The Cathy Durant Show

Book Author, Doris Ellis-Jackson is the next featured guest on the Cathy Durant Show. Doris shares what inspired her to become an Author and why she decided to write the emotionally, gripping book, “Going Out a Champion,” the Coach Joe Ellis Story. Don’t miss the amazing interview with Doris Ell

We are dedicating tonight’s encore to the loving memory of Professor Kimberly Ellis, Doris’s oldest daughter and a great supporter of Going Out a Champion, who has passed away since this interview was recorded. We extend our continued condolences to the Ellis family, her friends, and colleagues. Kimberly is fondly mentioned several times during this conversation, making this encore especially meaningful as we continue working to bring the film to the screen.

Robert “Dr. Doom” Brazile is a Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker and one of the most celebrated players in Houston Oilers history. A first-round draft pick out of Jackson State University, Brazile spent his entire 10-year NFL career (1975–1984) with the Houston Oilers, starting all 147 regular-season games. Known for helping revolutionize the outside linebacker position, he was named the 1975 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, selected to seven consecutive Pro Bowls, earned five consecutive First-Team All-Pro selections and was named to the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

On The Cathy Durant Show, Brazile reflected on what it meant to reach football’s highest honor and be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also discussed another deeply personal hometown honor: his inclusion in Mobile, Alabama’s Hall of Fame Walk. Brazile is immortalized with a nine-foot bronze statue alongside five fellow Mobile sports legends—Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Billy Williams, Ozzie Smith and Willie McCovey. Brazile attended the June 2025 unveiling of the permanent waterfront installation, bringing his remarkable journey from Mobile to the NFL and ultimately back home full circle.

The Cathy Durant Show

From Paramedic to Screenwriter: Doctor Who, EastEnders, and the Maverick Script Code with Glen McCoy

Glen McCoy is a screenwriter who has written for well know television shows in the UK, been commissioned to write screenplays for features by production houses, has written hundreds of corporate scripts for some of the world’s largest brands and has had his most recent screenplay optioned with pre-production starting in 2027 with well known 'A Listers' as cast. He was on the orginal writing team for long running drama series EASTENDERS as well as two other similar shows and has even written for DOCTOR WHO. His corporate commissions have come from Innocent Drinks, Johnson & Johnson, the UK Home Office, Samsung and Land Rover. He also created and wrote an internal ‘soap’ series for training purposes within Vodafone UK and recently was commissioned by International coaching providers in the UK, OTD for a micro drama series. Glen is also an author with 16 books in print including a Doctor Who novel and business titles like Guerrilla Coaching, Extraordinary Customer Care, Power Presenter and his latest business title BUSINESS SCREENWRITING being published by am American Publisher affiliated to Harvard Publishing.

Glen has just launched a brand new YouTube channel: Maverick Script Code with a complete system for screenwriters of any level of experience that’s based on what he’s learned over the past 3 decades - and is completely free for subscribers.

UK screenwriter Glen McCoy joins Cathy Irby Durant to trace his path from London paramedic to Doctor Who and EastEnders writer, and to unveil his Maverick Script Code method for teaching screenwriting.

Becoming a Screenwriter by Instinct

Cathy Irby Durant opens the show by welcoming Glen McCoy, a UK screenwriter and author, as the first professional writer to appear on the program. She asks whether he was born to write or learned to write, and McCoy answers that he believes writers are born, comparing a child who absorbs storytelling from watching television to one who has to relearn it later. He recalls writing his school's play at age ten, a piece he calls "The King Who Took Sunshine," and says that moment felt like the universe telling him to take drama seriously. McCoy explains that before scriptwriting he worked as one of the first paramedics in London and visited a fire station in Ohio, experiences that later fed his stories. He also wrote a nonfiction book on paramedic work and found a publisher, a first step that leads, almost by accident, toward his television career. Durant calls his account heartwarming as the interview gets underway.

