The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

A L Katz
  • 4.6 (27)
  • ARTS
  • WEEKLY SERIES

Now in our FOURTH SEASON! Join us for a deep, inside baseball, nuts-n-bolts dive into the creative process. Guests include actors like MALCOLM MCDOWELL and BRANDON ROUTH, writers LARRY WILSON (BEETLEJUICE) and CY VORIS & ETHAN REIFF (DEMON KNIGHT) and everyone I know who's ever collaborated to create content. We talk a lot about TALES FROM THE CRYPT and why, in so many ways, that epitomized the creative process at its best... and why Bordello Of Blood was its antithesis. Talk about how NEVER to make a movie! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  1. S4E1: Field Of Dreams

    EPISODE 1

    S4E1: Field Of Dreams

    THE BLURB: If ever there was a metaphorical “FIELD OF DREAMS”, it’s HOLLYWOOD. And, in order to get anywhere near that field of dreams, you’re gonna need either an AGENT, a MANAGER or a PRODUCER. Hey – what if you could get all three in one person! In this episode I chat with JEFF FIELD – the man who manages my entertainment career. As you’ll hear, “manager” describes only one of the three Hollywood jobs Jeff’s held. Before he became a manager (mostly of writers, producers and directors), he was a topflight agent at THE WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY (which became William Morris Endeavor – WME). SHOW NOTES: In addition to managing careers for clients, Jeff has also produced work for his clients. What that really means is vital. It means that, as a producer, Jeff was essential in putting his clients’ vision on the screen. Even under the best of circumstances, getting anything made in Hollywood is stunningly hard. Having a producer who understands how creatives think can make a huge difference as they – the producer – navigates the minefield of production. It demands tact and diplomacy when necessary, but also a good sense of when to be aggressive and how to recognize that you hold all the good cards in a negotiation. Taste is important, too. And emotional honesty. It’s not an easy cocktail to make or maintain. That’s why only a handful of people have successfully travelled from agency to management to producer-of-quality. Lots of former agents are now producers. It’s the stop in between that’s handcuffing them. If you like hearing how Hollywood Deal-Making Sausage gets made – at the grinder level – this episode is in your sweet spot! Jeff’s a terrific storyteller. And wait till you hear what some of these sausages became! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 1m
  2. S4E2: Colman DeKay Knows EVERYBODY!

    EPISODE 2

    S4E2: Colman DeKay Knows EVERYBODY!

    THE BLURB: My friend COLMAN DEKAY knows everybody. And if he doesn't, he knows almost everybody. It's always been that way. The son of a publisher, Colman got used to writers like DONALD WESTLAKE, JAMES BALDWIN and NORMAN MAILER just "hanging out" at their apartment in NYC. A terrific writer himself, Colman would go on to write several episodes of TALES FROM THE CRYPT and the feature BULLETS OVER BROADWAY and NINE LIVES: A MUSICAL HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS. He's also worked extensively with PENN & TELLER. I meant what I said: Colman DeKay knows EVERYBODY! SHOW NOTES: So – why do I say my friend Colman DeKay knows everybody? Because, as you’ll hear, HE KNOWS EVERYBODY! And, he’s so used to knowing everybody that he doesn’t even realize that he knows everybody. As you’ll also hear, Colman doesn’t drop names. But names - ones you recognize cos lots and lots of people know who they are - they come up in conversation because Colman was having a conversation with that person just last week. You know, like he’s having a conversation with you right now. An A List Literary SalonIt’s been like that since Colman was a kid. His family was involved in publishing in New York. His family’s Manhattan living room was a non-stop, A-List literary salon. A very, very, VERY scant sampling of the people Colman's rubbed elbows with since he was a kid: Donald Westlake, James Baldwin, Norman Mailer, Penn & Teller, Ken Kwapis, Steven Soderbergh. Colman became a talented writer himself - of screens small and large and of the stage. I first got to know Colman when he wrote a handful of episodes for us at Tales From The Crypt. Among Colman’s episodes - “In The Groove” and “Fatal Caper” and an absolute classic - “Staired In Horror” - which Colman wrote with occasional writing partner Teller from Penn & Teller. It’s a great episode because of the writing – and because we somehow put a whole Louisiana swamp on our stage in Los Angeles. New Orleans Something about that part of the world – southern Louisiana, the swamps around there, New Orleans especially – has a powerful hold on Colman. Along with the musician PAUL SANCHEZ, Colman put together "NINE LIVES: AN ORAL HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS", a 40 song cycle that tells The Big Easy's story via its music. Personally? I think Colman's ripe for a podcast of his own. A conversation just with his friends would be, in essence, a conversation with everybody. Everybody interesting.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 2m
  3. S4E3: It's Magic?

    EPISODE 3

    S4E3: It's Magic?

