Are you interested in being a creator of animation? In this information packed episode Leslie and Marlene discuss, global development of Animation in Japan,  merchandising in Animation
Crossover content and trends in animation, the market for boys at specific ages, an animation market for girls, the difference between selling your show and producing your show, Web-comics and the new content creation platforms of Tapas and WebTune.

More About Marlene

Marlene Sharp is a creative and business-savvy entertainment multi-hyphenate who originally hails from New Orleans but is now a (San Fernando) Valley girl. Firmly ensconced in LA life, Marlene is top dawg at Pink Poodle Productions and Head of IP Strategy and Acquisitions for Rainshine Entertainment.

The first question to ask when you're preparing your pitch is, what do you want them to understand? Next is what's your hook, your personal story that will get and hold their attention. In this powerful episode, Devo Cutler-Rebenstein answers these questions as well as discussing how to get buyers to want to work with you, gap financing, digital marketing tools and more.

Devo Cutler-Rubenstein's passion for storytelling and artistic expression brought her to California Institute of the Arts where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television. While at Cal Arts she was selected to receive a grant from the Scottish Arts Council to attend Edinburgh Arts. Her documentary about this unique educational setting inspired her documentary film EDINBURGH ARTS, which aired in part on Grampian Television. Returning to Cal Arts, she had an opportunity to study with Alexander MacKenrick, where she wrote, produced and directed PEACOCK BLUES, a short film casting the as yet unknown Ed Harris and Annie Potts.

Upon graduation Devo launched her career in the entertainment industry at Twentieth Century Fox, rising quickly up the ranks in story development. She was Director of Story Department for Sir Lew Grade's Marble Arch productions at CBS Studios. She helped design a new story department as Director, Literary Affairs at Columbia Pictures TV, and not long after became VP of Marketing and Promotion for Connoisseur Video. Simultaneously, she began to develop projects for theater under her banner New Play Productions and then partnered with Mary Saxon to form Cutler-Saxon Productions, with an eye to leverage small theatre as a vehicle for larger budget television and feature film projects.

Currently as CEO and President of Noble House Entertainment, she continues to develop and produce multi-platform projects, in a career that has spanned over thirty years working within all aspects of the entertainment industry. She has developed over 500 projects under various production banners, including producing the feature film franchise THE SUBSTITUTE, for MGM, Live Entertainment and HBO, starring Tom Berenger and Treat Williams, respectively. Inspired by work she did with stand-up comedians coaching them on the development of one-person shows, she won a grant to co-produce and co-write with her husband, Scott Rubenstein (Star Trek: TNG, MacGyver, Night Court) the documentary NOT AFRAID TO LAUGH, about using comedy to heal cancer. The intimate documentary won The Communicator Award and was nominated for a Peabody Award, now archived in the Chicago Museum of Broadcasting for its "artistic excellence, social relevance and historical significance." As a narrative director, she helped out on another award-winning documentary, TELL ABOUT THE SOUTH, which aired on PBS; she helped cast and the documentary was shot entirely on locations in South Carolina and Virginia. Adapting a John Irving short story, she competed and won a grant from Chanticleer Films/The Discovery Program to write and direct a narrative short, which she co-wrote with her husband, Scott Rubenstein, who also exec produced; the short film starred Poppy Montgomery, Bill Forsythe and Tony Plana and won Best Film at Moondance Film Festival and aired on Showtime Television. A writer at her core, Devo continues to pursue a creative outlet as a published poet, short story writer, and as a member of the Writers' Guild of America, West. She has written and/or produced film and television projects for ABC, Columbia Pictures, FX, Showtime, MGM, Live Entertainment, Fries Entertainment, Interscope Entertainment, among others. Her desire to promote cultural diversity was acknowledged by a NALIP Screenwriting Fellowship, and in 2015, Devo fulfilled a lifelong dream and received a Master's in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.

How do you transition from directing commercials to directing features? Are the structures similar? Are the skills transferable?  In this episode, Leslie talks with a young director named Justing Bertrand about the differences between directing in France and directing in the US, the Me Too movement, sexism in the French culture and film industry, Justine's process as a director and much more.

www.lafemme.org

Sometimes you just have to do it yourself ... as long as it's in conjunction with someone else.  In this episode, Leslie talks with Actress/Writer/Director Kathryne Isabelle Easton about developing her own horror franchise, her award winning short film Borrelia Borealis, how to navigate Hollywood as a woman and still stay true to your vision, pay inequity and much more.

