The Nowhere Room: Recent Episodes
Kingdom of Pavement
The Nowhere Room is a podcast created by Kyle Cords and Amy Suto and produced by Kingdom of Pavement. It dives into ethical entrepreneurship, creative business, and Amy and Kyle's model of Hollywood 2.0.
Let's find our somewhere together in The Nowhere Room.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle finish answering questions from film students. How does trauma relate to personal growth? What do you think about the publishing industry? How does one cultivate the kind of unflappable confidence that Amy Suto has? What's the balance between networking and creating? What do you do when you're about to jump in the water with the sharks?
In this episode, Kyle and Amy continue answering questions from film students. How do you muster up the courage to do cold reach outs? How do you prioritize and approach deadlines? How do you navigate having such different audiences for your work? How do you approach mental health? What happens after you've "made it" in Hollywood?
In this episode, Amy and Kyle answer questions they received from film students. Should I get an internship? How did you get your first job? What do I do if I don't have credentials? How do I get my foot in the door?
In this episode, Kyle and Amy take a poke at what Kyle considers "Amy-isms" or things that Amy has said that could use some more explanation.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle start a conversation on the hidden person behind "the nice guy" mask. What are the different layers of a personality? And how do you conduct yourself in an authentic way to attract others to who you truly are.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy compare the themes in Japanese Anime versus the themes in American Storytelling. Why does anime emphasize teamwork, while American stories emphasize the rugged individual? How does that reflect and shape the societies we live in
In this episode, Kyle and Amy reflect on how recent successes are gifts from their previous selves and how the best things take time.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about how successful music bands appear to be the result of miracle fate, when in reality they aren't. You think Beyoncé does everything herself?
In this episode, Kyle and Amy talk about accountability and how we should be the alchemists of our own reality.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle discuss how real change is an inside job. And how if you want to be worthy of the ideals you claim to carry you have to have action, not just words.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy talk about the Unobserved Wound, or the unprocessed trauma that haunts Hollywood, and how the open wound grinds up dreams that are put into zombies on screens.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle touch on the idea of "finding security in an insecure world" and how that often leads us to feel like we're only worth as much as the money we can make.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy spark a conversation on working relationships and how, in order to work, they need open communication, accountability, and mutual respect to function.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about giving gifts and the importance of balancing generosity with reciprocity.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle discuss the inspiration behind the names of their companies, Kingdom of Pavement and The Orphanage Collective.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy reflect on their time as assistants in Hollywood and how it is built to break people down. What are the things that make people continue to put up with it?
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about how bootstrapping has allowed them to optimize for freedom and flexibility. They discuss how operating in a lean model helps them prioritize what matters most.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy discuss the idea of mutual aid, how they've integrated this concept into their communities and mindsets, and how mutual aid can create accountability from a place of generosity.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy have a conversation on the difference between being an employee and being a partner.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about their current partnership and past ones, the importance of having creative collaborators, and what it truly means to be in a partnership.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle discuss internal versus external work when it comes to self-improvement. They talk about how it's important to get specific into the things you want and how to cultivate yourself in ways so you genuinely like being with yourself.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about the concept of a "trauma-off" in Hollywood, or why we seem to compete in how miserable we are or how many 80-hour workweeks we've had. Why are we so in love with our sadness? Why does the industry breed that?
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about the paradox in Hollywood of how you can't get staffed on a show without being staffed on a show in the past (and how does that make sense?), and how the industry is not built to support holistic creative lives. Why are so many successful people in Hollywood so unhappy?
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about why Hollywood drinks. Why does every event including networking revolve around alcohol? What red flags are we trying to ignore and dull with a drink? Why do we love the chains we're in?
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about how Hollywood gains its power from wielding scarcity, and how that warps your reality. They compare this model to how in other industries, like tech, excess shapes the industry and the mindsets of the people within it. No matter what industry we're in, how do we avoid a scarcity mindset and instead get connected with our inner power and agency?
In this episode, Kyle and Amy continue our conversation about investing in people, the problems that come with trying to hire their peers, and why people try to be right for the things that aren't right for them.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about what it means to invest in the people around us, and what happens when freelancers or collaborators say they want an opportunity, but don't actually mean it.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about one of the hardest challenges new companies and small businesses face: how to hire the right people who align with you and your vision. They talk about some of the mistakes they've made, and their philosophies moving forward.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about how 2020 -- despite the pandemic, collapse of the TV bubble, and other hardships -- actually gave them a lot of unexpected gifts. Whether that was showing the true nature of the people around them, helping them to learn how to be resilient, or creating a new path for them -- 2020? Thank you -- but also, fuck you.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about the ideal setup of working freelance versus a full-time 9-to-5. As a freelancer, you're free to work remotely, travel the world, and only take on projects for the people and companies you believe in, but you also need to be self-motivated. On the employer side, they talk the importance of hiring freelancers who are intrinsically motivated.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about the Fork in the Road, or why they won't be recommending the assistant path to anybody anytime soon. Why would they when they know what's down that path?
