• Games People Play: A Primer for New Hollywood Filmmakers, Writers, and Other Creative Media Makers
    Jul 29 2024

    In this episode of Hollywood Insider Help, we dive into the multi-award-winning book "Games People Play" by Eric Berne, a pivotal guide to understanding human interactions. Particularly relevant to the entertainment industry, this workshop explores the fundamental concepts of transactional analysis, shedding light on the "drama" often encountered in Hollywood. We review common "games" people play and offer techniques to dispel them, enhancing your professional and personal interactions. Additionally, discover how these games inspire brilliant books, movies, and films. Make-believe drama becomes even more captivating when rooted in the fundamental behaviors of human nature. Tune in for insightful discussions that bridge psychology and storytelling in the world of entertainment.


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • How Stinking Thinking Destroys Careers and How to Make it Stop
    Jul 22 2024

    Welcome to the Hollywood Insider Help podcast! In this episode, we delve into the detrimental thought patterns that can hinder your success as a media creator in the entertainment industry. We'll explore how these negative habits can affect your creativity, collaboration, and career progression. Discover practical strategies to identify and change these patterns, ensuring you can consistently create on demand, effectively engage with other creators, and successfully find, perform, and promote your work. Tune in to learn how to break free from these limiting thoughts and propel your career forward.


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    53 mins
  • Significant Hollywood Movie Disasters and Important Lessons Learned
    Jul 15 2024

    When people come to Hollywood with dreams of making it big, they often encounter perplexing behaviors and responses. Many of these can be traced back to Hollywood's turbulent history and the monumental mistakes made by Studios, Directors, and Producers. These blunders have not only ended careers and destroyed studios but have also resulted in financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars and, tragically, even cost lives. In this eye-opening episode, we delve into some of the most significant disasters in Hollywood's history. By the end of this podcast, you'll gain a much clearer understanding of how to navigate the Hollywood landscape. You'll learn what seasoned Hollywood Insiders know about the pitfalls that can ruin careers and lives.

    Why Listen?

    • Gain Insider Knowledge: Understand the mistakes that have led to Hollywood's most infamous disasters.
    • Avoid Common Pitfalls: Learn valuable lessons that can help you steer clear of the errors that have destroyed careers and studios.
    • Gain Essential Insights for Newcomers: This episode is particularly beneficial for new producers, screenwriters, directors, and investors looking to succeed in Hollywood.

    Join us as we uncover the hidden truths behind Hollywood's biggest failures and equip yourself with the knowledge to thrive in the industry. Don't miss this essential episode for anyone serious about making it in Hollywood.


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • How to Cultivate a Robust Attitude so You Can Thrive as a Media Media Maker
    Jun 24 2024

    In today's workshop, we're going to be talking about cultivating a robust attitude so you can thrive in the media business. And specifically, I'm going to review some practical advice on surviving and thriving in what is an incredibly competitive industry.

    I think most people that work in the entertainment industry, at one point or another, find themselves thinking, Oh, my God. Why is this so difficult? Why is this so hard? Shouldn't it all be easier? What am I doing wrong? I must be doing something wrong because I've never been so unhappy. I thought this was going to make me happy. I thought when I had the freedom and the time to work as a writer or a screenwriter, as a producer, as a performer, I thought that I would just fall in love. I've wanted to do this my whole life and it's just turning into a miserable experience.

    People are surprised by how difficult it is to work in the entertainment industry is because nobody pulls you aside early on and explains some of the more difficult aspects of working in the industry or working as a media creative.


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • What Kind of Creator Are You? And Why Does That Matter So Much Here in Hollywood?
    Jun 17 2024

    As creatives, we invest time, effort, ideas, intellectual property, and our reputation in the projects we do. A project that goes well becomes a stepping stone to other great projects. Failed projects, or projects we fail on, are thus damaging from many perspectives.

    Our work is more or less collaborative, based on our desire or willingness to collaborate. Working with the "right" collaborators lets us do our best work. The wrong collaborators disable, distract, and disaffect us. They take us out of the zone in which we are most effective.

