This week, Giles Alderson and co-host CJ, Christian James, welcome the incredible producing-writing-directing duo Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. They are known for animation & live-action films such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), 21 Jump Street (2012), The Lego Movie (2014), and The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) to name a few. Phil & Christopher dive deep into their filmmaking career: Where they met each other, how they became friends by burning someone’s hair, and how they fa...
Nov 02, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 246
On today’s show, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir welcome the fantastic writer-director Axelle Carolyn! Her credits include Soulmate (2013), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Creepshow (2021), American Horror Story (2021), and she’s here to talk about her latest feature film, The Manor (2021), which is part of the Welcome to the Blumhouse series on Amazon Prime. Axelle dives deep into her filmmaking career. She talks about how she made the transition from actress to director and how she mad...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 245
Today on the show, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir welcome writer, director and actor duo Jim Cummings (Thunder Road) & PJ McCabe to talk about their latest indie feature, The Beta Test (2021). After working together on the studio film The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020), they talk about the differences between indie and studio films. They also discuss what it’s like to direct and act at the same time, why film festivals matter, and how to make your day on set. And obviously, they dive deep int...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 244
On today’s show, Giles Alderson welcomes writer, director & producer Bizhan Tong to the show to talk about his latest feature film Lockdown (2021), starring Xander Berkeley, Kevin Leslie, Olivia Moyles and many, many more! Bizhan was on episode 81 of the podcast, now he’s back to talk about how he shot Lockdown during lockdown! He dives deep into the making of the film: How he came up with the idea, how he turned it into a script, and how he financed the movie. He also talks about directing remo...
Oct 11, 2021•58 min•Ep. 243
On today’s show, Giles Alderson welcomes producer Will Thorne and director Yemi Bamiro to talk about the journey of their latest documentary, One Man and His Shoes (2020). Will and Yemi dive deep into the making of their indie documentary. How it all started with a little short, how they financed the movie themselves in the beginning, and how they managed to bring on more and more people. They discuss what it was like to do all the paperwork for their first feature project, why hiring a lawyer i...
Oct 04, 2021•57 min•Ep. 242
On today’s show, Giles Alderson and co-host Lucinda Rhodes Thakrar sit down with Alex Noyer, the writer and director of Sound of Violence, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2021. Alex dives deep into Clubhouse of Horror, what the room is about, what it’s like to be a judge on the latest competition, and not just what you need to do to get your horror short script financed, but also how to make an ace short. Coming from documentaries, he discusses how he made his first na...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 241
Today, Giles Alderson and co-host Ian Sharp have a chat with Orlando Pedregosa. He’s a producer, the co-founder of Babieka Films as well as the VP and director of the blockchain-based entertainment platform Filmio. Blockchain? NFT’s? Crypto? Yes indeed! Welcome to a new world! But don’t worry, we’ve got the answers to all your questions in this episode. Orlando discusses the meaning of all these terms and how they can help indie filmmakers to fund and finance their films. And he dives deep into ...
Sep 20, 2021•50 min•Ep. 240
On this week’s episode, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir welcome writer & director Navot Papushado to speak about his latest feature film Gunpowder Milkshake (2021), starring Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, and many, many more. What an incredible cast! Navot dives deep into the making of Gunpowder Milkshake, how he got these fantastic names attached, what it was like to work with them, and the importance of an easy-to-read script. He also talks about his first two fe...
Sep 13, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 239
Today on the show, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir welcome producer & director Jay Silverman to talk about his latest feature film Saving Paradise (2021), starring William Moseley, Johanna Braddy, Mimi Kennedy and many more. Jay dives deep into what it’s like to live and work in Hollywood. Not only does he talk about how he made his latest feature, Saving Paradise, but also how he went from doing the show The Cleaner (2008-2009) to his first two feature films, Girl on the Edge (2015) and O...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 238
This week, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir welcome director Ryan Andrew Hooper to talk about his debut feature film The Toll, starring Michael Smiley, Annes Elwy, Iwan Rheon, Paul Kaye, Gary Beadle, Steve Oram and many, many more. Ryan dives deep into the making of his debut film. He talks about why it’s important to know how each department works, why having a strategy for making a debut film is vital, and how to deal with reviews. He also discusses pitching, storyboards, his directing st...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 237
On this week’s podcast, Giles Alderson welcomes writer & director Ann Hu to the show. She is the Chinese Academy Award-winning director of the feature film Shadow Magic (2000), starring Jared Harris. Now Ann is back with her delightful second feature film, Confetti, which is out now. Ann dives deep into her filmmaking career, what it was like to win an Academy Award for her debut film as well as dealing with arrogance and success. She also talks about the making of Confetti, how she raised the m...
