Today we get into how a film can land theatrical distribution without festival circuit buzz; how to leverage existing relationships into building a crew, cast, and distributors on your team; and how a cold email landed a distributor for two of his feature films.
TICKETS FOR “THE WILDERNESS”: https://www.fandango.com/the-wilderness-2025-242791/movie-overview
KEEP UP WITH SPENCER:
IG: @spencereking / @thewildernessmovie
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
bio.site/NoSetPath
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
@NoSetPathShow
bio.site/NoSetPath
Today we are getting into how to avoid stagnance when waiting for feature films to go, how to find representation that aligns with who you are as an artist and the most surprising things from directing three horror thriller features.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
1:35 - Getting brought on to Bone Lake from an open directing assignment
3:00 - LD Entertainment
4:20 - Shooting in LA vs. Georgia vs. Canada
6:35 - Viral chess board shot
7:30 - Projects Mercedes’ agents sent her when they first signed her vs. now - elevated, surrealist, erotic horrors
9:10 - Upcoming features & how to play the movie stock market during the long process of getting projects off the ground
11:15 - Working on commercials
12:30 - Making previous features Fixation and Spoonful of Sugar with covid impact
15:15 - the unexpected positive outcomes of a storm preventing shooting the final scene of Bone Lake
17:00 - Art department chopping shrubbery down from the hotel as set dec
20:20 - Meeting long-term collaborators at USC (and cutting class to work on projects)
21:45 - Should you go to film school?
25:46 - Signing with a manager & an agent (UTA)
31:45 - How to finance a feature
35:30 - Advice for younger filmmakers + background in producing
37:30 - Working director vs. “selling out”
39:40 - Mercedes’ interest in filmmaking as a kid
42:49 - How living situations impact creativity
43:44 - How to persevere when you want to give up
48:59 - Thoughts on social media
51:55 - TIME CAPSULE
KEEP UP WITH MERCEDES:
Buy tickets for "Bone Lake": www.bleeckerstreetmedia.com/bone-lake
Follow Mercedes on IG: @mercedesbrycemorgan
Follow Bone Lake on IG: @bonelakefilm
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
bio.site/NoSetPath
www.NoSetPathShow.com
KEEP UP WITH BECCA:
TikTok: @beccawmann
IG: @becca__mann
Becca's Books: https://www.becca-mann.com/books
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/nosetpath
Evan B. Matthews is an LA-based director whose feature directorial debut “Motherland” comes out this month, we’re recording in September 2025, in both theaters and VOD. His previous directing work includes the 2019 short film “The Telios Act” which won multiple jury prizes and was licensed by Array of Hope; and his 2014 USC thesis film “Recoil,” which is available on YouTube sci-fi curation channel Dust.
A graduate of UC Riverside and later the USC masters program, Evan got his start interning under Mike Meadavoy at Phoenix Pictures, PA’ing on TV show “24” and landing a job under Mike Burnett, working on shows including Survivor, The Apprentice, An Inconvenient Truth, and The Hollow, among others; going on to produce the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
Today we get into how Evan went from meeting with an executive to landing his first feature film directing job in just one week, what he focused on during his pitch for this open directing assignment, and how to pivot out of reality-focused projects when pigeonholed and be taken seriously as a narrative director. Let’s jump into the interview.
Michael Orion Downing is an LA-based, Alaskan-raised producer and Director of Development at A/Vantage Pictures, with credits spanning Netflix, Mandalay, A24, and Apple projects alongside independent films on Tubi. His work includes Ben Affleck’s AIR, Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, and Sundance award-winning Under Darkness, as well as producing Maika Monroe’s directorial debut short at TIFF.
Today we dive into how he went from a Paramount lot clerk to producing and developing major films, while constantly creating independent projects and seeking out new filmmaking collaborators.
KEEP UP WITH MIKE:
IG: @mike_orion
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/nosetpath
Karl Stelter is a filmmaker whose commercial director / producer work has been recognized by the Clio’s, Tribeca, Tribeca X, the ADDY’s, Telly’s, Webby’s, 1.4, ADCC, DUST, and over 15 Oscar Qualifying film festivals. His recent Jury Award win at Sebastopol qualified him for the 2025 Oscars. His clients include Invisalign, Amazon, NFL, Telus, Western University of Health Sciences, and GHA Autism Supports among others.
Today we get into how Karl convinced brands like Telus and Invisalign to buy documentary projects he was already making as passion projects and turn them into commercials and branded entertainment, how to make the most of a festival experience like Tribeca and how to pivot into a new type of work that’s different from what you’ve already built a portfolio in.
