We chat to Charlotte Cheung, a development executive for Red Bull Studios about the difference between Red Bull 'the brand' and Red Bull 'the studio', what her average Tuesday looks like, balancing the need to uphold a brand's values with journalistic integrity of documentaries, her project selection process and the current unscripted landscape. About the Guest: With over a decade’s experience in the film industry, Charlotte is currently a Development Executive with Red Bull Studios, th...
Aug 7, 2025
38 min
We get into the weeds with Maria Blais O’Laughlin, a veteran film and television clearance coordinator. We chat to Maria about what a clearance process looks like from start to finish on a film, all the steps that go into clearing one item, examples of where things have gone wrong, and why clearances are so important (spoiler: so you can get insurance and deliver to your distributor!). Disclaimer: This episode should not be construed as legal, commercial or financial advice and should b...
Jul 23, 2025
48 min
We chat to Christian Monti about using existing data as a risk mitigation tool in financing feature films, the pros and cons of Cinelytic software, the software's genesis, how it improves the film business for independent producers, and the use of predictive modeling in the financing, casting and distribution phase of a film's lifecycle. About the Guest: Christian is the COO at Cinelytic. Prior to joining Cinelytic, he was a studio executive for 17 years and developed a deep knowledge of Stud...
Jul 2, 2025
32 min
We chat to Amy Stein Simonds about her work as an entertainment lawyer, what production legal actually entails, how to budget for it, and the importance of a signed agreement policy on set. About the Guest: Amy Stein Simonds is a partner in Pryor Cashman’s Media + Entertainment Group. Amy has provided production, finance, and distribution legal counsel for more than 100 studios, streaming platforms, and independently financed productions, mostly advising throughout the evolution of a pr...
Jun 18, 2025
30 min
We chat to Amanda Freedman about producing the acclaimed ‘The Luckiest Man in America’, the “produced by” credit and what it means to be the only producer on a film, the role of film critics in the context of sales, the changing market and whether the film industry is still a boys' club (spoiler: it is). About the Guest: Amanda Freedman is an LA-based, Toronto born independent producer. She graduated with an MA in media theory from the New School, and went on to do her MFA in AFI's prod...
Jun 11, 2025
37 min
Self distributing HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS broke the Hollywood system, and Kurt takes us behind closed doors. He walks us through the catalyst for the filmmaking team in deciding to take fate into their owns and distribute their own film, the marketing strategies and tools implemented, what lead to their success, and what they learned along the way. About the Guest: Kurt Ravenwood, a producer and marketer from Wisconsin's Northwoods, is a founding partner and Executive Strategy Direct...
Jun 4, 2025
43 min
We chat to Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, about the relevance of film festivals in the current market, the rise of branded content and the importance of values alignment between brand, filmmaker, and the film being made, and why every filmmaker needs to budget for self distribution. About the Guest: Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, consults on film and media content strategy, distribution and marketing for some of the top brands in the world. His company guides companies through...
May 28, 2025
54 min
We chat to NY based producer Rachael Fung about the high’s and low’s of independent producing, being picked as Variety’s top producers to watch, the practical realities of different budget levels, balancing competing business and creative interests and we talk a lot about the business behind making FREMONT, Babak Jalali’s fourth feature film, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Aug 30, 2023
45 min
The second half of season 2 is back! We kick off with Patrick Walters, Executive Producer of Heartstopper from See Saw Films! Pat chats to us about what it means to be an Executive Producer in Television, working with broadcasters and streamers, creating unique stories for global audiences, and the importance of building the right team. Pat’s cats also make a brief appearance.
Aug 2, 2023
41 min
We all know documentaries can take certain liberties that scripted film and tv shows can’t and those of us operating in the unscripted world are thankful for it! Meet the culprit - U.S. fair use laws. We were joined by Katy Alimohammadi Crown current business and legal affairs at A24 and former partner of Donaldson Callif Perez, a firm renowned for specializing in unscripted and documentaries. Katy carved out some time to run us through the pros and cons of fair use, how it plays out in scrip...
Mar 30, 2023
39 min
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