Episode 106: Carrie Maurer and Nina Gianelli, Heart Headed Entertainment

Carrie and Nina are Producers and Founders of the production company called Heart Headed Entertainment. They came up through talk shows and unscripted and then took their careers into their own hands to both have more meaning in their work and to create a more manageable work and life model.

We talked about working in “talk” – you have no idea how much teeth come into it - and how complimentary medicine and healthy living has influenced both their company and their desire for a sustainable life inside of this business. This hour flies by…

You can find Carrie and Nina in all of these places:

https://www.facebook.com/heartheadedent/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/heartheadedentertainment/

https://www.instagram.com/heartheadedentertainment/

Episode 103: Stevie Wynne Levine - Executive Producer

Stevie Wynne Levine, acts as the SVP of Production & Development for Mythical Entertainment and spearheads all creative initiatives for Rhett & Link. A Webby, Streamy, and Shorty Award-Winning Executive Producer, Stevie was named one of Variety’s “Hollywood’s New Leaders.” The only bummer was that particular issue of Variety had the giant portrait of Harvey Weinstein on it. Because he ruins everything.

She was an integral part of building the Internet's most-watched daily show, "Good Mythical Morning," serving as Executive Producer for the past five years, along with overseeing the duo's scripted show, "Rhett & Link's Buddy System," their podcast, "Ear Biscuits," and various other pieces of content racking up billions of views.

Previously Stevie was fortunate enough to produce for some of YouTube’s top talent and leading new media companies including Mondo Media, Studio71, and Red Hour Digital.

She is a force to be reckoned with and a talent to watch.

Episode 98: Natasha Feldman, Actor, Host, Chef

Natasha is an Actor, Host and a Chef. She has a cooking show called Nosh with Tash, which you can find here. She started out as an actor and studied abroad but kept getting distracted by the farmer’s markets and the freshly baked bread.

Her mission is to make cooking accessible and fun for people who like to eat. Which is everyone. Not only is she incredibly charming and a great host, she is also very well educated and really knows what she’s talking about. Her first show was called Cinema and Spice and got picked up by Yahoo.

I think she’s the next big TV food person, but I’ll let you be the judge.

She also has a great sense of humor about her internet trolls.

Episode 92: Lisa Cordileone and Amy Dellagiarino, Writers/Producers/Actor

Lisa is an Actor/Writer/Producer and Amy is a Writer/Producer/Actor and together they are creating a film and multimedia project called “Freelancers Anonymous.” These women are super smart and have their eye on the very big picture. Lisa was in the much-acclaimed web series called Easy Abby and is an accomplished voice over talent, among many other credits.  Amy’s credits include CollegeHumor.com, An Emo Bromance, Break In, and a children’s book series called Jenny Morgan: Certified Genius.

They tell us as much as they can about their project and their process.  Any more and they’d have to kill me. That’s fair, I guess.

Come listen and have a laugh with us. We cracked up a lot.

You can follow Freelancers Anonymous and find out more here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FA_themovie (@FA_themovie)

IG: https://www.instagram.com/freelancersanonymous/ (@FA_themovie)

FB: https://www.facebook.com/freelancersanonymous/ (@freelancersanonymous)

https://www.freelancersanonymousmovie.com/

Episode 91: Christina Kallas, Director, Writer, Professor

This episode is brought to you by...

Christina is a Writer, Director, and a Professor. Her latest film The Rainbow Experiment recently debuted at Slamdance to much acclaim. Her first film, 42 Seconds of Happiness won numerous awards, including Best Feature Film at WTxFF in Texas, Best Ensemble Cast at Harlem IFF, Indie Spirit Award and Best Ensemble Cast at Princeton IFF, just to scratch the surface.

She has been teaching at Columbia University’s and Barnard College’s Film Programs since 2011, and is the author of six books, including Creative Screenwriting: Understanding Emotional Structure and Inside the Writers’ Room (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2010 & 2014).

She has a unique perspective on the writing process, actors, and multi-protagonist filmmaking. She has the voice of an artist.

Episode 87: Chelsea Steiner, Writer/Director

Chelsea is a Writer/Director and is currently producing her webseries called Thank You, Come Again. You can find her (NSFW) Indiegogo campaign here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/thank-you-come-again-sex-lgbt#/  

Chelsea came up as a film and television writer while also being a sex educator and diversity advocate. While working her day job as the Social Media Manager at The Pleasure Chest in West Hollywood, she looked around and realized this was show that writes itself. So, she wrote it and has set out to produce it.

I was admittedly nervous to interview Chelsea, as at heart I am a WASPY girl who grew up in Catholic school and would certainly never discuss sex publicly. But Chelsea is a smart, open, and talented woman who gave a very interesting interview and helped me mature just a little bit more. But, do listen to the episode with your headphones in and don’t play it in the car during carpool.

