There is an enormous difference between loving movies and understanding how filmmakers actually make them. Andrew Bloomenthal has spent years exploring that difference from both sides of the table. Andrew is an entertainment writer, screenwriter, and independent filmmaker whose work has appeared in Script Magazine, Creative Screenwriting Magazine, CNBC.com, and Variety. His unusual career has allowed him to interview accomplished screenwriters and directors while continuing to develop his own projects, giving him a perspective few writers have: he gets to study how professional filmmakers think while simultaneously confronting the same creative challenges every screenwriter faces.
Andrew didn’t originally plan on becoming an entertainment journalist. His professional background was primarily in financial journalism, even though filmmaking and screenwriting were always his greater passions. A friend repeatedly encouraged him to combine those two worlds by interviewing screenwriters. Andrew resisted because he wanted to be the filmmaker being interviewed rather than the journalist asking questions. Eventually, he listened. Previous interviews with Oliver Stone and Michael Moore gave him enough relevant material to pursue an opportunity with Creative Screenwriting, and suddenly journalism became his doorway into conversations with the very filmmakers he admired. Instead of pulling him away from filmmaking, interviewing writers allowed him to understand their struggles, victories, working habits, and creative processes at a much deeper level.
One of Andrew’s strongest lessons is the importance of treating every professional opportunity seriously, regardless of its size. When he started receiving entertainment-writing assignments, he didn’t divide them into important projects and insignificant ones. He approached each article as though he were covering a major studio release because every piece published online became another example of his work. For screenwriters and filmmakers, the same principle applies. That tiny short film, low-budget commercial, first screenplay, or obscure assignment may become the work somebody uses to decide whether you’re ready for a larger opportunity. As Andrew explains, “every story is going to serve as a calling card.” The industry may not see all the work that went into your career, but it can certainly see what you put into the world.
His approach to interviewing filmmakers offers another valuable lesson: preparation separates professionals from everyone else. Andrew became frustrated watching directors and actors endure the same generic questions during press junkets. Rather than asking a filmmaker what it was like working with an actor for the hundredth time, he studies the movie carefully and searches for something specific. While interviewing Ralph Fiennes about The Invisible Woman, Andrew asked about the technical construction of a particular musical sequence—how live vocals, sound, and editing were coordinated. Fiennes immediately responded to the specificity of the question, and the conversation ultimately led to Andrew being invited to conduct a one-on-one interview. The takeaway extends far beyond journalism. Whether you’re pitching a producer, meeting a director, interviewing for a crew position, or approaching a potential collaborator, knowing their work demonstrates something no generic compliment can: you actually prepared.
That preparation doesn’t mean becoming rigid. Andrew always enters interviews with questions prepared, but he remains willing to abandon the plan when something more interesting appears. He describes the process as being ready to “zig and zag.” A filmmaker might answer a question in an unexpected way and suddenly reveal a far more interesting subject. Following that thread can produce something no predetermined list of questions ever could. Screenwriting operates similarly. Structure and preparation give writers direction, but stories sometimes reveal possibilities that weren’t obvious during outlining. The skill isn’t blindly obeying the plan. It’s knowing the plan well enough that you can recognize when departing from it makes the work better.
Andrew’s journalism background also shaped one of his most useful principles for screenwriters: economy of words. Whether writing an article, interview, screenplay, or story, he believes the material must remain concise and interesting. Anything unnecessary should be removed. Repetitive words weaken rhythm. Clichés make writing feel generic. Every sentence deserves attention. Screenwriters should recognize the connection immediately because screenplays are among the most economical forms of storytelling. Page space matters. Dialogue matters. Description matters. A screenplay doesn’t reward writers for demonstrating how many words they know; it rewards them for choosing the right ones. Andrew’s advice is simple: care enough about the writing to make deliberate choices.
Deadlines are another area where Andrew’s professional journalism experience translates directly into screenwriting. He says he thrives under deadlines and considers himself almost “allergic” to missing them. Professional assignments make accountability unavoidable, but personal screenplays are more dangerous because nobody may be waiting for them. Andrew acknowledges that writers working on their own projects need to become the person cracking the whip. Without an external editor or producer demanding delivery, filmmakers must manufacture their own discipline. A screenplay that remains perpetually unfinished can’t attract an actor, director, producer, investor, or audience. Eventually, the writer has to declare that the work will be completed and hold themselves accountable.
Perhaps the most exciting part of Andrew’s story arrives when the conversation shifts from discussing other filmmakers to making his own movie. At the time of the interview, he was preparing to shoot a roughly fifteen-minute musical short based on a play that had stayed with him for years. The actors had been cast. Four songs had been recorded. Vocal tracks were prepared for playback. Locations were being scouted, props assembled, and shots planned. Andrew describes the process with obvious excitement because filmmaking suddenly transforms writing from an isolated activity into collaboration. A story that previously existed in someone’s imagination begins requiring actors, musicians, locations, equipment, schedules, and dozens of creative decisions.
