This week I brought on the show, playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor, John Pollono. I wanted to go down the road a little bit about his remarkable journey in the business which expands across theatre and short films. John is one of the founders of the Jabberwocky Theatre Company in 2004 which became the Rogue Machine Theatre in 2008 where he produced his earlier plays. His big break came with his screenplay for the acclaimed biographical drama film, Stronger which premiered at the 2017...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Today on the show we have Oscar® and two-time Emmy® Nominee Simon Kinberg. He has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers, having written and produced projects for some of the most successful franchises in the modern era. His films have earned more than seven billion dollars worldwide. Kinberg graduated from Brown University and received his MFA from Columbia University Film School, where his thesis project was the original script, “Mr and Mrs Smith.” The film was rele...
Jan 19, 2022•35 min
Have you ever really wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes at Hollywood's major production companies and studios? How do new screenplays get read, approved and pass on by the script reader? What are the politics behind the scenes that make it almost impossible for a screenplay to make it through the Hollywood System? Today on the show we have a former development executive, current script coverage reader and professional screenwriter. In order for him to be completely honest, he asked to...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 28 min
So many times we hear those mythical stories of a filmmaker who makes a short film and uploads it to Youtube in hopes of a big-time film producer sees it and comes down from Mount Hollywood and offers him or her a deal to turn that short into a studio feature. Today's guest had that happen to him and then some. On the show is writer/director David F. Sandberg. David's story is the "lottery ticket" moment I speak about so often on the show. His journey in Hollywood is remarkable, inspiring, and s...
Jan 14, 2022•1 hr 12 min
I'm excited to talk to a fellow low-budget independent filmmaker today. Granted, he does low-budget films on a completely different level than I or most people do at this point. But if we are going to talk about low budget filmmaking, it is only fitting to have expert horror film and television producer, Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions. Our chat sort out knowledge gems on Jason’s mentality behind his filmmaking and the budget strategy. Especially the ‘freedom’, he’s expressed in many other i...
Jan 12, 2022•51 min
Get ready to go down the rabbit hole of 80's action cinema. I sat with an iconic 80s & 90s action film director, writer, and producer this week - Sheldon Lettich who brought to our screens some epic actors and fighters like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Sylvester Stallone. He’s the trailblazing director and writer of Lionheart (1990), Bloodsport (1988), Rambo III (1988), and the Cold War drama, Russkies that first introduced us to the phenomenon that is Joaquin Phoenix. An Ex-French Soldier begi...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 53 min
Today on the show we have writer, producer, actor, director and Emmy® winning show runner Danny Strong. Danny started his career as an actor in numerous classic films and TV shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls, then transitioned into screenwriting, exploding onto the scene with his 2007 script Recount which was #1 on the Hollywood Blacklist and became an award winning HBO Film. Since then he has become a prolific film and TV writer, director and producer, garnering numerous ...
Jan 05, 2022•55 min
Now, I was scanning the web the other day, and I came across a book about the making of Quentin Tarantino‘s first feature film. Quite fascinated that someone took the time to dig into the unreleased, My Best Friend’s Birthday, which I’ve spoken about a bit on my podcast and also written a couple of articles about the film. So, as per usual, I invited the author, Andy Rausch to the show to talk a bit more about his book. Before this interview, I did not know that Andy has spent years interviewing...
Dec 31, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Today on the show we have writer, director and producer Lissette Feliciano. She is a Tribeca Film Institute AT&T Untold Stories grant recipient, was named as one of Shoot Magazine's new directors to watch, and has served as an ambassador for The Wraps Power Women Summit. Her production company Look at the Moon Pictures develops original content that shines a hero's lens on underrepresented groups, joining the ranks of creators filling the market gap in storytelling for a new young multicultu...