More about Kathryne:

Kathryne Isabelle Easton attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City after studying theater for many years as a child in Syracuse, NY. She moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking soon after graduating, and quickly found that the game of Hollywood is a very grating one unless you are creating some of your own material and getting your voice out there. She started a production company, Abhorrent Behavior, and directed, wrote, produced and starred in many shorts, music videos, and several web series before directing her first feature: a romantic drama, “Borrelia Borealis” in 2020. She secured a distribution deal through Freestyle Media and it releases on VOD platforms January 18th, 2022. In 2021, she directed her second feature, a gritty LA noir thriller, “Valleyheart,” and is currently is post production. She has worked steadily as an actress in LA over the years as well as selling scripts as a writer and placing on the Academy Nicholl quarter finals list two times. She has trended on the Blcklist with high scores as well as making it to the semis for Final Draft Big Break and second round at Austin. She directed Key Question for Legendary Digital Studios at the Alpha network, starring Marisha Ray, and she is currently writing a soon-to-be horror film franchise, “Sacred Feminine.” She resides in Los Angeles, enjoys a myriad of caffeinated beverages, and is currently looking for representation for her multi-hyphenate career. 

What is it like to find love during a Worldwide pandemic? In this episode Leslie talks to the co-creators of the award winning web series "Love in 2020" about what it takes to create and film during Covid 19.

Eirinn Disbrow
I am an LA based director and editor who is passionate about telling women's stories. Credits include working in editorial on Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters (Sony), Jonathan Levine’s Snatched (FOX) and Long Shot (Lionsgate) as well as David Fincher’s Videosyncrasy (HBO). I edited the series My Dead Ex which premiered at SXSW in 2018 and I'm currently working in editorial on Borderlands (Lionsgate). I previously directed the comedy sketch Racist Baby (streaming on Who Haha), My Life Worked Out (featured on Funny or Die) and most recently the award winning web series Love in 2020, a pandemic rom com that I hope makes people laugh and feel less alone.

Anna Jaller (actress/producer)

Anna is an actress & producer. Hailing from MD, Anna studied theater at Muhlenberg College. Upon graduating she moved to NYC and studied with veteran acting coach Anthony Abeson. Less than a year after moving to LA she fulfilled her dream of being yelled at by Ari Gold as she made her big screen debut as Dana’s Assistant in the Entourage movie. Anna was seen most recently opposite Janelle Monae in Homecoming (Amazon) and will be featured in a new sitcom coming this Winter to NBC. Her work has been featured on WhoHaHa and on the homepage of Funny or Die. Other credits include Speechless (ABC), Failosophy (MTV), and Amateurs (pilot). Anna is a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade training program and has performed as a member of the sketch comedy group TMI. Her producing credits include: Please Come With Me (Indie Rights), Liam Reeves (dir. Sara Lindsey), and My Life Worked Out (Funny or Die). She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and FilmmakeHers.

 Social media: @annajaller

Christina Garofalo Bonifacio

Christina Garofalo Bonifacio is an L.A.-based author, journalist, and screenwriter. She wrote and produced the six-episode Rom-Com web series Love in 2020, which won Best Web Series at LA Femme International Film Festival. Christina is the author of the book When Dogs Heal: Powerful Stories of People Living with HIV and the Dogs That Saved Them (March 2021, Lerner Publishing). In its first year, the book was covered by NBC, them., BuzzFeed Daily, and The AIDS Memorial. Her writing has been featured in Robb Report, Afar, Huffington Post, Paste, Resident, ShermansTravel, and Jetsetter. 

In this very special episode Leslie brings you just a sample of the filmmakers that were featured at this year's LaFemme Film Festival.  There was such a wonderful representation of fantastic  projects driven by passionate women to choose from that we had to share them with you. 

Kathleen Rowell wanted to be a novelist and ended up writing a  huge film (none other than the Outsiders) as her first feature. How did this happen? In this episode, Leslie and Bridget dive into the reality of being a working Scriptwriter in Hollywood. There are some great tips in this episode.

In this very special episode, Leslie is on the hot seat as she answers questions from Producer Phil about everything from the origins of LaFemme to how filmmakers should properly submit to a festival, common mistakes, what to expect at a festival, networking tips, how and why films are chosen, how the right festival can launch your career and much more.

More About Leslie:

For the past fifteen years Leslie La Page has produced, directed and line produced for Film, TV, Music Videos, commercials and Theatrical productions.

Ms. La Page has produced features nationally and internationally in both the independent and commercial markets.

Ms. La Page has over eight years of production background in independent films, and has served as producer, line producer and film production coordinator on numerous independent feature films for independent production companies as well as Black Entertainment Television Action Pay Per View (BET). While at BET she line produced their entire slate of original programs which aired on their network and received international and domestic video releases. She line produced commercials and promos for the HBO, Lifetime TV and BET, MTV and Nickelodeon.

Her production experience also involves her in the areas of marketing, developing scripts, creating promotional copy as well as promotional feature spots and trailers.