That transition may be the most important filmmaking lesson in the entire conversation. Writers can spend years wondering whether they’re qualified to direct something, produce something, or finally turn a screenplay into a finished film. Andrew argues that much of that hesitation comes from doubt rather than an actual lack of permission. Once other collaborators become involved, the project begins developing an energy that doesn’t exist when you’re alone with a keyboard. At some point, preparation has done its job. The screenplay exists. The actors are ready. The locations are found. The shots are planned. And the only thing left is the moment every filmmaker eventually has to face: calling action.
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Alex Ferrari 0:00
Enjoy today's episode with guest host Dave Bullis.
Dave Bullis 0:00
Joining me today is Andrew Bloomenthal. Andrew is an entertainment writer whose work has appeared in Script Mag, Creative Scriptwriting Magazine, CNBC.com, and Variety Magazine. Andrew, how are you, sir?
Andrew Bloomenthal 0:00
I'm doing great. Thanks, thanks so much for having me on your podcast. I'm a big fan.
Dave Bullis 1:12
Oh, my pleasure, and thank you for saying so, Andrew. Just to get started, you know, a question I always ask everybody: Is how did you get started as an entertainment writer?
Andrew Bloomenthal 2:24
I've always been a journalist, primarily in finance, and it's always been great. I've always picked bills, but I've always had a more passionate love for film and filmmaking. I'm a screenwriter myself. I I made a film, independent feature a few years back, and so I've always been a fan of the art form of films and screenwriting, and I revere screenwriters and I revere actors. And I had this friend; we all have a nagging friend who tells us what to do, and we protest, even though they're probably right. And she actually suggested, you know, Andrew, you have the skills. Why don't you, you know, put your journalism abilities to interviewing screenwriters? And I just kept protesting and saying, no, I, I have no interest whatsoever in talking to filmmaker because I want to be the subject. I want people to interview me. You know, it was kind of a jealousy thing, but she was she was absolutely right. So one day I did a Craigslist search for entertainment writers, and lo and behold, Creative Screenwriting Magazine was looking for journalists. Now I did have one click in the realm of finance because I interviewed Oliver Stone when Wall Street Part Two, Money Never Sleeps, came out. I don't know if you saw that, or if any of your listeners saw that it was Sheila Buff and Susan Sarandon and Michael Douglas. You know, sequel to Monster Hit. So I interviewed him for the finance magazine that I I wrote it for because you know the the protagonist was a greedy hedge fund manager and so there was some kind of a tie into that world and so I had that writing clip and I also did an interview with Michael Moore when he did a movie and you're gonna have to forgive me because I forget the title, but it was all about Wall Street corruption. So that was another tie into finance. And so I interviewed him for the Pinterest magazine that I worked for as well. So I had those two clips like in my back pocket, and that was good enough to get the job ready for creative screenwriting, and it just my friend said a big shout out to her who she'll be listening to this. Hey Wesley, I finally took your advice and it changed my life. It turned out to be a blessing because it really is a chance to commiserate with like people screenwriters who. You know, only writers understand what writers go through and trials and tribulations and the ups and downs, and the victories. So that's how I got into it, and it's been it's been bliss. You know, I live in Los Angeles now, and I get to go to all sorts of screenings and press events and have sit downs one on ones with with well known writers and directors, and so it just kind of happened organically. And and next up for me, I'm going to be interviewing Don Cheadle, who is the writer and director for a a Miles Davis biopic called Miles Ahead that he's writing and directing into Onion as Miles Davis. So it's been it's been a great ride.
Dave Bullis 5:47
That sounds amazing that you get to interview all these you know awesome people. You know, I was looking at some of the people that you've interviewed. The way we met was even when you just interviewed the screenwriter for The Revenant. You know, I was just reading that that in Script Mag, and I'll link to that interview in the show notes to everyone who's listening. But it's just you know, like you said, you know, you you understand, you know, what writers are going through, how they sort of have to build this, and I think that's even more interesting because the the writer for the Revenant, and I'm very sorry I forget his name right now, but that's right, Markels, he because he had to adapt the work from from the book, and the person who wrote the book actually works for Obama and the and the United States, I think Treasury Department. So he can't even promote the the movie or anything. So I'm sure that you know that whole process of creating that was probably pretty interesting because I don't even know if he's been allowed to contact the original author to ask him, and if he just went in blind and just sort of you know made it his own without any input from the original writer. But again, you know, but again, you know, you've interviewed so many awesome people, and you know, one of the questions I always you know I wanted to ask you, Andrew, is you know with Script Mag, any of these other magazines too. You know, when you actually see those job listings, like we're looking for new writers. You know, is there any tips you ever have for anybody that that's you know submitting to those to those postings?