Aug 23, 2021•52 min•Ep. 236
Today on the show, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir welcome producer Ado Yoshizaki Cassuto. His credits include Last Passenger (2013), City of Tiny Lights (2016), starring Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed, The Pale Horse (2020), and the new Channel 4 TV Mini-Series Deceit (2021) with Niamh Algar, Eddie Marsan, Nathaniel Martello-White, and many more. Ado dives deep into his journey from Indie Film to TV producing. He talks about how Deceit came about, what to consider when making a true-crime drama,...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 235
This week, Giles Alderson welcomes directors John C. Lyons & Dorota Swies. Together they directed, produced and edited the rather brilliant fracking horror story Unearth (2020), starring Adrienne Barbeau, Marc Blucas, Allison McAtee, and many more. John and Dorota are true indie filmmakers. They dive deep into their filmmaking journey, how they made their first feature films together with little to no budget, and what they learned in the process. They discuss how Unearth came about, how they rai...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 234
On today’s show, Giles Alderson welcomes director Wyatt Rockefeller & producer Julie Fabrizio. Together they made the outstanding Sci-Fi Drama Feature Settlers (2021), starring Sofia Boutella, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Jonny Lee Miller, Nell Tiger Free and Brooklynn Prince. Wyatt and Julie dive deep into the making of their debut feature film. They talk about how the story came about, how they got the script out into the world, how they pitched the project to get a named cast. They also discuss locat...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 233
Today on the show, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir welcome editor Amy E. Duddleston. She has worked on shows like The Killing, Dexter, Hunters and HBO’s Emmy nominated Mare of Easttown, starring Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson and Jean Smart. They dive deep into the making of Mare of Easttown. So if you haven’t seen it – do go watch it. It’s a brilliant show and Amy goes into great detail about how she put the episodes together. She talks about her process, tone and genre, the director-ed...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 232
Part 2 of our chat with director and screenwriter Joe Marcantonio We carry on where we left off discussing casting on his debut feature Kindred Joe talks further about the casting an filming process, why going with your gut is important and hoe he directs his actors. We also talk about the trauma of film-making, the release of the film in the US and how it felt being picked us a Sky Original. And finally Giles and Joe chat agents and their importance plus Joe gives some fantastic advice for upco...
Jul 22, 2021•56 min•Ep. 231
This week Giles Alderson (Wolves of War) is joined by writer and director Joe Marcantonio who’s debut feature film Kindred stars Fiona Shaw, Tamara Lawrence and Jack Lowden and is on Sky Movies now as a Sky Original Joe has a wonderful chat with Giles about his career and how it lead to making Kindred. He talks about making his short film Red Light starring Jessie Buckley and how a chance meeting a anti natal class led to his first feature. He discusses where his ideas come from and his writing ...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 230
Today on the show, Giles Alderson welcomes director & producer Tracy Wren and screenwriter & producer Jennifer Cooney. Together they made the indie feature film Rain Beau’s End (2020), which is out now on VOD on lesflicks.com. They dive deep into their collaboration on the film, how they made it, and how they found distribution. Tracy talks about what she learned from editors, how she creates storyboards, how she works with actors, and what directing is really about. Jennifer discusses how she c...
Jul 12, 2021•55 min•Ep. 229
Today on the show, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir chat with the Hungarian writer and director Nóra Lakos about her debut feature film, Cream/Hab (2020). They dive deep into her filmmaking career, how she went from award-winning short films and TV to making her first feature film. They also discuss why you should go to film festivals and you’ll hear about what it’s like to make a film in Hungary. Nóra talks about her writing routine, directing actors, the director’s mindset, how she made C...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 228
On today’s show, Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir chat with producer Carolina Groppa. She is an Emmy-nominated producer of such films as Miss Virginia (2019), Hysterical (2021), and the rather excellent Autism in Love (2015). They dive deep into her journey, from her beginnings as an actress to becoming a producer in Hollywood, how she built her career, and what it was like to be the talk of the town. She discusses the difference between producing narrative feature films and documentaries, ...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 227
We are delighted to welcome the great Ben Wheatley to this week’s episode! He’s a writer and director, who has made films like Kill List (2011), High-Rise (2015), Free Fire (2016), Rebecca (2020) and many, many more. Hosted by Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir, we chat about Ben’s latest indie feature, In the Earth (2021), which he shot during the pandemic. We dive deep into the making of the film. Ben discusses storyboarding, why he doesn’t like rehearsing, how he works with actors, pacing,...