Landing an Agent and a BBC Commission

McCoy describes how he sought literary representation after publishing his paramedic book, cold-calling London's top agency and getting redirected, with a hint of pride, to a "less busy" one. That second agency takes him on, and two weeks later calls to say he has been commissioned to write two episodes of a primetime BBC television show, despite his having never written a script before. He borrows a library book called "How to Write Television Scripts" and works to the deadline, and both scripts are accepted and produced. McCoy says landing so easily made him assume he already knew everything, a decision he now calls "a big, big mistake," because he never went back to learn the craft's tools and techniques properly. That gap later leaves him lost in script meetings full of unfamiliar jargon. He tells Durant his real message to new writers is that confidence in one's storytelling ability matters more than workshops, gurus, or books, though a few essentials still need to be learned along the way.

From Medical Dramas to EastEnders

McCoy explains that his paramedic background directly shaped his first professional job, since that debut BBC show was a medical drama drawing on real incidents, including what he believes was British television's first depiction of a patient trapped under a train. He credits a script editor named Tony Holland, who deliberately recruited a set number of "baby writers" each year because, in Holland's view, publicly funded broadcasting owed newcomers a way into the craft. Holland later calls McCoy about a new show he is launching, which becomes "EastEnders," and McCoy writes one of its earliest episodes during what he calls an exciting launch period. Durant marvels at the range of well-known British dramas behind him and promises listeners they will next discuss "Doctor Who," teasing that McCoy's own path into that legendary series is just as unlikely as everything that came before it, before the show breaks for a commercial pause.

Writing Two Episodes of Doctor Who

Back from the break, McCoy tells the story of pitching himself into "Doctor Who" after watching an episode with his son and thinking he could write a better story. His agent initially refuses, warning the show is reserved for experienced writers, then relents by sending his story along "so it will be good for you to feel how it is when they reject you." The show's production team instead rejects only his use of the Daleks, whose creator holds separate copyright, so McCoy rewrites around them and is summoned to the BBC, where, to his surprise, he is asked to write the full script rather than simply pitch an idea. He ends up writing two episodes that score well with general audience ratings but draw criticism from devoted Doctor Who fans over the script, acting, and costumes, problems McCoy attributes partly to the production running out of season budget. He says he remains one of the few writers from that era still invited to fan conventions and interviews.

Corporate Scripts and Six Feature Screenplays

After Doctor Who, McCoy returns to writing for EastEnders and another ongoing series called Emmerdale before drifting into corporate scriptwriting, including a training mini-soap he writes for Vodafone employees. He admits he grew comfortable in corporate work because clients lacked the expertise to push back, calling it "an easy way to write scripts" that let him stay a full-time writer for years without sharpening his craft further. Only in the last five years does he decide to focus solely on feature screenplays, ultimately writing six commissioned scripts, the newest of which appears close to being produced. He shares an anecdote from a fellow Hollywood screenwriter who admits he hopes his work never reaches theaters, since staying unproduced means never being judged, a comment McCoy calls a warning about taking commissions without asking whether financing actually exists. He tells Durant his latest project, developed using a method he calls the Maverick Script Code, is the one he believes will finally get made.

Decoding Movies and the Maverick Script Code

McCoy explains that Maverick Script Code grew out of frustration with confusing, contradictory screenwriting workshops and YouTube tutorials aimed at people who had already started writing. He develops a 23-step process, tested by a National Film School teacher who tells him "why has no one done this before," and by a longtime aspiring writer who finally finishes her screenplay after following it step by step. McCoy describes his core insight as a hidden structural "code" inside successful movies, comparing it to peeling back the layers of a Mona Lisa; he times scenes from films like "Whiplash" and mirrors their pacing and silences in his own work. He also describes starting every project by designing a movie poster first, a habit Durant says she shares. On artificial intelligence, McCoy notes the Oscars will not consider AI-assisted films eligible, and says test audiences preferred his own handwritten scene over an AI-generated version. He closes urging original writing that could draw audiences back into cinemas, recalling watching a recent film alone in a theater in Clitheroe, before Durant thanks him and signs off.

