Inspired Minds

Sobey Road Entertainment Co-Founder and producer Andrew Trapani joins us to discuss his career path, music, film culture and producing in the horror genre. Credits include: “The Haunting in Connecticut,” which opened at #2 at the box offices and went on to gross over $99 million, “Winchester,” the supernatural horror film starring Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken...

“Orange is the New Black” star Christina Toth, who played Annalisa Damiva in seasons 6 and 7, dishes on acting methods in front of the camera and under the bright theater lights onstage. Other TV and film credits include HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” Discovery’s “A Crime to Remember,” Prime’s “Bumbld,” BRIC TV’s “All Hail Beth,” “Consensus Reality,” “Inside the Rain,” “Crowddating,” “Frankie: Italian...

A powerful force in both journalism and entertainment, CNN producer and "The Newsroom" star Margaret Judson joins us to discuss her career, ultimate truths and inspiration. She’s now up for an Emmy (Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama series) for her work in the hit series, “Strut,” for which she also recently won the Best Supporting Actress award at the New York Independ...

The saga continues with another “Scream” franchise legend. Her movies grossing over $1 billion at the global box office, veteran producer Marianne Maddalena started out Wes Craven’s assistant on “Deadly Friend.” Eventually becoming producing partners, the pair formed Craven/Maddalena Films and their work sliced through Hollywood as horror movie gold. Credits include: every “Scream” film, the upcom...

A native of Los Angeles, Marilee studied philosophy at Yale before moving to Rome where she started her career in the film business as Francis Ford Coppola's philosophy tutor. She then worked in Italian TV as a director and development executive before returning to the US. Back in LA, Marilee started her career as a writer in commercials, writing treatments for many well-known directors, befo...

Mercedes De La Cruz (Gendron) is a Canadian actress, best known for her memorable and charismatic performances in more than two dozen television shows and independent films. As a model, De La Cruz has graced the cover of ALEPH Magazine, was Former Miss Hawaiian Tropic, Poster Girl Molson Canadian and notably secured a highly visible contract for The Brick before Cindy Crawford took the campaign ov...

First slashing his way to the screen as a Bob Weinstein's assistant at Miramax Films, Richard Potter read Kevin Williamson’s “Scary Movie” script one night, and insisted the film be made. He convinced Dimension Films to buy it, Wes Craven to direct it, the script was re-titled “Scream,” and the rest is horror movie history. He also developed legacy titles such as “Halloween,” “Hellraiser,” an...

Janet Scott Batchler is the writer (with her partner Lee Batchler) of "Pompeii," "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Batman Forever," among many other projects. She was an Executive Producer on "Running for Grace," a lyrical indie about life and prejudice on a coffee plantation in 1910s Hawaii. The film, directed by David Cunningham and starring Matt Dillon and Jim Cav...

RCA Records Senior Vice President of Artist Development Nick Light has led the music industry in the production of major tours and special events for entertainment giants Warner Bros. Records, MCA, Sony Entertainment and Mercury. He has orchestrated and directed the production of major tours for a countless number of icons including Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Beyoncé, Neil Diamond, Green Day, Josh...

William D. Cohan, a former senior Wall Street M&A investment banker for 17 years at Lazard Frères & Co., Merrill Lynch and JPMorganChase, is the "New York Times" bestselling author of three non-fiction narratives about Wall Street: "Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World," "House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street"...

Independent film producer Veronica Nickel discusses powerful stories, influencing audiences and her segue into documentary filmmaking. Credits include: the 2021 documentary "InHospitable," Netflix Originals "First Match" and "Uncorked,” “A Kid Like Jake," "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors," "Dead Man's Burden," Wildflower" and "Moonl...

Adam Glass is an executive producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. Writing and producing credits include “Supernatural,” “Cold Case,” “Criminal Minds” and “In from the Cold,” a new thriller on Netflix. As a comic writer, Glass wrote “Deadpool” and “Luke Cage” for Marvel Comics and "The New 52" phase of Suicide Squad in DC Comics. Podcast | Inspired Minds (inspiredmindspodcast.com)...

