Shaye Ogbonna's guest appearances

Shaye Ogbonna

The Selling Your Screenplay Podcast

The Cinematography Podcast

Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast

VisAbleBlackwoman 

Jordan Peele

Tom Ford

Quentin Tarantino

Bill Hader

Aaron Sorkin

Todd Phillips

Rian Johnson

Norman Lear

Taika Waititi

Ava Duvernay

Bradley Cooper

John Singleton

Jason Bateman

James Mangold

Bryan Fogel

OwlTail

Julian Higgins

God's Country is a modern-day western/thriller starring Thandiwe Newton (Westworld) as Sandra, a Black professor navigating her way through a majority white town in a flyover state.  She owns a large parcel of land, and the film's conflict heats up when Sandra says no to two white male hunters who want to hunt on her land.God's Country premieres in theaters nationwide on Friday, September 16th, and I speak with co-writers Shaye Ogbonna and Julian Higgins about their collaborative process in crafting this film. We also talk about storytelling when dealing with challenging subject matter, shooting during a global pandemic, and, of course, joy.Shaye Ogbonna is "a writer known for  God's Country (2022), The Chi (2018), and Lowlife (2017)."Julian Higgins is "a director and producer, known for God's Country (2022), Thief (2010), and House (2004)." CLICK HERE to see the full video conversation for VisAbleBlackwoman subscribers only.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/messageSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/support

God's Country is a modern-day western/thriller starring Thandiwe Newton (Westworld) as Sandra, a Black professor navigating her way through a majority white town in a flyover state.  She owns a large parcel of land, and the film's conflict heats up when Sandra says no to two white male hunters who want to hunt on her land. God's Country premieres in theaters nationwide on Friday, September 16th, and I speak with co-writers Shaye Ogbonna and Julian Higgins about their collaborative process in crafting this film. We also talk about storytelling when dealing with challenging subject matter, shooting during a global pandemic, and, of course, joy. Shaye Ogbonna is "a writer known for  God's Country (2022), The Chi (2018), and Lowlife (2017)." Julian Higgins is "a director and producer, known for God's Country (2022), Thief (2010), and House (2004)."  CLICK HERE to see the full video conversation for VisAbleBlackwoman subscribers only. --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/message</a> Support this podcast: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeanine-t-abraham/support</a>

Interview with God's Country Co-writers & Director Shaye Ogbonna and Julian Higgins

Andrew Wheeler

God's Country, starring Thandiwe Newton, is about Sandra, a Black woman college professor living alone who is dealing with the recent loss of her mother and the subtle and not-so-subtle racism and sexism in a cold, remote Western town. Two hunters boldly start trespassing on her property, and when she asks them to stop, it begins a tense and escalating clash of uncompromising aggression by both parties.Director Julian Higgins and cinematographer Andrew Wheeler had previously made God's Country as a short in 2014, based on the short story Winter Light by James Lee Burke. When Julian began thinking about turning the story into a feature, he connected with writer and fellow AFI graduate Shaye Ogbonna to reimagine the story with a Black woman rather than a white man as the central character. As co-writers, Shaye and Julian had long conversations about what they valued and cared about in their own lives. They wanted to take a big bite out of contemporary themes of racism and sexism and still tell a contained thriller story. Together, they wrote and reworked the script for months, knowing they wanted to show everything on the screen with little dialog. They wanted the audience to feel the tension escalate as the movie builds to what feels like its inevitable conclusion.Envisioning this inevitability and seeing everything happen rather than telling through dialog meant knowing exactly where to place the camera. Cinematographer Andrew Wheeler was involved right from the beginning, which helped everyone maintain the same vision. Julian listened to Andrew's instincts and suggestions, so the whole process was very collaborative. Andrew also lives in Montana, where the film was shot, so he is intimately familiar with how to photograph those surroundings. He expressed Sandra's extreme aloneness in long shots against the mountains and snow, or gazing out from her house onto the vastness of the landscape. Andrew felt that he was able to put his time and best work on the screen.God's Country premiered at the Sundance 2022 Film Festival and is seeking sales and distribution.Find director Julian Higgins: https://julianh.com/gods-country Instagram: @filmjulianFind writer Shaye Ogbonna https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4252592/ Twitter: @ShizzleObizzleFind cinematographer Andrew Wheeler: http://www.wheelsdp.com/ Instagram: @wheels41215Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/specialgodscountry/Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepodInstagram: @thecinepodTwitter: @ShortEndz

