The Zack Arnold Podcast

I’ve spent my entire career wondering what the difference is between those who simply string along one job after another to pay the bills and those who have extraordinary resumes, amazing credits, and award-winning careers. You might assume it's some combination of God-given talent, luck and hard work. If you've listened to me for any amount of time, you know I consider "luck" to b...

In this episode, I give you an insider’s glimpse into the world of my Optimizer coaching & mentorship program and what we call the ‘Hot Seat.’ What you’ll hear today is a recording of an actual live session with an Optimizer student where on the Hot Seat we tackle various questions about career transitions, productivity, workflows, networking, burnout, habit formation, resumes and websites, an...

Many people assume that career goals and health goals have to be mutually exclusive (waiting for the next hiatus to start a diet or exercise program? That’s what I thought). What I have found through years of coaching students in the Optimizer coaching & mentorship program  is that once a general baseline of health and good habits are set, lifestyle and career goals can absolutely work hand in...

I was an early adopter using Evercast to collaborate remotely as early as September 2019 while cutting  Cobra Kai  season 3, well before any of us could have predicted the impending doom of the pandemic and the demise of in-person collaboration. At the time Evercast was in its infancy (an early build of version 2). The idea was there, and it was more than usable as a streaming collaboration platfo...

Where I give you an insider’s glimpse into the world of my Optimizer coaching & mentorship program and what we call the ‘Hot Seat.’ What you’ll hear today is a recording of an actual live session with an Optimizer student where on the Hot Seat we tackle various questions about career transitions, productivity, workflows, networking, burnout, habit formation, resumes and websites, and any numbe...

The quality of your life often comes down to the quality of your relationships. Whether it's at work or at home, how you interact with those around you plays a huge role in how you rate your well being. Are you running around putting out fires, reacting to whatever pops up in the moment, while never finding time for the important things? Or are you calmly observing the situation and circumstan...

I've often said that being a Post Producer is one of the most thankless jobs in Hollywood. They are tasked with pleasing seemingly opposing forces, i.e. studios, networks, and show runners, while also managing a team of editors and assistants and making sure the show gets finished on budget (and on time). Having a good post producer that not only knows how to keep the trains running on time bu...

Today, what I’d love to do is give you an insider’s glimpse into the world of my Optimizer coaching & mentorship program and what we call the ‘Hot Seat.’ What you’ll hear today is a recording of an actual live session with an Optimizer student where on the Hot Seat we tackle various questions about career transitions, productivity, workflows, networking, burnout, habit formation, resumes and w...

As a longtime listener you already know how much I love doing in-depth interviews on a variety of topics, whether that’s allowing everyday people to share their personal and inspirational journeys, or industry experts and world-renowned authors who share their expertise to help you optimize a specific area of your life. But today...what I’d love to do is give you an insider’s glimpse into the worl...

"You can't just stand up for yourself. We have to stand up together." Scott Jacobs When it comes to working the brutal hours that have become the norm in entertainment, negotiating for better pay, and fighting to make changes in industry standards, most of us feel helpless (and hopeless) about where to even begin. When I wrote  Dear Hollywood: It’s Time For An Intervention About The Ho...

As a longtime listener you already know how much I love doing in-depth interviews on a variety of topics, whether that’s allowing everyday people to share their personal and inspirational journeys, or industry experts and world-renowned authors who share their expertise to help you optimize a specific area of your life. But today what I’d love to do is give you an insider’s glimpse into the world...

"We want to promote health and wellbeing to editors because they work so hard." - Kevin Tent As the recently elected President of American Cinema Editors (ACE),   Kevin Tent  is leading the charge to make working smarter instead of harder in the edit bay one of his top priorities. He's dedicated to making changes like taking regular walk breaks, adding in meditation, and even taking an...

ACE Editor Steve Lang  truly means it when he says, “If I can help somebody get a job, it's almost just as satisfying as if I got the job myself.” As we discussed in  part 1 of our marathon interview together , not only did Steve play a huge role in getting me my first television editing job on  Burn Notice  (despite the fact I didn’t have enough experience), but he has helped countless number...

If there's one story regular listeners of this show have heard a lot, it's the story of how I got my first television editing the #1 show on cable at the time - Burn Notice  (having ZERO television experience at the green age of twenty-nine). I tell this story often because it's a great example of how experience doesn't have to be king when it comes to getting jobs. Many of the stu...

As a self-diagnosed “extreme introvert,” I’ve done my best to avoid as many mixers, social events, awards parties, and otherwise for the duration of my twenty-year career in Hollywood. Yet despite my intense distaste for chit-chat and random conversations, I’ve not only built a global network of hundreds of professional contacts, colleagues, and genuine friends but also several mentors who have he...

If you work in the entertainment industry you might be living under the assumption if you get really good at what you do, jobs will just miraculously find you, and you can avoid the painful process of putting yourself out there and selling yourself. After all, selling is for businesses and salesmen. Well, guess what?  If you are a freelancer in today’s gig economy, you are a business.  Referrals m...

Author’s Note: The following is the second in a 3 part series about building a relationship with your ideal mentor. In Part 1 I demonstrated The 10 IMDbPro Features That Will Take Your Outreach to a New Level , and in Part 3 (coming soon) I will demonstrate how to reach out to your ideal mentor once you’ve identified who they are and how they can help you. Stay tuned... Mentorship is an elusive co...

Working long & stressful hours is hard enough when you absolutely love the content you’re creating and live for what you do. But how can you survive when you don’t even enjoy the work you do and have no emotional connection to the stories you tell? In my opinion, any emotional disconnection from your work coupled with unbearable hours is a recipe for surefire burnout (I’ve been there and done...

I don't know about you, but my brain is like an endless news ticker reminding me of the growing tasks, activities, ambitions, and must-do's that I need to accomplish to prove my worth as a human. No sooner do I start one checklist item and I'm already thinking of the next. It's been ingrained in me that striving, achieving, and accomplishing must be happening at all times! No longe...

» Click to read the full transcript "In twenty years, do you want to be doing this? If the answer is no, you better figure some stuff out." - Alex Ferrari When the pandemic shut down Hollywood, many craftspeople in the industry came to the realization their livelihood was 100% dependent on other people having work for them. I too had this realization that in order to support my family some...

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» Click to read the full transcript There is at least one point in our lives when we make the stark realization that we no longer enjoy what we do. The passion has long-since gone, and we’re only there for the paycheck. This is what I call “The Comfort Trap.”  There are few discoveries more terrifying in your career than when you realize you are just “comfortable.” Once you decide it’s time to mak...

“Success is never a straight line.” – Agustin Rexach If there’s one sure thing about Hollywood, it’s that no single path to success exists. Unlike doctors, lawyers, or accountants, Hollywood doesn’t provide you a roadmap of simple steps that if you follow, do the work, and produce results, you’ll become successful. There are so many paths to be taken and many more to be forged, and although the ro...

One of the many fears this pandemic has magnified is that we can’t possibly focus on our careers and work at the highest level while also having time to be parents, partners, and well-rounded individuals. And with the transition to working from home, navigating this challenge has become even more complicated. Today, I’m talking with ACE editor Farrel Levy who has worked at a high level her whole c...

One of the topics I get questioned about constantly is networking: How important is networking? Can’t I just get really good at my craft so my work speaks for me? (I hate networking!!!) How often do I really need to do it?  Today’s guest, Emmy award-winning editor turned director, Kabir Ahktar, ACE feels very strongly that: “It’s really important to stay networking…However much you’re doing, it’s...