Waiting for Goffman: Recent Episodes
Mark Goffman, Seth Blogier
Hosted by writer-producer of The Umbrella Academy, Bull, White Collar and The West Wing, tv and movie writers, directors, producers, and creatives join to share their wisdom about the art and craft of filmmaking.
Join us for an in-depth chat on documentary filmmaking with Oscar Award winners David Dinerstein (SUMMER OF SOUL) and Doug Blush (ICARUS) as they delve into what it takes to take a non-fiction subject and get it on the big screen!Download the Callin app for iOS and Android to listen to this podcast live, call in, and more! Also available at callin.com
An in-depth chat with Showrunners and Feature Writers Jessica Sharzer (NINE PERFECT STRANGERS) and Rita Hsiao (MULAN) about the ins & outs and differences between TV and Feature WritingDownload the Callin app for iOS and Android to listen to this podcast live, call in, and more! Also available at callin.com
An in-depth discussion about the future of entertainment and the internet with Lisa Sterbakov (Orchard Farm Productions) & Sharad Devarajan (Graphic India, Liquid Comics)
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A conversation about creating a compelling TV series with Mark Kunerth (FRIENDS) and Mark Lafferty (CASTLE ROCK).
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A discussion about music in Film/TV with the team behind ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST.
Austin Winsberg is a Writer/Producer for film and television. He created/Executive Produced the Emmy award-winning musical dramedy ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST on NBC. He also functions in the same capacity on Apple TV Plus’s bi-lingual comedy series ACAPULCO. He is currently writing the movie BABY NURSE starring Leslie Jones for Universal.
Music Supervisor Jen Ross has left her stamp on some of the highest-profile music driven TV shows to air including ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST, BEL-AIR, WE THE PEOPLE, and EMPIRE. Her big screen work includes Catherine Hardwicke’s romance MISS YOU ALREADY, the Disney films SKY HIGH and ICE PRINCESS, WHITE CHICKS, TRANSYLVANIA, and ISABELL DANCES IN THE SPOTLIGHT. Jen is a Los Angeles native.
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In the first episode of 2022, Mark will chat with Heyday TV President Albert Page and screenwriter Kat Page.
Albert Page moved to Heyday TV after serving as as the Twentieth Century Fox’s VP of Drama Development. This followed a three-year stint at Temple Hill Entertainment, where he served as Head of Television and worked frequently with 20th, including overseeing the launch of an overall deal between Temple Hill and the studio. Page will works with writers on the studio’s roster to develop new projects and identify fresh talent and ideas for series. During his tenure at Temple Hill, the company was behind three projects that were picked up to series – MR. MERCEDES at Audience Network, ROSEWOOD (Fox) and LOOKING FOR ALASKA (Hulu) – and received two pilot orders, for BEHIND ENEMY LINES (Fox) and DAVE (FX). Page began his career at Disney-based Mandeville Films, where he helped develop numerous films including THE FIGHTER starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, which was nominated for five Academy Awards, and comedy THE PROPOSAL starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. He also served as VP Creative at Xbox Entertainment Studios under Nancy Tellem, where he helped develop dramas and comedy for the fledgling streaming service.
Kat Blasband Page spent the first part of her career as VP of Development at Tapestry Films. Through her close work with writers and obsession with THE WEST WING, Kat realized she was meant to be on the other side of the keyboard, and retired from film development to pursue screenwriting. In her debut as a writer, Kat sold an hour long pilot entitled SHATTERED GLASS to NBC through Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap TV and WBTV. Kat is currently adapting non-fiction book RATF**KED: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE PLAN TO STEAL AMERICA’S DEMOCRACY by David Daley for Adam McKay’s Hyperobject Industries and Searchlight Pictures. Kat also adapted the bestselling novel STILLHOUSE LAKE by Rachel Caine for WBTV/Sue Kroll Co. and wrote SISTER WIVES SECRET for Lifetime.
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This week, Maria Konnikova and Matt Nix return to the show to dish their knowledge on the art of the con!
