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 97: Sujata Day, Actor, Writer, Producer, Director

Sujata is an Actor. She is known for her roles as Sarah on HBO’s Insecure, and as CeCe in the precursor to that show, Awkward Black Girl. She is also a Writer, Producer, and Director and has several other shorts and series produced as well as more projects in development.

We talked about what it’s like to be a woman of color in Hollywood when you don’t really fit into other people’s preconceived notions. We also talked about this year’s very promising pilot season that features many characters of color that are not caricatures, but rather real people. Things are looking up!

Episode 95 Melissa Vitello, Filmmaker

Melissa is an independent filmmaker. Her film “Speak Now” is available on Amazon Prime, and she has several more projects going at the same time.

She writes, directs and produces, and we discuss the life of an indie filmmaker. Her husband is her business partner and we also talked about balancing work and home and when you get to win the tie breaker.

You can find Melissa here:

Instagram: @francescanatalephoto

Twitter: @darkheartwriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darkheartfilms/
 

The Sound of Settling: https://www.facebook.com/soundofsettlingmovie/?ref=bookmarks

Newsletter sign up: http://eepurl.com/b3ct39

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 88: Marilyn Anderson, Writer

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Marilyn is a Writer with many TV and Film credits and her most recent book, “How to Live Like a Millionaire When you’re a Million Short.” Her book answers one of the biggest questions of the Universe, “How does Marilyn live?” You can find it here. She has written on Murphy Brown, FAME, Friday the 13th and many others.

She started life as a scientist and then had one lucky break after another. She has a million stories and she cracks me up. Doesn’t everyone book a Broadway show their first week in New York?

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 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 74: I Clown You, Sasha Kapustina and Inbal-Rotem Sagiv

Sasha and Inbal are filmmakers who have made a documentary called I Clown You. It’s a film about clowns that work in hospitals in Israel. Clowning is a beautiful art that is taken quite seriously and is respected as a legitimate occupation in the medical system.

Sasha had a long and winding road from law school in Russia to filmmaking in the United States. Inbal also had a long journey from production in Israel to living in Hollywood. We talk about their lives and careers, immigration and diverse families, and the art of clowning.

This is more than a film, it’s a mission - to explore and to bring awareness to healing and liberating powers of professional medical clowning and to spread the clown spirit of kindness and mischief.

To that end, they are celebrating I CLOWN YOU WEEK in Los Angeles – November 6-14, 2017. Two Israeli professional medical clowns, David Barashi and Rotem Goldenberg, are coming to Los Angeles for a series of events, lectures, hospital visits, workshops, and seminars. The program aims to grow awareness around the profession of medical clowning and its value both in the hospital and in the day to day life.

You can find out more here:  http://www.iclownyoudoc.com/

You can see video of this interview here.

Episode 66: Lee Jessup, Career Coach and Consultant for Screenwriters

Lee is a Career Coach and Consultant for Screenwriters. She is also an accomplished author with 2 books under her belt. She coaches writers through entering the Hollywood machine and climbing the ladder, and mentors established writers as they identify and then reach their next goal post.  She got into this field because her clients made her.  They demanded and she supplied. Talk about finding your true purpose.

She has such delicious perspective on this industry.  If you don’t fill your personal well of joy and life, you will have nothing to draw upon to create your art.  Being the tortured artist is actually optional, and really not necessary.

You can have it all, “even while female,” and you should not start eliminating things because you think you have to in order to make it.  In her words, that’s bullsh**.

You must have community, you must believe in yourself, and you must do the work.

And how unfair is it that her father, an accomplished Producer, refused to engage in nepotism?!

You can find Lee here:  http://leejessup.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 49: "Group," the writer, director, and actors

Group is a play that explores people participating in group therapy for sufferers of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).  I was joined by (pictured left to right) Marjorie Lewit, the director (who we met on Stronger than Pretty), Lesley Gouger, the writer,  Barbera Howard and Jasmine Pierre, both actors.  It was such a joy to spend time with this group.  We had a real talk about some real things.  We laughed a lot, we cried a little, and they were fearless in sharing with me.

The play opens this Friday, June 16th, at the Avery Schreiber Playhouse in North Hollywood. Click here to find out more and buy tickets: http://www.defiancetheatrecompany.com. I will be there, and I hope to see you, too.

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.