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BONUS EPISODE: ERIC ROTH - From Forrest Gump to Dune - Adventures Screenwriting in Hollywood by Alex Ferrari | Filmmaker, Directing, Visual Effects, Crowdfunding, DP, Film Distribution & Film Business

This week, I sat down with one of the most legendary and successful screenwriters/producers in Hollywood, Oscar® Winner Eric Roth. Over a 50+ years career, he's well-known for writing or producing films like Forrest Gump, A Star is Born, Mank, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Munich, Ali, and the list goes on. The critically and commercially acclaimed American drama, Forrest Gump is an adaptation of Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same title, adapted by Eric Roth in 1994. The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, played by the incomparable, Tom Hanks, a slow-witted but kind-hearted man from Alabama who witnesses and unwittingly influences several defining historical events in the 20th century the United States. The $55 million budget film grossed $683.1 million at the Box Office and won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and three Golden Globes awards. With a dream to pursue writing, he got his start working crew on a bunch of independent movies being made by some experimental filmmakers at a local studio (the Millennium will film workshop) while studying at Columbia University and later transferred to UCLA Film School. While on the climb up, Roth got the opportunity through his good friend Stuart Rosenberg, to rewrite the script for the Paul Newman movie, The Drowning Pool, at the tender age of 20 years old. Last year, Roth co-produced the multi-award nomination biographical drama, Mank. mank earned ten Oscar® nominations and six Golden Globe Awards nominations. 1940. Film studio RKO hires 24-year-old wunderkind Orson Welles under a contract that gives him full creative control of his movies. For his first film, he calls in washed-up alcoholic Herman J Mankiewicz to write the screenplay. That film is "Citizen Kane," and this is the story of how it was written. A Star is Born, co-written by Roth became a 2018 phenomenon. Director, co-writer and lead actor, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga brought steaming chemistry to our screens in a way that had been lacking. The film grossed twelve times its $36 million budget which is more than any of the other three versions of the musical romantic drama film. Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers, and falls in love with struggling artist Ally (Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer - until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons. A must mention amongst Roth’s screenplays is the 2008 screenplay adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Academy winner Mahershala Ali and Taraji P. Henson. The film tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backward with consequences. I could go on and on, through the extensive list of incredible writing Eric Roth has given the world, but you can listen to our conversation to hear all about them. Even his Television writing and producing on shows like House of Cards, The Alienist, and the upcoming remake of the science fiction classic Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve. I've been a fan of Eric's work since my days working at a video store. It was truly an honor to sit down and talk shop with a master of the craft. Enjoy my conversation with Eric Roth.

BONUS EPISODE: From Forrest Gump to Dune - Adventures Screenwriting in Hollywood with Oscar® Winner Eric Roth by Alex Ferrari | Filmmaker, Directing, Visual Effects, Crowdfunding, DP, Film Distribution & Film Business

BONUS EPISODE: ERIC ROTH - From Forrest Gump to Dune - Adventures Screenwriting in Hollywood by Alex Ferrari | Filmmaker, Directing, Visual Effects, Crowdfunding, DP, Film Distribution & Film Business

So today we are going to go down the rabbit hole of NFTs. What the heck is an NFT. It is a Non Fungible Token. Basically, an NFT is a completely original digital file or a digital collectable which is registered on a blockchain ledger just like any cryptocurrency. But unlike cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, an NFT is totally unique and because it lives on the blockchain it verifies who is the rightful owner of this one-of-a-kind digital collectable file. In February 2021, digital artist Peebles sold a digital artwork for $69.3 million at auction. You heard correctly almost $70 million for a digital file. The founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, sold his very first tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million. It took me a minute to understand what these things were and then it clicked. NFTs are digital baseball cards, comic books, Garbage Pail Kids or Pokemon cards. They are just a digital version and in many ways better because you know exactly how many copies exist. The other amazing thin about NFTs is that the artist continues to make money on every sale of the NFT forever. Let me explain. When an artist creates a NFT by minting it. Minting is the process of create the digital file (NFT) and placing it on the blockchain. The artist then sets the residual percentage every time the NFT sells. So if I mint a short film and sell it for $500. I get $500. Now, if the new owner sells it 2 years from now for $10,000 I get 10% of that sale. Every time that NFT is resold I get my cut. All transactions transparent. All on the blockchain. So how can filmmakers make money? There are so many options because NFTs are in their infancy. Everyone is trying  to figure out how to use them  in indie film. I decide to throw my hat in the ring and created an experiment. I minted a few NFTs for my first short film BROKEN and some "legacy NFTs" of the first ever filmmaking tutorials ever uploaded to YouTube. To access my NFTs go to: www.ifhnft.com I released three of 6 of the total filmmaking tutorials I uploaded on YouTune back in Aug 2006. If these sell out I'll upload the rest and maybe some of my other popular short films I directed over the years. I wanted to give you an example of what an independent film NFT looked like and this is totally an experiment to see what happens. Maybe I'll never sell an NFT, maybe I sell  them three years from now or maybe they will sell out in 15 min. Who knows. What I am excited about is the potential of what this could mean for the indie filmmaking community. In this episode I break down everything you need to know about NFTs, how to make money with them and more. Enjoy!