Dec 29, 2021•50 min
CHRISTMAS BONUS After months of the IFH Tribe asking me, I finally finished the audiobook version of Shooting for the Mob. It was a tough project to finish but I knew I had to get it to you guys. As a gift for being so patient, I am releasing four chapters of the book for FREE for your listening pleasure. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Shooting for the Mob read below. A bipolar gangster, a naive, young film director, and Batman. What could go wrong? Alex Ferrari is a first-time film dir...
Dec 25, 2021•44 min
The Purge franchise is one of the most iconic dystopian action horror series of all time and the man behind it, James DeMonaco is not stopping anytime soon. James is our guest today and even though we talk a great deal about the various Purge films he’s either written or directed, which are all fan favorites, we start off with his most recently released film, This Is The Night, that was digitally released on September 21, 2021, after a prior theater release on Sep 17, 2021. This Is The Night, dr...
Dec 24, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Today on the show we have one-half of the writing team that wrote the record-breaking Marvel film Spider-Man: No Way Home, Erik Sommers. For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero's identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerfu...
Dec 22, 2021•42 min
CHRISTMAS THROWBACK: I'm here to finally put to rest one of the greatest cinematic arguments of all time, is Die Hard a Christmas movie? I thought I'd tackle this epic question with my good friend Stephen Follows. In this Special Christmas Edition of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast Stephen and I use data to finally put this debate to rest. I believe without a shadow of a doubt that Die Hard is the greatest Christmas movie of all time. Stephen is not so sure so we go to the data to find out. Stephe...
Dec 20, 2021•1 hr 46 min
You are in for a treat today. We have returning champion writer/director Sean Baker. Sean Baker is a writer, director, producer and editor who has made seven independent feature films over the course of the past two decades. His most recent film was the award-winning The Florida Project (2017) which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was released by A24 in the U.S. Among the many accolades the film received -- including an Oscar nomination for Willem Dafoe for Best Supporting Actor -- Sea...
Dec 17, 2021•57 min
Today on the show is Rebecca Windsor, the Vice-President of the Warner Bros. Television Workshop, the premier writing and directing program for professionals looking to start and/or further their careers in television. As an extension of her role developing new talent, Rebecca was recruited to help launch Warner Bros. new digital content brand Stage13, overseeing the critically acclaimed short-form digital series Snatchers, which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and is available on V...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 7 min
I can't be more excited about the conversation I'm about to share with you. Today on the show we have filmmaker and indie film legend Albert Hughes. Albert, along with his brother Allen began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made the short film The Drive-By and people began to take notice. After high school Albert began taking classes at LACC Film School: two shorts established the t...
Dec 11, 2021•3 hr 20 min
Today on the show we have screenwriter Brian Nelson. Nelson holds degrees from Yale University and from UCLA. He worked as a drama instructor at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia in the early 1980s, where he taught Gilmore Girls actress Lauren Graham, Little Miss Sunshine screenwriter Michael Arndt, and UCLA screenwriting instructor Brian David Price. Nelson's numerous writing credits include episodes of the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Gene Roddenber...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 26 min
Today on the show we have director and screenwriter J. Mills Goodloe. J. Mills Goodloe grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He began his career at Warner Brothers working for director Richard Donner. Goodloe worked from 1992 to 1995 as Donner's assistant on Lethal Weapon 3 and Maverick, both starring Mel Gibson, then segued into producing where he developed and produced Assassins starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas and Juliann...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Today on the show we have television writer and show runner VJ Boyd. VJ is a producer and writer, best known for his work on the critically acclaimed Justified (2010), the CBS smash hit S.W.A.T. (2017) and creator of Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (2020). Deputy Raylan Givens has his own, Wild West-style methods of upholding justice, putting him at odds with the criminals he hunts and with his bosses in the U.S. Marshals Service. And an incident prompts his reassignment to the Kentuc...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Who are you going to call? Yup that is right, we have on the show today to co-writer of the new installment in the Ghostbusters universe, Gil Kenan. Gil co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife with his friend writer/director Jason Reitman. From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman, comes the next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe. In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbu...
