No Set Path: Entertainment Break-In Stories

Michael Orion Downing is an LA-based, Alaskan-raised producer and Director of Development at A/Vantage Pictures, with credits spanning Netflix, Mandalay, A24, and Apple projects alongside independent films on Tubi. His work includes Ben Affleck’s AIR, Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, and Sundance award-winning Under Darkness, as well as producing Maika Monroe’s directorial debut short at TIFF.

Today we dive into how he went from a Paramount lot clerk to producing and developing major films, while constantly creating independent projects and seeking out new filmmaking collaborators.

KEEP UP WITH MIKE:

IG: @mike_orion

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/nosetpath

Karl Stelter is a filmmaker whose commercial director / producer work has been recognized by  the Clio’s, Tribeca, Tribeca X, the ADDY’s, Telly’s, Webby’s, 1.4, ADCC, DUST, and over 15 Oscar Qualifying film festivals.  His recent Jury Award win at Sebastopol qualified him for the 2025 Oscars. His clients include Invisalign, Amazon, NFL, Telus, Western University of Health Sciences, and GHA Autism Supports among others.

Today we get into how Karl convinced brands like Telus and Invisalign to buy documentary projects he was already making as passion projects and turn them into commercials and branded entertainment, how to make the most of a festival experience like Tribeca and how to pivot into a new type of work that’s different from what you’ve already built a portfolio in.

BREAKDOWN:

2:43 – two(!) projects at Tribeca, both scripted and branded doc spot

3:03 – Swimming with Butterflies feat. Brand partner, Invisalign and TribecaX

3:53 – Balancing authentic story x branded, paying the bills x passionate

5:23 – Karl’s journey with the subject of the doc, Paralympic swimmer

9:03 – Gaining trust with documentary subjects

11:43 – Shooting underwater feat. DP Joe Simon

12:33 – Pitching a short doc to a brand (Invisalign)

16:33 – How much would a brand give as a budget?

19:13 – did Invisalign care about where the spot would live?

20:13 – Submitting to Tribeca documentary vs. TribecaX (branded counterpart)

21:38 – The Tribeca experience

22:53 – The Lord of All Future Space and Time: a maximalist cheesecake short film (rich & dense)

24:38 – repeat collaborators

27:23 – running his own production company, Journeyman Studios, since 2012

29:48 – Pivoting from weddings to corporate videos; how to pivot to new types of work

32:23 – don’t lose sight of your artistic side

34:08 – success in the industry is a game of time

37:05 – getting into a top tier festival while simultaneously being rejected from much less prestigious festivals

38:23 – realistic acceptance rate for festivals

39:08 – Pitching: collaborators and clients

42:53 – don’t lose your collaborators to be right

44:28 – how to enjoy Tribeca

47:28 – different financing models: Karl’s other shorts!

57:38 – how to have a family as a filmmaker

1:07:13 – TIME CAPSULE

Today independent producer and union production coordinator Sofia Snyder gets into the specific resources she utilized to help land her short films at festivals, including Tribeca; what a psychic told her that prevented her from quitting her job on Rebel Moon; and how she took what she learned from working on movies like Licorice Pizza and Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar and applied it to the films she’s produced.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

2:00 - Playing at Tribeca without a premiere

4:00 - How to strategize with film festivals to optimize odds of getting in - Festival Formula (HollyShorts, Poppy Jasper, Kino Presents the People’ Film Festival London, Montclair Film Festival)

12:30 - Getting into Tribeca after rejections from SXSW (and other random festivals)

14:08 - How runtime impacts your festival odds

17:30 - Making a short for $10,000

19:30 - Funding models for shorts - self-funding vs. crowd funding

20:30 - 6 years is an overnight success

22:30 - Sofia’s early journey as a producer: a doc about the ghost of a dead cat

25:20 - Developing projects on nights & weekends after 60-80 hours a week in a production office

28:15 - Why she didn’t quit her job on Rebel Moon to focus on producing

33:20 - Why Sofia wouldn’t recommend production office gigs for aspiring writers

35:55 - Sofia’s other shorts (In Old Ranchos directed by Matt Lucas, We Meet Again directed by Matt Lucas, One of These Days concept directed by Joe Blank, Don’t Leave Me Now directed by Monisha Dadlani)

37:20 - Shooting with UNREAL technology

35:50 - Shooting in phases before raising the entire budget

42:20 - Cranberry Heaven in 1997

44:30 - Things take time!

