Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast

Klaus Badelt is a renowned German composer and music producer, celebrated for his extraordinary contributions to film scores and soundtracks. Born on June 12, 1967, in Frankfurt, Germany, Badelt's exceptional talent for music was evident from a young age.With an extensive background in classical training and a deep appreciation for various musical genres, Badelt's unique ability to fuse different styles allowed him to craft captivating and emotive compositions. His versatility enabled him to excel in multiple film genres, from epic adventures to intense dramas, leaving an indelible mark on Hollywood's cinematic landscape.Badelt gained global recognition for his work on the film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003), where his evocative score, particularly the iconic theme "He's a Pirate," became an instant classic and remains a cherished part of film music history.This accomplishment solidified his status as one of the industry's leading composers.Throughout his illustrious career, Badelt collaborated with esteemed filmmakers, including Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, and Jerry Bruckheimer, earning critical acclaim for his exceptional artistry and ability to elevate storytelling through music.Beyond his film work, Klaus Badelt has also composed for video games, television shows, and concert performances, displaying his passion for creating immersive musical experiences in various mediums. With a diverse and impressive body of work, Badelt's influence on contemporary film scoring remains profound, inspiring aspiring musicians and leaving an enduring legacy in the world of music for screen and stage.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Filmmaker Scott Cooper discusses topics such as the challenges of filmmaking, the impact of COVID-19 on the film industry, auditioning for film roles, the importance of effective communication with actors, keeping ego in check, creating universal themes, adapting source material, pressure and expectations in creating new work, the future of cinema, the challenges faced by aspiring filmmakers, the importance of storytelling, exploring madness and gothic aesthetic in a film, and the process of making a film with exceptional talent.