BREAKDOWN:
2:43 – two(!) projects at Tribeca, both scripted and branded doc spot
3:03 – Swimming with Butterflies feat. Brand partner, Invisalign and TribecaX
3:53 – Balancing authentic story x branded, paying the bills x passionate
5:23 – Karl’s journey with the subject of the doc, Paralympic swimmer
9:03 – Gaining trust with documentary subjects
11:43 – Shooting underwater feat. DP Joe Simon
12:33 – Pitching a short doc to a brand (Invisalign)
16:33 – How much would a brand give as a budget?
19:13 – did Invisalign care about where the spot would live?
20:13 – Submitting to Tribeca documentary vs. TribecaX (branded counterpart)
21:38 – The Tribeca experience
22:53 – The Lord of All Future Space and Time: a maximalist cheesecake short film (rich & dense)
24:38 – repeat collaborators
27:23 – running his own production company, Journeyman Studios, since 2012
29:48 – Pivoting from weddings to corporate videos; how to pivot to new types of work
32:23 – don’t lose sight of your artistic side
34:08 – success in the industry is a game of time
37:05 – getting into a top tier festival while simultaneously being rejected from much less prestigious festivals
38:23 – realistic acceptance rate for festivals
39:08 – Pitching: collaborators and clients
42:53 – don’t lose your collaborators to be right
44:28 – how to enjoy Tribeca
47:28 – different financing models: Karl’s other shorts!
57:38 – how to have a family as a filmmaker
1:07:13 – TIME CAPSULE
Today independent producer and union production coordinator Sofia Snyder gets into the specific resources she utilized to help land her short films at festivals, including Tribeca; what a psychic told her that prevented her from quitting her job on Rebel Moon; and how she took what she learned from working on movies like Licorice Pizza and Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar and applied it to the films she’s produced.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
2:00 - Playing at Tribeca without a premiere
4:00 - How to strategize with film festivals to optimize odds of getting in - Festival Formula (HollyShorts, Poppy Jasper, Kino Presents the People’ Film Festival London, Montclair Film Festival)
12:30 - Getting into Tribeca after rejections from SXSW (and other random festivals)
14:08 - How runtime impacts your festival odds
17:30 - Making a short for $10,000
19:30 - Funding models for shorts - self-funding vs. crowd funding
20:30 - 6 years is an overnight success
22:30 - Sofia’s early journey as a producer: a doc about the ghost of a dead cat
25:20 - Developing projects on nights & weekends after 60-80 hours a week in a production office
28:15 - Why she didn’t quit her job on Rebel Moon to focus on producing
33:20 - Why Sofia wouldn’t recommend production office gigs for aspiring writers
35:55 - Sofia’s other shorts (In Old Ranchos directed by Matt Lucas, We Meet Again directed by Matt Lucas, One of These Days concept directed by Joe Blank, Don’t Leave Me Now directed by Monisha Dadlani)
37:20 - Shooting with UNREAL technology
35:50 - Shooting in phases before raising the entire budget
42:20 - Cranberry Heaven in 1997
44:30 - Things take time!
45:40 - Being a union production coordinator on $30million+ projects (Licorice Pizza, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar)
51:50 - Attending American University + moving to LA post-college with $10,000
1:02:30 - Development assistant vs. freelance/production office pipeline
1:05:30 - Pay for union coordinators + insider information about how coordinators discuss rates with each other
1:10:05 - TIME CAPSULE
KEEP UP WITH SOFIA:
IG: @sofiasny
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/NoSetPath
Today's topic is "Conclave" - what the movie got right, what the movie got wrong, and the broader impact of a film misrepresenting a community, particularly without involvement from its members.
2:30 - AMERICAN POPE!
3:58 - “Conclave”
4:56 - The timing of the making of the movie
7:00 - The consequences of capitalizing on a community without involving members of that community
19:10 - Misunderstanding of Conclave as a version of American politics / presidential election
23:50 - Applying this to the movie “Conclave”
25:26 - What “Conclave” got right
27:17 - What “Conclave” meant was “Protestantism”
28:39 - What “Conclave” got wrong
36:17 -“Conclave” scenes and lies that are pure fantasy
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/NoSetPath
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 shooting
7:05 - 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 department
11:14 - 300 extras were told to actually fight each other, actor gets stabbed
12:28 - 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 loudly
15:40 - Department head commits fraud, blames assistant
16:18 - Kristen declines to deposit production budget into department head’s personal account
17:30 - Woman shocked by amount of cash taken out by Hollywood productions
18:17 - Person asked to only be paid in gold bars
18:40 - Camera van without handbrake runs through video village on car commercial
28:55 - 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 backstories
22:58 - Bribing the neighbor with Magic Castle tickets
24:25 - 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 out
26:52 - Wet garbage falling
30:27 - Unusable footage from holding camera on top of a moving camera
29:50 - Petty cash disappeared x2
31:35 - Who can decode these acronyms? DM us @nosetpathshow
KEEP UP WITH KRISTEN:
IG: @kristensreality
Kristen's first episode on No Set Path: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/02-pitching-matt-damon-producing-for-finneas-w-kristen/id1676370871?i=1000605417778
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/nosetpath
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 USA
15:00 - 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 real
33:00 - 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 career
44:50 - Advice!