Episode 86: Shannon and Tia Ayers

Shannon and Tia are writing/producing partners under the company Borndreamer. They came up separately through production and comedy, while still making viral videos and other projects together, until they decided to relaunch the company their mother started years ago. Together, they made the film Firm with a Purpose, which was the Audience Favorite at the Women in Comedy Festival in 2017, and screened last night at the Women in Film Annual Shorts event.

We had a funny and thoughtful conversation that ranged from competitions and collaboration, to motherhood and bias.  What does success really mean? And if you say, “Well, I guess I’m a badass,” are you?

They are launching a podcast called Sister Stuff soon, where they will be telling stories, talking about their journey in filmmaking and trying to make each other laugh. You can follow them and find out more at borndreamer.com. 

Episode 85: Amy Spies, Writer

Amy wrote on 90210 and Melrose Place (the OG) among many other shows, but those are what made me fangirl. She comes from a Hollywood family - her parents were moved out to Los Angeles by Desilu Studios. (As you do.) And although she resisted joining the family business, she eventually did, going on to write “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

I loved hearing her stories and her journey and I think you will too. She’s a writer, a teacher, a mentor and is deeply into mindfulness. She teaches a mindfulness writing program which helps people, especially women, find their voice. This is the time that we all need to find our voices.

This is a Master Class.

Episode 83: Selyna Warren and Marissa Read, Producers, Writers, Actors, Directors

Selyna and Marissa are Show Runners/Executive Producers of their YouTube Red show called Foursome. They sold their first show at 24 and they are going strong, making their unique mark in this business. They are prolific writers, passionate actors, and have just added Directors to their resumes.

And they have warned you, steer clear of the common table at Republic of Pie if you don’t want to get caught in their uproar.

Episode 81: Nicole Feenstra, Actor, Writer, Producer

Nicole is an Actor who also wrote and produced her webseries called Broken Hearts Division. You can find it here: www.brokenheartsdivision.com. It is hilarious, with a brilliant premise. There is a division of LAPD that prosecutes crimes of the heart. At least, there should be.

She came up through theatre and also advertising and marketing. All of her skills came together in producing the pilot to her series and launching a crowdfunding campaign.

We did this interview as a simulcast facebook live and Instagram live and it now lives on video on YouTube and you can watch it here: http://bit.ly/2zYt8CE

Episode 77: Women in Entertainment Summit 2017

Patty Jenkins talks with WIE Co-Founder Gretchen McCourt  

On November 2nd, I went to the third annual Women In Entertainment Summit.  I love this event.

The day started out with Geena Davis. The Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media Studies has provided a heap of data surrounding women and girls in media. She presented some data on the day, and as usual, representation of women on screen and behind the scenes are still dismally small.  There are some very easy fixes however, and this is a point that really resonated with a lot of people.

She told us that Media can actually fix the problem is has created.

There was a also a lot of talk at the conference about the parts that we own - namely, confidence and advocacy. 

On the side, we talked about #metoo.

During the lunch break I caught up with McKenna Koon and Dana Kelly who both work at FullScreen, and I talked with Shirley Davis, EVP of Production at Alcon Entertainment.

On this episode I share a lot of the high points and inspiration from the day – from women such as Geena Davis, Victoria Mahoney, Dee Rees, Jordyn Wieber, Christine Simmons, Gabrielle Carteris and Greta Gerwig.

It was a great day, and this is but a tip of the iceberg.

And my must see films list from the summit: LadyBird, Mudbound, Fear Us Women

Episode 71: Myah Hollis, Writer, Producer, Actor

Myah is a Writer/Producer/Actor.  She recently released her webseries called Or Die Trying.  Watch it here.  It’s really good.

She says you can’t enter the entertainment industry without people throwing the likelihood of your failure in your face.  And yet, she persisted.

I’m glad she did.  This is a woman who is going places.

And Twilight.  Can we just talk about Twilight?!

Episode 67: Ramaa Mosley, Director, Activist, Entrepreneur

Ramaa is an accomplished Commercial, Music Video and Film Director, an Activist and an Entrepreneur. Her career as a Director started around age 16, and she now has a company she founded called Adolescent Content which represents young content creators and Directors to national brands and distributes professional content by very young creators.

She wrote and directed the film The Brass Teapot and also worked on a beautiful film called Girl Rising that speaks to the vital importance of educating girls around the word.

As an activist, she was vital in creating worldwide awareness with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign about the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping in Nigeria. She learned many things with that campaign, not the least of which was about unintended consequences even with the purest of intentions.

Find out more about Ramaa Mosley and Adolescent Content here:

www.adolescentcontent.com
www.splendidandco.com
www.ramaamosley.com

Episode 56: Anabella Casanova, Producer, Director

Anabella is a Producer and Director and she owns a production company with her husband called Vacation Theory.  Her eyes were opened young to socio-economic differences and social justice issues.  She realized early that real change happens with the people and what shapes people is the stories we tell and the art we consume. She wanted to be a part of the storytelling.