Maria Konnikova is the author, most recently, of THE BIGGEST BLUFF, a New York Times bestseller and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2020. Her previous books are the bestsellers THE CONFIDENCE GAME, winner of the 2016 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, and MASTERMIND: HOW TO THINK LIKE SHERLOCK HOLMES, an Anthony and Agatha Award finalist. Maria is a regularly contributing writer for The New Yorker whose writing has won numerous awards, including the 2019 Excellence in Science Journalism Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. Maria’s writing has been featured in Best American Science and Nature Writing and has been translated into over twenty languages. Maria also hosts the podcast THE GRIFT from Panoply Media, a show that explores con artists and the lives they ruin, and is currently a visiting fellow at NYU’s School of Journalism. Her podcasting work earned her a National Magazine Award nomination in 2019.
Matt Nix started off writing and directing several award-winning short films, which led to a career writing feature film scripts. As a screenwriter, he worked at most of the major studios writing movies before turning his attention to television. He is best known as the creator, writer, and executive producer of the USA Network hit series BURN NOTICE which ran from 2007 to 2014, spending several of those years as the highest rated show on basic cable. He created and ran THE GOOD GUYS for Fox and Complications for USA, co-created and co-ran THE COMEDIANS for FX, and developed and co-ran APB for Fox. Most recently he completed two seasons of the Marvel/X-men show THE GIFTED which he created and ran for Fox, and is currently creating and running the TURNER & HOOCH series for Disney+.
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This week, Mark gets to explore the comedic wisdom of Melanie Frankel and Rob LaZebnik, two longtime veterans of developing and writing in the genre!
Melanie Frankel spent the better part of her twenty year career in comedy development — starting at Imagine Television, ABC, Grammnet, USA Network and most recently ABC Signature where she served as Head of Comedy Development. Over the years, Melanie developed numerous shows including PLAYING HOUSE (USA), DIFFICULT PEOPLE (Hulu) and the upcoming EVERYTHING’S TRASH (Freeform) and THIS FOOL (Hulu).
Rob LaZebnik worked as a writer at Witt-Thomas-Harris Productions for over ten years, eventually serving as showrunner and Executive Producer. After Witt-Thomas, he joined THE SIMPSONS, where he continues today as a writer and Co-Executive Producer, and where he’s won four Emmy Awards and sort of a Peabody Award too. EXTINCT, an animated feature he co-wrote and co-produced, will be released on Netflix on Nov. 19, 2021. He has published comic pieces in The Wall Street Journal and at The New Yorker online.
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Tom Verica (BRIDGERTON) and Nikole Beckwith (TOGETHER TOGETHER)
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The extraordinarily talented writers Tara Schuster and Eli Jorné join today to talk about navigating franchises and long-running shows!
Tara Schuster is a best-selling author, playwright, and accomplished entertainment executive. She served as Vice President of Talent and Development at Comedy Central where she was the Executive in Charge of the Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning KEY & PEELE, the Emmy® Award winning @MIDNIGHT, and LIGHTS OUT WITH DAVID SPADE. For her work on KEY & PEELE, Jordan Peele remarked that Schuster is “ahead of her time...she sees the future a little bit.” Her book, BUY YOURSELF THE FCKING LILIES, debuted as the #1 New Release in Humor Essays and Self-Help on both Audible and Kindle. InStyle, People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Goodreads, BuzzFeed, Goop, and many others chose BUY YOURSELF THE FCKING LILIES as one of the best new books of 2020.
Eli Jorné is currently under a multi-year overall deal at AMC Studios. Previous credits include HEELS (EP), WILFRED (Showrunner/EP), HUGE IN FRANCE, BLUNT TALK and THE WALKING DEAD. He grew up in Michigan, studied screenwriting at the American Film Institute and obtained a graduate degree in Plasma Physics from Caltech.
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On a special SECOND episode this week, Mark has the distinct pleasure of delaying a conversation with film producers Ben Everard and Lindy Goldstein!