45:40 - Being a union production coordinator on $30million+ projects (Licorice Pizza, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar)

51:50 - Attending American University + moving to LA post-college with $10,000

1:02:30 - Development assistant vs. freelance/production office pipeline

1:05:30 - Pay for union coordinators + insider information about how coordinators discuss rates with each other

1:10:05 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH SOFIA:

IG: @sofiasny

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/NoSetPath

Today's topic is "Conclave" - what the movie got right, what the movie got wrong, and the broader impact of a film misrepresenting a community, particularly without involvement from its members.

2:30 - AMERICAN POPE!

3:58 - “Conclave”

4:56 - The timing of the making of the movie

7:00 - The consequences of capitalizing on a community without involving members of that community

19:10 - Misunderstanding of Conclave as a version of American politics / presidential election

23:50 - Applying this to the movie “Conclave”

25:26 - What “Conclave” got right

27:17 - What “Conclave” meant was “Protestantism”

28:39 - What “Conclave” got wrong

36:17 -“Conclave” scenes and lies that are pure fantasy

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/NoSetPath

Today Rebecca is joined by Kristen Brancaccio to react to some anonymously submitted production horror stories - the good, the bad, and the downright hilarious.

BREAKDOWN:

0:30 - Updates with Kristen! Full-time directing largely in vertical soap operas

3:55 - Anonymously submitted production horror stories!

4:20 - UPM asked LAPD to ID homeless defecation, cop reverse unos and asks production to read screenplay

6:23 - Cops respond to film shooting but not gun shooting

7:05 - Chandler Berg the PA putting out a Malibu fire with the production fire extinguisher

8:30 - Producers digging into an actual cemetery

10:06 - Director beat up PD on set, Kristen stands up for art department

11:14 - 300 extras were told to actually fight each other, actor gets stabbed

12:28 - Rap video with dog fights, stabbing, and computers stolen out of motor home

13:09 - Kristen is up to direct a music video, artist goes to jail before they can shoot

14:22 - Script supervisor stole the lined script for ransom

14:45 - “The Terminator” goes off on PA for chewing too loudly

15:40 - Department head commits fraud, blames assistant

16:18 - Kristen declines to deposit production budget into department head’s personal account

17:30 - Woman shocked by amount of cash taken out by Hollywood productions

18:17 - Person asked to only be paid in gold bars

18:40 - Camera van without handbrake runs through video village on car commercial

28:55 - Portable toilet driven for 45 minutes on bumpy road with person inadvertently inside

19:50 - Talent rage quit his own pilot

20:40 - mayor allowed filming in exchange for photos with celebrities

21:06 - Extra wardrobe malfunction

21:58 - Background actor backstories

22:58 - Bribing the neighbor with Magic Castle tickets

24:25 - Director freaks out that set design isn’t bougie enough

25:22 - Client decided day of the shoot that pre-approved wooden paneling needed to be VFX’d out

26:52 - Wet garbage falling

30:27 - Unusable footage from holding camera on top of a moving camera

29:50 - Petty cash disappeared x2

31:35 - Who can decode these acronyms? DM us @nosetpathshow

KEEP UP WITH KRISTEN:

IG: @kristensreality

Kristen's first episode on No Set Path: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/02-pitching-matt-damon-producing-for-finneas-w-kristen/id1676370871?i=1000605417778

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/nosetpath

Becca Mann is an author, screenwriter, and former Team USA swimmer. A two-time national champion, she was the youngest to place Top 10 in four events at a single Olympic Trials and competed in four World Championships. She later worked in writers rooms on shows like Cruel Summer, The Wilds, and The Morning Show. Her memoir Outside the Lanes and novel Unruly drop the first week of April.

Today, we dive into how Becca landed her first writers' room job with 500+ cold emails; how she turned a spontaneous book pitch into a deal; and why embracing boldness, loving the process, and facing failure head-on leads to success.