God's Country, starring Thandiwe Newton, is about Sandra, a Black woman college professor living alone who is dealing with the recent loss of her mother and the subtle and not-so-subtle racism and sexism in a cold, remote Western town. Two hunters boldly start trespassing on her property, and when she asks them to stop, it begins a tense and escalating clash of uncompromising aggression by both parties. Director Julian Higgins and cinematographer Andrew Wheeler had previously made God's Country as a short in 2014, based on the short story Winter Light by James Lee Burke. When Julian began thinking about turning the story into a feature, he connected with writer and fellow AFI graduate Shaye Ogbonna to reimagine the story with a Black woman rather than a white man as the central character. As co-writers, Shaye and Julian had long conversations about what they valued and cared about in their own lives. They wanted to take a big bite out of contemporary themes of racism and sexism and still tell a contained thriller story. Together, they wrote and reworked the script for months, knowing they wanted to show everything on the screen with little dialog. They wanted the audience to feel the tension escalate as the movie builds to what feels like its inevitable conclusion. Envisioning this inevitability and seeing everything happen rather than telling through dialog meant knowing exactly where to place the camera. Cinematographer Andrew Wheeler was involved right from the beginning, which helped everyone maintain the same vision. Julian listened to Andrew's instincts and suggestions, so the whole process was very collaborative. Andrew also lives in Montana, where the film was shot, so he is intimately familiar with how to photograph those surroundings. He expressed Sandra's extreme aloneness in long shots against the mountains and snow, or gazing out from her house onto the vastness of the landscape. Andrew felt that he was able to put his time and best work on the screen. God's Country premiered at the Sundance 2022 Film Festival and is seeking sales and distribution. Find director Julian Higgins: <a href="https://julianh.com/gods-country" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://julianh.com/gods-country</a> Instagram: @filmjulian Find writer Shaye Ogbonna <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4252592/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4252592/</a> Twitter: @ShizzleObizzle Find cinematographer Andrew Wheeler: <a href="http://www.wheelsdp.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.wheelsdp.com/</a> Instagram: @wheels41215 Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: <a href="http://camnoir.com/specialgodscountry/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://camnoir.com/specialgodscountry/</a> Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: <a href="http://www.hotrodcameras.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.hotrodcameras.com</a> The Cinematography Podcast website: <a href="http://www.camnoir.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.camnoir.com</a> YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast</a> Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Special Episode: Sundance 2022- God’s Country director Julian Higgins, writer Shaye Ogbonna and cinematographer Andrew Wheeler

As our Sundance Film Festival 2022 coverage we have on the show today writer Shaye Ogbonna.When not in pursuit of retro sneakers, Shaye Ogbonna can be found worshiping at the Temple of Story. His most recent feature project is the contemporary western feature GOD’S COUNTRY — starring the incomparable Thandiwe Newton.Based on a short story by acclaimed author James Lee Burke, God’s Country is a character-driven thriller set in the snowy wilderness of the American West. Thandiwe Newton plays Sandra Guidry, a Black professor living and working in a rural college town. She’s also grieving her recently-deceased mother, for whom she'd served as primary caretaker. On the day of the burial, Sandra discovers a mysterious red truck parked in her driveway.She soon learns it belongs to a pair of local hunters seeking to enter the forest behind her house. Sandra turns them away politely but firmly – her experience tells her these are not the sort of men to welcome freely into her world. But they won’t take no for an answer, and soon Sandra finds herself drawn into an escalating battle of wills that puts her most deeply-held values to the test.In the television/streaming space, Shaye is currently developing JUMPMEN -- a one-hour drama set in the cutthroat world of the sneaker industry – with Showtime. He is also staffed on Showtime’s THE CHI and JJ Abrams’s DUSTER on HBO. His feature writing debut — 2017’s genre-bending LOWLIFE — opened the 2017 Fantasia Film Festival and became a darling of the genre festival circuit, culminating in its acquisition and worldwide distribution through IFC Midnight.Shaye’s creative mission is to center marginalized voices within genre storytelling. Enjoy my conversation with Shaye Ogbonna.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/2881148/advertisement

As our Sundance Film Festival 2022 coverage we have on the show today writer Shaye Ogbonna. When not in pursuit of retro sneakers, Shaye Ogbonna can be found worshiping at the Temple of Story. His most recent feature project is the contemporary western feature GOD’S COUNTRY — starring the incomparable Thandiwe Newton. Based on a short story by acclaimed author James Lee Burke, God’s Country is a character-driven thriller set in the snowy wilderness of the American West. Thandiwe Newton plays Sandra Guidry, a Black professor living and working in a rural college town. She’s also grieving her recently-deceased mother, for whom she'd served as primary caretaker. On the day of the burial, Sandra discovers a mysterious red truck parked in her driveway. She soon learns it belongs to a pair of local hunters seeking to enter the forest behind her house. Sandra turns them away politely but firmly – her experience tells her these are not the sort of men to welcome freely into her world. But they won’t take no for an answer, and soon Sandra finds herself drawn into an escalating battle of wills that puts her most deeply-held values to the test. In the television/streaming space, Shaye is currently developing JUMPMEN -- a one-hour drama set in the cutthroat world of the sneaker industry – with Showtime. He is also staffed on Showtime’s THE CHI and JJ Abrams’s DUSTER on HBO. His feature writing debut — 2017’s genre-bending LOWLIFE — opened the 2017 Fantasia Film Festival and became a darling of the genre festival circuit, culminating in its acquisition and worldwide distribution through IFC Midnight. Shaye’s creative mission is to center marginalized voices within genre storytelling. Enjoy my conversation with Shaye Ogbonna. This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/2881148/advertisement" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.spreaker.com/show/2881148/advertisement</a>

How to Write for and Land a Movie Star for Your Indie Film with Shaye Ogbonna