Mentors on the Mic: Your guide to pursuing a career in the Entertainment industry

Did you know we are only using 25% of our mental capacity when we listen? What do we do with our other 75%?

As a Communications Coach, I love teaching tips to improve Active Listening. One of my favorite strategies to teach is RASA ("juice" or "essence" in Sanskrit).

R - Receive (Pay Attention)

A - Appreciate (Respond instinctively)

S - Summarize (respond with a summary of what the other person is saying)

A - Ask (Ask questions)

Check out the episode for more information on each. For more help, write to me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. Links below.

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

Autumn Rowe won a Grammy yesterday for Jon Batiste’s WE ARE—Autumn co-wrote five of the album’s 13 tracks—she has received nominations for “Record of the Year” for “Freedom” (a track she also produced); “Album of The Year” for WE ARE; “Best Traditional R&B Performance” for “I Need You” and “Best R&B Album” for WE ARE. Additionally, her Diana Ross single “I Still Believe” has recently been remixed by Purple Disco and is burning up the charts! See original and remixed versions in the links below. The legendary songwriter and woman of color has collaborated with some of music’s biggest name such as Dua Lipa, Pitbull, Zendaya, Nicole Scherzinger, The Knocks, Leona Lewis and Avicii! Autumn also wrote the dance anthem behind the 2011 FIFA World Cup “Happiness” featuring Alexis Jordan! Rowe isn’t just a talent songwriter, but also a celebrated vocal coach. She has appeared on season 2 of The X Factor, and as the only vocal coach on America’s Got Talent for five years, between the show’s eight and twelfth seasons. As if all of this wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Rowe is a talented DJ who is self-taught on turntables. 

In this episode, we talk about:

•  Working on We Are with Jon Batiste and how she slid into his DMs

•  Writing for Estelle post-American Boy before signing her first publishing deal with EMI Music and Stellar Songs

•  Why We Are the best thing she’s ever worked on and how she didn’t hold back at all

•  Working on the X Factor and arranging songs for contestants, including Britney’s team in 2012. Contestants including Carly Rose Sonenclar and Bea Miller

•  Process of identifying a song and arranging it for the X Factor

•  Simon chose Autumn to work with Fifth Harmony and coached artists on songs like “Anything can Happen”

•  Why she preferred working on AGT to X Factor 

•  Co-writing with Grace Vanderwald on AGT

•  Advice for people who don’t know what to write about

•  Tips for songwriters

•  Where she was when she heard she was nominated for We Are How she gets partnered with artists and how she makes her own opportunities

Guest:

Wikipedia Instagram Twitter Website

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

Here are two incredible stories from Showrunner and Co-Creator of Friends and Grace & Frankie Marta Kauffman and Executive Producer of Movies that Made Us Brian Volk Weiss. These are the stories that haven't been made yet. Brian hopes to develop his story this in the next few years and Marta has pitched her story around Hollywood to no avail.

These are the stories that were never made.

From Season 2; Episode 15 - Marta Kauffman is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning television writer, producer, and showrunner behind the hit series Friends and Grace & Frankie. After graduating from Brandeis University, Kauffman got her big break alongside David Crane when their pilots Dream On (1990) and The Powers That Be (1992) were green-lit. The pair then launched Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions with Kevin Bright and became the trio that created the iconic sitcom Friends. In 2015, Kauffman started her production company, Okay Goodnight, with industry veterans Robbie Tollin and Hannah KS Canter. Their first series, Grace & Frankie, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen, and Sam Waterston premiered on Netflix in 2015 and is Netflix’s longest-running original ever. The series has received multiple Emmy and SAG nominations and is beginning production on the seventh and final season. In 2018, the company produced the documentary Seeing Allred, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and is currently available on Netflix. Kauffman has received a number of honors and awards including the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for lifetime achievement in television writing from the Writers Guild of America, the 2016 Outstanding Television Writer award at the 23rd annual Austin Film Festival & Screenwriters Conference, The Kieser Award at the 44th Annual Humanitas Awards, and Variety’s TV Producers Impact Report for consecutive years in 2019 and 2020.

From Season 3; Episode 10 - Brian Volk-Weiss is the founder and CEO of the Nacelle Company, a leading Comedy producing and distribution house. Nacelle has produced and distributed scripted and unscripted content and established podcasting, development, distribution, records, publishing, marketing and management divisions.

Volk-Weiss has created, directed and produced hits such as Netflix’s docu-series, Down To Earth with Zac Efron, The Movies That Made Us, and The Toys That Made Us, and Kevin Hart’s Guide To Black History, as well as Behind The Attraction for Disney +, A Toy Store Near You, CW’s Discontinued, All The Way Black for BET+, and History’s Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek. He served as EP on the revival of the 1992 series Mad About You.

He has been nominated 19 times for Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album and won 4 for production on performances by Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle.

Through his years managing, producing, directing and writing in the entertainment industry, Volk-Weiss has negotiated deals with the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, HBO, Discovery, BET+, A&E Networks, Hulu, Viacom, History, and many more. He’s grown Nacelle’s comedy house, Comedy Dynamics, into the nation’s largest independent producer and distributor of stand up comedy.He served as EP on the revival of the 1992 series Mad About You.

