Movies used to be good, and now they are kind of shitty.

After taking a film class almost by chance, Mike Cheda spent years honing his craft as a scriptwriter and executive producer at HBO and the Walt Disney Studios before feeling he "aged out" of being a working screenwriter and becoming a Professional Script Consultant. He is best known for co-authoring 1999's Chill Factor with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Skeet Ulrich. As a developer and producer, he worked on The Opposite Sex, Next of Kin, Why Shoot the Teacher, and Shape of Things To Come. For TV, he produced and developed Wheels of Terror, Pair of Aces, Angel of Death, Another Pair of Aces, and Christmas in Connecticut, to name just a few.

In this episode, Mike talks about the side of scriptwriting that is secret or hidden from most of us. He shares bits of his hard-earned knowledge in the space, from how to create a seducing logline to what to add or cut out in a screenplay before taking it to an agent. He also explains movies' three-act structure, how to create a solid elevator pitch, the best way to attract the right eyeballs to our script, and much more.

Tune in to Episode 101 of Hollywood Dream Maker to learn some of Mike's tricks for improving your scripts and bringing them up to professional standards.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About how Mike got into movies and scriptwriting (2:20)
• Mike explains movies' three-act structure (8:40)
• Is it necessary to register and protect our written material? (18:50)
• How important is it to get feedback for the evolution of a screenplay? (27:00)
• How to create a seductive logline (32:10)
• What is the best way to get our script read (41:00)
• Polishing scripts to avoid burning bridges (49:50)

Resources Mentioned:

• Book: Blake Snyder - Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
• Book: Syd Field - Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

Connect with Mike Cheda:

• Website
• IMDb

Let's Connect:

• Manhattan Actor Studio
• Inside the Manhattan Actor Studio on YouTube
• Website

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're all here because, for some odd reason, we have this uncanny ability to believe in imaginary circumstances really, really hard. So much that they are our own, in the most intimate kind of way.

Mike Markoff knew he belonged on stage at a very young age. He started acting in the Chicago theater scene when he was eight, and five years later; he was already acting for a traveling theater company from the same city. Despite conquering a respectable space in the acting community of LA at only 20 years old, Mike left Hollywood, became a food and beverage consultant, and traveled around Southeast Asia, Europe, and Oceania for 10 years. His early beginnings in acting, plus his experiences overseas, polished Mike's acting, turning him into an actor with a broad range, capable of playing complex antihero characters like anyone. Besides his abundant experience in theater, he has over 50 film and TV credits, including "When Jack Came Back," "Space Waves," and the nerve-racking short "Hard To Place." He was recently handpicked by Richard Linklater & Glen Powell for the 2024 film HITMAN, which already premiered at Sundance and will soon be on theaters and Netflix.

We had a fantastic conversation about Mike's unique perspective on acting, from how to prepare for the never-optimal conditions actors find themselves in almost constantly to getting ready to be a character and not an actor auditioning in casting calls. Mike also shares lessons learned throughout his extensive and successful acting career, his secrets for playing the darkest, most horrific antiheroes, an incredible trick to add depth to seemingly trivial conversations and land roles during auditions, and much more.

Tune in to Episode 100 of Hollywood Dream Maker to learn more about Mike's methods and tricks that can transform your acting career.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About Mike's early appearance on theater stages (4:20)
• Train yourself. Never stop honing your craft (10:30)
• Mike shares his thoughts on the benefits of self-tapes (18:00)
• Be a wildcard choice (25:20)
• Mike shares an incredible trick to transform scripts during auditions (27:40)
• Know your character better than the writer who wrote it (34:00)
• Mark talks about his time overseas (41:30)
• Never get too comfy (52:20)
• Mark shares an advice for young actors (57:00)

Connect with Mike Markoff:

• IMDb
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter

Let's Connect:

• Manhattan Actor Studio
• Inside the Manhattan Actor Studio on YouTube
• Website

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now that I am where I am and look back, everything I did prepared me to create the Manhattan Model Studio.

Diana Gallo, aka The Model Maker, has over 20 years of experience modeling professionally, appearing on magazine covers, commercials, television shows, movies, music videos, and print catalogs. She owns the Manhattan Model Studio, where she coaches and mentors aspiring models to get their careers started, guiding them on how to book jobs quicker, easier, and, above all things, safer.

Diana uses the Manhattan Model Studio to help her students be more confident and self-aware of their talents, care for themselves, and make money modeling.

Throughout this episode, you'll hear Diana's advice on getting started in modeling, recognizing red flags in auditions and photoshoots, and being fully prepared for auditions. Diana also shares her thoughts on why actors should know how to pose, models how to act, and the four basic skills every aspiring model must master.

Additionally, Diana shares a breathing technique that'll help you gather yourself and be calm before auditions. We also discuss the importance of never giving up, how to use social media as a portfolio, learning to relax and trust the universe knows where it takes us, and more.

Tune in to Episode 99 of Hollywood Dream Maker and learn how to land your next modeling gig easier, faster, and safer.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Diana talks about why she decided to create the Manhattan Model Studio (3:40)
• Red flags to be aware of in auditions and photoshoots (6:10)
• How can you tell if a model agency is legit? (10:20)
• Why models must know how to act (15:40)
• Four skills every model must have (19:10)
• Diana teaches a breathing technique to calm down before auditions (25:40)
• Trust yourself and keep going; every "no" gets you closer to the "yes" (31:30)

Connect with Diana:

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Diana's digital course

Let's Connect:

• Manhattan Actor Studio
• Inside the Manhattan Actor Studio on YouTube
• Website

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.