Red Carpet Rookies

Today’s guest began his career writing novels informed by his experiences growing up in the troubles of 1970s Northern Ireland such as The Second Prison which was shortlisted for the 1991 Irish Times prize. Soon after, he began writing for television and film, again bringing signature realism to his work in later projects including Michael Mann’s gangster pic Public Enemies, Gunpowder starring Kit...

Today’s guest began her creative journey in the world of theatre before moving to Pixar where she worked in the story department of hits including Ratatouille, Up, Brave, The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out. Having now transitioned to writing and showrunning her own projects, most recently the double Emmy nominated Tab Time as well as co-hosting mega-popular podcast The Screenwriting Life alongside f...

I am lucky to introduce today’s guest who has been at the forefront of British comedy for the last two decades. The man behind hit shows such as Back starring Mitchell and Webb and Sky’s Breeders, his career is long and celebrated but it is his partnership with Armando Innaucci for which he is probably best known. Together they have brought movies like In The Loop and The Personal History of David...

Hello and welcome to Red Carpet Rookies, today’s guest earned his early entertainment industry stripes working at Village Roadshow and Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company Appian Way, later transitioning to the world of literary management, where he has since set up his own management and production company Bellevue Productions. There his clients have had projects set up at Warner Brothers, Para...

Born to a sleepy town in South Wales, after university, he swapped the countryside for the Big Apple where he made his name as the film unit director at New York institution, Saturday Night Live. In addition to his time at 30 Rock, he’s also managed to peel off and create the hilarious documentary satire series Documentary Now with friends Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Seth Myers, and more recently...

Hello and welcome to Red Carpet Rookies. I’m very excited to introduce today’s guest who cut his teeth working on the British children’s TV that made up my childhood with shows like The Queens Nose, Tracey Beaker and My Parents are Aliens, before transitioning to his own creations like Fresh Meat and most notably the one and only, the great Peep Show which he co-created with longtime collaborator...

Today’s guest began his career working as a runner on James Cameron’s legendary action movie Aliens but found his home in the art department where he honed the skill of concept art becoming one of the foremost illustrators in the business. With a resume that includes movies such as Star Wars Rogue Rogue, The Martian, Gravity, Casino Royale, Tim Burton’s Batman, Game of Thrones and even a few Harry...

Today’s guest has one of the most varied resumes of anyone in the film and TV business. Having produced everything from megahit Top Boy to winning a BAFTA for The Last King of Scotland, making documentaries and more, I can’t wait to hear his story and learn from his journey to success in the industry. He also has one of the coolest names of any guest I’ve ever had! My guest is Charles Steel .

Hello and welcome to Red Carpet Rookies. Today’s guest is a first for a the show. Someone who began his career in the world of comedy editing. With eight years at the legendary Saturday Night Live to his name, he’s been in the cutting room for skits featuring Margot Robbie as a murderous librarian, Ed Norton in a Wes Anderson themed horror movie parody, Andrew Garfield as a Beyonce Fan on the run...

Today’s guest is one of the most notable casting directors in the history of movie making. Beginning her career under the tutelage of legendary casting director Marion Doughtery, our guest then transitioned to making a name for herself and by god did she. Now retired, during her epic career she was responsible for the casting of films including but not limited to, DEEP BREATH NOW - Taxi Driver, Sc...

Today’s guest began his filmmaking career under the tutelage of legendary Producer Charles Roven where he was a producer’s assistant on Hollywood blockbusters such as Get Smart, The International and of course, Christopher Nolan’s, The Dark Knight. Following his apprenticeship, he was swiftly promoted through the ranks of Atlas Entertainment, soon becoming a leading producer for the company workin...

Today’s guest earned his early entertainment industry stripes working as a journalist for publications including Digital Spy and Empire before gaining what must be one of the world’s most fun jobs as Radio 1’s very own film critic, a position he has held since 2016. Since then, his career has only risen with recent projects such as hosting the red carpet of a little-known awards show called the BA...

Today’s guest is the king of British detective drama writing. Having discovered his talent for the written word whilst in a comedy troupe with a pre-movie star Hugh Grant, my guest later transitioned to drama where he has produced over 100 hours of primetime television including a multitude of hits including Innocent, which pulled in EIGHT MILLION viewers on ITV, The Thief His Wife and the Canoe w...

Today’s guest began her career as one of the youngest ever executives at Sony where she was part of the team that brought the now iconic ‘fully onscreen’ movie Searching to our screens, as well as many other projects such as Broken Hearts Gallery , executive produced by none other than Selena Gomez. Since then, like a young Reed Hastings she’s made the move into the world of media and technology w...

Today’s guest is something new for the show, our first film critic! Beginning her career in the world of music magazine editing, she soon transitioned to freelance writing on her favourite topic: movies. In the years since she’s graced every publication and TV channel you can imagine from the likes of Deadline Hollywood, Sight & Sound, the BBC, Sky News and many more.  In addition to her day j...

Today’s guest is one of Ireland’s most notable film producers. Beginning his life in the Irish capital, he pursued his passion into movie production during his time at Trinity College Dublin where he set up a film society with a certain Lenny Abrahamson. Today, he and his company Element Pictures have come a long way from those days though, having produced the likes of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favour...

Today's podcast is something a little different. This weekend I was honoured to attend this year's British Film Designers Guild awards to speak to some of the very decorated production designers nominated. I managed to get a little time with the likes of six-time Oscar nominee Sarah Greenwood, who attended the awards with her recent film Cyrano. James Chinland who was there for The Batma...

Today’s guest is one of the most accomplished production designers in the world today. Starting his career under the tutelage of Star Wars designer John Barry, he worked his way through the art department on 1970s classics such as the original Christopher Reeve Superman and Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge too Far. Here he began a multi-decade collaboration with Attenborough which produced the like...

Today’s guest is one of the most accomplished costume designers in the world today. Starting out on features including Michael Mann’s Manhunter she has since travelled the world designing tens of the our most beloved films including The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia and the Fantastic Beasts Series. Most notable about her career though, is her longstanding relationships with Directors Tim Burt...

Go and grab your shine box people because today is a big one!  Today's guest is one of the key creative decision-makers behind a number of the world's most well-loved movies. Beginning her career casting under the legendary Juliet Taylor, she later went out alone, casting beloved titles including Forrest Gump, The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia and Scent of A Woman.  It has been her collab...

Today's guest is a first for the show - someone at the top of the game in the field of VFX production.  Starting her career producing commercials she transitioned to James Cameron's famous VFX house digital domain, where she worked on titles including 47 Ronin, Her and a multitude of David Fincher projects including zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  Since leaving DD, she h...

Today’s guest is A SAG Award winning / emmy nominated actor and musician. With an extensive career featuring parts in iconic films such as Robert Altman’s Gosford Park, you will likely know him best from turns in Downtown Abbey, Mary Poppins Returns and most recently as the loveable Higgins in Apple TV’s smash hit - Ted Lasso. If that wasn’t enough, he also finds the time to make music with previo...

Today’s guest is a multi-hyphenate animator, director, writer, and storyboard wizard. Gaining an early directing credit working on Disneyland's Cranium Command he was soon thrust into feature direction on historic classics such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and of course, Beauty and the Beast, the first animated movie to ever be nominated for best picture. My guest...

Today’s guest is another first for the show and it’s an exciting one. The fabled role of Casting Director. Beginning her career in production working on films such as Tim Roth’s The War Zone, she made the move to Casting where she has flourished to one of the world’s most successful casting directors working on projects including Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, Venom Let There Be Carnage and...

Today’s guest is quite the jack of all trades - a director, producer, writer, actor, and even studio owner, he is one of the rare people to have straddled both a career in his native language, all the while succeeding in Hollywood. Beginning with Icelandic home grown faire, he has since directed the likes of 2 Guns with Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington, Everest with Jake Gyllenhaal and most rec...