54:07 - TIME CAPSULE
KEEP UP WITH BECCA:
IG: @becca__mann
TikTok: @beccawmann
Buy Becca's Memoir:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774496/outside-the-lanes-by-becca-mann/
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/NoSetPath
Revealing the top episodes, wins for the year, and upcoming opportunities!
CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
bio.site/NoSetPath
www.NoSetPathShow.com
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 Award
12:00 - how to find balance when working with very dark material
13:30 - the decision to do audio-only for a podcast episode vs. video podcast
16:00 - proactively submitting for a WGA award nomination
19:49 - First Deadline mention by name
20:07 - WGA Awards experience!
31:43 - How to stand out in a comptitive industry
34:30 - Other Spotify shows: “Dog Tales,” “Tales,” “Mind’s Eye”
39:00 - advice for screenwriters considering podcasts
43:50 - Balancing writing podcasts with other writing passions including sketch comedy and novels
49:40 - Early jobs: ghostwriting people’s responses on Tinder
51:20 - Getting paid to write individual jokes on the now-defunct “Pitch” app
54:50 - Thoughts on TikTok & comedy
57:30 - Advice for persevering in this career + not wanting to be a manager
1:06:12 - TIME CAPSULE
KEEP UP WITH MAGGIE:
TikTok: @MaggieAdmire
IG: @secret___admire
Listen to Maggie’s work: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MH80XPwH4UdpQxXon2obn
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
0:00 - Intro
6:00 - Why Baldoni & Lively probably won’t go to trial
6:40 - Publicity vs. PR vs. Marketing
7:59 - 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 Bowl
12:58 - 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 Reporter
22:45 - more Hollywood stories
23:26 - 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 creators
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
www.bio.site/NoSetPath
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
4:10 - Wildfire impact on production insurance, bonding, & building materials
11:30 - Stay in LA Campaign
20:17- Practical implications: a game of attraction, not demands
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
IG: @NoSetPathShow
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/nosetpath
Evan McGahey, staff writer on Season 8 of Outlander, breaks down how he worked his way up in TV from support staff to staff writer; how he recently sold his original TV pitch to a major studio; and what he predicts with future writers given Hollywood's contraction and battle over A.I.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
1:30 - Writing a first episode of Outlander
3:00 - Lessons from writing an episode after working as writers room support staff
4:20 - Experience co-writing an episode with another writer
5:00 - How Evan landed a support staff role on Outlander
7:26 - How Evan made the connections who ended up referring him for the interview
10:00 - How to sell an original show to a major network
15:45 - Choosing a production companies
17:06 - Landing a manager
18:30 - Co-writing a pilot
20:10 - Getting started in TV writing: first jobs—
26:20 - Writer’s PA vs. Writer’s Assistant: how to maximize each job
28:20 - Why Evan chose Outlander over staying at NBC’s The Black List
35:00 - We Survived ’til ’25, now what?: How to navigate the current contraction as a writer
39:50 - Writers vs. A.I.
43:40 - From going to USC to become a doctor to switching to pursuing screenwriting with a biology degree
44:00 - underGRAD
47:46 - Having a dedicated creative space for working
50:50 - TIME CAPSULE
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/nosetpathshow
In this episode, guest Becca Mann joins to discuss New Year's Resolutions - what makes them actionable, when to share them, and thoughts on submitted resolutions from people on both coasts!
BREAKDOWN:
1:30 - Becca’s professional swimmer update!
3:30 - Resolutions vs. goals: family, work, hobbies, emotional/spiritual, bucket list items
4:42 - Discernment: what excited me, what drained me, what did I learn?
5:45 - Navigating social media
8:20 - Rebecca’s update
12:20 - Save money & spend time with loved ones
13:30 - Goals you can control vs. ones you can’t
16:50 - Quit a bad job
19:25 - Find a full-time job
20:00 - Not sure what to resolve
21:32 - Direct another feature or more shorts for anthology feature
23:50 - Vote for “The Last Ranger” from Darwin Shaw!
24:38 - Find a home for comedic scripts
25:33 - Is a “resolution” actionable?
