So you've been rejected from USC SCA (or USC altogether) - what have people done in the past to overcome this and either eventually land a spot as a Trojan, or carve a path toward a film career without it?

BREAKDOWN:

0:00 - Intro/Context

3:00 - Episode Outline

3:56 - A note about the appeal process!! (FAQ)

6:24 - For parents!!!

8:13 - My journey getting rejected from USC SCA: admission to USC but denied from SCA, adding a major in Annenberg, transferring into Cinema-Media Studies and eventually transferring into Film & Television Production

44:52 - Stories of successful people who were initially rejected from USC

Evan Iwata is a TV drama writer who recently sold his original high-concept crime procedural ON THE CLOCK to ABC with Lionsgate Television and Alexi Hawley’s Perfectman Pictures. He was previously a staff writer on the HBO Max sci-fi thriller SUBJECT TO CHANGE from J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot, and has also developed a YA action-adventure series for DreamWorks Animation. He began his career in the writers room, working in support staff roles on series including Starz's OUTLANDER, CBS's CSI:CYBER and PURE GENIUS, and ABC's THE FIX and EMERGENCE. An alum of the Warner Bros. TV Writers’ Workshop and the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Today we are getting into how Evan went from being rejected from USC film school to a WGA writer selling his own show, what it was like working directly with JJ Abrams ona series for HBO and the three typical expectations most writers have that are completely incorrect.

BREAKDOWN:

13:46 – Evan’s work on a potential Dreamworks show
18:26 – Pitch vs. pilot vs. series bible
23:18 – How to get paid before you start writing the pilot
28:41 – From Oshkosh to USC / underGRAD
31:41 – Megan Niquette
33:21 – Namrata
34:11 – Evan McGahey, Monisha Dadlani, Ethan Welling
41:41 – Signing with reps
42:24 – Writers’ Assistant Program, Conrad Sun
46:41 – Knowing when to add an agent to the team
46:41 – Kat Reilly
50:41 – Warner Bros. TV Writer Workshop + Covid
51:26 – Jennifer Yale
52:01 – Getting in the writers room on JJ Abrams show
59:21 – Starting as support staff (CSI: Cyber, Outlander)
1:06:11 – Wrong expectations as writers
1:17:41 – Getting a WGA card
1:18:11 – Adapting a true story from an article
1:24:36 – TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH EVAN: @iwhata

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We're talking talent rep tantrums, slapping "elevated" before genres, and the infamous "mayonnaise commercial."

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IG: @mkritter

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Faith Liu is a writer/director who has written feature films for Blumhouse, FilmNation, Sony Pictures Animation, and Disney. Her directorial debut short “Sundowning” is available online at CryptTV’s YouTube channel after a successful festival run. She was a member of the CAPE New Writers Fellowship and Christina Hodson and Margot Robbie’s Lucky Exports Pitch Program.

Today we are getting into how Faith landed paid distribution for her short film, how she got connected with opportunities to write features for major studios in traditional Hollywood and what she thinks there is to gain from the film festival circuit.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

1:31 START

2:00 - Sundowning, Faith’s horror-with-a-heart proof of concept short now out on CryptTV

4:10 - Getting paid distribution for a short: CryptTV

6:07 - What to gain from film festivals (especially genre festivals)

13:20 - Winning the Wes Craven Award

16:44 - Going from screenwriter to writer-director

19:10 - Crowdfunding $40k for Sundowning

23:20 - Signing with Faith’s longtime manager Max Goldfarb

26:33 - First jobs in support staff on writers rooms of “Warrior” and “Better Call Saul”

29:59 - Caren Dulles?

33:50 - CAPE (Coalition for Asian Pacific in Entertainment) New Writers Program & how to pitch yourself in 3 minutes

42:15 - Getting connected with writing for multiple Hollywood studios & landing Open Writing Assignment pitches

48:10 - Getting into Margot Robbie’s Lucky Chap Pitch Program & women who write action

51:40 - Faith’s advice for screenwriters

54:14 - How living situation has impacted creativity

56:00 - What helped Faith persevere

59:04 - TIME CAPSULE

Veronica Powers is a SAG actress, singer, and USC Summa Cum Laude graduate who has transitioned from a child performer on Conan to a viral comedy star for creators like Content Machine and Adam W. A versatile multi-hyphenate, she also lends her voice to global Netflix hits and works as a professional coach for aspiring talent. In this episode, we discuss the profound life lessons she learned after losing her home in the Palisades fire and the specific DM strategies she used to land major roles in the digital space.

BREAKDOWN:

11:28 - Veronica’s origins, from Old Hollywood grandmother to acting as a child

18:11 - What Veronica DM’d to get cast in Instagram comedy sketches

19:23 - IG as the modern day business card

20:38 - opportunities & negotiations over Instagram DMs

25:38 - creating your own social content

26:38 - leaning into being a multi-hyphenate

29:28 - pursuing music through voiceover/dubbing contacts & training

32:38 - should new actors go SAG?

39:07 - TIME CAPSULE

KEEP UP WITH VERONICA: IG: @officalvpowers | @confidencecoach101

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Austin Kolodney is the screenwriter of “Dead Man’s Wire,” based on a true story and directed by Gus Van Sant, in theaters January 2026. He was named one of Variety’s 2025 Screenwriters to Watch.

A director as well as writer, Austin’s work has been featured across major platforms including Funny Or Die, Syfy, Audible, Almost Friday TV, and Comedy Central. His narrative shorts, Two Chairs, Not One and Kiwi, earned prestigious Vimeo Staff Pick honors.

Today we get into why Austin walked twenty miles round trip across LA to meet with Werner Herzog; working at the LA Zoo after the industry was ravaged by strikes and the pandemic; how he put himself through USC film school after two years at a community college; and the things he had in place to make reps pursue him for professional relationships that have lasted.

SEE “DEAD MAN’S WIRE:” Limited Release 1/07/26 | Out Nationwide 1/16/26

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