We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

Subscribe: https://themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

Hello, Hello!

In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness dive deep into the remarkable career of Jeffrey Pittle, a senior creative director, animator, and self-described "agent of transformation" who has spent over two decades working with industry giants like Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., and Nickelodeon. Drawing from the original MAKE IT interview, they unpack the audacious, humble, and often painful journey of a creative professional who built a unicorn skill set by refusing to stay in any single lane. From knocking on a comic legend's front door as a teenager to producing an Oscar-nominated Holocaust animated short, Jeff's story is a masterclass in surviving — and thriving — in the unpredictable business of creativity.

We also talk about:

• How Jeffrey's childhood obsession with '70s Disney films, Jim Henson's Muppets, and the original Star Wars at a drive-in theater planted the seeds of his creative identity and gave him the cognitive leap to realize that making art was an actual, payable profession
• The critical balance between audacity and humility in a creative career — why having the ego to knock on a legend's door means nothing without the willingness to sit in a freezing car all night just to hold a parking spot for a film crane
• The dangers of tying your creative work to a proprietary tech platform, illustrated by the heartbreaking story of a technically stunning Chaka Khan music video that was locked away forever when the startup behind it went bankrupt
• Jeffrey's sharp critique of modern art schools, which excel at teaching technical craft but consistently fail to equip young creatives with the business skills — invoicing, taxes, pricing their time — needed to survive as professionals
• The philosophical paradox that closes the episode: if a masterpiece is created but legally sealed away from the public forever, does it still have value — or does the true worth of creativity lie entirely in how the process of making it transforms the artist?

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:

Jeffrey Pittle

Will Eisner

Bill Murray

Caroll Spinney 

Chaka Khan

Jim Krupa (NY puppet company)

Daniel Alcheh 

Leonardo da Vinci 

Isaac Newton

Steven Spielberg

Films & Shows

Pete's Dragon 

Winnie the Pooh

Star Wars (1977)

Scrooged (1988)

Eureeka's Castle 

Deal or No Deal

Wipeout

The Tattooed Torah

Companies & Organizations

Nickelodeon

Universal Pictures

Nick Jr.

School of Visual Arts

QB (vertical video startup)

Quibi

Fish Eggs (Venice, CA)

USC Shoah Foundation

11 Dollar Bill 

Platforms & Tools

Adobe After Effects

Fitbit

Google Images

MTV

Places

South Florida

Boca Raton, Florida

New York City

Queens, New York

Venice, California

Los Angeles, California

Moscow, Russia

Concepts & Awards

Eisner Awards

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film 

Motion capture

Chroma key (green screen)

Steampunk

Jack of all trades, master of none

Star Trek vs. Star Wars

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This episode is brought to you by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don’t stop at good enough—it's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks WITH you, not for you. Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude Pro when you use our link – www.claude.ai/makeit

This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing. Use the Discount code: NASHFILM20 for 20% off EVERYTHING at themakeitpodcast.com

Hello, Hello! 

In this episode, Chris & Papa Bear sit down with filmmaker Oscar Boyson to discuss his directorial debut, Our Hero, Balthazar, a provocative and critically talked-about indie film that has been called the most controversial movie of the year. Oscar shares how his unconventional path — from competitive freestyle skier in Maine to Craigslist hire at the Neistat Brothers' studio — shaped him into the filmmaker he is today. The conversation spans filmmaking craft, the dangers of AI dependency, the power of perseverance over ideas, and what it truly means to get an independent film in front of audiences.

