Act One Podcast

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Act One Podcast - Episode 10 - Interview with music journalist and poet, Steve Turner.

Steve Turner is an English music journalist, biographer, and poet, who has spent his career chronicling and interviewing people from the worlds of music, film, television, fashion, art, and literature. He regularly contributes to newspapers such as The Mail on Sunday and The Times and his many books include Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts, Popcultured: Thinking Christianly About Style, Media and Entertainment, Hungry for Heaven: Rock and Roll and the Search for Redemption, U2: Rattle and Hum, Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now, and A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song.

Originally from Northamptonshire, England, Turner’s career as a journalist began as features editor of Beat Instrumental where he interviewed many of the prominent rock musicians of the 1970s. His articles have appeared in Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q, and the London Times, and he has also written several poetry books for both adults and children. He lives in London with his wife and two children. (From IVP website)

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 09 - Interview with author, Carrie Arcos.

Carrie Arcos was born in Albany, NY. She studied English and Philosophy at Gordon College and received her teaching credential through Chapman University and her MA in Creative Writing from California State University Los Angeles. A teacher of high school and college students for years, she finally had the courage to pursue her own writing after the birth of her third child. It’s never too late or the perfect time to chase after your dream. Her debut novel, Out of Reach, published to critical acclaim and ended up being a National Book Award finalist that year.

Since then, she has continued to write books for young adults. Her latest novel, Skywatchers, is a thrilling, genre-bending mystery about the history of the Cold War and the UFO phenomenon. The book was recently optioned by a major production company to develop it into a feature film. Thank you to all the readers, librarians and booksellers that help get her books out into the world.

Currently she lives in Los Angeles with her husband David and their three children. Learn more at www.carriearcos.com.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 08 - Interview with producer, Justin Bell.

Justin Bell is a feature film, TV, and branded entertainment producer based in Los Angeles. His latest project, the horror-comedy “Summoned” for Disney/20th Digital, is currently airing on Hulu, FX and Freeform. He is also in post-production on a 1970’s style superhero heist movie – The Hyperions (2020), starring Cary Elwes. Bell produced the TV pilot “Journey to the East”, and his bible-era feature film about Mary of Nazareth, Full of Grace, was released by Cinedigm on BluRay/DVD in Walmart and Target stores, and is also available for download on iTunes.

Bell also co-produced the BAFTA-winner Michael Radford’s Elsa & Fred (2015), starring Academy Award-winners Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer, which Millennium Entertainment released in theaters and VOD. Justin has several projects in active development, is the former Director of the Act One Producing & Entertainment Executive Program, and is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

A graduate of the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts (MFA), Justin’s thesis project, That Evening Sun (2009), was made into a critically acclaimed independent feature film (NY Times Critics Pick, two Independent Spirit Award nominations), produced by his friends Laura D. Smith and Terence Berry, directed by Scott Teems, and distributed by Freestyle Releasing. While in film school, Bell received the USC Special Project Grant, and was voted Most Outstanding Filmmaker by his peers.

Justin earned a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Fuller Theological Seminary, and is a graduate of Wheaton College (B.A.) in Illinois.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 07 - Interview with filmmaker and director of the new comedy film, Faith Based, Vince Masciale.

Vincent Masciale is a director, producer, and co-founder of Lone Suspect, a production company based in Los Angeles. He has directed two feature films, television pilots, a digital series and comedy sketches for Funny or Die, and spent 10 years as an editor for companies like TMZ, National Geographic, Discovery, Fox, VH1, and MTV. Masciale has directed and worked with some amazingly talented actors over the years; Jason Alexander, Patton Oswalt, Jane Lynch, Daniel Stern, Tony Hale, Jon Heder, and Gary Cole, to name a few. His latest comedic feature, Faith Based, starring Alexander, Margaret Cho, David Koechner, and Lance Reddick was released on October 9th. Masciale's first feature Fear, Inc, a horror-comedy starring Abigail Breslin, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 06 - Interview with television screenwriter, Jeremy Howe.

Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Jeremy moved to Los Angeles in 2002 for an internship at “The Young and The Restless.” After three long years in the CBS mail room, he was fortunate enough to get a Production Assistant job on the short- lived CBS sitcom “Out of Practice.” Following a season as a PA on The CW sitcom “The Game,” he was promoted to Writers’ Assistant in 2007, where he was able to write his first freelance episode. After three seasons on The Game, Jeremy got another Writers’ Assistant job in 2009 on the even shorter-lived sitcom “Hank,” starring Kelsey Grammer. When that show was cancelled, he chose to leave television to be a stay-at-home dad and turn his focus to writing movies. However, when he and his wife were both unemployed for a full year, he was able to join “The Big Bang Theory” as a Writers’ Assistant in 2011, halfway through the fourth season. In 2013 he was promoted to Staff Writer and later Co-Executive Producer. Currently Jeremy is a Writer/Producer on “Young Sheldon.” Jeremy lives in Burbank with his wife and two children.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 05 - Interview with illusionist and author, Harris III.

Harris III (“the third”) has almost 30 years of experimentation as a creative entrepreneur. Harris began his career at a young age, traveling the world as an award-winning, professional illusionist. He has performed for and spoken live to more than two million people in more than 30 countries on five continents. His performances have been televised to millions more on the Travel Channel and ABC Family.

After traveling the globe and making a million dollars by the age of 21, only to go bankrupt a year later, Harris kick-started a decade-long journey to understand the stories we tell ourselves and how they drive all human behavior. Armed with a unique perspective, his career re-exploded as a world-renowned speaker, storyteller and entrepreneur.

He is the creator of Transformation Theory and author of the book, The Wonder Switch. Tapping into his background as a professional magician and understanding the intersection of storytelling and wonder, Harris developed a structured process that can dramatically change a team’s culture, or rapidly accelerate an individual’s transformation, from the story they feel stuck in, to the life they want to live.

In 2016, Harris founded the Istoria Collective, a consultancy and innovation lab. He is also the visionary entrepreneur and curator behind STORY, the world’s premier gathering for artists, creators and storytellers. He is a sought after coach, creative consultant and experience designer, and a quiet producer behind a diverse slate of TV and film projects, backed by a 7-figure development fund. In 2019, he founded the STORY Foundation, a non-profit focused on raising up and empowering the next generation of storytellers to change the future.

Through a diverse portfolio of projects, Harris is on a mission to help others find their way back to wonder, permitting them to change the untrue stories they tell themselves and begin to believe in magic again. He is succeeding at that mission, in ways only a magician who believes in real magic can.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 04 - Interview with filmmaker, Craig Detweiler.

Filmmaker, author, and exec Craig Detweiler, Ph.D., wrote the screenplays for The Duke, the comedic road trip, Extreme Days and directed the award-winning documentary Remand, narrated by Angela Bassett. 

His acclaimed books include iGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives (2013) Selfies: Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age (2018), and Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue (2019) co-written with Robert Johnston and Kutter Callaway. Craig’s cultural commentary has been featured on ABC’s Nightline, CNN, Fox, NPR, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Detweiler served as a professor at Fuller Seminary, Biola University, and Pepperdine University. Variety honored Detweiler as their 2016 Mentor of the Year. 

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 03 - Interview with screenwriter, Scott Reynolds. 

Reynolds is a television writer who has worked on the Marvel and Netflix television series' Jessica Jones and Iron Fist and Marvel's Inhumans as a writer and executive producer. He was a consulting producer on the Fox series The Following, and was a supervising producer on Showtime's Dexter. Scott was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for best dramatic series for his work on the third and fourth seasons of Dexter. He has also created/written the comic book UTF (Undead Task Force) with Tone Rodriguez for APE comics. He also has hosted popular podcasts for both Dexter and The Following. His work on Dexter earned him both WGA and PGA award nominations. Scott is currently working on a new show for Showtime.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 02 - Interview with screenwriter, Todd Komarnicki. 

Komarnicki is a prolific writer, producer and director of film and television as well as an acclaimed novelist. His screenplays include "Sully," directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks in the title role. Perfect Stranger, starring Bruce Willis and Halle Berry, and The Professor and the Madman starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. He has sold pilots to ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.

In addition, Komarnicki produced the Christmas blockbuster "Elf," starring Will Ferrell and directed by Jon Favreau.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 01 - Interview with film producer, Ralph Winter.

Ralph Winter is an American film producer who has helped to produce blockbuster movies such as the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Star Trek series as well as I, Robot and Planet of the Apes. His films have grossed collectively over $2 billion (USD). Winter is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (From Wikipedia) 

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

Support the show