Jun 21, 2021•57 min•Ep. 226
Today on the show, Giles Alderson and his co-host Dom Lenoir welcome the fantastic Blaine Brothers, Chris and Ben. They are the writers and directors of the award-winning indie hit film Nina Forever and the directors of the new BBC2 comedy series Out of her Mind. Chris and Ben dive deep into their filmmaking journey, how they started making films and earning money with them in school, and how one of their early short films was shortlisted for BAFTA. They also talk about working, writing and dire...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 225
Today, Giles Alderson and his co-host Andrew Rodger welcome screenwriter Gemma Hurley to the podcast. She is one of the writers on the upcoming show The Rising and the co-writer of the amazing streaming horror hit Host, which took the internet by storm in 2020. Gem dives deep into the making of Host, how she came on board, how they managed to write and make a feature in just a few months during Lockdown, and what impact it had on her career as a female genre writer, including a three-picture dea...
Jun 07, 2021•57 min•Ep. 224
Today on The Filmmaker’s Podcast, Giles Alderson and his co-host Dom Lenoir chat with Aneil Karia, the writer and director of Surge starring Ben Whishaw, which premiered at the World Competition at Sundance Film Festival 2020. They dive deep into how Aneil turned his short Beat into an award-winning feature. He discusses how they developed the script, how the thematic heart of the film drove the writing process, how they raised the money and what it was like to work with Ben Whishaw (Perfume: Th...
May 31, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 223
This weeks episode is with producer, writer and director Nick Stagliano, whose latest feature The Virtuoso is out now! It’s starring Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish aaaand the legendary, two-time Oscar-winning Anthony Hopkins! He talks to Giles Alderson and his co-host Dom Lenoir about how he got Anthony Hopkins for his indie film and how you can reach out to stars like him as well. Nick talks about his journey to get The Virtuoso made, how he works with actors, and how his budget changed with Anthon...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 222
Want to produce indie films? Then our chat with the wonderful Helen Simmons is for you. Helen who was Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2018, sits down with hosts Giles Alderson & Ian Sharp to chat how she made a career out of being a producer and her latest film Say Your Prayers. We dive deep into Film Festivals, Working for the Weinsteins, Fundamental parts of filmmaking, making her debut feature Chubby Funny & writing and producing her short film F*CK. We talk the excellent Producers Round Table, Ca...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 221
Making a film on a iphone? Then take a listen to this weeks guests Powell Robinson and Patrick Robert Young as they dive deep into how they made threshold on two iphone 8+, a three man crew and released it to great acclaim on Arrow. We talk about their first feature Bastard which they made two months out of film school with their producer Lauren Bates, how they lost they investment and went and shot it anyway. They chat how making indie films on no budget can bond you for life ad how they sold B...
May 11, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 220
Promising Young Woman’s OSCAR & BAFTA nominated Frédéric Thoraval talks editing the movie and working with director Emerald Fennell. Fred sits down with Giles Alderson and Lucinda Rhodes Thakar to discuss his process as an editor, what got him started and how it felt being nominated at this years awards ceremonies. He talks about editing Taken starring Liam Neeson, Safe starring Jason Statham and Blumhouse’s Sinister and what the difference is between genres as an editor. He discusses the merits...
May 04, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 219
This weeks episode is with the brilliant director, writer, producer and actor Guy Pidgen who’s film Older is out now! He talks to Giles Alderson and Robbie McKane about how he made his first film at 16, how he started in the business and how he got his break. He discusses who his film-making inspirations are and what you can take from them, what lessons he learn on set of his first feature ‘I Survived a Zombie Holocaust’ and what huge advice he has regarding sales and distribution of indie films...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 218
We are delighted to have TV producer Liza Marshall on this weeks episode. Hosted by Giles Alderson and co-host Dom Lenoir, we sit down and chat about her experience as a producer and how she went about making TV dramas such as 'The Sins', 'Fields of Gold', 'Taboo', 'Honour' and 'Temple' and the feature films, 'Welcome to the Punch', 'Springsteen & I' and 'Before I Go To Sleep'. We talk about how he started off working as a producer for the BBC, as well as how she worked her way up, to where she ...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 217
