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The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

280 | Noah Baumbach & Emily Mortimer on Creative Partnership, Process, and Permission

The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

Meg LeFauve & Lorien McKenna

Tv & Film

4.91.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Noah Baumbach (MARRIAGE STORY, FRANCES HA) and Emily Mortimer (THE PURSUIT OF LOVE, DOLL & EM) join Lorien to talk about co-writing their new Netflix film JAY KELLY, from long conversations and false starts to discovering the emotional core of the story together. They talk about writing without outlines, why not knowing is part of the job, how acting informs writing, and the surprising gift of having permission to be “whimsical, wrong, and brave” before locking a script into shape. --- Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠- use code HOLIDAY25 for 50% off your first month. Episode Links: "Jay Kelly" on Netflix "The Pursuit of Love" on Prime Video Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL merch shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TSL on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Screenwriting Life is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jonathan Hurwitz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Kate Mishkin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thescreenwritinglife@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hear that? It's your big McDonald's hunger calling, because the Big Arch is back, and this time it's here to stay with juicy beef, cheddar cheese and that Big Arch sauce.

0:09.9

Hungry, you are now.

0:11.7

Order delivery on the McDonald's app.

0:15.0

Serve from 11am, upcharges and fees apply to delivery orders.

0:17.9

Subjects availability, price and participation may vary.

0:22.6

Hey everyone, welcome back to this green writing life.

0:25.3

I'm Lorraine McKenna, and this week we are dropping two episodes back to back because

0:30.0

there are so many amazing filmmakers we want to talk to.

0:33.2

Today, I'm talking with Noah Bomback and Emily Mortimer, who co-wrote the new Netflix film

0:37.7

Jay Kelly with Noah directing and Emily acting.

0:41.0

We're going to talk about their collaboration, their creative process, and what it means

0:44.7

to write from life without being trapped by it.

0:47.2

Noah Bomback is a four-time Academy Award nominated writer and director.

0:51.2

His films include White Noise, Marriage Story, the Mayorowit stories,

0:55.7

new and selected, While We're Young, Mistress America, Frances Haugh, Greenberg, Margot at the

1:01.5

Wedding, The Squid and the Whale, Kicking and Screaming, and the documentary, De Palma. He co-wrote

1:06.8

Barbie with Greta Gerwig, as well as Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Life Aquatic with

1:11.0

Steve Zizu with Wes Anderson. Emily Mortimer is an actor, writer, director, and producer.

1:17.1

She's currently in production on her feature directorial debut, Dennis, for A24, which she wrote

1:22.7

and is producing under her King Bee Productions banner alongside Emma Stone's Fruit Tree.

1:28.3

Emily previously wrote, directed, and starred in the limited series The Pursuit of Love for Prime Video and BBC One, and co-created and co-starred in HBO's critically acclaimed series Doll and M with Dolly Wells.

1:40.6

As an actor, her work includes lovely and amazing, Lars and The Real Girl, The Newsroom, Hugo, Mary Poppins returns, and Notting Hill.

...

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