Andrew Bloomenthal 7:13
Yeah, I definitely like there to be a certain level of transparency. There's no way that an entertainment journalist is going to make a lot of money. That's not why we do what we do. So it's always important for you to find out, you know, what they're paying per article. So there's no surprises, and so you and the publication are kind of you know seeing eye to eye, and you have you know an equal expectation of what the terms are. So I would say make sure that there's a an easy communication between you and the the editor. That that other than that, I think it's about like a slow build to get your your I guess writing portfolio to escalate to higher and bigger films by starting out with whatever small assignments are offered to you and just say yes to everything. That's how I began with creative screenwriting, I was assigned certain stories, and I just I just ran with them, and I treated each one as if it was like a huge studio blockbuster. Because the internet is forever, so you got to put your best foot forward ever, and in every single case, because that's going to be every story is going to serve as a calling card. So treat every story like it's of equal import. That's one thing I would say in terms of doing actual interviews. I think the important thing to do is overlook the blunt and obvious cliched questions, like you know, what gave you the idea for the film, and what was your experience writing? You know, like things like that that are just like obvious, you know, housekeeping questions. I call them they're okay to ask, but I think the real the the riches are in the niches. I've heard some say, so I'm going to claim credit for that thing, and and by that I mean get granular, ask real specific questions, because that's that will that will wake somebody up. I'll give you an example. When I was interviewing Ray Fine for The Invisible Woman, which was a really lovely little biopic, where he was playing Charles Dickens, and it was about his affair with an actress who was like 30 years his junior, and this was like not done in polite Victorian society.
Andrew Bloomenthal 10:10
So he had to keep her in the shadows; hence, she was invisible woman. So, not to throw other journalists under the body, but during press day, we were doing this roundtable, and and people were just asking him questions, you know, in his capacity as the director, and they were saying, so, you know, you played Charles Dickens, so what's harder to act or to direct yourself? Like he's going to get asked that a million times, or you know, how did you do research on someone who's dead? Like somebody actually asked that question, and I just wanted to roll my eyes. I just felt so terrible for Ray Fine because he was like, "Am I really here having to you know entertain these these blunt questions? So I sort of like interrupted and I asked a very specific question, but a very specific scene about this moment where this his girlfriend, this young woman and her family, she had like several sisters and her mother. They were a band of traveling actors, and they were unpacking into their house after doing a touring show, and they broke out into this lovely song. It was just almost like this kind of lullaby that they were singing as they were unpacking their clothes from their luggage, and the way it was cut together, it was just beautiful. But they were singing live, and you know, as opposed to singing to a pre-recorded track. So I asked them about that scene. I said, you know, how did you how did you cut that together? Did you, you know, get the sound mixer on board with you when you shot it? Like a real technical question, and you instantly perked up. You're like, oh my god, someone's asking a question I haven't been asked before. And just as I was leaving that day, the PR person who coordinates these interviews, she grabs me and says Ray Fiennes wants you to do a one on one, so which is you know when it's just you and him. So people you know a screenwriter director they'll they'll notice if you take the time to really watch the film and really come up with very specific and very detailed questions because when you're making a film when you're writing a film, every bit of dialog, the names you choose, every every word choice is very deliberate and purposeful, and there's there's a story behind it. So that's my best advice when you're interviewing someone is come up with real specific, granular questions. You know, say I noticed she had a bizarre hairstyle, or you know, I I noticed there was a you know this this dialog was very one-sided, where it felt like one person was talking more than the other. Was that what were you trying to get get at in in in crafting a scene that that way, and they will respect you, and they will give you interesting things as opposed to, you know, very blunt phoned responses, which happens if they're getting the same questions asked over and over and over again. Because that's what happens when they do these press junkets: is they're getting these same questions over and over and over again, and they tune out. So, if you can go up with something original, yeah.
Dave Bullis 13:25
You know that that's something I've seen too, Andrew. Is when the person is, you can see a lot of these actors at the end of the press junkets because when that same person has been asked the same question about you know 1000 times, they they physically look almost beaten down, like they just the answer is that they it's it's not even they don't have to think about it anymore. It's just a reaction now, and you know what was it like working with John? Oh, you know it was great and he's talented. You know, blah blah blah, and and that's why usually if I'm gonna catch an interview with somebody, like for instance, like Quentin Tarantino, he always seems like he's upbeat. But I've noticed, I I think he's been more selective recently about all his interviews because after that, the the one interview he had where he sort of got testy with the interviewer, and I think now with with when he's doing the Hateful Eight, it's more like you know, he had Christopher Nolan interview him, and then he also had Chris Hardwick of of the Nerdist. You know, he had Brett Eastinellas interview him, and I listened to all three of those interviews I just mentioned, and not one question was the same in any of those interviews.
