Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast

Today on the show we have writer and director Krystin Ver Linden. She has always steered the course of her career and her life with her love for film, and it shows through her work. She was recently chosen as one of Variety’s2022 “10 Directors to Watch,” a coveted honor. Ver Linden’s script Ride sold to Lionsgate with Joey Soloway attached to direct and was featured on the Black List. She went on...

It is an absolute thrill to have Jack Epps Jr. on the show today. The award-winning writer, USC Cinematic Arts professor and filmmaker is a member of the Writer's Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He’s best known for writing Top Gun, The Secret of My Success, Turner & Hooch, and Anaconda 1997 screenplay.  Jack first became involved in making films while doing hi...

Eli Horowitz is the co-creator/co-showrunner of HOMECOMING, both the Gimlet podcast and Amazon series, which stars Julia Roberts and Janelle Monae. He received a WGA nomination for the series in 2019. Previously, he co-created of The Silent History, an innovative digital novel; The Clock Without a Face, a treasure-hunt mystery; and Everything You Know Is Pong, an illustrated cultural history of ta...

Today on the show we have writer, producer, actor, director and Emmy® winning show runner Danny Strong. Danny started his career as an actor in numerous classic films and TV shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls, then transitioned into screenwriting, exploding onto the scene with his 2007 script Recount which was #1 on the Hollywood Blacklist and became an award winning HBO Film...

Simone Bartesaghi is an Italian award-winning filmmaker who has been recognized by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer) as an artist with "Extraordinary Ability in Directing”. At the age of 24 Simone received his Master’s Degree in Economics at the University of Pisa, Italy. Three years later he established a successful Consulting Comp...

NFTs are all the rage today but how can indie filmmakers use them to generate revenue? I did an entire episode dedicated to NFT and Indie Films last year and it is, by far, one of the most downloaded episodes ever. Today on the show we have a filmmaker and creator that was able to raise $2 million for a brand new IP using NFTs. His name is Arel Avellino. His brother and him launched an NFT collect...

Today on the show, we have actor, writer, director Brian Petsos. Brian is the writer director of the new film, "Big Gold Brick" starring Andy Garcia, Oscar Isaac, Megan Fox and Lucy Hale just to name a few. After graduating from art school, Brian Petsos eventually began acting and improvising. While in the conservatory at Chicago’s famed SecondCity, he started writing; and later he began making fi...

Today on the show we have returning champion RB Botto.  For many, the holy grail of television has become Netflix. It’s a titan in the industry, and with over 200 million subscribers worldwide, no one can put out content quite like them. Just look at the recent hit show BRIDGERTON, which has already been seen by a massive 80 million households (!!) since its release. If you’re a writer or creator,...

Reinaldo Marcus Green is a writer, director, and producer. He most recently directed the critically acclaimed Warner Brothers film King Richard starring Will Smith. The film is nominated for Best Picture at the Critics Choice Awards, was named one of the Top 10 Films of the Year by both AFI, the National Board of Review and an Academy Award® nomination for Best Picture. [presto_player id=110177] B...

Today on the show we have producer Daniel Sollinger. Daniel and I have fought in the same indie film trenches for years. I had the pleasure of working with him on multiple occassion over the past 1o years. He has a new film coming out called Clean, starring Academy Award® Winner Arian Brody. Tormented by a past life, garbage man Clean (Adrien Brody) attempts a life of quiet redemption. But when hi...

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Today on the show we have filmmaker Ryan Templeton. Ryan has been developing a "Frankenstein" self-distribution model for the ever-changing filmmaking landscape. Though this interview was recorded before the pandemic it seemed almost Nostradamus-like in its tone. Ryan and I discuss the changing Hollywood landscape and how indie filmmakers can take advantage of new opportunities that are being crea...

Today on the show we have writer, producer, and director Josef Kubota Wladyka. Josef Kubota Wladyka’s debut feature film, Manos Sucias, won Best New Narrative Director at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, Best First Feature and Best Editing. [presto_player id=104851] Josef has also directed episodes of the acclaimed television shows, Narcos, Fear t...

