WGA, MTM & Hollywood Stories with Victoria Riskin

Cynthia Bemis Abrams welcomes Victoria Riskin, a second-generation filmmaker with a rich Hollywood legacy. Victoria's parents—Robert Riskin, a prolific, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and Fay Wray, best known for her role in the original King Kong—were instrumental in shaping the classic years of the motion picture industry.

And Victoria has crafted an impressive career all her own. She is a producer, writer, digital magazine publisher, PhD in psychology, and past president of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). She shares her experiences as WGA president and explains how power has shifted over time to the imbalance that has writers and actors on strike now in 2023.

We also learn how Victoria’s father tried leveraging his success with the studios to improve conditions for writers in the 1930s, but ultimately joined the Screen Writers Guild (SWG) as an early, active member. And, on the lighter side, you won’t want to miss Victoria’s stories from her trip to China with Norman Lear, Mary Tyler Moore, Larry Gelbart, and Carl Reiner.

Victoria knows Hollywood from deep inside. No doubt you’ll enjoy the interesting history and fun stories she shares with us.

RESOURCES

Victoria Riskin's website - https://www.victoriariskin.com/

Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir - https://www.victoriariskin.com/index.php/about

Projections of America - http://projectionsofamerica.com/

The Last Best Year - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Best_Year

Bluedot Living - https://bluedotliving.com/

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