    In order to find the right collaborators, we need to understand what kind of creatives we are, what we do best, what we need to do our best work, and where our weaknesses are. We also need to understand how to work with (and sometimes side-step) those collaborators with whom we are not perfectly matched.
    Learn what kind of creator your and why that matters so much to your work as a producer, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, or author making media for money.


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • How to Be a Financially Successful Creative: Practical Advice & Problem Solving
    Jun 9 2024

    Writers, actors, filmmakers, artists, designers, and other creatives are taught young that choosing to be a creative professional is risky business. It doesn't have to be.


    In this workshop you'll learn:

    • Why earning a living as a creative looks like luck or magic from the outside.
    • Why it is not the tight-rope walk you've been told it is since you were born.
    • How to understand exactly what you need to do to build a creative business so you can swiftly do it.
    • How to find fans and turn them into paying customers.
    • Why taking big risks, and making big investments usually doesn't pay off, but running lots of inexpensive experiments almost always does.
    • How having money to invest into your creative business can be a blessing or a curse.
    • How to figure out what you might have been doing wrong.
    • How to determine what "works" and what doesn't when it comes to the products and services you sell.
    • Practical examples of how most creatives go off the rails in trying to create a sustainable way to get paid for their work.

    This is a very practical, brass-tacks, rational workshop that helps you understand, intuitively, what you need to so so you can do it. Furthermore, you'll understand why what you've been doing previously hasn't been working wonderfully well even though you've got a lot of skill, talent, and commitment.


    If you have any questions about this workshop, please email me at nancy@nancyfultonmeetups.com. You can find in-depth live and online how-to workshops at www.nancyfultonmeetups.com and NFM24.com.


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • How to Create a Hollywood Entertainment Industry Business Network
    Jun 9 2024

    Only people have money to buy things. Whether it’s an independent producer with funds to purchase your screenplay, an investor with money to put into your film, a studio exec shopping for a book or podcast to license, or a director looking to hire an actor . . . only humans ever pull the trigger on purchasing things.

    That means you need a business network within the entertainment industry that will actively help you find the people who actually want to buy what you sell. In this event you learn the art and science of building and entertainment industry network swiftly, comfortably, and cost effectively.

    Topics addressed:

    • Where and how to find networking events that lend themselves to making real connections.
    • How to very comfortably meet people at events
    • What to do with their business cards
    • How to introduce yourself to a group, and one-on-one, so people remember you well
    • How to reach out to people after an event comfortably
    • How to give people leads on potential opportunities
    • How to accept leads from others graciously and without obligation

    This is the perfect podcast to listen to if you really struggle with networking, building professional relationships, and using those relationships as a springboard to great opportunities. You can find written lecture notes and a video with slides covering this material at https://gumroad.com/l/wJbwL


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    57 mins
  • Interview: Avoiding Litigation with Entertainment Attorney & Litigator Justin Sterling
    Jun 9 2024

    This interview is designed to review good business practices that can help you side step a lot of legal hassles.

    Justin Sterling is founder of The Sterling Firm, a full-service civil litigation and transactional law firm devoted to Business Law, Entertainment Law, and Personal Injury cases. The Sterling Firm is dedicated to helping clients obtain maximum compensation, achieve cost-effective legal solutions, and resolve legal conflicts efficiently. You can learn more about Justin at www.TheSterlingFirm.com and www.linkedin.com/in/justinsterlingesquire/

    Topics addressed in this interview include.

    • 3 Myths People Believe About Litigation
    • 5 Mistakes People Make that Often Lead to Litigation
    • What to Do Business Deals Start to Fall Apart
    • Things to Say (and Avoid Saying) When Someone Offers to Sue You
    • Preparing to Win the Court Battles You Hope You Never Have
    • What to Do When Litigation (or Arbitration) is Inevitable

    Questions? Email nancy@entertainmentindustryevents.com.


    Music in this Episode was licensed for commercial use from Pond5.com.

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    1 hr