No Set Path: Entertainment Break-In Stories

Veronica Powers is a SAG actress, singer, and USC Summa Cum Laude graduate who has transitioned from a child performer on Conan to a viral comedy star for creators like Content Machine and Adam W. A versatile multi-hyphenate, she also lends her voice to global Netflix hits and works as a professional coach for aspiring talent. In this episode, we discuss the profound life lessons she learned after losing her home in the Palisades fire and the specific DM strategies she used to land major roles in the digital space.

BREAKDOWN:

11:28 - Veronica’s origins, from Old Hollywood grandmother to acting as a child

18:11 - What Veronica DM’d to get cast in Instagram comedy sketches

19:23 - IG as the modern day business card

20:38 - opportunities & negotiations over Instagram DMs

25:38 - creating your own social content

26:38 - leaning into being a multi-hyphenate

29:28 - pursuing music through voiceover/dubbing contacts & training

32:38 - should new actors go SAG?

39:07 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH VERONICA: IG: @officalvpowers | @confidencecoach101 

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW: 

All platforms: @NoSetPathShow   

www.NoSetPathShow.com

www.bio.site/NoSetPath

Austin Kolodney is the screenwriter of “Dead Man’s Wire,” based on a true story and directed by Gus Van Sant, in theaters January 2026. He was named one of Variety’s 2025 Screenwriters to Watch.

A director as well as writer, Austin’s work has been featured across major platforms including Funny Or Die, Syfy, Audible, Almost Friday TV, and Comedy Central. His narrative shorts, Two Chairs, Not One and Kiwi, earned prestigious Vimeo Staff Pick honors.

Today we get into why Austin walked twenty miles round trip across LA to meet with Werner Herzog; working at the LA Zoo after the industry was ravaged by strikes and the pandemic; how he put himself through USC film school after two years at a community college; and the things he had in place to make reps pursue him for professional relationships that have lasted. 

SEE “DEAD MAN’S WIRE:” Limited Release 1/07/26 | Out Nationwide 1/16/26

KEEP UP WITH AUSTIN: 

IG: @awwwwstin

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW: 

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.bio.site/NoSetPath

ANDREA’S GAMBIT PREMIERE TICKETS: https://mpi.swoogo.com/andreasgambit-la-premiere/10598619

KEEP UP WITH BECCA:

TikTok: @beccawmann

Instagram: @becca__mann

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/NoSetPath

Last Year's Episode with Becca: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/47-new-years-resolutions-for-filmmakers-w-becca-mann/id1676370871?i=1000682375575

With the Oscars broadcast headed to YouTube, studios including Fox hiring Head of Creator Studio, and YouTube surpassing Netflix to become the most watched streamer on TVs - where are the jobs headed in an industry that seems to be scaling back? The good news: there is one accessible sector that's growing, and may be replacing the bottom of the pyramid of traditional media.

Mentioned articles/books:

THR "Hollywood Is Dying—42000 Jobs Gone in Just 2 Years": https://nofilmschool.com/entertainment-industry-crisis

Wall Street Journal: "L.A.’s Entertainment Economy Is Looking Like a Disaster Movie" https://www.wsj.com/business/media/los-angeles-entertainment-economy-downturn-7879105c

Deloitte digital media trends data: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/digital-media-trends-consumption-habits-survey/2025.html

The Women Who Built Hollywood by Susan Goldman Rubin: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/recommended-books/?bookId=24944

Scott Galloway on Colin & Samir: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7vNHGUPEVtJanMq6lXaxUr

Dhar Mann: https://www.dharmann.com/about/

Kinigra Deon: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9HvSOvNpFpjydzDkAQJCNw

Try Guys on Colin & Samir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsvyA7O9hiY

Michelle Khare on Colin & Samir 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TlPHtxsBIA

Zach Justice on the Karat Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2t2vq1kqfphXVXTew72ZA9

THR - Taylor Lorenz: "How Hollywood Learned to Love Influencers" https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/hollywood-influencers-new-era-fame-1236400405/

The Town with Matt Belloni - Did Hollywood Ever Have a Chance Against YouTube? https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/the-town-with-matthew-belloni/2025/11/20/did-hollywood-ever-have-a-chance-against-youtube

TV Upfronts Data: https://videoamp.com/press/tv-networks-embrace-their-aging-audience-with-a-new-mantra-age-doesnt-matter/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Tina Fey on Smartless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jc5ThwTxSM

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

www.bio.site/NoSetPath

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

bio.site/NoSetPath

www.NoSetPathShow.com

Today we get into how a film can land theatrical distribution without festival circuit buzz; how to leverage existing relationships into building a crew, cast, and distributors on your team; and how a cold email landed a distributor for two of his feature films.

TICKETS FOR “THE WILDERNESS”: https://www.fandango.com/the-wilderness-2025-242791/movie-overview

KEEP UP WITH SPENCER: 

IG: @spencereking / @thewildernessmovie 

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW: 

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow 

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/NoSetPath

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

@NoSetPathShow

bio.site/NoSetPath

Today we are getting into how to avoid stagnance when waiting for feature films to go, how to find representation that aligns with who you are as an artist and the most surprising things from directing three horror thriller features.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

1:35 - Getting brought on to Bone Lake from an open directing assignment 

3:00 - LD Entertainment

4:20 - Shooting in LA vs. Georgia vs. Canada

6:35 - Viral chess board shot 

7:30 - Projects Mercedes’ agents sent her when they first signed her vs. now - elevated, surrealist, erotic horrors 

9:10 - Upcoming features & how to play the movie stock market during the long process of getting projects off the ground 

11:15 - Working on commercials

12:30 - Making previous features Fixation and Spoonful of Sugar with covid impact 

15:15 - the unexpected positive outcomes of a storm preventing shooting the final scene of Bone Lake

17:00 - Art department chopping shrubbery down from the hotel as set dec 

20:20 - Meeting long-term collaborators at USC (and cutting class to work on projects)

21:45 - Should you go to film school? 

25:46 - Signing with a manager & an agent (UTA)

31:45 - How to finance a feature

35:30 - Advice for younger filmmakers + background in producing 

37:30 - Working director vs. “selling out”

39:40 - Mercedes’ interest in filmmaking as a kid 

42:49 - How living situations impact creativity 

43:44 - How to persevere when you want to give up

48:59 - Thoughts on social media 

51:55 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH MERCEDES:

Buy tickets for "Bone Lake": www.bleeckerstreetmedia.com/bone-lake

Follow Mercedes on IG: @mercedesbrycemorgan

Follow Bone Lake on IG: @bonelakefilm

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

bio.site/NoSetPath

www.NoSetPathShow.com

KEEP UP WITH BECCA:

TikTok: @beccawmann

IG: @becca__mann

Becca's Books: https://www.becca-mann.com/books

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/nosetpath

Evan B. Matthews is an LA-based director whose feature directorial debut “Motherland” comes out this month, we’re recording in September 2025, in both theaters and VOD.

Evan got his start under Mark Burnett, working on shows including Survivor, The Apprentice, An Inconvenient Truth, and The Hollow, among others; going on to produce the MTV Movie Awards. 

Today we get into how Evan went from meeting with an executive to landing his first feature film directing job in just one week, what he focused on during his pitch for this open directing assignment, and how to pivot out of reality-focused projects when pigeonholed and be taken seriously as a narrative director.

KEEP UP WITH EVAN:

IG: @evanbmatthews

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

bio.site/NoSetPath