Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast

To celebrate the 350th episode of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast I'm launching the first-ever MAKE YOUR MOVIE BOOTCAMP. The Bootcamp is a LIVE two-day intensive designed to show you how to make, market and sell a feature film. I've been working on this for months and I finally get to release it to the world.I wanted to create a workshop that could jump-start people on their filmmaking career but with my flavor of course. Below is a fraction of what I'll be diving into at the Bootcamp.Ideas: Learn how to flesh out your ideas into a marketable film project.Screenwriting Process: We go over the basics of screenwriting and discuss alternative methods of writing like scriptments and improv.Finding Money: Alternate ways to raise money for your film.Crowdfunding: Discuss the dos and don'ts of what makes a successful campaign.Directing Your Film: I breakdown methods and techniques that will jump-start your directing journey.Post Production Workflows: Where many indie films die. This won't happen to you. I'll teach you the proper way to set up your workflow and get you and your film to the finish line.Marketing and Building an Audience: Once you have your film done you need to get it out into the world. I will go over proven techniques that will help you build and target an audience.Submitting to Film Festivals: Tricks and techniques on what to do and definitely what not to do when taking your film on the festival circuit. This one section that will save you thousands of dollars and years of your life.Self Distribution Models: I'll teach you how to run a successful self-distribution campaign by using multiple case studies on how it is done correctly.Avoid Predatory Film Distributors: It is shark-infested waters out there. We go over what to look out for when dealing with traditional and predatory film distributors.Revenue Streams: I do a deep dive into how to create multiple revenue streams from your indie film.Breaking Through Your Fear: I show you techniques to break through your own creative fears and finally make the feature film you have always wanted to.PLUS: Two Surprise film industry heavy hitters will come into Guest Speak and answer questions.Why Do You Need This Bootcamp?Jump Start Your Feature FilmIt takes a lot of time and energy to get a feature film off the ground, but it doesn't have too. I shot my first film in 8 days and completed the entire process, from idea to final product, within 3 months. The film went on to be sold internationally and was licensed by Hulu. I will teach you the techniques I used to make this happen.Marketing and Audience BuildingIn today's world if you do not understand how to get your indie film in front of the right customers you are dead in the water. I've built a large platform with millions of eyeballs. I will teach you my secret sauce for audience building.Avoid Distribution PitfallsThere are a lot of predatory film distributors in the industry today that are all too happy to take advantage of you. If you are not careful you could end up making a non-tax deductible donation to one of these sharks and loss your film for 15 years. I will show you how to avoid these snakes and how to find a good distributor to partner with.Actually, Make Money with Your FilmI will discuss the Filmtrepreneur® Method of filmmaking. Thinking more like an entrepreneurial filmmaker is imperative moving forward in the business. Creating multiple revenue and passive income streams from your film projects is the key to a sustainable career.The MAKE YOUR MOVIE BOOTCAMP will be taking place Oct 26 &27 in Burbank, CA at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Burbank. If you want to get 20% off the ticket price CLICK HERE.This will be EPIC. When you finish this Bootcamp you will be ready to make, market and sell your feature film. I go over the details in this episode so take a listen and I hope to meet you in person at the MAKE YOUR MOVIE BOOTCAMP.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Today's guest is screenwriter Brian Herskowitz. He wrote the book called Process to Process to Product: From Concept to Script: A Practical Guide for the Screenwriter.Like millions before him, Brian Herskowitz moved out to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.  He soon learned that there was a dearth of roles for shorter leading men and began searching for other outlets for his creative passions.  In 1980 he wrote his first screenplay, an action thriller about a young man who moves to Tokyo to train for the Olympics in Judo and gets caught up in an intrigue with the Yakuza.   Through that script, based on his true-life experience as an international judo competitor, he uncovered a knack and passion for writing.  As a writer, Brian has completed well over a dozen feature films.  His first produced feature was a low budget slasher titled DARKROOM.  He currently has several projects in active development including, THE ABDUCTION, THE EMPRESS OF ELSEWHERE (co-written with Theresa Nelson based on her best selling novel), TAKE A RIDE, and FAIRIES (co-written with Pam Dawber and Andy Tobey).His TV credits include a staff writing position on the NBC sit-com BLOSSOM, multiple episodes of the syndicated series HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS, and ACAPULCO HEAT, the HBO hit comedy DREAM ON, CBS’s RENEGADE, THE EXILE, MURDER, SHE WROTE, the FOX Network’s YOUNG HERCULES, and CBS’s critically acclaimed was series TOUR OF DUTY (associate producer). Brian co-wrote the FOX pilot MANTIC with Jason Alexander.   In addition, he worked as a punch-up writer on BOB PATTERSON, and LISTEN UP.Brian currently holds the title of lead faculty in screenwriting for the prestigious  BOSTON UNIVERSITY IN LOS ANGELES - WRITER IN HOLLYWOOD PROGRAM.  Brian has taught online for UCLA EXTENSTIONS and has had students from every corner of the earth. Enjoy my conversation with Brian Herskowitz.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Today on the show we have author Jennifer Dornbush who has written the book Forensic Speak: How to Write Realistic Crime Dramas. We sit down and discuss all thing forensics. We even discuss the im[pact of the OJ Simpson case on the world of forensics. Here's a bit about her amazing book.Crime stories have always intrigued viewers and storytellers. Today, crime shows rule the airwaves and there is truly a procedural drama out there for every personality — and every writer. Born out of the author’s real-life experiences growing up around death investigation, Forensic Speak unlocks the secrets of forensic science for writers and fans alike. With a filmography of 100 film and TV examples and 80 additional resources, the book provides writers direct access to hundreds of ways to make their crime writing more authentic.Enjoy my conversation with Jennifer Dornbush.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Today on the show we have returning champion Heather Hale.  Heather Hale’s new book Story Selling: How to Develop, Market, and Pitch Your Film & TV Projects helps you get your stories out of your head and onto the worldwide stage.From the inspiration and conception of all kinds of creative writing, through the development and refinement of all the elements, to navigating the legal, financial, physical production, distribution and marketing labyrinths of the overlapping businesses of mass media, she explores how (and why) we write, co-create, share and monetize stories around the world today.Pitching is an art form that brings together content and communication channels. Regardless of What you’re pitching . . . Where, When and to Whom . . . the principles are universal. It’s How you pitch that matters ― and there are countless strategies that combine elements in different combinations.Heather's book details all of them, their construction and applications, in a fun and interactive way that inspires readers to create memorable and saleable pitches in order to get their projects made.Enjoy my conversation with Heather Hale.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

I've been trying to get today's guest on the show for months. Pilar Alessandra is an author, podcaster, and script consultant. She is the director of the popular writing program “On The Page” and author of “The Coffee Break Screenwriter.” A sought-after teacher and lecturer, she’s traveled the world teaching screenwriting, pitching and story analysis. As a consultant, Pilar has helped thousands of writers create, refine and sell their scripts and was named “Cream of the Crop” in Creative Screenwriting’s Script Consultant Survey.Her students and clients have sold to Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Brothers and Sony and have won prestigious competitions, including the Austin Film Festival and Nicholl Fellowship.Pilar jump-started her career in film as a script reader for Amblin Entertainment. With the formation of DreamWorks, she became Senior Story Analyst and a reader liaison between the studio and Robert Zemeckis’s company ImageMovers.Her expert script analysis was also sought out by The Robert Evans Company, Cineville Entertainment, Handprint Entertainment and Saturday Night Live Studios. Work at Interscope Communications led her to a position as Senior Story Analyst for Scott Kroopf’s production company Radar Pictures.Pilar was later bitten by the “teaching bug” while teaching screenwriting and story analysis at the UCLA Writers’ Program. In 2001, she started her own company “On the Page,” and in 2004 opened the On the Page Writers Studio in Sherman Oaks, California.In the interest of expanding access to her teaching tools, Pilar created the weekly “On the Page Podcast” with guests from within the industry. Recently, Pilar was listed as one of LA Weekly’s top 100 people in their “Best of LA People” issue.Enjoy my conversation with Pilar Alessandra.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

We made it to 50 EPISODES! So grateful the show has taken off. Thanks for all the support!Today on the show we have storytelling guru John Bucher, who is a renowned strategist, communicator, and cultural mythologist based out of Hollywood, California. Disruptor named him one of the top 25 influencers in Virtual Reality in 2018.“John Bucher is an influencer. He’s one of our most prolific contributors.” — HBOHe is the author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. John has worked with companies including HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation and served as a consultant and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. Currently, he teaches writing and story courses as part of the Joseph Campbell Writers Room at Studio School in Los Angeles and at the LA Film Studies Center. He has spoken on 5 continents about using the power of story to reframe how products, individuals, organizations, cultures, and nations are viewed.Enjoy my conversation with John Bucher.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Today's guest is Filmtrepreneur Luke Neumann. Luke has taken a very interesting filmmaking path. He runs a very popular YouTube channel with over 140,000 subscribers. On his channel, you'll see DIY film tutorials, filmmaking tips and tricks, aerial drone videos, short films and vlogs presented in 4K/UHD, 4K/60fps and 8K. What makes him a Filmtrepreneur is that he leveraged his audience and created multiple revenue streams.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

I wanted to have an amazing guest for our first episode of the Filmtrepreneur Podcast and I think I did just that. Today's guest is filmmaker and Filmtrepreneur Michael Gallagher. Michael is one of the co-founders of Makers Studio.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

After months of preparation, it's finally here, The Filmtrepreneur Podcast! After the success of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast and the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast, I felt there was another area of the filmmaking process that I could help filmmakers with, how to actually make money with their films. Filmtrepreneur was born.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Today on the show we have Hollywood screenwriter, director, producer, podcaster and novelist John August. He is known for writing the hit Hollywood films Go, Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Big Fish, Charlie, ​and the Chocolate Factory and Frankenweenie, the Disney live-action adaptation of Aladdin and the novel Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire. He hosts the popular screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes with Craig Mazin, maintains an eponymous screenwriting blog and develops screenwriter-targeted software called​ Highland 2.5 through his company, Quote-Unquote Apps.Enjoy my conversation with John August.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.