Andrew Bloomenthal 14:36
Right, because these people they they know that there's there's more to the story than the obvious things. I saw I think it was Entertainment Tonight or something when someone was interviewing Meryl Streep about you know the the role she played in what was called Ricky and the Flash. I didn't actually see it, but there were things. Her daughter in real life played her daughter in the film, and it said, and the question was, "What was it like to work with your own daughter? And like, you know, what the fuck is she gonna say? It it it stopped. She's like, you know, oh, you know, it was it was great. And what what what did you what what did you what did you think when you first did your first scene with her? And she was like trapped, you know. She's trying to, you know, put on a smile, and you know. So it's it's deadly for these actors, directors, writers, you know, fill in the blank to be cornered with these such trite questions. And but so if you get in there with something original, you're gonna you're gonna wake them up. Also, what's very important is you get press notes, production notes, which give you all these behind the scenes stories. So it's already there. So once you know the questions, like you know, the origin story. How did they come up with something? Then you can ask slightly derivative questions. Like, okay, I know you know it's well known that you you know got this story by reading this novel, but what would you? What was something that just disgusted you with the novel you had to eliminate or that you struggled with? Like you know, get the questions that are beyond the obvious ones, and and that makes for a good interview, in my opinion.
Dave Bullis 16:25
You know, Andrew, you mentioned you know you know a couple of things in this, and I wanted to tell you a little funny story. And when I was shooting a film about about three or four years ago, we actually had a student film, student, sorry, a student journalist. He was a senior at a local college, and he came by the set, and he wanted to interview us all for for the the college newspaper, and we said sure, and you know he interviewed everybody. You know he asked asked some typical questions, and when we finally got we finally got the copy. It was both online, and it was both. You know, we also got the physical version. I don't think he could have done a worse job if he had just made it up. And what I mean by that is he misspelled everyone's name. He got the name, the name of the production wrong. He gave credit to people that took like he credited other people as the director, other people as the producer. He got everyone all mixed up, and he also basically the whole the whole last paragraph was basically like talking about the film that had nothing to do with the film, and I was just looking at this, and I was like, "What, what, what, that, what happened here? And and his his professor actually called me to ask me about what I thought about the about the assignment, and I I actually asked him first. I said, "Did he give you my number? Because this is for his credit. And he said yes. He, you know, we have to do this and it's due diligence and this and that. And I told him flat out, you know, I'm kind of torn. I don't want to to to you know. I know he's a senior in college. I don't want to throw him under the bus. But at the same time, I was like, this whole thing's a mess. And and the professor, you know, I heard me out, and he's like, well, I'm very sorry about that. I actually saved a copy for myself just because I now use it as a laughing point because one guy's name he actually completely just butchered it, and we're we'd had to go back and we're like, oh, we think this is you because he because his name was Steve and he called him like he called him like Chris Woodward or something, but so we were like, oh, I guess he means you, Steve. So it's just, it's just stuff like that. You know, I mean, I'm gonna be honest with you, Andrew. I'm guilty sometimes. Sometimes I mispronounce people's names on here. That's just because I'm an idiot. But other than that, yeah, I do my I do my best to to do to get everyone's names right when I finally put this up online.
Andrew Bloomenthal 19:06
Yeah, great. You can do great preparation, which is you know why I was enthusiastic about doing this interview or this this podcast because I've never done one before. But I you know clearly your subject is in good hands and you do do your homework. To be honest with you, I didn't know where this story was going to go. I thought you were going to be like, he was a wonder kitten, and he did the best interview ever, and it was in his nature to be a star. But you know, yeah, getting someone's name right-that that that sort of that kind of goes without saying that when you're in in the in the field of reporting, like it's especially when it's there are a lot of like with Alejandro Anaritu, like there are so many accents, and and and kill days and weird little marks, you know, on top of his name. That like I just cut and pasted from the the press notes to make sure I didn't fuck it up. But you always, yeah, that that that's. I'm not sure how much there's to say about that, but yeah, do make sure you get everything right, and make sure you run a spell check, and make sure you read your stories out loud because sometimes your eyes will trick you into overlooking mistakes because you know what it's supposed to sound like. But until you read it out loud, you won't catch all your mistakes. But you have to forward me this story. I mean, don't don't don't name the name of the the journalist. But now now you got me curious.
Dave Bullis 20:46
Yeah, I I actually forget the name of the journalist, but I promise you, as soon as we're off here, I I will find it online and I will forward forward it to you. It is it is good for a laugh now that you know the story behind it. And maybe I should maybe I should link to in the show notes too.
Andrew Bloomenthal 21:02
Say again.
Dave Bullis 21:04
Maybe I should link to it in the show notes as well.
Andrew Bloomenthal 21:06
Nah. Well, yeah. Like that would be you know, but as long as long as you can put out some kind of redacted document so it doesn't get like humiliated on on the internet. Remember. Yeah. But no, no. Yeah. I'm I'm I'm I'm curious. Maybe maybe he'll hear this, and he'll, and it'll inspire him to be more thorough moving forward. But
Dave Bullis 21:27
Yeah, I mean, it was about four years ago, so I'm I'm gonna, I mean, I know he's he's graduated by now, so maybe he's working for some newspaper somewhere.