Here is some great advice: develop an artisan skill to leverage against the thing you want to do. That means learn a craft to get into the room to gain the influence to get the job you want. In other words, your day job should be on set, not at a coffee shop.

Serious, smart and curious goes a long way. Soak up everything you can from that first job.  You are getting way more out of it than what are you being paid.

And Anabella’s driving priority – be a good human first and create a life.

As for feminism, let’s bring femininity back to feminism – we’ll unpack that.

And my cat makes a cameo. Welcome to my home studio.

You can see some of Anabella's work here:  That's What She Said and That's What He Said. And her company is here:  www.vacationtheory.com.

Episode 54: Kate Mines, Actor

Kate is an actor.  And a writer and producer. She recently created and produced the series called Dropping the Soap that can be seen on Amazon. Her other acting credits include Doubt, American Crime, Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, The Mindy Project, The Mentalist…all the shows you love. She was in the scene where Denny got his heart transplant on Grey’s. Say no more.  I’m a fan.

She produced Dropping the Soap in part to get exposure doing comedy.  Which she did.  Jane Lynch is in it too by the way, along with a lot of other faces you will recognize.

She gives a lot of great advice about producing and about acting.  For acting – know your place and be a good guest.  If you are invited to a dinner party, bring a lovely bottle of wine, don’t lug in the entrée.  And when producing, ask. Have good material, and they will show up.

And all the real networking happens at school.

Episode 53: Charlie Gelbart, Actor, Writer, Producer, Director

Charlie is an actor, writer, producer and director. She recently created, produced, directed and starred in a web series called The Charlie Orange Show. You can watch it here.  She plays three different characters in her woman-on-the-street hidden camera series.  She likes to push the envelope as far as she can and capture people’s honest reactions. This is all in service of seeking human connection and creating deeper empathy. 

Charlie just won Best Director at the London Independent Film Awards. Pretty rad.

And she majored in finance because it was easy. Go figure.

Episode 52: Lane Allison, Actor, Writer, Producer, Director

Lane is an actor, writer, producer and director. First, let me tell you she is in a play that you should go see – Welcome to your Alternative Reality.  Here’s the link. I went last weekend and loved it.  Theatre in LA is alive and well.

Lane just wrote, produced, directed and starred in a pilot called After Pluto.  Watch it here.

Here’s the thing: more and more women are now writing complex female characters for themselves and are producing the shows and putting them out there. I think it’s an incredible revolution.

Risk, fail, risk again.

Lane leaned in big time. And she is a delight.  And if you happen to cast for animation, have a listen to this voice!

And as I have oft suspected, there is something to marrying your college sweetheart.

Episode 51: Bri Castellini, Writer, Producer, Director, Actor

Bri is an award-winning indie film and web series writer, producer, actress and director.  And her day job is as the Community Liaison at Stareable, a web series community. She is of the generation that is creating their own content, putting it out in the world, and getting lots of accolades and attention. I gotta say, I love that.  It’s ballsy and brave.

We talked about faking it until you make it, finding real confidence, and embracing your femininity.

And show business is mostly jazz hands.

You can find more about Bri here.

Episode 50: Jennie Yamaki, Producer, Production Executive

Jennie is a Producer and Production Executive who has worked on such films as Napoleon Dynamite, Juno, and Harold and Kumar.  She has also done a lot of work in digital content with PopSugar, Mattel and Lionsgate. 

We talked about this new world of branded content, monetizing web content, and being your own advocate. And she has an announcement.

Episode 46: Stronger Than Pretty, Jaret Martino, Pat Branch, Marjorie LeWit

Stronger Than Pretty is a film about Jaret’s mother. She took her three children out of an awful situation and created a life for them all, despite everything she was expected to do as a nice Catholic girl in New York in the 70’s. In addition to that extraordinary tale, it is remarkable that her son recognizes the strength of her story and has created a piece to celebrate it. 

Jaret Martino is an actor and producer, with 10 films already under his producing belt, most of them with distribution. He is committed to hiring female crews on his projects to help counteract the dismal statistics for women in the industry.  He is a true feminist and is leading by example.

Pat Branch is a comedian, writer and teacher, and wrote the script for this project, with passion, humor and empathy.

Marjorie LeWit is an actor and director, who directed this film and the companion project Inner Warrior, which they tell us all about.

This is a master class in purpose driven content – purpose driven life. Their kindness, empathy and desire to bring people together drives their work and their lives. It is a joy to hang out with them, if only for an hour.

Remember this:  money is not what makes art.  Although, feel free to send the money anyway.  Strongerthanpretty.com.