Act One Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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Act One Podcast - Episode 43 - Interview with Screenwriter Andrea Nasfell and Producer Brady Nasfell of the new film, MR. MANHATTAN.

Brady Nasfell has produced feature films and television for Netflix, Sony, Lionsgate, Fox Sports, NBC, VH1, Discovery Networks and independent distributors.  Recent films include MR. MANHATTAN (starring Alexa and Carlos PenaVega), FOURTH OF JULY (starring Joe List) and STRONG FATHERS, STRONG DAUGHTERS (starring Bart Johnson and Robyn Lively).  Brady produced the Grammy Award-winning comedy special SINCERELY LOUIS C.K., as well as KEVIN JAMES:  IRREGARDLESS (Spring 2024).  Other specials include JOE ROGAN:  STRANGE TIMES, TOM SEGURA:  BALL HOG, and CHRIS D’ELIA:  NO PAIN.  His documentary work includes THE LAST DISPATCH, OVERCOMER WITH JUSTIN WREN, UFC ROAD TO THE OCTAGON, UFC ULTIMATE INSIDER, and the UFC EMBEDDED web series, which won the Best MMA Programming award in 2016.

Andrea Nasfell is a feature writer with over a dozen produced credits, including the television Christmas movies EVERY OTHER HOLIDAY (Lifetime) and HOLIDAY FOR HEROES (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries). She’s also the writer of theatrical comedies THE RESURRECTION OF GAVIN STONE (Blumhouse) and MOMS' NIGHT OUT (Sony Affirm), which won a Dove award for Inspirational Film of the Year.  Andrea is a member of the WGA and teaches screenwriting at USC and Asbury University. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. 

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 42 - Interview with Director and Screenwriter, Andrew Hyatt.

Andrew Hyatt is the director and co-writer of the new film, SIGHT, starring Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen, which follows the true story of Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese American who defies all odds to become a world-renowned eye surgeon. Drawing upon the grit and determination he gained from a turbulent uprising in his youth, Dr. Wang sets out to restore the sight of a blind orphan. The film is being released in theaters by Angels Studios on May 24th.

Andrew is the award-winning writer/director of the historical drama, Paul, Apostle of Christ, which was released by Sony Pictures and Affirm Films in 2018, starring Jim Caviezel and James Faulkner. Made for a modest budget of $5MM, the film has grossed over $26.5MM in worldwide BO. Hyatt recently co-wrote/directed The Blind, the true story of the Robertson family long before their Duck Dynasty fame, which was released in 2023 by Fathom Events, marking its strongest theatrical release and grossed 17.3MM in worldwide BO. Hyatt has been credited with paving the way towards a new genre of films termed “sacred art house.” Hyatt was awarded a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' from the National Catholic Museum of Art in Washington, DC and the film was nominated for 'Most Inspirational Film' at the 2018 GMA Dove Awards and 'Most Inspiring Film' at the 2019 MovieGuide Awards. Hyatt also received a prestigious Christopher Award in the Feature Film category at the 70th Annual Christopher Awards in 2019. Hyatt's passion is in the creation of content that is deeply personal, seeking to tell stories that delve deeper into the drama of the human condition. Exploring good and evil, truth and beauty. Hyatt's film Full of Grace is the first film in history to focus on the final days of Mary of Nazareth. Released by Cinedigm in January of 2016, the film has been screened all around the world and praised for its unique insight into the humanity of often generically portrayed historical figures. It was the winner of 'Best Screenplay' at the 2015 John Paul II International Film Festival, and the winner of 'Best Film' at the 2016 Gabriel Awards. Hyatt is an alum of Loyola Marymount University. He is represented by Heroes and Villains Entertainment.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 33 - Interview with Screenwriter, Paul Guyot.

PAUL GUYOT has written and produced more than 200 hours of television. His work includes the JJ Abrams created FELICITY, the Emmy-winning JUDGING AMY, and LEVERAGE for TNT which won back-to-back People’s Choice Awards. Guyot served as Co-Executive Producer on THE LIBRARIANS, including taking over all showrunning duties for Season Two. After that he served as the Co-Executive Producer for NCIS: NEW ORLEANS -- at the time the 8th most watched series in the world. He has written pilots for multiple networks and studios including his original pitch THE BLACK 22s -- based on the true story of the first all African-American squad of detectives in St. Louis, MO -- which sold in a fierce bidding war between four networks. The series died in development hell, but Guyot retains all rights to the story and is currently developing a feature film with award-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Thorne.
Guyot co-wrote the Warner Brothers feature GEOSTORM starring Gerard Butler and Andy Garcia, which grossed more than a quarter billion dollars worldwide. But don’t hold it against him. His spec feature TIME BANDITS was optioned by Slated and is presently out to some of the top directors in Hollywood. Currently, Guyot is developing COLONIE 07 for French television, one of the first American screenwriters ever hired to do so. He is the author of several award-winning short stories, and his bestselling DARE TO LIVE -- a serialized story on Amazon’s Kindle Vella platform -- was chosen as a Top 200 favorite out of more than 17,000 stories.