Andrew Bloomenthal 21:37
Maybe he's like the editor of the New York Times. Maybe he turned it All around, yeah, we shall see.
Dave Bullis 21:45
Because you know about about pronouncing names right, you know. Just as another quick funny story, you know, there's only one person who I've ever interviewed who I was incredibly nervous about interviewing, and that we that was Cassian Cassian Ilves, who is a A-list producer out in Hollywood, he's done you know the Dallas Buyers Club, and for some reason I could not pronounce his last name, which is odd because I have said that last name 10,000 times, and it came to interview him, and I was like, it was. He's like, he's like Dave, listen, he's like, it's like pronouncing Elvis, but but he's like, just put the W. He's like, just, just, just listen. It's like it's very simple if you say it right. And I was like, oh my god, this guy is gonna hang up on me, and he's gonna be like, who is that Dave Bullis kid? I never want to talk to him again. But
Andrew Bloomenthal 22:34
That's a cute little hiccup because it's like you're tongue-tied because you're like geeking out. I get that. It's like you know, in print when you have the chance to you know double check that's what you can't. Those mistakes are more unforgivable. But yeah, we all butcher in in pronunciation from time to time. Ain't no big thing, but well, yeah, yeah,
Dave Bullis 22:56
Yeah. He was he he was you know he he was very understanding. Yeah, I mean I I was, but I was a little elated, but but yeah, I mean, he he was a very nice guy and a heck of a of an episode too. As we talk, Andrew, you know about about interviewing people, you know, you also, I mean, you have done such an extensive extensive you know portfolio of writing, you know, and I wanted to ask, you know, has your business writing? Because I know you've written for CNBC and the financial sector. Has that helped a lot when you write for like the creative sector? Because I I have a feeling that it it actually improves your economy of words.
Andrew Bloomenthal 23:33
Yeah. Well, the short answer is I don't care what you're writing about, whether it's um Whether expository writing, just pure information, or whether it's writing a story, or whether it's an interview, the same elements have to be in place for it to be a success, and that is, it it has to be concise. It has to be interesting, you know, and that and and that that flies across the board, no matter what genre you're dealing with. Especially, you know, when you have a chance to edit something before it goes live, you know that you know you gotta gotta cut out anything that's Superfluous things like never using the same, never repeating the same word in a sentence or in a paragraph, being very careful to look up different synonyms. You know, you make your thesaurus be your best friend so things rhythmically sound right, so yeah, I the subject matter may be wildly different, but you know you'd always got to just and there's no real you know alchemy to doing it. It just means you know for giving a damn and and really concentrating, but. Yeah, so that that all writing, no matter what it is, it it does have to have a certain you know economy of words without too many extra beats, and it should be interesting. And for God's sake, don't use like cliche things like this was an amazing story. There are a million other ways to say amazing, you know. Like so that that's that's my recommendation is it's try to use some of the take take the road we've taken when you can when it comes to choosing your your work because you have the entire vocabulary at your disposal why not why not strive to be interesting in its use.
Dave Bullis 25:38
So when when you're writing Andrew, do you outline first? Like, do you sort of outline whatever you're going to write about, or do you sort of jump right in?
Andrew Bloomenthal 25:46
Well, when it comes to that, that's a really, really good question because when it comes to interviewing people, and and and I think that's you know where people are reading my interviews more than say my you know business Writing, but but when you are interviewing people for you know whether it's an investment person or a screenwriter, be prepared to zig and zag by having that outline, knowing the must-have questions. But when they say something that's interesting and you can sense a more interesting hook that you hadn't thought of. Be be prepared to, you know, go off on that tangent with them. That's when the hook will find you, and you didn't even expect it. I I struggle to think of a specific example, but you know, if you think you know what they're going to say, and you know you're you're you're usually you're usually wrong if your question's rooted in something that's kind of interesting. Usually, they'll they'll come up with something anecdotal that you hadn't thought of, and then when you have to follow a question, that's when you hit the money and hopefully get something that no other reporter has ever asked. But yeah, it's critical to do your homework. I never show up at an interview without formulating, you know, a list of typed-up questions. And you know, sometimes when you're doing these press interviews, especially if you're doing them in person during a press a press junket, you might get 15 minutes. You might get 10 minutes. So you do have to sort of prioritize and jump around and try to squeeze in as many things as possible. But you're always trying to tell a story. You know, you you you hopefully a dialog starts to develop an organic rhythm and conversational, and I bet they're having a good time. And usually, when they are, they'll. What happens a lot of times is when you're doing these interviews in person, and let's say it's a 15-minute interview. At the 14th minute, a PR person will sort of walk into the room and put up a finger to signal we have time for one more question, and so you know to wrap it up and you know make sure you get the essentials that you wanted. But more often than not, if the subject is having a good time, they'll be like, oh, let them go a couple more, and that does happen more often than it doesn't. So I guess I, I can get some, you know, I can feel good about that. But yeah, preparation is is is definitely key. Just to have your your questions typed out, easy to read, big font, so you know you're not having to, you know, squint and search for them. They're just right there in your face, and get a highlighter pen, and you know, cross them off as you go, and and be be be frosty, be on your toes, and get ready to you know just jump in and kick into another direction if you're prompted.
