In this second part of Portrait of a Survivor, we hear about the same toxic individual through the eyes of a person he preyed upon and that person's friend, who was around the toxic abuser as well. We also introduce audio from Mo Ryan, taken from Hollywood Confessional's interview with the author from June of 2024. Connect with us: Instagram Facebook Twitter Website Check out some of our favorite shows: Screenwriters' Rant Room Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss It Happened in H...

"These people are never going to have sharp claws and pointed teeth. They're going to look like your good friend. And they're mostly going to act like your good friend. And then every once in a while..."In this episode of the Hollywood Confessional, two confessors from opposite ends of the Hollywood hierarchy share their stories of working with the same toxic man. Over the course of several years and multiple TV shows, they recall how the man they once admired as a leader revealed the monster...

Hippie chicks. Jam sessions. A bomb on wheels. In this quintessential "Hollywood coming of age" story, our confessor finds themselves in one wild situation after the next, starting with their cross-country road trip to LA."It was the middle of the desert. And it was the middle of the day. And we saw like a big, old pickup truck coming up behind us really fast. I can still picture it getting larger and larger in the rearview mirror. We barely had time to react before it rammed us from behind."...

Send us a textWelcome back Hollywood Faithful! Surviving the emotional waves of Hollywood layoffs is no small feat. This week, our guest, a project manager in post-production localization, shares their story of how they watched as most of their team disappeared. Join us for an interesting conversation about the difficulty of survivor's guilt and the uncertainty of a volatile industry.Connect with us: Instagram Facebook Twitter Website Check out some of our favorite shows: Screen...

Send us a textWhy do some screenplays get green lit, while others never see the light of day?Join us this week for some behind-the-scenes intel from a studio script reader, a self-described "first gatekeeper" who's been part of the process of getting stories from page to screen for over two decades."One of the first things you learn as a reader is, even on the worst script, you have to say something nice. And that is partly so the execs can get on the phone and have your coverage in their han...

Trigger Warning: Self-harm and drug use. We all know how hard it is to land a job in this industry, but what about how hard it is to fire someone... even when they deserve it?In this week's episode, we hear from a confessor who was an executive producer on a 20-episode order of a first-season show. The challenges they faced just to run the room and keep good scripts coming on time were compounded exponentially by a writer who disrupted the room at every turn.September 29th, appeared visibly i...

How do you pursue a career in an industry where even your "advocates" are keeping you down?That's the story of this week's confessor, a voiceover actor who successfully navigates many typical obstacles to a creative career, only to discover their agent is stealing from them.As they try to figure out what to do about it, our confessor learns how to be their own best advocate and learns some fantastic tips for up-and-comers in all arenas. Join us for a discussion of what it's really like to wor...

Hello Hollywood Faithful! Welcome back to another episode of the Hollywood Confessional, the podcast where industry professionals share their deepest, darkest, most insane Hollywood stories. This week we have a story about an editor getting their first union job, and the boss that made them question whether or not they wanted to spend their time making someone else's dreams come true. Balancing a demanding career with a personal life is tough in any industry, but Hollywood presents ...

How far would you go to make a movie? This week's confessor had to face that question within minutes of taking a gig co-producing an indie film... and personally, we're still recovering 😩😩😩Sweet-talking property managers, hustling for food donations, and petting cockroaches (😱) is just the beginning. When our confessor learns they need an extra $10K for post-production, they set out on a high-stakes mission to find investors in, shall we say, unexpected places."I started thinking. Who do I kn...

“The only thing that works to take down abusers is Mo Ryan writes something about them."If we weren’t already on fire to talk with the author of Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, this quote from a confessor would have set us aflame. This week we get our chance, as entertainment journalist Maureen “Mo” Ryan steps into the confessional booth.Mo is a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair, and has written for Entertainment Weekly, the New York Times, EW, Salon, GQ,...

"I love writers. But if there's one thing my mom taught me, it's if you love something make it suffer."With that tweet, the parody account that slayed with truth and laughs during the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes was born. And so was the question, "Who is Fake Carol?"This week, the writer behind @itsmecarolamptp joins us in the booth to give us an answer. From their initial inspiration to the account going "Hollywood viral," they share how their satirical portrayal of the studios' lead negoti...

Scam artists steal dreams. We're finding ways to get payback.In this incendiary episode of the Hollywood Confessional, we hear from an aspiring writer who pursued a seemingly great opportunity: taking a class from a mentorship program, the stated goal of which was to help underrepresented voices get into the industry. The first thing they learned? Some so-called "mentors" can't be trusted.Red flags abound in this story of a dream gone wrong... but so do glimmers of hope. Ultimately our confes...

To be or not to be... naked?That is the question faced by our confessor this week: an up-and-coming actor who had to make a difficult decision about his career. Join us in this week's episode of the Hollywood Confessional as we hear from this fearless creative who was up for anything... until "anything" became a bit too much.We discuss:the trouble with setting boundaries in the entertainment industry, how to make the right decisions for your career, how to weigh the consequence...

