What if the fastest way into the film industry right now… isn’t through the traditional system at all?

This week on Gatecrashers, we sit down with Isabel Dréan — screenwriter, director, producer, and digital visionary — whose career is a masterclass in reinvention. From her early days acting and directing in Montreal, to writing horror and psychological thrillers, to becoming a go-to writer for Christmas films (with five produced scripts in just 18 months), Isabel has consistently stayed ahead of where the industry is going — not where it’s been.

And now? She’s at the forefront of one of the biggest shifts in entertainment: vertical series.

With her series The Blind Bride of the Scarred Mafia Boss hitting #1 on VIGLOO, Isabel breaks down why vertical storytelling isn’t a downgrade — it’s a global expansion. We get into the real opportunities for writers and creators right now, how these projects are getting financed and produced at lightning speed, and why you don’t need an agent to start working in this space.

We also dive into:

• How Isabel pivoted genres — and why it changed everything
• Writing commercially without losing your voice
• The structure of addictive, bingeable vertical episodes
• What platforms are actually looking for
• Why speed and volume are becoming superpowers for writers
• Where the money is flowing globally (and how to tap in)
• How to shift your mindset to "Green-light" 

Plus, Isabel shares insights from her work mentoring writers around the world, her global network THE HUB, and what it really takes to become a “produce-ready” creator in today’s industry.

If you’ve been waiting for permission to break in — this is it.

Follow Gatecrashers for more conversations with rule-breakers, system disruptors, and creators building careers on their own terms.

🎧 Guest: Isabel Dréan
Website: https://www.isabeldrean.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabeldrean/
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3956465/

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📸 Cat: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@catyudain⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Rebel Waves⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠

  
  

GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

How do you go from law school to casting hundreds of projects for Netflix, Disney, and beyond?

Emmy-winning casting director Paul Ruddy joins Gatecrashers to share his unconventional journey into Hollywood—and the real factors that determine who gets cast.

From building a career rooted in relationships to leading casting on 250+ projects as Head of Casting at FlareFlow, Paul breaks down how the industry is evolving in real time—from traditional television to vertical dramas and micro-content.

In this episode, we dive into:

• Paul’s path from law school to a 25+ year casting career
• Why relationships and trust are the currency of this industry
• How casting is evolving in the age of streaming and digital platforms
• The rise of innovative casting and discovering new talent
• Union vs. non-union dynamics—and what actors need to understand
• How industry protocols shape opportunity (and access)
• The balance between experience, instinct, and risk-taking in casting

Whether you’re an actor, filmmaker, or creative entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with real-world insight on how to navigate—and succeed in—an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing entertainment landscape.

🎧 Guest: Paul Ruddy, CSA

• 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulruddycasting/
• 🎬 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1344712/

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠⁠

• 📸 Cat: ⁠⁠⁠@catyudain⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠Rebel Waves⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

  
  

GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

 In this episode of the GateCrashers Podcast, Cat and Makayla sit down with filmmakers Aris Federman and Zoe Dunay, the creative duo behind Blue Oak Productions and Echo Grove Media, to talk about their unconventional journey from acting and entrepreneurship within the world of filmmaking.

Aris and Zoe share how they learned filmmaking through real-world experience, the school of hard knocks, (and a little “YouTube University”). How they built two sister production companies together, and developed their passion projects along the way, including their powerful short, Tin Soldiers, which is having an award-winning festival run. The conversation dives into the realities of the film industry, from the creative process and editing for emotional impact to navigating union vs. non-union sets, pitching clients, and funding passion projects through commercial work.

They also break down smart festival strategies, why networking is a long game, and how creating a positive, collaborative environment on set leads to better storytelling. Plus, some expert travel tips for filmmakers hauling gear around the world!

If you are a filmmaker, creative entrepreneur, or storyteller looking to turn ideas into action, this episode is packed with insights on collaboration, execution, and building a sustainable creative career.

In this episode:

• The origin story of Blue Oak Productions

• Learning filmmaking through hands-on experience

• Making Tin Soldiers and telling meaningful mental health stories

• The importance of trust, collaboration, and communication on set

• Union vs. non-union filmmaking

• Using commercial work to fund creative projects

• Film festival strategy and community building

• Travel hacks for filmmakers with gear

 Film is a team game- and the best stories happen when the right people come together.

