Red Carpet Rookies

#51 - Ronan Bennett: Creating Top Boy, Working with Michael Mann, Following Obsession, Stamina, and Why Screenwriting is like Playing Tennis with Novak Djokovic

Today’s guest began his career writing novels informed by his experiences growing up in the troubles of 1970s Northern Ireland such as The Second Prison which was shortli

#50 - Lorien McKenna: How the The Pixar Story Department Actually Works, Creating Career Agency, Writing For Visuals, Challenging Shame and The Power of Vulnerability

Today’s guest began her creative journey in the world of theatre before moving to Pixar where she worked in the story department of hits including Ratatouille, Up, Brave,

#49 - Simon Blackwell: Writing Veep & The Thick of It, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Scary Phrase, Emergency Plane Writing, The Genius of Armando Iannucci, Sweary Grannies, & Why Parenting Makes You A Better Creative

I am lucky to introduce today’s guest who has been at the forefront of British comedy for the last two decades. The man behind hit shows such as Back starring Mitchell a

#48 - John Zaozirny, Literary Manager on The ‘Magic’ That Makes a Hollywood Script, Screenwriting Lessons from Tony Gilroy, How He Finds Clients, Network Building, and Why Not to Write for the Market

Hello and welcome to Red Carpet Rookies, today’s guest earned his early entertainment industry stripes working at Village Roadshow and Leonardo DiCaprio’s production comp

#47 - Rhys Thomas: Directing SNL, Secret Marvel Security Meetings, The Handiness of a British Accent, & Making Documentary Now with Bill Hader and Fred Armisen

Born to a sleepy town in South Wales, after university, he swapped the countryside for the Big Apple where he made his name as the film unit director at New York institut

#46 - Sam Bain: Writing Peep Show, Crafting Four Lions With Chris Morris, Pre Success ‘Disasters’, Screenwriting Myths, And How Kids TV Made Him

Hello and welcome to Red Carpet Rookies. I’m very excited to introduce today’s guest who cut his teeth working on the British children’s TV that made up my childhood wit

#45 - Julian Caldow: Designing Tim Burton’s Batmobile, World Building Game of Thrones, Bond Gadgets, Proof of Work, & The James Cameron KY Jelly Incident

Today’s guest began his career working as a runner on James Cameron’s legendary action movie Aliens but found his home in the art department where he honed the skill of c

#44 - Charles Steel: Producing Top Boy, Meetings With Drake, Importance of Hustle, Finding Your Why, & Putting Jude Law on a Russian Submarine

Today’s guest has one of the most varied resumes of anyone in the film and TV business. Having produced everything from megahit Top Boy to winning a BAFTA for The Last Ki

#43 - Adam Epstein: Editing The Bear's Best Episode, The Addictive Life of Saturday Night Live, Compounding Relationships & The Music of Editing

Hello and welcome to Red Carpet Rookies. Today’s guest is a first for a the show. Someone who began his career in the world of comedy editing. With eight years at the le

#42 - Juliet Taylor: Legendary Casting Director on Taxi Driver & The Exorcist, Discovering Meryl Streep, Spielberg's Pot Smoking 80s Crew, Career Luck, Woody Allen, & Collaborating With A Holocaust Survivor on Schindler’s List

Today’s guest is one of the most notable casting directors in the history of movie making. Beginning her career under the tutelage of legendary casting director Marion D

#41 - Andy Horwitz: Assisting Christopher Nolan's Producer on The Dark Knight, Getting Kathryn Bigelow into Brazil, Producing American Hustle & How A Movie Script Gets Bought

Today’s guest began his filmmaking career under the tutelage of legendary Producer Charles Roven where he was a producer’s assistant on Hollywood blockbusters such as Get

#40 - Ali Plumb: Life as BBC Radio 1's Film Critic, Career Authenticity, Creating Great Media and How to Interview Harrison Ford

Today’s guest earned his early entertainment industry stripes working as a journalist for publications including Digital Spy and Empire before gaining what must be one of

#39 - Chris Lang: Writing Record-Breaking TV with Unforgotten, Screenwriting Rituals, Finding Humanity in Murderers, and Dealing With Failure in the Entertainment Business

Today’s guest is the king of British detective drama writing. Having discovered his talent for the written word whilst in a comedy troupe with a pre-movie star Hugh Grant

#38 - Fassa Sar: How I Became One of Sony Pictures Youngest Executives (And Why I Left To Change Hollywood Networking)

Today’s guest began her career as one of the youngest ever executives at Sony where she was part of the team that brought the now iconic ‘fully onscreen’ movie Searching

#37 - Anna Smith, BBC Film Critic on Interviewing A-Listers, Cultivating Taste, YouTube Film Critics and the Power of Networking

Today’s guest is something new for the show, our first film critic! Beginning her career in the world of music magazine editing, she soon transitioned to freelance writin

#36 - Ed Guiney, 'Normal People' Producer on Finding Your People, Childhood with Lenny Abrahamson, Hollywood Moguls, and Being An Advocate for Yourself

Today’s guest is one of Ireland’s most notable film producers. Beginning his life in the Irish capital, he pursued his passion into movie production during his time at T

#35 - Set Design Special | James Chinlund (The Batman), Luke Hull (Andor), Neil Lamont (Secrets of Dumbledore), Jim Clay (House of the Dragon), Sarah Greenwood (Cyrano) - Live from the BFDG Awards

Today's podcast is something a little different. This weekend I was honoured to attend this year's British Film Designers Guild awards to speak to some of the

#34 - Stuart Craig, Legendary Set Designer on Creating Hogwarts, Surprising David Lynch, The Power of Teamwork and Crafting The Largest Movie Scene of All Time

Today’s guest is one of the most accomplished production designers in the world today. Starting his career under the tutelage of Star Wars designer John Barry, he worked

#33 - Colleen Atwood, Iconic Costume Designer on Crafting Hannibal Lecter’s Mask, Tim Burton, Sofia Loren, Influencing Pop Culture and Working Her Way Up From A French Fry Factory

Today’s guest is one of the most accomplished costume designers in the world today. Starting out on features including Michael Mann’s Manhunter she has since travelled t

#32 - Ellen Lewis: Casting Goodfellas (& Dinner with the Real Mafia), Finding Forrest Gump, The Importance of Mentors, Scorcese, and Margot Robbie’s Wolf of Wall Street Audition

Go and grab your shine box people because today is a big one!  Today's guest is one of the key creative decision-makers behind a number of the world's most wel