Hello Hollywood Faithful! Today we've got an on the record interview with Liz Hsiao Lan Alper and Alex Rubin of Pay Up Hollywood. Pay Up Hollywood began as grassroots movement in 2019, in an attempt to bring attention to the pay inequities, abuses and struggles of many Hollywood assistants. In subsequent years, PayUpHollywood has campaigned for Hollywood studios and companies to pay support staffers a living wage, in an effort to both tear down the paywall that keeps historically underpr...

Imagine you're working your ass off for a thankless 60+ hours a week job on a TV show, and you discover everyone else in your position is making more than you. PS, they're all men. And you're the only woman. In this week's episode of the Hollywood Confessional, we hear a confession from an office production assistant who found herself in this very dilemma. "When I was handed all of the pay cards with everybody's rates on them for that week, it happened that the card on top was another...

We are back! Welcome to season three of Hollywood Confessional. The season opener sets the stage with a gripping narrative from a support staffer, who unveils the emotional rollercoaster of managing a monster boss. Connect with us: Instagram Facebook Twitter Website Hollywood Confessional is a Ninth Way Media production, produced by Meagan Daine and J.R. Zamora-Thal. Sound Effects and Music provided by Zapsplat and Pixabay. Keywords: filmmaking podcast, film podcast, screenwriting...

Welcome back to the Confessional! We're back for Season 3, and this year we've got more confessions, more interviews, and more producers! It's bigger, badder, and better in every way.  Join us on March 28th for our season premiere. Connect with us: Instagram Facebook Twitter Website Hollywood Confessional is a Ninth Way Media production, produced by Meagan Daine and J.R. Zamora-Thal. Sound Effects and Music provided by Zapsplat and Pixabay. Keywords: filmmaking podcast, film podcast,...

We dedicate this episode to @Time Person of the Year Nominee the Hollywood Strikers!  Getting real for a sec, though -- the Hollywood Strikes of 2023 are officially over, and TBH we're feeling a little uncertain. A lot of hope and solidarity were born this Hot Labor Summer. Yet despite all the wins and losses, joy and tears, no one really knows what the future holds. Part of our mission at the Hollywood Confessional is to share untold stories from people working in entertainment so that...

Nolwen Cifuentes and Dyan Jong had an idea. An independent digital platform celebrating the cinematic achievements of actors, screenwriters, and filmmakers with a focus on diverse voices and perspectives. But as they saw the very people they aimed to uplift locked in a grueling labor struggle, they dedicated their first two issues to highlighting the stories, challenges, and concerns of SAG-AFTRA and WGA union members during the current strikes. Join us in the booth as we talk with Nolwen and...

Strike news drops. In Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, TheWrap. Hundreds of thousands of people jump on the story, the future subject of their talks, hopes, fears, and social media stands. But where did it come from… and why? In this week’s episode of the Hollywood Confessional, an entertainment journalist gives the inside scoop on what goes on behind the scenes at a trade publication. From the insane hours and grueling work to the genuine love of story that drives them — even when...

For 130 days and counting, fresh, hot pizzas have appeared on the LA studio picket lines every... single... day. How? Meet this week's guest on the Hollywood Confessional, Jess Morse! Jess is one of many people making Hollywood a happier place in strike times. So far, Jess and a team of volunteers have delivered an astounding $20,000 worth of pizza to keep picketing writers and actors on their feet. Join us as we hear how this massive meal-providing operation kicked off with a tweet, and how...

Power talks behind closed doors. In this special confession, we hear from an executive at a streaming arm of a studio about what's actually being said and done inside the studios during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.  How corporate chaos fostered by the streaming boom and the pandemic led to a desire among many to double down on control. How that desire manifests differently for the leadership than it does for the rank-and-file. How the disconnect is fostering an atmosphere of dissent within...

Hello Hollywood Faithful! This week we've got a very special episode where we interview Joelle Garfinkel, creator of Green Envelope Grocery Aid. Joelle is actively working to make Hollywood a happier place by organizing a mutual aid fund for those in need. If you'd like to donate to the fund, you can venmo Joelle: http://venmo.com/joelle-garfinkel You can also send money via PayPal: https://paypal.me/greenenvelopeaid?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US If you'd like to apply for funds, you...

Motorcycle chases. Labor abuses. Unsolicited bodily fluids. Just another day Hollywood? In this week's episode, a small arms and demolitions expert enters a different kind of battlefield when he takes a job as a production assistant on a film run by a notorious low-budget producer. But neither earthquakes nor legal problems nor a $50-a-day flat rate can deter this intrepid confessor. Join us as we hear how, despite crazy obstacles, he hustled his way to the top of the industry... only to...