Ben is a former Quinn Emanuel litigator turned independent producer. In 2014 Everard partnered with Lawrence Grey and raised a multi million dollar round to capitalize the film and television production company Grey Matter Productions. The company's first project, LIGHTS OUT, written by Academy Award nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer (ARRIVAL) and produced alongside James Wan and Lawrence Grey, was made for a $5M budget and grossed over $148M worldwide. In 2019, Grey Matter produced THE LAUNDROMAT, on the Panama Papers scandal, directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Soderbergh and starring Academy Award winners Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman. In 2021, Everard produced YES DAY, starring Jennifer Garner, for Netflix. The film was watched by 62M accounts in its first 28 days, making it the most successful family film in the history of Netflix to date. Everard also serves on the Board of FilmLA, the entity in charge of film permitting throughout Southern California.
Lindy is the President of her eponymous company (LGP). Founded in 2013, LGP’s mission is to produce timeless commercial content, based on established IP or original stories in both film and television. Goldstein has over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, uniquely spanning film and television development/production, independent financing, and dance/choreography. She developed and produced The Nutcracker and The Four Realms, directed by Lasse Hallström & Joe Johnston and starring Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Misty Copeland and Mackenzie Foy, in addition to an extensive slate with the industry’s most esteemed talent and filmmakers. She has projects in TV and Film currently set at Walt Disney Pictures, ABC, Freeform, ACE, Picturestart, Amazon Studios and Sony—which include an adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel Bloom, several films based on ballets and operas, including a modern telling of Swan Lake, the love story Next Stop Yesterday and the dramedy Gifted And Talented, directed by Kirker Butler. Additionally, Goldstein’s award-winning choreography was honored by both The National Foundation for Advancement in The Arts and Jacob’s Pillow, and has been performed across the United States. Goldstein previously worked as a development executive, where she helped develop and package projects with various talent including Dianne English, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Ridley Scott, and Eva Longoria.
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On our sixth episode, Mark sit down virtually with Bill McGoldrick and Richard Hull to talk creating and running streaming services! Bill is the current EVP of Film and Television at Chernin Entertainment. He previously served as President of Original Content at NBCUniversal Entertainment Networks and Direct-to-Consumer, where he oversaw development and current for all original content on the company’s streaming service Peacock including the series Dr. Death, Saved by the Bell, Girls5eva and Rutherford Falls. McGoldrick also oversaw scripted originals for NBCU’s cable entertainment networks (USA Network, Syfy, Bravo and E!), and unscripted originals for USA and Syfy including series such as Sinner, Dirty John, Suits, Psych, Expanse and Magicians. Prior to taking on original content for Peacock in 2019, McGoldrick served as President, Scripted Content for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, and Unscripted Content for USA and Syfy.
Rich was the founder and CEO of Pongalo, the first solely Spanish-language streaming service, which is now known as VIX after Hull merged it with the world's largest Latino social media company. Rich currently serves as President of VIX, which was recently acquired by US Hispanic media leader Univision, where he also serves as the Head of Distribution. Previously, Rich served as investor, board member and/or advisor for a portfolio of 30 media and tech companies, and as operator or advisor on media deals totaling over a billion dollars with major media players, such as Disney, Universal and Microsoft. Rich has also worked with most major studios as a film and TV financier and producer. His 25+ produced projects have generated hundreds of millions of dollars and range from young-adult movies, such as Disney/Miramax's SHE’S ALL THAT and Disney/Miramax's GET OVER IT to award-winning films like Fox Sports’s THE STORY OF DARRELL ROYAL and PBS’s FOR LOVE OF LIBERTY: THE STORY OF AMERICA’S BLACK PATRIOTS to studio sequels like DADDY DAY CARE and Lionsgate's AMERICAN PSYCHO. Rich has also served on Vanderbilt University's Alumni Board, and as co-founder of non-profit Vanderbilt-in-Hollywood, which awards need-based scholarships to many of the 30+ students it places each summer into internships
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On this week’s episode, Mark gets to test the patience of two more special guests: writer-producer Dana Calvo and writer-director Melissa Murray!