We also talk about:

• The thematic parallels between Our Hero, Balthazar, and the 1995 indie classic Kids, including how both films straddle the line between being cautionary tales for parents and romanticized adventures for younger viewers
• The growing role of AI tools like ChatGPT in everyday decision-making, and whether over-reliance on AI is creating a generation that can no longer think or fail independently — including the concept of "Gellman Amnesia" as a lens for understanding AI's credibility problem
• The social media "validation machine" phenomenon, how algorithms reinforce existing beliefs and behaviors, and what that means for youth culture, mental health, and even real-world violence
• The importance of perseverance over ideas in the creative process, drawing on Casey Neistat's famous motto — "Ideas are common, perseverance is rare" — and how Oscar applied that philosophy to his own career and filmmaking journey
• The practical and ethical considerations of using firearms and blank-firing weapons on an indie film set in the post-Rust era, including the critical role of a professional armorer and the creative reasoning behind using blanks for actor authenticity

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People

Oscar Boyson

Casey Neistat

Van Neistat

Ricky Camilleri

Nate DeYoung

Josh & Benny Safdie

Greta Gerwig

Noah Baumbach

Tom Sachs

Frank Gehry

Asa Butterfield

Jaeden Martell

Stephen Phelps

Christopher Messina

Lena Dunham

Sam Lisenco

Harmony Korine

Rosario Dawson

Chloë Sevigny

Roger Ebert

Gene Siskel

Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Micheaux

Oscar Isaac

Oscar Levant

Dick Gregory

MrBeast

Jordan Gallant (composer)

Spike Lee

Spike Jonze

David Fincher

Gaspar Noé

Andrew Tate

Big Mike (Oscar’s father)

Elise (Oscar’s sister)

Films

Our Hero, Balthazar

Kids (1995)

Frances Ha

Good Time

Heaven Knows What

Adolescence

The Odyssey

Boogie Nights

Trainspotting

Taxi Driver

Straw Dogs (1971)

Jour de fête

The Last Temptation of Christ

Irréversible

Ex Machina

A Most Violent Year

Lady Be Good (1941)

State Fair (1945)

TV Shows

The Neistat Brothers

Platforms, Websites & Tools

ChatGPT / OpenAI

Craigslist

Vimeo

The Wayback Machine

Digital Cinema Package (DCP)

Art House Convergence

Places

Williams Center

Nashville, Tennessee

Maryland

Lower Antioch / Woodbine — Nashville neighborhoods

Maine

New York City

North Texas

Hawaii

Tribeca Festival

Nashville Film Festival

Belcourt Theatre

Regal Opry Mills

Products & Brands

Tesla Supercharger

Tesla app

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Chick-fil-A

Concepts & References

Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect

Parasocial relationships

The Covenant School shooting

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Stoneman Douglas / Parkland

Four-walling

“Ideas are common, perseverance is rare” — Casey Neistat motto

“Movies are empathy machines” — Roger Ebert

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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Hello, Hello!

In this episode, Kevin Goetz, Hollywood's leading audience research expert and founder of Screen Engine, shares one of his most humbling professional mistakes — advising Mattel's entertainment team to walk away from the Barbie movie project before it became a global cultural phenomenon. Kevin reflects on how he misread early research data that showed limited audience interest in a Barbie film, and how a visionary filmmaker, a bold creative pivot, and a brilliant marketing strategy transformed a seemingly doomed IP into one of the highest-grossing films in history. This conversation is a masterclass in intellectual humility, the limits of data, and the power of creative conviction.

We also talk about:

• How Kevin's proprietary "capability testing technique" works — measuring awareness, interest, intensity, and format preference — and why even well-executed research has its limits when creative transformation hasn't yet occurred
• The behind-the-scenes story of how Greta Gerwig pitched her vision for Barbie in a New York brownstone, describing the film as existing "somewhere between a stiletto and a Birkenstock," and how that single creative framing changed everything
• Why two previous Barbie film attempts — one with Anne Hathaway and one with Amy Schumer — never made it to production, and what pattern Kevin saw that made him skeptical a third attempt would succeed
• How Barbie's marketing team turned the color pink into a full visual language and cultural movement, driving audiences to theaters dressed in Pepto-Bismol pink and making the film a genuine zeitgeist moment
• How this pivotal mistake reshaped Kevin's approach to advising clients, leading him to offer a new kind of hope to filmmakers and studios working with IP or projects that appear to have limited audience potential on paper

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People

Kevin Goetz

Robbie Brenner 

Margot Robbie

Tom Ackerley 

Greta Gerwig

Noah Baumbach

Ryan Gosling

America Ferrera

Issa Rae

Anne Hathaway

Amy Schumer

Companies & Organizations

Screen Engine/ASI

Mattel

Simon & Schuster 

Films & Franchises

Barbie (2023)

Dallas Buyers Club

Fast & Furious franchise

List of Barbie films 

Books

Audienceology

How to Score in Hollywood

Podcasts

Don't Kill the Messenger

Mattel IP Referenced

Barbie 

Hot Wheels

Websites & Social Media

KevinGoetz360.com

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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Hello, Hello!

