The Producer's Guide: Todd Garner and the Future of Hollywood

There are many avenues to become a producer. Former roommates and Temple Hill Entertainment cofounders Marty Bowen & Wyck Godfrey share their trajectory of their partnership, transitioning from being an agent and a studio exec to taking a chance on a production company, why they value emotional experiences over "being smart," and their sense of optimism about the current state of Hollywood. Se...

Love finds a way! Rebelle Media co-founders Laura Lewis and Amanda Palley join Todd to discuss their love of the rom-coms, why there is currently a void in the romance genre, how women are being underserved at the box office, why Gen Z wants more romantic comedies than previously thought, and why we need more romance writers in Hollywood! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...

What exactly is happening at the box office right now? Is it a fluke that these small movies are finding big audiences? Or is it a part of a MUCH bigger trend? Scott Stuber stops by to share his experience in the movie industry from his time running film production at Universal, Netflix, and now United Artists, as well as being a massively successful Producer. Plus, Todd and Scott discuss how the...

In honor of having the #1 and #2 movies in the marketplace right now, we are re-releasing Todd's fascinating discussion with Blumhouse Productions founder & CEO , Jason Blum! They discuss Blum's discovery of Paranormal Activity, why good horror and Sundance films are more similar than you think, working for Harvey Weinstein in the 90s AND MUCH MORE! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...

So you want to make a movie in paradise with a huge piece of IP? Rideback Co-CEO Jonathan Eirich describes the ups and downs of the entire filmmaking process of the 2025 live-action blockbuster adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, including: the challenges of rebooting a beloved story, losing a big name director, changing courses from streaming to theatrical, casting a five-year-old as the lead during...

Sometimes making movies requires the perfect storm of fearlessness. Todd Lieberman joins the show for a deep dive into producing the international blockbuster THE HOUSEMAID! Lieberman shares how he optioned the book (before it was a best-seller), working with Lionsgate to bring it to life, having 32 days to shoot in the New Jersey winter, how he got Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Paul Feig o...

Long-time industry producer Todd Black joins our Todd Garner to discuss the current state of the movie business, how producers can approach streaming, ways to improve the theatrical experience, and whether we should really think of streaming and theatrical as opposing forces. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i...

Oscar and Emmy nominated producer and founder of 51 Entertainment LYNETTE HOWELL TAYLOR joins Todd to describe her early days as a producer, why she loves working with actor-directors, how she became president of the Academy, producing the Oscars, the development of new award categories, and the long standing conversation around the PGA mark. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cal...

In this special crossover, Todd Garner sits down with veteran producer and General Meeting podcast host Becky Sloviter to talk about her upcoming film LET'S HAVE KIDS, the tough realities facing the movie business, and why producers and creatives need to keep the faith. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Todd is joined by visionary philanthropic consultant Lindsay Hadley to discuss her amazing work finding mission oriented donors and financing films and TV shows geared towards social change. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Can you tell a captivating story in 2 minutes? Todd goes deep with director / producer / creative executive Kay Zhang about the exciting new entertainment sector of vertical microdramas. They'll discuss the exciting work Kay is currently doing, at DramaBox, the future of vertical entertainment, and the great lengths Kay went to in order to shoot her 2021 short film, Mother in the Mist. See Privacy...

Writer / director / producer Adam Sztykiel joins Todd to talk about his work as a sought after Hollywood script doctor, why the human experience is our most valuable IP, the emotional process of handing things off when making a movie, and how that drove him to write and direct his first feature, Let's Have Kids! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https...

Is the industry headed in the right direction? Should studios keep investing in development? Are modern films less provocative? Todd is joined by his friend and legendary producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura as they inhabit their 17 year old selves and evaluate the state of the movie industry and discuss learning from public failure, the value of having good taste, why we need more "lunatics" making mo...

