Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss

We talk to Jeremy Adams about his life in animation. He tells us about the difficulties animated writers face, how they are treated compared to TV writers and how hard it is to break out of the mould. Jeremy tells us about his successes, the sacrifices his family had to make and the irony of creating great work for little pay and then watching millions be made in consumer goods products. He explai...

We talk to the extraordinary Deborah Pratt. She tells us about how she got her break in Hollywood, her period of homelessness even after Quantum Leap and what she did to get her career back on track. Amazingly, we also cover a wide range of topics from Frank Sinatra to Airwolf to fan chat rooms. Deborah tells us about fighting against discrimination, pushing hard for groundbreaking scripts and wha...

This season we seek to explore failure and rejection in different parts of Hollywood. We have Jordan Moblo, EVP IP Management and Creative Acquisitions of Universal Studio Group. He talks why he is plans to be an agent didn't work, the books that got away and how they try and treat the authors they work with. He explains how they set expectations for what might happen to a book during the lon...

We talk to the fantastic Lisa Morales. She tells us about crashing James Cameron's Hummer, her role as an executive and then giving that up to become a writer. She walks us through being fired for not being confident enough, imposter syndrome and rebuilding her confidence and her career. What she learned on her journey to being a showrunner, what she did when she got there and what her advice...

We have the the amazing ‘Jewaiian’ twins who tell us about writing Moana, their early failures and why poetry didn’t pay the bills. They talk about representation in native Hawaiian storytelling, being down to their last 12 dollars and the emotionally challenging story of the making of Adrift. The twins explain how they celebrate success, how they deal with failure and their lives as teachers. A w...

Season 3 Premiere We have legendary Simpsons showrunner Mike Scully on the show. He talks about being pigeon-holed as ‘Cartoon Boy’, losing out on an Emmy to the Rugrats Passover special and writing jokes for $25 for Yakov Smirnoff. He tells us about being accused of being a UN Observer for being so quiet in a writing room, having a show cancelled for being too wild and crazy when they specificall...

After a season break and, not withstanding the strike, the podcast returns. In this pre-season show, we talk about the strike, what people can expect this season and how much Noah surfs. We talk writers, execs and who you can expect to hear from.

We temporarily return from our mid-season break to hear from Burn It Down author Mo Ryan. She talks about writing her book, what she tried to achieve and her hopes for the industry. On her second podcast appearance she describes the toll writing a book like this takes, the chapters she didn't write and what she thinks about the future of Hollywood. A powerful interview with a passionate autho...

Our 100th guest is the amazing Erica Huggins, President of Fuzzy Door Productions. She talks about her early days as a film editor, being fired and told she will never work in this town again and her subsequent successful career. She talks balancing the comedy of Ted with the pressures of the modern world, working with Seth MacFarlane and the transition from film to television. We talk resilience,...

We talk to the extraordinary Chef Andre Rush in a slightly different episode of the podcast. The former solider and White House Chef talks about his transition into television, the 'sharks' he found there and why he chose to make the leap. Chef Rush tells us about the stresses of White House cooking, his role in spreading awareness about mental health and being in the gym at the Pentagon...

We talk to the excellent Brannon Braga. He talks about the pressure of working on the Star Trek franchise, understanding when he was, and wasn't, 'in peril', and we walk through his failures. Brannon tells us about which shows were hits, which were cancelled and what type of leader he is. We discuss how  he receives fan feedback, working on his soul's work and taking notes from...

We talk to Steve Vitolo, aspiring writer and now a tech leader. He tells us his story of writing in rooms, getting his show cancelled and developing his app on the side. He talks not taking advantage of his new found access, feature writing and telling his TV colleagues about his app. Steve tells us about leadership, winning an Emmy and when to quit writing. A fun interview about breaking in and g...

We talk to the amazing Diane Ruggiero-Wright. She talks passionately about early success, a big cancellation and nearly returning to waitressing. She tells us why she regrets not completing her education, the huge fall-out she had at the end of our her first show and why she isn't very good at taking notes. We talk writing ability, over-noting and leadership style as well as hearing about imp...

