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Episode 76: Amanda Raymond
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On this week's episode we chat with director, producer, and screenwriter Amanda Raymond!
DISCLAIMER: We are not an affiliate of the Walt-Disney Company nor do we speak for the brand or the company. Any and all Disney-owned audio, characters, and likenesses are their property and theirs alone.
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Transcript
Introduction and Hosts
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to Sharing the Magic, the podcast that takes you on a journey through the enchanting worlds of Disney. Each week, we're joined by a special guest, whether they're a magician creating moments of astonishment or a Disney expert sharing the secrets behind the magic of the happiest place on Earth. Together we'll uncover the stories, inspirations, and behind the scenes tales that bring these worlds to life. So, get ready to be spellbound and transported to a place where dreams come true.
00:00:49
Speaker
of him yeah
00:00:53
Speaker
Hello, welcome to the latest episode of Sharing the Magic. I'm your host, Barry, and we have another exciting guest joining us tonight. But before we get into the big hoopla of our guests and, you know, hearing their great stories on what they've done for Disney and what they've done outside of Disney and things like that, I want to say hello to our co-hosts tonight. And first we'll say hello to James. James, how you doing tonight?
00:01:16
Speaker
I'm doing great, Barry. It's great to have you back. You know, you've been gone a couple of weeks and we've been here in and out with the technical difficulties, as we'll say. But I'm doing great. It's raining out here in the Pacific Northwest and it's cold. I hope it's not as cold as ah it is here where you guys are at. Yeah, it's been cold in North Carolina. Today, it was back in the 60s, so things things have been been a little better. I understand people in Florida, like they...
00:01:44
Speaker
If it gets below a a six or five, then you know Armageddon is coming. So we'll say hello to Brian. Brian, how are you doing? I am very good, everybody. Great to see everybody. And also, I'm really looking forward to talking to our guests today. Absolutely. Next up we have dawn Don. Don, how are you doing?
00:02:05
Speaker
Hi, hi from Houston, Texas. I just got back from Florida and yes, it was nippy. And I thought Armageddon for sure, because I, early December in the forties, walking back from Epcot to catch the bus, I, oh, that was brutal. Yeah. But we had a good time. I'm more, more afraid of the iguanas falling out of the trees and people falling over from being cold. So, all right. and And last but not least, Lisa, Lisa, how are you doing tonight?
00:02:34
Speaker
Hello, everyone. I'm here from Indianapolis. We had unseasonably warm weather today, 50s, almost 60s. So, you know, i'm I feel like we're in Florida today, you know, no coats. But um can't wait to speak with our guest tonight and have hear what she has to share.
00:02:56
Speaker
Yeah and it's awesome because again with the weather I feel like I'm playing tennis because I'm feeling one day I'm wearing three coats and the next day I'm wearing shorts so it's not fun at all.
Meet Amanda Raymond
00:03:07
Speaker
Alright so that leads us to our guest tonight and I am so happy to have this guest on. We've tried to head around a couple times and it just didn't work out but tonight it has so I'm happy to have producer herself Amanda Raymond. How are you doing?
00:03:25
Speaker
Hi, great. Thank you so much for having me. And I'm so happy we finally made this happen, this work. So thank you for your patience. No worries. So Amanda, let's go ahead and jump in this. I like to ask everybody, and it's kind of an easy question, but it seems like a lot of people like to answer different ways. but So tell us about how you fell in love with Disney.
Beginnings of Disney Passion
00:03:47
Speaker
Oh, gosh. I mean, I think everyone can say that they fell in love with it from, you know, from the time you were little to remembering anything. But I think for me, what the biggest one was um was I saw The Great Mouse Detective when I was a kid. And it was just so fun. It was just so beautifully drawn and animated. And I just I was like, I want to do that. Like, how how do I meet the people that do those things? Like, that's amazing. but And then it went on to obviously, you know, Little Mermaid and and um and I liked Oliver & Company. ah I know that's not everyone's favorite, but um but I adored it. I loved it. I knew it backwards and forwards. I had the books on tape. I would sit there and draw and sketch in my room for hours and hours on end and just like, I'm going to be a Disney animator. So that was, you know, since I was a little kid, like that was always my goal.
00:04:39
Speaker
Oliver & Company is so underrated and it's got the greatest sound. Yes, very underrated. I love that movie. And for anybody to say they don't like it, I don't i don't understand it. I had Oliver & Company stuff as a kid. So it's near and dear to my heart. So definitely agree with you there.
00:04:55
Speaker
i can actually donald's o or and dodger i can yeah guys I can tell you, you came to the right podcast because we are the podcast of the underdog movies here. So all the movies that people struggle with, like a Home on the Range or Treasure Planet or, you know, Oliver and Company, The Black Cauldron, Emperor's New Groove, first new groove you'll you'll you'll find us talking about it here because we're, I mean, Meet the Robinson's Bolt, you know, come here. We'll we'll we'll talk about that. But, you know, you you met you mentioned Oliver and Company, so that and The Great Mouse Detective, that's another movie that a lot of but a lot of people, you know, have a hard time with. So were movies like that that got you into doing what you you love to do, or was it, you know, more more to it than that?
00:05:49
Speaker
Um, well, I can even say with great master, if I blame Ron and John to this day, I mean that I consider the mentors and friends and they've helped me with my own movies and my, my own endeavors and my, my novel that I wrote. Um, I blame them for my Sherlock Holmes obsession because when I saw the great mouse tech, I was watching the end credits at the end of the credits and based in the books by Eve Titus Basil at Baker street. And I was like, what is this? So I had to find the books and I tracked them down. I'm like, Basil, Basil was named after Basil Rathbone. So I watched all the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies.
00:06:17
Speaker
And then from there, I was like, oh, this is actually based on a series of books by our sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I was like, oh. I went a whole roundabout weird way getting into sh Sherlock Holmes. um And I still blame John Musker and Ryan Clements for that. so And they know and they always chuckle.
00:06:29
Speaker
but But to to go into like how I got into working for Disney, um yeah, I loved all the animated movies. Animation was really my thing, less so the live action, but even, you know, I loved bed nubs and broomsticks. I loved the classics. She doesn't love Mary Poppins. um And I remember my first stint at Disney, weirdly,
00:06:49
Speaker
back when this was a thing, um I got to reach out from um a recruiter from monster dot.com. My resume was on there and they said, oh, we're hiring to be in this special projects division where they do commercials and theme park stuff and PSAs and everything. And I interviewed with this executive producer, Baker Bloodworth, who had worked on Dinosaur and had done worked on Feeding the Beast as an APM and had done all of these different projects. And so I came on and was his assistant. That was my first job into the business and in Disney.
