Episodi

  • Sustainability in film with Emmy winning producer Kirsty Stark

    Sustainability in film with Emmy winning producer Kirsty Stark
    Nov 2 2026
    Want to make a million bucks at the box office? It might be harder than you think. Emmy winning producer Kirsty Stark breaks it down for us.Kirsty Stark started out in the camera department. Now she's an Emmy Award-winning producer at Epic Films, the founder of CrewHQ, and a co-host of We Interrupt This Broadcast. In our very first guest interview, she talks about why every crew member is really running a small business, how to keep a set safe and honest, and who owns what once a project gets going.She explains why making a million dollars at the box office can still leave investors with nothing, and why the middle of the industry is disappearing. She also tells the story of Wastelander Panda: a three-minute teaser that went viral, a crowdfunding campaign, an ABC series and a graphic novel. Plus AI, rights, and the projects that matter most to her, First Day and Stateless.To finish, Never Heard of It: the guest's pick of a little-known film you've probably never heard of. Kirsty's pick is The Brink of Dreams.https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/the-brink-of-dreamsSubscribe for free: https://chasingthescreenpod.substack.com/subscribeListen and follow everywhere: https://linktr.ee/chasingthescreenpodcastInstagramTikTokFacebookLinkedInKirsty's links:We Interrupt this Broadcast: https://www.weinterruptthisbroadcast.com.au/Epic Films: https://epicfilms.com.au/CrewHQ: https://www.crewhq.com.au/First Day (Julie Kalceff) on ABC iview: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/first-dayFirst Day (where to watch)https://www.justwatch.com/au/tv-show/first-dayStateless (where to watch)https://www.justwatch.com/au/tv-show/statelessStateless (Screen Australia)https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/Stateless/34299Wastelander Panda (Screen Australia)https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/wastelander-panda/32401Wastelander Panda: Exile (Screen Australia)https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/Wastelander-Panda--Exile/32918The Wastelander Panda graphic novel (Gestalt Comics)https://www.gestaltcomics.com/shelf/wastelander-panda/Chapters:00:00 Cold open00:25 Welcome to the bonus series01:06 A note from Pirie: our first interview01:29 Meet Kirsty Stark02:45 CrewHQ, and why every crew member is a business05:41 Keeping crews safe and well07:34 Realistic schedules on small budgets09:09 Choosing projects: First Day and Stateless12:27 What kind of producer is she?13:50 Who owns what: chain of title and IP16:52 The finance plan and the equity pie19:31 Film versus TV, and the million-dollar box office21:29 Kate Separovich and reaching an audience24:00 Where the money goes: production versus marketing25:09 Wastelander Panda: going viral and crowdfunding29:45 The Wastelander Panda graphic novel32:09 AI and creativity34:54 Rights: screening or reviving an old title37:19 The vanishing middle39:08 Which budgets are disappearing40:39 Government funding and the entrepreneurial spirit42:58 Never Heard of It: Kirsty's pick45:19 OutroHosted by Adam Drummond and Pirie Martin.Edited by Pirie Martin.Produced by WAGGAWAGGA.TV Pty Ltd.Thanks to Mary O'Neill for our Acknowledgement of Country. Read Mary's first book, Bipo and Roo: https://www.melissamaryoneill.com/Music: licensed from Envato and the Free Music Archive."Dark Cinematic Ambient" by Splashkabona, CC BY 4.0Chasing the Screen is recorded on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people in Wagga Wagga and the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.Views are the speakers' own. General information only, not legal or financial advice.Support the show
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    46 min
  • An indie film success story with Brendan Cooney