In this episode, Kyle talks about his mental model of "The Cosmic Ball": that is, what is the most simple, highest form of something? Whether that thing is a podcast or an app or a company, how do we get to a final result with less waste and more beauty?
In this episode, Amy talks about what motivates her, why she loves building and creating things, from novels to podcasts to companies, and what's inspired her to be on the path she's on today. Here's the episode:
In this episode, Amy tells the version of her story she's told a million times about where she grew up and what made her who she is, from growing up in the wild west to making her way to USC for film school.
In this episode, Kyle tells the story of his life that he'll only tell once. He shares the parts of his childhood he doesn't talk about at Hollywood networking drinks, and how his experiences in life have motivated him to build things that make the world better.
In this episode, Kyle dives into what motivates him, and how growing up in Riverside showed him a lot of paths he didn't want to go down, and how he kept pursuing his emotional truth to avoid diluting his reality. He also talks about how writing became key to helping him survive his childhood.
In this episode, Kyle tells the story of his life he's told a million times at drinks or general meetings in Hollywood. From his upbringing in Riverside to his time at NYU and fated first jobs in the industry, he breaks down pitfalls and lessons that have helped shape his path to where he is and what he believes in now.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about the importance of considering opportunity cost -- especially in decisions like getting in debt to go to college. Every choice you make costs you something, so stop buying lottery tickets and start growing a garden.
In this episode, Amy talks about her time at USC and how it's shaped her. Are the jobs she's gotten because of her degree worth the tuition? What path would she recommend for rising writers who want to work in Hollywood?
In this episode, special guest Blake Levy talks about his experience at Chapman, and discusses the merits and drawbacks of film school. Can you have a thriving career without film school? And how does Chapman stack up against the other top schools?
In this episode, Kyle breaks down his time at NYU and his advice to those considering film school as a pathway to working in Hollywood. If he had to go back in time and confront his younger self, what path would he suggest if you want to be a working writer?
In this episode, Kyle and Amy continue their conversation on education. They break down alternative paths for writers beyond being an assistant, instead focusing on ways to hone your craft. They also talk about the economics of being a showrunner, and how a scarcity mindset hurts us.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about how real learning doesn't happen in a classroom, it's something we create for ourselves. The education system doesn't teach us how to subvert systems or think critically. Why is this? Just think: how many commencement speakers actually graduated?
In this episode, Kyle and Amy talk about burning our supplies of Midnight Oil -- or, the supply of high-intensity energy that we have when we're younger -- and how we need to make sure we're planting seeds in a garden that will grow. This is especially important if you've just graduated and are taking minimum wage jobs that aren't valuing your skills.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy continue to break down hard conversations, talking about how crossing the threshold can allow the right people to stay in our lives -- and allow the wrong people see themselves out. They also talk about how past trauma can affect our responses to current problems, and what to look for when crossing the threshold.
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about hard conversations as a tool to cross the threshold. Hard conversations include any conversations we know we need to have -- with our partners, collaborators, or anyone else in our life -- that involves some uncomfortable truth we don't want to face. They talk about why these conversations are necessary, and how to have them so that you can improve your life and have better, more honest lines of communication.
In this episode, Kyle and Amy start a discussion on the idea of "crossing the threshold." This is Kyle's terminology for not letting the fear of what could happen keep us from going after what we really want. If we're stuck in a bad job, a bad relationship, or a bad situation of any kind -- it's often our fear that keeps us from reinventing ourselves. We often are the ones rejecting ourselves first before the world even has a chance to. So how can we cross the threshold and create the life we want for ourselves?
In this episode, Amy and Kyle talk about the "waiting room of Hollywood" and how the current version of Hollywood sucks dry a lot of the dreams of the people inside of it. They explore why the industry is built this way -- and who benefits from the current system. They talk about how if you don't have ownership, you don't have power: which is why their model of Hollywood 2.0 prioritizes supporting creatives so everyone can make their own work and have freedom and a sustainable career.
Kingdom of Pavement presents: The Nowhere Room, a new podcast about ethical entrepreneurship, thriving as a creative, and our model of Hollywood 2.0. Follow hosts Amy Suto and Kyle Cords through their first year of business on this podcast as well as at TheNowhereRoom.com.