00:07:16
Speaker
and I went from there to Disney TV animation, um Disney Tune Studios. I went to Disney feature animation where I worked in publicity um for a number of years. and Then I got into live action, which i know I direct in live action now, but that was kind of that was kind of my path.
00:07:32
Speaker
So looking at what what you have done for Disney, is is there something that really, ah really is special to you that you were able to, you know, say you notched it on your wall because you got you were able to do that?
Star Wars Premiere Experience
00:07:48
Speaker
Um, well, it's, it's, this is less of the Disney, but since like the, uh, the Star Wars, you know, world and Marvel world acquisitions, but I was there for the force awakens premiere. And I think it was probably the most epic premiere I'd ever worked. I've ever been at maybe in the history of premieres because you had the OGs from Star Wars, you had the new, um, you know, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, um, Mark Hamill, all of them were there, got to meet them on the carpet, got to see them in that world.
00:08:14
Speaker
I am so jealous. Oh my goodness. This is a pretty amazing night. And then Frank Oz was there and I was having this whole conversation with Frank Oz about the Dark Crystal and Henson and I was like, this is fantastic. Very cool. I think my question with Frank Oz would have been more trading places than Dark Crystal. No, Dark Crystal. Dark Crystal is great though. Yeah.
00:08:40
Speaker
yeah So that was definitely a standout moment. But I think, I mean, working so many of the premieres and then being in like the green rooms with like like, you know, the Marvel characters and then meeting my mentors, you know, like Ron Clements and John Musker. And and I had a project with Kirk Wise, you know, with Gary Trostel, who had done, you know, Hunchback and View the Beast. I'm sure you're very familiar with everyone's credits. But we were developing a project for a while. He's still also a very dear friend of mine. And just having that ability to to meet these legends and these people that I looked up to, you know, Mark Henn. I remember The first time I was at Disney on the lot, and I was working in publicity, and I was sitting there with my bosses, and Mark Hen walks back and goes, is that Mark Hen? Like, who? Don't you know who he is? Don't you know what he's animated? What's wrong with you? And then anytime he would pass by after that, like, hey, look, Amanda, it's Mark Hen. I'm like, shut up.
00:09:28
Speaker
like Like my fangirls showing it's fine. ah said good I think I would have those moments all of the time. I couldn't I couldn't go to something like that. I would not be able to pay attention. I mean, turn up my head. and I really can't believe this. Yeah.
00:09:40
Speaker
Well, the problem is is having, I mean, like each week on the podcast here, I'm sitting there, I'm just like dumbfounded by the time I get off it. We are having Ron Clements on later, later next year. So, um, so with, with your, um, you know, meeting others,
00:09:57
Speaker
You mentioned some of the people you looked up to that um kind of got you in or got your feet wet. i So tell us a little bit about that and how how you were able to and interact with some of the big wigs or the big names of the people that are in the movie genre there.
Career Influences and Mentorship
00:10:16
Speaker
um Well, when I was working for Baker Bloodworth, I mean, another amazing thing we did it was for the 45th anniversary of Mary Poppins, they were doing this, um you know, bonus TV feature, The Cat That Looked at a King, and Julie Andrews was in that. So then we were there on set with Julie Andrews. They found the old backdrop from Mary Poppins. I think Warner Brothers had actually had it. We had to borrow it, loan it from weirdly. ah But that was just kind of ah an amazing experience to be there on set. And like Baker had let me be there and kind of be part of that and and see like just that kind of um Reunion, again, you had Dick Van Dyke with Julie Andrews. It was kind of amazing. um And then also Baker was an executive producer on ah Lorenzo, which Mike Gabriel had directed this wonderful short about this giant blue cat you that Joe Grant had done and Don Hahn had been the producer on it as well.
00:11:02
Speaker
And yeah, I got to go to the screening of that, and I met Mike Gabriel, and Mike Gabriel became a friend and mentor. And he actually gave me the best advice when I was first directing my first film. And I said, Mike, I said, you know, i what advice can you give me? And he says, never not have an answer. And it was the best piece of advice he could have possibly given me. He says, you know, you people are running around this and that as a director. It's like, you know, what do you want? The thing is pink, blue, green, yes, no, on, off, and just yes.
00:11:30
Speaker
The moment you sow hesitation is a sign of weakness. so just kind of like It doesn't have to be the right answer, but just give them an answer. and To this day, that is still always like, hey, i'm I want that. Are you sure? Yep. Actually, no no. Let's not do that. um It's okay to change your mind, but it's always to kind of be in the affirmative.
00:11:49
Speaker
So that's how I got to meet Mike Gabriel. um And then through the Disney channels, that's how I got to meet Ron and John. And I had asked them, I could take them to lunch and want to pick their brain, about gra brain mouse detective and Little Mermaid. And I like Treasure Planet too. And I mean, I like all of their films, Princess and the Frog. I really got into wanting to go to New Orleans and tarot reading and all that because of of Princess and the Frog.
00:12:09
Speaker
But then they became friends, not just, you know, going on a lunch, but actually like, hey, can you watch my short and give me feedback and, you know, all these kind of things. So it was just what's so lovely about the Disney family is that those guys and the women are just are so lovely about giving back and to the fans and not just like, hey, great, we'll sign this for you. But when you're asking for advice or or feedback or can you have a look at this like they've been very, very gracious with their time.
00:12:34
Speaker
awesome and That seems like a running theme that we hear on this podcast a lot, I've realized that anybody who's been within the Disney family for a certain number of years and has worked closely with the legends or other animators, it's about giving back. Do you find yourself doing that, you know, with other people that you you run into and they they pick your brain?
00:12:56
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I always try to pay it forward as well. And I know that I was so um fortunate to have such great mentors for me. So if someone sends me a short or a script, you know, it's like I can't look at everything, but I do try to be as helpful as I can um and and give feedback and, you know, have a look at something or say, I'll be a consultant for this on you and up being on set. It's like, can you kind of, you know, guide me a first time director? And I'm like, yeah, sure. I'll i'll happily help and come on set for a day and kind of help you out and see how that goes.
00:13:24
Speaker
um I love doing that. I definitely love giving back. So with with with all the time that you had at Disney, I mean, what um what were some of the projects that you were able to work on that you enjoyed
Challenges in Entertainment Industry
00:13:38
Speaker
doing? And what were so, I mean, I understand because everything at Disney is not roses all the time. So a lot of times, you know, there's too many things like that. So ah what were some of the struggles that you had while doing that you before you moved on?