 Connect

 Production: ⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠

 Makayla: ⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠

 Cat: @catyudaintea

 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠https://sirenmakayla.substack.com

 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠

https://catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠

 Email: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

GateCrashers Podcast theme by the incomparable Derek Graham Sound // 

Website: ⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠ instagram.com/ dgrahamsound  

What happens when you take action storytelling vertical?

In this episode of Gatecrashers, we sit down with vertical star and producer Kasey Esser just days after wrapping Love Under Fire — one of the first independent action microdramas built specifically for the vertical screen.

We dive into what it really takes to produce large-scale action in a format originally dominated by romance — including never-before-seen stunts in vertical storytelling, the creative and technical challenges of shooting action on green screen, and how pacing, framing, and choreography change when the screen flips upright.

But this isn’t just about stunts.

Kasey breaks down:

• Financing and producing an independent vertical series

• Multi-country, multi-app distribution strategy

• The licensing vs backend gamble

• Why marketing spend is the real gatekeeper

• And his bold stance on performance expectations

We also explore what it means to own your IP in the vertical space — and why creators who move now may shape the future of this rapidly expanding frontier.

Is vertical just a trend — or the next evolution of independent filmmaking?

This episode is about risk, ownership, discipline, and building something before the industry gives you permission.

Kasey's Links

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaseyesser/

IMDB: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm6820472/

Lover Under Fire Trailer: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR2VazICXYd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Making of a vertical drama series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dMuxGSYZmc&feature=youtu.be

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠

• 📸 Cat: ⁠⁠@catyudain⁠⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠Rebel Waves⁠⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

  
  

GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

This week on Gatecrashers, we sit down with Canadian entrepreneur and film producer Therese “Tag” Goulet — the powerhouse known as “The Sugar Mama.” Instead of waiting for gatekeepers to greenlight bold ideas, Tag built her own wealth and began backing creatives with her own money — funding music, films, books, and entire creative movements.

Now, as the visionary behind The Gift (formerly The Sugar Mama), she’s taking that mission to television — awarding one artist a $100,000 unrestricted grant to bring their work to life. No strings. No ownership grab. No creative control. Just belief. With two seasons now under their belt, they plan to expand beyond Alberta to Canada and the world. 

In this episode, we dive into:
• How Tag turned personal setbacks into financial success
• Why giving back to artists became her life’s mission
• How she decides who to invest in — and what makes someone fundable
• What writers and creators can do to attract supporters
• How to thrive in today’s evolving creator economy
• And what’s next as The Gift prepares to go global

This conversation is about power — how creators can stop waiting for permission.

If you’ve ever dreamed of someone betting on you… this episode will make you ask: What if that someone could be you?

Follow The Gift

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegifttv/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegifttv
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGift.TVShow

Follow Tag

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taggoulet.filmproducer/?hl=en

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠

• 📸 Cat: ⁠@catyudain⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠Rebel Waves⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

  
  

GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

Website: ⁠⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

When your series lands on Amazon, the world sees the result. But what about the years — and oceans — it took to get there?

This week on GateCrashers, we sit down with Australian-born, Canadian-based actor, writer, and director Megan Peta Hill to talk about her journey to the Amazon series 56 Days — and everything that shaped her along the way.

From relocating from Australia to Canada, to navigating the relentless audition cycle, to balancing coaching with her own creative ambitions, Megan opens up about building a sustainable career in an unpredictable industry.

We dive into:

• The leap from Australia to North America — and what it really demanded

• The mental and emotional realities of auditioning at a high level

• Her theatre roots and how stage work informs her screen presence

• Co-writing and co-directing Echo — how the idea sparked, what the writing process looked like, and how she and Roxanne navigated collaboration

• Stepping behind the camera while continuing to pursue acting

• What it was like working on 56 Days and seeing it premiere on Amazon

• Her latest video game work and how voice/motion capture expands her artistry

This episode is about longevity, reinvention, and taking ownership of your creative life — even while chasing roles in the system.

If you’re building a career across borders, mediums, or identities… this conversation is your reminder that you can do both: audition and author your own story.

Megan's Links 

• @meganpetahill
• @Echo Short
  
• www.imdb.me/meganpetahill

Sometimes the long way around is the only way back to yourself.

This week on Gatecrashers, we sit down with writer and director Jerry Decker — whose career has spanned from writing for A&E Biography to producing major series for Discovery, SyFy, Animal Planet, and serving as Executive Producer at National Geographic Television.

On paper, it’s the kind of résumé most filmmakers dream of. But beneath the success was a quieter pull — the desire to return to his roots as a narrative storyteller and risking it all.

After years inside the fast-paced world of nonfiction television, Jerry found himself circling back to the thing that started it all: crafting original stories from scratch. That journey led to his award-winning French New Wave horror film Le Dernier d’Entre Nous and his upcoming crime drama Cul-De-Sac.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How life can reroute your creative path — and why that’s not failure

• What writing and producing at scale teaches you about story

• The tension between career stability and artistic identity

• Why returning to narrative work felt both terrifying and necessary

• The courage it takes to begin again — even with decades of experience

This conversation is about evolution, reinvention, and trusting the part of you that never stopped wanting to tell stories.

If you’ve ever felt called back to something you started long ago — this episode is your reminder that it’s not too late.

🎧 Listen now.

Follow Jerry Decker on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afilmcrime/
View his IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213157/

This week on GateCrashers, Makayla and Cat spill the tea on all things Heated Rivalry, skin care, bake some takes and dive into self-care on set.

🎧 Listen now to Gatecrashers: Hot Takes — where honesty meets rebellion.

Gatecrashers sits down with filmmaker Adam Michael to unpack what it really means to build a creative life without waiting for permission. After leaving the corporate world, Adam taught himself filmmaking through short films, made the leap to his first feature (Shredded), and chose community over industry validation.

In this episode, we talk about making features outside traditional systems, why Adam intentionally stayed in Ohio, the role of regional festivals like the Youngstown Film Festival, and how independence can be a long-term strategy—not a stepping stone. Adam also shares what’s next, including his feature Already Dead, adapting a stage play for the screen, and why “better places to go” isn’t always a physical location.

This is a conversation about sustainability, trust in your own timeline, and building something real where you are.

Links:

• IMDb page for Shredded — directed by Adam Michael, co-written with Makayla McIntosh:
  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27924817/

• Adam Michael (filmmaker) IMDb profile:
  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12051325/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candid_life_entertainment/
  

• YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@candidlifeentertainment

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Rebel Waves⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠

  
  

  GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠⁠⁠

  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

Gatecrashers is back with an episode at the cutting edge of storytelling.

In this episode, we sit down with Monika Dalman and Alicia Read — co-founders of the Vertical Film & Series Safety Association (VFSSA) and leaders behind Type Eh Media — to break down how vertical storytelling went from "the Wild West” to a rapidly evolving industry with real jobs, real standards, and real power, creating work for a struggling and consolidating film industry.

We talk about their unconventional paths into verticals, how traditional film and television skills translate (and many times don’t), and why this format is creating new opportunities for actors, filmmakers, and producers who are tired of waiting for permission from legacy gatekeepers. Monika and Alicia unpack the realities of working in vertical micro-dramas, the importance of safety, fair pay, and structure, and how VFSSA is helping professionalize a space that grew faster than anyone expected.

If you’re curious about where storytelling is headed, how new media is reshaping careers, or how creatives can build sustainable paths outside the old systems — this conversation is for you.

🎙️ Topics include:
• Breaking into vertical storytelling
• Building VFSSA and advocating for industry standards
• Type Eh Media and the business of new media
• Unionization, safety, and sustainability in emerging formats
• What the future holds for vertical film and series

•A new curriculum for actors who want to work in verticals and teachers who want to pass the knowledge .

This is Gatecrashers — where we talk to the people building the future instead of waiting to be let in.

🔗 Alicia & Monika’s Links

• Type Eh Media: https://www.typeehmedia.com

• **VFSSA (Vertical Film & Series Safety Association): https://www.thevfssa.org

• AIgency ID: https://aigencyid.com

Alicia Read

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicialoveread

• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713790

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicialoveread

Monika Dalman

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-dalman

• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10038096

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monikadalman