It's almost Thanksgiving, folks! So I thought I'd drop a bonus episode early so you could listen while you're traveling for the holidays. What's a "bonus episode" of Beginnings? These are episodes that deviate from "let's talk to a creator I admire about their childhoods" and instead take a peek behind the curtain of showbiz. As I get deeper into the business part of this industry, I learn so much more about the real structures underpinning why certain TV shows get made or why certain actors become household names, and I think it's worth talking about those things. So on today's episode, I talk to my friend Katie Walsh. Katie is a Los Angeles-based film critic and journalist, reviewing weekly film releases for the Tribune News Service, Los Angeles Times, and The Playlist. She is also a member of the LA Film Critics Association, has served on the jury for the Women In Film Finishing Fund grant, and has been a member of the nominating committee for Breakthrough Performance for IFP's Gotham Awards. Katie and I get into the nuts and bolts of being a film critic, the economics behind Hollywood awards, and tension that comes from commodifying your art. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.