Episode 47: Ayser Salman, Writer/Editor/Producer

Ayser is an Editor/Producer/Writer. She is also a Muslim, Arab, immigrant woman living in America.  Apparently, all of those things together add up to an interesting set of experiences. So much so, she is writing her memoir.  After hearing her interview, you will want to read her book, The Wrong End of the Table: an Immigrant Love Story.

She told me lots of stories, such as when her sister was born in America and was nearly named Amanda, except Ayser was NOT HAVING THAT. In recent years, she has discovered that saying your real name to the barista is actually a radical political act that, though risky, is worth it. It is important to be seen and not hide in the shadows.

And no matter what, even at her own party, she always seems to find herself at the wrong end of the table.  Who doesn’t?

You can learn more about Ayser and read some of her work here:  www.aysersalman.com.

Episode 42: Baked Goodes

Five women, Erin Dooley, MacKenzie Horras, Molly Reynolds, Anna Mehle and Caryn Ruby got together to put on a show, and it became the webseries called Baked Goodes, which debuted on 4/20. Caryn was unable to join us this day, as she was out of town, but I had the rest “in studio.”

These women are go-getters.  They wanted to work, so they created it.  What struck me as so unusual about this bunch is that they worked by consensus. They really made the effort to reach consensus every step of the way.  Their process sounds unusually pleasant, collaborative, and efficient. They did a lot of work very quickly with very little budget.  It can be done.  They are badass.

Watch Baked Goodes here and tell all your friends.

Episode 35: Jennie Lew Tugend, Producer

Jennie is a Producer. She has produced and co-produced some of the industry’s most memorable franchises:  Free Willy, Lethal Weapon and HBO’s Tales from the Crypt.  As she continues to develop and produce today, she is also sharing her experience by teaching film production at UCLA Extension and Columbia College Hollywood, and in 2016, she joined the faculty of AFI as a producing mentor. 

This episode jumps right into class and she talks about what makes a creative producer and what is the process of developing a film - it takes longer than you think, and sometimes the actor with a script in his back pocket turns out to be an amazing gift.

We eventually circled back to her history and how she came up through the ranks, all the way to a studio deal. Spoiler, she took a detour through a saloon.

And this: it’s not just who you know, it’s who you know and what they think of you.

Episode 32: Shelly Bond, Comic Book Editor

Shelly Bond is a comic book editor and the creator of the project called Femme Magnifique.  Her name appears in over 900 comics and graphic novels from Neil Gaiman's beloved Sandman series to masterworks by Grant Morrison, Bill Willingham, Darwyn Cooke and Gilbert Hernandez.

Her latest project is FEMME MAGNIFIQUE, a Kickstarter book that she's editing and co-curating with Kristy and Brian Miller of HiFi Colour Design. This graphic novel anthology salutes 50 powerful women in pop, politics, art and science who take names and change the game. 

Here is the kickstarter link.  I encourage you to kick in and support this cool project. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hificolourdesign/femme-magnifique

Shelly lives in Los Angeles with her favorite comic book artist/husband, Philip Bond, and their favorite teal-haired son, Spencer.  Rumors that she wears five-inch platforms are completely unfounded. 

We talked about the world of comics, the role of the editor, a true love story, and of course, tap dancing. 

Episode 30: Kelli Konop, Production Executive

Kelli Konop is the EVP of Physical Production at Good Universe.  Kelli jumped into this industry as a producer.  Mostly because she read a book and knew she could.  And she did. (Lean in, sisters!)  Her credits include: Juno, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, the Harold and Kumar series, Whip It, The Switch...just to scrape the surface.  She has produced all over the world and learned it all on the job - with the help of Lisa.  Everyone needs a Lisa.

She also has a great story about becoming a mother.

Speaking of stories, she has some great Tales from the Trenches.  Coming soon...

Kelli also has some great Tales from the Trenches.  It pays to know Frankie. Have a listen....