In Season 3 we will be deconstructing the work and career of film director Sofia Coppola on The Directors Series Podcast hosted by Cameron Beyl. Proud Member of the IFH Podcast Network http://www.ifhpodcastnetwork.com

Welcome to the newest member of the IFH Podcast Network. May I introduce you to Inside the Screenwriter's MInd: A Screenwriting Archive. Have you ever wondered what it’s like inside a screenwriter’s mind? In this podcast, we explore how successful screenwriters tackle structure, plot, character, dialog, and the film business. Get ready to go down the rabbit hole of stories. Let’s travel inside the screenwriter’s mind. I wanted to create a new bi-weekly podcast that could not only highlight the in-depth conversations I have done with some of the world's greatest screenwriters in Hollywood but I also wanted to shine a light on other amazing interviews from the IFH Podcast Network. In this podcast, I will be your guide down the rabbit-hole of stories as I bring you interviews from the following podcasts: Indie Film Academy Podcast Dave Bullis Podcast Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast Film Trooper Podcast and others from the IFH Podcast Network As the network continues to grow I will hunt for the best screenwriter interviews and bring them to you on the Inside the Screenwriter's MInd: A Screenwriting Podcast. If you like the podcast please share with your friends, subscribe, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This really helps the show out a lot since we are a new show and I want these amazing interviews to reach as many screenwriters and filmmakers as possible. Thank you for listening and I hope this podcast truly helps you on your screenwriting path. Write. Rewrite. Sell. Repeat. Proud Member of the IFH Podcast Network (www.ifhpodcastnetwork.com)

There are moments in your life where you run into people who will forever change your life. Today's guest was that person for me. Connie H. Deutsch is an internationally known business consultant and personal advisor who has a keen understanding of human nature and is a natural problem-solver. She is known throughout the world for helping clients find workable solutions to complex problems. Her depth of experience lends itself to both corporate consulting and individual counseling. Perhaps Connie is best known for her “homework” assignments which serve as virtual road maps for moving clients through problems into living solutions. In addition to her consulting and counseling practice, Connie has hosted her own weekly radio show and has been a weekly guest on a morning radio show.  She has appeared as a guest on numerous radio shows around the country and on a cable television show. She also wrote the scripts for a weekly financial show on cable television. She is also the author of Round and Round Goes the Merry-Go-Round: Drugless Therapy for OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), Here and There, Purple Days and Starry Nights, Whispers of the Soul®, Whispers of the Soul® for the Rest of Your Life,  View from the Sidelines, And That’s How it Goes, Are You Listening, From Where I’m Sitting, Reaching for the Brass Ring of Life,  A Slice ofLife, The Counseling Effect, and the co-author of Getting Rich While the World Falls Apart. Connie and I discuss the big questions of life. Why are we here? Is this all there is? What is my soul's mission? We also discuss how famed Indian guru Paramahansa Yogananda life's work impacted both our our lives. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with Connie. Her insights and wisdom truly rocked me to the core of my soul. She has not publicly spoken for over a decade so I was extremely humbled that she agreed to be on the show. Enjoy!

