Randall Jahnson is an American screenwriter and film producer. He was born on March 7, 1951, in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Jahnson is best known for his work in the film industry, particularly as a screenwriter.Jahnson's notable credits include writing the screenplay for the 1989 film "The Mask," starring Jim Carrey. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1992 film "Dudes" and the 1998 film "The Doors," which is a biographical film about the rock band of the same name. In addition to his ...
Jun 16, 2023•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 308
Alexander Dinelaris is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning screenwriter for "Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)", a co-producer on the three time Academy Award® winning film "The Revenant", and the book writer for the Broadway musical "On Your Feet! The story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan", as well as "The Bodyguard Musical" which began on the West End and now performs worldwide. He is the screenwriter and producer of the upcoming feature film, “Jekyll & Hyde” which he is r...
Jun 14, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 307
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 ...
Jun 09, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 306
Oren Peli, an Israeli-American film producer, director, and screenwriter, is the creative genius behind the horror sensation Paranormal Activity. The movie single-handedly revolutionized the found-footage genre and spawned a successful franchise, all while being produced on a shoestring budget. In this article, we explore Peli's background, the making of Paranormal Activity, and its immense impact on the horror film industry. Oren had always been fascinated by the world of movies. After moving t...
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 305
Scott Myers is a screenwriter and educator known for his work in the film industry. He has written numerous screenplays and is the co-writer of the 2006 film "K-9: P.I." starring James Belushi. Myers is also the founder of the website Go Into The Story, which is a popular resource for aspiring screenwriters.Myers has been involved in the film industry for several decades and has worked as a screenwriter, script consultant, and script doctor. He has taught screenwriting at the University of North...
Jun 02, 2023•58 min•Ep. 304
Today on the show we have writer/director Chloe Okuno.Chloe is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a masters degree from the American Film Institute Conservatory. There she received the Franklin J. Shaffner Fellow Award, and directed the award-winning horror short film SLUT. Her recent work includes writing a remake of “Audrey Rose” for Orion Pictures and writing and directing a segment of the anthology series V/H/S/94. She's the director of this year's Sundance feature film Watcher.Julia joins her h...
May 31, 2023•48 min•Ep. 303
Alvaro Rodriguez has been writing since childhood and, in fact, did his best work when he was 11. Without a movie camera in sight, Rodriguez relied on the written word and a Polaroid Button to storyboard the films in his head. A crash course in entertainment writing and editing at the University of Texas student newspaper and seminars in creative writing supplied more tools for the toolbox. When he riffed on a Spanish guitar figure as the hero's musical theme in cousin Robert Rodriguez's debut f...
May 26, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 302
So you made a short film, now WTF do you do? Today guest is filmmaker Clarissa Jacobson and she is the perfect person to guide you through the rough waters of getting your short film out to the world. Clarissa is the writer, producer and creator of the multi-award-winning comedy/horror short - Lunch Ladies - based on her feature. The film garnered forty-five awards and is distributed all over the world.Her follow up short - A Very Important Film - also got distribution. Her optioned feature scre...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 301
In the male-dominated world of Hollywood, Susannah Grant has emerged as a powerful force, breaking barriers and reshaping the landscape of screenwriting. With her unique storytelling abilities and uncompromising vision, Grant has become a trailblazer, paving the way for women in the film industry. Born on January 4, 1963, in New York City, Grant developed a passion for storytelling at a young age. She attended Amherst College, where she studied English and received her Bachelor of Arts degree. G...
May 19, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 300
Steve Kaplan is a well-known comedy writer, teacher, and consultant. He is the author of the book "The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny," which is a popular resource for aspiring comedy writers. The book delves into the principles and techniques of comedy writing, offering insights and practical advice for creating humorous and engaging content. Steve Kaplan has been teaching comedy writing and performance for many years, and his expertise has made him a sought-after c...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 299
Thunder Levin was born and raised in New York City, graduated from Hunter College High School, and received a BFA in Film from NYU before moving to Los Angeles at age 23. He credits the original Star Trek television series with opening his mind to both the wonders of science fiction and filmmaking as a child, while the original Star Wars solidified his desire to make movies when he grew up. Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood! (2008) starring C. Thomas Howell was Thunder's feature film directo...