00:13:56
Speaker
Let's see, struggles. um and Time is always a factor. you know There's always just so much to do and so little time. and you know and This is just kind of true of of production and entertainment in general. you know and just There's never enough hours in the day. so that's you know I think a struggle probably is a lot of times, yes, you have to work on weekends or just you know expected to go a little above and beyond like the normal 40-hour work week. But um you know we do love what we do and love being there.
00:14:23
Speaker
and I guess that's time can sometimes be the most challenging thing is when other things in life come up, but work has to take priority. um So Amanda, this is an interesting thing because I want to i want to understand you. You're also an author and I think that's pretty wild and that's cool and it's under Sherlock and I know you're you you're making yourre out you actually get ah you doing a sequel, right? So how do you handle writing a novel while you're also working? How do you find the time to do that?
00:14:52
Speaker
Um, I don't sleep a lot. Uh, you know, it's, it's for me, I am juggling a bunch of different projects that I'm writing on right now. Um, but sometimes it's like, I just get, I get stuck. I get in a rut, stuck in a rut on one project. And so I have to jump to another and then I'll see something or I'll be out and it's inspires me to jump onto the other one. And I can be a little ADHD that way.
00:15:14
Speaker
where it's I'm like working on one, I'm like, ah I feel really stuck in this. so and I move out of the the time period of new the early 1900s with Senator Sherlock 2, and then I can jump into a contemporary world. where We're dealing with you know AI and craziness and and technology and stuff just to kind of change it up a bit for me. That's pretty cool. and so with The sequel, um how long it we was it easier for you to do the second one um after the first one, or did you do would it different did you approach it differently the second time?
00:15:43
Speaker
Um, the second time I had an outline, um, I did not for the first one, I guess kind of started writing, it was initially going to be a short story. And I remember I was telling my boyfriend at the time, he said, Oh, I'd love to read it. And I said, okay, and then it's going and going. And then it ended up, he's like, well, what am I going to read this? I said, well, it's kind of turning into a novel. You're like, what?
00:16:00
Speaker
And then before I do it, yeah, it's just kind of grew into, I knew where I wanted it to end, but I didn't really know the journey there. And it led to me writing almost a thousand pages, which I picked up in half. But I have some of that I can use as flashbacks for the sequel. um But for the sequel, I definitely went in through and I wrote an outline and I do that for scripts now as well, ah versus just kind of writing blindly.
00:16:24
Speaker
Very impressive, very impressive. That you can do both at the same time. I'm also, I definitely am a fan of Stinky Summers. I know we want to talk about that eventually, but I'll let the other people talk now. Go to what's the next, Lisa. Dawn.
From New York to Disney
00:16:40
Speaker
I have a question. So we always, because we research and know about you, so we take for granted that people may be listening on their AirPods don't really know. So you went to college in New York, right?
00:16:53
Speaker
And then you majored in a Bachelor of Arts, is that correct? Yes. Is that right? Okay. And then you started animation. Now there's a huge gap. Can you kind of fill in how you, and obviously you loved animation and your love of the ah movies we discussed in Disney. How did you kind of maybe get your start or did you go to a special school or did you submit artwork or what maybe for the listeners, ah how did you get that big jump and that break?
00:17:21
Speaker
Yeah. when i um When I went to circus university and when I first, my first major was a dual art and drama major. So I was also an actor. So I was doing, I wanted to be an animator, but I wanted to be an actor. And like, how do I kind of reconcile the two? And I thought, well, there was no major that actually existed that I don't know if it's still in existence, but it allowed you to study both, which I thought, this is brilliant. This is absolutely what I want to do.
00:17:44
Speaker
I only on and stayed in that major for about a year and then I had friends that were acting and they were waiting tables in New York City after they graduated at their senior year. I thought, well, what am I going to do with an acting degree? So I got an equally useful degree in psychology and then minored in creative writing, which actually, as a as an artist, as a director, as a writer, is is incredibly useful because, you know, understanding the psychology of a character, where they come from, child psychology, abnormal psychology,
00:18:12
Speaker
um all different kinds of behavior. It was actually incredibly useful, more so than I realized it would have been. um And then as far as coming to l LA, I just packed up my car, just spent two weeks driving across country with a friend, landed at a friend's in Pasadena, found a place online back when Craigslist was a thing, ah found a place in Hollywood, and then I just started acting. And I tempted Nickelodeon, and when I tempted Nickelodeon, I was talking to an art director there.
00:18:39
Speaker
And he'd said, you know, he was just tempting as a receptionist. And he says, you know a lot about the nine old men. I was like, oh, this this person animated this and this worked on this. And I knew that this and like the color palette for this was that. And he's like, why are you not working in animation? I said, because I want to be an actor. He's like, well, yeah, we'll give you a job here as a PA, but you know you're going to be working 60 hours a week. So I said, h benefits, insurance, working full time at a job and a studio that I also like, you know, Nickelodeon prior to Disney. I thought, sure, that that sounds great. Let's do that.
00:19:07
Speaker
And then from Nickelodeon, I went to Disney and then so on and so forth. But that was kind of how I got my start, you know not actually studying animation or you know my foot got in the door through temping.
00:19:19
Speaker
That's amazing. So did you, and just to be clear, were you animating for Disney? Did you start with that first? No. I had i had tried to do some storyboarding and I realized very quickly at Nickelodeon that that was just not but my thing. It would take me five hours, but it would take somebody else to do in 30 minutes.
00:19:38
Speaker
So I just realized I just didn't have the the um the technique and the skill and the quick and the the quickento pace that I would need in order to do it, um but I loved it. So I ended up staying in production. So knowing so much about animation was very useful, but I wasn't, you know, and and even as ah as a director, I can storyboard things to a degree and I can give thumbnails and say, okay, this is roughly what I want. It's not beautiful, but you get a sense of the staging, you get a sense of the space and um the composition.
00:20:06
Speaker
Wow, that's that's amazing. So you ultimately got where you wanted to get, but starting at a very unique position. So I love that we can hear that and it just makes anything seem attainable if you keep trying. just don't Yeah, just just don't give up and don't say like, well, I've never done this before. I don't but know. You just don't know. you know it's just It's being in the right place at the right time, lightning striking, and just anything can happen. Just put yourself out there. Be available. Don't be afraid. know Reach out to people. What's the worst they can do is they say no.
00:20:35
Speaker
That's great. I love that advice too. So many people have opportunities drop right in their lap and they do not take them, you know, whether no matter what the reason is, they don't have the time. They don't think it's right for them, whatever. But taking advantage of those opportunities when they come is is amazing. And I hate to stomp on what Brian wanted to talk about. but So I've been. but Well i was gonna ask about how was your 2024 because i thought well there's on imdb i saw something that came out this year um would you like to talk about that at all this show or should i just let brian lead the way?
