No Set Path: Entertainment Break-In Stories

MICHAEL LUKK LITWAK i s a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and cartoonist that was born and raised in Los Angeles. His first feature was ‘MOLLI AND MAX IN THE FUTURE’ a sci-fi Romantic-Comedy starring Zosia Mamet and Aristotle Athari and is often described as ‘When Harry Met Sally’ meets ‘Futurama.’ ‘MOLLI AND MAX’ had its world premiere at SXSW 2023, played at BFI London, Sitges, and Fantasia before its...

This special episode takes you to Park City, Utah to talk to filmmakers, staff, and attendees of the 2024 Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals. BREAKDOWN: 2:08 Guri Neby - Producer, Handling the Undead (Sundance 2024)  5:00 Ken Wittingham, Director & Sundance Comedy Panelist (Abbott Elementary, Parks & Recreation, Black-ish) 7:33 Sarah Lasley [Director & Writer] & Brenna Palughi [...

Emily Ruhl is a model, actress, producer, writer, and director. She has been the face of brands like Smashbox, KKW and MAC; acted in films like Newness (Sundance 2017), and Executive Produced We Strangers (SXSW 2024) and Playland (Tribeca 2023). Her directorial writing, directing, and producing debut, short Blue Moon, played at 100+ festivals and landed her 4 awards for Best Director. Emily is a L...

This motivation mix was created for directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, editors, makeup artists, entrepreneurs, and filmmakers from previous episodes of No Set Path. TOPIC BREAKDOWN: 0:12 - Overcoming tough times 10:08 - You were born to do this  13:23 - Form your own taste, set your own path 17:58 - Comparison + imposter syndrome 25:40 - Overcoming tough financial times 26:22 - Build...

John Burd is a writer, producer and director specializing in TV movies. John has worked on projects for networks including Hallmark, Lifetime, Syfy, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, UpTV, and Ion.  He made his directorial debut in 2021 with his script Love at the Christmas Contest. BREAKDOWN: 4:00 - Acquiring rights to a book for script adaptation 5:57 - Upcoming movies: Nana’s Here, Stalked by My Ste...

Michael Ritter is a film producer and executive named on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Hollywood & Entertainment. He was pivotal in closing over $280 million in financing for films such as Lionsgate’s “Moonfall” and TV shows such as Peacock’s upcoming historical epic “Those About to Die.” We dive into the entire process of getting on Forbes 30 Under 30 - - - alongside names like Jenna Orteg...

As we approach college application season, it's time to explore the 5 questions you should ask yourself before choosing film school. 3:21 - Finding the Right Role in Film 10:57 - A School's Comprehensive Offerings 17:11 - Content of the Degree's Classes 24:18 - Making Your Own Opportunities 32:16 - Student Loans for a Film Degree CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow www...

Mark J. Matthews is an LA-based engineer specializing in A.I. research. His work was key in character movement in films including Kung Fu Panda, Shrek Forever After, Madagascar, and installments of franchises Trolls and How to Train Your Dragon. He has multiple patents and two DreamWorks Technical Achievement Awards. Today we’re getting into the realistic future of AI, how to protect yourself from...

Matt McClung is a writer/director whose feature debut Inhabitants is premiering at the Austin Film Festival 2023.He sold an original pilot he co-wrote to Adult Swim in 2020. His work has been featured on Short of the Week and Director’s Notes. EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 2:00 - Directorial debut “Inhabitants” premiering at the Austin Film Festival 10:00 - Elements of Catholicism in secular movies 15:14 - F...

Katrina M. Kudlick is a producer and writer known for “Fixation” (2022), Hulu's “Appendage” (2023), and “Spoonful of Sugar” (2022). The founder of Fever Dream Studios, her work  has screened at festivals including Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, SXSW, BFI London and Fantasia Film Festival. In this episode, Katrina dives into landing her first LA billboards for “Appendage,” why...

Host Rebecca Doyle reads your anonymously submitted, true stories of faking it 'til you made it - landing jobs in various positions, all the way up to interviewing Oprah, launching a 20+ year career, and landing a circus performer role on Parks & Rec. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow www. NoSetPathShow.com

Leiah Yvonne Kwong of London-based Eleventh Hour Films dives into all things British TV, freelancing vs working in-house, working across multiple countries and immigrating to pursue a career in film & TV, and falling in love with the legal and business affairs of filmmaking. 2:00 - The Killing Kind (Paramount+), Alex Rider (FreeVee), Magpie Murders (Masterpiece, BBC) 8:45 - Moving up from assistan...

