54 - Reacting to Production Horror Stories w/ Kristen Brancaccio
Today Rebecca is joined by Kristen Brancaccio to react to some anonymously submitted production horror stories - the good, the bad, and the downright hilarious. BREAKDOWN: 0:30 - Updates with Kristen! Full-time directing largely in vertical soap operas 3:55 - Anonymously submitted production horror stories!4:20 - UPM asked LAPD to ID homeless defecation, cop reverse unos and asks production to read screenplay 6:23 - Cops respond to film shooting but not gun shooting7:05 - Chandler Berg the PA putting out a Malibu fire with the production fire extinguisher 8:30 - Producers digging into an actual cemetery 10:06 - Director beat up PD on set, Kristen stands up for art department11:14 - 300 extras were told to actually fight each other, actor gets stabbed12:28 - Rap video with dog fights, stabbing, and computers stolen out of motor home 13:09 - Kristen is up to direct a music video, artist goes to jail before they can shoot 14:22 - Script supervisor stole the lined script for ransom 14:45 - “The Terminator” goes off on PA for chewing too loudly15:40 - Department head commits fraud, blames assistant 16:18 - Kristen declines to deposit production budget into department head’s personal account17:30 - Woman shocked by amount of cash taken out by Hollywood productions18:17 - Person asked to only be paid in gold bars18:40 - Camera van without handbrake runs through video village on car commercial28:55 - Portable toilet driven for 45 minutes on bumpy road with person inadvertently inside 19:50 - Talent rage quit his own pilot 20:40 - mayor allowed filming in exchange for photos with celebrities 21:06 - Extra wardrobe malfunction 21:58 - Background actor backstories22:58 - Bribing the neighbor with Magic Castle tickets24:25 - Director freaks out that set design isn’t bougie enough 25:22 - Client decided day of the shoot that pre-approved wooden paneling needed to be VFX’d out26:52 - Wet garbage falling30:27 - Unusable footage from holding camera on top of a moving camera29:50 - Petty cash disappeared x231:35 - Who can decode these acronyms? DM us @nosetpathshowKEEP UP WITH KRISTEN: IG: @kristensrealityKristen's first episode on No Set Path: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/02-pitching-matt-damon-producing-for-finneas-w-kristen/id1676370871?i=1000605417778KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW: All Platforms: @NoSetPathShowwww.NoSetPathShow.combio.site/nosetpath
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53 - From Team USA to the Writers Room with Becca Mann (The Morning Show, Cruel Summer, The Wilds, Outside the Lanes)
Becca Mann is an author, screenwriter, and former Team USA swimmer. A two-time national champion, she was the youngest to place Top 10 in four events at a single Olympic Trials and competed in four World Championships. She later worked in writers rooms on shows like Cruel Summer, The Wilds, and The Morning Show. Her memoir Outside the Lanes and novel Unruly drop the first week of April.Today, we dive into how Becca landed her first writers' room job with 500+ cold emails; how she turned a spontaneous book pitch into a deal; and why embracing boldness, loving the process, and facing failure head-on leads to success.BREAKDOWN: 3:00 - “Outside the Lanes” - memoir from an alumnae swimmer of Team USA15:00 - First job in Hollywood by guessing showrunners’ emails and cold emailing 17:18 - First writers’ room job as a writers’ PA on “Cruel Summer”22:00 - Being show runner’s assistant on “The Wilds”23:50 - Becoming script coordinator on “The Morning Show”25:40 - Back to sending emails for the next job!28:00 - How Becca got her book deal + failure isn’t real33:00 - Huge week for Becca in April! Books, races, shows!34:00 - Becca announces her YA book premise, coming out this April!37:30 - USC swim career + early swim career44:50 - Advice!54:07 - TIME CAPSULEKEEP UP WITH BECCA: IG: @becca__mannTikTok: @beccawmannBuy Becca's Memoir: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774496/outside-the-lanes-by-becca-mann/KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW: All Platforms: @NoSetPathShowwww.NoSetPathShow.combio.site/NoSetPath
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52 - Most Popular Filmmaker Topics: Second Year Podcasting Recap!
Revealing the top episodes, wins for the year, and upcoming opportunities!CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: All Platforms: @NoSetPathShowbio.site/NoSetPathwww.NoSetPathShow.com
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51 - Avenues for Writers with Maggie Admire (WGA Award Nominee, Spotify Writer-Producer)
Maggie Admire is an LA-based writer and producer, nominated for a 2025 WGA Award and a CrimeCon Clue Award, with features in The New York Times. Over nine years, she’s created 40+ podcast series, many for Spotify, including Serial Killers and Coinspiracy Theories, reaching millions. She helped build Parcast as its first hire before its Spotify acquisition.Beyond podcasts, she’s been a Pack Theater sketch writer, crafted tweets for Funny or Die, and even ghostwrote Tinder replies—before being replaced by a younger, hotter AI. She’s currently writing a romantasy-comedy novel and fostering a dog.Today we’re getting into how putting yourself and your ideas out there can land you a prestigious nomination like one at the WGA Awards, how to balance long term strategy with short term opportunity when deciding what career decisions to make next, and how to take calculated risks when pitching new ideas.BREAKDOWN:2:15 - Maggie’s favorite “Serial Killers” episode, which was nominated for a 2025 GA Award12:00 - how to find balance when working with very dark material13:30 - the decision to do audio-only for a podcast episode vs. video podcast16:00 - proactively submitting for a WGA award nomination19:49 - First Deadline mention by name20:07 - WGA Awards experience!31:43 - How to stand out in a comptitive industry34:30 - Other Spotify shows: “Dog Tales,” “Tales,” “Mind’s Eye”39:00 - advice for screenwriters considering podcasts43:50 - Balancing writing podcasts with other writing passions including sketch comedy and novels49:40 - Early jobs: ghostwriting people’s responses on Tinder51:20 - Getting paid to write individual jokes on the now-defunct “Pitch” app54:50 - Thoughts on TikTok & comedy57:30 - Advice for persevering in this career + not wanting to be a manager1:06:12 - TIME CAPSULEKEEP UP WITH MAGGIE:TikTok: @MaggieAdmireIG: @secret___admireListen to Maggie’s work: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MH80XPwH4UdpQxXon2obn
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50 - Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni & A History of Hollywood Publicity
EPISODE BREAKDOWN0:00 - Intro6:00 - Why Baldoni & Lively probably won’t go to trial6:40 - Publicity vs. PR vs. Marketing7:59 - Looking at things with a critical eye & documentary subjects saying “no”10:10 - North West, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West & “The Lion King” at the Hollywood Bowl12:58 - Amazon Prime’s publicist dramatization in “Flack”15:00 - the advent of the “influencer”16:25 - Real stories of publicist shenanigans from my time at the Hollywood Reporter22:45 - more Hollywood stories23:26 - studios/companies telling actors things to say to promote a film, including fake stories. Case study: Suicide Squad & Jared Leto’s crazy “gifts” 38:33 - Failed publicity stunts - Balloon boy (2009), Jussie Smollett (2019), Morton Downey Jr. (1989)54:18 - how you’re being tricked by social media creatorsKEEP UP WITH THE SHOW: All Platforms: @NoSetPathShowwww.NoSetPathShow.comwww.bio.site/NoSetPath
Canada - english