Creative Principles

Latest Episodes:

Ep352 - Molly Smith Metzler, Creator Netflix’s ‘Maid’ Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

Molly Smith Metzler spent 15 years writing plays before stepping into television work. Around 2015, she got a job on an HBO limited series from Director Steve McQueen, which unfortunately wasn’t picked up. As a writer, Metzler is known for working on Orange is the New Black, Casual, Shameless, and Maid, where she’s also the creator. In Maid, the story follows Alex Russell (Margaret Qualley) as she tries to flee an abusive relationship with Sean Boyd (Nick Robinson). As a young mother, she finds work cleaning houses and tries to provide for her child despite the odds being stacked against her. In this interview, Metzler talks about her transition into television, her advice for climbing the ladder in television, advice from John Wells (ER, The West Wing), and how she pitched such a difficult subject matter to Netflix. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @brockswinson If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep351 - Jeremy Slater, Screenwriter Marvel’s Series ‘Moon Knight’ Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

“The answer always goes back to Jaws,” said Jeremy Slater, when asked about why he got into the business in the first place. A movie he saw too young, it changed the way he saw movies and he knew he wanted to grow up to play with “giant, rubber sharks.” Slater’s rubber sharks came in the form of The Exorcist, The Umbrella Academy, Fantastic Four, and most recently, Marvel’s Moon Knight for Disney Plus. In his latest project, a six-episode series starring Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, “Steven Grant discovers he's been granted the powers of an Egyptian moon god. But he soon finds out that these newfound powers can be both a blessing and a curse to his troubled life.” In this interview, Slater talks about smuggling exciting ideas into IP, writing words meant to be spoken and read, what it means to write Hard PG-13, and how he created six versions of Moon Knight. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @brockswinson If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep350 - Vanessa Bayer & Jeremy Beiler on ‘SNL’ & Showtime’s ‘I Love That for You’ Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

Both Vanessa Bayer and Jeremy Beiler were involved with sketch groups at an early age. Working together at Saturday Night Live, Jeremy as a writer and Vanessa as a cast member, the two eventually found their way into their own lanes of comedy. In their latest collaboration, I Love That for You, the story follows Vanessa’s character, Joanna Gold, who overcomes childhood leukemia to achieve her dream of becoming an on-air host for a popular home shopping network. In this interview, the duo talks about their time at Saturday Night Live, why you can’t be too exact or precious in comedy, their mutual obsession with home shopping networks, and what it means to be ready for success. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @brockswinson If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep349 - Judd Apatow, Screenwriter ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin,’ ‘Knocked Up’ and ‘This is 40’ Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

Judd Apatow is perhaps best known for work in the film world, writing movies and television like The Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Freaks and Geeks, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Funny People, and This is 40, among others. But he’s also known for mentoring rising stars, such as with Lena Dunham for Girls, Pete Holmes for Crashing, Amy Schumer for Trainwreck, and Pete Davidson for The King of Staten Island. Somehow, between all these projects, he’s also created documentaries about George Carlin, Garry Shandling, Darryl Strawberry, and The Avett Brothers and published books of interviews called Sick in the Head. The thread through all of these avenues, however, is comedic storytelling. “It’s like a tuning fork, where it’s fun, it also services all of my other writing and all of my other projects,” he said about stand-up, specifically in regards to his 2017 special, The Return. “You really feel like you understand the audience and you’re taking in information on an unconscious level of how to be funny.” In this interview, Apatow talks about writing comedy movies today, how to make voice-driven films, lessons from making documentaries, audience validation, and his new book Sicker in the Head.