Our guests this week are stars from the early 2000s teen drama television hit show, One Tree Hill, James Lafferty, and Stephen Colletti. The buzz the show had was undeniable, and if you were a fan of the show, then you would be glad to know that your favorite characters, Nathan Scott and Chase Adams have a new project together and they talk all about it in this week’s episode.  But first, a summary of our guests’ track records in the industry. Both James and Steven landed their first acting gigs in their late teens and have since expanded their skills to writing, producing, and directing.  James, started out as a series regular on One Tree Hill in 2003, having appraised one of the lead roles of the show for which he was nominated four times by the Teen Choice Awards. Actor and television personality. Stephen joined as a regular after recurring his role as Chase Adams since the show’s premiere. Half-brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott trade between kinship and rivalry both on the basketball court and in the hearts of their friends in the small, but not so quiet town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. Here’s a first look at the characters in its pilot episode: Steven has consistently worked in film and television hosting MTV specials Beach House, Spring break and the VMAs backstage live among others. He’s made appearances on TV shows MTV reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, VH1 2013 romance drama, Hit The Floor, and Taylor Swift’s White Horse music video.  Between 2009 to 2012, James began testing out the directing pond. He directed four episodes of the nine season run of One Tree Hill and five episodes of The Royals, which he played another lead role on. In 2016, he briefly graced our screens in six episodes of Underground, the series, as Kyle Risdin. With the country on the brink of Civil War, the struggle for freedom is more dangerous than ever. Underground follows the story of American heroes and their moving journey to freedom. The guys creatively reunited in to create an original comedy television series, Everyone Is Doing Great that’s streaming on Hulu. They co-directed, produced and wrote the show.  What was remarkable was that the sold an independently produced show to a major streamer, which never happens. We dive in on how they were able to do that.  The seven episodes show follows Seth and Jeremy, two guys who enjoyed relative success from 'Eternal', a hit television vampire drama. Five years after their show has ended, they lean on each other as they struggle to reclaim their previous level of success and relevance, awkwardly navigating the perils of life and love amidst a humorously painful coming of age.   I had lots of laughs with these two and can’t wait for you to listen. Enjoy my conversation with James Lafferty & Stephen Colletti.

This week, I invited author, writer, and director, Jamie Nash on the show to discuss his ‘Save The Cats Writes for TV’ formula in his new book, Save the Cat!® Writes for TV: The Last Book on Creating Binge-Worthy Content You'll Ever Need. Jamie is a horror and children’s film screenwriter with fifteen years of experience writing projects for  Nickelodeon, Liongate, Discovery, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc, and also teaches screenwriting to college students. Some of his most notable horror credits include V/H/S/2, Lovely Molly, and Seventh Moon, A Comedy of Horrors, and Two Front Teeth. And others like Adventures of a Teenage Dragon Slayer, Tiny Christmas, etc. Screenwriting, for Jamie, was a side project he pursued at leisure when he wasn’t working his Computer gaming/programming job. It wasn’t until early 2004 that he sold his first script, a horror feature titled, Altered, to Haxan Films that was later directed in 2006 by one of the Blair Witch Project directors, Eduardo Sánchez. The story premised on a group of men whose lives were forever changed by a strange occurrence who, fifteen years later Now, will spend a night together ... in terror. With some financial success and notoriety from Altered, Jamie quit his computer consultant job with Citigroup and went full-time on screenwriting in 2008. Jamie is one of those writers who stay busy. He writes about five to six scripts a year for pilots, TV shows, podcasts, novels, etc. This justifies why he has a Writers Guild.  It takes a lot of brainpower to create multiple plots that are so different in many ways within a short period of time. An example is his 2017 screenplays, The Night Watchman and Tiny Christmas. Two very distinct writing and audiences.  He co-wrote The Night Watchman with Ken Arnold and Dan DeLuca. It is basically a story of three inept night watchmen, aided by a young rookie and a fearless tabloid journalist, fight an epic battle for their lives against a horde of hungry vampires. Tiny Christmas on the other hand is about a girl and her quirky cousin who are accidentally zapped by a shrinking ray at the hands of one of Santa’s inept elves on Christmas Eve and they must learn to trust and appreciate each other and work as a team to get back home before Christmas, or risk staying tiny forever. On March 30th, 2021, he released his third book, Save the Cat!® Writes for TV in which he shares the essence of writing pilots as pitches for screenwriters considering television because more than 80% of jobs in the Writers Guild of America are skewed towards the television. Nash takes up Snyder's torch to lay out a step-by-step approach using Blake's principles for both new and experienced writers, including: -How to write and structure a compelling TV pilot that can launch both your series and your TV writing career -All the nuances, tricks, and techniques of pilot-writing: the Opening Pitch, the Guided Tour, the Whiff of Change, and more -The 8 Save the Cat! TV Franchise Types that will improve your story and your pitch -The not-so-secret TV Pitch Template that turns your TV series into the necessary read-over-lunch industry document -a how-to in creating layered characters who are driven by complex internal struggles -Beat sheets of the pilots of Barry, Ozark, Grey's Anatomy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, What We Do in the Shadows, Black-ish, The Mandalorian, This Is Us, Law, and Order: SVU, and more to help you crack your story Create your binge-worthy TV series with Save the Cat! Writes for TV  We talked some more about his own indie film hustle journey--working overtime to get a headstart in the industry, we also talked about his networking technique that keeps him booked and busy.  I could talk another hour more with Jamie. He is so candid about his process and the drive behind it. Enjoy this conversation with Jamie Nash.