We talk to the amazing Diane Ademu-John. She talks about her first writing room, being afraid to speak and then getting fired from Crossing Jordan. She talks about leadership, co-showrunning and learning and growing even from bad projects. Diane talks about her love of genre, her new production company and working on  a large ‘estate’ like Dune. An inspiring interview about confidence, storytellin...

We talk to Australian showrunner Luke Tunnecliffe. He tells us about trying to run a sports documentary during a global pandemic, bringing an LA production to Australia only to get locked down and moving from sports documentaries to scripted dramas. He explains the difficulty of pitching Australia in Hollywood, the Australian obsession with sport and what he learned about showrunning managing prod...

We speak to the extraordinary Gina Yashere about her journey from British comedian to American sitcom actress and showrunner. She talks about her dream to play a best friend in a sitcom, the lack of pressure because she never really wanted to be a showrunner and moving to America. Gina talks about her powerful comedy, talking about her childhood suicide attempt and breaking down barriers. She tell...

Two Englishmen talk Hollywood rejection as we managed to lose Noah for the episode. Veteran Jim Piddock tells us about his fight for fair pay for Tooth Fairy, what a nice man the Rock is and his huge problems with a high profile actress. He compares rejections as a writer, an actor and then an author, tells is about his thousands of failed auditions and why he loves writing. Jim talks casting, the...

We turn the microphone round and have host Dan Rutstein as guest. Friend of the podcast Paul Bae asks the questions with Noah as Dan talks through unsuccessfully applying for 100 jobs, getting laid off during the pandemic and the resilience needed to change careers. He talks openly about the importance of vulnerability, what he's learned from interviewing showrunners and why he didn't su...

We talk to the fascinating Eric Guggenheim. We talk early career success, serious imposter syndrome and working with his brothers (one of whom has already been on the podcast). He tells us about his good years, his fallow years and how much he loves being in a room. We discuss the importance of learning the craft of writing, how it feels to tell your staff your show is cancelled and then how it fe...

We talk to the extraordinary Simran Baidwan. She tells us about her best and worst rooms, the transition from criminal prosecutor to Hollywood and the importance of grace in leadership. We cover inclusion, telling a good story and how to not put roadblocks in your own path. Simran tells us how her Indian immigrant parents dealt with her career move, why she walked away from TV's number one sh...

We talk to the amazing Jeffrey Lieber - for the second time. We take a deep dive into the world of failure, rejection and adversity in Hollywood. We talk ill-fitting jobs, managing and leading teams and shit sandwiches. Jeffrey tells us about his fears of not showrunning again, talks us through the mistakes he’s made and gives advice to aspiring writers. A fascinating insight into the darker side...

We talk to the fascinating Paul Bae. The teacher/comedian/podcaster/screenwriter/actor talks us through his journey. We talk failing in screenwriting and acting leading to millions of downloads for his scripted podcasts, getting a chance to tell Korean stories and his secrets to pitching. He tells us how naming Korean menu items cost him a speaking part in the Interview, telling authentic stories...

We talk to the extraordinary Ildy Modrovich. She talks about arranged marriages, the importance of two showrunners and the pilot that was guaranteed - until it wasn't. She talks about losing her confidence, making sure others don't lose theirs and missing out on Sons of Anarchy to take a safer job. Ildy tells us about dealing with failure, the importance of good timing and not taking it...

We speak to the amazing and hilarious Chris Sheridan. He reads out some of his rejection letters, tells us about making calls from payphones on street corners and why he really didn't want to work on Family Guy. But then he talks about how great working on Family Guy was, running his own show and working in the studio kitchen. Chris tells us about travelling cross country to Hollywood, the im...

We have comedian, actress and writer Brittani Nichols on the show. A fascinating discussion about diversity, inclusive comedy and working on a rocketship of a show like Abbot Elementary. We talk happy and unhappy rooms, friendships on shows and how nice her Abbott Elementary colleagues are. We talk perseverance in a career, award nominations and what comes next. A fun, entertaining and insightful...