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Kristen Stewart Is One Lucky Duck
Carolina Groppa
September 27, 2024
Happy Friday, Dear Listener!
The last two weeks have been filled with lots of exciting things. I’ve optioned my first book that I’m developing as a series, am plotting something special for Sundance that hopefully manifests, and finally got ONE full night of sleep with an almost 4 month old baby! LIFE IS GOOD.
I also drank way too much orange wine while catching up with my pal and former podcast guest Maggie McLean, whom I had not seen since we recorded her episode back in 2018. I’m sorry, what? I blinked and 6 years passed. Wild! 🫢
She’s a certified badass and is now a producing partner at Kristen Stewart and Dylan Myers’ new production company, Nevermind Pictures.
What makes her exceptional (and makes me exceptionally excited for Kristen and Dylan) is her background as a line producer and bidding producer…in commercials. This babe knows budgets, fringes, and tax credits, which are sexy as hell.
In my humble opinion, talent-led companies often lack a person on their team with deep knowledge of production. So the fact that they have a producer on the team that actually knows how to produce? Priceless.
THEY ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU, MAGGIE!
Shifting gears. I often carve out time to learn about AI because it still makes my head spin. My mind oscillates between if it’s truly evil or truly helpful…or both. (answer: depends on the opinion of the beholder).
There is tremendous apprehension about the potential of generative AI—which creates audio, text, images, and video—to replace people in many jobs. This is a scary notion, especially for creative fields like ours. We know this as we saw the very vocal battles against AI from every union this past summer.
Since I tend to face my fears head on (as witnessed by this video of me jumping off the top of a boat), I’m constantly reading, learning, and asking ChatGPT to explain it to me like I’m a three year old.
Images created using generative AI.
Yesterday, I watched this conversation on “Augmenting Human Creativity with AI” and it was quite fascinating. The TL;DR is that AI creates mediocre fluff and human artists are still needed to paint the Sistine Chapel, to compose Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and bring their life experiences into their creative work.
Also, many may not realize the INSANE environmental impact of AI servers. They require lots and lots of water to stay cool. Imagine, a 16 oz bottle of water is needed to generate 100 words. AI already uses as much energy as a small country and it’s expected to double by 2026, Brian Calvert of Vox explains.
So, what can you do about it? Consider digital sobriety.
In France, they have this term, “digital sobriety.” Digital sobriety could be part of the actions that people can take as 21st-century consumers and users of this technology. I’m definitely not against having a smartphone or using AI, but asking yourself, “Do I need this new gadget?” “Do I really need to use ChatGPT for generating recipes?” “Do I need to be able to talk to my fridge or can I just, you know, open the door and look inside?”
UPCOMING HAPPENINGS
Carolina’s Corner - Sat 9/28 from 10:00 -11:30AM PT A monthly salon for Patreon members to tackle your questions and curiosities. For those eager to pick my brain, this is the best way to do it. Spots are limited!
Forging Your Own Path: Actor/Producers in Conversation - Sat 10/19 at 3:30 PM I’ll be moderating a conversation with Margaret Cho and Darrell Britt-Gibson for the Proof Film Festival. Join Us!
Fall Mixer - Wed 10/23 from 6:30 - 9:30PM Come hang, have a drink, and connect with me and our fellow AOPers. RSVP here.
As always, thanks for doing this life thing with me!
HIGHLIGHT MOMENT
This past February in honor of Women’s History Month, I was invited by Melinda French Gates (!!) to engage in a roundtable discussion alongside the brilliant writer/director Amy Aniobi and inspiring Tilane Jones, who is President of Ava DuVernay's Array.
We discussed our efforts to tell more diverse stories, to use our art to drive change, and to help more women rise to positions of power within the industry.
To think that a Brazilian immigrant who came to America missing her four front teeth and not knowing the language would one day get to sit with one of the most influential women of our time. A real pinch me moment / core memory.
The best part is that this opportunity came my way thanks to a fellow Latina filmmaker and podcast listener.
It was an unforgettable life experience.
Check out the highlights from our conversation below!
PRODUCER’S CORNER
I’m a sucker for a good coming-of-age story. As soon as I can get my new mom ass out the house, I will see MY OLD ASS. Written and directed by Megan Park, the film is based on the simple premise: What would you tell your younger self if you could meet them? In select theaters now!