In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness dive deep into the extraordinary life and career of Nathaniel Nuon, a Cambodian refugee-turned Emmy-winning filmmaker who transformed personal and financial limitations into groundbreaking creative work. They explore how a childhood spent watching a broken, silent television set trained Nathaniel's brain to become a master storyteller, and how that same constraint-driven mindset led him to make an Emmy-winning short film about one of history's most overlooked genocides. From designing a feature film specifically for visually impaired audiences to using a cheap VR gaming puck to replicate Hollywood-grade camera tracking, Nathaniel's story is a masterclass in turning obstacles into innovation.

We also talk about:

• How Nathaniel's Cambodian refugee background and his family's adoption of American names shaped his identity and creative drive
• The psychological science behind why cognitive constraints — like missing audio — can actually hardwire the brain to become a more powerful problem-solving storyteller
• The concept of inclusive design in filmmaking and how designing for marginalized audiences (such as the visually impaired) can unintentionally produce a richer, more atmospheric experience for all audiences
• The culture and output of Full Sail University as a 24/7 creative incubator, and how its high-pressure environment produced 140 graduates who worked on Oscar-nominated films in a single year
• A forward-looking philosophical question about the future of filmmaking: as AI, LED walls, and game engines make visual perfection cheap and ubiquitous, will audiences eventually crave the imperfection of practical, physical effects just to feel something authentically human?

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:

People

Nathaniel Nuon

Jordan Ladd 

Valerie Jane Parker 

Films & Projects

Residue 

The Voices 

Shows Referenced

Mister Ed

John Wick

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Organizations & Companies

Nuon Films

3rd Realm Creations

Full Sail University

Technology & Products

HTC Vive Tracker

LED walls / virtual production

RED

ARRI Alexa

DSLR cameras

Viagra (sildenafil)

Uber

Historical Events & Concepts

*Operation Menu

Khmer Rouge

Audio description

Parallax

*This was actually a US Air Force operation, not a CIA operation — Strategic Air Command B-52 strikes authorized by Nixon and Kissinger (1969–70), kept secret from Congress. The CIA did run separate covert programs in Cambodia, including training Cambodian irregulars, which is the premise Residue actually dramatizes.

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

Subscribe: https://themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

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This episode is brought to you by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don’t stop at good enough—it's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks WITH you, not for you. Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude Pro when you use our link – www.claude.ai/makeit

This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing. Use the Discount code: NASHFILM20 for 20% off EVERYTHING at themakeitpodcast.com

Hello, Hello! 

In this episode, we sit down with three legendary voice actors from the animated series X-Men '97 — Lenore Zann (Rogue), JP Karliak (Morph), and Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler) — to discuss Season 2 of the hit Disney+ show, the craft of voice acting, and the personal journeys that have shaped each of their careers. The trio shares candid reflections on preserving character continuity across decades, the challenges facing working voice actors in an AI-driven industry, and how their art intersects with social justice, environmental advocacy, and political engagement. From cheat day meals to what it truly means to "MAKE IT," this conversation is as heartfelt as it is illuminating.

