The Tie-In

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark met up with Sherri Goodman, another attendee of SXSW, and they talked about her new book. “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security” is a window into how the Government is addressing a huge threat to our way of life: Climate Change. Sherri’s experience as the Pentagon’s first Chief of Environmental Officer has given...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark share another episode from the 29th floor while surrounded by the gorgeous skyline of Austin, Texas, and during SXSW no less. They’re chatting with Hector Rodriguez (@el_peso_hero), the Creator of a fascinating comic book series about immigration and more called “El Peso Hero.” He’s also the Founder of “Texas Latino Comics,” and the comic book industry isn’...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark caught Sally Ann Ranney (@gcarcticangels) after her presentation at SXSW25. “What Happens in the Arctic Doesn’t Stay in the Arctic” brought her together with other superstars from our past and future shows like Sherri Goodman, Michelle Li, and Kishla Askins. They joined forces to talk about how we need to continue fortifying the urgent nature ofNational Cli...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark share another episode from the 29th floor while surrounded by the gorgeous skyline of Austin, Texas, and during SXSW no less. Janice Overbeck is bringing documentary filmmaking into the future, strategizing about how to best communicate calls to action and promote climate messages. She’s been connected to such fabulous work as “Plastic Earth” (2023), “The L...

Happy Earth Day! This week on “The Tie-In,” Mark is in the field at Coachella feeling the good vibes and learning about how the tech geniuses making it happen are bringing sustainability center stage. Tune in for his interview with Andrea Gini! This awesome guy is a Physicist, Electronic Engineer and Maker of cool things. DevOps may be his profession, but he’s also deeply passionate about communit...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark discuss and learn about the future of film production in Texas from the Co-Founding Partner of “The Shine Co,” Heather Page. It’s not everyday that we get to hear from a former film commissioner and expert on the policy angle in the film & TV industry.  Heather and Shine Co. co-founder Mindy Raymond  use their knowledge of the industry to help...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark share another episode  from the 29th floor while surrounded by the gorgeous skyline of Austin, Texas, and during SXSW no less. Join us and the “fluxy” flow of nature’s greatest source of natural light on the Red ThreadX balcony with “Clever Carbon” Founder, Michelle Li. She’s making sustainability the new norm, and this episode is a great source of edu...

