Editor’s note: This episode of Behind The Lens with Scott Neustadter was taped before the beginning of the WGA strike on May 2.
Apart from a single season 2011 TV series he and partner Michael H. Weber created and produced called Friends With Benefits, writer-producer Scott Neustadter has only been known for his screenplays for films, many of them adaptations of popular books. But now, with the acclaimed 10-part Prime Video series Daisy Jones & The Six, he has returned to the series format (or in this case, Limited Series) with a rousing adaptation he and Weber crafted for the small screen — on that is a major Emmy contender.
Starring Sam Claflin and Riley Keough as the conflicted members of a fictional Fleetwood Mac-style band circa 1970s, Daisy Jones & The Six is a musical and dramatic tour through their ups and downs, structured around interviews of the individual band members conducted years after their breakup. It has already spawned a hit album, Aurora, and talk of a sequel. In other words, this has been a triumphant return to the TV format for Neustadter, and he joins me for this episode of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens to talk about the challenges of adapting the Taylor Jenkins Reid book on which it is based, the casting of leads not known for singing in any previous role, the way the original songs came about, the inspirations for the series, and so much more.
We also talk about his previous screenwriting work, which began in 2009 with The Pink Panther 2 but traveled more on the indie route later the same year with (500) Days of Summer, and then 2013’s The Spectacular Now. He had a major studio smash in 2014 with The Fault In Our Stars and went back to indies with 2015’s Paper Towns and 2017’s The Disaster Artist, the latter of which won Neustadter and Weber an Oscar nomination for Adapted Screenplay. That year they also had the adaptation of Our Souls at Night for Netflix reuniting Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. In 2022, the well-reviewed Rosaline debuted on Disney+ but unfortunately has since gone missing on the service after a corporate cost-cutting move in May disappeared several titles.
Neustadter remains one of the most in demand and prolific writers working today. To watch our conversation, click on the video above.
Join me every Monday and Friday during Emmy season for another episode of Behind the Lens.