Directing 'Stinky Summer'
00:21:16
Speaker
No no no go ahead let's talk about it now because i just want to say one day i was just you know how you go through and you're looking at movies that suggested it
00:21:23
Speaker
And I said, you know what? Let me watch this. and i And I watched it. So I didn't even know that that was you until today. So as soon as I saw that, I was like, wow, this is so cool. but i mean me Same story. I was like, wait a minute. it okay Very impressive. Yeah. See, we you knew about you, but we didn't even know about you yeah yeah in some ways.
00:21:45
Speaker
Yeah, you know Stinky Summer was a lot of fun. It was a project that I was brought to me by the producers and it was supposed to shoot, not last year, it was supposed to shoot the year previous, but the script wasn't ready. I had some notes with the writer and I said, well, let's get it to where it needs to be and not just like rush through this.
00:22:06
Speaker
But it was a a lot of fun. I mean, I got to work because I had worked at the Jim Henson Company for um a bit. I worked on said the Science Kid, which was their motion capture show for PBS. I knew a lot of the puppeteers. So I was on a hike with some friends that I both met from Henson. And I was telling him I was doing a skunk movie and he's like, I want to play the skunk. I said, it's it's low budget. I have five dollars. It's not. He's like, I don't care. I want to do it.
00:22:30
Speaker
And so, and he was amazing and he did such a good job with the skunk and that was a lot of fun. And just, you know, working with the kids and we shot it in a summer camp in Maryland in the dead of summer last year. So yes, it was hot and humid and awful, but you know everyone was a trooper and the kids had a good time and crew had a good time. And it was so validating for me for the crew that had been on five different movies together, you know, that crew um in in Maryland until mine, they said, this is the most fun we've ever had in a set.
00:22:58
Speaker
So I thought that was that was really nice. I was like, don't take yourself too seriously. We're making a movie about a skunk. Right. No, that's a great compliment. People, you know, not everybody gets to go to work and do what they love and love what they do. So that's awesome. um I also, what what is a project, um and I don't know if you can talk about upcoming projects. um What is a project that you will always hold near and dear to you?
00:23:28
Speaker
Film could be, you know, more could be whatever it is. Probably my first film, my short film, because that was really how I got into directing from Emily. It's a it's kind of a noir thriller. um And my crew was just so wonderful and supportive and just every step of the way, you know, because I hadn't directed before. And, you know, they were there and they got me through it. And it was just a ah wonderful experience.
00:23:55
Speaker
And I thought i you know either you can love or hate directing. it's kind of There's no you know one way or the other. And I thought, no, this is for me. This is what I want to do. And if it hadn't been for that crew, who knows? I might not have felt that way. But everyone on that was really a rock star really showed up, you know was there and excited. They were there for the project. you know They were there for me and there for the project. They believed in it. um And that was a really lovely thing. Have you worked with any of those those people again?
00:24:21
Speaker
um I have, yeah. I worked on a couple on my next film. um A lot of people have scattered to the winds, left l LA, gone to Texas, gone to other things. um I got to work with another one on my first feature, which was shot in Texas. um But a lot of people are, ah yeah, they've kind of moved and scattered around. And so I shot a movie in Maryland, as you know, oh and then I shot one in l LA. And so I didn't have the same crew because people were in different locations. But It looks like with your your your credits, you've written and directed and produced you know quite a bit of your own work. What is that like as an undertaking as a writer and a producer and then stepping in that direct role? Because and know I know as a writer myself and learning how to write scripts, you kind of want to delve into the whole directing as you're writing it. Do you find yourself doing that from time to time or do you just find yourself just in a natural flow wanting to gravitate to all those those roles?
00:25:14
Speaker
um in terms of what sense, sorry. And just as as as you're writing in the process, I guess, um do you find yourself, you know, writing like direction into your your scripts and then finding yourself wanting to produce it after you've written it in and like, OK, I have an idea for this. Does it just all kind of flow naturally as to what you're doing um creatively, I should say?
00:25:37
Speaker
um Yes, actually, and it kind of it kind of goes in stages and then it kind of shifts around your hats kind of like fall off and fall on. And so it starts off usually, you know, as the writer, I'm writing a certain way and I get the script and story out and then I'm super happy with it. And I'm like, this is great. and I'm actually going through this right now. I just finished today, of all things, a thriller script that I had pitched at the American Film Market that a company that bought my second film wants.
00:26:00
Speaker
um And so I just finished the script and now I'm going back through and kind of fine-tuning it. You're like, oh, this line gotta go. This has gotta go. This scene, not necessary. Out. Don't need it. Oh, this is way too expensive. Get rid of it. So like the producer brain kind of comes in and says, do we really need another character? Do you really need to have an airplane in here? Like, you know, I'm thinking about logistically, you know, just the the scheduling and then the budgeting and you can go back through in a pass versus like, here's the creative of what I want. And it's like, okay, go away writer. I'm going to now make it where I can actually shoot it.
00:26:27
Speaker
okay I'm finding that to be my struggle as a writer and writing a script because I finished a script myself today and I'm like, well, now I have to go back through and cut out lines. and And I'm just finding myself wanting to add like, oh, let's do this from this angle. And it's just.
00:26:45
Speaker
Just trying to figure it out myself and hearing you talk about it really, really opens my eyes to some things. And seeing that you've done a lot of the writing and the producing and the directing has really helped me understand some of my own motives as a writer. So thank you. Yeah, of course. And I'll get the first draft done. It's like 124 pages. I'm like, girl, get that down to 100 pages. Come on. but Yeah, I think um one of the big, you know, it's it's funny because you you brought up Sherlock Holmes a bunch of times and, you know, you know, a lot of the modern the modern day people would think of the um Robert Downey Jr. version of but Sherlock Holmes. And unfortunately, you know, the better versions are earlier, you know, read the books, things like that.
00:27:31
Speaker
You know, i I like to listen to old radio dramas, you know, there's um old time radio. So and one of the big ones I like to listen to is Sherlock Holmes because it's, you know. yeah So going into that, what's your genre? what what What do you like to do? I mean, are you OK? Because, you know, you mentioned you've done thriller and you've done horror and things like that. But you also done comedy. but what do What do you feel most comfortable doing?