Dave Bullis 28:59
You know, Andrew, not to ask a cliched question, but I guess I have to ask it, and that is, you know, what is your your favorite interview that you've ever done?
Andrew Bloomenthal 29:08
Ah, that's a really good question. Okay, my favorite interview that I ever did, and this goes back to when I was first starting, and I was just taking whatever assignments that were handed out to me. It was for kill your darlings, and the guys that wrote it. It was written by a team of guys, and I forget their names, so that's gonna sound bad. But they they they wrote it together. They were college friends, and they wrote it together. And then one of them took the directing credit, and we just sat down and just went for about half an hour. And it was almost like we were rapturizing. They were they were completely they they didn't expect the questions be so thoughtful, and you know, we did. There was a press conference beforehand where everyone was in the room asking them questions. They were sitting in front of the room at a table, and the questions were those mind-numbing, obvious ones, and they were just like they were just spent. But when it was time for my one-on-one, like they both perked up, and it just the answers were clever and informative. And so, I think I would say the the the team of guys who did kill your darlings, and by the way, that's a movie that that that was a story of Allen Ginsberg, the beat poet. They imagined his college days at Columbia University, just sort of discovering himself and sexuality, and you know, meeting other beat writers of the day, and you know Allen Ginberg was played by Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, and so I think that interview is my favorite. My second one would be Nicole Hollis Center, who wrote and directed Enough Set with Julia Louis Dreyfus and James Gandolfini. Why? Because she was hysterical and sardonic and witty and funny, and we had this banter going, and it just it just made for a very lively discussion. So, kill your darlings and enough said would be my two favorite interviews,
Dave Bullis 31:38
And I'll make sure to link to those in the show notes as well to everyone listening, but but but again that that I had to ask that question, Andrew, even though it is very cliched, because usually you know it's like, so what's your favorite color? You know, but you know,
Andrew Bloomenthal 31:54
No, no, no. Let me say this: when I say like the the basic try questions, there's nothing wrong with them. It's that they're good to get sort of like you know they're they're obligatory. You have to ask them, but just don't like make the whole thing be sort of straightforward. I'm unimaginative, you know, blindside your interview subject with a question you know that they haven't been asked because it's so arcane and and and granular and unexpected. Like I said, you've got you've got your job locked down, or else I wouldn't be talking to you. I'm having a blast for for sure, and and and and I can say that having you know full disclosures, I you know I am slightly nervous to be doing my first podcast, but you've you've clearly come to the table prepared, so you know you've already got this locked in for sure.
Dave Bullis 32:51
Well, thank you, Andrew. Thank you.
Andrew Bloomenthal 32:52
Oh yeah,
Dave Bullis 32:53
I always try to keep this. I try to keep this just fun, and you know, like a positive. You know what I mean? Like I don't want to. I always try to keep the show upbeat as much as possible.
Andrew Bloomenthal 33:04
Yeah, and also you're listening to what I say, and then what you're doing, you know, because I'm, you know, I do Q and A's myself. You're also sort of putting it in context of your own experiences, so it becomes like a dialog, not a monolog, and and it puts the interviewee in a very comfortable place. So, no apologies. You're kicking ass and taking names.
Dave Bullis 33:32
Oh well, you know, I try, Andrew. You know, I and you know, as you know, as we as we talk about you know interview skills and your writing skills and everything. You know, one question I wanted to ask you was, you know, about deadlines. And you know, George R. R. Martin recently missed a deadline for his latest book. And he, you know, he said, you know, in a blog post, you know, I deadlines. You know, I've never been good with them. And you know, what I wanted to ask you was about, you know, your own personal experience with deadlines, which is you know do you feel that they they help or do you think that they maybe hinder just your own personal experiences?