26:23 - Get more direct-to-client work
32:45 - Bartend in order to work on writing
36:40 - Write another feature and pilot
38:00 - Should you tell people about your goals?
KEEP UP WITH GUEST BECCA MANN:
IG: @becca__mann
TikTok: @beccawmann
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/NoSetPath
Juan Luis Bravo has worked as a storyboard artist in animation for shows like Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures and LEGO Dreamzzz.
Today het gets into the steps from a digital media specialist making corporate videos to storyboard artist for a Star Wars based show; how to actually yield results from networking events; and how to tap into your power as a member of a marginalized community.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN (updated - 2:36 is actually 1:43)
1:43 - Young Jedi Adventures: years in the making!
2:13 - Starting off as a Digital Media Specialist internally at Disney
4:52 - Getting aggressively poached from a show
1:27 - What’s the best way to follow up/advocate for yourself with a new connection?
13:27 - How to get someone to want to help you
18:07 - Landing & leveraging a first job toward your long-term goals
23:52 - Identifying opportunities for further education past college
26:57 - How to decide to leave your “steady” job to pursue your dreams - and convince the next hiring manager you can do it (leaving helping to cut Marvel animatics to pursue storyboarding)
33:07 - Cultivating relationships from college into long-term professional relationships
34:47 - How to balance being direct about what you want without being an egomaniac
39:17 - Friends from college making the Black List
40:27 - How to say what you want
44:37 - The right questions to ask in a cold email or mentor outreach
46:33 - Living situation impact on creativity
49:22 - If you hate LA…
50:17 - Were there moments of wanting to quit?
57:52 - How to tap into your power as a member of a marginalized community
1:00:55 - TIME CAPSULE
Instgram and X: @juanluisbravo_
Devin Berko is a producer at the Walt Disney Company, entrepreneur and matzo ball enthusiast. He moved to Los Angeles in 2018 after running a successful production company and has since focused on creating diverse content, whether through his work as a food photographer, commercial producer, or director.
Today Devin gets into how to get hired by Disney and what Disney corporate producers look for in a director and production company to work on commercials for the Disney parks, faking a documentary to propose to the love of your life, and the philosophy he adopted from his fianceé that will give you the best shot at getting what you want.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
1:15 - start
1:35 - Devin’s job at Disney producing commercials for the Disney Parks
3:35 - Tiana’s Bayou Adventure!
4:55 - From making TikToks for a company to working with Disney IP
7:05 - Being a part of something bigger
10:33 -working inside a bureaucracy / large company
23:15 - set your own path; short-term opportunity vs. long-term strategy
29:45 - wedding company gets ghosted
34:05 - Producing for TikTok
35:25 - When is too late to start? (Age)
38:45 - The “get-out-of-bed” rate
41:55 - Don’t Ask, Don’t Get
44:45 - How to get hired by Disney
51:15 - Matzoball Documentary
56:25 - Faking a documentary to propose
1:01:03 - TIME CAPSULE
KEEP UP WITH DEVIN:
IG: @devinberko
KEEP UP WITH THE SHOW:
All Platforms: @NoSetPathShow
www.NoSetPathShow.com
bio.site/nosetpath
Rebecca Doyle and Michael Ritter react to submitted career regrets and how to avoid them yourself!
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
1:30 - Not coming to LA earlier
6:10 - Not avoiding drama
9:35 - Not taking digital seriously + creative PR for indie films and digital vs. traditional
23:00 - Not begging for your job back?
27:38 - Not saving more money
29:30 - Not pursuing acting as a child
31:44 - Leaving a TV assistant job to go write samples alone
34:12 - Picking the wrong gig
36:20 - Focusing too much on a day/high-paying job and not making time for personal creative projects with friends
38:44 - Being convinced by an agent to turn down a conscripted writing job
40:48 - Don’t burn bridges, even if the people suck
41:35 - Accusation of interview questions
42:03 - Leaving an office job to pursue personal stuff + not seeking mental health support earlier
43:18 - Focusing too much on personal projects and not taking more union high-level work early
44:25 - Getting an entertainment-related education
45:26 - Getting sidetracked in reality TV
46:20 - Allowing senior employees to create insecurity
48:20 - Not making your own content
48:30 - Not stealing Michael Eisner’s rolodex
50:55 - Worked with (bad) influencers
52:24 - Not doing corporate or agency time early on
54:14 - Not asking for help
55:26 - Snippy comments / picking this industry at all
56:05 - Sign with ICM instead of CAA
57:05 - Choosing VFX as a career
57:55 - Hollywood is the hardest thing, so we got this! - But start your S-corp early
KEEP U