00:28:00
Speaker
um Gosh, I think it stems from being an actor and that like I just like to do things that are interesting to me. I mean, you think about things that you like to watch and you don't only, if you watch NCIS, that's not the only thing you watch. me Maybe you watch Marvel movies, maybe you like rom-coms, maybe you like Hallmark movies, maybe you like documentaries. So I think of myself in terms of the viewer, it's like, well, what do I want to watch?
Exploring Multiple Genres
00:28:21
Speaker
And I don't like to be, people like to pigeonhole and say, like like you're just a horror director or you're just a family director.
00:28:27
Speaker
And for me, obviously Stinky Summer is a family film. My favorite girlfriend is a rom-com. You Are My Home was also more of a Christmas kind of family film. ah Whereas the script I'm finishing right now is very firmly a psychological thriller. um I have another rom-com that I have, you know, pitched and has been out, um that has been interested in. And I have a horror romance of all things. So where it's, you know, it's a romance, but it's definitely violent. It's definitely people die, things happen. but Um, so, you know, I did Amityville, you know, as an executive producer on the Amityville series, you know, about the Amityville murders and horrors and, you know, is it real? Is it not? That was for MGM plus. So, um, I do tend to bounce around, not out of just, you know, Oh, I want this. It's like, I'm just interested in so many different things. but Well, what was your, so you graduated with, uh, clinical psychology. What was your, what was your major?
00:29:20
Speaker
ah psychology. Yeah, so that's pretty interesting too. So how'd you go from that to acting? And I love to tell Kirk Wise the story. So I was not an an actor. And I was at ah Sunday school and there wasn't my friend was saying, Hey, I'm going to audition for Beauty and the Beast. You should audition. I'm like, I'm not an actor. I don't do that. He's like, it's your favorite movie in the whole world. You have to audition.
00:29:44
Speaker
It's like, oh man. and So I went and I auditioned and I did a cold read. I ended up getting cast as Belle. And then I was just all over. And I went and we did like the community theater and did a traveling show of it. And I just loved it. I loved being on stage so much that that's how I kind of got bit by the acting bug was that play. but so what does you So what does your, so what you learned, what you took in school though, does that help you with your writing now? Because you could, now you, you probably think deeper into things. I think that's a pretty interesting mix. I really do.
00:30:13
Speaker
Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, and I for all of my scripts, I read everything out loud as all of the characters. If you were to hear me, you think I was schizophrenic. but but But it just helps to do like a pass through every character and kind of think, okay, is this voice authentic to what I've established for them, um you know, in the film? And that's, you know, doing table reads is always super helpful. And I'll always do at least, you know, one kind of role at at ah at a table read and kind of read through is like, oh does this work? Does this not work? But yeah, no, being an actor has definitely helped. And I think as an actor, I said, would I want to play this role? Does this character have an arc? Do they not have an arc? Are they a throwaway character and even giving notes on scripts
00:30:49
Speaker
I'll say you have three characters in this scene. Why can't they all just be one? I mean, is there a a specific reason you need this person to exist? If you can't give me an answer, I says, well, then they don't need to be there because an actor is going to feel, well, why do I need to be here? Dude, I feel i feel like whatever you say, Amanda, I'm going to agree with you because it seems like, I mean, you just have everything.
00:31:10
Speaker
I mean, hair brown i was in yes that's yeah, that too. Um, so Amanda, let me ask you, cause we did, we did talk about, you know, you, you, you've done round kinds of things. What genre will you not do? Will you, will you stay away from it? Is there anything that like, like periodic or a sci-fi things like that? Is there something that you're like, well, that's not for me. Um, I don't know if I could say it on here, but I would never do soft core.
00:31:36
Speaker
no I don't need to do erotic thrillers, I'm good. There you go, okay. Yeah, yeah so not nothing nothing in that vein. I don't mind, I don't like slasher movies necessarily either. That's, I like smart horror, nothing that's just like, you know, put them in a meat grinder kind of situation. That's just, that's just not my jam.
00:31:55
Speaker
How do you get your inspiration other than what you said you liked before with the Sherlock and movies and novels? And so is there anything external that inspires you like taking a shower? Like do I do some of my best thinking in the shower? Yes. And ah it's so weird. Why is that? I have no idea. You're a psychology major, maybe you know. But um is there something like that that traveling or in the shower or when you wake up or in the middle of the night, what gives you inspiration or how do you decide what you're going to write?
00:32:26
Speaker
Yeah, it can be any number of things. I mean, it was just, I remember for this one animated show that I was starting to write on, I was sitting in the backyard and there was a squirrel and then there was this cat and I thought, what if the cat and the squirrel are all best friends and one's just a stoner smoker dude and the cat's just kind of like Kelsey Grammer and just kind of, you know, hanging out and chilling, but they're friends, but they can't be seen together because it's, you know, get to mess up the cat's reputation. And it was just something from something similar, simple like that.
00:32:53
Speaker
or my favorite girlfriend, I just thought, I was just sitting there and I had written down a log line and said, what if a guy thinks he has the perfect girlfriend because she has multiple personalities. So he's literally dating like five different women, but not. So it can come from, yeah, and then the shower, sometimes I'm struggling how to write a scene and I'm just thinking like, I just don't know where to go with this. And then for some reason, I don't know if it's just like the relaxation of the water or just like you're in a different environment and you're just thinking about, okay, this is nice. And you think, oh, actually, you know,
00:33:23
Speaker
And I'm not quite sure what that is, just something about the soothingness and the sound and of the water, you know, because we use white noise and stuff. And I think that kind of relaxes the brain a bit. I'm spitballing here. um But I think it allows you to like think more creatively, possibly. then What's your water bill like if you spend so much time to shower?
00:33:43
Speaker
Yeah, but you do it at hotels and then you don't have to pay for it. yeah yeah yeah I've been going for walks or are going out or you hear something in passing and you know i'm in I'm in New York City right now and you know you hear all kinds of things on
Sources of Creative Inspiration
00:33:56
Speaker
the street. I'm like, I got to write this line down. That was amazing. So I always have a notebook with me because you just never know when inspiration is going to strike. And if I don't write it down, it's going to be gone. And I have like a dream book by my bed. So when I wake up in the morning and they say, don't sit up when you have a dream or you have a thought and you'll roll over and write it down because then you'll remember it better. And I found that to be true. That's great. You could do a whole movie on dreams. Yeah, I think that worked on Seinfeld as well with that with a dream.
00:34:25
Speaker
Oh, really? yeah um Yeah. Before James asks this question, let me let me let me ask you this. When you're when you're when you're working and now, do you always um do you always go back to some of your former, um you know, like you mentioned, to John Musker and Ron Columbus?