Streaming and the pandemic are inextricably linked, so let's jump on the bandwagon!  In this episode Leslie and Bridget dive into developing a storyline for streaming networks, trends in television, the rise of Sci-fi and women, finding your way into a pitch and behind the camera, ageism in Hollywood (ignore the elderly at your peril), made for TV movies, Ed Asner AND MUCH MORE!

Bridget Terry has produced, written or directed a variety of award-winning television, including productions honored with the George Foster Peabody Award, ACE award, Christopher Humanitarian Award, Video Hall of Fame inductee, Action for Children's Television, three Emmy nominations, and a Writers Guild Award nominee.

 Terry joined actress Shelley Duvall to create and produce three award-winning TV anthologies: "Faerie Tale Theatre," "Tall Tales and Legends" and "Nightmare Classics," adapting age-old stories with lush period design coupled with an eclectic, creative roster, including Robin Williams, Francis Coppola, Eric Idle, Tim Burton, Jules Feiffer, Liza Minnelli, Mick Jagger, Susan Sarandon, and Vanessa Redgrave.

 Active in the indie film world, Terry most notably wrote and produced “Shadrach,” starring Harvey Keitel and Andie MacDowell, adapted from a William Styron short story about an ancient ex-slave’s journey back to his Depression-era plantation birthplace. Critically acclaimed internationally, “Shadrach” was an official selection at the Venice Film Festival, the Ghent Festival and opened the Los Angeles Independent Festival.  

 A film history buff, Terry produced, directed and co-wrote "Without Lying Down," an indie documentary feature about early women filmmakers.  It premiered on Turner Classic Movies and was an official selection at the Edinburgh, London and Sydney film festivals and was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award.

 As a writer-producer, Terry continues to be active in television movies, series and limited series having written and/or produced for Netflix, ABC, CBS, PBS, Showtime, Lifetime, TNT and Hallmark.   

Terry served as VP of Publicity and Marketing for director Robert Altman, helming promotions for his films Three Women, Quintet, A Wedding and Popeye – about which she authored a definitive behind-the-scenes book. She began her career as a publicist on features such as "Rich Kids," "An Officer and a Gentleman," “HEALTH” and "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." She has written several articles on feature filmmaking.

She currently serves as an adjunct Professor, teaching film producing at UCLA and Columbia College Hollywood – as well as lecturing at North Carolina State University and, in China, at Beijing’s Yan Ze University. 

Terry is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and a member of the Writers Guild of America, a fellow at Los Angeles’ Film Independent and a Member Emeritus of the Publicist’s Guild of America.  She lives in Santa Monica, Ca.

Ellen Gerstein is an award winning actor/filmmaker.  She is a member of: Women In Film, The Alliance of Women Directors, LA Film Team, Film Independent and is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio.

As an actor Ellen has worked with talented directors including Martin Scorsese, Mark Rydell, Mimi Leder, Rob Marshall and Danny DeVito to name a few. She was honored with the Robert Proski Character Actor Award and the Roy W. Dean Screenwriters Grant. 

Ellen can be seen on the acclaimed FX show, Better Things as well as the award-winning show on Apple+, The Morning Show. She plays, Cherub in the feature Turnover that is winning awards on the festival circuit. She was seen in the Marvel film Venom, Liza On Demand, as a regular, Mrs. Moorehouse in the sit-com Hotel Du Loone, recurring as Aunt Rande on Shameless  and Lillian in Fresh Off The Boat and many more. Sylvia Just Sayin’ is a popular comedy webseries that Ellen created and stars inas Sylvia.

She has acted in, as well as produced and directed theater in LA. She originated characters including: Ruthie in Potroast,  Shirley in Sit and Shiver, a play by Steven Berkoff, Rosalie in Angel Share and The Traveler at The Mark Taper Forum. My Psychotherapy Comeback Tour, a one women show, written, directed and performed by Ellen, that won semi-finalist in the Samuel French short play festival and was performed in Los Angeles and The Harold Clurman Theater in New York. Ellen has worked with incredible actors like James Franco, Eamonn Walker, Danny Divito, Cuba Gooding, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Kathy Bates, Jason Bateman and Ted Danson to name a few. 

She is an international award winning filmmaker, Waiting For Ronald (with a blended cast of actors with disabilities and without) and Come Away With Me (with Charlie Robinson).  She is a judge at Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase Program: Black Lives Matter, Roy W. Dean Film Makers Grant, Film Consortium San Diego and SD Film Awards. She has coached and taught actors of all ages at her acclaimed Ellen Gerstein Acting workshop.

In this episode Leslie and Ellen discuss script analysis, sub-text and specificity to bring your film from great to extraordinary.  Do not miss this episode, it's just too good!