    THE BLURB: MAGICIAN WES ISELI talks about the evolution of his craft - how integrating his (now) wife NATALIE ISELI into the act kicked it to new heights. How one MAGIC TRICK beat master illusionists PENN & TELLER. How does one even become a magician? More than anything else, creating illusions is a craft. And, as for happiness? Wes has that trick covered, too! SHOW NOTES: I met Wes Iseli via podcasting connections, but we have another connection, too. We’ve both worked with Penn & Teller. Teller co-wrote a superb episode of Tales From The Crypt with recent guest Colman DeKay called Staired In Horror. Subsequent to that I developed a show at HBO with Penn And Teller that died in development – as most projects do. Wes Iseli introduced himself to P&T via their show Fool Us where magicians are invited to confound these two master illusionists with tricks they can’t figure out. Wes did that. Fooled Penn & Teller. And not only did Wes get the prize money promised, P&T paid Wes directly for the knowledge of how he’d fooled them. As Wes will tell you, there’s no “magic” involved. There’s a ton of craft though. Which is why we’re talking about it here. Now, Wes insists – as you’ll hear – that there’s nothing supernatural about magic. In fact, he hates the idea of supernatural magic. But there’s something about magic and creating the illusions of it that can spark a little – let’s call it “transcendent” – kind of magic. There’s a ton of love in this story. Wes AND his wife NATHALIE sat and talked to me. What Wes and Nathalie have created – along with their three kids – is a kind of great magic trick. And that’s with the caveat that there’s no magic. There’s craft. Hard work and lots of repetition. But, I think you’ll find that the effect – the story itself - is magical.  SOCIAL MEDIA: INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/hownottomakeamoviepodcast/ PATREON: patreon.com/TheHowNOTToMakeAMoviePodcastFanPage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min
  4. S4E4: Best v Worst

    EPISODE 4

    S4E4: Best v Worst

    THE BLURB: NICK MECHANIC returns to give us a LIST of his BEST V WORST - BEST FOOD in LA, best clients, WORST DEAL he ever made, best executive he worked with, WORST DAY OF HIS LIFE. If you've heard Nick in previous episodes, you know: he was both a HOLLYWOOD SUPER AGENT and a HOLLYWOOD DRUG DEALER. He spent time in prison after getting caught doing the latter. Nick really has seen the best and worst of LA, of Hollywood - maybe even of LIFE itself! Buckle in for another slice of Nick's Hollywood! SHOW NOTES: My longtime friend – and former agent – Nick Mechanic is back for another visit. Nick really has seen the very best and the very worst aspects of show business. He’s made great deals and deals that weren’t so great. He’s had great clients… and clients who weren’t. He’s dealt with great studio executives. And executives who were nothing more than giant wastes of otherwise good carbon. He’s had bosses and co-workers in the agenting business who were really good and plenty who were so bad at it, you’d be complementing them by saying “they sucked”. If you’ve already experienced Nick Mechanic on this podcast, you know: he’s been to the wars. Not only was Nick a successful Hollywood agent, he was a successful Hollywood drug dealer, too. Well, that is, until he got caught - and got sentenced to 12 years in prison (Nick being Nick, he got out after six months - a story unto itself!). Nick really has seen the best of it and the worst of it. As you’re about to experience… For more great podcasts, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    43 min

  5. EPISODE 14

    S4E14: It Isn't Goodbye

    I’ve been making this podcast for going on four years now. A hundred sixty plus episodes – one a week ever since they first started dropping. It’s been a joy… A pleasure… A challenge… A non-stop revelation… And a mission.  A mission that goes beyond this podcast. It's because of this podcast that I ended up plunging completely into podcasting. Costard and Touchstone makes this podcast and three others currently available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts - with a dozen or so more on the way! There's THE DONOR: A DNA HORROR STORY, THE HALL CLOSET and SAGE WELLNESS WITHIIN. In the months ahead, please look out for more Costard & Touchstone podcasts including "JUST THE PHOTOGRAPHER" (where photojournalist DAVID SWANSON puts you right beside him in war zones, 9-11 and at the Oscars), "A SECRET WAR" (journalist MANILA CHAN'S deep dive into a story she's fought to tell for 25 years about America's Secret War on Laos, "I NEED TO TELL YOU", journalist TOM LOWENSTEIN's explorations into stories like criminal mastermind JOHN HALL and "JOHN KIRIAKOU'S DEAD DROP" (a deep, under cover look at life deep under cover by a former CIA officer). Please stay in touch via our PATREON PAGE - Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
See All Season 4 (5)

4.6
out of 5
27 Ratings

About

Now in our FOURTH SEASON! Join us for a deep, inside baseball, nuts-n-bolts dive into the creative process. Guests include actors like MALCOLM MCDOWELL and BRANDON ROUTH, writers LARRY WILSON (BEETLEJUICE) and CY VORIS & ETHAN REIFF (DEMON KNIGHT) and everyone I know who's ever collaborated to create content. We talk a lot about TALES FROM THE CRYPT and why, in so many ways, that epitomized the creative process at its best... and why Bordello Of Blood was its antithesis. Talk about how NEVER to make a movie! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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