Todd is joined by leading film industry analyst and data researcher STEPHEN FOLLOWS as they dissect the data on producers per film throughout history. Yes. EVERY MOVIE EVER MADE. They'll discuss the increasing trend of producers per film, who is responsible for this, and dispel the myths of what career producers want from the industry. Check out Stephen's latest article here! And catch more of his...

From growing up in an Italian immigrant family in Cleveland to producing some of the biggest theatrical and streaming films of all time, Angela Russo-Otstot shares how she and her brothers (Anthony and Joe) broke into Hollywood. They discuss the Russo's sanctity of collaboration, the funny origins of the AGBO name, Angela's work on Extraction with Chris Hemsworth and The Bluff with Karl Urban, and...

Award-winning producer, Hidden Pictures founder, and failed Muppet TODD LIEBERMAN shares why heart and soul is his north star for making movies and TV shows. He'll discuss adapting beloved books and IP like The Housemaid, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder, Voltron, and Robin Hood! PLUS: Todd Lieberman shares how one of the saddest movies of all time inspired him to produce The Fighter AND Todd Garner s...

Are brands destined to become the new media studios? Sugar23 Director of Business Development JAMES CRANE joins Todd for a fascinating conversation about brand partnerships in entertainment, authentic integration, and how this avenue for capital is both relatively untapped and exploding.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privac...

There's no place like dome! Todd is joined by Hollywood veteran and Head of Sphere Studios CAROLYN BLACKWOOD as they discuss Las Vegas' latest ground breaking hi-tech immersive entertainment arena, SPHERE! Carolyn shares her journey including using "strike zones" to develop films at New Line Cinema, becoming COO of Warner Bros, the extensive R&D used to present The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, and...

Todd chats with his dear friend and legendary, decorated songwriter, Diane Warren, about making a documentary about her life and career, why everyone "hated" her during the filming of Con Air, the last-minute hit song she wrote for Coyote Ugly, working with Kesha on her latest song "Dear Me," and why Diane truly hopes to win the Oscar this year for best song after 17 nominations without a win. See...

Cinelytic CEO and cofounder Tobias Queisser and Todd discuss the ways that Cinelytic is using “Utility AI” to alleviate the pain points of studios, executives and financiers. From script synopses, to financial forecasting, to real time analysis for marketing and distribution teams, Todd and Tobias go deep into the overlap between science, finance, and creativity. See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

Award winning producer Janet Yang joins Todd to shares how she defied convention. From growing up as the daughter of immigrants in Queens, to introducing classic American films to China, working with Steven Spielberg on Empire of the Sun, forging a lifelong partnership with Oliver Stone, her fight to bring Joy Luck Club to the silver screen, becoming the first Asian American President of the Acade...

GET OVER HERE and check out Todd's chat with NetherRealm Studios Creative Director ED BOON! From playing arcade games as a kid in Chicago to programming pinball machines, Ed shares his journey in how he helped create and launch the iconic Mortal Kombat franchise. Ed discusses creating the original characters, the innovative game mechanics, which action movies influenced the creation of the game, a...

Co-heads of indie financier Black Label Media, Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill: discuss their work on Sicario, Only the Brave, Die My Love and La La Land; Molly's start at Alcon Entertainment; why they value being genre agnostic; getting ideas from Martin Scorsese's book club; the best time of year to release certain films; and break down WTF it means to be theatrical! See Privacy Policy at https...

From doing stand-up in Australia to appearing on The Daily Show in the U.S. to starring in global box office hits, Ronny Chieng has done it all! Today, Ronny joins Todd to discuss his transition from law to comedy, his first meeting with Trevor Noah, what bad producing looks like, the overlap between stand-up and film production, and what it takes to succeed in the world of comedy today! See Priva...

Have you ever been arrested on the first day of filming? Proximity Media cofounder and  Oscar nominee  Sev Ohanian almost was! In this episode, Sev joins Todd to discuss his long-time friendship and partnership with Ryan Coogler, the efforts it took to make Fruitvale Station, collaborating with Marvel Studios, and the journey to creating the blockbuster sensation Sinners.  And don't...