We also talk about:

• The origins of Rogue's iconic catchphrase "sugar" and how it became part of Lenore Zann's everyday speech, blurring the line between character and performer
• The nostalgia for the 1990s circulating on social media, and why JP Karliak believes humans were never biologically designed to process the volume of information we consume today via the internet
• The very real threat of AI voice cloning in the animation industry, including Adrian Hough's discovery of unauthorized voice copies of his characters Nightcrawler and Haytham Kenway, and what that means for workhorse voice actors
• The role the COVID-19 pandemic played in reviving interest in X-Men: The Animated Series on Disney+, and how that surge in viewership likely led directly to the creation of X-Men '97
• Each guest's deep personal commitment to causes beyond entertainment, including environmental advocacy for old-growth forests (Adrian), LGBTQIA+ voice actor support and nonpartisan voter engagement (JP), and social/political justice work rooted in Lenore's 12-year career as a Canadian politician

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

X-Men '97 

X-Men: The Animated Series 

Disney+

Revival 

Peacock

Audible / Amazon 

Star Wars: Visions 

My Life with the Walter Boys 

Marvel Mash-Up 

Bob Trevino Likes It

Our Hero Balthazar

Holy Days

Breaker Morant 

Mephisto 

The Ruling Class

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith 

Picnic at Hanging Rock

My Brilliant Career

Storm Hawks 

The Boss Baby

CoComelon

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Bluey

The Joy Luck Club

The Aussie Six

People

Lenore Zann

JP Karliak

Adrian Hough

Tracie Laymon 

Ted Welch

Oscar Boyson 

Nat Boltt 

Miriam Margolyes 

Jacki Weaver 

Judy Davis

Sam Neill 

Edward Woodward

Jack Thompson

Bryan Brown

Peter O'Toole

Anthony Hopkins / Hannibal Lecter

Ian McKellen

Patrick Stewart

Tom Kenny / SpongeBob

Chris Rock

Ella Fitzgerald

Marilyn Monroe

Neil Gaiman / The Graveyard Book

David Letterman / Jennifer Aniston

Characters

X-Force

X-Factor

Polaris

Jubilee / Sunspot

Graydon Creed

Carol Danvers / Ms. Marvel

Mystique / Destiny

Bishop

Gambit / Remy LeBeau

Poison Ivy

Haytham Kenway

Organizations, Tools & Books

Queer Box

Nerds Vote

Nashville Film Festival

Postly

Canva

Riverside

A Rogue's Tale 

Lilith Fair

MTV Video Music Awards

Cocoanut Grove 

Places

Vancouver Island

Calgary

London, UK

Montreal

Paris

New York / Off-Broadway

Wisconsin

Hollywood

Social Media

Adrian Hough

JP Karliak

@queerboxacademy

nerdsvote.com / @nerdsvote

@LenoreZann (Instagram) / @ZannLenore (X)

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing. Use the Discount code: NASHFILM20 for 20% off EVERYTHING at themakeitpodcast.com

Hello, Hello! 

In this episode, Chris, Nick, and Producer Papa Bear sit down with Jesse Weglein — 15 years at Pixar, now founder of Illuminai Studios — joining live from the foot of Mount Fuji. Jesse worked on Up, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4 before a mass layoff ended that run and pushed him into building his own studio. He's using AI as a tool, not a replacement, to make original animated films for audiences the industry keeps overlooking — including his short film Roar, which Whoopi Goldberg picked for the Tribeca Film Festival.

We also talk about:

• The creative culture at Pixar and what makes it impossible to replicate — including how directors would skip watching their own films in theaters to study the audience's reactions instead
• The global divide on AI in animation, from China's breakneck adoption of the technology to Japan's philosophical hesitation around whether AI can carry the "soul" of an artist's vision
• The economic fragility of the animation business model, including the trend of outsourcing animation overseas and how AI might offer a path to reclaiming domestic production jobs
• The importance of traditional art training as the essential foundation before any aspiring animator or filmmaker touches AI tools — and why skipping that foundation produces hollow, soulless content
• The passionate debate around AI's role in filmmaking, including the social policing happening on different platforms, copyright and trademark risks when using AI-generated imagery, and the distinction between using AI to accelerate creativity versus allowing it to replace it entirely

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People

Jesse Weglein 

John Lasseter

Steve Jobs

Ed Catmull

Pete Docter

Frank Oz

Andrew Stanton

Whoopi Goldberg

Phil Tippett

Tim McLaughlin 

John McCarthy

Akira Kurosawa

Hayao Miyazaki

Fritz Lang

Toshiro Mifune

Lionel Messi

Ray Kurzweil

Isaac Asimov

Dario Amodei 

Sam Altman 

Brian Adler

Barbara Lowenstein 

Films & Shows

Up

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 4

Toy Story 5

The Incredibles

ROAR 

Shine (Illuminai Studios)