May 12, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 298
Today on the show we have two filmmakers that shot a sci-fi feature film with a $600 camera, three lights, no budget, no stars, and a dream. Amazingly they were still able to get worldwide distribution. The film is called COSMOS and the filmmakers are brothers Elliot Weaver & Zander Weaver.COSMOS is a no-budget sci-fi feature film directed and self-produced by brothers Elliot Weaver & Zander Weaver, taking on all key crew roles throughout production, with the exception of writing the sco...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 297
Richard Walter was born on July 11, 1944 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer, known for Group Marriage (1972), The Cinematographer (1969) and The Production Manager (1969). He has been married to Patricia Sandgrund since 1967. In 1988, he released his first instructional book Screenwriting: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing (Plume). This was followed a decade later (2000) by his debut novel Escape from Film School, which tells the sprightly tale of a young m...
May 05, 2023•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 296
Today on the show I have a good friend and fellow podcaster, Giles Alderson. Giles is not only a podcaster but a successful filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. I've been on The Filmmaker's Podcast a couple of times now and I just love talking shop with him. One day we got to talking and he told me the crazy story of his debut film The Dare, which cost over a million dollars. The Dare starred Richard Brake (31, Batman Begins), Alexandra Evans (Redistributors), Bart Edwards (Fantastic Beasts), ...
May 03, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 295
Pilar Alessandra is the director of the screenwriting and TV writing program On the Page®, host of the popular On the Page Podcast and author of the top-selling book “The Coffee Break Screenwriter.”Pilar started her career as Senior Story Analyst at DreamWorks SKG and, in 2001, opened the On the Page Writers’ Studio in Los Angeles. Her students and clients have written for The Walking Dead, Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and Family Guy. They’ve sold features and pitches to Warner Bros, Drea...
Apr 28, 2023•58 min•Ep. 294
Chris Soth developed the “Mini-Movie Method” after years of success as a Hollywood screenwriter. Chris has multiple projects in development at major Hollywood studios. This master story teller is also an expert in pitching and selling - necessary tools for a screenwriter in Hollywood.Chris holds an MFA in screenwriting and a BA in Dramatic Literature. He is the only seminar instructor whose work has been produced by a major Hollywood studio. MILLION-DOLLAR SCREENWRITING presents a method of stor...
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 292
We have all heard stories of difficult and even dangerous film shoots before but today's story tops them all. In today's episode, we welcome filmmaker Jon Gustafsson. This filmmaker was in the belly of the beast as they say. His documentary Wrath of Gods documents one of the most dangerous and difficult films shoots in modern film history. When Canadian director Sturla Gunnarsson and his cast and crew, including Gerard Butler and Stellan Skarsgård, set upon Iceland to film Beowulf & Grendel ...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 291
S.S. Wilson, the screenwriter of such films as Tremors and Short Circuit, has just finished his second novel Fraidy Cats. Wilson also wrote a book on special effects, stop-motion animation, PUPPETS, AND PEOPLE. In 1983 Wilson and Maddock sold their spec script SHORT CIRCUIT. Directed by John Badham , it was their first produced feature. In quick succession, they wrote SHORT CIRCUIT 2, BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED, GHOST DAD; and served as consultants on Steven Spielberg’s animated THE LAND BEFORE TIME...
Apr 14, 2023•37 min•Ep. 290
Craig Brewer (Director/Producer) began his career as a filmmaker in Memphis, Tennessee. While working at Barnes & Noble, he learned camera and editing techniques from books he purchased with his employee discount. In 2000, he made his first feature film, THE POOR & HUNGRY, which won Best Digital Feature at the 2000 Hollywood Film Festival. Brewer’s second film, HUSTLE & FLOW, starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, was produced by Stephanie Allain and the late John Singleton. ...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 289
Jim Uhls is an American screenwriter best known for his work on the iconic film "Fight Club." Born in 1951 in the United States, Uhls began his career in the entertainment industry as a script reader and development executive. He worked his way up the ranks, honing his skills as a writer and developing a reputation for his unique voice and style.Uhls' big break came in the late 1990s when he was approached to adapt Chuck Palahniuk's novel "Fight Club" for the big screen. The project was seen as ...