Marc Forster is a German-born filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films Monster's Ball (2001), Finding Neverland (2004), Stay (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), The Kite Runner (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), and World War Z (2013).His breakthrough film was Monster's Ball (2001), in which he directed Halle Berry in her Academy Award-winning performance; the film also starred Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, and Peter Boyle. His next film, Finding Neverland (2004), was based on the life of author J.M. Barrie.The film was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Johnny Depp.Forster also directed the twenty-second James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. In 2013 he directed the film adaptation of the novel World War Z, starring Brad Pitt.His latest film is the remarkable A Man Called Otto.Based on the # 1 New York Times bestseller “A Man Called Ove,” A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grump who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife. Otto is ready to end it all, but his plans are interrupted when a lively young family moves in next door, and he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol. She challenges him to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around. A heartwarming and funny story about love, loss, and life, A Man Called Otto shows that family can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places. A Man Called Otto stars Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Cast Away), Mariana Treviño (Club the Cuervos), Rachel Keller (Fargo) and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Magnificent Seven). The screenplay is written by Academy Award® nominee David Magee (Best Adapted Screenplay, Life of Pi, 2012; Best Adapted Screenplay, Finding Neverland, 2004) based upon the best-selling novel “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman, and the film A Man Called Ove by Hannes Holm. The film is being produced by Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman.Enjoy my conversation with Marc Forster.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Michael Damian is an award-winning actor, singer, director, writer, and producer. He first gained recognition for his 18-year run in the role of rock star Danny Romalotti on the #1-rated daytime television drama, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. On the stage front, Damian starred as “Joseph” in the Broadway production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, which broke box office records in both Los Angeles and on Broadway and earned Damian a Grammy nomination.In addition to his Broadway career, Damian has released five albums and has had eight Top 40 hits, including the smash single “Rock On,” which shot up the Billboard music charts landing at #1 and garnering Damian two gold records.Damian won the BMI Song-writing Award for his hit single, “Was It Nothing at All,” and has also written and produced songs for the soundtracks of A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS, FLICKA 2, FLICKA: COUNTRY PRIDE, MARLEY & ME: THE PUPPY YEARS and SWEETER SIDE OF LIFE. Damian has also enjoyed a prolific career behind the camera and has co-written/directed/produced 15 films and television movies.He is a filmmaking partner with his wife Janeen Damian and most recently co-wrote, directed and produced Hallmark’s #1 movie of the year for 2020, CHRISTMAS WALTZ. Some of his other recent credits include the feature film HIGH STRUNG FREE DANCE and its predecessor, HIGH STRUNG, Lionsgate’s holiday romantic comedy, A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS, which starred Sir Roger Moore and Sam Heughan (Outlander) and launched Hallmark’s smash hit Princess Christmas franchise.Janeen Damian is an American writer, director, and producer of film and television. Together with her husband, Michael Damian she has made 15 feature films and TV movies. This year she co-wrote and produced the #1 add-supported cable movie of the year for 2020, CHRISTMAS WALTZ. She also co-wrote and produced the award- winning feature films HIGH STRUNG and HIGH STRUNG FREE DANCE which were released theatrically worldwide and distributed by Sony and Disney. Ms. Damian also co-wrote and produced A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS starring Sam Heughan and Sir Roger Moore and distributed by Lionsgate and received Hallmark’s highest ratings for the year launching their original Christmas Princess franchise. The Damians went on to co-write A ROYAL CHRISTMAS and A CROWN FOR CHRISTMAS.All three films air annually on Hallmark’s power rotation with continued high ratings.Some of Ms. Damian’s other Filmmaking credits include 20th Century Fox’s MARLEY & ME THE PUPPY YEARS and the popular reboot of the Flicka franchise, FLICKA 2 and FLICKA COUNTRY PRIDE starring Clint Black and MOONDANCE ALEXANDER, which starred Don Johnson and garnered Ms. Damian best screenplay honors at L.A. Femme Film Festival.She also co-wrote and produced THE SWEETER SIDE OF LIFE, starring Katherine Morris and James Best. LOVE BY DESIGN starring Jane Seymour and David Oakes, and the award-winning independent feature film HOT TAMALE starring Jason Priestly and Randy Spelling. She co-directed the TV Pilot RED EYE for France’s #1 television broadcaster, TF1. She also co-directed the award-winning film FINDERS KEEPERS starring James Best.The Damians went on to co-write A CROWN FOR CHRISTMAS and A ROYAL CHRISTMAS. Damian also directed three films for 20th Century Fox: FLICKA 2, MARLEY & ME: THE PUPPY YEARS (which he also wrote), and FLICKA: COUNTRY PRIDE starring Clint Black.He directed, wrote, and produced the feature film MOONDANCE ALEXANDER, which was also released by 20th Century Fox, and romantic comedies SWEETER SIDE OF LIFE and LOVE BY DESIGN. Damian also co-wrote, directed, and produced the indie crime comedy HOT TAMALE and co-wrote and co-directed the television pilot Red Eye for France’s TF1 network, which he also starred in.Falling for Christmas is about a young, newly engaged heiress who has a skiing accident the days before Christmas. After she is diagnosed with amnesia, she finds herself in the care of the handsome cabin owner and his daughter.Enjoy my conversation with Janeen and Michael Damian.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Kevin Goetz, a powerful figure in the 'movie research' industry, shares insights on audience preferences in films, the importance of filmmakers caring about their audience, and the impact of key crew members and audience feedback. They also discuss the unpredictability of box office success, the evolution of movie theaters, and the role of theatrical marketing. Anecdotes from the movie industry and the decline of video stores are touched upon, along with holiday traditions and show notes.

Running Indie Film Hustle I hear story after story about predatory film distributors screwing over, taking advantage, and just plain stealing from filmmakers every day. I either get emails or read about them in our Facebook Group Community: Protect Yourself From Predatory Film Distributors/Aggregators.I'm so sick and tired of this. These parasites need a light shined on them. The only way we as filmmakers can stop these predators from continuing to hurt filmmakers and devastate lives is to make their actions known. Predatory film distributors continue to screw filmmakers because their actions are performed in the shadows. They bank on that filmmakers will not fight back, that they will keep quiet and just take it. Well, ladies and gentlemen that ends here.I broke the Distribber story around the same time last year.They were able to take advantage of filmmakers for a long time until someone finally brought their actions to the surface. That is the only weapon we as filmmakers have against predatory film distributors. Our Facebook group has helped thousands of filmmakers not get taken advantage of. I know that the podcasts and videos I put out have helped as well but it's not enough. I'm only one voice.We as a community need to stand up and demand change. The traditional film distribution system is BROKEN. I was just consulting with a filmmaker yesterday that told me that he too was screwed over by a film distributor. This distributor told him on the phone, once he confronted him about the theft of his film, and I quote,"I'll see you in the court of who gives a f**k."This distributor was in the UK and the filmmaker was in the US. The distributor knew that the chances of the filmmaker taking him to court in another country were slim to none. The filmmaker's lawyer advised him to let it go because the cost would be too much. THIS CRAP NEEDS TO STOP.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