I am a huge fan of today’s guest. Since seeing one of her first documentaries, I was transfixed by her power of storytelling. Our guest is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker, Lynn Novick---a formidable and respected PBS documentary filmmaker with thirty-plus years of experience in the business. Her archival mini and docu-series documentaries bring historically true events to the big screen alongside her filmmaking partner, Ken Burns.  You’ve most likely seen some of her landmark documentary films. The likes of Vietnam (2017), TV Mini-Series documentary The Civil War (1990), College Behind Bars (2019), eighteen hours mini-series, Baseball (2010), and many more. Just this year, the pair premiered their latest co-produced and co-directed three parts documentary on PBD---recapitulating the life, loves, and labors of Ernest Hemingway. The series explores the painstaking process through which Hemingway created some of the most important works of fiction in American letters.  Novick is an experienced-learned documentary filmmaker. In the mid-1980s, she applied to film school but did not pursue that lane when she couldn’t find a documentary filmmaking-specific program. Instead, she sought out apprenticeships. Starting at the PBS station in New York City WNET, for six months. And then worked for Bill Moyers as an assistant producer on a series of projects, including her debut production in 1994 with Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, followed by A World of Ideas with Bill Moyers, etc.  The Civil War is a comprehensive survey of the American Civil War. Novick’s decades-long collaboration with Ken Burns emerged in 1989 and has led to the co-production of a number of renowned docu-series.  First, there was the highly acclaimed ‘The Civil War’ which traced the course of the U.S. Civil War from the abolitionist movement through all the major battles to the death of President Lincoln and the beginnings of Reconstruction. Her vast experience as a researcher comes in handy on these kinds of projects, she explains during our convo.  She won an Emmy Award in 1994 for producing the Baseball documentary and won a Peabody Award in 1998 for her co-directing and co-producing of Frank Lloyd Wright's documentary.  Baseball covers the history of the sport with major topics including Afro-American players, player/team owner relations, and the resilience of the game. Other must mention include multi-Emmy nominations documentary ‘Prohibition’, The Vietnam War, Jazz, and Novick’s first solo directing, College Behind Bars (2019).  College Behind Bars explores urgent questions like What is the essence of prisons? Who in America has access to educational opportunities? Six years in the making, the series immerses viewers in the inspiring and transformational journey of a small group of incarcerated men and women serving time for serious crimes, as they try to earn college degrees in one of the most rigorous prison education programs in America – the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Novick is one of those filmmakers who have combed through an obscene amount of knowledge and understanding of documentary films. I have a feeling you will enjoy this chat as much as I did. Enjoy my conversation with Lynn Novick.

In Season 3 we will be deconstructing the work and career of film director Sofia Coppola on The Directors Series Podcast hosted by Cameron Beyl. Proud Member of the IFH Podcast Network http://www.ifhpodcastnetwork.com

DVD is NOT Dead! Making MAJOR Money with DVD Distribution with Jeff Santo DVD is dead! Not so fast. Today's guest is filmmaker Jeff Santo who has been making major money selling DVDs of his indie films for years. Jeff has been an indie filmmaker for over 20 years. After been ripped off by a predatory film distributor on his first film he came back with a vengeance with his second film This Old Cub. He turned that film into a big success selling over 40,000 DVDs on my own website, marketing my film directly to his niche audience where he sold a total of 85,000 DVDs. He repeated the process with his next film, Dead In 5 Heartbeats, which is a fictional feature based on the successful novel by Sonny Barger. The film was successfully released in a 14 city theatre tour, independently, in April 2013. Quickly followed by the 2 disc DVD release, selling in over 70 countries worldwide, and now released digitally on iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and Sony Playstation platforms worldwide; swiftly becoming a cult classic amongst the motorcycle culture. He also sold over 30,000 DVDs worldwide, even when DVDs were supposedly a dead format. If you do not have a niche film you got no shot today! This is the Filmtrepreneur way. Jeff and I get into it in this episode, discussing his methods and techniques. Enjoy my conversation with Jeff Santo.