    An indie film success story with Brendan Cooney
    Nov 2 2026
    From self-finance to Sitges festival; actor/producer Brendan Cooney shares the rollercoaster story of releasing indie film Within The Pines.South Australian actor and producer Brendan Cooney put about $40,000 of his own money into Within the Pines, a near-silent survival thriller shot in Mount Crawford Forest. It went on to screen at Sitges, take first prize at Rhode Island, sign with Umbrella in Australia and Buffalo 8 worldwide, and land on Prime Video. Interviewed in his backyard during the shoot of Ballad of a Sundowner, Brendan talks budgets, distribution deals, festivals, a self-run screening that sold 440 tickets, and what's wrong with Australian film.Subscribe for free: https://chasingthescreenpod.substack.com/subscribeListen and follow everywhere: https://linktr.ee/chasingthescreenpodcastInstagramTikTokFacebookLinkedInIn this episode00:00 Cold open00:22 Welcome to the bonus series01:28 Meet Brendan Cooney02:16 The crew barbecue and the family feel on set03:47 Within the Pines lands on Prime Video04:40 Making it in 2022, and a screening for his dad06:36 From munchkin to police officer to actor08:21 How Within the Pines came together10:57 Paul E.T.'s YouTube channel12:01 Finding the audience, and the $55,000 budget13:30 Paying for a forest, an armourer and the catering16:15 What it really cost once you count everyone's time17:20 The Umbrella deal20:21 Festivals: Rhode Island and Sitges24:21 Why everyone talks about the sound25:57 Lighting a forest at night27:18 A self-run screening: 440 tickets at the Regal29:17 Buffalo 8 and a producer's rep31:30 Channel Nine and how streaming pays33:38 What's wrong with the Australian film industry?36:14 What filmmakers and audiences can do40:21 Never Heard of It: Brendan's pick43:24 OutroMentionedWithin the Pines (Australia): https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/within-the-pinesWithin the Pines (worldwide): https://buffalo8.com/project/within-the-pines/Sitges Film Festival 2024: https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/film/2024/within-pinesBallad of a Sundowner (Matthew Holmes): https://www.filmink.com.au/the-sun-comes-up-on-the-sundowner/Paul E.T. on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@paul_etFoley Man (short film): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1DVmp222GY"You can make a Netflix documentary about anything": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BUrNe3VhtkPsychosis (Pirie Martin): https://piriemartin.com/en-aud/pages/filmCircus Road Films (Glen Reynolds): https://www.circusroadfilms.com/Glen Reynolds interview on Film Courage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtPv_ppbN0EOne Battle After Another: https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/the-battle-of-baktan-crossNever Heard of It pick: You'll Never Find Me: https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/youll-never-find-meDanny and Michael Philippou (RackaRacka): https://www.youtube.com/@TherackarackaTalk to Me: https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/talk-to-me-2022Some figures may be misrepresented by guests or hosts from memory. Correct sources:Mount Crawford Forest is managed by ForestrySA, not National Parks: https://www.forestrysa.com.au/visit-our-forests/mount-crawford-forest/Netflix's 2025 revenue was about US$45 billion: https://thedesk.net/2026/01/netflix-q4-2025-earnings-report/ThanksThanks to Mary O'Neill for our Acknowledgement of Country. Read Mary's first book "Bipo and Roo" here: https://www.melissamaryoneill.com/CreditsHosted by Adam Drummond and Pirie Martin.Produced by WAGGAWAGGA.TV Pty Ltd.Edited by Adam Drummond.Guest: Brendan Cooney, actor and producer, Within the Pines.Music: Tension Documentary (cleanmindsounds), Documentary Cinematic (Sawtooz), Documentary Background Music (SigmaMusicArt) and Documentary Music (MDFactory), licensed from Envato Elements. Sound effects: Songbirds Early Morning (WistanSound) and park ambience (Sound Ideas).Chasing the Screen is recorded on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people in Wagga Wagga and the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.Follow Chasing the ScreenNewsletter: https://chasingthescreenpodcast.substack.comViews are the speakers' own. General information only, not legal or financial advice.Support the show
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    45 min
  • Ep. 1: “Great idea...don’t do it!”

    Ep. 1: “Great idea...don’t do it!”
    Nov 2 2026

    Two Aussie producers start a journey to solve the big issues facing the screen industry, but will this challenge be too much for them?