Today on the show we have entrepreneur and filmmaker Michael D. Ratner. Michael founded OBB Pictures in 2016 and under his leadership the company has grown into OBB Media, an award winning production company and studio with divisions in film, TV, digital, podcasts, branded content, and social good. In addition to running OBB and expanding the business, Ratner continues to act as a multi-hyphenate...

Today on the show we have film producers Jason Armstrong and Rob Goodrich. Armstrong and Goodrich founded Walk Like A Duck Entertainment, a film production company that develops and produces high quality scripted and non-scripted content. With a combined 30+ years in the entertainment industry, Armstrong and Goodrich have held positions in all aspects of production with a focus on IP acquisition,...

Today we have the award-winning actress, director, producer, entrepreneur and activist by the name of Eva Longoria. Eva Longoria has long established herself as one of the most sought after television directors in Hollywood. Named by Variety as one of their most anticipated directors of 2021, Longoria continues to hone her craft, seek new projects, and expand opportunities for others by paving the...

Today on the show we have writer, producer and director Brad Silberling. I had the pleasure of meeting Brad back in 2005 at my first Sundance Film Festival. He was very kind with his time and gave me some great advice. His feature films include City of Angels starring Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage, Moonlight Mile, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon; Lemony Snickett’s A Series...

Julian Higgins is a Los Angeles-based director, writer, and producer. His first feature, GOD'S COUNTRY – a neo-Western thriller starring Thandiwe Newton – will premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Julian’s short films have screened around the globe and won dozens of prizes, including the gold medal Student Academy Award, two Student Emmy Awards, and the grand prize of Ron Howard’s “Project...

Well Sundance 2022 has begun and so has our coverage. Today on the show we have writer/director Chloe Okuno. Chloe is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a masters degree from the American Film Institute Conservatory. There she received the Franklin J. Shaffner Fellow Award, and directed the award-winning horror short film SLUT. Her recent work includes writing a remake of “Audrey Rose” for Orion Pictu...

Today on the show we have prolific indie filmmaker Jared Cohn. Jared Cohn is a film/TV director, writer, and producer based in Los Angeles, CA. He has directed over 40 films that have been produced and distributed by major studios and production companies such as Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, Syfy, Lifetime, and many more. His works have been released theatrically and he has won numerous awards and has...

Today on the show we have returning champion Adrian Martinez. Adrian Martinez has over 100 television and film credits including several standout sidekick roles - “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” opposite Ben Stiller, “Casa de mi Padre,” opposite ‘Mexican’ Will Ferrell, “I feel Pretty,” as Amy Schumer‘s office buddy, ‘Mason,’ and as ‘Elliot’ the dog catcher in the CGI and live-action re-imaginin...

You are in for a treat today. We have legendary 80's action director Sam Firstenberg.  At a young age Sam began to "create" movies to entertain his friends. Horrifying his mother, he would cut up books, stringing together the pictures and rolling them up. He would then put the roll into a box with a cut out window, shine a flashlight from behind, and manually pull the roll, revealing the pictures...

Today on the show we have Oscar® nominated filmmaker Joe Wright. Joe has established himself as one of Hollywood’s top directors with his rare ability to captivate global audiences through his extraordinary cinematic craft. Most recently, Wright directed the psychological thriller THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, starring Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman. The film follows an agoraphobic psycholo...

Today on the show we have Oscar® and two-time Emmy® Nominee Simon Kinberg.  He has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers, having written and produced projects for some of the most successful franchises in the modern era. His films have earned more than seven billion dollars worldwide.   Kinberg graduated from Brown University and received his MFA from Columbia Universi...

Every once in a while I have a conversation on this show that blows my mind, this episode did just that. Today on the show we have Oscar® Nominated producer Chris Moore. He produced films like Good Will Hunting, American Pie, Waiting, The Adjustment Bureau, and Manchester by the Sea. Chris' profile grew from his appearance as the producer on the early 2000's filmmaker reality show Project: Greenli...