The MAKE IT Podcast

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Hello, Hello! 

In this episode, Chris, Nick, and Producer Papa Bear sit down with Jesse Weglein — 15 years at Pixar, now founder of Illuminai Studios — joining live from the foot of Mount Fuji. Jesse worked on Up, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4 before a mass layoff ended that run and pushed him into building his own studio. He's using AI as a tool, not a replacement, to make original animated films for audiences the industry keeps overlooking — including his short film Roar, which Whoopi Goldberg picked for the Tribeca Film Festival.

We also talk about:
The creative culture at Pixar and what makes it impossible to replicate — including how directors would skip watching their own films in theaters to study the audience's reactions instead
The global divide on AI in animation, from China's breakneck adoption of the technology to Japan's philosophical hesitation around whether AI can carry the "soul" of an artist's vision
The economic fragility of the animation business model, including the trend of outsourcing animation overseas and how AI might offer a path to reclaiming domestic production jobs
The importance of traditional art training as the essential foundation before any aspiring animator or filmmaker touches AI tools — and why skipping that foundation produces hollow, soulless content
The passionate debate around AI's role in filmmaking, including the social policing happening on different platforms, copyright and trademark risks when using AI-generated imagery, and the distinction between using AI to accelerate creativity versus allowing it to replace it entirely

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:
People
Jesse Weglein 
John Lasseter
Steve Jobs
Ed Catmull
Pete Docter
Frank Oz
Andrew Stanton
Whoopi Goldberg
Phil Tippett
Tim McLaughlin 
John McCarthy
Akira Kurosawa
Hayao Miyazaki
Fritz Lang
Toshiro Mifune
Lionel Messi
Ray Kurzweil
Isaac Asimov
Dario Amodei 
Sam Altman 
Brian Adler
Barbara Lowenstein 

Films & Shows
Up
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 4
Toy Story 5
The Incredibles
ROAR 
Shine (Illuminai Studios)
The Color Purple 
Metropolis (1927)
Seven Samurai 
High and Low 
The Wind Rises 
Spirited Away 
Rashomon 
Red Beard 
Starship Troopers 
Jumpin' Jack Flash 
Sister Act 
A.I. Artificial Intelligence 
Disclosure Day 
The Boy and the Heron 
The Odyssey 

Companies & Organizations
Pixar Animation Studios
ILLUMINAI Studios
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
Google DeepMind
Tribeca Film Festival
Texas A&M Visualization
Anthropic
OpenAI / ChatGPT
Apple
Technicolor
Nashville Film Festival
WGA

Software & Technology
Maya
Presto (Pixar's proprietary tool)
Photoshop
Suno
Ray tracing / render farm

Websites & Social Media
illuminaistudios.com
nashvillefilmfestival.org

Books & Products
Mastering Film Marketing (ebook)
Make It Academy
Up Lego Set
Luxo Jr.

Places
Emeryville, California 
Lake Kawaguchi / Mount Fuji
Tokyo, Japan
San Francisco, California
Lucas Building/Steve Jobs Building
Dartmouth College / Dartmouth workshop, 1956

Other References
The Dan Patrick Show
The View
2026 FIFA World Cup
NBA Playoffs
WHALE 52 — Suite For Man, Boy, And Whale 
Dear Upstairs Neighbors 
Joseph McCarthy / McCarthyism

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 
So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT
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Hello, Hello!
In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness take a deep dive into the life, craft, and career philosophy of actress Christine Woods — known for her roles in HBO's Hello Ladies, ABC's Flash Forward, and The Walking Dead — exploring how a profoundly shy girl from Lake Forest, California built a sustainable, authentic acting career by rejecting Hollywood's arbitrary rules. Drawing from a wide-ranging interview hosted by Chris, he unpacks how Christine transformed her fear of failure into a powerful, service-driven approach to storytelling that flips the traditional power dynamic of the audition room on its head. From her early tap dancing days and her grandfather Sterling's love of classic movie musicals to her unconventional college path, her manager's game-changing advice, and her expanding work as a producer and director, this episode offers a masterclass in building a creative career on your own terms.

