Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss

What an episode! Legendary showrunner and show creator Trey Callaway joins us. He talks about a failed pitch leading to two huge successes, the letter from a dying man that reinspired him and the life and death of showrunners. Trey tells us about going from film school student to being at the front of the class, Coppola coming to his hometown and why he now writes for good. A magnificent episode w...

We have the magnificent John Green on the show. The best-selling author talks about his new book Hollywood, Ending. He tells us why the long gap between novels, turning books into films and whether he enjoys writing. We talk books being turned into toilet paper, his love of soccer and his pursuit of non-fiction. John talks openly about anxiety, imposter syndrome and dealing with fame.

We talk to British show creator Ben Chanan. The creator of The Capture talks about his transition from documentaries to scripted tv, carrying the idea around in his head for five years and how getting Covid nearly derailed a whole season. We discuss about the spy genesis of the series, British show vs American show creation and the access and experience of documentaries. Ben speaks honestly about...

We have the excellent Erica Messer on the show. She tells her story of moving from temp to writer, the greats she learned from and how she got to work on some of the most iconic shows of our time. What she learned from being a bartender, the joy of studio lots and how she coped with working on a dark show like Criminal Minds and being a mother. A fun, informative and in-depth chat with someone who...

We have the remarkable Minkie Spiro on the show. Heavily Emmy nominated for All Her Fault, she talks about her start in documentaries, the family disapproval of her career choices and what she learned on Holby City. We talk about being pissed on by rats and what that teaches you about life, she uses some great British phrases and we discuss award shows. We talk Downton Abbey, 3 Body Problem and sh...

A true fairytale today as we talk to Craig Gerber, creator of Disney princess shows galore. He tells us his fascinating tale of fairies that led him to create Sofia the First while stuck in a traffic jam, the joy of working at Disney and presentation and diversity in writing rooms. He talks about his early career struggles, creating the new Sofia the First: Royal Magic show and what next for his w...

We welcome the dynamic writing duo of Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson to the show. We talk about celebrating wins together, the mechanics of a writing pair and their new show It’s Not Like That. They tell us why they have a shared inbox, being mistaken for a couple couple and the changing dynamics of writing rooms. A deep dive into the world of writing partners navigating today’s TV landscape.

What a nice man! We have Thom Harp on the show to talk movies, pitches and being nice. We talk persistence, writing what you know and getting the best out of your team. Thom describes the frustrations of years of pushing, how he made the most of the Covid opportunity by listening to sensible advice and the joy of working in a job you love. A really fun, informative and engaging chat.

We have the impressive Courtney Lilly on the show. He talks about the state of Hollywood, being in the same storm but a different boat and the luck it takes to succeed. We hear about his start as a journalist, showrunning on a show created by someone else and the importance of Morpheus. Why Black-ish was a success, talented actors over good writing and the importance and value of diversity. A fasc...

Episode 150 and we have a legend on. It’s David Zucker, he of The Naked Gun and Airplane fame.  He is as funny and witty and irreverent as you would hope he would be. David tells us the story of how he got Airplane made, we talk about the puns of it all and why he doesn’t like the new Naked Gun movie. He talks about spoofs, his new project the Star of Malta and the self-confidence to move to Holly...

Rogue One writer Gary Whitta returns to the podcast and we talk…podcasts. The British writer explains why he decided he needed to make a scripted podcast, casting Jon Boyega and how bad Hollywood is at the moment. He talks us through where he sees the industry, the process of pitching this show and his views on taking notes. In his usual witty, sardonic style, we also cover advice for writers, the...

The magical Craig Thomas returns to the podcast. The How I Met Your Mother co-creator comes on to talk about his heart-warming novel That’s Not How It Happened. Craig talks about why he wrote the book, disability in Hollywood and the tortuous process of writing a novel. He explains his personal journey with his son’s rare disability, why it was so important to write this book and how he used his t...

