Lisa Sharkey, SVP Director of Creative Development of HarperCollins Publishers, opens up about her journey into the publishing industry after working as Senior Producer for “Good Morning America” and President of Al Roker Entertainment. She has overseen the acquisition and publication of more than fifty New York Times Bestsellers, including multiple number-one bestsellers. A two-time Emmy Award winner, she received the Peabody and Dupont Awards for her work on the ABC News team during 9/11. ...

Marco De Molina is a 2022 Grammy Nominated film producer and co-founder of the independent production company Spacebrain. He has received international acclaim at prestigious film festivals worldwide, including the Festival de Cannes. De Molina has also produced countless music videos for chart-topping musicians in all genres, from metal to pop, receiving numerous nominations and wins at the MTV VMAs and UKMVAs, including a Grammy Nomination for Best Music Video for LIL NAS X “Montero (Call...

Jim Kouf is a screenwriter, director, and producer who has worked on a variety of beloved films and TV shows. He wrote "Rush Hour," "National Treasure," "The Boogens," "The Hidden," executive produced "Con Air," and wrote/directed "Gang Related," "Miracles," and "Disorganized Crime." In the television space, Kouf wrote and co-created "Grimm," along with writing and producing credits for "Angel" and "Ghost Whisperer," among others. He received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture...

Michael Pollack has held leadership positions for more than 35 years in the legal, financial and entertainment industries. Michael is the founder and former President of a litigation support firm that is today part of an international group of companies. He has held directorship positions for more than a dozen financial institutions that are both private and publicly held. Specializing for decades in M&A and Turnaround Management he has spearheaded tens of billions of dollars of financing...

Laverne is a Japanese-American film and television producer with more than 20 years of successful programming and producing experience in premium cable, broadcast and digital platforms. She is the Executive Producer of the Netflix series GIRLBOSS, and co-founder of K&L Productions, a film & television company created with Kay Cannon (PITCH PERFECT, BLOCKERS and CINDERELLA). Her guiding passion is helping creative professionals tell their stories to derive outer accomplishment from...

Chelsea Peng is the Senior Editor of New York Magazine's The Strategist, formerly Assistant Editor at Marie Claire and Fashion Editor, Branded Content at Refinery29. She joins us to discuss fashion, the journalism industry, and bringing fresh, new ideas into the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 years ago in 2000, Jason Eric Perlman packed up a U-Haul trailer, hitched it to his Jeep and drove across the country to begin his new life in Los Angeles. Three years after that move, his same Jeep was crushed by a 2000-year-old Sequoia Redwood tree while shooting his USC Master Thesis Film. So— in many ways, his dream came true…  Since his days in a fine art high school outside of Philadelphia, Jason had been fascinated by film. It amalgamated his creative interests, being a lifelong...

A former film critic and scholar with M.A. Degrees in Philosophy from Harvard University and the University of London and in Cinema Studies from New York University, producer Steven Schneider has quickly risen the ranks of Hollywood to become one of the go-to experts in genre films. After having authored and edited numerous books on world cinema and horror, Schneider moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in producing. Following the record-breaking success of 2009's PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, a...

Michelle Holbrook was diagnosed with Schwannomatosis, a type of neurofibromatosis also known as “NF,” at the age of 30. The disease causes tumors to develop throughout her body. But despite the pain she goes through each morning, she is now serving as an Ambassador for the Children’s Tumor Foundation and wants to educate others about the rare disease. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BuzzFeed Editor Morena Duwe discusses her rare journey from ballet dancer and film school student to finding her place in the world of journalism. Duwe is a Contributing Writer for Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times, and has written for CNN, Guardian News & Media, Business Insider, VICE Media, Billboard, Flaunt Magazine, LA Weekly, The Huffington Post, among others. She’s also a video host and producer, and her work explores topics ranging from social injustice and humanitarianism to...

Maximillian Potter is a best-selling author and a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair. He has been a staff writer and/or editor at Philadelphia Magazine, Premiere, Details, GQ and Esquire; and he has contributed to Outside and The Atlantic, among other publications. Potter has written two books: "The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics," the memoir of Colorado Governor and Democratic Presidential / U.S. Senate Candidate John Hickenlooper, published in May 2016; and "Shadows in the...

Mara Reinstein is a New York City-based entertainment journalist who's contributed to The New York Times, Parade, The Television Academy, CNN, The Ringer, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, AARP, Vulture and more. She’s also the film critic for Us Weekly magazine and Reader’s Digest and a Top Critic on Rotten Tomatoes. Read more at MaraMovies.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heather Langenkamp began her career as an extra in The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983) before debuting as a lead actress in Drew Denbaum’s film Nickel Mountain (1984). She is best known for her performances in several movies, including A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Dream Warriors (1987), as well as her return to Freddy in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994). She has also appeared in films such as The Butterfly Room (2012), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Truth or Dare (2017). ...