The Color Purple 

Metropolis (1927)

Seven Samurai 

High and Low 

The Wind Rises 

Spirited Away 

Rashomon 

Red Beard 

Starship Troopers 

Jumpin' Jack Flash 

Sister Act 

A.I. Artificial Intelligence 

Disclosure Day 

The Boy and the Heron 

The Odyssey 

Companies & Organizations

Pixar Animation Studios

ILLUMINAI Studios

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Google DeepMind

Tribeca Film Festival

Texas A&M Visualization

Anthropic

OpenAI / ChatGPT

Apple

Technicolor

Nashville Film Festival

WGA

Software & Technology

Maya

Presto (Pixar's proprietary tool)

Photoshop

Suno

Ray tracing / render farm

Websites & Social Media

illuminaistudios.com

nashvillefilmfestival.org

Books & Products

Mastering Film Marketing (ebook)

Make It Academy

Up Lego Set

Luxo Jr.

Places

Emeryville, California 

Lake Kawaguchi / Mount Fuji

Tokyo, Japan

San Francisco, California

Lucas Building/Steve Jobs Building

Dartmouth College / Dartmouth workshop, 1956

Other References

The Dan Patrick Show

The View

2026 FIFA World Cup

NBA Playoffs

WHALE 52 — Suite For Man, Boy, And Whale 

Dear Upstairs Neighbors 

Joseph McCarthy / McCarthyism

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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Hello, Hello!

In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness take a deep dive into the life, craft, and career philosophy of actress Christine Woods — known for her roles in HBO's Hello Ladies, ABC's Flash Forward, and The Walking Dead — exploring how a profoundly shy girl from Lake Forest, California built a sustainable, authentic acting career by rejecting Hollywood's arbitrary rules. Drawing from a wide-ranging interview hosted by Chris, he unpacks how Christine transformed her fear of failure into a powerful, service-driven approach to storytelling that flips the traditional power dynamic of the audition room on its head. From her early tap dancing days and her grandfather Sterling's love of classic movie musicals to her unconventional college path, her manager's game-changing advice, and her expanding work as a producer and director, this episode offers a masterclass in building a creative career on your own terms.

We also talk about:

• How Christine's grandfather Sterling — a hulking, ex-military man who secretly loved classic movie musicals — introduced her to films like Meet Me in St. Louis and Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, fundamentally shaping her belief that performance is communal storytelling, not ego-driven spectacle
• Why Christine chose to attend the University of Arizona on a singing and vocal jazz scholarship rather than audition for prestigious conservatories like Juilliard or Carnegie Mellon, and how she made a calculated pivot to a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater to fill a critical gap in her training
• How severe creative constraints on low-budget indie sets — such as having only one hour left at a location to capture a crucial, emotionally exhausting scene — can actually serve as a psychological gift by forcing actors entirely into the present moment and bypassing the internal critic
• The fascinating physiological mechanics behind Christine's on-set habit of performing classical vocal warm-ups right before the director calls action — including how stretching the jaw and engaging the vocal cords stimulates the vagus nerve to calm the parasympathetic nervous system
• Christine's expanding work behind the camera, including producing and directing experimental comedy shorts with friends, such as one brilliantly titled Finding the Asshole, as a way to tell stories on her own terms without waiting for permission from industry gatekeepers

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:

People

Christine Woods (actress)

Sterling Woods (Christine's grandfather)

Eric Emery (Christine's first LA manager)

Joe Sill 

Gene Kelly

Judy Garland

Billy Corgan 

Frank Ocean

Shows, Films & Projects

Hello Ladies 

FlashForward 

The Walking Dead

Meet Me in St. Louis

Stray 

Finding the Asshole — experimental comedy short

Schools & Programs

University of Arizona

Juilliard

Carnegie Mellon

Social Media

@TrickyBear (Christine Woods' Instagram)

Bands / Artists

The Smashing Pumpkins

Frank Ocean

Places

Lake Forest, California

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

Subscribe: https://themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

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This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing

Hello, Hello! 

In this episode, Chris and Nick reunite for an Indie Talk episode packed with film industry insights, starting with Chris's powerful experience watching the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro and a heartfelt shoutout to Carlton Adkins and the Enlightenment Film Academy's standing-room-only student film screening in Nashville. We dive deep into the evolving box office landscape, dissecting why certain legacy IP films are underperforming while YouTube-lore-driven films like Backrooms are shattering A24 records, and what that means for the future of indie filmmaking. We close with a rich discussion on George Lucas's comments about AI and audience testing, the Warner Bros./Paramount merger controversy, and a passionate defense of the theatrical experience as a community-building institution.

We also talk about:

• The cultural and historical significance of the deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers in the 1960s, and how their simultaneous loss effectively ended a generation of Black empowerment leadership
• The nostalgia and community value of Blockbuster Video, including employee perks, the tactile VHS experience, and how video rental stores created a unique social ecosystem that streaming has failed to replicate
• The philosophical tension between George Lucas's belief in pure artistic storytelling and Kevin Goetz's data-informed audience testing approach, and what each means for the future of cinema
• The proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger, the protests and petitions against it, what it could mean for creative competition and content diversity, and parallels to Disney's acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars
• The complicated cultural conversation around celebrities and public figures in the internet age, and how total transparency disabuses audiences of the idea that their heroes are perfect or infallible

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People

James Baldwin

Malcolm X

Martin Luther King Jr.

Medgar Evers

Jesse Jackson

Al Sharpton

John Lewis

Dick Gregory

T.D. Jakes

Ray Charles

Stevie Wonder

Tom Holland

Zendaya

Tobey Maguire

Tom Hardy

Tom Brady

Carlton Adkins 

Kane Parsons

Markiplier

Kevin Goetz 

George Lucas

Steve Jobs

R. Kelly

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jason Momoa

Bruce Willis

Viggo Mortensen

Ed Harris

William Hurt

John Hurt

David Cronenberg

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Samuel L. Jackson

Bill Maher

Martin Scorsese

Kiefer Sutherland

Kevin Bacon

Christopher Reeve

Josh Plasse

Tom McCullough (PB's childhood friend)

Nicholas Galitzine 

Sam Harris

Charlamagne tha God 

Immortal Technique

Chris Ferguson 

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Films & Documentaries

I Am Not Your Negro

Backrooms

Longlegs 

The Invite 

The Odyssey 

Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Fifth Element

12 Monkeys

Moana (live action)

Moana 2

Toy Story 5

Toy Story 3

Superman 

Supergirl 

The Mandalorian and Grogu

Barbie

Everything Everywhere All at Once

A History of Violence

Inception

Iron Lung

John Wick

Flatliners

Fatliners (NSFW)

Masters of the Universe 

Snakes on a Plane

Mad Men

Be Kind Rewind

Heavy Metal 

Another Version of You

Companies & Organizations

A24

Warner Bros.

Paramount / Skydance

Disney

Marvel

Pixar

Netflix

Oddfellows Pictures — THR profile

National Action Network

Enlightenment Film Academy

Nashville Film Festival

Letterboxd

Blockbuster Video

Music

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out 

Places

Belcourt Theatre 

Oakland, CA

South Korea

Washington, D.C.

Jamaica / Caribbean

Websites & Platforms

The MAKE IT Podcast

Letterboxd

NashvilleFilmFestival.org

Products & Miscellaneous

Callwood Family Distillery (Caribbean)

Mastering Film Marketing 

Make It Academy 

VHS / DVD / Blu-ray

IMAX

Dolby

Disney Movie Club

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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Hello, Hello!

