About this episode

Aline Brosh McKenna discusses her journey as a screenwriter and the impact of her work, including insights on creativity and personal growth.

Aline Brosh McKenna is the brilliant writer behind some of the most iconic films and TV of our time: The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, Morning Glory and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Now, she’s back with The Devil Wears Prada 2. Before Hollywood, Aline studied literature at Harvard and worked as a freelance magazine writer in New York. She was 38 when everything changed with the release of The Devil Wears Prada - and she’s been creating sharp, funny, deeply relatable stories ever since. In this episode, we talk about writing for Meryl Streep (no biggie) the acting and magazine career that never happened and what life as an award-winning screenwriter *really* looks like. Plus: the motivating advice every single woman needs to hear. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Introduction 03:15 27 Dresses and People Pleasing 04:24 Learning Not to Smallify 07:09 Writing Bold Characters 08:11 Devil Wears Prada Two Return 12:35 ‘Failed’ Acting Dreams 17:31 Working With Great Actors 23:20 Writing Meryl’s Big Speech 25:35 Scrappy Creativity Mindset 26:34 ‘Failed’ Magazine Career 29:00 Screenwriting Doors Open 32:07 Comedy Cred And Awards 35:23 Nine Pilots No Series 41:57 Ask For What You Want 💬 QUOTES TO…

People in this episode

Host: Elizabeth Day

Guest: Aline Brosh McKenna

Topics covered

• screenwriting
• Hollywood
• personal growth
• female empowerment
• writing process
• career changes

Keywords

• screenwriter
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Aline Brosh McKenna
• Meryl Streep
• female empowerment
• writing advice
• career change

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard

Books & works: The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, Morning Glory, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Devil Wears Prada 2

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