Creative Principles

“The thing I always wanted to do was remember that what it means to be a writer is very big,” says Cord Jefferson, who lists writers like Joan Didion and James Baldwin as influences. “A lot of writers limit themselves. I’m a sports journalist or a novelist. I want to look at writing like a toolbox. You can use a toolbox to build a coffee table or a rocking chair or a house. These skills are applicable to different things.”

For many years, Cord Jefferson was a journalist before he got into film and television. “I was proud to be a journalist, but I knew I wanted to maybe write a book one day or write a movie one day. I think a bigger, catch-all term is storyteller. If you are a person who is interested in writing novels, you can probably write a pretty good article, or an interesting screenplay.”

“The connective thread between these things is that you know how to capture an audience’s attention and bring them from the beginning to the end. Once you figure out how to do that, it’s more about what medium to apply that skillset to as opposed to, how can I do that thing? To me, that was always what I sought out when I came to writing.”

Jefferson’s journalistic background taught him to ask the question “why now?” which he brought to other mediums. “Why should this be on the cover of the newspaper? Every time I approached a tv or movie, I asked why should this be in the world right now? I don’t think people often ask themselves that. Why is this a cool story for 2024? What’s the relevance and timeliness of a story? I think that helps it break through the clutter.”

Jefferson’s move to script work is envious to say the least. He’s got credits on Master of None, The Good Place, Watchmen, and Station Eleven. Now, his new film American Fiction is the topic of many Oscar debates. The plot reads, “A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.”

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

Hardly recognizable from one character to the next, Alanna Ubach has starred in over 150 theater, film and television projects, including the Peabody Award-winning "Men of a Certain Age", the Oscar-winning "Coco" as Mama Imelda, the family's matriarch, and critically acclaimed "Euphoria" as "Suze."

She was nominated for a SAG award for her performance as Jeanine Pirro in "Bombshell" and noted by the New York Times as "a seriously talented actress" to "keep your eye on."

Her most recent role is Ted, the television series from Seth MacFarlene. She plays Susan Bennett. The plot reads, “It's 1993, and Ted the bear's moment of fame has passed. He's living back home with his best friend, John Bennett, and his family. While Ted may be a lousy influence on John, he's a loyal pal who will go out on a limb for friendship.”

In this interview, we talk about comedic influences, character actors that inspired her work, why she never wanted to play herself, what she’s most known for, the comfort she gets from acting and why there’s nothing more exhilarating that earning a crowd’s laugh.

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

The son of Canadian TV host Elwy Host, Graham Yost grew up with a love for film, television, and books. “If I told my parents I wanted to be a doctor or lawyer, they would have said, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to be a writer?’”

Graham’s impressive career began with Nickelodeon’s ‘Hey Dude’ but the movie ‘Speed’ changed his life. His credits include Broken Arrow, Hard Rain, Band of Brothers, The Last Castle, Boomtown, The Pacific, Justified, Sneaky Pete, and most recently, Silo.

The Apple + series is described as, “Men and women live in a giant silo underground with several regulations which they believe are in place to protect them from the toxic and ruined world on the surface.”

In this interview, Graham talks about writing unwitting heroes, how they went about adapting Silo, writing nuclear pilots, the pressure of serving fans of the IP, lessons from Charles Dickens, and how there was no showrunner on Band of Brothers.

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Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

“I love storytelling and I think I’ve always been an observant person, when it comes to reveling in human dynamics,” says Dan Levy. “As an observer of people, writing felt like an easy outlet to express my curiosity about who people are, how they work, and the flaws and joys of who we are as people.”

In addition to growing up in the business thanks to his father Eugene Levy, Dan Levy had a teacher pull him aside and encourage him in his writing. “I really attribute so much of my feeling capable and confident to that experience. In high school, you’re at a vulnerable point in your life and teachers have the capability of inspiring and instilling a drive in you to do something.”

Eventually, the lane that felt home for Levy’s work was somewhere between comedy and drama, with the occasional moment of pathos. “I love the fine balance of comedy and drama. I love acting it, writing it. I think it’s truthful and life.” We obviously see this on Levy’s hit series Schitt’s Creek, but also in his latest film, Good Grief.

Levy is the writer and director of the latest Netflix film. The plot reads, “When his husband unexpectedly dies, Marc's world shatters, sending him and his two best friends on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face.”

He explains, “There’s always comedy in the darkest of times. I think it’s a coping mechanism. As human beings, we have to laugh to get through things. I’ve never subscribed to the idea that you should only do one thing — only comedy or only drama — that they can’t live together. Life is both drama and comedy living together. That’s what everyday is.”

“Over eighty episodes, we got to write these tender moments, hidden in the comedy of Schitt’s Creek, which was the most exciting part. Those little emotional character reveals and moments of humanity, I think that’s what made the show successful. It had heartbeat and real emotional stakes. It was because of that I felt capable of writing my take on a drama, which was about grief, but had joy, laughter, and lightness to it. I’ll always want to live in that sweet spot of comedy and drama.”

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Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

Tory Tunnell’s original dream was to the Editor for Vogue. In college, she interned at places like The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar, but she minored in Film, which started a trek to working as a Producer.