Nov 26, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Today on the show we have legendary independent filmmaker and Oscar® nominated screenwriter John Sayles. John Sayles is one of America's best known independent filmmakers, receiving critical acclaim for films including Eight Men Out (1988), Lone Star (1996) and Men with Guns (1997). He's also written screenplays for mainstream films such as Passion Fish (1992), Limbo (1999), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) and did a draft of Jurassic Park (1993) for Steven Spielberg. John has been named by Amer...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 33 min
As we get older it seems that we lose tough with our inner child. We lose touch with that remarkable creative engine. Filmmakers like Steven Spielberg have figured out a way to not only stay in contact with his inner child but also not lose his sense of wonder. Today's guest will be helping us tap into out own sense of wonder that can help you on your creative path. We have on the show author, entrepreneur and human potential expert Jeffery Davis. Jeff approach's life and work as a quest. Everyt...
Nov 20, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Today on the show we have the showrunning writing duo of Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit. They are responsible for bring iconic character Pikachu to the big screen. The film starred Ryan Reynolds. Ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son, Tim, to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth Detective Pikachu. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is ...
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 23 min
Ever since I saw District 9 and learned of all the mythical stories behind the short film becoming a feature, I have been a massive fan of today’s guest, Neill Blomkamp. Though Neill is here today to talk about his new sci-fi horror fiction film, Demonic, we also chatted up about his other films that have been successful over the years. Released in August 2021, Demonic follows a young woman who unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother ...
Nov 12, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Today on the show we have head of writer success at Coverfly, Thomas Dever. Thomas has been helping screenwriters for years. I wanted to have him on the show to discuss what he's seeing in the film business, from a street level. Thomas works with all the major agencies, top end producers and managers. If anyone knows what Hollywood is looking or he'd be the one. We also discuss how screenwriters can better position themselves in the marketplace, debunk a few myths many screenwriters believe and ...
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 146
In the house, today is the iconic screenwriter and director, of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Shaun of the Deadand Blockbuster hit,Baby Driver, Edgar Wright. Edgar has been on the scene making and writing satirical genre films, while also acting for almost thirty years. He’s here today to talk about his most recent and upcoming film, Last Night In Soho. It is set for release on October 29, 2021, and stars the Queen’s Gambit star, Anya Taylor-Joy. The “Last Night in Soho” title is taken from a son...
Nov 03, 2021•31 min
HALLOWEEN BONUS episode from my other show The Indie Film Hustle Podcast. Today on the show we have returning champion Stephen Follows. In this Halloween themed episode, we dive into Stephen's opus, The Horror Report. The report was created by using data on every horror film ever made, a data-driven dive into everything from development, production, and distribution to recoupment and profitability. Stephen Follows is an established data researcher in the film industry whose work has been feature...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr 53 min
HALLOWEEN BONUS episode from my other show The Indie Film Hustle Podcast. If you have a micro or no budget feature film shooting in one location will make life a lot easier. Now, how do you make that one location look great and not boring through your film? Indie Filmmaker Michael Williams did just that with his new horror film The Atoning. Check out the trailer below. Michael Williams began creating short films in 2004 and since has consistently produced short films and screened them for audien...
Oct 30, 2021•53 min
This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with writer, producer, former studio executive and diversity thought leader Kelly Edwards. Many of us want to be able to pitch our shows to a network or studio but just don't know how the game is played. Kelly not only knows how the game is played she wrote a book on how to do it. Her new book is The Executive Chair: A Writer’s Guide to TV Series Development. To make compelling television, our industry depends on enthusiastic new voices with fresh ide...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Brooks Elms has written more than 25 scripts over the term of his career for companies like Gold Circle Films, Base FX, and Broken Road. We connected through a mutual friend and I couldn’t wait to have him on the Bulletproof Screenwriting podcast. Elms is a member of the Writers Guild Of America and a part-time screenwriting instructor at UCLA Extension where he's shared his filmmaking and plot structuring skills with his students since 2016 through two classes he currently teaches; Story Analys...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 20 min