Guest, John Hadity, EVP of Incentive Operations and oversees the film financing subsidiary of Entertainment Partners

Financing the Screen: Tax Incentives, Completion Bonds and the Road Back to Production

Turning Production Incentives Into Film Financing

Cathy Durant speaks with Entertainment Partners guest John Hadity about the role production incentives play in financing film and television projects. Hadity describes moving from studio work and independent producing into tax-credit financing after noticing that state incentive programs remained active during an economic downturn. He explains that incentives may include refundable or transferable tax credits, rebates, and grants, and that productions can compare jurisdictions based on eligible labor and non-labor spending. He also describes Entertainment Partners as providing support in areas such as production planning, budgeting, scheduling, accounting, and incentive administration. The conversation emphasizes that the location of a production can materially affect its financing plan. Hadity points to projects filmed outside the locations depicted on screen as examples of how incentives and other financial considerations can shape production decisions.

How Tax-Credit Loans and Completion Bonds Work

A substantial portion of the discussion focuses on borrowing against anticipated production incentives. Hadity explains that the speed of repayment can vary significantly by jurisdiction and that Entertainment Partners maps expected timelines for producers and borrowers. He describes why a completion bond may be required when a lender advances money against a credit that depends on the project actually being finished. The bond company, he says, needs access to the full production budget before issuing its guarantee. Durant shares an experience in which foreign investors would not place their funds into a U.S. escrow account, which prevented the financing structure from satisfying the bond company. The exchange highlights the relationship among equity, incentive-backed loans, escrow requirements, and completion guarantees.

Administration, Accounting and the Production Entity

Hadity explains that production-incentive administration begins with the initial application and continues through expense tracking, accounting coordination, audit preparation, final submission, and responses to state questions. He says the production entity itself must pay qualified expenses and maintain records such as a check register, general ledger, and trial balance. Depending on the incentive, that entity may be an LLC or a C-corporation. He also explains that a filmmaker can retain underlying ownership while granting a one-picture license to the production entity so it can make and deliver the project. The discussion presents production structure as both a financing and compliance issue. Durant and Hadity repeatedly stress the importance of getting those structural details in place before production begins.

Distribution, Sales Estimates and Streaming Deals

The conversation then moves to distribution, including North American rights, international sales agents, foreign-sales estimates, and the role of recognizable talent in creating bankable pre-sales. Hadity explains that a sales agent may estimate a project’s value in different territories based on buyer demand and the creative package, and that lenders may sometimes finance against credible estimates. He cautions independent producers about streaming-platform acquisitions, particularly offers for worldwide rights in perpetuity that may be lower than the project’s production cost. In that situation, he says, producers need legal counsel that understands the financing plan and repayment obligations to investors. The speakers also discuss the continuing role of studios in acquisitions and festivals. Hadity’s central warning is that broad distribution exposure does not automatically mean a producer or investor will recover the project’s full cost.

Strikes, Recovery and Preparing for Production

Durant and Hadity discuss the effects of the writers’ and actors’ strikes following the disruption of the pandemic. Hadity says television was particularly affected by the writers’ strike and that the actors’ strike brought production to a much broader halt. Despite the slowdown, he expresses confidence that the industry will recover and says companies were preparing for a major surge in production once labor issues were resolved. His repeated advice to producers is to prepare: break down scripts, build schedules and budgets, choose jurisdictions, obtain incentive-loan quotes, raise the remaining financing, line up payroll, open accounts, discuss insurance, and begin conversations with bond companies. The discussion also covers AFM and the value of film markets for producers, financiers, distributors, buyers, and sellers. Hadity says he evaluates festival attendance based on whether the expected return justifies the cost.

The Future of Film, Television and New Filmmakers

In the closing portion, the speakers discuss streaming, theatrical exhibition, faith-based projects, and opportunities for new directors. Hadity says television and streaming-series production appears more active by volume, while large studio films can still employ much larger crews on individual projects. He does not believe movie theaters are disappearing, citing major event releases as evidence that theatrical audiences can still generate strong results even while overall volume remains under pressure. The conversation also considers faith-based filmmaking and Tyler Perry as an example of an audience-driven production and marketing model. Hadity says he is not afraid of first-time directors and recalls working around filmmakers such as Kevin Smith, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino, but he is more cautious about first-time producers because the producer functions like the CEO of the production. He closes with an optimistic view that the industry will survive the current disruptions and emerge strong.

