Creative Principles

Lee Hardcastle is a renowned claymation director celebrated for his dark humor and innovative style. Through the years he has honed his skills to create captivating short films blending horror, comedy, and absurdity, and his unique storytelling and attention to detail have earned him a global following. Hardcastle's work ranges from grotesque parodies of popular franchises to original tales of mac...

In high school, Bill Kennedy got a job making copies at a law firm. Back then, he pictured himself taking the bar, buying a collection of three-piece suits, and making a career as a lawyer. But, when he met someone a decade older also making copies, who was producing records at the time, asked, “Dude, why would you want to do this? Why be a lawyer?” The beneficial challenger concluded, “[Do] you t...

Whether through art, animation, or filmmaking, Julian Curi has dedicated his life and work to telling stories and helping others tell theirs. These days he is best known for his work in paper puppetry and animation. His latest work, GRUFF, a paper-made short film about his relationship with his late dad is out now: https://youtu.be/5p4s4k3eB_I?si=GHg0_z09Yx-xTqXF In this interview, we talked about...

Jeff Goins helps creative people succeed. Through his bestselling books, courses, coaching, and speeches, he shares his ongoing journey of transformation, inspiring creators like you to discover your voice and share it with the world. He is also the founder of Fresh Complaint, a bespoke creative agency that helps thought leaders turn good ideas into big ideas. Jeff and his team do this through the...

“I started out in the acting world,” says Rebecca Flinn-White. “Acting, directing, theater. And that’s how Zak and I met actually. We were friends in college, didn’t date back then, but we’re married now,” she adds, about her writing partner, Zak White. Zak adds, “This is the only thing I ever wanted to do. I grew up in a small midwest town. I was a movie fanatic but I didn’t know people actually...

‘I didn’t grow up in a place where I was hanging out with screenwriters,” says Melanie Marnich. “I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. I was a voracious reader and I think that sparked something in me, but I didn’t know that that would be a career.” In college, Marnich was a journalism major with an emphasis in advertising. “I would up doing and loving TV and radio commercials.” She loved the job, but f...

Michael Jamin has been writing for television since 1996. His many credits include Just Shoot Me, King of the Hill, Beavis & Butthead, Wilfred, Out of Practice, Rules of Engagement, Lopez and Tacoma FD. He’s also served as Executive Producer/Showrunner on Glenn Martin DDS, Maron, and Rhett & Link’s Buddy System. In his debut collection of personal essays A Paper Orchestra, Michael recounts the tru...

“I wanted to be a filmmaker for as long as I can remember,” says Dave Boyle. “I wanted to be a writer-director but after I made my first couple of independent films, I was making more of my living as an editor. I didn’t really start pursuing screenwriting as a professional until I had done a couple of micro-budget films.” This would include films like Big Dreams Little Tokyo, White on Rice, Surrog...

Dori Zavala is an award-winning attorney and filmmaker with over 23 years of experience in the legal, business, and finance fields. She's the founder and CEO of Open For Show Business, a revolutionary consulting practice that provides high-level strategic consulting to filmmakers to guide them in the business, legal, and financing aspects of funding and distributing their films. In this interview,...

Chad Feehan’s parents took him to the movies nearly every single weekend. “They didn’t have much of a filter,” he joked about seeing heavy movies at a young age. “In my early teens, Tarantino exploded with Reservoir Dogs and Robert Rodriguez exploded with El Mariachi. I saw that not only did people get paid to make movies, but they could come from Texas.” As a screenwriter, he’s known for Paranorm...

Rising Nashville pop artist and songwriter, Kyndal Inskeep, has been writing and performing since childhood. Her career took off after releasing her debut viral single “Honest” with Song House. It quickly accumulated millions of streams and inspired masses. Her second single, “Parachute” initiated the same response. Currently, Kyndal remains an independent artist with the desire to make music that...

“My family had a dude ranch in Colorado,” says Mark L. Smith, as to why he didn’t really starting writing scripts until his 30s. “It was 2,000 acres surrounded by a quarter million acres of natural forest. We were literally in the middle of nowhere.” “Our driveway was a 2.5 mile road that was an old stagecoach trail, through a canyon. It was a resort and we were open in the summers, but we would s...

Amber Williams is a Screenwriter, Podcaster, Founder, and Creative Director of Whirleybird Productions. On her podcast 'The Film Finance and Distribution Podcast,' she deep dives into the business backbone of the cinematic world; engaging in insightful conversations with accomplished filmmakers, seasoned entertainment lawyers, and pivotal industry insiders. Her goal is to demystify the complex rea...

Diego Vicentini is a Venezuelan writer and film director who has made several award-winning short films, including 'Simón', the predecessor to the feature, which had an independent world tour, selling out screenings in eight countries in eleven different cities. His first feature film also titled 'Simón', follows a Venezuelan freedom fighter exiled in Miami, who copes not only with trauma, but als...

“The thing I always wanted to do was remember that what it means to be a writer is very big,” says Cord Jefferson, who lists writers like Joan Didion and James Baldwin as influences. “A lot of writers limit themselves. I’m a sports journalist or a novelist. I want to look at writing like a toolbox. You can use a toolbox to build a coffee table or a rocking chair or a house. These skills are applic...

Hardly recognizable from one character to the next, Alanna Ubach has starred in over 150 theater, film and television projects, including the Peabody Award-winning "Men of a Certain Age", the Oscar-winning "Coco" as Mama Imelda, the family's matriarch, and critically acclaimed "Euphoria" as "Suze." She was nominated for a SAG award for her performance as Jeanine Pirro in "Bombshell" and noted by t...

The son of Canadian TV host Elwy Host, Graham Yost grew up with a love for film, television, and books. “If I told my parents I wanted to be a doctor or lawyer, they would have said, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to be a writer?’” Graham’s impressive career began with Nickelodeon’s ‘Hey Dude’ but the movie ‘Speed’ changed his life. His credits include Broken Arrow, Hard Rain, Band of Brothers, The...

“I love storytelling and I think I’ve always been an observant person, when it comes to reveling in human dynamics,” says Dan Levy. “As an observer of people, writing felt like an easy outlet to express my curiosity about who people are, how they work, and the flaws and joys of who we are as people.” In addition to growing up in the business thanks to his father Eugene Levy, Dan Levy had a teacher...

Tory Tunnell’s original dream was to the Editor for Vogue. In college, she interned at places like The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar, but she minored in Film, which started a trek to working as a Producer. These days, Tunnell is known for Holy Rollers, My Blind Brother, King Arthur - Legend of the Sword, Underground, Robin Hood, Spinning Out, and now Monarch - Legacy of Monsters. The latest serie...

“My favorite thing was going to the movies,” Emile Hirsch says about his childhood. Emile is best known for Into the Wild, but with over 70 credits to his name, you’ve seen him in The Girl Next Door, Lords of Dogtown, Alpha Dog, Speed Racer, Milk, Killer Joe, Savages, Lone Survivor, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. His latest film, Walden, Emile plays an unassuming court stenographer in a small...

In the film, Eileen, the story follows a woman’s friendship with a new co-worker at the prison facility where she works, but the friendship takes a sinister turn. In the previous interview, screenwriters Ottessa Moshfegh & Luke Goebel discussed how they created this adaptation, based on Ottessa’s novel. In this interview, stars Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie discuss their interpretation of th...

“I always wanted to write for movies but didn’t really admit it until I moved to LA and someone asked me if I wanted to write a movie,” says Ottessa Moshfegh, the novelist turned screenwriter behind Eileen. “I studied other movies and loved learning the new form.” Ottessa’s screenplay credits include Causeway and Eileen, and some of her novels are Eileen, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Death in H...

“I love antiheroes,” says screenwriter Amber Noizumi. “As a woman, this idea of the goody two shoes girl next door has always annoyed me. The girl who looks and acts perfect. I don’t relate or find it interesting unless I’m rooting for her and against her at the same time.” “I’m more selfish about it,” added Michael Green. “Any character that has a degree of specificity that’s so unique to them th...

It’s been 500 episodes! Thank you all so much for listening. As a special celebration episode, I’ve included some of the best clips from the past 500 episodes and I’m also releasing a never-before-heard episode with William Monahan, the Oscar winning screenwriter of The Departed, Body of Lies, London Boulevard, Kingdom of Heaven, The Gambler, and Mojave. But, to get us started, here’s Aaron Sorkin...

“I’ve spent my life writing,” says Emerald Fennell. “It’s something I’ve done ever since I was a child. It’s something I would be doing whether I could make films or write books or not.” After University, Emerald wrote a pile of spec scripts to “find her voice.” During hiatus of BBC’s Call the Midwife, where Emerald played Nurse Patsy Mount for 27 episodes, she wrote three books. “My last book, Mo...