Actor - and commercial session director - Jonathan Runyon (Modern Family, Mad Men) joins us on the Box Angeles podcast episode 352. Jonathan stops by the bungalow and discusses the economics of being a session director, auditon & callback advice, common things he notices actors doing (and not doing), what the true goal is for commercial actors, and more!

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BEATS--

00:00 - Jonathan slates his name.
00:11 - Introduction.
02:29 - Acting and working at 200 South La Brea.
03:11 - Slower commercially right now, but not for non union.
05:18 - Session director perspective on self tapes.
09:08 - Being a waiter dating back to studying at the Stella Adler Conservatory in NYC.
12:00 - The economics and schedule of session directing.
17:20 - How do you make acting work with session directing.
20:08 - Working with different offices.
22:35 - Getting a callback or audition for a session you're suppose to run.
26:36 - Giving personalized feedback / instructions in auditions.
31:47 - Actors that booking bringing themselves to the auditions.
33:59 - Naturally not being "grounded".
35:28 - Choosing the order auditions are submitted to highlight certain ones.
39:48 - Ideal time to audition in the session.
41:34 - Any patterns in auditions?
43:45 - Real time filtering happening in callbacks.
46:24 - How actors should enter a callback.
50:01 - Knowing who the director is at callbacks and a Philip Seymour Hoffman story.
52:56 - Self sabotaging actors.
57:25 - Are callbacks more stressful.
58:43 - Casting directors livestream of the room.
1:00:53 - Are callbacks the new goal for actors.
1:03:50 - There is a board with the list of auditions at 200 South La Brea (!!)
1:04:59 - Who took a chance on Jonathan.
1:06:37 - Surprised by who books things.

The full video and pics -- boxangeles.com/352

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MORE JONATHAN RUNYON --
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Producer Alex McAtee (The Disaster Artist, Sausage Party) joins us on the Box Angeles podcast episode 351. Alex stops by the bungalow and discusses getting her start as a PA to becoming EVP at Point Grey, the struggles in development, navigating pitches, building trust with collaborators while making sure everyone is on the same page creatively, how The Studio hilariously toes the line between satire and celebration, and more!

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BEATS--

00:00 - Alex slates her name.
00:14 - Introduction.
02:00 - Emailing people you don't know.
05:27 - Was producing always the goal.
06:25 - Moving to LA to be a production assistant.
11:35 - Starting as an assistant at Point Grey Pictures right after they were founded.
17:07 - Differences between producing TV and film.
19:39 - The Studio both celebrating and lampooning the business.
22:23 - Every pitch is different and every meeting needs a purpose.
30:40 - Point Grey first look deals with Universal for film and Lionsgate for TV.
33:46 - "Executive Producer" definition.
36:11 - Other responsibilites; hearing pitches, being on set, etc.
39:40 - PGA credits.
41:37 - Relying on other people as a producer.
44:13 - The difficulty of making sure everyone is on the same page creatively.
46:27 - Self tapes.
50:37 - Harder to green light indie films lately due to talent deals.
53:12 - Optimism about the industry.
55:07 - Who took a chance on Alex.

The full video and pics -- boxangeles.com/351

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MORE ALEX MCATEE --
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Director Tara Miele (Lessons in Chemistry, Arrow, The Rookie) joins us on the Box Angeles podcast episode 350. Tara stops by the bungalow and discusses her peers historically keeping to themselves, what she loves about filmmaking, her need to be the Tigger on set, how she approaches various levels of actors differently, and more!

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BEATS--

00:00 - Tara slates her name.
00:11 - Introduction.
02:12 - Tara loves podcasts.
04:50 - Directors historically being lone wolfs.
06:47 - Up and coming director groups.
08:25 - Young directors replacing old.
12:35 - The recent strikes, DGA versus others like the WGA.
19:07 - Double majoring in theatre and film at UC Santa Barbara.
21:54 - Getting an internship at Jodie Foster's production company.
26:09 - Work procurement and relationship with agents.
33:47 - Interview / pitch prep.
38:43 - Directors staying curious during filmmaking.
41:27 - Casting and audition tapes.
48:03 - Tone on set.
51:18 - Directing last two episodes of Lessons in Chemistry and staying true to source material / earlier episodes.
54:30 - Approach to various levels of actors.
59:03 - Firing actors.
1:01:15 - Who took a chance on Tara.

The full video and pics -- boxangeles.com/350

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MORE TARA MIELE --
Check Tara's IMDb.
Follow Tara on Instagram @tara_miele.
Check out Tara's website.

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MORE BOX ANGELES --
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