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film tax credits, production incentives, film financing, completion bonds, entertainment payroll, movie budgeting, tax credit administration, independent film distribution, streaming rights, film production planning

The Cathy Durant Show

The Reynaldo Rey Documentary and a Career Built on Comedy with Marcus Head

Filmmaker and former stand-up comedian Marcus Head joins Cathy Irby Durant to discuss his new documentary on comedy legend Reynaldo Rey, the comedians who credit Rey as a mentor, and his upcoming projects on Black firefighting pioneers and radio history.

From Stand-Up Stages to Film Sets

Cathy Irby Durant opens the show by welcoming filmmaker Marcus Head, a friend of five years, to discuss his newest documentary. Head explains that he grew up in Chicago and moved to Atlanta after a friend called about opening a pawn shop; the shop never materializes, but Head falls for the city and drifts into stand-up comedy. He recalls performing his Fire Marshall Bill bit at the Comedy Act Theater around 1997 or 1998, when Bruce Bruce hosted, and remembers Kevin Hart telling him afterward that he had the presence to keep going. His first big break comes opening for Ron White in Columbia, South Carolina, which leads him into booking shows for touring comedians. Watching the production crews at those gigs sparks his curiosity about filmmaking, and years later, prompted by his wife to finally write the movie he always talked about, he creates his first film, Can't Get Right, now streaming on Tubi.

Meeting the Reynaldo Rey Family

Head turns to the project at the center of the interview, a documentary on comedian Reynaldo Rey, whom he calls an unforgotten icon of Black comedy. He details Rey's résumé: host of BET ComicView, the mailman on 227, and the only comedian to appear on ComicView, Def Comedy Jam, The Tonight Show and Showtime at the Apollo. Rey was managed by Redd Foxx for fifteen years and toured with Foxx, Bob Hope and Richard Pryor, part of a circle Head calls the Black Pack. Head explains that Rey started as a college professor in Cleveland before a student urged him into a comedy club, where an owner offered him more money than teaching paid. Head describes how he met the Rey family through a chance encounter on the Michael Colyar Show, which led him to Rey's grandson, then to Rey's son Todd, and eventually to Reynaldo Rey himself, who mentored him personally and called him Youngblood after a club performance in Atlanta.

Landing Katt Williams and Sinbad

Durant asks how Head persuaded so many major comedians to appear on camera, and he credits the Reynaldo Rey name itself for opening doors. He recounts a chaotic shoot day with Katt Williams in Los Angeles, when his camera crew got stuck in Dallas and he scrambled to find a replacement operator who arrived only minutes before Williams did. Head calls the interview that followed one of the film's centerpieces, noting Williams speaks at length about what Rey taught him. He also describes traveling to Sinbad's home in early 2025 for what he says was Sinbad's first interview since his stroke, adding that Sinbad remains sharp despite two heart attacks and reduced mobility. Luenell, George Wallace and Joe Torry also appear, along with rare archival interviews of Dolemite and Redd Foxx discussing Rey. Head reports the finished documentary, roughly seventy-five minutes long, has already won a Telly Award and three film festival prizes, including the Vegas Film Festival, and is now being shopped for distribution.

