We talked to Head of Casting at Universal Content Productions, Steven O’Neill. He proudly talks about his work helping people achieve their dreams, how he fell in love with casting and what the pandemic did to change the process. He talks about how to deal with disagreements with showrunners, separating behaviour from performances and running into actors who he hasn’t cast. A fascinatingly honest, rather inspirational discussion about helping Hollywood dreams come true.
Feb 15, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 15
We talk to legendary showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker. He talks about his journey from music journalist to writer, what he learned from the tough world of hip-hop and how he used those skills in Hollywood. Cheo talks about the similarities between running and writing, finding pockets of time to write and how screenwriting can be painful. He describes embracing the suck, seizing his moment and writing as pie-eating. A fascinating interview with a talented storyteller.
Feb 08, 2024•54 min•Season 3Ep. 14
We speak to Keith Geller who talks us through his unscripted journey. We talk game shows versus docu-follows, shrinking budgets and higher expectations and picking only proven formats. He talks about his journey from Shakespeare to Wipeout, the role of social media and the changing attitudes towards mental health and crises. Keith talks pitching new formats, creating his own show and trying to create a fun, fair and safe work environment. An insightful look at the world of large scale unscripted...
Jan 25, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 13
We talk to the lovely Daniel Kunka, writer of Netflix number one movie Lift. We talk zombie apocalypses, impregnating wolves and the unlikely demise of a great script. He tells us about his 15 year gap between movies, writing for a female lead and ending up with Kevin Hart and how it feels to have the number one movie on a global steaming platform. Daniel also explains the anxiety of losing his health insurance while his wife was pregnant, anxiety and selling scripts that don’t get made. A fasci...
Jan 18, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Back from the winter break and we have another 'case study' episode of the podcast. We talk to Marc Benardout and Hugh Broder, producers of He Went That Way, a new movie out tomorrow. They talk about working with Jacob Elordi and Zach Quinto, about dealing with the death of their director but also Marc's son during production and the 19-year journey to get the film made. We discuss prison visits, poetry professors and sibling serial killers. And the costs of an animatronic chimpanzee....
Jan 11, 2024•49 min•Season 3Ep. 11
We talk to the effervescent Ashley Michel Hoban. She talks about the excitement for her new show coming out today, her journey from assistant to showrunner and what she learned along the way. She tells about self belief, imposter syndrome and how’s she’s expecting to feel tomorrow morning after tonight’s Dr Death Season 2 premiere. Ashley discussed the importance of just writing, the pressure of being a showrunner and what she’s learned from previous colleagues who have supported her. A fascinat...
Dec 21, 2023•47 min•Season 3Ep. 10
We speak to the excellent David Slack. We talk about how an independent movie failure led him to Hollywood, the path from animation to live action and getting fired from Law and Order. David tells us about the shows that didn’t make it, claiming unemployment and some of the poor behaviour that has gone on in Hollywood. We also cover post-strike executive interactions (good), AI ruining civilization (not so good) and the hedge fundication of the industry (not good at all).
Nov 16, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 9
The day before his new movie hits 3000 theaters in 38 countries, we talk to the talented Adam Anders. He tells us about his transition from a very successful music career with shows like Glee to his 17 year journey to writing, producing, directing and songwriting for a Christmas family musical called Journey to Bethlehem. Adam talks about being creatively unfulfilled, the tightrope to walk when working on a religious movie and his extraordinary pursuit of Antonio Banderas. He explains how hard i...
Nov 09, 2023•48 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Must. Listen. Episode. We have the legend that it David Kirschner. He talks getting his break designing an album cover for Neil Diamond, pitching Steven Spielberg at his July 4th party and Hocus Pocus going from abject failure to cult classic. David explains the story of Hocus Pocus taking years to make, bombing and leaving him in tears and then growing into a massive success. We hear about being sworn at by Harvey Weinstein, how he thinks naivety helped him navigate Hollywood and the importance...
Nov 01, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 7
We talk to Jeremy Adams about his life in animation. He tells us about the difficulties animated writers face, how they are treated compared to TV writers and how hard it is to break out of the mould. Jeremy tells us about his successes, the sacrifices his family had to make and the irony of creating great work for little pay and then watching millions be made in consumer goods products. He explains what makes great animated writing, they joys of the comic world and his dream to writer a live ac...
