The No Film School Podcast

Renny Harlin is one of the great action film directors who has had a huge influence on the genre and continues to have a lot of love and passion for his craft. He’s bringing that enthusiasm and lots of helpful insights to the conversation today.  In this episode, we talk about… What made Renny Harlin decide he wanted to be a film director and his early influences growing up in Finland, which has a...

Tune in for some of the most exciting drone news in a while, plus discussions about a recent article exposing MoviePass and deep cuts by black filmmakers to honor Juneteenth. In this episode, we talk about… How MoviePass, for a while, was an amazing deal where you could see unlimited movies for one monthly fee. Venture Capital and how it factored into Movie Pass’s business model. What made Movie P...

The group is chatting about hot topics in the industry (and world), like safety and consent for sex scenes. In this episode, we talk about… How Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones recently stated that just because she was nude in the show doesn’t mean she would do it for other shows, and how this is opening up conversations about nudity in film. Why nudity should always be a fresh negotiation f...

Is AMC taking over other chains good? Bad? And what does it mean for filmmakers and film lovers? In this episode, we talk about… AMC Entertainment recently sold $230 million in stock in order to go on a buying spree. How the stock market encourages huge corporations and doesn’t support smaller businesses, like independent movie theaters. Whether or not movie theaters are a dying model and why tech...

There are countless books, guides, and templates on writing screenplays - but how important are they? In this episode, we talk about… Guest Robert McKee, his background in both theatre and novels, and the role his books have played in the world of screenwriting. What makes writing exciting. Whether or not there are “rules” to good screenwriting. The principles and forms of writing. The influence o...

Charles and Kath are back to chat about big news in mergers and acquisitions, HD in television, and their thoughts on the smartest first film industry job you could take. In this episode, we talk about… HBO Max is getting merged with Discovery - which is exciting for filmmakers because whatever name it ends up with, it will have a much bigger documentary platform. The nature of mergers and acquisi...

Charles and George are joined by filmmaker and writer Kath Tolentino today to chat about lots of topics like AAPI movies, seeking representation, and tech news. Today’s big topic is one that’s sure to benefit filmmakers starting out: budgeting for independent features. Give this episode a listen for guidance on your next Indie film’s budget! In this episode, we talk about… How many streaming servi...

In 2021, it can be hard to figure out new ways to innovate on film, since it often feels like “it’s all been done before”. But today, we’re chatting with director Timur Bekmambetov, who found a new way to tell stories and is now deep in “screen life”, a new way of filmmaking that’s a great way to connect with younger audiences and push the boundaries of the medium. In this episode, we talk about…...

Charles Haine, a writer at No Film School, is joined by Editor-in-Chief George Edelman to chat about a fun assortment of topics like the Pacino-ing phenomenon, new products by tech company Atamos, and what’s going on with IMDB ratings! If you have concerns about how the dreaded algorithm is affecting your career, you’ll definitely want to check out this episode. In this episode, we talk about… Ste...

This week on the No Film School Podcast, after mourning the loss of the Arclight and Pacific Theaters, we now speculate on hopes for its survival. Also, we offer the secrets of keeping a franchise fresh and exciting after many sequels or reboots. In Tech News: FilmConvert releases new software to get your iPhone to match the look of high-end cinema cameras. And for Ask No Film School, we discuss s...

Channing Godfrey Peoples and Neil Creque Williams put everything on the line for a personal story, and it worked.  How do you make the degree of difficulty even higher for a feature film debut? Channing and Neil found a way, but the commitment they had to the material, their faith in one another as sounding boards and creative visionaries helped them pull off something that you should definitely n...

This week on the No Film School Podcast, we the low ratings of the Oscars -- and why it ain't just because of COVID. Also: Apple gets a class-action lawsuit filed against them for the misleading use of the word "BUY." For Ask No Film School, Katherine asks what the first steps should take are for producing an indie feature -- and some very useful tips are dropped. And for this week's Deep Cuts: mo...

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm took over the culture for a minute or two back in the fall of 2020, not just because Sasha Baron-Cohen as a knack for this with his comedic stylings, but because timing is... everything. In the heat of an election cycle, Borat went for the jugular and put American culture on its heels once again. Hear how the editors saw it and pieced it together.  All three of these guy...

