’s taking us to Europa and one of America’s leading epidemiologists to discuss pandemic preparedness.

Pretty cool, right?

Here’s a list of Cole’s recent and upcoming guests:

RECENT AND UPCOMING GUESTS

John August (BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, Big Fish; host, Scriptnotes)
Joe Barton (BAFTA-nominated screenwriter creator, “Black Doves”)
Colin and Cameron Cairnes (writer-directors, Late Night with the Devil)
Amber Case (cyborg anthropologist)
Dr. Surekha Davies (philosopher and author, Humans: A Monstrous History)
Blak Douglas (Archibald Prize-winning fine artist)
Dana Fox (Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Wicked Parts I & II)
Kelly Fremon Craig (writer-director, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret)
Scott Derrickson (writer-director, Doctor Strange)
Daniel Goldhaber (writer-director, How to Blow Up a Pipeline)
Dr. Kevin Peter Hand (planetary scientist; director, NASA’s Ocean Worlds Lab)
Liz Hannah (Golden Globe-nominated screenwriter, The Post)
Hart Hanson (creator, “Bones”)
Karen Horne (former SVP of DEI, Warner Bros. Discovery)
Sophie Hyde (director, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande)
Mike Jackson (producer/partner, Get Lifted)
Thomas Jane (actor & filmmaker, “The Expanse”)
Derek Kolstad (screenwriter/creator, John Wick universe)
Erica Lee (partner, Thunder Road Films)
Meg LeFauve (Oscar-nominated screenwriter, both Inside Out films)
Greg McLean (director, Wolf Creek)
Lizzie O'Shea (human rights lawyer, digital rights expert, and activist)
Blye Pagon Faust (Oscar-winning producer, Spotlight)
Cinco Paul (co-creator/showrunner, “Schmigadoon!”)
Radio Silence (directors, Ready or Not)
Dr. Bennett Ramberg (expert on nuclear weapons proliferation, terrorism, and international politics)
Mike Richardson (founder/CEO, Dark Horse Comics)
Dr. Anne W. Rimoin (epidemiologist; director, UCLA Center for Global and Immigrant Health)
Justin Simien (Independent Spirit Award-winning writer-director, Dear White People)
Emily St. James (critic, screenwriter, and author, Woodworking)
Veronica Sullivan (director, 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival)

Again, you can check out the podcast on Spotify.

WORK UPDATE

Been a while since I posted one of these. Last month was particularly productive. Among other things, I:

Delivered the manuscript of my next novel to my agent.
Wrote the first draft of the Pilot for PROJECT VISTA.
Finished my long-gestating Billy Joel biopic screenplay.
Did additional revisions on PROJECT MARBLE.
Delivered Story Areas for PROJECT FEDERAL (live action TV) and PROJECT CALM (an animated project that I’m doing with my wife).

And some other stuff…

FEEDBACK

Clonegeek asks:

I've been noticing that Marvel has had a lot of titles ending at issue 10 lately and since the furthest issue of Jedi Knights that has been confirmed for the moment is #10, I just want to ask if there will be an 11th issue for the series.

Yeah, Marvel’s current policy for “ongoing series” is to commission 10 issues and analyze the sales numbers before deciding whether to commission more. Generally speaking — but not nearly always — they wait until around Issue 5 before making that decision. Jedi Knights #5 just came out, so we’re still waiting on word.

That being said, whenever Marvel makes its decision, either way I won’t be breaking that news in this newsletter. I feel like that falls under the province of Marvel’s publicity department.

But speaking of Jedi Knights, I did the lettering draft of Issue 8 yesterday. The entire issue is told from the literal P.O.V. of a four year-old youngling. It just might be the single comic issue I’m most proud of. Here’s a taste courtesy of artist Madibek Musabekov:

Craig Byrne wrote:

Ahh! I was going to ask if Kaare Andrews was going to do any of his iconic “retro trade dress” covers for Spider-Man & Wolverine and here it is! Really enjoyed the first two issues so far.

Thank you! I’ve been having the time of my life with this book and Kaare just continues to CRUSH it. I soft-pitched the idea for the series’ second arc to editor Mark Basso yesterday and — assuming it goes forward — am truly excited about the way we’re going to blow people’s minds with it.

Som Sharma asks:

Hey, I went to BC Place Stadium before and I didn't see the inside set of S.T.A.R Labs except that place where people sit to watch games.
I know it seems weird asking you since you aren't a developer on the show and focused more on Arrow and Legends.

Oh, I’m more than happy to answer. Yes, a CG-altered version of BC Place Stadium served as the basis for the exterior of S.T.A.R. Labs. But the interiors were actually constructed on sound stages.

I hope that helps!

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