112 episodes
Hollywood Wolfpack With Kaia Alexander Kaia Alexander
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- Business
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5.0 • 10 Ratings
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Hollywood Wolfpack Look behind-the-scenes in the exciting careers of working pros, and find out their secrets to navigate the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment business. Join your host Kaia Alexander, writer/producer and founder of the Entertainment Business School. Find out why in this profession you need a wolfpack. Special guests include above-the-line writers, directors, showrunners, execs, actors, producers, attorneys and more.
For more information: https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/
About Host Kaia Alexander
Kaia Alexander is the CEO/founder of the Entertainment Business League and Entertainment Business School. She was a development executive on the feature films JUST FRIENDS, PEACEFUL WARRIOR, THE GOOD NIGHT, and HACHI: A DOG'S TALE. She was mentored by comedian Garry Shandling. She's an award-winning Harper Collins novelist, for her historical novel Written in the Ashes. As an animal lover and native of Southern California, there are always surfboards on her car and fur on her sleeves. She’s proud to be the BQ in LGBTQ. You can find out more about Kaia on her IMDB and Twitter @ThisisKaia
Produced by Stuart W. Volkow P.G.A
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Trusting the 'original you' with writer, actor, director Sam Benjamin
SAM BENJAMIN is the son of a hairdresser and a forklift truck driver in Liverpool, England, Sam Benjamin is an actor, screenwriter and director. He won the BBC Sponsored ‘Best Script Talent’ Award in 2016, wrote and stars in crime caper The Pay Day which is currently on Starz, and penned Roommate Regret a Lifetime Movie Network thriller. He’s also known for his acting roles in Doctor Who and BBC’s The War of the Worlds. His directorial debut Screwjob, a short that follows the struggles of a woman pro wrestler, gets it online on Vimeo. https://linktr.ee/sambenjaminnow
Connect with your host Kaia all Alexander:
https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/
https://twitter.com/thisiskaia
Produced by Stuart W. Volkow P.G.A.
Get career training and a free ebook “How to Pitch Anything in 1 Min.” at www.EntertainmentBusinessLeague.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Trans woman/cis woman writing and producing team: Susan and Tilly Bridges
Tilly & Susan Bridges are a trans woman/cis woman writing and producing team most recently writing for the MONSTER HIGH animated series. They’re writing a queer YA romcom graphic novel for Mad Cave Studios and are writers for the STAR TREK ADVENTURES and FALLOUT role-playing games. They’ve produced award winning scripted podcasts for over a decade at PendantAudio.com with six of their shows cracking Apple Podcasts top 60 all-time most popular scripted sci-fi podcasts. Tilly’s book BEGIN TRANSMISSION: THE TRANS ALLEGORIES OF THE MATRIX released last summer, and you can find Tilly’s essays on trans life at TillysTransTuesdays.com.
Writing credits and links to work: birdguest.com
Trans Tuesday essays: tillystranstuesdays.com
Twitter handles: @tillybridges and @susanlbridges
Bluesky handles: @tillybridges.bsky.social and @susanlbridges.bsky.social
Insta handles: @heckyeahtillybridges and @susanlbridges
Connect with your host Kaia all Alexander:
https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/
https://twitter.com/thisiskaia
Produced by Stuart W. Volkow P.G.A.
Get career training and a free ebook “How to Pitch Anything in 1 Min.” at www.EntertainmentBusinessLeague.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Tim O'leary: Indy Film Journey, Muder and Gay Stuff!
Tim is the creator of the horror comedy series Demonhuntr, available on HereTV and Amazon Prime. A display dedicated to Demonhuntr began its exhibition at the Hollywood Museum in 2022 as part of their focus on queer film and TV.
In 2019, he established Murder & Gay Stuff, a production company dedicated to inclusive genre projects. A graduate of the UCLA Professional Program in Television Writing, he founded the Los Angeles LGBTQIA TV Writers, which currently has over 700 members.
During his time in New York, he taught playwriting at the Harvey Milk High School, a school designed as a haven for LGBT youth. His play The Wrath of Aphrodite is taught in a theater class at John Jay College, and is featured in the textbooks Reclaiming Greek Drama for Diverse Audiences and Diversifying Greek Drama on the Contemporary US Stage.
When not writing or directing, Tim works as a fight coordinator, and his fights have appeared in such films as Disciple (Sebastian La Cause,) Agents of Change (Jett Garrison,) and Spookable (Jonathan Culliton.)
The three great loves of his life are his husband Robert Rice, his rescue dog Dexter, and collecting female-superhero-themed refrigerator magnets.
www.timolearyonline.com
https://x.com/timolearyonline
https://www.youtube.com/timolearyonline
https://www.instagram.com/timolearyonline
Connect with your host Kaia all Alexander:
https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/
https://twitter.com/thisiskaia
Produced by Stuart W. Volkow P.G.A.
Get career training and a free ebook “How to Pitch Anything in 1 Min.” at www.EntertainmentBusinessLeague.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Veteran TV Writer and Actor Steve Harper: An Insiders Perspective
STEVE HARPER’s TV writing includes Co-Executive Producer duties on Tracker and Stargirl and episodes of God Friended Me, Tell Me Your Secrets and American Crime. His web series SEND ME earned a 2016 Emmy Nomination for series lead Tracie Thoms. As an actor he’s appeared onstage at The Guthrie, and the Kennedy Center and on TV in Law & Order: SVU and 90210. Through his company Your Creative Life he coaches writers, posts advice on YouTube and co-hosts The Secret Writer Podcast - heard in 18 countries. He graduated from Yale, the A.R.T. Institute at Harvard and the Juilliard playwriting program.