This week on the No Film School Podcast: can an AI do a decent job writing additional scenes for Lady Bird? In our final segment, the creators of the new app Dynascore join us to explain how AI can help create music that fits your video. Also: some hot takes on why adding product placement to classic films may not be the craziest or worst idea ever. Please email us any questions at ask@nofilmschoo...

Concrete Cowboy is a true story, a labor of love, and a star-studded debut. Writer/Director Ricky Staub cared about this story enough to invest a lot of time in bringing it to life. That care paid off when he got the chance to have his feature film debut with Concrete Cowboy for Netflix, starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin. I spoke to Ricky about the unique process of getting this story to th...

On this week's episode of the No Film School Podcast, we tackle the prickly subject of the upcoming Will Smith project 'Emancipation' choosing not to shoot in Georgia because of its recent election law. Also, Bong Joon-Ho offers some wisdom at a Chapman University Forum about how to deal with current events in movies. In Tech News: DJI drops a *ridiculous* new drone. And for Ask No Film School, we...

Darius Wolski has a resume as eye-popping as many of the tentpole movies he's lensed. He's been a longtime collaborator of Ridley Scott's as well as Paul Greengrass, demonstrating that Wolski can get an amazing job done in a wide-ranging variety of styles.  He breaks down shooting Hanks starrer News of the World, how he and Tim Burton survived experimental phases of shooting in 3D, how he works wi...

Joined once again by Katherine Tolentino, this week on the No Film School Podcast: Ryan Coogler reveals an admirable distaste for the Oscars and Netflix gives an astonishingly phat new paycheck to Rian Johnson for two 'Knives Out' sequels. In Tech Talk, Charles explains exactly how autofocus works. For Ask No Film School, a question about the default shutter speed on your camera. Please email us a...

What does it mean to never have a plan B? For veteran award winning DP Nancy Schreiber it meant continuing the grind, but also adjusting to the opportunities and realities she was presented with. How can you do the same? When getting DP jobs was less likely because of her gender, she took more gaffing jobs. When she got the chance to shoot video (VHS or otherwise) she grabbed it, and she wrote her...

Justice League, Zack Snyder, and Joss Whedon continue to hit headlines as we ask if Ray Fisher’s recent demands for the Justice League investigations should be released. We also talk about personality types of directors; debunking the myth that all directors should be extroverts. But what even IS an extrovert? In Tech News, Charles marvels at the advancements of the Sigma fp L. We also talk about...

It's no surprise that David Fincher's Mank was nominated for the Best Production Design. Production designer Donald Graham Burt is a veteran Fincher collaborator and he has a perfectionist streak equal to the director. Along with set decorator Jan Pascale, Burt tells us how he helped craft a period-specific look for the celebrated film. From the daunting task of recreating Hearst Castle interiors...

This week on the No Film School Podcast, we are joined by Michelle DeLateur to pick apart Zack Snyder's new 'Justice League' cut on HBOMax and discuss the current culture of emerging voices directing franchise films. Also, we celebrate the diversity of the 2021 Oscar nominees! In Tech News, Charles plugs an amazing new audio plug-in by Accusonus. For Ask No Film School: the do's and don'ts of expe...

Mark Toia has been a commercial director based in Australia for decades and he's finally breaking out with his first feature. Wearing many hats as director-producer-cinematographer (and even the on-set VFX supervisor), he's able to bring his expertise to a passion project and make a film the way he wants to. Charles Haine sits down with Mark to speak about everything from competing for commercial...

This week on the No Film School Podcast, we take a deep dive on deep fakes in light of some impressive Tom Cruise impersonations on TikTok. We also discuss how WandaVision's DP pulled off a crazy array of looks from different eras with a single sensor. Wow. In Tech News, Nikon releases its first full-frame mirrorless camera. For Ask No Film School, we give some essential advice on the pros and con...

It's rare to be cast as the lead of a feature film when you're eleven years old. What's even more rare is to be cast in one of the most notorious and celebrated bad movies ever made. Michael Stephenson's foray into the film industry was his starring role in Troll 2. This may have destroyed his career, or his life, but Michael's strange career path and his love for underdog filmmaking stories got h...