Welcome to episode 27 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Rhys Zemeckis, a USC film director with a passion for classic movies. He shares his experience growing up in a filmmaking family and lessons he learned about what makes a good film director.

Welcome to episode 26 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Teddy Alvarez-Nissen, a recently graduated USC film director. He shares his experience breaking into Hollywood and how he made a movie with snails. We discuss the what it takes for a director to succeed in the movie business and the path that led to him to being noticed at film festivals and by talent agencies.Time Stamps:(0:00) - Intro(3:49) - Learning Filmmaking as a Child(13:24) - Directing a Snail(16:11) - Building the Set(21:10) - Fantastical storytelling(25:27) - Finding Ideas(37:52) - Old Goat(40:29) - Film Festivals(46:38) - Best Marketing Tool(52:37) - Most Memorable Set(54:50) - 1st AD(1:00:10) - Networking(1:05:15) - Career Plan After College(1:11:57) - $3 Million Feature Idea(1:13:47) - AI isn’t directing

Welcome to episode 25 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Phinehas Yoon, a professional actor with a recent lead role in a SXSW feature film. He shares his experience breaking into Hollywood. We discuss the what it takes for an actor to succeed in the movie business and the path that led to him starring in multiple high profile movies.

Timecode:

(00:56) - SXSW

(01:48) - How We Met

(04:51) - Beginnings

(08:40) - Child Acting

(09:51) - Asian American Actors

(11:03) - Filmmaking & Acting

(15:17) - Action Short

(21:12) - Biggest Short Film

(31:03) - Casting

(33:30) - SXSW Film “It Ends”

(39:20) - Financing & Casting the Film

(45:00) - Rejection for Actors

(51:02) - Is Acting Professional Lying?

(53:23) -Breaking into the Industry Today

(55:18) - Do YOU Need to be in LA?

(57:16) - Getting an Agent/Manager

(1:00:08) - Why Pursue this Path?

(1:01:09) - Financial Security in Entertainment

(1:02:16) - How to Adapt to Rapid Change

(1:05:36) - Dream movie for $4mil

(1:09:32) - Audition Opportunities

(1:12:31) - Stereotypes in Asian American Screen Presence

(1:14:36) - Getting Better Performances

(01:19:20) - Trust Between Director and Actor

(01:20:40) - Looks

(01:30:29) - Question

(01:34:01) - $6mil dream movie

(01:35:08) - Sperm Race

(01:36:56) - Deep Question

(01:40:14) - What’s Next