Ep348 - Joby Harold, Screenwriter Star Wars ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ May 25, 2022

Show notes

As a kid in England, Joby Harold was obsessed with movies like The Magnificent Seven. The Great Escape. Star Wars. Jaws. These movies inspired him to find his way into Hollywood and “go for it” as a screenwriter. Today, he’s known for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Army of the Dead, and he’s got credits on upcoming films The Flash and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. For this interview, we discussed the new mini-series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. In this interview, we talk about lanes of genre, Samurai and Western influences in Star Wars, the “Daddening” of Hollywood’s most iconic characters, how to write for both studios and filmmakers, and how to build off what you’ve inherited for tent pole franchises. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @brockswinson If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep347 - Riley Stearns, Writer-Director ‘Dual’ & ‘The Art of Self-Defense’ May 11, 2022

Show notes

Originally, Riley Stearns wanted to be a musician, but as he started to visit sets, he knew screenwriting could be his “in” to filmmaking. Today, he’s best known for being the writer-director of ‘The Art of Self-Defense’ and ‘Dual.’ In ‘The Art of Self-Defense,’ Jesse Eisenberg stars as Casey, a young man who gets attacked on the streets and decides to join a local dojo. In ‘Dual,’ Karen Gillan stars as Sarah, a woman opts to clone herself after she receives a terminal diagnoses, but once she survives her ill fate, she learns she must duel her clone to the death. In this interview, Riley talks about taking short films to festivals, mimicking Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright to learn the format of screenwriting, the blessing of misplaced confidence, and how he developed his dark comedic style. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @creativeprinciples If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep346 - Gigi Gaston, Director Lena Headey Film ‘9 Bullets’ Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

“As a kid, I escaped into movies. Some movies inspired me to do something great. Some movies made me re-look at my life. Some movies made me long for love,” said Gigi Gaston. As a director, Gigi Gaston is known for her work on Rip It Off, The Nanny Murders, Fatal Memory, and most recently 9 Bullets, which stars Lena Headey and Sam Worthington. In this interview, Gigi talks about her mentorship with George Cukor (My Fair Lady, Gaslight) who told her “you will learn in the doing,” her early life as an Olympian, and how a mugging led to her career as a Producer. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @creativeprinciples If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep345 - Mike Roe, Author ‘The 30 Rock Book - Inside the Iconic Show from BLERG to EGOT’ Apr 09, 2022

Show notes

Mike Roe always wanted to be a storyteller. Currently, he’s a writer for LAist, where he covers arts and entertainment. In one viral article, “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah from 30 Rock: an Oral History” Mike was approached to write a book on 30 Rock. In The 30 Rock Book, Mike interviews over 50 of the original cast members, crew, and critics. He discusses how the goofy show became an all-time classic, including who shaped the series like Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, and Donald Glover, who was a writer on the show. In this interview, Mike talks about jokes for one percenters, his obsession with creative ideas, how to write a book while keeping your day job, how he and his wife co-wrote spec screenplays, and surprising themes in The 30 Rock Book. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @creativeprinciples If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep344 - Jimmy Soni, Author ‘The Founders - The Story of Paypal’ Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

The son of Indian immigrants, Jimmy Soni grew up with his nose in a book. In high school, he was writing for the school paper. Today, he’s known as the former managing editor of The Huffington Post and is currently an author. Jimmy first published A Mind at Play about Claude Shannon, a mathematician and “the father of information theory.” His latest book, The Founders, uncovers the story of Paypal and includes interviews with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, among others. In this interview, Jimmy talks about elegantly crafting history, his obsession with non-fiction, the logistics of his interview process, why all writers are entrepreneurs, how digital marketing has evolved beyond publishing, why writers are craftsmen not artists, and advice for writers with newborns. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @creativeprinciples If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep343 - Ric Prado, Author ‘Black Ops - The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior’ Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

“When you see things that young, they tend to be tattooed on the brain,” said author Ric Prado. “The first firefight I saw, I was seven years old.” Black Ops is a memoir by “the highest ranking covert warrior to lift the veil of secrecy and offer a glimpse into the shadow wars America fought since Vietnam.” In this interview, Prado talks about his life as a legendary CIA officer, the responsibility he felt to America as an immigrant, how he went about publishing CIA secrets and his views on taking calculated risks both in missions and in life. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @creativeprinciples If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

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