Dana is a screenwriter and television producer. Her most well-known credits include creating Amazon’s critically-acclaimed feminist drama, “Good Girls Revolt,” and launching and running the writers’ room of “Narcos,” the international smash hit on Netflix about drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The feature she wrote for Participant Media is scheduled to begin principal photography this year, with Nicole Kassell directing. Before her career in Hollywood, Calvo was an award-winning journalist, domestically and internationally, for the Los Angeles Times, the Tribune and The Associated Press. She covered presidential elections, drug-trafficking, culture, business and really big hurricanes.
Melissa got her start in the industry by interning and eventually becoming a full-time staffer, at Lee Daniels Entertainment, where she worked on PRECIOUS, THE PAPERBOY, and THE BUTLER. Melissa also acted as the resident editor from 2011-2013 at Digital Bodega (GFS’ inhouse production company), where she has edited and directed videos for major clients, such as Warner Brothers, Jordan Brand, Wieden+Kennedy, Hershey’s and Deep Focus. She recently went to Chicago to direct UK band Alt-J’s music video, “Taro,” which had her working closely with Oscar-nominated directed, David O. Russell, the band’s creative director. Under her own production company, The Cynical Owl LLC, she has written and directed several original short films that have gone on to play at various film festivals. In 2015, Melissa’s short GRAY MATTERS, was accepted into the Sundance Ignite Program, where she worked closely with Sundance alumni to develop the project. In 2017, the film was picked for distribution by Amazon and Gravitas Ventures. Melissa is currently developing her first feature film, WE REAL COOL, with Dominique Fishback, Kiana Lede, Imani Lewis, Amiyah Scott, and Dorian Missick attached to star, and Just Blaze producing and curating the score and soundtrack.
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This week, Mark gets to stumble in on a conversation between writer-producer Andrew Goldberg and producer-manager Rachel Miller!
Andrew Goldberg is Co-Creator, Executive Producer, and Showrunner of Netflix’s hit adult-animated comedy BIG MOUTH. The series, about the glorious nightmare that is teenage puberty and inspired by his childhood with comedian Nick Kroll, premiered its fourth season in December 2020. The show recently received its third consecutive Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program. BIG MOUTH stars Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Jordan Peele, and Maya Rudolph. Netflix recently ordered HUMAN RESOURCES, a workplace comedy set in the world of the monsters from BIG MOUTH, co-created by Goldberg with Nick Kroll, Mark Levin, Jennifer Flackett, and Kelly Galuska. Along with Kroll, Levin, and Flackett, Goldberg founded the production company BRUTUS PINK which produces animation exclusively for Netflix. Goldberg began his career writing for FAMILY GUY where he rose to the level of Co-Executive Producer.
Rachel Miller is a founding partner of Haven Entertainment, a management and production company based in Los Angeles. Haven is a dynamic company that produces award-winning documentaries, feature films and television shows; represents top writers, directors, actors, and improvisers; and collaborates with brands to develop cutting-edge digital content. With over 18 years of experience in the entertainment business, Miller specializes in intellectual property (IP) development and has sold over 28 books to major publishers. Miller’s clients have worked across every entertainment platform including on such acclaimed television shows as “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Simpsons,” “Parks and Recreation,” “House of Lies” and “Family Guy.” Additionally, she produced UNDER THE ELECTRIC SKY, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and sold to Focus Features and is currently producing a tv show for Netflix. Additionally, she founded the non-profit program Film2Future (F2F) to tackle the real problem facing Hollywood – a lack of diverse students at the start of the pipeline.
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This week, Mark gets to keep two more exciting guests waiting: Haroon Saleem and Ahmadu Garba!
