Episode Details

A moment of snorkeling panic deep in a Tulum cenote became a joke between friends before it became the inspiration for a shark movie that made the 2019 Black List.

Screenwriters Aja Gabel and MJ Wesner and writer/director Jeff Wadlow sit down with Brian and Bailey to discuss The Devil’s Mouth (Amazon Prime Video), its seven-year journey getting to the screen, and what it takes to build a lasting career in show business.

How do you write a shark movie with a predator already right there within the friend group? What sort of things might a director change when tackling a project they didn’t write? What’s the difference between selling a script and having a career? How do you pitch a project you haven’t written yet?

And how do your particular writing talents make you unique but not special?

Jeff, Aja and MJ have plenty to say about what changed, what stayed the same, and how they made it all fit together as The Devil’s Mouth moved along from idea to screenplay to production to the screen.

Produced by Brian Landwehr and Bailey Patterson.