Andrew Bloomenthal 34:11
Yeah, I I I thrive under a deadline because when you do your interview and prepare, and you're preparing for it, and you and you get it, and it's on the tape. Then you know you don't have to worry about scheduling or stressing out about whether I'm going to get good answers or not. You've already got your materials, and so then it's just quiet time between you and your keyboard, and that is like a sort of a charmed phase to the process. And you just know when your deadline is going to happen, you can manage your time accordingly. So I'm I'd like to say I'm allergic to missing a. Deadline, because you know when you're in the news field, like that'll get you fired. So you know that trained me well. But you know when it comes to submitting stories for their consumption online, basically you sort of build a trust with the the PR firm, and you ask them when would you ideally like this to run? Would you like this interview to run, you know, the the same day the film opens, or you know, maybe a week before to give it some build and some anticipation, or do you want to wait? You know, two weeks after to sort of like maybe get some exposure and give yourself some legs after it start after it maybe started to die down after you know its opening week. So they'll tell you when it's good for them, and and then you sort of reverse engineer it. You know, it's it's it's not a daily deadline when you're doing the interviews. There's a little bit of a long wick to the process because you know you'd have to go to a screening, obviously, and you're going to usually that happens on a studio lot, and you're doing that well ahead of you know the film's release, so you go to the screening, you get all your notes going, you study the production notes that the PR team will have given you. Usually, it's like a 50 to 60-page PDF where they tell you everything that you know not to repeat because you know going back to what we said, you know, those are the obvious things. So think beyond what is contained in the production notes and just use those as the launch point. So you get your questions ready, then you do the press day, either in person or sometimes it's a telephone interview. And so usually you have, you know, you're looking a month out, you know, when to get everything done and get it done well and getting getting it done on time. So you know there there there's really no good reason to miss a deadline. And you know when it comes out and the PR team is thrilled with it, and they just want to work with you again. So, I think respecting a deadline is a is is a given, just like you know, getting someone's name spelled correctly.
Dave Bullis 37:33
Yeah, you know, I concur, Andrew. You know, I've even if we give ourselves deadlines, you know, I feel that's more of you know incentive an incentive to get to get it done. You know, somebody once told me that goals without deadlines are just dreams. Yeah. And so basically, you know, if you let's just say you know somebody wants to write a screenplay, and if I just say you know, hey, one day I'd like to actually write one. Well, if unless you actually make sort of a deadline to actually start, you know, actually building that screenplay, it's just sort of, you know, it's just a wish. It's just a, you know, a dream. It's you know what I mean?
Andrew Bloomenthal 38:09
Yeah. Now, now, now you're getting into a whole other, you know, writer, you know, dilemma, and and and that for another podcast. But you're at, you're absolutely right when you when you when you're dealing with your own projects, you got to be extra vigilant, you know, and you got to be your own sort of guy who cracks the whip on yourself. But when you're writing for like you know a news outlet, you know, you just gotta you gotta be compliant. So, for sure.
Dave Bullis 38:48
And you know, speaking of of your own projects, Andrew, you know, you know what what what projects are you working on now that that you can discuss right now?
Andrew Bloomenthal 38:55
Well, I'm I'm glad that we're doing this now because like you know, a couple months ago, I wouldn't have had anything to say except that I'm working on a screenplay. But now I'm actually in pre-production on a musical. It's actually going to be a short film, about 15 minutes long, and it's a story that's based on a play that I saw in Manhattan, like I think in 2003, and I just like it. It moved me. It stayed with me for all those years, and now I'm finally doing something with it. It's a. I don't know if I should give too much away, but there it's it's singing. So there's four songs, and I've cast the actors, and we've already laid down the vocals for the the musical tracks because, like any musical, you have to have the songs in place so that the actors can listen to the their their own audio playback. So it's going to be like a almost like a long music video type thing, and it's an incredible story that a lot of psychiatrists and she's treating this patient who's been really destroyed and distraught over a traumatic breakup with his girlfriend, and she's trying to help him master, you know, the loss of his girlfriend. And she puts him under like the psychiatrist puts him under like a light hypnosis to get him to revisit the past with his girlfriend, and then in doing so, the psychiatrist sort of like falls in love with him and crosses all sorts of professional and ethical boundaries. And so I'll leave it at that. So it's more of a surprise when it comes out as to what she exactly does. But I've got the actors down. The songs are mixed, and we're going to be shooting in about three weeks. So deliriously excited. There's just nothing like planning out your own shots and getting props together and scouting locations and casting the the actors and all that good stuff. I gotta say, these are songs I I can't sing, I can't write a song, I can't play an instrument, but I know good songs when I hear them. So for me to be going into a studio and you know with a drummer and the the vocalists doing their thing, laying down these tracks, has been a new foray for me, and it's been incredibly fun, incredibly fun. So that's that's what I'm working on right now as we speak.
Dave Bullis 41:56
Oh, that's amazing, Andrew! Congratulations.
Andrew Bloomenthal 41:59
Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
Dave Bullis 42:02
You know, you know. Again, like you were just saying, you get the storyboard, and you know, it's really great for a writer when you can finally start seeing all this stuff that it starts coming alive. You know what I mean? You start seeing all this stuff. You're like, wow, this is actually real. Because you know, as a writer, you know, you spend so much time, sort of, you know, in the quote-unquote cave, you know, writing and writing and revising, and you know, editing and everything else. And then finally, you know, when this when this creation, which you know didn't exist, you know, prior is finally done, you know, you and to see it actually come alive, it's it's it's great to see how this process all works. And you know, I mean, it's and see and just going through it, and you know, it's just it's just a phenomenal time to be a filmmaker right now, and you know, and it's a phenomenal. Actually, it's phenomenal time to pretty much be in, you know, in any and sort of any any facet, whether it's you know it's TV, the stage, film. So again, I you know, congratulations on that, and I know, you know. I can hear you know how ecstatic you are about this project.
