Creative Principles

Latest Episodes:

Ep312 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Writer-Director ‘Don Jon’ and Apple’s ‘Mr. Corman' Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is best known for his role as Tommy on 3rd Rock from the Sun and for movies like 500 Days of Summer, Inception, 50/50, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, Lincoln, and Snowden. In this interview, we discuss Joseph’s work as a writer-director, for the film Don Jon and the new series Mr. Corman. In the 2013 film that co-stars Scarlett Johansson, “A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.” In Mr. Corman, the story follows the life of a public school teacher in San Fernando Valley. In addition to creating the series for Apple, Joseph also stars as Josh Corman. Debra Winger plays his mother. Juno Temple plays his ex. Arturo Castro plays his roommate. During this interview, Joseph talks about how underlying themes create characters, luck versus hard work, adapting stories to include real-world events, balancing a multitude of creative urges with Hit Record, and how to write dialogue actors want to read. 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!

Ep311 - Karen Cinorre, Writer-Director ‘Mayday’ Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

In ‘Mayday,’ Ana is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins an army of girls engaged in a never-ending war. Though she finds strength in this exhilarating world, she realizes that she's not the killer they want her to be. The films stars Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Yoko, and Juliette Lewis. In this interview, Karen talks about untraditional filmmaking styles, how to protect your voice and natural instincts, the secret to being diligent with your time as a filmmaker, how she finds inspiration for her films outside of filmmaking and what it means to approach inspirations diagonally. Also, look for Episode 245 where we sat down with Karen’s Cinematographer Sam Levy. 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!

Ep310 - Justin Long & Christian Long, Writer Directors ‘Lady of the Manor’ Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

"We were thinking about a comedic version of Psycho,” said Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard, Dodgeball), about his latest project, Lady of the Manor, which he co-wrote and co-directed with his brother, Christian Long (Hop, Accepted). This idea morphed into more of a buddy comedy, involving a ne’er-do-well played by Melanie Lynskey and the ghost of a mansion, played by Judy Greer. The two meet when Lynskey’s character ends up working as a tour guide in the historic estate Greer’s character haunts. The brothers were inspired by movies like What About Bob? and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and wanted to put a spin on the buddy comedy, the obnoxious character being a modern pot-head ne’er-do-well and the straight man being a proper woman from the 1870s. In addition to Melanie Lynskey and Judy Greer, the comedy also features Ryan Phillippe, Patrick Duffy, Angela Alise, Luis Guzmán, and Justin Long stars in a supporting role as Max. In this interview, the brothers talk their love of the Marx Brothers, why comedies need to be specific in their humor, how to ground heightened stories, and why Judy Greer referred to the movie as a “fart-warming comedy.” 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!

Ep309 - Marina Zenovich, Director ‘Lance,’ ‘Robin Williams,’ & ‘What Happens in Hollywood’ Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

For twenty years, Marina Zenovich has been making documentaries about subjects that interest her. Past subjects include Lance Armstrong, Robin Williams, Roman Polanski, and Richard Pryor. For her latest project, What Happens in Hollywood, the series takes a candid look at Hollywood’s role in framing society’s overall view of sex and sexuality. Subjects include Robin Wright, Minnie Driver, and Bobbi Banks. In this interview, Marina talks about trusting gut instincts, why she avoids pre-interviews, the secret to great conversations, how to make first contact with a subject, the problem with cancel culture, and her interest in “difficult men” as a documentary filmmaking. 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!

Ep308 - Tracy Oliver, Screenwriter ‘Girls Trip’ & ‘First Wives Club’ Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

While in college, Tracy Oliver was interested in the performing arts, but she eventually realized she was often the “sassy, funny sidekick and not the lead.” This realization - and her mother - actually inspired her to start writing rather than wait for someone to cast her. Oliver was tired of being the “cigarette-smoking friend” or in the “slavery movie,” so she started to write about herself. “That, weirdly, was revolutionary to write about the normalcy of black life.” As a writer, she’s now known for Survivor’s Remorse, Barbershop: The Next Cut, Girls Trip, Little, First Wives Club, and the upcoming series Harlem. In this interview, Oliver talks about black normalcy in film and television, what led her to becoming a writer-producer, how to craft IP for black stories, and the most important trait to stay employed as a writer. 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!