We talk to filmmaker Martyn Robertson and sports surgeon Gordon Mackay about the inspiring feature doc Make it to Munich. In a crossover episode we talk Hollywood and whisky, pioneering surgeries and telling stories with heart. They explain how the extraordinary story of a young man’s courage to overcome life-changing injuries has ended up at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood - the adventures they...

He was told he had no future in the entertainment business and yet Australian Nick Verso has gone on to have a stellar career. In this episode we talk about dealing with such raw rejection, how he found his place in the business and also the other early project that was turned down - and the apologies he has had about that since. We talk about why he started directing, how we got good at writing a...

We talk to the incredible, passionate and enthusiastic James Eason-Garcia, co-EP of Ironman and his Awesome Friends. Noah and I geek out a little and cover both James' career while also asking superhero and Jedi questions of a man who has special access to both of those worlds. We talk about his journey from fan to working on these projects, the excitement of actually of walking through the d...

We talked to Australian showrunner and writer Tony Ayres. He talks about his Netflix show The Survivors, comparing himself to others and the balance between commerce and art. We explore his Chinese-Australian roots, the benefits and disbenefits of being niche and how Australia sees Hollywood and Hollywood sees Australian. We also cover the changing language of Hollywood, how he has changed to adap...

We bring on the fascinating Daniel Casey. He tells us his Hollywood origin story, giving up directing to get a script moving, his route to F9 and the excitement of working on a serious franchise. Daniel talks about the exciting of being on the set of a $250m movie, how nice Fast and Furious fans were and how close he came to running out of money and giving up. He talked about some huge projects -...

We are delighted to have the legendary Eriq La Salle on the show. The talented actor, writer, producer, director and novelist joins us to talk about his illustrious career, the power of storytelling and his love of acting but not necessarily some of the business of acting. We talk about a writing rejection leading to acting, an acting rejection leading to directing and frustrations about pay dispa...

We talk to The Irrational Showrunner Arika Lisanne Mittman. She talks about her ten years as an assistant, finally getting her break and what she learned along the way. We discuss the rise and fall of network television, what the industry learned from the strike and whether she's any good at firing people (she's not!). Arika talks about her strengths and weaknesses as a showrunner, gives...

We talk to Equalizer showrunner Joe Wilson. In one of our most candid episodes so far, he talks about his journey from East Cleveland to Hollywood, the tough days at the start and even sleeping in his car. He explains how he got his break, how he is treated when he goes home and what sort of showrunner he aspires to be. We talk cool Hollywood moments, his strengths and weaknesses and the show abou...

It's always fun we have two guests on, particularly when they are talking about Wolf Productions first go at a streaming platform. We talk to showrunner Tim Walsh and co-creator Elliot Wolf about their new show On Call, making the most of the freedom of a streamer, whether the police in Long Beach still like them and how hard the industry is right now. Elliot talks about the Wolf legacy, tryi...

We talk to Sally Bradford Mckenna, co-showrunner of the new Peacock show Laid. She explains how she first got her break, reluctantly, on Will & Grace, how her father's career helped shaped hers and why every show needs two showrunners. She talks about the evolution of comedy writing, difficult rooms early in her career and being brought in to solve problems on shows, and how that didn&apo...

We talk to showrunner JJ Bailey. He talks about his new show The Hunting Party, finding a new angle for a procedural and the excitement of getting a new network show on air. We hear about the complexity of the showrunner role, learning a way round a writers room and whether you should write about your hobbies. Great insight from a man who seems too nice to be successful in Hollywood.

We're back after our New Year and fire break and have a great oe, Coco and Cleaner writer Matthew Aldrich. He talks about the power of spec scripts, why he never celebrates his wins and the pressure and intensity of working with Pixar. He tells about sourcing ideas from news articles, how prior success has meant nothing for future success and the state of Hollywood today. We also cover not li...

We talk to former HBO President and now producer Sue Naegle. A fascinating insight from the top of Hollywood about how Game of Thrones nearly didn’t get made, working with Eddie Redmayne and the art of saying no. Sue talks about producing multiple shows at the same time, the projects that got away and the fear of where the next deal is coming from. We also talk about Hollywood coming out of its da...