One of the greatest challenges we have in this life is our battle with ego. Other people's egos and specifically your own. Ego needs to be balanced. You need to have enough ego to believe you can do something but not so big that you are out of control. Today's guest has a story that will take us down the road of ego going out of control and the aftermath of that destruction. I had the honor of speaking to a fascinating storyteller, writer, and director Sacha Gervasi. In one of our past episodes with Bruce Dickinson, we talked a bit about his relationship with Sacha and the new project they are working on Scream for Me Sarajevo . The start of his career began on the path of journalism, and for a while, it seemed definite. Not until a life-changing assignment to interview Hervé Villechaize did Gervasi found a new purpose and direction in his storytelling. Producing his first and most transformative script, My Dinner with Hervé (2018) is as much a tribute to the extraordinary life of Hervé Villechaize as it is a crossroad and a journey to finding his life's purpose and truth.  A look at the life of French actor Hervé Villechaize, co-star of the hit '70s TV series Fantasy Island (1977), who took his own life in 1993 at the age of 50. Sacha's life has been one hell of a journey so far. You never know where your life's journey will lead you and Sacha story on how he went from journalist to top Hollywood screenwriter and director is remarkable. I hope this episode help you examine your relationship with your ego. Enjoy!

I have been a fan of today’s guest since I first saw his mind-blowing film, Night Watch years ago. Timur Bekmambetov is an established director, producer, and writer who has built a name for himself both in his home country, Russia, and here in the U.S., making films, music videos, and commercials.  At first glance at his film, I became obsessed with Timur’s work and his filmmaking style. He is the producer and director of Day Watch (2006), Wanted (2008), Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (2012), Profile ( 2021) and many many more. Timur is a jack of all trade. His journey in the industry started with theater production design and soon he got the directing bug. While honing his directing skills, he took up producing which then led to movie production.   One of my favorite of his films is the genre bending Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie, James McCovey and Morgan Freeman. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. After his estranged father is murdered, he meets Fox (Angelina Jolie), who recruits him into the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley to tap into dormant powers. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye. Abraham Lincoln is reinvented as a vampire-killing president in this Timur Bekmambetov-directed action picture starring Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, and Dominic Cooper. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith adapts his own book for 20th Century Fox. Tim Burton produces alongside Bekmambetov and Jim Lemley. Timur's latest project is Profile. The film was initially released in Russia in 2018 and is set to be released in the US on May 14, 2021. Based on Anna Erelle's non-fiction book, In The Skin of a Jihadist, the film contextualizes our digital life and fears. It explores the role of digital spaces in the recruitment of young European Women by ISIS. British journalist, Amy Whittaker sets on this investigation by creating a Facebook profile under the alias of Melody Nelson along with a persona online of a woman who has recently converted to Islam. The results are thrilling and eye-opening. Profile was shot in a new film language called Screenlife. What is Screenlife? Screenlife is a new format of visual content that has grown from independent projects to full-length, world-renowned films, documentaries and TV shows. Its main idea is that everything that the viewer sees happens on the computer, tablet or smartphone screen. All the events unfold directly on the screen of your device. Instead of film set — there’s a desktop, instead of protagonist’s actions — a cursor. If you are involved in video production, cinema or even video games, Screenlife is a new expressive environment for you, the potential of which is yet to be discovered. Before your eyes, there will be new tools to work with, such as the screenlife recorder. Bekmambetov produced the Screenlife film Unfriended, in which the action takes place on the screens of protagonists’ computers. With a budget of only $1 million, the movie raised $64 million at the box office worldwide. This new film language is extremely exciting. Timur and I discuss Screenlife, his visual style, his directing process, Hollywood politics and much more. Enjoy my conversation with Timur Bekmambetov.