Todd chats with his dear friend and legendary, decorated songwriter, Diane Warren, about making a documentary about her life and career, why everyone "hated" her during the filming of Con Air, the last-minute hit song she wrote for Coyote Ugly, working with Kesha on her latest song "Dear Me," and why Diane truly hopes to win the Oscar this year for best song after 17 nominations without a win.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cinelytic CEO and cofounder Tobias Queisser and Todd discuss the ways that Cinelytic is using “Utility AI” to alleviate the pain points of studios, executives and financiers. From script synopses, to financial forecasting, to real time analysis for marketing and distribution teams, Todd and Tobias go deep into the overlap between science, finance, and creativity.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Award winning producer Janet Yang joins Todd to shares how she defied convention. From growing up as the daughter of immigrants in Queens, to introducing classic American films to China, working with Steven Spielberg on Empire of the Sun, forging a lifelong partnership with Oliver Stone, her fight to bring Joy Luck Club to the silver screen, becoming the first Asian American President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and her push to bring more representation and inclusions to the Academy.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

GET OVER HERE and check out Todd's chat with NetherRealm Studios Creative Director ED BOON! From playing arcade games as a kid in Chicago to programming pinball machines, Ed shares his journey in how he helped create and launch the iconic Mortal Kombat franchise. Ed discusses creating the original characters, the innovative game mechanics, which action movies influenced the creation of the game, and the rabid Mortal Kombat community! PLUS: Todd and Ed trade notes on their experience working together on the Mortal Kombat films!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Co-heads of indie financier Black Label Media, Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill: discuss their work on Sicario, Only the Brave, Die My Love and La La Land; Molly's start at Alcon Entertainment; why they value being genre agnostic; getting ideas from Martin Scorsese's book club; the best time of year to release certain films; and break down WTF it means to be theatrical!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From doing stand-up in Australia to appearing on The Daily Show in the U.S. to starring in global box office hits, Ronny Chieng has done it all! Today, Ronny joins Todd to discuss his transition from law to comedy, his first meeting with Trevor Noah, what bad producing looks like, the overlap between stand-up and film production, and what it takes to succeed in the world of comedy today!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have you ever been arrested on the first day of filming? Proximity Media cofounder and Oscar nominee Sev Ohanian almost was! In this episode, Sev joins Todd to discuss his long-time friendship and partnership with Ryan Coogler, the efforts it took to make Fruitvale Station, collaborating with Marvel Studios, and the journey to creating the blockbuster sensation Sinners. And don't miss the theatrical return of 16 time Oscar nominee, Sinners starting January 22!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Do you have what it takes to argue with Michael Eisner? From 20 years at Walt Disney to creating her own production company, Kristin Burr has a unique perspective on the studio executive experience as well as managing valuable IP and making movies for the all-important female audience INCLUDING Cruella, Christopher Robin, and Sweet Home Alabama.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Veteran producer / studio executive Michael Ireland shares stories and lessons learned from his time at Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Appian Way, and MTV. Michael shares how he got his start at USC, which big time movie got away from him, advocating to get Free Guy greenlit, and how the role of the studio executive has changed over time.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

87North co-founder and Bullet Train / Atomic Blonde producer Kelly McCormick chats with Todd about her "failed" start in documentaries, how a psychic predicted her Hollywood success, learning from legendary producer Scott Rudin, meeting her husband / filmmaker / partner David Leitch, and helping to bring wider recognition to the stunt community.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.