Episode 29: Kathryn Leigh Scott, Actor / Writer

Kathryn is an actor and writer. She started her career in Dark Shadows and went on to act on television, in film and in theatre.  Some of her many credits include The Great Gatsby, The Turn of the Screw, Hawaii Five-O (the first one), Baretta, Cagney & Lacey, Knots Landing, Dallas, Matlock, Broadcasting Christmas…..I think you get the idea.  Here is a link to her IMDB if you want to see the whole list.

She is also a writer and started a publishing company.  Her books include Jinxed, Down and Out in Beverly Heels, The Bunny Years, Last Dance at the Savoy and the upcoming If Not Now, When?  You can read more about Kathryn on her website here.

We talked about the genesis of If Not Now, When? (my new mantra), how women must take control of their finances, and how close we all are to the edge. She discusses that period of life when women become invisible and have to come to terms with all the ticking clocks – not just the baby one.

And that time she took Gloria Steinem to task in the New York Times for giving up on romance after 50. I’m on Kathryn’s side on this one.  We must keep hope alive.

Episode 28: Nadja Rutkowski, Distribution Executive

Nadja is Senior VP, Sales, Marketing & Operations at Terry Steiner International. As such, she places films on airplanes and with the military. A worthy endeavor indeed, and yet perhaps the least interesting thing about her. She grew up in a divided Berlin and is still dealing with her immigration issues after being in the US for more than 20 years. She has a valuable perspective on immigration and on our current political climate.

This was recorded a couple of weeks after the election, but I don’t think much has happened since to assuage her concerns. Let me know what you think.

Episode 27: Penelope Spheeris, Director

Penelope Spheeris is a film Director. She is known for two parallel careers - one is of the Wayne’s World and studio picture variety, and the other is of The Decline of Western Civilization series about the Los Angeles Punk Rock scene. Basically, she is rock and roll. You can read up on her here.

We talked about her making omelets for Lorne Michaels as he told her about this live comedy show thing in New York he was thinking about doing. How she taught this kid Albert Brooks about filmmaking while he taught her something about funny.  How Richard Prior told her she was pregnant. You know, the usghe.

And, you can’t help who you fall in love with.

Episode 26: Lydia Dean Pilcher, Producer

Lydia is an Executive Producer and is the Founder and President of the production company Cine Mosaic. Her many credits include Queen of Katwe, Here One Minute, The Sisterhood of Night, You Don’t Know Jack, Amelia, The Darjeeling Limited, Iron Jawed Angels, Hysterical Blindness, just to scratch the surface.

Lydia is also a member of the Producers Guild of America and started their Women’s Impact Network.  She was key in producing the Ms. Factor Tool Kit which serves to debunk the many myths around the notion that female-driven content is not commercially viable. She also teaches a class at NYU that sounds so juicy, I may re-enroll.

She defines “badass” as this: not being afraid to be effectively subversive.  May we all be badasses.

Episode 25: Lia Dosik Carney, COO

Lia is the COO of the newly formed company, Topspin Content. She is also the former SVP of Production at Discovery Studios. She steadily worked her way up in the business, learned how to negotiate on her own behalf, and recently took a giant leap of faith. And she did it while raising twins.  No easy task. 

We talked about her journey, the benefits of coming from a long line of badass women, and how most things circle back to the need to be liked. And this: She who is brave is free.  That one got me.  Tattoo worthy, don’t you think?  

Episode 24: Karen Evans, Talent Manager

Karen is a Talent Manager. She manages mostly comedy writers, which makes sense, because she is very funny herself. Not to overplay it, but I think this episode is hilarious.  It’s like a little holiday treat, full of merriment and good laughs, more than it is a serious exposé of sexist Canadian radio hosts. 

Although it is that, too.  Karen started in radio, in Canada, with pink hair. She made it all the way to the morning show, where she laughed indulgently at whatever the male co-host said, and cheerfully took home 1/3 of the pay.

The way she tells it is much funnier.

She talks about her path to Los Angeles, to motherhood, and to a much more satisfying career, where she is the boss lady and works in her garoffice.  And did you know….whereas America is a melting pot, Canada is a mosaic?

Episode 23: Jill D'Agnenica, Director/Editor/Artist

Jill is a Director, Editor and an Artist.  She worked her way up in the editing department, until she became an Editor. Her credits include Undercovers, The Division, Switched at Birth, and Pretty Little Liars, among others. She then went on to direct the independent feature film, Life Inside Out, and then the penultimate episode of Switched at Birth.

She walked us through the last two minutes of working with film, transitioning to digital editing, and having a couple of very important conversations that got her to the next levels.  She talks about editing and directing through the eyes of an artist. Her enthusiasm is contagious, her conversation juicy. This is a master class.

And she has documented her bad mothering as an art exhibition. You can find her website here:

http://www.jilldagnenica.com/Jill_Art/Welcome.html .

BONUS! In this short episode, Jill talks about her philosophy as an Editor, and also describes a very cool art project she did in every square mile of Los Angeles at the time of the civil unrest after the Rodney King verdicts.  As it turns out, some things in life ​are free.

Episode 22: Liz Sayre, Production Executive

Liz Sayre is the Executive Vice President of Physical Production at Fox Searchlight Pictures. Catch that?  EVP. She cracked the code. She worked her way up the production ladder fairly quickly, working with Paul Mazursky, where she learned every aspect of producing a film, from development through distribution.  From there, she served as a Production Executive at Walt Disney Studios and currently at Fox Searchlight.

We talked about distribution of labor at home, the essential morning walking meeting, and what partnership really looks like. Also, she wonders why young women would distance themselves from Feminism. What do they think it means?

And, she worked with J.J. Abrams before he was J.J. Abrams.

If you would like to hear more from Liz, you are in luck.  Here is her BONUS episode - Tales from the Trenches.

She has stories from 9/11, the unfortunate Black Swan, and an alarming number of moviemakers smoking marijuana in all the wrong places.  SMH, Hollywood.

Episode 21: Sara Fischer, Production Executive, Shondaland

Sara is the Head of Production at Shondaland. Wowza. She worked her way up in the business as an Assistant Director, UPM, Producer and Production Executive.  Here is her jam-packed IMDB page. She has a St. Elsewhere baby, a Chicago Hope baby, and a Thirtysomething baby. Who among us can say that?

She recently joined Shondaland, as Shonda Rhimes is building an empire of badass women, of which Sara is one. Her biggest piece of advice - people are in this business a long time, and your paths are going to cross again. Be nice.

Here’s the other secret, no matter how successful you become, you still feel like that kid who was getting everyone coffee.

And remember that awesome video that introduced Hillary during the Democratic convention this summer?  Sara produced it.

Episode 20: Mary O'Leary, Producer

Mary is an award-winning Producer of General Hospital and The Young & The Restless. She was also nominated several times for Guiding Light, Another World and One Life to Live. Seven Emmy’s, people, seven. This woman knows how to run a Soap.

Interestingly, while nonchalantly rising in the ranks of daytime dramas, she also developed and produced a series of one-man shows with Jonathan Frid, of Dark Shadows fame.

As it turns out, asking for what you want and sharing your intentions can actually open doors, good mothering goes a long way, and having the arts in high school really can make all the difference. And the world of daytime drama moves very fast…

Episode 19: Lizzy Weiss, Executive Producer, Writer, Showrunner

Lizzy is the Creator and Executive Producer of the award-winning show Switched at Birth. She also wrote the surf-girl hit film “Blue Crush,” and is a prolific writer of pilots that have sold to every network you can think of.

We talked about her path from a bilingual Kindergarten teacher to MTV’s Undressed, through a very well timed writer’s strike, to creating her own show. 

