First Time Directors

Happy Friday, Dear Listener!

I hope you are gearing up for a fun and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. It's been a big week. Let's see...Montana banned TikTok, writers are finding love on the picket lines (or a strike daddy!) and Warner Bros. Discovery C.E.O. David Zaslav was booed while giving a university commencement speech. Of all the people to invite...really?

In happier news, there's much to celebrate for previous pod guests Kara Durrett and Sarah Anthony, so check that out below. We will be back with a new episode Tuesday with the incredible Melinda Dilger, the Head of Production at Riot Games and one of the brilliant brains behind their hit series ARCANE on Netflix.

Stay tuned!

Have a wonderful weekend...and hey, thanks for doing this life thing with me!

HIGHLIGHT EPISODE

Throwing it back to my chat with Sarah Anthony, documentary producer extraordinaire and also one of my dear friends.

This convo is from May 2020 back when the show was called Life with Caca, so yes def an oldie but still worth your while! Some of her impressive credits include The Defiant Ones, The Price of Free, and Light & Magic, which showcases the people of Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects division of Lucasfilm.

They are behind effects for some of the biggest and most successful films of the last 45 years. Check it out on Apple.

Her latest doc, Kiss the Future is the opening night film at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 7th. Produced alongside up and comers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the film showcases the struggle of the citizens of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and how aid worker Bill Carter's determination resulted in the enlistment of U2 to help shine a light when the world wasn't paying attention.

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Also! Recording another solo episode next week. Email me your questions!

[email protected]

PRODUCER’S CORNER

WINS

A lovely event at UTA where I got to introduce some of my favorite female department heads to other producers and physical production execs!

WOMPS

An exploding sparkling wine bottle during a picnic, tripping over my own pants and falling knee first at a grocery store parking lot...let's just say it's not been my week. 

A new study by UCLA Center for Scholars & Storytellers shows systemic discrimination and limited access to opportunities exist against first-time directors, with only 23.4% working on major feature films in the last 12 years. Only 4.8% are female compared to 95.2%  being male. Read it here

I am admittedly late to the party on this one, but with it being one of the films of the summer I am the MOST excited about, it was time to devour this blazingly smart and voracious debut novel by Rachel Yoder. Marielle Heller directs Amy Adams in this story about an artist turned stay-at-home mom becomes convinced she's turning into a dog.

 "A must-read for anyone who can’t get enough of the ever-blurring line between the psychological and supernatural that Yellowjackets exemplifies." —Vulture

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become.” – Buddha