Best in Fest

In this episode Leslie talks to Actor/Producer Tara Shayne about filming in Chicago.  They discuss everything from  casting to location scouting to funding and all aspects of Independent Film in between. Don't miss it.

Praised by American Record Guide as, "Energetic and exciting...", American composer Maria Newman has been commended and recognized by the U.S. Congress for her work in the field of original music composition, live performance, and recording. Newman’s compositions have been performed and screened in such elite venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the U.S. Capitol Building on Capitol Hill, the National Archives in Washington D.C., Hearst Castle Private Theater, the President’s Own Marine Band Barracks, Nokia’s NOVO Theatre, Heidelberg Castle, Brevard Center for the Arts, the Music Scoring Stages of 20th Century Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros., among many others. Maria Newman has been featured in such spotlight one-on-one interviews paired with live concert performances as CBS Sunday Morning, National Public Radio's From the Top with Christopher O'Riley, andNPR’s Performance Today. Additionally, her silent film scores are featured regularly on Turner Classics. Named a George Wellington Miles Scholar of Yale University, Newman is an elected member of the American Academic Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda.

Maria Newman's original library of compositions have earned her accolades as an Annenberg Foundation Composition Fellow, a Mary Pickford Library Composition Fellow, a Sidney Stern Trust Composition Fellow, and as a Variety Music Legend. Her music is featured frequently on radio and television around the globe, and live-in-concert at numerous music festivals, chamber music series, and film festivals.      

Maria Newman is Composer-in-Residence with the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra, SPaCE Salon Concerts Los Angeles, and the Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra. Fanfare Magazine has lauded Newman’s compositions, hailing, “This is real genius.”  She has been celebrated by NPR’s on-air icon of musical opinion, Jim Svejda, (Author and Host of The Record Shelf Guide to the Classical Repertoire) as, “Hugely musical, bewitching, witty, profound and playful, with an instantly recognizable and unusually appealing musical personality, Maria Newman is one of the most charming and distinctive composers of her generation.”  

In the international spotlight, Maria Newman is the acclaimed viola soloist in Miklos Rozsa’s Viola Concerto with the Nuremburg Symphony (Germany) on the GRAMMY Award-winning Symphonic Hollywood CD (Varese Sarabande label). She also appeared as the physical animation inspiration and violin soloist for the character of “The Grasshopper” in the 1996 Walt Disney release of Tim Burton’s, James and the Giant Peach.

Maria Newman is the youngest of 9-time Academy Award-winning composer Alfred Newman's seven children. She is the sister of film composers/conductors Thomas Newman and David Newman, and the cousin of Randy Newman. Maria Newman’s recording studio is based in Malibu, California, designed by architect, Eric Lloyd Wright. Newman is married to American conductor and violist, Scott Hosfeld.

Do you want to be a networking master at AFM? Do you have a finished film that you want to sell at AFM? In this episode Leslie gives amazing advice and tips on how to navigate the coctail hours and pitch meetings like a pro. 

How do you navigate a career in Hollywood from actor to writer to producer and even director?  Leslie sits down with James Michael Cummings and talks about setting up a great team, finding funding, location scouting, casting, expanding your role, finding the right projects and much more.  From City on a Hill to casting Jamie Fox, this is an amazing episode with valuable stories and advice.

Ko Mori produces anime and live action by telling stories that show his Japanese culture and nobody does it better.  In this episode, Leslie and Ko discuss new projects and creative partners, hybrid festivals, distribution and much more...

At a time when women were rarely in positions of power on a set, Marty Elcan was an Assistant  Director on iconic shows like Hill Street Blues, Six Feet Under, Picket Fences and many, many more.  In this episode, Leslie and Mary break down her career and the job of an assistant director on set.

Bring your notebooks, today Leslie gives a class on all the different ways to get financing for your independent film and also how to avoid getting screwed in the process. She discusses things like Gap financing, bridge financing, equity investing with private money, different loans, how and why to choose a sales agent, how to get distribution, resale agreements and much more.  This is a MUST LISTEN!

In this episode Leslie talks with film producer Lisa Freberg about her move from studio films to Independent Producer and they get really specific about mentorship and how to put together funding for your Indie film.  This is a great one!

About Lisa

CEO / Founder / Producer

Lisa J Freberg is the co-founder of One Good Man Productions, based in Los Angeles, CA. She is a former Dreamworks executive, having overseen development and production of branded content for franchises including How To Train Your Dragon, Guardians, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek Franchise, and Trolls. She also produced Penguins of Madagascar Got Your 6 - a short featuring FLOTUS Michelle Obama

The TV & Film Industry is changing. Streamers filled a need during the pandemic, but theatrical releases are still an important aspect of the industry.  On thing is for sure, the industry is adapting and it's changing the way filmmakers find funding and create their art.  In this episode, Leslie talks with Valerie McCaffrey who has had a long and successful career as a Casting Director and now is finding success as a producer/writer/director.

Independent film is evolving and today Leslie speaks with two cutting edge filmmakers Tyler Rugh and Fernando Andres the writer/directors of "Three Headed Beast" to discuss the process of creating new art and how to effectively get it into the film festivals.