Oct 26, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 6
We talk to the extraordinary Deborah Pratt. She tells us about how she got her break in Hollywood, her period of homelessness even after Quantum Leap and what she did to get her career back on track. Amazingly, we also cover a wide range of topics from Frank Sinatra to Airwolf to fan chat rooms. Deborah tells us about fighting against discrimination, pushing hard for groundbreaking scripts and what she learned about showrunning along the way. We talk passion projects, flying helicopters and how ...
Oct 19, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 5
This season we seek to explore failure and rejection in different parts of Hollywood. We have Jordan Moblo, EVP IP Management and Creative Acquisitions of Universal Studio Group. He talks why he is plans to be an agent didn't work, the books that got away and how they try and treat the authors they work with. He explains how they set expectations for what might happen to a book during the long road to production, authors they try not to work with and how he deals with competition from both other...
Oct 12, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 4
We talk to the fantastic Lisa Morales. She tells us about crashing James Cameron's Hummer, her role as an executive and then giving that up to become a writer. She walks us through being fired for not being confident enough, imposter syndrome and rebuilding her confidence and her career. What she learned on her journey to being a showrunner, what she did when she got there and what her advice is to others on the way up are also all covered. We talk through the concept of 'caring but not giving a...
Oct 05, 2023•36 min•Season 3Ep. 3
We have the the amazing ‘Jewaiian’ twins who tell us about writing Moana, their early failures and why poetry didn’t pay the bills. They talk about representation in native Hawaiian storytelling, being down to their last 12 dollars and the emotionally challenging story of the making of Adrift. The twins explain how they celebrate success, how they deal with failure and their lives as teachers. A wonderful chat with a couple of serious Hollywood stars who also tell one of the most extraordinary s...
Sep 28, 2023•53 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Season 3 Premiere We have legendary Simpsons showrunner Mike Scully on the show. He talks about being pigeon-holed as ‘Cartoon Boy’, losing out on an Emmy to the Rugrats Passover special and writing jokes for $25 for Yakov Smirnoff. He tells us about being accused of being a UN Observer for being so quiet in a writing room, having a show cancelled for being too wild and crazy when they specifically asked for a wild and crazy show and tells us about the comedy show pitch which got no laughs. A br...
Sep 21, 2023•49 min•Season 3Ep. 1
After a season break and, not withstanding the strike, the podcast returns. In this pre-season show, we talk about the strike, what people can expect this season and how much Noah surfs. We talk writers, execs and who you can expect to hear from.
Sep 14, 2023•23 min0
We temporarily return from our mid-season break to hear from Burn It Down author Mo Ryan. She talks about writing her book, what she tried to achieve and her hopes for the industry. On her second podcast appearance she describes the toll writing a book like this takes, the chapters she didn't write and what she thinks about the future of Hollywood. A powerful interview with a passionate author about an important book.
Aug 03, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Our 100th guest is the amazing Erica Huggins, President of Fuzzy Door Productions. She talks about her early days as a film editor, being fired and told she will never work in this town again and her subsequent successful career. She talks balancing the comedy of Ted with the pressures of the modern world, working with Seth MacFarlane and the transition from film to television. We talk resilience, leadership and running a real business in Hollywood. Erica talks working in partnerships, inspiring...
Mar 30, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 50
We talk to the extraordinary Chef Andre Rush in a slightly different episode of the podcast. The former solider and White House Chef talks about his transition into television, the 'sharks' he found there and why he chose to make the leap. Chef Rush tells us about the stresses of White House cooking, his role in spreading awareness about mental health and being in the gym at the Pentagon on September 11. We talk spilt wine, working with Gordon Ramsay and his desire to stay in television after th...
Mar 23, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 49
We talk to the excellent Brannon Braga. He talks about the pressure of working on the Star Trek franchise, understanding when he was, and wasn't, 'in peril', and we walk through his failures. Brannon tells us about which shows were hits, which were cancelled and what type of leader he is. We discuss how he receives fan feedback, working on his soul's work and taking notes from the studio. A thorough and candid look at Hollywood life from a man who has been at the top for a long time....
