So look, I think it's finally time for us to admit what we all know has been true all along, which is that it's really dangerous sometimes to be a housekeeper. Howdy? I'm Jeff Goldsmith, and this is the Q&A. My agenda is simple. Each week I plan to bring you in-depth insights into the creative process of storytelling. And folks, we have a fun episode for you today. And no, no, no, it's only dangerous to be a

housekeeper if you're trying to clean my office, which a housekeeper has never tried to do

because my office is such a dangerous zone. But also true, it is dangerous to be a housekeeper,

especially if you're a housekeeper for an actual cult. And that is the plot of today's film,

They Will Kill You. And I'm very pleased to

have our guest, Alex Litvac, the screenwriter of the film with us today for the podcast, and this

is a fun one for me. As you will hear, Alex and I went to school together at SC Film School

a million years ago, and we were in the same 290 filmmaking class. So it was really fun all these years later

to be able to talk about his film in my podcast and have him tell us about his creative process.

There's really a lot of ground to cover. Alex was very forthcoming about his creative process

and what it took to get this film made, so I know you'll dig this episode.

And speaking of things to dig, I hope you also check out Backstory Magazine.

You could read us at Backstory.net or via the iPad app, Backstory.

If you like reading scripts and learning more about films, comic books, TV shows, novels,

and plays, Backstory is the magazine for you. We have a free issue in our app and on our website and it would mean the world for me to have you check it out. But now, without any further ado, let's jump right into our interview with screenwriter Alex Litvak as we chat about his latest film, They Will Kill You, which you could see in theaters right now. It's good to see you, man. How's it going? It's good to see you. I've been looking forward to this interview for quite some time. Me too. Truly made it and is right in Hollywood until I appear on this podcast. Hell yeah, hell yeah. I'm feeling nostalgic. Last night, I was able to see your movie at USC in the Norris Theater, which is now the Norris Sinatra Theater, I believe, changed since we were there. But Alex and I went to film school together, and we're going to talk about that a little later. So this was like an extra treat for me because it's so awesome that I'm talking to somebody from my actual class that has a film, which is very rare. I think you're the first that I've ever talked to from our exact year. It's really awesome for me because of the first time a movie that I wrote, not the first movie I wrote, but the first movie that was shown at Norris, which allowed me to finally exercise my 290 film school fantasy of being up on that stage and going, here, this is my gift to the world.

With the students, and I'll say it right now, one of the things that was really important for me was

there was a class at USC every Thursday night called Cinema 466. And LA Times critic Charles Champlain,

that's how long ago we're talking about. He was the moderator, and I learned a lot

about doing Q&As by watching him. Interviewed just a lot of great people. And then I would go back

and watch previous Cinema 466s in the USC library to keep going. And yeah, he totally influenced

me as a journalist. So it was fun to be in that theater last night with you. But before we start, I'm going to start the same place I start with everybody. Tell us a little biographical information, who you are from whence dost thou hail, and at what age did you know that you wanted to be a storyteller? Well, let's see. I was born and raised in Russia. It's still the days of the Cold War and the Soviet Union and all that stuff.

Very, very different time. Very different to be a writer since first grade. Now, true story,

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