New Documentaries on Firefighters and Radio Icons

Beyond Reynaldo Rey, Head previews other documentaries in development. First to the Fire profiles Black firefighting pioneers, including Montel Williams's father, one of Baltimore's first Black fire chiefs, and CeeLo Green's mother, who became one of Atlanta's first Black firefighters in 1979. Head also describes twin firefighters in Tulsa, Oklahoma whose father was the city's first Black firefighter in the 1960s, the first Black firefighter in Houston, and Molly Williams, an 1818-era volunteer who fought fires as a cook's helper and earned the nickname the thirteenth firefighter. A documentary clip plays of an elderly man recalling putting out a house fire himself before volunteer firefighters arrived, which prompted someone to tell him he ought to become a fireman. Head also holds the rights to tell the story of Jada Jones, known on air as Ms. Dupre from the Tom Joyner Morning Show, who died a month before the broadcast, with Joyner and cast members Sybil Wilkes, Myra J., Damon Williams, J. Anthony Brown and George Wallace agreeing to be interviewed.

Women in Comedy and the Business Today

The conversation shifts to comedy history and the state of the business today. Head traces a line of female pioneers starting with Moms Mabley, whom he calls the godmother of comedy, through Whoopi Goldberg, Marsha Warfield, Shirley Hemphill and Syreeta Morrison, the first Black woman to write for Saturday Night Live. He praises current performers Cocoa Brown, Sommore and Mo'Nique, and names rising acts including K-Davis, Flo-So-Amazing, Alanna Marie and One-Act Drama, several of whom appear in the Reynaldo Rey documentary alongside storyteller Ali Siddiq. Durant and Head discuss why comedy audiences skew toward established headliners rather than newcomers, and Head credits Katt Williams for his generosity in elevating other comics, including Mo'Nique, Tommy Davidson and Mark Curry, on his own shows. They also survey distribution platforms, with Head naming YouTube and Tubi, now owned by Fox, as the biggest outlets, alongside Netflix specials and BET, which he says now sits under Paramount and Skydance. Head argues true longevity depends on being genuinely hilarious rather than merely popular online.

Road Stories and Advice for Newcomers

Head shares some of his roughest nights on the road, including a Tuesday show in Marietta where only three people showed up in a fifteen-hundred-seat club, forcing him to set his microphone down and simply tell stories at their table for forty-five minutes. He contrasts that with a packed night at 3D Cafe headlined by his friend Finesse Mitchell. Turning to advice for newcomers, Head tells listeners to start shooting on whatever camera they own, since phone footage now rivals professional equipment, and to build a real business around their work with an LLC and a business checking account before chasing investors or big names. He credits Reynaldo Rey with teaching him that respect has to be taken, not given. Head confirms A Comic's Tale is finished and being shopped for distribution, and teases an unnamed project about one of the greatest comedians of all time. Durant thanks Head for the stories and closes the broadcast, telling viewers the episode will remain available on the network's platform after it airs.

Celebrity Artist Clarence “Pencilman” Pointer.

Don’t miss his incredible story behind his extraordinary art drawings of some of the most famous people in entertainment and most notable public figures.

The Cathy Durant Show — Season 3

Streaming worldwide on BBS Radio TV on the iHeartRadio Network.

S3EP1, Dr. Steven Nia, a true visionary and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment and technology industries

Reinventing Film: AI Production, Micro-Dramas, and the Future of Distribution

From Entertainment Law to a Technology-Driven Studio

Cathy Durant welcomes Dr. Steven Nia, founder of Wardour Studios, for a wide-ranging conversation about the changing film and entertainment business. Nia traces the studio’s name to a childhood visit to Wardour Street in London, where he says he briefly met Alfred Hitchcock. He explains that the W1 symbol used by the company is connected to that London district and carries personal meaning for him. The discussion then moves to the studio’s first decade, its origins, and the partnership between Nia and chief operating officer Angelina Leo. Nia credits Leo’s media experience, discipline, and daily operational leadership as essential to the company’s development.

Visual Effects, Full Production, and AI-Assisted Filmmaking

Nia describes Wardour Studios as a company that began with an emphasis on technology, post-production, and visual effects. He explains that visual effects require creators to use imagination and technology to produce images and environments that often do not exist in real life. The studio has since expanded into full film and series production, production services, and location-based filmmaking. During the last three years, the company has also focused heavily on artificial-intelligence research and proprietary production tools. Nia argues that AI is changing cost, execution, creativity, monetization, and distribution more fundamentally than earlier transitions from film to digital production.