This special episode features several writers representing the Writers Guild of America (WGA) active on the writers strike picket lines in Los Angeles. We had the opportunity to speak with Noah Schechter (The Black List), Evan McGahey (Outlander) and Becca Mann (The Bondsman, The Morning Show). 1:30 - NOAH SCHECTER 2:55 - The flawed business model of streamers 5:00 - First job on The Black List 7:...

Editor Matthew Jensen dives into how he was able to jump from reality TV back to scripted after getting his union days, how he leveraged relationships from every job - and unpaid internship - into fruitful projects a decade later, and the various methods he used to find post production gigs while building his network.  4:56 - Sound of Freedom, Black White and the Greys, Popular Theory, Rescuing Ch...

EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 0:52 - Intro! Strike Overview 2:47 - Disclaimers! Redacting the names of shows 4:26 - CLAY SAVAGE (SAG-AFTRA) 6:00 - What’s the deal with residuals?  8:10 - What sectors will AI eliminate? 11:52 - Striking is for minimums, health insurance 13:40 - Advice for actors   15:45 - NANRISA LEE (SAG-AFTRA) 17:12 - Reasons for striking > work 18:20 - CASARA CLARK (SAG-AFTRA, General Hosp...

This special episode features several writers representing the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on the writers strike picket lines in Los Angeles. We had the opportunity to speak with Alex O'Keefe (The Bear), David Weddle (For All Mankind, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Ryan Lee (CSI: Vegas) and Megan Rees (Pre-WGA). CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow www. N...

Emilia is a union makeup artist (Local 706) whose work on “Abbott Elementary” earned her a nomination at the 2023 Makeup and Hair Stylists Guild Awards. Her work can also be seen in theaters this year in the film “Maximum Truth,” or on TV in season 4 of “Miracle Workers” featuring Daniel Radcliffe, who she previously worked with on "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story." In this episode, Emilia dives into...

Mike Grimm is a writer of over 30 screenplays and former creative executive at Wayfarer Studios.  In this episode, Mike dives into: 3:13 - His projects in various stages of development 16:12 - What's in a general meeting? 18:13 - Should you ever write for free?  22:29 - How to not get jaded 26:29 - How Sabrina Carpenter became attached to his original script 29:24 - Creative executive vs. screenwr...

Peri Segel is a biracial, Asian American comedy writer whose credits include episodes of Disney's "The Ghost and Molly McGee" and Netflix's "Go Dog Go." In this episode, Peri dives into: - How she went from her job as a production coordinator to the writers room of a Disney TV show in just 2 weeks - How the personal experiences she initially felt afraid to share became the topics of episodes becau...

YB Chang is a senior editor for the Try Guys and recently received her first television credit as editor of an episode of No Recipe Road Trip on the Food Network. A former editor at BuzzFeed, YB also creates her own content for her 400,000 followers across Instagram and YouTube where she posts about food, lifestyle, and most recently - her wedding! Today YB chats with us about how she made the lea...

Part 2! Listen to part 1 in the previous episode, published 05/03/23! Jenine Pastores and Josh Jackson are co-creators of Tubby Nugget and Snapchat-backed Nuggetverse, Inc. With their original character and IP they have successfully built out an audience over 9+ million globally with their animated cartoons and have diversified into plush toys, books, and custom drinks.  CONNECT WITH TUBBY NUGGET:...

Jenine Pastores and Josh Jackson are co-creators of Tubby Nugget and Snapchat-backed Nuggetverse, Inc. With their original character and IP they have successfully built out an audience over 9+ million globally with their animated cartoons and have diversified into plush toys, books, and custom drinks.  Part 2 out next Wednesday 5/10/23! CONNECT WITH TUBBY NUGGET: All platforms @tubbynugget FOLLOW...

Nina Sadowsky is a 5-time published author, producer, and educator. In this episode Nina discusses: - Lessons she learned from the 2007 writers' strike and how to apply them in 2023 - How she broke into film producing, screenwriting, and novel writing - Overcoming a project or company failure without letting it become your identity - Cultivating the discipline to write consistently @nosetpathshow...

Alessandra Conti is the on-air Celebrity Matchmaker for NBC's Access Hollywood, a matchmaker behind 2 seasons of MTV's "Are You The One?", regularly featured matchmaker on CBS's Face The Truth, and subject of upcoming scripted and reality shows. In this episode Alessandra discusses: - Two BIG upcoming TV projects she recently landed - How she navigated signing with her first major agent - How to o...

Kristen Brancaccio is a writer, director, and VMA-nominated producer. Her recent projects include music videos for artists including the Oscar-winning FINNEAS, Ke$ha, Usher, and a video for Ben Abraham that screened at SXSW 2023, directed by Jillian Bell and starring Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.  In this episode we cover:  - How Kristen went from not knowing anyone in LA to cultivating a...