Isabel Dréan is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer who likes to explore human nature’s dualities of light and dark through psychologically intricate storytelling. Raised by a single mother and now mother to two children herself, the theme of motherhood is an important and recurring one in her stories, with "Let Go" taking an uncompromising look at the devastating reali...

After 25+ years in Film Acquisition at HBO, where she served as SVP of Film Programming and was responsible for the HBO Latino programming model, Doris Casap made a leap of faith and launched MOTHER FILMS as Founder/CEO, an independent production, sales and advisory company based in NYC. In her first year, Casap executive produced and sold (to Amazon and Peacock) “A Most Beautiful Thing," a d...

With “The Batman” storming through theaters, Executive Producer Michael E. Uslan dives into the origins of the franchise, its monumental impact and Bruce Wayne's drive to defend humanity. Uslan, a legend in his own right by bringing the Caped Crusader to the screen, has executive produced every Batman-related movie since Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman” with Michael Keaton, up to Matt Reeves’ “The...

Neuroscience researcher, therapist, columnist, public speaker and Behavioral Therapeutics founder Marlowe Kaufmann M.Sc., tells her personal story and reveals the science and stigma behind mental health. In today's world with 450 million people struggling with addiction and mental health disorders worldwide, the topic is shrouded in stigma. She discusses this uneducated thinking and her compr...

Twice Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director/producer Mark Mori explores the documentary side of Hollywood. His harrowing, world-renowned films, "Building Bombs," "Kent State, The Day the War Came Home," "Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann," "The Atlanta Child Murders" and "Bettie Page Reveals All" have been both controversial and...

Two-time Emmy award-winner, producer and “New York Times” bestselling author Phoef Sutton digs into the creative process onscreen and on the page. Some TV/film credits include: “Boston Legal,” “Cheers,” “Kevin Can Wait,” “Darrow and Darrow,” “Past Malice,” “Defiance,” “Rob,” “Valentine” and “The Soulman.” He also wrote the Tony Scott cult classic “The Fan” starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes...

Spiritual entrepreneur, human connection coach, Rabbi and “Showing up with Asher G” podcast host Asher Gottesman talks addiction-recovery and radical honesty. After losing a multi-million-dollar real estate business at the age of 33, Asher dedicated the rest of his career to helping others “restore wholeness” in their lives. Armed with a renewed sense of self, profound life experience and entrepre...

Genein Letford, M.Ed is a bestselling author, corporate trainer, podcaster, TED Talks speaker and the CEO of CAFFE Strategies. Now one of America's most popular and innovative keynote speakers, her mission is to reignite the creative flame in people of all ages. Books include "16 Diamond Tools of Creative Thinking," "From Debt to Destiny: Creating Financial Freedom from the Ins...

"The End of Getting Lost" author Robin Kirman expounds on storytelling technique, character development and integrating life challenges into her work. Earning a BA in philosophy from Yale College and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University, Kirman taught English at Columbia before writing her first novel, "Bradstreet Gate," which was published by Crown in 2015. Now behind po...

In-depth interview with Diane Drake,  WGA screenwriter and former Vice President of Creative Affairs for Sydney Pollack's production company, Mirage Enterprises. Drake wrote the smash hit romantic comedies “Only You” (Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr. and Bonnie Hunt) and “What Women Want” (Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt). As an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writer's program and author of “...

Legendary “Star Wars” editor and "A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away" author Paul Hirsch discusses the craft, showmanship and evolution of film editing. The Academy Award-winner's credits also include “Carrie," "Creepshow," "The Empire Strikes Back," "Blow Out," "Footloose," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Pl...

Sadie Dean is a screenwriter, musician, American Film Institute alumni and the editor-in-chief of Script Magazine. In this episode, Dean examines the craftsmanship of storytelling in a variety of art forms, from filmmaking and screenwriting to playing in rock bands.  Podcast | Inspired Minds (inspiredmindspodcast.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Decades after pioneering the notorious and mega-successful Chippendales franchise, Bruce Nahin leaves a seedy underworld to mentor young filmmakers: “Be the person you needed when you were younger.” Podcast | Inspired Minds (inspiredmindspodcast.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.