Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss

Dec 05 2024 139 ep. 46 mins 81

Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss Podcast artwork

Behind the glitz and glamor, Hollywood can be brutal. For every success, there are many more rejections and failures. Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss explores that world and each week a new guest will talk about dealing with rejection, failure and adversity in the entertainment industry. Writer Noah Evslin and podcaster Dan Rutstein ask the questions.

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Take 134 - Writer and Showrunner Kevin Abbott, Roseanne, Golden Girls, Happy’s Place

Dec 05 2024 50 mins

We talk to comedy writing legend Kevin Abbott.He talks about the drinking, drugs and smoking of his first comedy rooms, how he got his break in the business and working through the night.Pitching while an exec was peeing, why writers are all miserable and the behaviours that are no longer acceptable.Kevin explains that Hollywood is in its worst possible spot, why creatives are not

Take 133 - Producer Michael Costigan, Brokeback Mountain, Based on a True Story

Nov 21 2024 41 mins

We talk to the magnificent Michael Costigan, producer of such hits as Brokeback Mountain, Robin Hood and Hit Man, among many others joins the show.He talks about his new TV series Based on a True Story, his transition from movies to the small screen and how hard it is to get anything made.Michael explains his journey from terrible assistant, to producing seminal movies and compares

Take 132 - Showrunner Frank Cardea, NCIS, Crazy Like a Fox, Shogun

Oct 24 2024 53 mins

What an episode!We talk to TV legend Frank Cardea about his decades in the business.He tells us about his move from accountancy to producing, the extraordinary longevity of his writing partnership and working on more than 400 episodes of NCIS.We hear some great examples of failure, some great examples of success and also some great examples of leadership.A fascinating deepdive into

Take 131 - Writer and Showrunner Michael Rauch, Beautiful People, Royal Pains

Oct 10 2024 46 mins

We talk to Michael Rauch. He starts with an extraordinary film school firing, then a late-night 'show being un-picked up' call and how he recovered from those early career setbacks.He tells us about his casting frustrations, managing multiple projects, and what he learned from great showrunners.An excellent episode full of brilliant anecdotes.

Take 130 - Writer and Showrunner Mark Goffman, West Wing, Sleepy Hollow, Bull, Irrational

Oct 03 2024 40 mins

We talk to the fascinating Mark Goffman.He tells us about swapping real Government speech writing at the State Department for writing on the West Wing, some extraordinary career luck and ventriloqism documentaries.Mark talks about the importance of giving people a voice in a room, the importance of working with good people repeatedly and the importance of reflecting something of yo

Take 129 - John Wirth Part Two!

Sep 26 2024 55 mins

We weren’t finished with John Wirth, so he comes back for more.This time we talk leadership style, drinking too much soda and the use of the red pen.John talks about being blunt, some more failure stories and even more advice.

Take 128 - Showrunner and Writer John Wirth, Dark Winds, Nash Bridges

Sep 19 2024 75 mins

We speak to the legendary John Wirth.He talks about a Hollywood career so long that he can't even remember all of the shows he has run, the shows he has been fired from and arguing with actors who hadn't won Emmys.He talks about managing upwards, 'run money' and an extraordinary argument with talent about trust.A remarkable episode with a remarkable storyteller.

Take 127 - Writer, Showrunner, Memoirist SJ Hodges, The Player, Uneven Ground

Sep 12 2024 110 mins

We talk to the extraordinary SJ Hodges.She talks about changing her name to a gender neutral one to get read, jumping from staff writer straight to show runner and what she learned from managing a literal car crash on The Player.Then SJ shares her personal journey of losing her husband to a brain tumour, what she did next and how she ended up building a community around her memoir

Take 126 - Writer Gary Whitta, The Book of Eli, Rogue One

Sep 05 2024 68 mins

The podcast is back for the second half of season three and we have a cracker.Gary Whitta, writer of Book of Eli and Rogue One gives an extraordinary interview about his transition from video game editor to writer, working on Star Wars and his frustrations with Hollywood. He gves us an extraordinary pig analogy, talks about the excitement and pressure of being asked to work on the

We're back!

Sep 04 2024 54 mins

After a long mid-season break, we are back up with the second half of Season Three of Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss.Noah and Dan talk about what they have been up to the last few weeks - Noah's show got cancelled! - and we thank our long-term partner Scriptation and then introduce tomorrow's episode with Rogue One writer Gary Whitta.This taster episode will just remind you of