00:34:45
Speaker
you you You mentioned that you've actually gone back and said, hey, will you read this and tell me how beneficial is that getting it from you know people that you look up to compared to you know you know someone that's graduated you know from Nebraska and saying, you know hey, I can write. I can write. Well,
00:35:07
Speaker
ah So how, how beneficial is that getting it from, from people who've actually been in the game, knowing that, you know, I'm in the game, but you know, I'm not as in the game as some of these people are.
00:35:20
Speaker
um It's, ah well, I mean, it has been incredibly helpful. I remember even when I showed the ah first pass of my short to John Musker. And one of the things that I was like, oh, he needed a different angle for this one thing. He gave me a couple of different notes. And I said, I don't have that footage. I said, that's a problem with live action is I can't just board it. And we can just put it up on reels. And there you go. It's like, I actually have to go shoot it. So we actually went back and did an additional half day of photography just based on his notes and some things that he was absolutely right that I was missing that I hadn't gotten on the day of shooting.
00:35:50
Speaker
That makes sense. I have to say a good idea can come from anywhere. I mean, there were like onset of a stinky summer. There was somebody that had, I forget now specifically the instance, but a crew member had asked and said something about like a shot for the skunk. I thought, yeah, that's a great idea. Like let's use that. So we did.
00:36:07
Speaker
Um, so it doesn't mean like like you you don't have to be, oh, if you're not a peer, it's like, I'm not going to listen to your ideas. A good idea can be a good idea. You know, if it's like, hey, can I pitch you this thing while we're like, yeah, sure. I mean, you know, it's like, film is a very collaborative, you know, thing and, you know, good ideas should be able to come from anywhere.
00:36:26
Speaker
Do you find having a theater background helping you as a director as well? Because coming from an acting, because i being a theater kid myself growing up and understanding writing and but having degrees in journalism, I've always revert back to my theater background as to how to shape a story. Do you find that being, like it like I said, being helpful on set, just having them from a theater background as to how you give direction, how you shape a story?
00:36:52
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Because, you know, working with actors, especially working with my little kids, you know, being bigger and being dramatic was very helpful in terms of giving them, um ah you know, notes and stuff on a performance. It's just like, I know if I go over the top, they're not going to quote quite that big because a lot of these were newer actors. I mean, they're kids, they haven't had roles before. It's like, you remember that first day, and you're like, in Christmas, you run downstairs, you're like, whoa, these gifts are here. It's like amazing. There's this big giant box. Like, what is in that box? I want that look.
00:37:19
Speaker
And like, okay, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. So it definitely is is is helpful um having that theater background, having that acting background. I always say I'm an actor's director, um specifically for that reason. So I think, okay, you know, if it's like, oh, just walk from here to there because it looks cool. Like, no, no, no, I need you to walk there because you're pondering, you're thinking you're going to be leaning against the table and oh my gosh, I can't believe I just got this news, it's horrible. And then you're going to move over there. But I need you to land there because that's where the shot ends.
00:37:44
Speaker
so that all makes 100% sense is because I, like I said, I find that I find doing everything that you're saying. And when you're saying spitballing these ideas, I'm like, no, that's 100% right. Because I do a lot of the same things, so techniques that you talk about. And just the way my brain thinks when I'm writing a scene or shaping something or drawing inspiration, I draw inspiration from a lot of music. So I listen to a lot of music. So it's like,
00:38:09
Speaker
Understanding where where you're drawing stuff from and understanding understanding how to shape a story, I think if something is becoming lost in a lot of today's media and to hear that you're doing it is awesome. So thank you for that. No, music is hugely important. I wrote my horror romance to the Daft Punk soundtrack for Tron Legacy. so yeah Wow, that's amazing.
00:38:34
Speaker
we're We're definitely not worthy. Yeah, my goodness. no you did it You did an animated comp up too? Um, I didn't it not anime, but I didn't do a comic book. I did. Yeah. There's only one episode that ended up happening. It was kind of tragic. ah We had it came out in Comic Con. It did really well. It's sold out. And then some guy came out of the woodwork and said, we stole his idea. We did not. It was a completely different concept. um There was a time travel Academy. And he said, Well, that's in my book, I never heard of this guy. It's like there's they're traveling to Mars. It's a completely different concept. I said, if we change it to reach it to the time travel conservatory, will that be sufficient? He's like, No,
00:39:08
Speaker
So my publisher was very um leery about it. And he's like, well, we don't really want to be sued, even though he doesn't have a leg to stand on. So the whole thing ended up kind of falling apart. And then weirdly, the same gentleman reached out and said, you know what, we should just collaborate on something. I said, how about no? like Like, you literally shut down my comic and now you want to be partners with me. I just you should But you had a booth at Comic Con, though? I love this variation that you have, your book sightings. but like i mean you have you you're You're getting all the different levels of media. yeah have to You have to do a song now, too.
00:39:43
Speaker
Actually, weirdly, I just I'm writing on this Gothic horror drama series because why not? um And one of the other writers wrote a song for one of the characters and said, What do you think about this for this particular character? And I did some changing of the lyrics and I said, ah I think this feels more of a you know, in in tune with this character. He said, hey, so I have this producer that saw the lyrics and kind of wants to make this song, if that's okay. I said, that's fine. We can write something else for him. as said just as you know He's like, but obviously I'm going to give you credit for it. So I now actually have written a song.
00:40:18
Speaker
ah okay oh witness song i was impressed now i'm really impressed okay see i'm telling you so so amanda a couple weeks ago we had a gentleman by the name of daniel ross on here ah so why don't you tell us about working with him on stinky summer Oh, I love Dale. Oh my gosh. He is so funny. He was, I just have a little side note. I did um Lydia Deets for Halloween this year. And so he called me and did like a voice of Beetlejuice, you know, just to kind of sit. new It was hilarious. He's insanely talented. um Yeah. He was just an absolute joy to work with him. and um
00:41:01
Speaker
Helen Day that played the two bumbling villains, like kind of their Boris and Natasha ah characters in the movie. And the two of them had actually known each other a little bit prior to that. And and just there, you know, so much of that was improv. I would just say, OK, do the lines and then just and just go. And I would just watch them and just kind of go. And I would just kind of like keep going. They'd be like, she's going to cut at some point because I was just enjoying them so much. They were so delightful. And yeah, and he's a sweetheart. He's an absolute sweetheart.
00:41:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's something about having multi-talented voices, things like that. Because we also had Bill Farmer on as well. and we had And we had Caitlin Roborak on as well, the current the current voice of Minnie Mouse. And I think a lot of it, especially being a director or producer, having someone like that, having someone like a Robin Williams or something like that that can come in and just do any character that you want to do, it's kind of a goldmine. So having something like that. So did did it make it a lot easier directing that movie, having talented people like that? Or is it is it harder?