Apr 07, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 288
This episode might give you a better understanding of How To Sell A Movie To Netflix? In this age of streaming platforms, knowing your distribution route and your audience's comfortable viewing habits as filmmakers is crucial. Today on the show returning champion and film industry data analyst ninja Stephen Follows, breakdowns the build-up process and goal of his newly-launched data analysis platform, VOD Clickstream. The first phase of Stephen's VOD Clickstream is an independent research of Net...
Apr 05, 2023•57 min•Ep. 287
Brendan McCarthy is a legend in the world of comics and now the world of Mad Max. His series Freakwave was inspired by Mad Max 2, The Road Warrior, and was later copied by the film Waterworld (without giving credit to McCarthy). In this episode, we talk with McCarthy about his relationship with Mad Max and how he went from being a film of The Road Warrior to actually co-writing the most INSANE installment with writer/director George Miller. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreake...
Mar 31, 2023•51 min•Ep. 286
Sean S. Cunningham had a successful career of starting films cheap and fast. Originally from New York, Cunningham had a vast knowledge of directing films and came to Hollywood. He started about the same time Wes Craven did. Cunningham meets Craven and decided to make a comedy-romance film called Together (1971). Then they both shocked the world with the rape and ultra-violence of The Last House on the Left (1972). Craven directed the flick and Cunningham financed and produced. However Cunningham...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 285
Today we have a special CROSSOVER episode of the BPS Podcast. Our guest is Derek Kolstad, the genius behind the extremely successful John Wick franchise. An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. With New York City as his bullet-riddled playground, JOHN WICK (Keanu Reeves) is a fresh and stylized take on the "assassin genre”. He is also the screenwriter of One in the Chamber, The Package (starring Steve Austin & Dolph Lundgren). This epis...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 12 min
After over 20 years of achieving what he thought were his dreams of being a headlining touring comedian and actor, Kyle Cease suddenly discovered that the belief “When something happens, I will be happy” is a complete lie.Following the calling of his heart, he decided to quit his stand-up career at its peak, and now—as a transformational comedian and New York Times bestselling author of I Hope I Screw This Up—he brings his one-of-a-kind wisdom to sold-out audiences around the world and reaches m...
Mar 22, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 284
Today on the show we have filmmaker Andrew Kortschak. In today’s digital age, where ‘releasing’ a film involves putting it on Vimeo, new filmmakers often struggle to rise above the noise and break into the exclusive industry.Andrew has a unique approach to this problem and in fact joined forces with a Silicon Valley venture capitalist to build End Cue like a tech startup: via a bi-coastal incubator model where directors cut their teeth and build their portfolios doing commercial work. On such al...
Mar 15, 2023•52 min•Ep. 283
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as DANIELS, have been writing and directing together for over a decade, initially with a slew of viral music videos, commercials, and short films, then with feature films and TV directing. They've developed a reputation for combining absurdity with heartfelt personal stories. Oftentimes they incorporate a unique brand of visual effects, and visceral practical effects into their genre blending projects. They have directed music videos for Manch...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 5 min
In 2002, Jon Erwin founded a production company with his brother, Andrew. Their first ventures were commercials, documentaries, and music videos. The brothers soon were directing videos and producing concerts and television programs for platinum recording artists such as Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, Switchfoot, Skillet, and others. They received 11 GMA Dove Awards nominations and 3 wins for Music Video of the Year. Jon and Andrew have also produced and directed several documentar...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 282
So insane and talent Australian filmmaker Mark Toia is back to tell us how he made millions of dollars self distributing his remarkable debut film Monsters of Man. After getting offered bad and predatory distribution deals he wondered if there was another way. Enter my book Rise of the Filmtrepreneur: How to Turn Your Film into a Money Making Business. When I wrote my book Rise of the Filmtrepreneur I hoped it would help filmmakers around the world. I never thought that a filmmaker halfway aroun...
Mar 03, 2023•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 281
I have an epic conversation in store for you all today. Our guest is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, filmmaker, John Lee Hancock. While working as a lawyer by day back in 1986, John moonlighted as a screenwriter, writing script after script. His spec script A Perfect World caught the eye of Steven Spielberg and eventually was directed by Clint Eastwood. After that success, he went on to direct the crowd-pleasing The Rookie. A true story about a coach who discovers that it's never too late for d...
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 36 min