    Adam Drummond rang his mate Pirie Martin to quit. By the end of the call he was more in than ever. In the first episode of Chasing the Screen, a producer from Wagga and a filmmaker from Adelaide set out the problems facing the Australian screen industry: inflated budgets, the loss of mid-budget films, government money that funds projects but never finds them an audience, and an Australian share of the box office of only 2%. With Kirsty Stark, Kate Separovich and Nick Hayes's report ‘Made, Not Seen’, they dig into the numbers, land on the idea of a slate of horror films, and decide to build a new model in public, while you listen.

    Subscribe for free: https://chasingthescreenpod.substack.com/subscribe

    Listen and follow everywhere: https://linktr.ee/chasingthescreenpodcast

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chasingthescreenpod
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chasingthescreenpod
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591549862870
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/143989416/

    Our guest's links:
    Kirsty Stark's podcast 'We Interrupt This Broadcast': https://www.weinterruptthisbroadcast.com.au/
    Kate Separovich's Australia in the Cinemas: https://australiaincinemas.substack.com/
    Nick Hayes' 'Made, not seen' report: https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/industry-news/australian-cinema-challenges-report-2700058/

    Chapters:
    00:00 Cold open
    00:26 The call that started it all
    01:12 Video diary from Screen Forever
    01:31 Welcome to Chasing the Screen
    01:56 Acknowledgement of Country
    02:17 Something's broken
    03:12 Who are these two blokes?
    03:32 Meet Adam
    04:55 Meet Pirie, and Psychosis
    06:05 Meeting on the set of Ballad of a Sundowner
    07:27 A small online group
    07:54 The first meeting: "It just all seems very bleak"
    08:28 Scott McDonell's challenge
    08:57 The usual problems
    09:34 Kirsty Stark and the million-dollar myth
    10:53 The vanishing middle
    11:29 Funding that never finds an audience
    11:53 Nick Hayes: Made, Not Seen
    12:31 Kate Separovich crunches the numbers
    13:21 2% of a billion dollars
    14:21 Two films and the outlier effect
    15:01 A24 and Blumhouse
    15:38 Alister Grierson and the slate
    17:14 Art versus finance
    18:00 Where we landed
    19:31 Taking it to Screen Forever
    20:19 Bonus episodes
    20:42 This could be you: sponsor spot
    21:40 The phone call to quit
    22:02 Melinda: "You've got a lot of things on your plate"
    22:33 Doubt sets in
    22:58 The feedback: "Why you?"
    23:18 Pirie on going full-time in the arts
    24:33 Burnout, ADHD and new tablets
    25:12 The catch: "This is too big"
    25:41 Pirie talks Adam back in
    26:26 Building in public, and StartUp
    27:27 Alex Blumberg replied
    27:40 Where to next
    28:33 Coming up this season
    28:54 Next time
    29:17 Get involved
    29:44 Credits

    Other links:
    Ballad of a Sundowner film: https://www.filmink.com.au/the-sun-comes-up-on-the-sundowner/
    Psychosis film: https://piriemartin.com/en-aud/pages/film
    Independent Cinemas Australia: https://independentcinemas.com.au/

    Hosted by Adam Drummond and Pirie Martin.
    Edited by Pirie Martin.
    Produced by WAGGAWAGGA.TV Pty Ltd.
    Also heard: Monika Lapka, Melinda, Kirsty Stark, Kate Separovich, Alister Grierson, Matthew Holmes and Scott McDonell, plus grabs from guests coming up this season.

    Thanks to Mary O'Neill for our Acknowledgement of Country. Read Mary's first book, Bipo and Roo: https://www.melissamaryoneill.com/

    Music: licensed from Envato and the Free Music Archive.
    "Buffering" by Quiet Music for Tiny Robots, 2015, CC BY 4.0
    "Dark Cinematic Ambient" by Splashkabona, CC BY 4.0
    "Find a Peaceful Place" by ROZKOL, CC BY 4.0
    "25 Keys Dream" by Tommaso Croce and Jangwa, CC BY 4.0
    "Away" by Meydän, CC BY 4.0
    "Flying Economy" by Tommaso Croce and Jangwa, CC BY 4.0

    Chasing the Screen is recorded on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people in Wagga Wagga and the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.

    Views are the speakers' own. General information only, not legal or financial advice.

    Support the show
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    29 min