Diversity is important, and sometimes a nudge is necessary.  Consent is important, as both lives are ruined without it. Yoga is important, and sometimes if you listen to podcasts while you do it, it changes everything.

I tried to keep my fangirling in check, but that is definitely an occupational hazard in my line of work.

Episode 18: Andrea Ciannavei, Writer

Andrea is a television writer….and so much more. She’s also a rabble-rouser, New Yorker, Italian. My first impression of her was that she is a woman who lives “balls out.” Out loud.  Wide awake.  She feels all the feelings and tries to sort them out, while living with as much truth as she can muster. This is what makes an artist.

Some of her television credits include The Path, American Odyssey and Borgia. She has worked with Tom Fontana.  She works on the WWP Writing Workshops for the Writer’s Guild Initiative.  She did a lot of work with Occupy Wall Street.  She is an activist, a teacher, a badass.

We talked about being at Juilliard and having an imposter syndrome, being fired by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and how that was great, gaining 40 pounds in impoverished Africa, then losing 100 in LA.  And my new favorite phrase “the conspiracy of denial.”

I thought our talk was delicious and I hope you do too.  **We did it with a lot of f-bombs, though.  You’ve been warned.

Episode 17: Kool Marder, AFI Mentor/Production Executive

Kool is currently a Faculty Mentor at the American Film Institute. Prior to that, she was a Production Executive, Producer, DGA UPM, Location Manager, Production Coordinator – name the production job, she has done it. Kool has overseen and/or made about 100 films.  How many people can say that, let alone how many women?

Some credits include, Blue Valentine, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street 5, Casual Sex, Fried Green Tomatoes, American Pie, Erin Brokovich, The Fast and the Furious, and Bourne Identity.

We talked about the early days, when cell phones were in briefcases and coordinators prepared call sheets on typewriters. You think it’s hard to make movies now….

And now for Kool's Tales from the Trenches.  Is it a federal crime to receive cocaine via fedex? From UPM to Expert Witness in the Big Easy.

Episode 16: Ida Lee Henderson, Production Accountant

Ida Lee is a freelance Production Accountant. She has worked on films and television, notably Rizzoli & Isles, Brothers & Sisters, Because of Winn-Dixie, Planet of the Apes, and everyone’s favorite movie, Rudy. She is one of the best, and when she finishes a long running series and becomes available, there is an immediate bidding war to engage her on the next show.

We talked about her early beginnings as a “real” accountant in the tire industry, to being mentored and trained by the incredible Joe Aguilar, to becoming a teacher herself and continuing the apprenticeship imperative in film production.

If you think production accounting is boring and merely bean counting, ask a producer who has tried to work without a good accountant, or who has had to suffer a bad one. They will tell you how very vital it is.

And in Ida Lee’s own words, “When a woman takes a stand, stand behind her.”

And here is the BONUS Episode: Ida Lee's Tales from the Trenches.  Beware of Producers wielding the "C" word, and when else do you get to be in the room when people's dreams come true...

Episode 15: Cristen Carr Strubbe, Production Executive, UPM

Cristen is the Vice President of Physical Production at NBC Universal. Prior to being a production executive, she was the DGA Unit Production Manager on films such as American Beauty, Catch Me If You Can, Ali, Charlie Wilson’s War – ever hear of any of those? Fun fact: she also had this career while having three babies and breastfeeding.  Even on location.

We talked about sending the breastmilk to LA with the film shipment, the frequently asked question, “don’t you want to be home with your children?” and coming full circle from her first interview with Kool Marder 20 years ago, to occupying that very same office as the executive.  These are the delicious confirmations in life that you are on the right path.

And of course, this: “Cristen, get Tom Cruise off your lap and go fix the generator!”   But, that’s in the bonus episode for next week on Cristen’s Tales from Trenches episode.

And in Cristen’s own words, “Aim higher, ladies, aim higher.”

And here is the much anticipated BONUS Episode.  Cristen's Tales from the Trenches.