I am excited to have back on the show legendary writer, director Alex Proyas.The last time he was here, we discussed his career, working within the studio system, dealing with insane interference in his creative vision, why he was shooting short films. At the time, his movie, The Heretic Foundation, and his misadventures in Hollyweird had just been released.I've been following all the cool stuff he's been working on social media, his shorts, etc. I'm thrilled for him. It's nice seeing an artist creating and not waiting for someone to permit them to make.For those of you who are not familiar with Alex Proyas's work, he is the filmmaker behind The Crow, Dark City, The Knowing, Gods of Egypt, iRobot, and Mask of the Evil Apparition.iRobot was directed by Proyas, written by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Vintar. The 2004 Box Office $346 million grossed film received mixed reviews. It starred Will Smith and was a technophobic cop in 2035 who went on to investigate a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.Today, we are talking more about his new streaming platform VIDIVERSE. I really wanted to promote what you're doing because I know it's coming from a great place. I need to promote what you're doing because I know it's coming from a great place.VIDIVERSE is a new streaming platform that offers a non-exclusive destination for streaming curated content of all kinds. In time, the platform will partner with creators to help produce content.Most independent filmmakers are getting away from Youtube, and that was the inspiration behind Proyas's VIDIVERSE. YouTube seems to have developed stricter policies about who derives any income from content. Even though a few people manage overtime to beat the algorithm, most creators get very few views. Independent creators to continue building through the platform. Vimeo, and others that similarly target filmmakers ease the streaming challenge. Still, there's nothing between those two ends of the spectrum because YouTube seems to soak it all up through advertising. So, someone like Proyas, who has moved effortlessly between helming TV commercials and music videos to feature films, understands the demand for more targeted platforms and fair revenue distribution models. This is what he intends to develop with VIDIVERSE.Alex also gave us an EXCLUSIVE UPDATE on the development of his Dark City streaming series. This was a fun conversation.Please enjoy our guest, Alex Proyas.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Alex Lehmann is the writer, director, and producer of “Acidman” starring Dianna Agron and Thomas Haden Church. He also directed the highly anticipated Black List feature, “Meet Cute,” produced by Weed Road, and starring Pete Davidson and Kaley Cuoco.A narrative and documentary filmmaker, Lehmann's films include Netflix's dramatic comedies “Paddleton,” starring Mark Duplass and Ray Romano, which premiered at Sundance in 2019, and “Blue Jay,” his narrative feature debut, starring Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass. It premiered at TIFF in 2016 to critical acclaim. His HBO docu-series, On Tour with Asperger's Are Us is an extrapolation of his original feature doc Asperger's Are Us.Lehmann’s work explores the themes of selfless love, friendship, and how a little vulnerability can connect us all.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.

Renowned comedy consultant Steve Kaplan discusses his approach to Comedy's Hero's Journey, focusing on engaging the audience and creating relatable characters. Topics include the importance of character development in comedic films, movie comedy favorites and challenges, the quirky story of 'Tag', exploring scenes and the 'WTF moment', balancing humor and heart in comedy films, creating empathy for characters, the characteristics and journey of the comic hero, and analyzing 'The Hangover' and comedy sequels.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about today’s guest. I sat down with the legendary and Oscar® Winning Cinematographer Russell Carpenter ASC. Russell has been shooting blockbusters for over 40 years and has shot films like Ant-Man, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Charlie’s Angels, The Negotiator, True Lies, Monster-in-Law and classic 90’s action flicks like Hard Target, The Perfect Weapon, and Death Warrant.He won the Oscar® for his cinematography on the second highest-grossing film of all time, Titanic. We go down the rabbit hole on shooting Titanic, working with James Cameron, crazy Hollywood stories, how he approaches each project and much more. This episode is a treasure chest of behind the scenes stories and cinematic techniques from the highest levels of Hollywood.Get ready to be entertained and have your mind blown.Enjoy my epic conversation with Russell Carpenter A.S.C.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.