These days, Tunnell is known for Holy Rollers, My Blind Brother, King Arthur - Legend of the Sword, Underground, Robin Hood, Spinning Out, and now Monarch - Legacy of Monsters.

The latest series stars Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Anders Holm, Kiersey Clemons, and Ren Watabe. The plot reads, "Set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans, revealing that monsters are real, follows one family's journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to Monarch.”

In this interview, Tory talks about the mechanism of film both in terms of creativity and commerce, jumping in the deep with little to no experience, how she cold called billionaires, misdirects in any career path, being persistent yet not annoying, sticking with a project until it gets made, and how to actually make money in this business.

We also mention Tory’s husband and producing partner, Joby Harold, which I interviewed back in Episode 348 for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Misha Green, the showrunner for Underground back in Episode 03.

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

“My favorite thing was going to the movies,” Emile Hirsch says about his childhood. Emile is best known for Into the Wild, but with over 70 credits to his name, you’ve seen him in The Girl Next Door, Lords of Dogtown, Alpha Dog, Speed Racer, Milk, Killer Joe, Savages, Lone Survivor, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

His latest film, Walden, Emile plays an unassuming court stenographer in a small southern town. When he discovers he is dying, he decides to exact revenge on criminals who escape prosecution.

In this interview, Emile discusses the trouble with commercial auditions as a kid, how his approach to acting has changed overtime, advice from Robert DeNiro, and inspirations from Seymour Hoffman’s Capote and Ned Flanders for his latest roll.

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

In the film, Eileen, the story follows a woman’s friendship with a new co-worker at the prison facility where she works, but the friendship takes a sinister turn. In the previous interview, screenwriters Ottessa Moshfegh & Luke Goebel discussed how they created this adaptation, based on Ottessa’s novel. In this interview, stars Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie discuss their interpretation of the work.

We also discuss the problem in Hollywood that still exists in terms of great roles for women, which Anne noticed on Ocean’s 8 and thinks will continue to evolve post Barbie, how Thomasin researched the role, what Anne learned from James Gray on Armageddon Time, what it means to feed yourself with culture, and advice for young actresses trying to break in today.

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

“I always wanted to write for movies but didn’t really admit it until I moved to LA and someone asked me if I wanted to write a movie,” says Ottessa Moshfegh, the novelist turned screenwriter behind Eileen. “I studied other movies and loved learning the new form.”

Ottessa’s screenplay credits include Causeway and Eileen, and some of her novels are Eileen, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Death in Her Hands, Lapvona, and McGlue. “It felt totally unnatural in the beginning,” she says of screenwriting.

“There’s two versions,” says her partner Luke Goebel, in regards to their origin story. “One was the dream and one was the reality. When we met, right from the beginning, we were talking about movies, dreaming about movies, which seemed more like play. Then, there was an opportunity.”

Ottessa wrote a draft of McGlue as an adaption, but Causeway, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry, broke the mold for this new craft. “Reality suddenly came knocking with a pretty loud fist,” says Luke.

For their partnership, proximity is a factor, jokes the couple, but it’s also the intangible effect of a “short=hand.” Ottessa says, “It’s really easy to say something or begin to say something and oftentimes, we don’t have to finish our sentences.”

“I feel comfortable saying I have this tiny shred of an idea and knowing it will be fostered and supported rather than just swatted away. In collaborating, you need to negotiate a lot. We do that constantly and it’s safe to agree or disagree, and see things from a new perspective.”

This “shared psychic language” of a life together, “shared pain, pleasure and joy,” comes from “fertile grounds for seeds to grow.” For their latest project, Eileen, the story follows a woman’s friendship with a new co-worker at the prison facility where she works, but the friendship takes a sinister turn.

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

“I love antiheroes,” says screenwriter Amber Noizumi. “As a woman, this idea of the goody two shoes girl next door has always annoyed me. The girl who looks and acts perfect. I don’t relate or find it interesting unless I’m rooting for her and against her at the same time.”

“I’m more selfish about it,” added Michael Green. “Any character that has a degree of specificity that’s so unique to them that you can put them in situations and know how they’ll behave. It creates story.”

In their current project, Blue Eye Samurai, which was just greenlit for Season 2, we see this anti-perfect, anti-goody two shoes, anti-hero in full color. The young warrior, Mizu (Maya Erskine) is driven by revenge against those who made her an outcast in Edo-period Japan. 

But this certainly isn’t the first character Michael Green has crafted from the anti-hero psyche. His mind-boggling credits include Logan, Alien: Covenant, Blade Runner 2049, Murder on the Orient Express, The Call of the Wild, American Gods, Death on the Nile, and A Haunting in Venice to name a few. 

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

It’s been 500 episodes! Thank you all so much for listening. As a special celebration episode, I’ve included some of the best clips from the past 500 episodes and I’m also releasing a never-before-heard episode with William Monahan, the Oscar winning screenwriter of The Departed, Body of Lies, London Boulevard, Kingdom of Heaven, The Gambler, and Mojave.

But, to get us started, here’s Aaron Sorkin on the difference in character and real people, followed by Taylor Sheridan on his writing process, Veena Sud on finding the story’s “image,” Judd Apatow on risk in comedy, Kenya Barris on choosing your lane, and Whitney Cummings on rest and recovery.

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!