00:42:11
Speaker
when they come in with their own resume that be able to you know either level up to you what you want to say or look down to them as in okay this is how we're gonna have to do it I know what you bring to the table but this is what we need to have happen.
00:42:28
Speaker
Well, we had multiple conversations about all of it prior. And one of the things I had spoken to him and Helen about was I said, you know, I want i want to adhere to the script. You know, I'm really happy with Jenna's script and I want her words to be recorded, but I also want you to play. And I'm really a big fan. Coming from a theater background, I did improv as well. I did like a sketch comedy series back in Syracuse, this thing called Often a Tangent, which you cannot find anywhere. I've tried. I don't know what happened to it.
00:42:53
Speaker
um It was really funny, you know but um I told them, I said, I really, I'm a big fan of improv and I would like you to do that because what we have is great, but then maybe give me a couple of different alts, you know, just something funny. And they'd say, oh, I have this idea, but they would always pitch it to me. They would say, you know, and I said, if we have time, if we had time, sure, sometimes we just didn't. And I was like, guys, we got to move on to the next scene. But if we did have time, I would say, yeah, let's let's play around with that. Let's do one more take and and do it that way.
00:43:21
Speaker
Or I'll have to say there was a ah a moment in Stinky Summer where there was a scene that was supposed to be shot a certain way with um the two villains in the house once they break into the house and they capture the family and they're stuck in the garage. And um it was supposed to be a different scene, but the little girl that was in it had a meltdown. So the scene did not end up being shot the way it was supposed to. And so I brainstormed with Daniel and Helen and You know, I was like, hey, so I just need to do something, a gag. At the end of the day, I just need him to hit his eye and something happens. Can you come up with something? And so they pitched a couple of different things and they came up with it and I said, yeah, that that's great. Let's do that. You know, do we can do this door gag where he slams into the door. And I said, yes, I want that. Let's do it.
00:44:00
Speaker
yeah yeah So that was, yeah. So again, having people that can do improv and can think quick and come up with stuff is is super helpful, at least for me. I know not all directors feel that way and it has to be by the book, but for me, I like things to be fun and chill.
00:44:18
Speaker
It kind of reminds me i mean every time I watch a Tim Curry movie, especially a Clue, every time I watch Clue and just to see the zaniness out of out of all those people, especially the people you think there are up up and proper people that you know you see in the movies that they're always one way, but seeing them being so off the wall and so candid and things like that is amazing. um When you're looking for people to play certain ah characters in your movies, do you have like a checklist that you're looking for the person or are you going on you know the eye test and seeing and how how they level up when they come in and actually do an audition?
Casting Strategy
00:45:04
Speaker
Um, it kind of depends. I mean, sometimes I have somebody specific in mind, like Alyssa Milano. I wanted her from the beginning for you or my home. And even my casting directors had said, you know, you're never going to get around. I'm like, I don't care. Go to her anyway. And then guess what happened? So it doesn't always happen that way. I got very, very fortunate with her. um But you know, and then a lot of times it's just your casting directors send you a bunch of auditions and then you go through and they pick the best of the best. And my casting directors that I've used on two films are are wonderful.
00:45:32
Speaker
um they They've done a really great job. And yeah, and I just go through and I think, okay, this is what I want. I kind of give them parameters. I say this is the character description. This is roughly what I'm looking for. So find me that. And they've been great. They've been great at doing that.
00:45:47
Speaker
I have a question. So um you didn't write Stinky Summer, correct? You were direct? Okay. yeah So my question is like when you were talking about um ad living or throwing an extra part. So do you have to get ah approval from the writer when you add something funny like the accident with the door on the eye or anything like that? Or are they there on the premises? I just have no idea how all that works.
00:46:13
Speaker
Yeah, no, Jenna St. John who wrote the script, um she could not be there. She had a bunch of other things she was working on. But, you know, and i if I had to change something and I, and this is not typically how it works, I know she was very appreciative of this, but because I like her so much as a human and as a writer.
00:46:30
Speaker
And I said, I wanted this to be your script. I know that so much her own family is in that script that she's written about. That's why she's able to write it so quickly and it it it feels so natural because it literally is her family. And I said, I want this to, to I want to do right by you. So when and we had this whole mix up with a little kid not performing, I said, hey, so this just happened. So just so you know, we will not be shooting this the way it's written. and We came up with this, what do you think? And she says, great.
00:46:57
Speaker
and you know And it's like, I didn't have to do that, but just out of respect to her, I wanted to keep her involved. Or I'd say, hey, we cast this person as this is what you think. I'm thinking casting Helen Day, you know because like i had I was going to work with Helen in another movie. That whole thing fell apart. But I promised her, I said, we'll work on something together because I just like you. And when I got Stinky Summer, I was like, I know exactly who I want her for. I told Jenna, I said, I want to cast this person as let me rewrite it and make her British with all her dialogue. I said, perfect.
00:47:26
Speaker
that's That's great. So I'm glad you have that. To me, that would make it so hard to not have that flexibility with somebody. I don't know in Hollywood if someone does a screenplay and they're like, you cannot change not even a period of a sentence. I mean, that would be very difficult, I think, to put your imagination and what you want to see done, but fit it into the constraints of what has been written.
Creating 'My Favorite Girlfriend'
00:47:51
Speaker
So that's awesome. And then um on your movie in 2022, my favorite girlfriend, you actually wrote that one. So then my question for that is,
00:48:01
Speaker
timeframe because for me that would take my whole life just to write one thing if I even could it much less produce it. So how long did it take for you to start from the beginning? Well of course you get the idea and I know you said it's based on some part of your life experience but writing it putting it together and then producing it to a finished product.
00:48:21
Speaker
ah timeline. So let's see. I think I pitched it in January or February. And then I came up with the outline. And then I had some consultants that I wanted to make sure everything was authentic like a A therapist had treated DID for 30 years. um I got someone that actually has DID that was a consultant, read every draft of the script. It was really important to me that all of that be completely authentic. um But prior to that, once I got the outline approved, um I wrote the first draft in four and a half days because I'm obsessive.
00:48:57
Speaker
But yeah yeah yeah or is that normal? I mean, I thought you could say four years, four months, four and a half days. It's not and I haven't written anything that quickly since but that was just one of those scripts that just blew like I just it just came out. And obviously there were multiple drafts after that. And then when actors are attached to change it for the actors. um But yeah, that was ah that was the quickest one I'd ever written.
00:49:23
Speaker
Wow. You just lock yourself in a room. or what where where you Where do you do this? i mean what what is the what's your What's your writing approach? Do you have to like be quiet? Do you have to be outside? but what's the What's your favorite way to write? Four and a half days. like That's crazy.
00:49:38
Speaker
I'm a weirdo. I can write kind of anytime, anywhere. um Actually, a coffee shops is a good place for me to go. But when I was writing my favorite girlfriend, I was just literally in my office with the door closed and just just like, oh, it's been four hours. I'm going to keep going. And then it's like, oh, I guess I have to eat something that's so annoying. I have to eat. you know I was I was just normal normal things that would require me to get up and actually get away from my computer or just the biggest annoyance ever. But I could get that way sometimes when I'm writing, I just I'm just super hyper focused in on it. And then other times, I guess we'll walk past the computer and walk past and it's like, I don't, I can't, maybe no, not yet. I'm gonna go clean. I'm gonna go do this. And I can't that once I sit down, though, that I'm good. Are you dictating or typing? Typing. Okay.
00:50:24
Speaker
Everything that she's saying, I can vouch for doing myself, which I know it's true. It's it's crazy how that process is the same in everybody. um um I'm writing a novel and it's taken me a long time because then I have an idea why I'm writing the novel to start another novel because I thought of something in the middle of the night. Oh, this would be cool to write. So I start writing on that one and then I forget the first one and then it's a vicious cycle and it's horrible. But
00:50:56
Speaker
So Amanda, let me ask you this out of all the Disney movies that we've seen, the animated ones, which one would you like to direct it and how would you change it? Oh, um who gosh, that's a. Hmm.
00:51:14
Speaker
I mean, you know, I love the the ones I grew up with, i I love, I wouldn't change a thing really. um Maybe the only one would be the Black Cauldron because I think those books were so interesting and fascinating and I don't think that movie did it justice. um And I just think there were were talks of it being darker. I saw some of Tim Burton's other earlier sketches for things and I just think that some of the magic that could have been there was lost just due to upper management.
00:51:43
Speaker
That movie faced a lot of production hell. That was such a rough movie is that dark period of Disney. its it's such It's a great movie for what it is, but you're right. The books were so much more and there could have been so much more magic, like you said, within that script and in that story that was lost out on. We don't get a lot of representation of that either.
00:52:03
Speaker
No, and i and I think it's but like I always say, I think it's the Disney strikes their shoulders era that they had at that time where it was like all these movies are just like, Oh, okay. Throw it out there. Let's, let's see what this does right against the wall. You know? And I, and I think, you know, up until the little mermaid, I think it had that problem. And then I had that little problem after it where you know, Home on the Range and yeah and Treasure Planet and ah Bolt and things like that where where it it just seems like it seems like there was a big disconnect with Disney itself in the animation between the late 70s up until the 90s and then post Lion King, Aladdin, and then, you know, they had that, let's try these movies, and then they picked it up again with, you know, Frozen.
00:52:57
Speaker
And it just seems like, so it's, we all know movies are not going to, all movies aren't going to be successful. I mean, that's, that's just how it is. But looking at it as, as a director, when when you see the finished product, I know in your mind, you say, this is a great movie.
00:53:16
Speaker
You know, now it's up to the public and see how they look. But in your heart, you're saying, I did all I could with it. It's like that. So it do do you look at it like that when you when you get done with the movie that you say, you know, OK, I dotted all the I's across all the T's. Here you go.
00:53:35
Speaker
Yeah, and I think i think movies, i think that I forget who said this may have been Coppola, but it's that movies are never finished, they're just
Finishing a Film Project
00:53:42
Speaker
abandoned. And it's then that could never be more true of a phrase because, you know, there's those always things as you're watching, you're thinking, oh gosh, you know, i I wish I had a shot of this, or I wish I'd gotten a closer up of that, or, you know, it's like, oh, I wish we'd gotten the back of that building because that had been really interesting and cool, and it would have been an interesting transition, and we could have done a punch in on the thing. and you know, so yeah you're there's always stuff that you wish you could have done. All right, I think we're gonna go ahead and wrap up this episode. So Amanda, it's great to have you. um And again, why don't you just let our listeners know about your latest movie, so they can go check it out and where they can find it. um yeah And your book yeah and your book as well.
00:54:26
Speaker
ah Yeah, and so Stinky Summer um ah came out in September, and it's ah you can get it on Apple TV, you can get it on Fandango, you can buy it on Amazon. um It's but i've available on a bunch of different platforms and for purchase, and um yeah.
00:54:44
Speaker
And then Senator Sherlock is something that I believe is still available at Barnes & Noble, but you can certainly get it on Amazon as an email. Yeah, I see it's on Amazon right now, I can see it. so so but But so when so when's ah two gonna be out?
00:54:55
Speaker
Um, still TBD. So there's a couple of other things I have, uh, I have to finish script wise first before I can officially finish that. So that's, is that a four day job too? Like your other one four days. You're pressing us. Come on. You got to keep this up. Uh, not quite as quick. No, okay five days, five days. We'll give you five days on that. Yes. Okay.
00:55:18
Speaker
Yeah, all all I asked is that, you know, I told you I loved listening to the old radio dramas. I wish someone would make a Philip Marvel movie or or, or some of those old ah police drama movies from back then because I have a feeling if someone there'd be a goldmine on some of those but, you know, I love Sherlock Holmes I'm glad that you're um You're into it, you dig it, and you wrote on it. And um um'm I'm so happy. And I want to just thank you for coming on. Thank you for your service with your time at Disney. And um much success. Then you know keep the ball rolling, as they say. youre Everything I've seen, we were going to have you on a couple times. So I just kept watching the movies. So yeah. yeah
00:56:08
Speaker
It's great. It's great. and And I have a daughter who loves horror movies, so she watches. I like her watch those. I mean i can't sleep and i can't sleep in at night as it is. Well, thank you again so, so much for having me. This has really, really been a pleasure. And and thank you for all the the really interesting and insightful questions. And yeah, no I appreciate it. All right. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
00:56:34
Speaker
Nice meeting you. Nice meeting you too. Thank you, Amanda. thank you for joining us for another enchanting episode of sharing the magic we are the thinking fans podcast an entertainment show where education and entertainment collide each week we bring you whimsical interviews with disney guests who share their magical experiences and reveal how they are woven into the disney fabric don't forget to hit that follow button to stay updated on our latest episodes Spread the word and let your friends know they can tune in wherever they enjoy their favorite podcasts. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and ex, formerly Twitter, at at sharing the magic pod. Until next time, keep sharing the magic.