Episodes

  • This week Kyle sits down with Kevin Nicklaus, a Producer and a partner with the Los Angeles-based management and production company, Sandstone Artists. They talk about how management can support creative empowerment, pitching and the attention economy, as well as the value of collaboration.

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    Kevin Nicklaus is a partner with the Los Angeles-based management and production company, Sandstone Artists. Kevin oversees the production division of the company, with projects set up with A-list directors, studio pods and a greenlit animated project. He currently serves as the consulting producer for RIDI, the billion-dollar company behind the Manta comics app and Tapas, a division of Korean media giant, Kakao, as well as other IP-based projects.

    Prior to his work as a producer, he served as SVP for The Wolper Org., and contributed to BATES MOTEL and the Emmy-nominated ROOTS reboot, among others. He attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and entered the industry through the Television Academy internship program.

    Sandstone Artists is a dynamic and innovative management + production company dedicated to empowering creators in the film and television industry.

  • Theo Brown is an LA-based director with a deep love for intimate character stories within the science fiction genre. His latest feature film, An Electric Sleep is a ten-time Festival award winner, including LA Sci-Fi, Best Feature at the Culver City Film Festival, Best SciFi at the Silicon Valley Film Fest, and Best Soundtrack at LA Sci-Fi Film Fest. He also directed the Smoky Mountain Rescue web series, which won the Silver Telly for Best Web Series, as well as the Grand Jury Prize at the San Diego Int. Kids Film Festival.

    From Star Trek marathons to Spider-Man comics, Theo’s love of sci-fi inspires him to keep telling stories that audiences across the globe have resonated with.

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  • We're back! Producer Skye Wathen (FALLOUT, WESTWORLD) sits down with Kyle to discuss her road to producing some of the top television shows of the last decade, as well as her experience with indie film. They touch on several aspects, including becoming a production assistant, how one line in a script can cost millions of dollars, and why anger has no place in the process.

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  • Team work makes the dream work. This is not just a catchy piece of positive thinking, though it certainly is that. As anyone who has worked in a creative field can tell you, it’s not just what you bring to the table that matters, it’s how that fits with the work of those around you. On today’s show, we’ll hear from creatives who have been in the trenches of the process, and how trust in your peers can make the work so much more rewarding.

    Featuring: Gabe Braxton, Zack Morrison, Jennifer Cooney, Jason Perlman, Shana Darabie, Michael Schwartz

    Make Your Sh*t is now part of the PodFrontier Podcast Network! Check out patreon.com/podfrontier for more

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  • Anxiety can be a formidable obstacle in doing the creative work. Whether you suffer from writer's block, imposter syndrome, or any other self-sabotaging habits, each of us may suffer in our own personal way for our art. But, is it possible to turn an obstacle into the path itself? Here are a few words of wisdom about Staying Calm and Carrying On.

    Featuring:

    Sonja O'Hara, Nathan Hale Williams, JB Tadena, Jennifer Cooney, Desean Terry, Jessica Hobbs

    Make Your Sh*t is now part of the PodFrontier Podcast Network! Check out patreon.com/podfrontier for more

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  • This week Kyle talks with author, producer, and fellow podcaster Jessica Hobbs, whose new book of short stories entitled THE WITCH: AND OTHER TALES OF THE AMERICAN GOTHIC is currently being released as a fully-cast and narrated audio drama. They discuss Jessica’s experience transitioning from filmmaking into book and podcast writing, the secret weapon of podcast production, how creativity works as a response to the world around you, and why horror is such a great vehicle for saying exactly what you want.

    THE WITCH: AND OTHER TALES OF THE AMERICAN GOTHIC: Spotify

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    Jessica Hobbs is a writer with a BA in Film Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a background in theater, opera, Vaudeville, television production, and film festivals, and a passion for all things strange and unusual. If she’s not writing, she’s likely on a movie set, traveling around the world, practicing witchcraft, or blasting rock and roll records in her living room. She lives in the magical Laurel Canyon neighborhood in Los Angeles with her composer husband, Robinton, and their cat, Freyja.

    Jessica’s book and podcast The Witch: And Other Tales of the American Gothic is a collection of strange occurrences in 19th century America, written in the literary tradition of gothic horror. These seven stories provide a reflection of the country’s growing pains during a time of transition and an exploration of the secrets that lurk in the shadows of the world we think we know.

  • On this week’s show, Kyle speaks with Michael Musante and Leo Matchett from famed independent production company American Zoetrope about their non-profit organization Decentralized Pictures. They discuss their alternative approach to film financing, what the cinematic landscape looks like outside of the studio system, and how today’s independent scene compares to the risk-taking auteurs of the 70s and 90s.

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    DECENTRALIZED PICTURES - Link

    MICHAEL MUSANTE is vice president of film production and acquisitions at American Zoetrope, a co-founder of The Decentralized Pictures Foundation, Inc, as well as the Secretary of its Board of Directors. He is an attorney, admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina, and received his BA from Duke University and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 2001. He practiced law for 10 years before becoming a full-time creative film producer. He collaborated closely with such accomplished filmmakers as Ted Kotcheff, Martha Coolidge, Fred Roos and Richard Chew before joining the team at American Zoetrope. As executive in charge of production at American Zoetrope, he is overseeing development and production of several feature films, including Fairyland starring Emilia Jones and Scoot McNairy, as well as the Broadway Production of The Outsiders Musical. Most recently he is an Executive Producer of Gia Coppola’s Mainstream starring Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke, Nat Wolfe and Jason Schwartzman.

    LEO MATCHETT is a Technical Emmy Award winner who grew up in Toronto and has lived in Los Angeles for 12 years working in film production. He brings a balance of knowledge in film, technology, and crypto assets. Leo has been involved in smartphone application development since 2008, developing Artemis Director’s Viewfinder (2018 Engineering Emmy Award Winner), and Techscout Touch for Android and IOS. As an early adopter of Bitcoin, Leo began conceiving ways to bring blockchain technology, its auditability, and efficiencies to the filmmaking lifecycle. His primary goal is talent discovery and helping those creative thinkers concentrate on what’s important - the creative. Twitter

  • On this week’s episode, Kyle talks with Joseph Mwamba, Writers Assistant on The Afterparty, currently streaming on AppleTV+, and the co-chair of the WGA Virtual Mix, a pre-Writer’s Guild-focused social empowerment organization for writers. We discuss a lot of topics of interest to both up-and-coming writers and those spending every day on the picket line, from the ongoing strike and how pre-WGA writers can (and should) get involved, to fostering a community that can lift you up in times of doubt, how the quickest way to be a successful producer is to become good at peopling, thoughts on overcoming the gap between your level of taste and your level of skill, and…what love’s got to do with it.

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    TINSELTOWN GHOST STORIES SEED & SPARKhttps://seedandspark.com/fund/tinseltown-ghost-stories#story

    Joseph Mwamba is a first-generation African-American Y.A. writer from Indiana. He's been named a Screenwriter to Watch in 2023, and as a Writers' Assistant wrote an episode for Season 2 of Netflix’s upcoming action anime TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL. He was the Writers’ PA for Season 4 of Netflix's psychological thriller YOU and Season 2 of Apple TV's mystery-comedy THE AFTERPARTY; before that he spent time as a double-desk assistant at UTA. Joe co-runs WGA Virtual Mix, a PreWGA group that holds Q&A panels with WGA writers, the monthly Miracle Mile Mixer, and the #PreWGA Day pickets. In combination with their partnership with Green Envelope Grocery Aid in June, WGA Virtual Mix helped provide over $15,000 in grocery funds to PreWGA writers, support staffers, and lower-level WGA writers.

  • On this week’s episode, host Kyle F. Andrews talks with writer/director Zack Morrison about his independently produced TV pilot CANUSA STREET – yes, an indie TV pilot. We hit a lot of topics, from the highs and lows of writing comedy, where trust fits into the process, the differences between New York and LA when it comes to making shit, and the best jokes in the pilot happening at...lunch?

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    TINSELTOWN GHOST STORIES SEED & SPARKhttps://seedandspark.com/fund/tinseltown-ghost-stories#story

    Zack Morrison is a comedy writer and filmmaker from New Jersey who currently lives in Los Angeles. He is the Writer and Director of the Pilot Canusa Street, which will make its World Premiere at the TCL Chinese Theater right here in Hollywood this Saturday July 1st as part of the Dances with Films film festival. He also wrote and directed Everything's Fine: A Panic Attack in D Major, which was a 2019 Television Academy student Emmy winner. Zack is the host and director of the travel series, Space Tourists, for Space Channel, and the host, producer, and co-creator of the YouTube variety series, We Have A Show. He’s worked as a writer’s assistant at the Toinght Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and script coordinator on The Kids Tonight Show on Peacock.

  • On today’s show I talk with writer/director Jennifer Cooney, whose independently produced film WILD FIRE recently made its world premiere at the Red Dirt film festival, and whose next feature Woman of God is currently in development. We’ll discuss her rather poetic approach to the industry, what working with legendary actor Ed Asner taught her about making your limitations work for you, where community fits into an artists’ vision, and how clipping the mother leaf can help you get where you’re going.