Chantal Maurice is an award-winning actress & filmmaker. She has booked roles on over 15 Television shows including P-Valley, Queen Sugar, Blue Bloods, Quantico, The Blacklist,  & more. She most recently guest starred as Rashida Flowers, a lively social media influencer suffering from Kidney Failure on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Some of her film credits include: “Christmas DejaVu” Starring Loretta Devine and  “Holiday Heartbreak'' featuring LisaRaye McCoy.

With 2 short films under her belt, Chantal is also an award-winning screenwriter & filmmaker.  Her first short film, "Edge of Harmony" follows the journey of Harmony Bessler, a troubled Jazz singer in the 1930s. Edge of Harmony was accepted into 8 film festivals around the U.S. and won the award of Best Musical Drama at the 2018 Cutting Room International Short Film Festival in NYC.

Chantal is also the Founder & CEO of CoStar Coaching - Atlanta's premiere Empowerment & Resource Hub for Actors. CoStar Coaching provides virtual & in-person audition coaching, career consultations, self-tape services, and acting classes.

CoStar Coaching was designed to empower actors of all levels to unleash and strengthen their talents and skills to Slay their Auditions and BOOK the job.

In this episode, we talk about:

•  The pros and cons of the Atlanta market that may surprise you (definitely surprised me)

•  Defining what is uniquely her, all the way from how she booked her first job

•  How her corporate job in NY made her really unhappy and how she couldn’t audition

•  How infuriating it is that schools don’t cover the business of acting

•  How she started being called the Co Star Queen

•  Her reluctance to teach because ‘does someone like Angela Bassett coach actors?’ and how she helped define her purpose

•  The difficult decision to move to Atlanta after an accident

•  Three bookings in Atlanta propelled her career and confirmed her move

•  The story behind booking a recurring Guest Star on Grey’s Anatomy

•  Tips for people wanting to book Co-Stars and those wanting to book Guest Stars

• Tips for validating yourself and doing things in fear

Guest:

IMDB Instagram Twitter Website

LinkedIn 

Host:

IG: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

Emily Grace is a career coach and Sundance award winning actress who helps actors finally write their damn script already and know what to do with it.

Do you have an interest in writing a script but just don't know where to start? I loved Emily's technique of creating a Character Square. In her free video, she breaks down everything you need to know to start writing right now. She even breaks down the first scene in The Devil Wears Prada so we could understand the wants and needs and conflicts of the protagonist and antagonist.

After listening to her episode, check out the video we discuss here.

Guest:

IMDB Twitter Website

Write your Dream Role video

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

Michael Harrop is a Motion Pictures and Film Consultant and Contractor. He is currently a co-executive producer on Billions. He was also a producer for "A Mouthful of Air" starring Amanda Seyfried (and directed by Mentor Amy Koppelman). He's also worked on films including Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, I Smile Back, Nice Guy Johnny, and more. He is also worked as an associate producer on the TV Show Public Morals (TNT).

In this episode, we talk about:

•  Why he decided to work in New York as a Production Assistant.

•  Being on Goldcrest for 5-6 years and working on his way up.

•  Him volunteering as a Post-production Supervisor, meeting Edward Burns and Connie Britton

•  How he continued working with Edward Burns from a Post-production Supervisor to being a Producer.

•  How he was able to launch Public Morals, Newlyweds, Nice Guy Johnny as a Producer.

•  The range of micro-budget film and its meaning

•  The responsibilities of a Post-production Supervisor

•  Different kinds of Producers and how raising money is part of their job

•  How he decided his next project

•  How he got involved in Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

• The difference between producing tv shows and films and the pros and cons of working in NY

Guest:

Twitter LinkedIn IMDB

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

If you like this, I recommend episode 3.2 with Director and Writer Amy Koppelman.

What is the New York Women in Film and Television or NYWIFT and how can they be a resource to you right now?

Maybe funds or grants for your next film? Or a community to network? Or do you need your next DP or Director for a project?

Join me and the ladies of NYWIFT to discuss what NYWIFT can offer and their podcast 'Women Crush Wednesdays" highlighting some incredible people in Film and Television.

Katie Chambers is a communications executive and event producer with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. She is currently the Senior Director of Community and Public Relations for New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), where she manages both Communications and Membership and produces Special Events. The preeminent entertainment industry association for women in New York, NYWIFT energizes the careers of women in media by illuminating their achievements, providing training and professional development opportunities, and advocating for equality. Katie guides and manages NYWIFT’s presence both online and off; institutes membership drives; produces and moderates monthly screenings and networking parties; builds partnerships with like-minded organizations; implements communications initiatives for special projects, including The Writers Lab funded by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, and Oprah Winfrey; and is strategic advisor to the Board and Executive Director in regards to Communications, Membership, and Public Affairs Initiatives.

Janine McGoldrick is a veteran entertainment executive who has created and implemented strategic distribution and publicity campaigns for numerous studios and clients including HBO, Cohen Media, Universal Pictures, Artisan Entertainment, Lionsgate, BBC, and New Line to help launch some of the most exciting releases in film, television and home entertainment -- including the 2017 Academy Award-winner The Salesman. Currently, through her company 2nd Chapter Productions, she works as an entertainment strategist and is developing the documentary film Unheard: The Ears of Meniere’s.

Guests

NYWIFT Instagram

Website

Podcast

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

Jenny Hale is a USA Today, Amazon, and international bestselling author of over 15 romantic fiction titles. Her books have sold worldwide and have been adapted for television, appearing on The Hallmark Channel as part of their famous Christmas lineup. Coming Home for Christmas was published in 2013 and the movie adaptation for Hallmark starred Danica McKellar from The Wonder Years. Her book Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses was adapted into a Hallmark Channel movie in 2019 starring Jill Wagner and Matthew Davis (who you might know as Warner from Legally Blonde).

She’s been included in Oprah Magazine’s “19 Dreamy Summer Romances to Whisk You Away” and in Southern Living’s list of “30 Christmas Novels to Start Reading Now.” She is also founder and director of Harpeth Road Press. In between having her nose in a book and writing her next novel, she’s running around Nashville taking photos and getting into mischief with her hubby, two kids, and their labradoodle. Her first Harpeth Road release is available worldwide in eBook, paperback and audiobook.

In this episode, we talk about:

•  Publishing ten books without an agent

• Butterfly Sisters hit #1 in American Contemporary Fiction on Amazon US on preorder

•  How her first novel, Coming Home for Christmas got picked up for Hallmark

•  How she was going to stop submitting her book Coming Home for Christmas before getting a contract

•  How her book took off and was bought out by the third largest publisher in the US

•  Why she is never married to her manuscript and how she feels about changes to an adapted screenplay

•  The Hallmark movie adaptation of her book Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Wishes

•  The breakdown of her writing process and writing 2-3 books a year

•  Tips for writers to write including writing at a coffee shop and 2000 words a day

•  What is a publishing imprint and why and how she created her own

• What she is looking for in submissions

Guest:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennyhaleauthor/

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

Website: https://www.itsjennyhale.com/

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

Resources:

The Writer’s Market

Question: What do each of the following Casting Directors have in common? Besides being a guest on Mentors on the Mic.

Answer: They all loved giving tips to Actors!

When I asked these incredible award-winning Casting Directors their tips for actors, this is what they shared

Featuring Casting Directors:

Kim Graham - Season 1 Episode 12 (Homeland)

Jenny Ravitz - Season 2 Episode 6 (Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD)

Julie Schubert - Season 2 Episode 2 (House of Cards, Jessica Jones, For Life, Manifest)

Julie Tucker - Season 3 Episode 5 (Nurse Jackie, White Collar, The Equalizer, The Affair)

If you liked this bonus episode, check out our Self Tape Tips for Actors from Casting Directors, where we share their favorite tips for making Self Tapes.

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

How do you sell to Netflix?

Brian Volk-Weiss is the founder and CEO of the Nacelle Company, a leading Comedy producing and distribution house. Nacelle has produced and distributed scripted and unscripted content and established podcasting, development, distribution, records, publishing, marketing and management divisions.

Volk-Weiss has created, directed and produced hits such as Netflix’s docu-series, Down To Earth with Zac Efron, The Movies That Made Us, and The Toys That Made Us, and Kevin Hart’s Guide To Black History, as well as Behind The Attraction for Disney +, A Toy Store Near You, CW’s Discontinued, All The Way Black for BET+, and History’s Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek. He served as EP on the revival of the 1992 series Mad About You.

He has been nominated 19 times for Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album and won 4 for production on performances by Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle.

Through his years managing, producing, directing and writing in the entertainment industry, Volk-Weiss has negotiated deals with the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, HBO, Discovery, BET+, A&E Networks, Hulu, Viacom, History, and many more. He’s grown Nacelle’s comedy house, Comedy Dynamics, into the nation’s largest independent producer and distributor of stand up comedy.He served as EP on the revival of the 1992 series Mad About You.

In this episode, we talk about:

•  The only job he’s ever been fired from (unjustifiably) - and how that lesson has helped him his whole career: “Appearance is sometimes as important to action.”

• The systematic approach he had to making it in Hollywood and why it wouldn’t work in NY

•  How he lived off of $3k for 15 months working unpaid jobs - before he got a lucky break

•  How he turned a job he didn’t like - being a manager to what he wanted to do, which was make TV and film

•  The book that made them change their entire business model and a library of over 1000 hours they still make money from

•  His tenets of directing comedy specials vs documentaries

•  Toys that made us took us 7 years to sell

•  What he looks for in a story and does he now cater to the audience

•  The most interesting story that he wants to share involving Chester A Arthur

•  Why he may not have started a toy division if he knew what it would entail

Guest:

IMDB Wikipedia Instagram Linkedin Twitter

Host:

Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller

Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic

Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle

Resources:

The Long Tail