Happier in Hollywood is here!
In this episode, veteran TV writers/producers/showrunners Liz Craft and Sarah Fain pick a new work mantra to get them through development season; talk to their agent about the worst call he ever had to make to them; and discuss whether or not they have hearts full of love. They also offer their weekly Hollywood hack.
Get in touch:
- Twitter @elizabethcraft and @sarahfain
- Leave a voicemail: 949-HAPPY-21
- Email us
- Leave a comment below
Loved the first podcast, can’t wait to hear more. My new work montra is Be The Change. When I first started at my office 5 years ago I brought a very different background and work culture to the position I hold. I challenged the “we do it this way because thats how we’ve alway done it” mentality. I am proactive and go straight to the horses mouth instead of waiting around or giving into hearsay. I feel like the last few months I’ve taken on a few of those practices and I don’t like it. So now I will return to my original self and Be The Change!! Thanks for the mantra tip and it’s so wonderful to hear insight and experiences from powerful women in any industry. I look forward to listening to all of your podcasts.
Thanks for listening! That mantra is on the wall in my doctor’s office, and it somehow makes me trust her a little extra.
I enjoyed the first episode. It was fun to hear Liz talking with Sarah, who Liz has mentioned so often on the Happier podcast. I’m trying to think of constructive feedback, but I don’t have any yet. I think the format is very close to Happier, but that’s not a bad thing. I also think you will find more ways to differentiate this podcast from Happier as you go along. I thought the focus on the world of work was a good one and was helpful to me. I will comment again after I listen to future podcasts if I have more constructive comments, but so far, so good! I have subscribed (but on Stitcher, since I’m not a iPhone/Apple user).
Thanks for listening!!
Loved the first episode, the swearing especially. I am a “Happier” podcast groupie of sorts (that is, I listen to them each as released) and this is a fun new take on things. Liz & Sarah have a great vibe together.
Quick question- Is it common to be in a writer partnership like yours in Hollywood? Or are you two unique in that way?
Melissa, it’s super common for writers to have writing partners in Hollywood 🙂
And it’s also weirdly common for writing partners to be high school or college friends. 🙂
My manta is Single-Task with Purpose. It’s sooooo easy to trick yourself into thinking you’re getting lots of things done if you bounce around, but research shows we do our best work by focusing on just one thing at a time. So I work to purposefully select what needs to be done next and work on just that one thing. It’s harder than it sounds!
This is inspiring and resonates with me. Thanks for sharing!
Love that. Thanks for listening!
In this episode Joel and Antonia talk about creating a family mantra for the year. Business – What is the direction you’re going and who are you going to work with? We came up with a family mantra and we’re calling it with the year of abundant self-reliance.
Sarah talked about not having a “heart full of love,” but that moment when you choked up talking about if it weren’t for Gretchen you might not have your daughter? That love you feel for your daughter and the emotion that you feel when you imagine life without her is 100% “heart full of love” in my book! Also, having a child on your own and opening yourself up to using a donor, etc., also takes a big heart full of love. Maybe you have it and just don’t know it. 🙂
Aww. You may be right. Thanks for listening, Sandra.
I love that you two work in a fascinating field with many Hollywood names , but don’t put on airs. You’re fun, witty, and relatable. Looking forward to future episodes!
Just wanted to mention that saying “f**k” at an interview is a somewhat LA thing. Used to work for a major corporation and was pretty shocked at how people spoke in the LA office (and I’m in the SF Bay Area, not a bastion of conservatism). I personally think that swearing at the office is unprofessional, right up there with yelling. Lots of yelling in Hollywood too I assume. Makes me laugh when I hear someone yelling and screaming about how professional they are! Anyway, this is a case of “know your industry.” A woman swearing on an interview is not a very good idea in most fields.
SO glad one of my students turned me on to y’all. I’m *not* a podcast person and I’m IN for what you’re doing. This is soooooooooo my jam.
Mantra over here for the year is “Ridiculous Unapologetic Authenticity.” Capital letters because this came from one I used a few years back, “R.U.P.” for “Ridiculous Unapologetic Prosperity.
I feel the ridiculous part is important due to bursting through all expectations for what’s possible/reasonable/expected and the unapologetic part is important because if I’m apologetic for getting what I want, I might as well never get the damn thing.
No more playing small.
Yes, I have a heart full of love. Mostly for myself and my process and for what I will learn along the way as I connect with others in this crazy biz of ours (a business I definitely love).
Oh, man… I am so down with using “fuck” in a meeting. I weave in something folksy and ballsy early on in convos because I find the intersection is where my brand lives. 😉
Sending my email subscribers over here in a few hours. *So* glad to know this is happening. It’s a GOOD.
Kirsten Gillibrand has clearly been listening to the podcast!
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/09/politics/kirsten-gillibrand-fbomb/index.html
I thought of you two immediately when I read this story.
I think that you are right Jeanne, it is an L.A. thing. But, I think it is very important to know the environment you’re going into and use that to your advantage in a meeting. I, for example, work in Chile and being the only gringa in the office certainly has its advantages and disadvantages. I like to try to throw out a bit of Chilean slang when I am in a meeting because I feel like it helps endear people toward me and after I do, they stop being so stand off-ish. To me, dropping the F-bomb in a meeting in the TV writing business is along the same lines. It’s not crass necessarily, it just helps break the ice and lets people know that you understand the culture.
Very creative podcast! Have you guys considered lunching a phone App?
just started listening–first episode’s got me hooked already. 🙂 my mantra is this: “if it’s for me, it won’t pass me by.”
thanks for your insight and (fucking) candor!
I’m just starting to listen to your podcast and I love how Liz said that she gets “a kick out of people’s flaws”. I love this! I’m going to try to do that more. There is a little game I play with myself in my head that I get such a kick out of…. whenever I have a male friend and I find myself thinking that he has some quality that is so great, I will then think “I bet that actually drives his wife crazy”. If he’s got a great sense of humor, I bet there are times when she just feels like she will kill him if he tells another joke. Or if he’s super outgoing, I bet she has been waiting in line for a table at a restaurant with him and been so irritated that he keeps talking to the people in line next to them. etc etc. Try it, it can be really funny. Even in the moment, I’ll be like, “I think that’s super funny, but if I was his wife, I’d really want to kill him right now.”
Love the podcast!!