Creative Principles

David Koepp is a highly successful screenwriter best known for his work on some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters. With a career spanning decades, he has worked on the scripts for iconic films such as JURASSIC PARK, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, SPIDER-MAN, and WAR OF THE WORLDS. His latest work, JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH, follows the story five years after JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION. In it, an expedition ve...

Justin Spitzer is a co-creator and executive producer of ST. DENIS MEDICAL. Prior to that, he created and ran NBC comedies SUPERSTORE and AMERICAN AUTO. Eric Ledgin is the showrunner and co-creator of ST. DENIS MEDICAL. He is an Emmy award-winning writer and producer, whose TV credits include SUPERSTORE, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, AMERICAN AUTO, and LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON. Their show...

Peter Craig is behind some of the biggest box office successes of the past decade writing screenplays for such hits as THE TOWN, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY (part 1 and 2), BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, THE BATMAN and TOP GUN: MAVERICK which earned Craig an Oscar and WGA nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Craig also wrote GLADIATOR II, which received a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding British Film of t...

Luke Cormack is a skilled GSS, Shotover, U-Crane Arm, Aerial, and Phantom operator, and is at home shooting underwater, in the air, long lens, macro, or with A-list celebrities. He has won an Emmy, Panda, and Grand Teton Awards for cinematography and has had the pleasure of working on many Emmy and BAFTA-nominated shows. His latest work was on DAVID BLAINE DO NOT ATTEMPT, where Magician David Blai...

Aaron B. Koontz is a filmmaker, writer, and founder/CEO of Paper Street Pictures, a leading force in independent genre cinema. He has directed CAMERA OBSCURA, THE PALE DOOR, and the cult-favorite SCARE PACKAGE series on Shudder. As a producer, he has worked on projects like THE ARTIFICE GIRL, THE REQUIN, OLD MAN, and BLOOD RELATIVES. Most recently, he worked as the co-showrunner of the series REVI...

Kim Rosenstock is an Emmy and WGA-nominated TV writer, producer, and playwright, best known for shows like NEW GIRL and ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, for which she received Emmy and WGA nominations. Elizabeth Meriwether is a screenwriter, playwright, and producer best known as the creator of the hit TV sitcom NEW GIRL, starring Zooey Deschanel. She also gained attention with her screenplay for the...

Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, the creative minds behind the beloved animated series PHINEAS AND FERB, are back as co-creators and executive producers for its new season. Both will also reprise their voice roles, with Povenmire once again lending his voice to the hilariously villainous Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and Marsh returning as Major Francis Monogram, Perry the Platypus's commanding o...

Seth Meyers is an Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer, producer, and television host. He is currently the host of NBC's LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS, where he delivers a nightly blend of political commentary, celebrity interviews, and clever comedic segments. Alex Baze is a highly respected comedy writer and producer, best known for his extensive work on NBC's LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS. As the sh...

Emmy and PGA award-winning screenwriter and producer Charlie Brooker created the critically acclaimed anthology series BLACK MIRROR. The highly anticipated seventh season premiered April 10th on Netflix. In this interview, we talk about the conception and evolution of BLACK MIRROR, his writing process and habits, advice on writing pilots/standalone episodes, and much more. Want more? Steal my firs...

Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor best known for films like AMERICAN SPLENDOR, SIDEWAYS, and THE HOLDOVERS. Most recently, he appeared on Episode 5 of the newest season of BLACK MIRROR, called “Eulogy,” where an isolated man is introduced to a groundbreaking system that allows its users to step inside old photographs. In this interview, we talk about BLACK MIRROR, such as how they stepped in...

Anna Camp is an actress best known for her role as the unforgettable Aubrey Posen in the PITCH PERFECT film series. She has built an impressive resume with notable roles in popular television shows such as THE MINDY PROJECT and TRUE BLOOD, and most recently, she played Maddie & Reagan Lockwood in the last season of Netflix’s YOU. In the epic fifth and final season of YOU, Joe Goldberg returns to N...

Todd Harthan is currently the executive producer and showrunner on ABC’s HIGH POTENTIAL. In recent years, he has been executive producer on the Disney+ series CROSSOVER, ABC’s THE COMPANY YOU KEEP, and FBC’s THE RESIDENT. HIGH POTENTIAL follows a single mom with three kids who helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a police department cleaner. In this...

Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson are the creators, showrunners, writers, and executive producers of the hit Showtime drama series, YELLOWJACKETS. YELLOWJACKETS, equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderne...

Freddy Macdonald is a Student Academy Award winner and the youngest Directing Fellow ever accepted to the AFI Conservatory. Freddy’s AFI admission film, SEW TORN, was acquired by Searchlight Pictures, and it received an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release nationwide alongside READY OR NOT. SEW TORN follows a seamstress who gets tangled in her own thread after stealing a briefcase from a drug deal...

Jonathan Tropper is an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the internationally best-selling author of six novels that have been translated into over thirty languages. Most recently, he created the Apple TV+ Series YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, which follows a hedge fund manager who resorts to burglary after losing his job, targeting wealthy neighbors to maintain his family's lifesty...

Luke Barnett is an actor, writer, and filmmaker. On the acting front, Luke recently wrapped season 5 of AppleTV+'s critically acclaimed sci-fi drama FOR ALL MANKIND, where he recurs as suit supervisor Mike Shaw (we also spoke with the creators of this series back in Episode 363.) This year, his short film THE CROSSING OVER EXPRESS, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, went viral on X (formerl...

Jon Shaivitz is an LA-based writer and director. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2009, he's earned recognition in prestigious competitions such as the Academy Nicholl Fellowship (Top 50), StoryPros (Runner-Up), and the Atlanta Screenplay Awards (Best Feature). His work has led to multiple script options, industry collaborations, and a growing reputation as a bold, innovative voice in filmmaking. In...

Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield are the dynamic duo behind the highly anticipated Netflix comedy series THE FOUR SEASONS, a show they co-created with Tina Fey, inspired by the classic 1981 film. Fisher previously co-created the hit NEVER HAVE I EVER and wrote for BROOKLYN NINE-NINE and THE MINDY PROJECT, and Wigfield created SAVED BY THE BELL, GREAT NEWS, and won an Emmy for writing the 30 ROCK fi...

Katie Robbins and Sarah Sutherland are the showrunners of Hulu's highly anticipated limited series, GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY, starring Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass. The series follows a Midwestern couple who adopts what they believe is a little girl with dwarfism as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, falling into a battle fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ulti...

NYU roommates Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, established a working partnership through their love for genre films. Their filmography includes the thrillers BODY, THE STAKELANDER, and the critically acclaimed VILLAINS, starring Bill Skarsgård and Maika Monroe. They continued their success with SIGNIFICANT OTHER and their newest action-comedy film NOVOCAINE. NOVOCAINE follows a man, incapable of feeling...

Ian Seabrook is a highly acclaimed Director of Photography, celebrated for his mastery of underwater cinematography. His recent work includes lensing both underwater and main unit photography for the upcoming thriller LAST BREATH starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole. Seabrook's extensive filmography features blockbuster hits like INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY and DEADPOOL 2. H...

David Carson is a counter-intuitive thinker and creative problem-solver with a knack for uncovering genius where others see nonsense. Known for transforming unconventional ideas into groundbreaking solutions, he has helped global brands like American Express, Nike, Coca-Cola, and IKEA build human connections, captivate audiences, and redefine what’s possible. As the author of Dumbify and creator o...

Andy Bobrow is a seasoned TV comedy writer with over two decades of experience on hit network shows like MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, COMMUNITY, and BROOKLYN NINE-NINE. He also served as Executive Producer and Co-Showrunner for Fox’s LAST MAN ON EARTH and currently writes for Fox’s KRAPOPOLIS. Guy Goldstein bridges screenwriting and technology, renowned for creating WriterDuet, the pioneering real-time...

Mark Dent is a senior writer and editor at The Hustle, where he writes feature stories about business and the economy. Mark's work has also appeared in outlets like the New York Times and Wired. He's the author of KINGDOM QUARTERBACK, a book about Patrick Mahomes and the fall and rise of midwest cities. In this interview, we talk about his early career and influences, his transitioning from sports...

Dito Montiel went from punk rocker to briefly a boxer, then a Versace/Calvin Klein model. His band Gutterboy signed a record deal with Geffen, followed by a period of homelessness. He rebounded by writing A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS, which became a film starring Robert Downey Jr., launching his directing career. His latest film, RIFF RAFF, follows a former criminal whose ordinary life is tu...