Cole Haddon is an Australian-American novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. His new novel "Psalms For The End Of The World" was called ‘Ingenious and compelling’ by The Times. "Dracula," his first television commission, was produced by NBC and Sky Living starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and he has gone on to develop dozens of feature films and TV series around the globe. His graphic novels have been published by Dark Horse and others. He lives in the Blue Mountains of Australia with his wife...

Peg O’Connor, Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Her training is in moral philosophy, feminist philosophy, addiction studies, and the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein. She believes that philosophy helped her to get and remain sober. Avoiding Alcoholics Anonymous for the first 20 years of her sobriety because of the concept of a “higher power,” she is focused on using some of the great canonical thinkers in western philosophy to illuminate...

Christopher Lockhart is a Hollywood executive, filmmaker, and teacher. As a story professional, he has worked in the talent agency business for almost 25 years. He started at ICM, worked his way to William Morris, and transitioned to WME, the world’s largest diversified talent agency, where he serves as story editor, curating projects for “A” list talent such as Denzel Washington. As an Emmy nominated, independent producer, his credits include the horror hits "The Collector" and "The...

Jessica Toscano is a skilled content creator and editor with experience in print and digital media. She founded unisex lifestyle publication, IntrigueMag in 2014, having first published as a blog (its formal recognition as a legal entity was in Sep 2020), and continues to serve as CEO and Editor-in-Chief. Additionally, her articles have been published in Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, SELF, SHAPE, Health, Glamour UK, Vogue Taiwan, Yahoo Life, SheKnows, InsideHook, Giddy and Cliché, and she's...

Alicia Dennis is a content executive, award-winning journalist and editor innovating the telling of mass media stories across print, digital and broadcast. A true crime and pop culture expert, Dennis leads teams of breaking news reporters in crime and serves as an executive within multiple brands. Dennis's success as editor, digital content director, creative producer, story consultant and on-camera-talent coupled with her drive to create programs that satisfy strategic audience needs...

Standup star Jeremiah Watkins appears on Inspired Minds to talk about film, comedy icons, and his widely-acclaimed style in front of the microphone. Known to make Judd Apatow fall in love with comedy again, Jeremiah lit a fire in the industry that hasn’t been blazing since Chris Farley.  His debut 1 hour standup special “Jeremiah Watkins: Family Reunion” is streaming now on Amazon Prime, and you can hear him as the new voice of the iconic role of The Joker on “DC Superhero Girls.” Other...

Eric Morse is an author and activist who wrote the twin children's books, "What Is Hip Hop?" and "What Is Punk?" featuring claymation images of Biggie Smalls, Tupac, The Ramones, The Clash, and other luminaires from their respective scenes.  He cut his teeth in the music industry while joining bands and eventually became a music industry executive.  As Eric says, “When I love something, I advocate for it.” Podcast | Inspired Minds (inspiredmindspodcast.com) Hosted on Acast. See...

Jillian Dale is a journalist and has written pieces for The Huffington Post on film as a Contributor, as well as a producer/director for her own company, Bella Luce Productions.  She has directed and created shows like "Omniscient," "Up In Arms," and "Beverly Hills Canine Club."  She was formerly a research attorney and a US Army 2nd Lieutenant, and is currently a digital content producer for the State of California.  Podcast | Inspired Minds (inspiredmindspodcast.com) Hosted on Acast. See...

Pulitzer Prize-winner Marc Fisher is a Senior Editor at The Washington Post, and reports and writes on a wide range of topics. Most recently, he wrote "Trump Revealed," a biography of Donald Trump. He previously was The Post’s Enterprise Editor, leading a team of writers creating narrative journalism and experimenting with new forms of storytelling for digital and print editions of the newspaper.  His books include "Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power," a...

Entertainment journalist and author Randee Dawn writes for the LA Times Envelope, Variety, Today.com, and a number of other outlets. fiction. She's also a former editor at The Hollywood Reporter and Soap Opera Digest. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and online publications; she also dreams up trivia questions for BigBrain Games. Randee's science fiction/fantasy/horror novel, "Tune in Tomorrow," is a humorous tale about a reality TV show run by mythical creatures (but...

Drew Fortune is a pop-culture journalist and screenwriter, who has been actively publishing for the past ten years. He is a regular contributor to Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Vulture, but his writings on music, film, and television have been published in Cosmopolitan, Playboy, SPIN, Billboard, the A.V. Club, Stereogum, and many others. His favorite bands are Week, Superchunk, and the Replacements. He loves fly fishing and loitering in record stores. His first book: No Encore!...