In May of 2022 Guyot launched http://screenwritingtruth.com -- a website dedicated to helping emerging writers learn the truth about Hollywood and a career in screenwriting.
Guyot attended the University of Arizona. In his non-writing time he enjoys cycling, golf, mechanical watches, and his quest to find the perfect old fashioned.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 32 - Interview with Screenwriter and Producer, Michael Warren.

Michael Warren began his career writing for television as executive story consultant on the classic television show, HAPPY DAYS. He then went to Warner Bros. where he was an executive producer on PERFECT STRANGERS.  He also co-created and executive produced two of the longest running shows on ABC television: STEP BY STEP, and FAMILY MATTERS featuring the legendary character, Steve Urkel, which TV GUIDE listed as one of the 50 most popular television characters of all time. He also executive produced HANGIN WITH MR. COOPER, GETTING BY, THE FAMILY MAN, KIRK, MEEGO and TWO OF A KIND.  He presently has over 800 episodes of television in syndication.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 31 - Interview with Screenwriter, Eboni Freeman.

Eboni Freeman is a native Angelino who got her start in the television industry working for FOX Sports.  While at FOX, she won an Emmy for her work on the 2015 Women’s World Cup.  In 2016, Eboni was chosen as a Sundance Episodic Fellow and was also selected for WeForShe’s WriteHer List. She most recently was co-producer on the hit NBC series THIS IS US.  While on THIS IS US, Eboni has been nominated for two Writers Guild Awards and a Humanitas Prize.

SPOILER WARNING: Eboni and I discuss the final episode of THIS IS US during the first 30 minutes of this episode.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 30 - Interview with Director/Producer, Arthur Anderson.

Arthur Anderson began his film career while attending the University of South Carolina. Because of his background in live radio comedy sketches, local advertising agencies hired him to develop comedic radio and television commercials to promote their clients’ products. In his junior year at USC, Arthur opened a successful commercial production company, Riaan Productions, to meet the increasing demand for commercials from the agencies. For two years he served as Producer/Writer/Director of radio and television commercials. After graduating, Arthur sold his interest in the company and began working on feature films in New York. He became a member of the Directors Guild of America, moved to Los Angeles, and worked on numerous television shows and feature films as an Assistant Director.

THE NEW LASSIE tv series was his first venue as a television Writer/Director. In 1996 he joined John Woo as his 1st Assistant Director on FACE/OFF. On MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2, Action Writing was added to his duties. Since then, Arthur has been John Woo’s Co-Producer and Action Writer on WINDTALKERS, THE HOSTAGE and PAYCHECK. In addition, Arthur has also served as a 2nd Unit Director on several of the above films as well as on Woo’s Fox TV Pilot, LOST IN SPACE.

Arthur Co-produced MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 for Paramount Pictures, as well as directed the East Coast 2nd Unit of the film. He also Directed the 2nd Unit on the "Starship Kelvin" in the 2009 feature film, STAR TREK.

More recently, Arthur directed a TV comedy pilot presentation, STUDIO CITY, and has directed numerous episodes of the hit TV series PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. He is currently in pre-production with John Woo on his next film.

Arthur's prayer ministry website is https://www.myprayerwarrior.com.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 29 - Interview with Screenwriter, Quinton Peeples.

Quinton Peeples was born in San Angelo, Texas, raised in nearby Abilene and remained there until 1984. His vision of pursuing a career as a painter was quickly falling apart and he found himself answering a different call – the entertainment business. He arrived in Los Angeles immediately following the summer Olympics and set his sight on film school, resulting in his graduating with an MFA from the American Film Institute. The two projects written there for his graduate thesis became “AN AMBUSH OF GHOSTS”, a Sundance Award winner in 1993, and “A HEART FULL OF RAIN”, a television movie for CBS.

Moving easily between the world of indie film and television, Quinton wrote multiple features for all the major networks and studios including Fox, NBC, ABC, Disney, Lionsgate and many others. He found his way to directing in 1995 when he shot his original screenplay “JOYRIDE” starring Tobey Maguire and Benicio DelToro. He continued to direct indie features, commercials, and web series, in addition to his writing work.

And then the WGA strike happened in 2008. While on the picket line Quinton realized everyone else had friends there and he didn’t. That’s when he discovered that television writers work as a team and the lure of that idea was irresistible. He wrote his first television spec pilot which resulted in his staffing on “FLASHFORWARD” at ABC. Transitioning to hour long drama, Quinton has worked on multiple shows as varied as “UNFORGETTABLE”, “THE LAST SHIP”, “11/22/63”, and Marvel’s “RUNAWAYS”. Most recently he ran the limited series “ECHOES” for Netflix.

Quinton is also a published author, with essays appearing in “CUT TO THE CHASE: WRITING FEATURE FILMS WITH THE PROS”, “ETERNAL LIVING: REFLECTIONS ON FAITH AND FORMATION”, and the graphic novel, “THE BIG COUNTRY”. His screenplay with Billy Crystal, “HAVE A NICE DAY” was performed live on stage at the Minetta Theater in New York City and is available on Audible as part of their Audible Originals program.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 28 - Interview with Producer Karen Covell and Composer James Covell.