This week on “The Tie-In.” Zena and Mark are in the field at SXSW with the Chief Operating Officer of Hill Country Studios, Kevin Bar. They’re hoping to be fully operational by late 2026, and we can’t wait to see all the amazing Film and Television Shows they make. They will be situated right outside of Austin, Texas, which means that teams shooting media there will have access to some awesome nat...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark are chatting from the 29th floor while surrounded by the gorgeous skyline of Austin, Texas, and during SXSW no less. Join us, and a neighboring, noisy building power system, on the Red ThreadX balcony! This week they’re chatting visionary directions for sustainable creators with Nathalie van Sasse van Ysselt (@nvsvy), a passionate creative director and expe...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark are chatting from the 29th floor while surrounded by the gorgeous skyline of Austin, Texas, and during SXSW no less. Join us, the natural light of the sun, and a neighboring, noisy building power system, on the Red ThreadX balcony! This week we’re chatting with the Founder and CEO of “Human Change,” a global strategic firm, and all-around proud business lon...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark chat with Lilian Liu about maximizing the benefits of finding sustainable solutions across a variety of art forms. Tech-forward solutions are becoming the new standard, but there’s still a long journey ahead in getting everybody on board. It used to be that companies needed to find the road map. Now that we have them, it’s all about getting support in execu...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena takes her team down under. She’s got the scoop on how various entertainment professionals are thinking about sustainability in Australia, and her Green Spark team is going to be a part of this movement! We’re thrilled to highlight a couple of folks doing great work - Zachary Lurje and Sarah Tosone, sustainability consultants on film and TV productions. We hope you l...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark learn about the amazing work Neel Vasavada and his team at “Overdrive Solutions” have been doing to help heal LA after the devastating fires. It’s bigger than a matter of dollars or politics. It’s a complete cultural shift that needs to happen if we want our great cities to survive and thrive. Neel’s sustainable efforts are proving that diesel alternative m...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark join the giant communal efforts behind “Burning Man” with all around fun generator, Athena Demos. Get ready, Playa One, cuz live events are going virtual. It’s the new reality! Athena has been involved in Burner activism for years, and you won’t want to miss our exploration into how, through clever problem-solving, Athena is integrating a VR experience with...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark discuss modular sets and more with Set Construction Manager Joe Madziak, the man behind the magic for the last five seasons of “Suits” and many other TV shows! Come with us and journey through the rich history of set construction, and get ready for some iconic stories behind-the-scenes of your favorite TV shows! The industry is certainly changing, and while...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark celebrate the return of a previous guest, the filmmaker of all trades, Robert Diaz LeRoy! The gang gets candid about how the industry and the world need to act. It’s Robert’s estimation that we can be a part of the problem, landscape, or solution. Turning a blind eye to environmental dangers caused by our misuse of power is ignorance incarnate, and Robert i...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark get curious with show-runner and Livable Communities Initiative Co-Founder, Lindsay Sturman. Working on set helped Lindsay learn how to seek innovative solutions and encourage others to do the same. She and everyone in her organization wants the LA community to feel good when they walk down the street. One of their many plans is to increase walkability in t...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark touch base with the e-waste management and sustainability dynamic duo that is Allison Elvove, Local 600 Sustainability Committee Western Region Chair, and Alex Coyle, Western Region Member (@icglocal600). Their work involves much more than making sure studio cameras capture all the images we love to watch in post. They’re hosting panels with organizations l...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark discuss what it takes to create sustainability in the live music industry from the fabulously famous Amy Morrison, leader of the “Music Sustainability Alliance” (@msa.action). MSA is mobilizing the industry to change its operations and use its platform for cultural impact. Amy’s talent for forging connections and invigorating existing systems, instead of re...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark talk about climate communications with the CEO of “Ecodeo” (@ecodeo), Liz Rubin, a true talent who is also one of our good friends! Listen in and learn about the reality of eco-products and more. The truth is, eco-corporations can become so focused on building that they forget to communicate. “Green hushing” is real, and it’s through organizations like “Eco...

Summarizing 2024 and our interviews, key themes, and teasers for 2025 This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark chat about some memorable moments from our season one interviews and experiences. From early interviews like our Coachella convo with Ken Deans, to learning about what it takes to bring sustainability to fiction with authors Steve Willis and Genevieve Hilton, there are too many enriching...

Extra, extra! This week on “The Tie-In,” take a trip with Mark behind the scenes of sustainability in action. This time he’s in the field in Amsterdam, where tons of wonderful innovations are underway. Don’t miss Mark showing us his recent visit to The Netherlands. *If you watch the episode on YouTube* - There’s tons of great photos and clips that will transport you backstage: https://youtube.com/...

Mark and Zena dove into sustainable production with Zsofia Szemeredy on this week’s episode of The Tie-In and how the conversation starts early and the approach is holistic to achieve meaningful strides towards sustainability on large movie productions - Zsofia has held several positions in the industry from “glorified popcorn pusher” to working at albert, to now running Leverage Point Entertainme...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark talk with authors Steve Willis and Genevieve Hilton (aka Jan Lee) about their latest novel promoting climate influence, “Fairhaven: A Novel of Climate Optimism.” This story centers around a girl born in Penang, Malaysia, who has seen the harmful effects of climate change firsthand. The authors have dedicated this book to those who are striving for a future...

This week on “The Tie-In,” Zena and Mark talk about advertising training, tools, and resources with the Global Director of “Ad Green” (@weareadgreen), Jo Fenn. Their team is making people feel supported and empowered to talk about sustainable solutions to short-form  productions. One cool thing with their approach is that it isn’t a series of quick fixes for one or two shoots. They’re all abo...