In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness dive deep into the remarkable journey of Caroline Locorriere, founder and lead coach of the Nashville Acting Studio, exploring how she walked away from a thriving commercial acting career in Los Angeles to discover her true calling as an acting teacher and coach. They unpack her empathy-driven teaching philosophy, which stands in direct opposition to the industry's notorious "whiplash method" of emotional terrorism, and examine how her three core pillars of acting craft — staying human on camera, accessing emotional life, and rigorous script analysis — create self-sufficient, sustainable artists. Drawing parallels far beyond the world of acting, this conversation serves as a masterclass in career self-awareness, psychological safety in creative environments, and the relentless tenacity required to survive in any subjective, competitive industry.

We also talk about:

• Why getting a talent agent too early can permanently damage an actor's reputation with casting directors and how Caroline advises building craft first before seeking representation
• The fascinating story of student Matt Williams, whose romantic performances lacked emotional depth because he had never been in love — and how Caroline's unconventional homework assignment (to go fall in love) led him to eventually get married
• The brutal reality of casting subjectivity, illustrated through a heartbreaking story of a highly talented student who auditioned flawlessly for David Fincher's Mindhunter but lost the role to someone Caroline felt was objectively less impressive on screen
• The role of tenacity over pure talent in sustaining a creative career, exemplified by former student Alan Powell, who wrote, produced, and starred in a film that reached number four on Netflix
• The mystical and deeply personal story of Martha, an 80-year-old Episcopalian woman with the ability to see auras, whose unprompted words to Caroline at a crossroads moment gave her the validation she needed to trust her instincts and pursue teaching

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:

People

Caroline Locorriere 

Matt Williams

Alan Powell 

Missy (Caroline's mother)

Martha (Episcopalian aura reader)

Toni Morrison

Shelley Duvall

Bear Bryant

Nick Saban

Meryl Streep

David Fincher

Konstantin Stanislavski

Shows / Films

Mindhunter

The Shining

Institutions / Places

Nashville Acting Studio

Belmont University

Ohio State University

Platforms

Netflix

Concepts / Methods

The Whiplash Method 

Sunk Cost Fallacy

"The three pillars of acting craft" — Caroline's framework

"Camera appropriateness"

Active listening/listening labs

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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In this episode, Nick flies solo — without co-host Chris Barkley or Producer Papa Bear, who are both traveling in Italy — to discuss acclaimed independent filmmaker and producer Oscar Boyson and his feature directorial debut, Our Hero Balthazar, a darkly comedic psychological drama that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Nick shares his visceral, gut-punch reaction to watching the film, unpacking how its unflinching portrayal of online culture, performative activism, masculinity, and gun violence caught him completely off guard and forced him to confront uncomfortable realities facing young people in modern America. The episode weaves together Nick's personal reflections on the film, audience poll results about social media, Gen Z viewing habit data, filmmaker quotes from Oscar Boyson, and a closing definition of success borrowed from Matt Damon.

We also talk about:

• How Our Hero Balthazar uses dark comedy and social satire to hold a mirror up to the uncomfortable realities of young people navigating social media, identity, and belonging
• Nick's personal Instagram algorithm experiment — and what it revealed about how social media can trap users in a cycle of consuming the same content repeatedly, potentially shaping their identity
• Gen Z viewing habits data from Deloitte's Digital Media Trends Study (2025–2026), including how much more time Gen Z spends on social platforms versus traditional TV and movies
• Why going to the theater is increasingly becoming an event-driven, culturally shared experience — and what independent filmmakers must do to get young audiences off their couches and into seats
• Matt Damon's definition of success — "all we have as the people making it is the love of the doing it" — and how that philosophy connects directly to the spirit of the MAKE IT Podcast

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People

Oscar Boyson

Noah Baumbach

The Safdie Brothers

Ricky Camilleri 

Jaeden Martell 

Noah Centineo

Asa Butterfield 

Chris Bauer 

Matt Damon

Claire Huxtable

Films & TV

Our Hero Balthazar

Frances Ha

Uncut Gems

Street Fighter

Festivals & Events

Tribeca Film Festival

Platforms & Social Media

Letterboxd

Postly.ai

Canva

Riverside.fm

Research & Studies

Deloitte Digital Media Trends

Fandango Moviegoing Study 

Organizations

Water.org (Matt Damon's charity)

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

www.themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy