Greta Heinemann

This week, host Gray Jones interviews Greta Heinemann, a TV/film writer who grew up on the Bavarian/Austrian border, and overcame language and immigration barriers to break in to Hollywood. Greta Heinemann Biography: Greta Heinemann grew up at the Bavarian-Austrian border and raised herself watching an abundance of German-dubbed US TV shows by day, and action movies by night. Greta has since learned how to speak English and fought hard to immigrate to the US to pursue her dreams of becoming a screenwriter. She currently serves as Supervising Producer on NBC’s "Good Girls," has a show in development at HBO-Max and is in development on a feature film with David Leitch's 87North and Amblin Partners. Greta also developed the Writer's Wright – The Writer's Wright is an all-in-one productivity coach, career planner, journal, and notebook specifically developed to help aspiring and working writers structure their careers and lives just as thoroughly as their stories. Find more hours in the day. Make goals and deadlines less intimidating. Inspire. Stay sane, and always drive your story forward.  Find out more at writerswrightjournal.com. INDEX TO THE EPISODE: 1:40 - Interview start, with her beginnings near the Bavarian/Austrian border, living alone from the age of 11, and learning English by watching TV.6:48 - How she immigrated to the US… sent 200 applications for internships, and only one was answered. Eventually found an LGBTQ-friendly production company, but had to go back and forth to Germany for 2 years before she got sponsored on a special skills work visa.14:39 - Got green card — was finally able to apply for writing fellowships, and also became an intern writing coverage.17:53 - Got into Humanitas New Voices fellowship, and then the CBS Writers Mentoring Program in the same year, and describes the differences between the programs (plus how the TV Writer Podcast helped her get in!).29:04 - Discusses representation, and why she changed a few times.32:06 - Staffing on “NCIS: New Orleans” from her first showrunner meeting (and what led up to that), and how she learned the ropes.46:18 - How after 4 years she left to develop shows.49:11 - Staffing on NBC’s “Good Girls.”52:13 - Sponsor break. Visit drivingfootage.com for 4K 9-angle driving plates, or avgearguy.com for laptop rentals, and scanning/importing of photos, tapes, documents and more.53:12 - More about writing NBC’s “Good Girls.”56:42 - Her current feature film project and pilot for HBO.1:02:32 - Where she sees herself in 5-10 years, and her least and most favorite parts about TV writing.1:08:45 - Advice to greener writers.1:15:27 - What does she know now that she wishes she had known when she started out. Follow Greta on Twitter: @GretaHeinemann You can help with the ongoing costs of bringing these weekly podcasts to you by becoming a patron of the podcast – for as little as 25¢ per episode! There are many reward levels. CLICK HERE to find out more. Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews. Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,200 TV writers. Find previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com.

UCLA Extension Writers’ Program alumna Greta Heinemann was a CBS Writers Mentoring Program Fellow as well as a Humanitas New Voices Awards winner. She won the 2018 Final Draft Big Break Grand Prize award.

2017 Big Break Feature Grand Prize winner Greta Heinemann discusses everything from moving to LA from Germany at age 14 to pursue her writing career, working in television, pitching her features and her latest endeavor the Writers Wright journal. The Writers Wright Journal is a productivity notebook designed for writers by writers. Including a dedicated notes section, career planner, and calendar, the Writers Wright journal is there to keep writers on track with their personal and professional goals. Get the Writers Wright Journal here. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On podcast on iTunes! 

Greta Heinemann is the Big Break feature winner for her thriller, Anatomy of a Breakdown.  In this special edition of our podcast, Greta is interviewed by screenwriting career coach Lee Jessup. The two discuss Greta's incredible journey to the United States from Germany, her current role as writer/producer on NCIS: New Orleans, and how her contest win has impacted her career.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes! 

unSCRIPTED #22 with Greta Heinemann NCIS: New Orleans writer and story editor, Greta Heinemann returns to the podcast to chat about how she came to the U.S. from Germany (and almost working for the Knitting Channel), her favorite part about shooting a show in New Orleans, things she learned from her first season on a […]

unSCRIPTED #14 with Greta Heinemann New NCIS: New Orleans staff writer Greta Heinemann talks about what writers are asked in a staffing meeting, the first thing she did after booking a staff writer gig, what she’s learned being part of her first TV writing staff and much more. NOTE:  This episode was recorded live at […]