Mar 16, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 48
We talk to Steve Vitolo, aspiring writer and now a tech leader. He tells us his story of writing in rooms, getting his show cancelled and developing his app on the side. He talks not taking advantage of his new found access, feature writing and telling his TV colleagues about his app. Steve tells us about leadership, winning an Emmy and when to quit writing. A fun interview about breaking in and getting out of Hollywood.
Mar 09, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 47
We talk to the amazing Diane Ruggiero-Wright. She talks passionately about early success, a big cancellation and nearly returning to waitressing. She tells us why she regrets not completing her education, the huge fall-out she had at the end of our her first show and why she isn't very good at taking notes. We talk writing ability, over-noting and leadership style as well as hearing about imposter syndrome, the overconfidence of youth and writing characters based on you. An extraordinarily hones...
Mar 02, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 46
We talk to the amazing Diane Ademu-John. She talks about her first writing room, being afraid to speak and then getting fired from Crossing Jordan. She talks about leadership, co-showrunning and learning and growing even from bad projects. Diane talks about her love of genre, her new production company and working on a large ‘estate’ like Dune. An inspiring interview about confidence, storytelling and the inevitably of being fired.
Feb 23, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 45
We talk to Australian showrunner Luke Tunnecliffe. He tells us about trying to run a sports documentary during a global pandemic, bringing an LA production to Australia only to get locked down and moving from sports documentaries to scripted dramas. He explains the difficulty of pitching Australia in Hollywood, the Australian obsession with sport and what he learned about showrunning managing productions during Covid. We talk the shows that got away, the importance of trust and relationships wit...
Feb 16, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 44
We speak to the extraordinary Gina Yashere about her journey from British comedian to American sitcom actress and showrunner. She talks about her dream to play a best friend in a sitcom, the lack of pressure because she never really wanted to be a showrunner and moving to America. Gina talks about her powerful comedy, talking about her childhood suicide attempt and breaking down barriers. She tells us how she doesn't yet feel successful, how she wants to help others like a 'rich white man' helpe...
Feb 09, 2023•42 min•Season 2Ep. 43
Two Englishmen talk Hollywood rejection as we managed to lose Noah for the episode. Veteran Jim Piddock tells us about his fight for fair pay for Tooth Fairy, what a nice man the Rock is and his huge problems with a high profile actress. He compares rejections as a writer, an actor and then an author, tells is about his thousands of failed auditions and why he loves writing. Jim talks casting, the studio exec who ruined his dream project and also shamelessly plugs his book!...
Feb 02, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 42
We turn the microphone round and have host Dan Rutstein as guest. Friend of the podcast Paul Bae asks the questions with Noah as Dan talks through unsuccessfully applying for 100 jobs, getting laid off during the pandemic and the resilience needed to change careers. He talks openly about the importance of vulnerability, what he's learned from interviewing showrunners and why he didn't succeed as a writer (because he only wrote one thing!). It's not your normal episode but it has plenty of reject...
Jan 26, 2023•55 min•Season 2Ep. 41
We talk to the fascinating Eric Guggenheim. We talk early career success, serious imposter syndrome and working with his brothers (one of whom has already been on the podcast). He tells us about his good years, his fallow years and how much he loves being in a room. We discuss the importance of learning the craft of writing, how it feels to tell your staff your show is cancelled and then how it feels to tell them you’ve been picked up by another network. A very human, a very vulnerable and a ver...
Jan 19, 2023•55 min•Season 2Ep. 40
We talk to the extraordinary Simran Baidwan. She tells us about her best and worst rooms, the transition from criminal prosecutor to Hollywood and the importance of grace in leadership. We cover inclusion, telling a good story and how to not put roadblocks in your own path. Simran tells us how her Indian immigrant parents dealt with her career move, why she walked away from TV's number one show and why aspiring writers should just write. An extraordinarily thoughtful and insightful interview wit...
Jan 12, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 39
We talk to the amazing Jeffrey Lieber - for the second time. We take a deep dive into the world of failure, rejection and adversity in Hollywood. We talk ill-fitting jobs, managing and leading teams and shit sandwiches. Jeffrey tells us about his fears of not showrunning again, talks us through the mistakes he’s made and gives advice to aspiring writers. A fascinating insight into the darker side of the business with one of its great minds and critical thinkers.
Jan 05, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 38
