Film School

Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins star in arguably the most popular movie of all time. ALL TIME. It's been #1 on IMDb for the past twenty years! It has an all-star cast, an eminently quotable script, wonderful music, and perhaps above all...a happy ending. So, let's all get busy living or get busy dying, and see if we can figure out just why this movie is so stupendously popular!

Josh asks Ira if watching the AFI's Top 100 movies has improved his storytelling yet, and Ira asks him the same question right back. In a nutshell: yes. For both of them. But how?

Robert Redford and Paul Newman star in the film that arguably made them icons as the shoot-from-the-hip, tight-lipped Sundance and the worrying, scheming, talkative Butch. The chemistry is undeniable. The script sizzles. The vistas are breathtaking. The capers are a hoot. And our two leads embody a bygone era where men were free to be free. And criminals. Definitely criminals. So, let's take the plunge and talk Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid.

Ira recently realized he didn't have a writing routine, a habit of working on his WIPs every day. So, how can he start one? And how can he KEEP one? Both of the boys talk habit forming and share their daily routines in general and discuss how both of those things can be leveraged to create a writing routine. This week on the cutting room floor!

Hello Clarice. Anthony Hopkins turns in the performance of a lifetime as the cannibal serial killer Hannibal Lecter, as does Jodi Foster as FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling in the film that has defined the Thiller genre for a generation, and perhaps more. So, what makes this MORE than just a crime story? And why does it still rise above other serial-killer thrillers that have come after it? We bite in, this week!

We all have bills to pay. But how do we work full time week in and week out and still get our creative work done as well? What KIND of job allows us to do both and not get burned out? Josh and Ira have been in this situation for most of their adult lives, and we dive into some of what we've learned over these past 15 years or so. This week, on the Cutting Room Floor.

They call me MISTER TIBBS. Sidney Poitier is an absolute badass and he pairs beautifully as the black master detective stuck with Rod Steiger as the racist local cop to solve a murder. This film takes twists and turns that neither of us were expecting. Plus, Josh shares his near-miss playing "County Ball" on a recent film shoot. High drama! This week, on Film School.

"You gotta have an elevator pitch!" How many times have we heard this as a storyteller? Omg. All the time. But what actually IS an elevator pitch? Both of us didn't even know ourselves until very recently...and it's actually an amazing technique by which to understand our own projects, let alone communicate them to someone else. We cover it all, and even pitch each other with our own projects. This week on the Cutting Room Floor!

BONUS! For our Patreon supporters each week, we also release an episode of the Cutting Room Floor which cover topics from personal updates to storytelling deep-dives to general Creative Life tips and how-tos. We thought we'd share one of those episodes this week with the main podcast. This week: the Love story genre. What is Love? Baby, don't hurt me...and we *won't* hurt you, I promise, as we take a deep dive this week into the Love Genre. What makes a Love story? Why do we tell them? What scenes and conventions MUST they have? We explore all that this week on the Cutting Room Floor!

If you enjoy what you hear and you'd like to help support the show, head on over to patreon.com/filmschool

BONUS! Get a taste of the content we feature each week on our Patreon. This week: The Apartment, from 1960. There are so many great lines from this movie, and you can hear from the recording just how much we loved watching this movie. A must-listen on the "live" side of things! That's just the way it crumbles, cookie-wise.

If you enjoy what you hear and you'd like to help support the show, head on over to patreon.com/filmschool