Coaching website: www.yourcreativelife.com
Website: www.harpercreates.com
Harper Creates twitter: https://x.com/harpercreates
Your Creative Life twitter: https://x.com/yourcreatvlife
Podcast: The Secret Writer Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2086784
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TVsteve65/featured
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creating4good/
Connect with your host Kaia all Alexander:
https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/
https://twitter.com/thisiskaia
Produced by Stuart W. Volkow P.G.A.
Get career training and a free ebook “How to Pitch Anything in 1 Min.” at www.EntertainmentBusinessLeague.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Seth Michael Donsky - Queer Writer/Filmmaker - Insights Into the Career Breakthrough of a Rising Star
Seth Michael Donsky is one of the International Screenwriters' Association's top 25 writers to watch in 2024. He is a 2023 recipient of the ISA's Diversity Initiative award and on the ISA's distinguished development slate.
His feature screenplay Stardusk, about the life of transgender Andy Warhol Superstar Candy Darling is in pre-production with the Oscar-award winning producer Bruce Cohen. He is also adapting Kate Bornstein's A Queer and Pleasant Danger (Beacon Press) and Lauren Roedy Vaughn's OCD, The Dude and Me (Penguin Group) (Dial Press) for the screen. A Queer and Pleasant Danger advanced in consideration for the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and The Sundance Lab.
His feature screenplay Grit N' Glitter, the story of Allan Carr producing La Cage aux Folles (musical) on Broadway during the HIV/AIDS in the United States was one of five finalists for the Enderby Entertainment Award in the 2018 Austin Film Festival for screenplays with a unique voice and distinct vision. The finalists were selected by Rick Dugdale, Donald Petrie and Daniel Petrie, Jr. of Enderby Entertainment. It also placed in the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.
He holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University School of the Arts where he twice received the Dean's Fellowship, Columbia School of the Arts highest merit-based recognition. He wrote and directed the short film Loopy as his thesis film for graduation from Columbia. His feature film debut Twisted (1996 film), which he wrote and directed, was produced towards the tail end of the New Queer Cinema.
https://www.instagram.com/seth_michael_donsky/
https://x.com/donsquixote
Connect with your host Kaia all Alexander:
https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/
https://twitter.com/thisiskaia
Produced by Stuart W. Volkow P.G.A.
Get career training and a free ebook “How to Pitch Anything in 1 Min.” at www.EntertainmentBusinessLeague.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
David Merritt II - Writer, Director, Producer - Invest in Yourself!
David Merritt is a writer, director, and producer from Durham, North Carolina and now lives in Tarzana, California. He is a passionate storyteller who delves into multiple mediums. His writing accomplishments span the spectrum from awkward comedy to compelling drama.
At the beginning of his film career, David wrote and directed the dramatic short, The Rain Dance, which depicts the horror of domestic violence. As quoted by New York film critic Godfrey Cheshire “Rain Dance…is harrowing and believable yet also poetic and non sensational…mounted with considerable technical polish and visual sophistication.”
David also served as a writer and director for WWE RAW on the USA Network and Smack Down on the CW network. He directed action sequences and impromptu monologues, and he served as a writer and story editor on the video game Smack Down vs. Raw 2007.
In 2008, David started his production company, King David Films. In 2009, his horror script, Hangman, placed in the finals of the Screamfest LA screenwriting competition. In 2010, Hangman placed in the 2nd round of the Page Awards.Recently, David has written/ directed and produced the thriller 5697 Pounds, starring Lamonica Garrett of 1883 and Rey Gallegos of DMZ. Currently, David is a Story Editor on NBC's The Blacklist. Inspired at an early age by Star Wars and other mind-blowing films that changed the entertainment landscape, David Merritt II is a lifelong painter and sculptor turned emerging writer and director, winning the UCP Pitchfest and becoming a finalist in the ABC and CBS Directing programs before getting staffed. Raised in North Carolina by a social worker and a cop, it is no surprise that his work spans the spectrum of the human experience and leaves an indelible impression through the many facets of his artistry. When he is not busy creating, he is mastering his skills in the martial art form of Kung Fu San Soo.
https://x.com/KingDavidFilms
https://www.instagram.com/kingdavidfilms
Connect with your host Kaia all Alexander:
https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/
https://twitter.com/thisiskaia
Produced by Stuart W. Volkow P.G.A.
Get career training and a free ebook “How to Pitch Anything in 1 Min.” at www.EntertainmentBusinessLeague.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Customer Reviews
Packed with information!
I moved to LA in 2021 to finish my MFA in screenwriting. Once I graduated, I was lost. I knew how to write, but I didn't know anything about the current state of the entertainment industry. I didn't think this was a big deal until the WGA strike. I realized I needed to know how the entertainment industry works, not just how to write a great script. And I had so many unanswered questions. Who do executives want to work with? How can I contribute to creating a BETTER version of Hollywood? How do I build up my network of friends, mentors, and peers? Should I continue to enter contests? Kaia and her guests dive into everything you want to know (and more!). The guests provide a plethora of information you can't find anywhere else. If you want to work in the entertainment industry, this podcast is for YOU!
Great insight into the industry
This is a wonderful podcast for anyone who wants to get deeper into the business and craft of writing. Kaia is a charming and insightful host and the guests range from up-and-coming writers to industry pros. Highly recommended!
The inside view with an industry expert
I’m new to this podcast, and alternating between listening to the archives while trying to keep up with new episodes. Kaia’s a terrific host and the guests on the show are amazing and include a variety of writers, producers, and industry notables. Kaia also shares freely and frankly from her own considerable work experiences in the entertainment business. I especially enjoy the “This Just In” segments that cover the industry events and trends in this every-changing market. The podcast strikes a nice balance of encouragement and reality. Highly recommend subscribing!