Partnerships, Intellectual Property, and Creative Control

The interview explores how creators can approach the studio and how projects are developed. Nia says that, although producers once needed a pitch deck and finished script, the studio can now begin with a simple idea and use its tools to develop scripts, scene breakdowns, and production roadmaps in a matter of days. He explains that Wardour generally avoids conventional work-for-hire arrangements when it is creatively involved and instead seeks an intellectual-property stake, often as an equal partner. According to Nia, the creator remains central while the studio adds creative, technical, and production value. He emphasizes that human beings still originate the imagination and own the intellectual property, while AI functions as a powerful assisting tool.

A New Model for Direct Content Distribution

Nia outlines a platform under development that is internally called W1, although he says that will not be its final public name. The proposed system would allow producers to upload completed content, establish pricing, subscriptions, territorial limits, age restrictions, and other distribution parameters, and then receive automated payments when the content is streamed. He presents the platform as an additional distribution channel rather than a replacement for theaters, broadcasters, established streaming services, film markets, or festivals. The underlying technology would also track intellectual-property ownership and distribute revenue among eligible participants, potentially including producers, directors, distributors, cast, and crew. Nia believes the model could make distribution and monetization accessible even to very small production companies.

Music Rights, Micro-Dramas, and Changing Viewing Habits

The conversation turns to music licensing and the growth of micro-dramas. Nia contrasts the older album-sales model with today’s mix of concerts, merchandising, streaming services, and licensed music libraries. He says the planned platform could eventually support music creators by preserving ownership while allowing licensing for films, series, and standalone listening. Nia also describes short-form dramatic series as a rapidly expanding global business and discusses Invincible, an 81-episode micro-series that he says was created as a showcase for 100 percent AI-generated content. He and Durant agree that short-form viewing, feature films, theaters, and television can coexist rather than forcing audiences to choose only one format.

Production Economics and the Wardour Filming Location

Nia estimates that an average short-drama production may cost around $100,000, depending on whether it is made traditionally, through a hybrid process, or with extensive AI assistance. He compares the total running time of 30 or 40 short episodes with that of a feature film and argues that the new production model can sharply reduce costs, including below-the-line expenses. The interview closes with a description of Wardour Studios’ Los Angeles County property, including a historic castle, a large backlot, a lake, helicopter pads, seasonal scenery, and a private aircraft landing strip under development. Nia says the location attracts filmmakers and helps create long-term creative relationships. Durant ends the program by inviting him to return for a future conversation.

SEO Keywords / Key Phrases

AI-assisted film production, independent film financing, film distribution platform, micro-drama production, intellectual property rights, post-production studios, visual effects technology, music licensing and monetization, film production costs, Hollywood filming locations

Season Finale with BBS Radio Founders - Part 3

Douglas And Donald Newsom Founders Of BBS Radio TV Part-2

In this week’s episode of The Cathy Durant Show, Donald and Douglas Newsom — Founders of BBS Radio TV — open up about the personal and business struggles that nearly destroyed them.

They share their powerful story of:

Losing everything three times

Grieving the loss of both parents within six months

Surviving the devastating impact of toxic mold

How Douglas came face-to-face with a life-or-death warning

It’s a raw, courageous conversation about resilience, faith, and rebuilding against all odds.

Watch now on BBS Radio TV and the iHeart Network (190+ stations worldwide).

#TheCathyDurantShow #BBSRadioTV #Resilience #Leadership #Broadcasting

Cathy Durant Show with Cathy Irby Durrant , BBS Founders Douglas And Donald Newsom Part-1

Twin brothers Donald & Douglas Newsom — the unstoppable force behind BBS Radio TV From life’s toughest challenges… to building a network broadcasting in 193 countries. Their story will inspire you.

Don’t Miss It!

#BBSRadioTV #CathyDurantShow #DonaldNewsom #DouglasNewsom #LifeStory #Inspiration #GlobalBroadcast #TalkShowVibes #August19Premiere #iHeart