James Covell is an award winning composer who writes music for Film, Television, Theatre and the Concert Hall. Karen Covell is an independent producer of film and television, as well as the founding Director of the Hollywood Prayer Network. The Covells have co-authored three books: How To Talk About Jesus Without Freaking Out, The Day I Met God, and The J Bomb.

The Hollywood Prayer Network (HPN) seeks to identify, connect and empower Christians who are working in Hollywood and throughout the entertainment industry, uniting and encouraging them with prayer and community and equipping them to live lives that demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ. HPN encourages and mobilizes Christians around the world to pray for the people who work in Hollywood and seeks to have every Christian who is working in the entertainment industry prayed for by individual Christians outside of the industry. HPN also coordinates prayer for the whole of the entertainment industry and the content being produced, as well as for the entire Hollywood community – that they would understand their value as children of God and seek to know Him completely.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 27 - Interview with Screenwriter and Director, Brian Baugh.

Brian Baugh is a director, screenwriter, and producer known for creating socially relevant and inspiring human stories that cross genres.  He has spent the majority of his time working in feature films, but also has extensive experience in television, commercials, documentaries, and web content. He had an eclectic upbringing from being born in New Jersey, spending his youth in South Florida, and growing up in Seattle.  His creative endeavors began as a flannel clad high schooler in the Northwest directing theater, making comedic videos, and producing grunge music in basement studios.

Brian started his filmmaking journey in earnest at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, where he wrote and directed many films.  His achievements earned him the USC School of Cinema Distinguished Scholar Award, and he was a member of the Order of Troy, Mortar Board, and Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating, he decided to pursue cinematography, and spent time on several studio films interning under world class cinematographers.  Then he was awarded a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship which took him to Cape Town, South Africa for a year of additional education in the liberal arts...and African township life. Shortly after returning from Africa, the budding Director of Photography shot his first feature film at the young age of twenty five.  He spent the next ten years shooting over twenty films (THE ULTIMATE GIFT, JACK & THE BEANSTALK, AN AMERICAN CAROL), and shooting and directing dozens of commercials (Ford, NHL).

Brian transitioned into feature directing with a high school drama, TO SAVE A LIFE.  The film was released in theaters nationwide and earned an 'A' cinema score.  The independent film's strong performance in the box office surprised many in Hollywood. Since then, he has written over twenty screenplays, several of which he is attached to direct.  His film, I'M NOT ASHAMED, was nominated for a Dove Award for Most Inspirational Film. He directed the award winning comedic television pilot THE COMEBACK KIDS.  Next, THE WORLD WE MAKE, a young adult interracial romance he wrote, produced, and directed, got picked up by Universal and Netflix and was released in 2019.  His latest feature, FINDING YOU, was released theatrically in 2021 and also received very positive audience reviews.  It was distributed by Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, and Amazon domestically, and Universal internationally.  The film is a spirited, upbeat, romantic dramedy shot in Ireland starring Jedidiah Goodacre, Katherine McNamara, Tom Everett Scott, and Vanessa Redgrave. Brian's desire is to be a part of telling stories that inspire audiences, foster justice and healing, or expand imagination and wonder in the world.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 26 - Interview with Screenwriter, Zena Dell Lowe.

Zena has worked professionally in the entertainment industry for over 20 years as a writer, producer, director, actress, and story consultant. Zena also teaches advanced classes on writing at conferences all over the country, and as an adjunct professor at Covenant College in Georgia, Regent University in Virginia Beach, and at the acclaimed Act One: Writing for Hollywood program, where she recently came on board as the new Curriculum Director for the summer intensive writing program.

Zena’s independent film production company, Mission Ranch Films, is currently in development on three feature thrillers, which will all take place in the same story universe located in Montana. Through the help of a small, select creative team, including Hollywood Super Story guru, Houston Howard, Zena and her team have developed a story world mythology that is at once entertaining, poignant, and profound.

As a writer herself, Zena has written award-winning screenplays, plays, and a number of articles on writing, religion, and trauma recovery. She’s also written comic books, most recently, Strawberry Shortcake, by IDW Publishing, and is currently writing her very first novel. Zena has won numerous awards for her work, including "Best International Short Film Director" for Rag Doll at the 2015 Louisiana International Film Festival, two "Grand Prize" wins for her full-length feature script, "Trial by Fire," at both the 2016 New York Screenplay Competition, and ISA's highly acclaimed 2016 Emerging Screenwriter's competition, as well as many others.

In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Zena is also passionate about supporting other artists and storytellers on their journeys towards success. In March of 2020, Zena launched her podcast, The Storyteller’s Mission with Zena Dell Lowe, which is designed to serve the whole artist, not just address “how-to” questions. This in turn lead to the launch of The Storyteller’s Mission online platform, where she offers advanced classes on writing as well as a variety of other services to storytellers. Zena’s passion is to equip and support all artists so that they will have everything they need to truly change the world for the better through story.

The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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