Ep307 - Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, Writer-Directors ‘Queenpins’ Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

Husband-and-wife writing and directing team Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapill met while working in local television news. Despite being at competitive stations, they both despised local television news and wanted to find a more creative path to “visual storytelling” where they weren’t “forced to tell a story in 30 seconds.” Together, the couple has credits for documentaries like The Elephant Bath, The Gambling Man, Lifecasters, and features such as Beneath the Harvest Sky, Queenpins, and an upcoming film called Crook County. Their current project, Queenpins, follows a pair of housewives who create a $40 million coupon scam. The surprisingly true story stars Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Vince Vaughn, and Paul Walter Hauser. In this interview, the duo talks about their discovery process, feeling undervalued in the industry, how they conduct research as former journalists, advice on breaking in, and why every finished script is an asset to your career. 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!

Ep306 - Michele Civetta, Director Frank Grillo, Olivia Munn Film ‘The Gateway’ Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

Michele Civetta got his start making commercials and shorts. This taught him the balance of creativity and commerce, while also teaching him a technical background to eventually move into features. In his first project, Agony, the movie focused on psychological uncertainty within past traumas. In his latest film, The Gateway, a social worker assigned to care for the daughter of a single mother intervenes when the dad returns from prison and involves the family in his life of crime. In this interview, Civetta talks about his love for 70s cinema, where characters belong in terms of TV versus film, the dangers of compartmentalizing stories and characters, the pros and cons of shooting too much or too little, and how to show your point-of-view on screen. 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!

Ep305 - Jac Schaeffer, Screenwriter ‘Black Widow’ ‘WandaVision,’ & ‘The Hustle’ Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

After working as a writer-director on her first film, Timer, Jac Schaeffer discovered she could land more jobs as a screenwriter. The description of Timer reads, “If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know?” After Timer, she worked on a handful of screenplays, created a short called Mr. Stache, and even worked on the short Olaf’s Frozen Adventure for Disney. This relationship - along with a Blacklist spec script - eventually led her to working on The Hustle, WandaVision, and Black Widow. WandaVision “blends the style of classic sitcoms with the MCU, in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision - two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives - begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.” Black Widow follows Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) as she confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy that ties her back to her past. 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!

Ep304 - Trent O'Donnell, Writer-Director ‘Ride the Eagle,’ ‘The Moodys,’ & ‘No Activity’ Aug 28, 2021

Show notes

Growing up on comedies like Monty Python, Trent O'Donnell has always been fascinated with “dumb comedies.” He got his start making shorts, commercials, and eventually landed some work in television. As a writer-director, he’s known for The Moodys, No Activity, and most recently, the movie Ride the Eagle. Trent O'Donnell met Jake Johnson while directing episodes of New Girl for Fox. In their latest collaboration, Jake Johnson stars as Leif. The description reads, “Leif is left with a conditional inheritance when his estranged mother Honey dies. Before he can move into her picturesque Yosemite cabin, he has to complete her elaborate, and sometimes dubious, to-do list.” In this interview, O'Donnell talks about making friendships rather than networking, how he got a movie made during the pandemic, writing with creative limitations, putting pressure on “the word,” how to edit improv based on story, the lack of comedy movie stars today, and how to keep minimal environments visually interesting. 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!

Ep303 - ‘Hacks’ Creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, & Jen Statsky Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky met doing comedy in New York, where they eventually landed jobs together on Broad City. Today, they’re the Creators of the new comedy series, Hacks, for HBO. For the series, Jean Smart stars as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian who begrudgingly takes an outcast 25-year-old named Ava (Hannah Einbinder) under her wing. In this interview, the trio talks about writing sketch comedy, how opposing characters can attract one another, cultural forefronts on the page, how to create a strong pilot, and their advice for novice writers staring careers today. 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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