Act One Podcast

Act One Podcast - Episode 29 - Interview with Screenwriter, Quinton Peeples.
Quinton Peeples was born in San Angelo, Texas, raised in nearby Abilene and remained there until 1984. His vision of pursuing a career as a painter was quickly falling apart and he found himself answering a different call – the entertainment business. He arrived in Los Angeles immediately following the summer Olympics and set his sight on film school, resulting in his graduating with an MFA from the American Film Institute. The two projects written there for his graduate thesis became “AN AMBUSH OF GHOSTS”, a Sundance Award winner in 1993, and “A HEART FULL OF RAIN”, a television movie for CBS.
Moving easily between the world of indie film and television, Quinton wrote multiple features for all the major networks and studios including Fox, NBC, ABC, Disney, Lionsgate and many others. He found his way to directing in 1995 when he shot his original screenplay “JOYRIDE” starring Tobey Maguire and Benicio DelToro. He continued to direct indie features, commercials, and web series, in addition to his writing work.
And then the WGA strike happened in 2008. While on the picket line Quinton realized everyone else had friends there and he didn’t. That’s when he discovered that television writers work as a team and the lure of that idea was irresistible. He wrote his first television spec pilot which resulted in his staffing on “FLASHFORWARD” at ABC. Transitioning to hour long drama, Quinton has worked on multiple shows as varied as “UNFORGETTABLE”, “THE LAST SHIP”, “11/22/63”, and Marvel’s “RUNAWAYS”. Most recently he ran the limited series “ECHOES” for Netflix.
Quinton is also a published author, with essays appearing in “CUT TO THE CHASE: WRITING FEATURE FILMS WITH THE PROS”, “ETERNAL LIVING: REFLECTIONS ON FAITH AND FORMATION”, and the graphic novel, “THE BIG COUNTRY”. His screenplay with Billy Crystal, “HAVE A NICE DAY” was performed live on stage at the Minetta Theater in New York City and is available on Audible as part of their Audible Originals program.
The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 27 - Interview with Screenwriter and Director, Brian Baugh.
Brian Baugh is a director, screenwriter, and producer known for creating socially relevant and inspiring human stories that cross genres. He has spent the majority of his time working in feature films, but also has extensive experience in television, commercials, documentaries, and web content. He had an eclectic upbringing from being born in New Jersey, spending his youth in South Florida, and growing up in Seattle. His creative endeavors began as a flannel clad high schooler in the Northwest directing theater, making comedic videos, and producing grunge music in basement studios.
Brian started his filmmaking journey in earnest at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, where he wrote and directed many films. His achievements earned him the USC School of Cinema Distinguished Scholar Award, and he was a member of the Order of Troy, Mortar Board, and Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating, he decided to pursue cinematography, and spent time on several studio films interning under world class cinematographers. Then he was awarded a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship which took him to Cape Town, South Africa for a year of additional education in the liberal arts...and African township life. Shortly after returning from Africa, the budding Director of Photography shot his first feature film at the young age of twenty five. He spent the next ten years shooting over twenty films (THE ULTIMATE GIFT, JACK & THE BEANSTALK, AN AMERICAN CAROL), and shooting and directing dozens of commercials (Ford, NHL).
Brian transitioned into feature directing with a high school drama, TO SAVE A LIFE. The film was released in theaters nationwide and earned an 'A' cinema score. The independent film's strong performance in the box office surprised many in Hollywood. Since then, he has written over twenty screenplays, several of which he is attached to direct. His film, I'M NOT ASHAMED, was nominated for a Dove Award for Most Inspirational Film. He directed the award winning comedic television pilot THE COMEBACK KIDS. Next, THE WORLD WE MAKE, a young adult interracial romance he wrote, produced, and directed, got picked up by Universal and Netflix and was released in 2019. His latest feature, FINDING YOU, was released theatrically in 2021 and also received very positive audience reviews. It was distributed by Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, and Amazon domestically, and Universal internationally. The film is a spirited, upbeat, romantic dramedy shot in Ireland starring Jedidiah Goodacre, Katherine McNamara, Tom Everett Scott, and Vanessa Redgrave. Brian's desire is to be a part of telling stories that inspire audiences, foster justice and healing, or expand imagination and wonder in the world.
The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 05 - Interview with illusionist and author, Harris III.
Harris III (“the third”) has almost 30 years of experimentation as a creative entrepreneur. Harris began his career at a young age, traveling the world as an award-winning, professional illusionist. He has performed for and spoken live to more than two million people in more than 30 countries on five continents. His performances have been televised to millions more on the Travel Channel and ABC Family.
After traveling the globe and making a million dollars by the age of 21, only to go bankrupt a year later, Harris kick-started a decade-long journey to understand the stories we tell ourselves and how they drive all human behavior. Armed with a unique perspective, his career re-exploded as a world-renowned speaker, storyteller and entrepreneur.
He is the creator of Transformation Theory and author of the book, The Wonder Switch. Tapping into his background as a professional magician and understanding the intersection of storytelling and wonder, Harris developed a structured process that can dramatically change a team’s culture, or rapidly accelerate an individual’s transformation, from the story they feel stuck in, to the life they want to live.
In 2016, Harris founded the Istoria Collective, a consultancy and innovation lab. He is also the visionary entrepreneur and curator behind STORY, the world’s premier gathering for artists, creators and storytellers. He is a sought after coach, creative consultant and experience designer, and a quiet producer behind a diverse slate of TV and film projects, backed by a 7-figure development fund. In 2019, he founded the STORY Foundation, a non-profit focused on raising up and empowering the next generation of storytellers to change the future.
Through a diverse portfolio of projects, Harris is on a mission to help others find their way back to wonder, permitting them to change the untrue stories they tell themselves and begin to believe in magic again. He is succeeding at that mission, in ways only a magician who believes in real magic can.
The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 26 - Interview with Screenwriter, Zena Dell Lowe.
Zena has worked professionally in the entertainment industry for over 20 years as a writer, producer, director, actress, and story consultant. Zena also teaches advanced classes on writing at conferences all over the country, and as an adjunct professor at Covenant College in Georgia, Regent University in Virginia Beach, and at the acclaimed Act One: Writing for Hollywood program, where she recently came on board as the new Curriculum Director for the summer intensive writing program.
Zena’s independent film production company, Mission Ranch Films, is currently in development on three feature thrillers, which will all take place in the same story universe located in Montana. Through the help of a small, select creative team, including Hollywood Super Story guru, Houston Howard, Zena and her team have developed a story world mythology that is at once entertaining, poignant, and profound.
As a writer herself, Zena has written award-winning screenplays, plays, and a number of articles on writing, religion, and trauma recovery. She’s also written comic books, most recently, Strawberry Shortcake, by IDW Publishing, and is currently writing her very first novel. Zena has won numerous awards for her work, including "Best International Short Film Director" for Rag Doll at the 2015 Louisiana International Film Festival, two "Grand Prize" wins for her full-length feature script, "Trial by Fire," at both the 2016 New York Screenplay Competition, and ISA's highly acclaimed 2016 Emerging Screenwriter's competition, as well as many others.
In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Zena is also passionate about supporting other artists and storytellers on their journeys towards success. In March of 2020, Zena launched her podcast, The Storyteller’s Mission with Zena Dell Lowe, which is designed to serve the whole artist, not just address “how-to” questions. This in turn lead to the launch of The Storyteller’s Mission online platform, where she offers advanced classes on writing as well as a variety of other services to storytellers. Zena’s passion is to equip and support all artists so that they will have everything they need to truly change the world for the better through story.
The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

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Act One Podcast - Episode 33 - Interview with Screenwriter, Paul Guyot.
PAUL GUYOT has written and produced more than 200 hours of television. His work includes the JJ Abrams created FELICITY, the Emmy-winning JUDGING AMY, and LEVERAGE for TNT which won back-to-back People’s Choice Awards. Guyot served as Co-Executive Producer on THE LIBRARIANS, including taking over all showrunning duties for Season Two. After that he served as the Co-Executive Producer for NCIS: NEW ORLEANS -- at the time the 8th most watched series in the world. He has written pilots for multiple networks and studios including his original pitch THE BLACK 22s -- based on the true story of the first all African-American squad of detectives in St. Louis, MO -- which sold in a fierce bidding war between four networks. The series died in development hell, but Guyot retains all rights to the story and is currently developing a feature film with award-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Thorne.
Guyot co-wrote the Warner Brothers feature GEOSTORM starring Gerard Butler and Andy Garcia, which grossed more than a quarter billion dollars worldwide. But don’t hold it against him. His spec feature TIME BANDITS was optioned by Slated and is presently out to some of the top directors in Hollywood. Currently, Guyot is developing COLONIE 07 for French television, one of the first American screenwriters ever hired to do so. He is the author of several award-winning short stories, and his bestselling DARE TO LIVE -- a serialized story on Amazon’s Kindle Vella platform -- was chosen as a Top 200 favorite out of more than 17,000 stories.
In May of 2022 Guyot launched http://screenwritingtruth.com -- a website dedicated to helping emerging writers learn the truth about Hollywood and a career in screenwriting.
Guyot attended the University of Arizona. In his non-writing time he enjoys cycling, golf, mechanical watches, and his quest to find the perfect old fashioned.
The Act One Podcast provides insight and inspiration on the business and craft of Hollywood from a Christian perspective.

Support the show