This is episode 8 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by Manchester based Writer/Director and 2025 Screen Daily Star of Tomorrow Liam White. 

Liam built traction through his short film work which includes Doughnut (2020), Tick Tick Tick (2020), Punch-Drunk an exceptional thriller set in a cafe in Marseille which was longlisted for a BAFTA in 2022 and his most recent short film Housewarming won Best UK Short at Raindance Film Festival and earnt a BIFA nomination, firmly securing him as one of the UKs most exciting filmmaking talents. 

Liam now has several features in active development, two with Anna Keeley at Escape Plan and another with Heyday films. In this episode which was recorded live in 2025, with a catch up on the end, we break down his journey so far as he ascends the industry. 

As ever, it’s a must listen!

Credits

Graphic Design by Ria Nightingale

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Liam White: Instagram & his work

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 7 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by some of the creative team behind SURVIVING EARTH, the BFI & FILM4 backed debut feature film from Writer/Director Thea Gajic. 

Producer Sophie Reynolds also joins us to talk through the film’s life cycle, as it successfully navigated the UK development system to eventually earn a Premiere at SXSW2025 and a UK theatrical release from 24th April. As ever… This is an in-depth episode about the pathway and process!

NUGGET OF THE WEEK

Marcus: Love on the Spectrum

Oz: Thirteen lives & The Rescue 

Sophie: Gatecrashers - Sona Films

Thea: Moonlight by Barry Jenkins

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Thea Gajic: Website & Instagram

Sophie Reynolds: Sona Films & Instagram

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 6 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by Producer Hollie Bryan and Writer/Director Jack King, the BAFTA nominated team behind The Ceremony, the indie feature film that won the Sean Connery Prize at Edinburgh International Film Festival before going on to earn two BIFA nominations and a BAFTA one too for good measure. 

We caught up with them the morning after the BAFTAs to talk through their experience of making the film on limited resources and the journey which came after… It’s a must listen!

NUGGET OF THE WEEK

Marcus: The Ceremony director Jack King and actors Tudor Cucu-Dumitrescu and Erdal Yildiz | BFI Q&A

Oz: Prints Short film by Jack King

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Jack King: Website

Hollie Byran: Website

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 5 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad were joined for a LIVE conversation at the wonderful venue of MetFilm School Manchester by acclaimed actor Corin Silva. 

Corin is a rising star in the Film & TV industry with roles in SAS Rogue Heroes, Masters of the Air, All the Light We Cannot See and the upcoming release of the BAFTA nominated Wasteman. He is also a big advocate of short filmmaking and has featured in over 100 short films. 

As ever, this conversation breaks down his pathway into acting, his process and we uncover his thoughts on the Actor/Director relationship. 

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz:Instagram

Corin: Instagram & IMDb

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 4 of the third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad were joined for a LIVE conversation at the wonderful venue of Manchester HOME by Writer & Director Claire Tailyour. 

Claire is a working director whose credits include The Wives, Beyond Paradise, Phoenix Rise and Netflix/BBC’s Get Even. Her debut feature script Mother Wild won BAFTA Rocliffe and PAGE awards in 2020. She is also a semi-finalist for Sundance International Scriptwriter and also for The Academy Awards Nicholl Fellowship.

We talk about her unique journey into the industry, the craft of directing and the challenges in navigating life as a director in TV. 

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Claire: Instagram & Website

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 3 of the third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by Director Nick Rowland, who is seen as one of the UK’s and Hollywood’s brightest young stars. He joins us to talk about his latest release She Rides Shotgun, an action thriller which stars Taron Egerton and Ana Sophia Heger, available now on Amazon Prime.

Nick breaks down his journey, process and the difficulties in dealing with expectation in this revealing conversation that very much centres on craft. 

This conversation covers the following:

-Nick’s journey into directing from Rally driving.

-How he navigated his early career/expectation.

-The difficulty of imposter syndrome.

-His philosophy on directing and how it relates to his sensibilities as a human.

-The difficulties of making a first feature film.

-His struggles and learnings around tone in film.

-How Nick prepares for interviews and pitches.

-A breakdown of the craft of She Rides Shotgun and his philosophy in working with actors.