Haroon has been working in the entertainment industry for nearly 20 years, currently serving as the President of Production of Trevor Noah’s Viacom-backed Day Zero Productions. From 2017 to 2019, Haroon served as Nicky Weinstock and Ben Stiller’s EVP of Production and Development at Red Hour, having most recently produced the upcoming Friendsgiving for Endeavor Content, Dinner in America, and the raunchy digital hit, The Package for Netflix. Prior to this, Haroon was producing the adaptation of the New York Times bestseller, An Ember in the Ashes with acclaimed producer Mark Johnson for Paramount Pictures as well as executive producing a film based on acclaimed journalist Mike Kim's excursion into North Korea that will star Daniel Dae Kim.
Ahmadu has lived all over the United States and around the world, with life experiences unlike any other writer in Hollywood. Born in Washington D.C., Ahmadu spent many years living in his family's native country of Nigeria, while his father was jailed as a political prisoner. He received a B.A. at The George Washington University and after spending one day at law school, he packed up and moved to Hollywood. He is a 2016 Fox Writers Intensive Alum and has written on various shows including Unt. David O. Russell Project (Amazon), Happy! (Syfy), The Sinner (USA), Dr. Death (Peacock) and The Girl From Plainville (Hulu). He has also sold multiple shows to AMC and Peacock.
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On today’s episode, Mark shows up late for a conversation with writer-producers Melissa Hilfers and Taylor Elmore!
Melissa London Hilfers is a screenwriter working in television and film. She is the Creator/Executive Producer of MONARCH, an opulent family dynasty drama about America’s first family of country music, premiering on Fox on January 30, 2021. She is also developing a college dramedy based on the columns of New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, for Bad Robot. In features, she recently wrote a draft of the reboot of JAGGED EDGE for Sony. Hilfers’ additional recent tv projects include THE FORGETTING TIME, based on the bestselling novel, for Fox TV and 20th Century Fox with Octavia Spencer producing; THE RECESSIONISTAS for USA Network and UCP; and POP CULTURE for USA Network and UCP. Recent film projects include UNFIT, a Supreme Court drama, which sold to Amazon, with Dakota Johnson starring; UNDONE, a legal thriller which sold to Black Bear; THE BOY WHO PLAYED WITH FUSION for Fox/Disney and director Jeff Nichols; and BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, based on the International Bestseller for Stone Village; IMMORTAL, a biopic about Emily Dickinson for MYRA Entertainment and director Ellen Kuras.
Originally hailing from Florida, Taylor Elmore worked on Cold Case for Warner Brothers/CBS before taking a job writing and producing on the FX show JUSTIFIED, which ran six seasons. Leaving that show as an Executive Producer, Elmore went on to work on LIMITLESS for CBS while developing BLOOD & TREASURE, where he served as Showrunner/EP before moving on to co-write and produce the Paramount+ Stephen King series THE STAND. He is currently working on the JUSTIFIED reboot, CITY PRIMEVAL.
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Sit back and enjoy the debut episode of WAITING FOR GOFFMAN! Mark is joined by writer-producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach and director-producer Doug Aarniokoski to chat about working in a shifting TV industry, STAR TREK, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, and everything in between. Or rather, they are joined by him.
Though best known as one of the Emmy winning writer/producers of Lost (Outstanding Drama Series, 2005) and The Dark Crystal (Outstanding Children's Program, 2020), and for creating The Middleman graphic novel and TV series, Javier "Javi" Grillo-Marxuach is a prolific creator of TV, movies, comic books, essays, podcasts, and transmedia content. Javi's current work includes writing and producing for Raising Dion (Nextflix), Blood & Treasure (CBS) and an upcoming event series for Epix.
Doug Aarniokoski began his career as a 1st AD on films such as AUSTIN POWERS, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, and SPY KIDS. His longstanding relationship with Robert Rodriguez led to his becoming a 2nd Unit Director of some of Robert’s films and others, including TAKERS and RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION. Doug then made the jump to directing, and he has spent years directing and producing such shows as SLEEPY HOLLOW, LIMITLESS, BULL, and currently STAR TREK: PICARD (which is in production for Seasons 2 & 3 in Los Angeles). Doug serves as Executive Producer and is the Producer/Director on the series.
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