Andrew Bloomenthal 43:04
It really, it really is like it. It it wakes you up in a way that it's like taking you to the next level. You know, writing something, especially when you know you've written something that's successful, and I feel like the allocation of this play into this script, it definitely has a great energy to it, but then when you start to involve other people, and it becomes this like cult of perfection where everyone's into it, it becomes just almost transcendental. And I think a lot of people fantasize about making the film, and. you may feel like you're not ready or you don't have the experience, but that's just that's just doubt in your own head. It's just there, there's it's indescribable, and I'm I just I can't wait to y'all action again, and you know, so I I agree. Thanks for the sentiment.
Dave Bullis 44:06
Oh yeah, I I know exactly how you how you feel, and you know I'm always always always always down to supports projects, and you know I I've been there myself, and you know it's been a gap since I've done anything where I've directed myself, and I know exactly what you mean when you just said I can't wait to do action again. And again, I wish you the best of luck, you know, with the project. And you know, you know, because we've been talking for you know roughly about 3035, minutes now. You know, so in closing, Andrew, is there anything that you wanted to say to sort of put a you know a period at the end of this entire conversation?
Andrew Bloomenthal 44:44
I just want to salute you for doing what you do. This was you know an unexpected outreach, and suddenly when I went from creative screenwriting, which is a wonderful publication, to to script mag script magazine. And they have such an incredible, you know, social outreach function that suddenly people are coming to me, and I've had a lot of opportunities to to speak up. And yours, your your your podcast, it just it was a no brainer for me. And this has been just like been part of my journey, and I and I'm flattered to be that you were my next step and allowed me to have this venue. So that's my final word: is just gratitude. Thank you so much.
Dave Bullis 45:37
Oh, again, it's my pleasure, Andrew. You are more than welcome, and you know, thank you very much for coming on the show. You know, you know, again, you know, I've read the some of your your articles through Script Mag, and they're phenomenal. And everyone, I will link to that in the show notes, by the way. And speaking of which, Andrew, where do people find you at online?
Andrew Bloomenthal 45:58
My I just have a website that's pretty much a crude online portfolio. It's just my name. It's andrewjbloomenthal.com, and Bloomenthal is B L O O M E N T H A L. So that'll have like everything categorized. You can tool around for a minute, Procrastinate and reach out to me if you, if the spirit moves you to do so.
Dave Bullis 46:27
Excellent, and everyone, I will link to Andrew's website in the show notes. And I found out, Andrew, you are on Twitter, but I, I found you have one tweet. But so if you have any
Andrew Bloomenthal 46:39
Terrified, terrified, terrified, terrible, I, I'm so allergic to like that kind of widespread like expression. I they made me do it. I I don't. It's like I'm trying to get comfortable with it, and because I sort of went to a new venue and they had a big social outreach program, I felt like it was important that I, you know, did my part as well, but I'm confident that now this podcast will be the subject of my second tweet. So, I mean, my theory is that, like, if you, for me, like, I'm, I don't know. Maybe this is a neurotic kind of thing, but if I only keep it to more milestone events, it'll be taken more seriously. My tweets. So, so how about that? How about I agree that you know the announcement of this podcast once it's ready will be tweet number two.
Dave Bullis 47:40
Oh well, thank you. I, you know, I, I, I will look forward to that because I followed you, and I, and I. If you ever need any Twitter tips, please let me know because anyone who listens to this podcast knows Twitter is like my bread and butter.
Andrew Bloomenthal 47:54
Oh, don't, yeah, man, don't, don't write a check your bank can't cash because I might call you on that and like literally, like email you with the most mundane questions about about tweeting culture, because I gotta I you know I I gotta embrace it and get over the fear. But
Dave Bullis 48:14
Please do.
Andrew Bloomenthal 48:15
All right, man.
Dave Bullis 48:16
I so I was actually approached one time to teach a class online about Twitter, and I said, you know, I I said, why me? And they they they gave me all these reasons. I said, no, thank you. I also was approached to teach a screenwriting course through the same website, and I also said, no, thank you, because I just think there's a there's there's better people out there. I mean, I you know, but but Twitter, I've pretty locked down. I mean, I so if you ever need anything screenwriting, you know I'm okay. But you know, and Andrew, I want to say thank you. But but Andrew, want to say thank you very much, and I look forward to seeing all your future work.
Andrew Bloomenthal 48:53
Thanks, man. It's been a pleasure. Good luck with everything you're doing, and keep up the great work.
Dave Bullis 48:59
Oh, thank you very much. Take care, Andrew.
Andrew Bloomenthal 49:00
Okay then. Bye bye.
Dave Bullis 49:01
Bye bye..
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