Marcus: Dancing in the Ashes (short film) 

Oz: SLAP (short film)

Nick: Pablo Neruda’s poetry

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Nick: Instagram & Directors Now

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 2 of the BRAND NEW third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad get honest about what they’ve been up to in the show’s close season, explaining the introspective work that they’ve completed and the journey that has taken them on. Oz has explored the origins of his own artistry which has seen him sign on to an agency, and Marcus gets candid about his own artistic journey, neurodivergence and the preparation on his latest VFX film. 

This episode is formed of two separate conversations recorded several months apart from each other, beginning with one in August, before heading back in time for the other. We hope it makes you feel better about your own artistic endeavours. Enjoy!

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 1 of the BRAND NEW third season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by UK TV legend Angela Griffin, who discusses her transition from distinguished actor with over 500 hours of broadcast TV under her belt into the Directors chair on Season 16 of Waterloo Road.

This conversation was recorded LIVE as a part of the Series 16 Waterloo Road launch, and was chaired solo by Oz Arshad at the Lowry Hotel in Media City, Manchester. 

This conversation covers the following:

-What is Directing? 

-The directing pathway and how Angela herself made that transition.

-What did she learn from working with so many different directors across her career so far.

-What was the most surprising part about stepping into the directors chair? 

-How does she create an ‘actor friendly’ environment and does she have a philosophy on blocking actors?

-What is Angela’s take on tone and how to sustain it as a director?

-How do you balance family life alongside being a working actor & director?

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 34 and the FINAL EPISODE in our second season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad do a round up of their 2024 highlights, lowlights and their favourite episodes from the second season of the podcast, before throwing out some optimistic feels for the year ahead. 

It’s been a tough year, but we are here to bring you some positivity for 2025 with a little help from our friends and guests of past episodes. 

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is THE NATIONAL FILM and TELEVISION SCHOOL.

We’ve also partnered with SCRIPTATION to offer our listeners an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT on their software, which you can find on the link below… 

http://scriptation.com/thedirectorstake 

Nugget of the week

Marcus: The Telepathy Tapes by Ky Dickens

Oz: The Actors Guide to Success by Michaela Longden

Our Favourite Episodes of Season 2

Marcus: 

Episode 1 - How I Directed Baby Reindeer with Weronika Tofilska

Episode 17 - Demystifying VFX with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s Angus Bickerton

Episode 8 - Showrunning BBC’s Domino Day with Lauren Sequeira 

Episode 19 - Demystifying the road to BAFTAs & Oscars with Flair PR’s Catherine Lyn Scott

Episode 31 - How we created EMILIA PÉREZ with Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain

Oz:

Episode 1 - How I Directed Baby Reindeer with Weronika Tofilska

Episode 15 & 16 - The Journey to Directing PRESUMED INNOCENT with Greg Yaitanes

Episode 9 - How I Directed HOUSE OF THE DRAGON with Clare Kilner

Episode 13 & 14 - The Journey to Directing SUPACELL with Sebastian Thiel

Episode 6 - Is Perfectionism Killing Your Creativity? With Dr. Thomas Curran

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 33 in the second season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined by Director Jim O’Hanlon, whose directorial work has been nominated for BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Emmy’s. Jim began his career working in continuing Drama on Coronation Street and has since gone on to direct Inside Number 9, 100 Streets with Idris Elba, Netflix’s The Punisher, Catastrophe with Sharon Horgan & Rob Delaney and also on Apple TV’s hit show Trying. 

Jim is a fountain of knowledge and in this episode we get right down into his process of what being a working director is to him. This chat includes:

-What is directing?

-How did you begin your career and enter the industry? 

-What is tone?

-How do you pick projects? 

-How does he work between mediums and genres?

-What is his directing playbook after getting hired? 

-What is your approach to blocking? 

-How do you communicate and work with actors of varying levels of experience? 

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is THE NATIONAL FILM and TELEVISION SCHOOL.

We’ve also partnered with SCRIPTATION to offer our listeners an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT on their software, which you can find on the link below… 

http://scriptation.com/thedirectorstake 

Nugget of the week

Jim: The Holdovers Directed by Alexander Payne - Directors UK Podcast

Marcus: Raging Bull Directed by Martin Scorsese

Oz: Oz was inspired by a recent conversation we had with students at Oxford University.

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Jim O’Hanlon: Twitter (X) & Instagram

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]