A Conversation with Writer/Director Marti King Young

The Staffa Corner

In this episode of The Staffa Corner Podcast, I spoke with Marti King Young. Marti is an award-winning writer, producer, and director. She has directed shorts, including Stolen and the upcoming western White Talon City about a female gunslinger who frees abused women. Marti’s screenwriting credits include the shorts Bound and Bagged, Draw, So Far Gone, and more.

With the release of the Wonder Woman sequel the discussion of pay for female versus male directors in this episode of The Staffa Corner seems timely. It’s interesting listening to Marti share her opinion of why you see so many female directors of indy films at film festivals but not so many when it comes to big-budget studio films.

I love hearing stories about things that happen on the set of shows I love. I especially got a kick when listening to her tell the story about Jason Ritter and India de Beaufort’s encounter with an unexpected guest on the set of Kevin (Probably) Saves the World. On a side note, I believe the short lived series should have gotten more love than it did. Ritter gave an amazing performance tailor made to showcase his comedic talents.

As enjoyable as these stories are, they pale in comparison to the passion Marti has when it comes to directing The Adventures of Wonderboy. The pride in her voice as she talks about bringing her autistic son’s creation to life is inspiring to hear. While Hollywood focuses on awards and dollar signs, Wonderboy is at the heart of filmmaking. It’s stories like these that inspire others to pick up a camera or notebook and tell stories.

Having followed Marti for over two years on social media, one of the things I’ve admired is how she props up the people around her and brings out the best of them. She’s always looking to help make other writers better. In such a cutthroat industry it’s refreshing to see people be civil and encourage others to succeed. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for such a talented person.