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    Jennifer Cooney is an east coast writer + director + producer, and the CEO of her Production Company, HalfJack Generation. As a creative, she is deeply passionate about character-driven stories of inner demons and the courage it takes to transcend them. Her fascination & inspiration are driven by divinity & sexuality, love & truth, freedom & humanity, and how all those worlds intertwine. Her directorial debut, Wild Fire, premiered in 2023 at Red Dirt Film Festival, claiming nine Jury Award Nominations including Best Director and Best Feature Film, and winning two. She lives between the countryside of Pennsylvania and the shoreline of Florida with her artist wife and their two furry sons. She is currently in development on her next feature, Woman of God.

  • Writer/Director Michael Schwartz talks to Kyle about his many projects, including his award-winning short Snatched starring Tatiana Maslany, now on Hulu. We’ll dive deep into his thoughts on the industry’s attention span, the joys of mentorship, the importance of rest in the creative process, and making your sh*t without waiting for permission – yes, even if that means it’s on a smartphone (looking at you, Film Twitter).

    THAT'S A GAY ASS LIVE SHOW Tickets, June 29th in Brooklyn NY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thats-a-gay-ass-live-show-tickets-640670842737

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  • My guest today is Nathan Hale Williams, director and producer of the Emmy-nominated film ALL BOYS AREN'T BLUE and writer/director of the upcoming feature LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY. We discuss his approach to overcoming barriers in the creative or production process, his “no assholes” policy, and how and why you should try to build a positive relationship with the word “no.”

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  • Welcome to Season 2 of Make Your Sh*t. My guest today is Shana Darabie, writer, director, and producer of the upcoming thriller CANARY TRAP, currently crowdfunding on Seed & Spark.

    "Canary delivers packages for secret organization HQ. After accepting her new mission, Canary is connected with a dispatcher who pushes her boundaries. Forced to go against HQ's directives, Canary finds herself questioning everything and everyone around her."

    Seed & Spark Campaign Page: https://seedandspark.com/fund/canarytrap

    Please donate today!

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  • Today’s guest is Gabe Braxton, writer, director, and producer of the upcoming feature film, A GETTYSBURG HAUNTING.

    "A medium who guest appears on his friend's failing podcast to help bring it to life, but when he loses his power to talk to the dead, they're forced to confront their horrific history as tensions rise between them."

    Seed & Spark Campaign Page: https://seedandspark.com/fund/aghaunting

    Donate today!

  • Writer/Producer SANDRA LEVITON (Under the Stairs Entertainment, STUDENT BODY) joins Kyle to discuss the highs and lows of independent filmmaking, including what writers should do to make sure they keep their sanity while attempting impossibilities.

  • Actor JB TADENA (KUNG FU, NCIS) stops by *live in studio* (my house) to discuss his career on-the-rise, building community, an actor's relationship with the script, and the subtle art of not giving a f*ck.

    TW: Without referring to specific instances, I spend a few minutes at the top talking about artists working through tragedy.

  • Writer/Director JESSICA ELLIS (WHAT LIES WEST) chats with Kyle about making an indie film from the ground up, being a “genre-agnostic” writer, and why Twitter may actually be a benefit for your career (maybe).

  • Emmy-nominated Writer, Director, and Showrunner JASON PERLMAN (ZAC & MIA, SLEEP TIGHT) drops by the podcast to drop some wisdom about his creative process from blank page to series wrap, how he turned a discarded script in a Xerox machine into an Emmy-winning series, and how to make any pitch a success, even if the answer is no. This interview should not be missed!

    HOST: Kyle F. Andrews

    CONSULTING PRODUCER: Emily Castro

    Follow us on this app, on Instagram and Twitter @kylefandrews and @MYSPodcast, and become a Patreon at patreon.com/makeyourstuff, where you'll receive exclusive episodes and bonus material when you sign up.

  • Actor, director, and educator DESEAN K. TERRY (The Morning Show, founder of The Last Acting Studio) has an in-depth conversation with host Kyle F. Andrews about being a working artist and storyteller who can make space for the work while still acknowledging the business of art. Topics include the differences between New York vs. Los Angeles, how doing less is actually doing more, why life is about the little surprises, and what it's really like being at a fancy award show.

    HOST: Kyle F. Andrews

    CONSULTING PRODUCER: Emily Castro

    Follow us on this app, on Instagram and Twitter @kylefandrews and @MYSPodcast, and become a Patreon at patreon.com/makeyourstuff, where you'll receive exclusive episodes and bonus material when you sign up.

  • Emmy Nominated Writer/Director SONJA O'HARA (Doomsday, Ovum, Mid-Century) chats with host Kyle F. Andrews about a wide variety of topics, including the differences between the American and Canadian markets, managing your mental health while pushing your creativity, and celebrating the small victories.