BREAKDOWN:

3:00 - “Outside the Lanes” - memoir from an alumnae swimmer of Team USA

15:00 - First job in Hollywood by guessing showrunners’ emails and cold emailing

17:18 - First writers’ room job as a writers’ PA on “Cruel Summer”

22:00 - Being show runner’s assistant on “The Wilds”

23:50 - Becoming script coordinator on “The Morning Show”

25:40 - Back to sending emails for the next job!

28:00 - How Becca got her book deal + failure isn’t real

33:00 - Huge week for Becca in April! Books, races, shows!

34:00 - Becca announces her YA book premise, coming out this April!

37:30 - USC swim career + early swim career

44:50 - Advice!

54:07 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH BECCA:

IG: @becca__mann

TikTok: @beccawmann

Buy Becca's Memoir:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774496/outside-the-lanes-by-becca-mann/

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/NoSetPath

Revealing the top episodes, wins for the year, and upcoming opportunities!

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

bio.site/NoSetPath

www.NoSetPathShow.com

Maggie Admire is an LA-based writer and producer, nominated for a 2025 WGA Award and a CrimeCon Clue Award, with features in The New York Times. Over nine years, she’s created 40+ podcast series, many for Spotify, including Serial Killers and Coinspiracy Theories, reaching millions. She helped build Parcast as its first hire before its Spotify acquisition.

Beyond podcasts, she’s been a Pack Theater sketch writer, crafted tweets for Funny or Die, and even ghostwrote Tinder replies—before being replaced by a younger, hotter AI. She’s currently writing a romantasy-comedy novel and fostering a dog.

Today we’re getting into how putting yourself and your ideas out there can land you a prestigious nomination like one at the WGA Awards, how to balance long term strategy with short term opportunity when deciding what career decisions to make next, and how to take calculated risks when pitching new ideas.

BREAKDOWN:

2:15 - Maggie’s favorite “Serial Killers” episode, which was nominated for a 2025 GA Award

12:00 - how to find balance when working with very dark material

13:30 - the decision to do audio-only for a podcast episode vs. video podcast

16:00 - proactively submitting for a WGA award nomination

19:49 - First Deadline mention by name

20:07 - WGA Awards experience!

31:43 - How to stand out in a comptitive industry

34:30 - Other Spotify shows: “Dog Tales,” “Tales,” “Mind’s Eye”

39:00 - advice for screenwriters considering podcasts

43:50 - Balancing writing podcasts with other writing passions including sketch comedy and novels

49:40 - Early jobs: ghostwriting people’s responses on Tinder

51:20 - Getting paid to write individual jokes on the now-defunct “Pitch” app

54:50 - Thoughts on TikTok & comedy

57:30 - Advice for persevering in this career + not wanting to be a manager

1:06:12 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH MAGGIE:

TikTok: @MaggieAdmire

IG: @secret___admire

Listen to Maggie’s work: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MH80XPwH4UdpQxXon2obn

EPISODE BREAKDOWN

0:00 - Intro

6:00 - Why Baldoni & Lively probably won’t go to trial

6:40 - Publicity vs. PR vs. Marketing

7:59 - Looking at things with a critical eye & documentary subjects saying “no”

10:10 - North West, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West & “The Lion King” at the Hollywood Bowl

12:58 - Amazon Prime’s publicist dramatization in “Flack”

15:00 - the advent of the “influencer”

16:25 - Real stories of publicist shenanigans from my time at the Hollywood Reporter

22:45 - more Hollywood stories

23:26 - studios/companies telling actors things to say to promote a film, including fake stories. Case study: Suicide Squad & Jared Leto’s crazy “gifts”

38:33 - Failed publicity stunts - Balloon boy (2009), Jussie Smollett (2019), Morton Downey Jr. (1989)

54:18 - how you’re being tricked by social media creators

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

www.bio.site/NoSetPath

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

4:10 - Wildfire impact on production insurance, bonding, & building materials

11:30 - Stay in LA Campaign

20:17- Practical implications: a game of attraction, not demands

KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:

IG: @NoSetPathShow

All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow

www.NoSetPathShow.com

bio.site/nosetpath