We also talk about:
How Christine's grandfather Sterling — a hulking, ex-military man who secretly loved classic movie musicals — introduced her to films like Meet Me in St. Louis and Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, fundamentally shaping her belief that performance is communal storytelling, not ego-driven spectacle
Why Christine chose to attend the University of Arizona on a singing and vocal jazz scholarship rather than audition for prestigious conservatories like Juilliard or Carnegie Mellon, and how she made a calculated pivot to a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater to fill a critical gap in her training
How severe creative constraints on low-budget indie sets — such as having only one hour left at a location to capture a crucial, emotionally exhausting scene — can actually serve as a psychological gift by forcing actors entirely into the present moment and bypassing the internal critic
The fascinating physiological mechanics behind Christine's on-set habit of performing classical vocal warm-ups right before the director calls action — including how stretching the jaw and engaging the vocal cords stimulates the vagus nerve to calm the parasympathetic nervous system
Christine's expanding work behind the camera, including producing and directing experimental comedy shorts with friends, such as one brilliantly titled Finding the Asshole, as a way to tell stories on her own terms without waiting for permission from industry gatekeepers

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:
People
Christine Woods (actress)
Sterling Woods (Christine's grandfather)
Eric Emery (Christine's first LA manager)
Joe Sill 
Gene Kelly
Judy Garland
Billy Corgan 
Frank Ocean

Shows, Films & Projects
Hello Ladies 
FlashForward 
The Walking Dead
Meet Me in St. Louis
Stray 
Finding the Asshole — experimental comedy short

Schools & Programs
University of Arizona
Juilliard
Carnegie Mellon

Social Media
@TrickyBear (Christine Woods' Instagram)

Bands / Artists
The Smashing Pumpkins
Frank Ocean

Places
Lake Forest, California

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 
So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT
Subscribe: https://themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing

Hello, Hello! 
In this episode, Chris and Nick reunite for an Indie Talk episode packed with film industry insights, starting with Chris's powerful experience watching the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro and a heartfelt shoutout to Carlton Adkins and the Enlightenment Film Academy's standing-room-only student film screening in Nashville. We dive deep into the evolving box office landscape, dissecting why certain legacy IP films are underperforming while YouTube-lore-driven films like Backrooms are shattering A24 records, and what that means for the future of indie filmmaking. We close with a rich discussion on George Lucas's comments about AI and audience testing, the Warner Bros./Paramount merger controversy, and a passionate defense of the theatrical experience as a community-building institution.

We also talk about:
The cultural and historical significance of the deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers in the 1960s, and how their simultaneous loss effectively ended a generation of Black empowerment leadership
The nostalgia and community value of Blockbuster Video, including employee perks, the tactile VHS experience, and how video rental stores created a unique social ecosystem that streaming has failed to replicate
The philosophical tension between George Lucas's belief in pure artistic storytelling and Kevin Goetz's data-informed audience testing approach, and what each means for the future of cinema
The proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger, the protests and petitions against it, what it could mean for creative competition and content diversity, and parallels to Disney's acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars
The complicated cultural conversation around celebrities and public figures in the internet age, and how total transparency disabuses audiences of the idea that their heroes are perfect or infallible

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People
James Baldwin
Malcolm X
Martin Luther King Jr.
Medgar Evers
Jesse Jackson
Al Sharpton
John Lewis
Dick Gregory
T.D. Jakes
Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder
Tom Holland
Zendaya
Tobey Maguire
Tom Hardy
Tom Brady
Carlton Adkins 
Kane Parsons
Markiplier
Kevin Goetz 
George Lucas
Steve Jobs
R. Kelly
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jason Momoa
Bruce Willis
Viggo Mortensen
Ed Harris
William Hurt
John Hurt
David Cronenberg
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Samuel L. Jackson
Bill Maher
Martin Scorsese
Kiefer Sutherland
Kevin Bacon
Christopher Reeve
Josh Plasse
Tom McCullough (PB's childhood friend)
Nicholas Galitzine 
Sam Harris
Charlamagne tha God 
Immortal Technique
Chris Ferguson 
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Films & Documentaries
I Am Not Your Negro
Backrooms
Longlegs 
The Invite 
The Odyssey 
Spider-Man: No Way Home
The Fifth Element
12 Monkeys
Moana (live action)
Moana 2
Toy Story 5
Toy Story 3
Superman 
Supergirl 
The Mandalorian and Grogu
Barbie
Everything Everywhere All at Once
A History of Violence
Inception
Iron Lung
John Wick
Flatliners
Fatliners (NSFW)
Masters of the Universe 
Snakes on a Plane
Mad Men
Be Kind Rewind
Heavy Metal 
Another Version of You

Companies & Organizations
A24
Warner Bros.
Paramount / Skydance
Disney
Marvel
Pixar
Netflix
Oddfellows Pictures — THR profile
National Action Network
Enlightenment Film Academy
Nashville Film Festival
Letterboxd
Blockbuster Video

Music
Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out 

Places
Belcourt Theatre 
Oakland, CA
South Korea
Washington, D.C.
Jamaica / Caribbean

Websites & Platforms
The MAKE IT Podcast
Letterboxd
NashvilleFilmFestival.org

Products & Miscellaneous
Callwood Family Distillery (Caribbean)
Mastering Film Marketing 
Make It Academy 
VHS / DVD / Blu-ray
IMAX
Dolby
Disney Movie Club

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 
So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT
www.themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hello, Hello!
In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness dive deep into the remarkable journey of Caroline Locorriere, founder and lead coach of the Nashville Acting Studio, exploring how she walked away from a thriving commercial acting career in Los Angeles to discover her true calling as an acting teacher and coach. They unpack her empathy-driven teaching philosophy, which stands in direct opposition to the industry's notorious "whiplash method" of emotional terrorism, and examine how her three core pillars of acting craft — staying human on camera, accessing emotional life, and rigorous script analysis — create self-sufficient, sustainable artists. Drawing parallels far beyond the world of acting, this conversation serves as a masterclass in career self-awareness, psychological safety in creative environments, and the relentless tenacity required to survive in any subjective, competitive industry.

We also talk about:
Why getting a talent agent too early can permanently damage an actor's reputation with casting directors and how Caroline advises building craft first before seeking representation
The fascinating story of student Matt Williams, whose romantic performances lacked emotional depth because he had never been in love — and how Caroline's unconventional homework assignment (to go fall in love) led him to eventually get married
The brutal reality of casting subjectivity, illustrated through a heartbreaking story of a highly talented student who auditioned flawlessly for David Fincher's Mindhunter but lost the role to someone Caroline felt was objectively less impressive on screen
The role of tenacity over pure talent in sustaining a creative career, exemplified by former student Alan Powell, who wrote, produced, and starred in a film that reached number four on Netflix
The mystical and deeply personal story of Martha, an 80-year-old Episcopalian woman with the ability to see auras, whose unprompted words to Caroline at a crossroads moment gave her the validation she needed to trust her instincts and pursue teaching

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:
People
Caroline Locorriere 
Matt Williams
Alan Powell 
Missy (Caroline's mother)
Martha (Episcopalian aura reader)
Toni Morrison
Shelley Duvall
Bear Bryant
Nick Saban
Meryl Streep
David Fincher
Konstantin Stanislavski
Shows / Films
Mindhunter
The Shining
Institutions / Places
Nashville Acting Studio
Belmont University
Ohio State University
Platforms
Netflix
Concepts / Methods
The Whiplash Method 
Sunk Cost Fallacy
"The three pillars of acting craft" — Caroline's framework
"Camera appropriateness"
Active listening/listening labs

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 
So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT
Subscribe: https://themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This episode is brought to you by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don’t stop at good enough—it's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks WITH you, not for you. Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude Pro when you use our link – www.claude.ai/makeit

This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing

Hello, Hello! 
In this episode, Nick flies solo — without co-host Chris Barkley or Producer Papa Bear, who are both traveling in Italy — to discuss acclaimed independent filmmaker and producer Oscar Boyson and his feature directorial debut, Our Hero Balthazar, a darkly comedic psychological drama that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Nick shares his visceral, gut-punch reaction to watching the film, unpacking how its unflinching portrayal of online culture, performative activism, masculinity, and gun violence caught him completely off guard and forced him to confront uncomfortable realities facing young people in modern America. The episode weaves together Nick's personal reflections on the film, audience poll results about social media, Gen Z viewing habit data, filmmaker quotes from Oscar Boyson, and a closing definition of success borrowed from Matt Damon.

We also talk about:
How Our Hero Balthazar uses dark comedy and social satire to hold a mirror up to the uncomfortable realities of young people navigating social media, identity, and belonging
Nick's personal Instagram algorithm experiment — and what it revealed about how social media can trap users in a cycle of consuming the same content repeatedly, potentially shaping their identity
Gen Z viewing habits data from Deloitte's Digital Media Trends Study (2025–2026), including how much more time Gen Z spends on social platforms versus traditional TV and movies
Why going to the theater is increasingly becoming an event-driven, culturally shared experience — and what independent filmmakers must do to get young audiences off their couches and into seats
Matt Damon's definition of success — "all we have as the people making it is the love of the doing it" — and how that philosophy connects directly to the spirit of the MAKE IT Podcast

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:
People
Oscar Boyson
Noah Baumbach
The Safdie Brothers
Ricky Camilleri 
Jaeden Martell 
Noah Centineo
Asa Butterfield 
Chris Bauer 
Matt Damon
Claire Huxtable
Films & TV
Our Hero Balthazar
Frances Ha
Uncut Gems
Street Fighter
Festivals & Events
Tribeca Film Festival
Platforms & Social Media
Letterboxd
Postly.ai
Canva
Riverside.fm
Research & Studies
Deloitte Digital Media Trends
Fandango Moviegoing Study 
Organizations
Water.org (Matt Damon's charity)

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters. 
So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT
www.themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy