Producer Marc Resteghini On The Producer & Writer Relationship—What Makes A Successful Collaboration?

Have you ever wondered what a film and television producer does and thinks? Well, you’re in luck because our guest is the talented Marc Resteghini, a producer who owns Jack Tar Pictures, a company based at Amazon Studios. Marc’s first release under this banner is set for March 4, 2026, with Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock, an origin story. Previously, Marc spent over eight years helping to build Amazon Studios, advancing through the executive ranks to eventually serve as the US & Global Head of TV Development. Marc has also overseen more than a dozen feature films over 15 years, working as an executive at 20th Century Fox and as a producer with DreamWorks’ Parkes/MacDonald Productions and Warner Bros.’ Di Novi Pictures.

Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Executive Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

Transcript

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Hello, my name is Sandy, the social media director for the page, international Screenwriting Awards, and your host for the Writer's Hangout. A podcast that celebrates the many stages of writing, from inspiration to the first draft, revising, getting a project made and everything in between. We'll talk to the best and the brightest in the entertainment industry and create a space where you can hang out, learn from the pros, and have fun. Hey writers, it's Sandy. I'm coming to you from Studio City, the crown jewel of the San Fernando Valley, known for its iconic 32 foot Neon clown in front of Circus Liquor. we have an incredible show for you today packed with insights From our guest, mark Rossini. a film and television producer who owns Jack Tar Pictures, a production company based at Amazon Studios. his first release under that banner, is set for March 4th with Guy Richie's Young Sherlock, Previously, mark spent more than eight years helping to build Amazon Studios, Mark has also shepherded more than a dozen feature films over the course of 15 years, serving as an executive at 20th Century Fox, and as a producer with dreamworks based Parks, McDonald Productions, And Warner Brothers based de Novi pictures writers ever wonder what a film and television producer does and thinks, well, you're in luck because Mark doesn't hold back here. Let's start the show. Mark Rini, thank you so much for joining us on The Writer's Hangout. Thank you for having me. I'm thrilled to be here. Now, during your time at Amazon, you developed and oversaw hundreds of hours of content and not just regular content. You really good stuff. Wow. Thank you. The marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Jack Ryan, the Underground Railroad reacher. I can keep going on Daisy in the six the man in the High Castle Lizzo. Watch out for the big girls the summer. I turn pretty Can we discuss and review your titles and responsibilities? at Amazon Yes. Happy to. I would just say that it was a privilege. You listed off some of the shows that I worked on and I was very lucky to be able to work with so many amazing creators and filmmakers in my time there as an executive. when you are ahead of development television, can you let our writers know what that entails? Sure. So in, in my last role as an executive at Amazon, I oversaw all TV development that originated out of the us. And that included scripted programming, unscripted programming and animation programming. And so in that role I had probably a organization of about 50 people that worked underneath me. And I helped set the vision for the kinds of programming that Amazon was gonna produce for Prime video set targets in terms of the creators that we wanted to work with and be in business with. And then I had oversight over the development process, so choosing what we would spend money on to buy in terms of literary material, pitches, scripts so an agent would call you up and say, Hey, I've got this fabulous writer, Lisa, and she has a project for you, and then a meeting would be set up and she would pitch it to you. Correct? Yes. Pitch it to me or somebody on my team, depending on what it was, but yeah, exactly. Great. I'm gonna jump ahead. I had this question for you for later, but let's just do it right now. Okay. Okay. I'm Lisa. I'm so nervous. Mark, I, this is my first big meeting and I'm coming to meet you. What could I possibly do to just make you oh, I'm not sure I wanna work with this person, this writer. Not personality, we're not talking personality, but you might just, Ooh, for the writers out there what might you not do on your first meeting with you? That's a good question. I've never actually thought about it in those terms. I don't know. I think always just look for somebody who's polite that you feel like you can work well with. I don't think there's anything specific, writers, like people come in all different shapes and colors And et cetera. And everybody has their own unique background and perspective and approach. And so I wouldn't be doing a good job as an executive if I, ruled people out based on initial impression. Some people are great pitchers, some people are terrible at pitching, some people, have other strengths. I think it's my job or it's an executive's job to look at the big picture and create an environment where you can have unique voices flourish. I love that answer. And I want whoever's out there. When you come to pitch, the person behind the desk wants you to be good. They really do. So don't be so nervous. They really do want you to come in with a great idea. Yeah. I think it's our job as executives are producers to create a room, an environment that feels welcoming and puts writers at ease. We set the table at the opening meeting, so I think it's incumbent on us to do that. Now, current drama programming, so these are the shows that are on the ear that you're taking care of? Correct. That I took care of. So I'm not at Amazon as an executive anymore, but these were things that I worked at when I was there. Yep. what's the difference between the senior executive drama department and the head of drama department? So the head of drama department. Shapes the vision for what's being developed in drama and really controls the purse strings in a way. a senior executive is an experienced executive who would lead individual projects but would usually do so under, with some oversight from the head of the department. So it usually, as head of the department, it would be up to me to approve spending. let's buy this pitch. Let's buy this book. And so the senior executive would come to me and say, Hey, this is something I'm really excited about. And I had to manage that budget. I had to manage what we had to spend in a given year for development. You have to then in turn pitch to your own people. Yeah, so well internally at the development phase, that would've just been me. But when a show is ready for green light, then yeah, I have to get the head of the network on board and the head of marketing and the head of international and yeah, I do have to pitch to my own, or I did have to pitch to my own people. That's right. Now, before you left Amazon, you were head of US Global Head of TV Development. Can you explain that a little? That's a really nice title. Yeah. Under that I oversaw four or five areas. I had drama programming, comedy programming. Unscripted genre and animation. And all developments. So the creation of new projects through the first season and then after the first season, it would move on to a current programming team that would keep those shows going and hopefully, build on and improve what we've done in season one. How do you keep track of all those writers, all those producers, everybody you wanna work with? database, just your mind? Some of it's my mind and some of it's experience and having been in the business for a long time and building relationships with people. But honestly the truth is it's also about having a really good team that I could rely on. I had 30, 40 shows probably that I was responsible for and a hundred plus development projects. I certainly was not in the details on every single one of those. I had great great people that I was working with in my organization that were really running point on the day to day, and I would be there as necessary to help in terms of big picture thinking or to problem solve or to have difficult conversations. But yeah, I couldn't have done it without a great group of people working with me writers. If you have an exec like Mark on your side, the world is just so much easier. They want to bring your project alive and they're, when you are sleeping, they're up at night worried about your project. So that is true. Now you went on to start your own production company. Yes. Jack Tar Pictures. Can you tell me about Jack Tar Pictures? And first of all, where I know that's an old sailing term. Is that what you met? What? Tell me about yes. It's a, it's an old term for a British sailor. And my wife gave it to me. My wife is a sailor. And she suggested it. And we are, we're big fans of the ocean and nautical things, and I just liked it. It it spoke to me. No, no real resonance with the entertainment industry. I think if I were to try to be deep about it, I'd talk about exploration and adventure and, hopefully some of those virtues come into my programming, but yeah. And what kind of projects are you in development with over there? It's a variety of things. I'm really genre agnostic. For me, I look for things that I think are gonna have a wide appeal. We'll have a broad audience appeal, but that feel maybe 15 to 20 degrees left of center. I don't usually gravitate towards things that are right down the middle. I look for things that just are a little bit off. And that may be with a writer who has a very specific voice or a filmmaker who brings a particular visual style or maybe a tonal. Variation that just makes it stand out a little bit and feel a little bit different. You got to work with Amy Sherman. Actually, can I double back? Yeah. Did you wanna talk about any projects, mark? I have my first so my jack tar pictures. I have a deal with Amazon. So I le I left the executive ranks a little over three years ago. And I have a TV and film deal with Amazon, so I'm still very much affiliated with them. And my first show under the Jack Tar banner is coming out in about a month, a little over a month. And it's called Young Sherlock. It comes from Guy Richie who's producing as well and directed the first two episodes. And it's an origin story for the classic Sherlock Holmes character. Oh, that sounds great. Thank you. I'm really proud of the work that everyone involved in the show did, and I think it's something really special and I can't wait to put it up into the world. That is so amazing. Now, Amy Sherman Paladino that you got to work with? Yes, I'm a big fan of her. Gilmore Girls. I just love what was it like being in development with her because she is as brilliant and kooky as you expect her to be. Correct. Amy is awesome. She's a close friend and one of the just best filmmakers that I've ever been able to work with and it was fun and exciting and and challenging'cause she's so smart. She whip smart. And you gotta be on your a game when you're talking with Amy, but I loved every moment of it, and I miss being in the trenches with her on a daily basis. Were you always a fan of one hour dramas? To a degree. I grew up in the eighties and I think there were, there's sort of two types of programming that I watched in the eighties, neither of which really exists anymore. There was sitcoms which, traditional multicam sitcoms. My favorite television series of all time is Cheers. It's a large inspiration for me joining the business. I still find myself every once in a while just going. Kelly. Kelly. Kelly. Kelly. Kelly. Oh, amazing. I love that you dug up that reference. That's from a season seven episode called Gift of the Woody. Where would I, that's how big a fan I am of Cheers. So cool. Hopefully some of your audience recognizes the Kelly Song from Woody Harrelson us And then in terms of dramas, when I was growing up there were obviously nighttime soaps. Those were on a little past my bedtime, but there were these kind of adventure shows that were on like the eight o'clock or nine o'clock hour. Things from Stephen J Canal like the, or the greatest American hero or the Dukes of Hazard. So that was the kind of programming that I grew up on. And again those don't really exist really now. But in terms of actual dramas, I think like with most audiences, probably my viewing habits were really shaped by HBO in the late nineties and early two thousands. And then, Oh, interesting. What were you watching? The Sopranos? Yes. We all grew up on the Sopranos. Did you watch Sex in the City I watched Sex in the City too. My first or second year in Los Angeles, in Hollywood. Was that Sunday night? Sunday nights, yep. Yep. And Sunday night. Yeah. And I worked, I started my career in movies actually, and spent about 15 years in feature films before I moved into television. So really, so for me as a TV executive they said I was shaped by HBO and then the shows on a MC, like Breaking Bad and Mad Men, and that really informed, when I started really full-time in television, it was probably 20 13, 20 14. But yeah, as much as other audience members are, I'm sure your listeners were probably shaped similarly right now, when you went from film to tv, did it shock you how fast TV was? Yes, unfortunately we slowed it down, I think us film people that came in and the streaming model and the long gaps between seasons. But yes, it totally shocked me and I remember in, the first couple shows I worked on the train would leave the station and you might get a script in for episode six or something. And it wasn't working. You didn't have a lot of time to fix it. Movies you could redevelop and, to the detriment. I actually think the speed is a good thing. Now you graduated from Harvard. Yes. And you gained experience in getting into the business in such an excellent way that I don't know if the young people are out there thinking about this through internships. Can you talk about your time at the academy? internship? Yes. So I the program actually still exists and it's a great program. I recommend it to any of your listeners who are coming outta college and want to get involved in the industry. But the Television Academy which is the group that gives the Emmy awards, they do a lot of other things, but that's what they're most known for. They host a summer internship program for students and recent graduates. And they place you with host companies in a lot of different areas in the entertainment business, in the television business. Could be Right screenwriting or casting or business affairs. And so I, I applied and worked in development and it was my first Hollywood experience. I came out for the summer and I worked for a company that, that doesn't exist anymore, but it was called Viacom Productions. It was an offshoot of the larger Viacom. At the time we were in, the company was making Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Diagnosis Murder, I think were the two shows that on. And then they did Edge shortly thereafter the NBC show. And it was a great experience. I had, I worked for this wonderful executive named Steve Gordon who has led the creative team at Viacom. And he was a great mentor and it was really hands-on. And at the time it was one of the few internships in entertainment that paid. Now I think a lot of companies have to pay'cause there's a lot of labor rules that people followed back in the day, it was a little bit the Wild West and there was tons of free labor, but this actually gave you a stipend the summer. So it was awesome. You came out to la you got some money and you got some real experience. And it wasn't just the typical grunt work that you would do as an intern or an assistant. It was really shadowing and sitting in on things and being involved in creative meetings. It was a great experience. Is why I came back out here and why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm so glad to hear that it's still viable. And I'm gonna put links into the show notes because of that. Oh, fantastic. Did they pay for you to come out? I don't know quite what the circumstances are now, but at the time that I did it they didn't pay to travel you, but you got a stipend for the summer. So it was an eight week program. And they would give you a stipend that would cover the eight weeks. And, at the time it was more than enough to cover, a flight out here and housing and some pocket. Yeah. When I was at Davis Entertainment, John Davis's company on the TV side, we used a lot of the academy interns And those kids were so lovely and so happy to be there. And I think you even had a big party at the end, correct? Yes, we did. Yes. We had a big summer soiree. It was great. Cool. And what was the second internship? The second internship I did, which led to my first job in the business, I worked for a producer named Hunt Lowry who had a production deal at Disney at the time. And I started there as a summer intern. I had gotten connected to somebody who worked for Hunt that was an alumnus of Harvard. And I interned there for a month or two, and then I became Hunt's assistant and that was really my first actual job in the business. What did you study? I studied English literature. Perfect for development. Yeah. My parents used to say, whatcha gonna do with an English degree? And I think I found something that, that was really good and innovative with an English degree. Now I'm always telling the writers out there to get to know the production companies, because that is a way to maybe get your material seen if you're an unknown. Now, back in the day, way, way back in the day, mark, you could look at a company. Like Denise de Novi that we're gonna talk about. You can look up her company and you would see like director of development, and you'd go, oh, I'm going to get my script to the director of development even though I don't have an agent. Can you still do that nowadays or it's tricky. There are places that will accept scripts like that. A lot of places and producers are hesitant to, unless it comes from an agent just for legal reasons that everybody is a little bit afraid of exposing themselves to liability. Typically, if it comes through. And that's legit. Yeah, very much you'll see every once in a while, like lawsuits about movies that, somebody and I, no judgment on the cases. I don't know the individual circumstances, but where someone. A writer may file a suit saying this was my idea and I submitted a script, and three years later this movie came out. And it has ideas that are overlapping. And so there's always a feeling of wanting to work through like an agent who's a WGA signatory who can work a little bit through, through relationships and help protect, offer some level of legal protection. And or if you have a lawyer sometimes Yeah. Yeah. And I think, I would offer as advice, and this is just one person's advice That part of that initial exposure comes not just from writing. you know, as a writer, you need to write all the time, like constantly be writing, but taking an internship, taking a job as an assistant, working at an agency, you then make contacts with people, right? So instead of, looking at the director of development at a production company and blindly sending your script in, if you've interned at that production company, then somebody there, you formed a relationship with them. There's a level of trust, there's a level of wanting to help you out and give back to you. And so they'll solicit, Hey, what are you reading? What are you writing? Let me take a look at that. I have some friends who work here. This isn't right for us, but it might be right for them. Unfortunately I think as you're starting out in the business as a writer, you have to multitask and be open to multitasking'cause it's also just helps build your network and that's really how you're gonna get your material seen. Have you ever thought about writing? Oh, of course. Every executive or producer has at one point thought about writing, and if they tell you otherwise, they're lying. I love your honesty so much. you worked for Denise De Denovi. Now I've never met Denise. I've spoken to her a million times because I worked for the showrunner, John Wirth on the district. Yes, of course. I was with Denise when she was producing the district. She's really prolific and talented. She is. And I've been really lucky that I've had the privilege of having a lot of great mentors in the business. Not everyone has that. And Denise was one of those. I was, I don't know, 24 when I started working for her. And she was just a great boss, a great mentor. I'm friends with her still to this day. Now after Denise, you became an executive at 20th Century Fox. Yes. Totally different head. Yes. As they said in square pegs. What was that like for you to be the executive behind the desk now? I'll tell you, it was not what I thought it was gonna be. I thought having come from working for Denise for four years, I thought I wanna go work for Bayer. I want to go work for a studio so that I can make the decisions. But the truth is everybody is always selling to somebody as you intimated earlier when you asked me a question about at Amazon, so as an executive at a studio, you still have a boss that you're selling. You're always convincing somebody. Somebody to open up the the purse strings for, a script purchase or a movie, green light. So it wasn't quite as much a authority and autonomy as I thought it was going to be. But it, it was great. It was I went from working at a very small production company and we had a relationship with Warner Brothers. Denise had a deal at Warner Brothers, but I worked for a small company of maybe six, seven people. To working at a huge, legacy film studio and a big corporation. And I learned a lot about the business of movie making and the financials and what goes into decisions. And, at a studio when you're an executive, you, especially when I was a young executive there, a junior executive, I started as you're always in production on something, you're making things. There was just a lot to learn. It was a great experience. Hard, very hard, hardest job I ever had. A lot of reading on the weekends, a lot of reading in the, during the week. You, we used to have, I, people from my generation who came outta movies were, we sometimes are critical of younger generations who aren't accustomed to the volume of work that we used to have to do. But I, I could remember on a given Tuesday night, I might have three spec scripts in a book that I had to read overnight and report on by nine 30 the next morning. I don't know how I did it. I didn't sleep. What makes a good one hour drama for you? For me the most important thing, and other people may have different answers, but is voice. So when I read a script and then this ultimately will translate from the page to what you see, hopefully it's really about the voice, and that's a very kind of amorphous term, but I think. A lot of writers with practice can r come up with a good structure, can have a good story or could write strong characters. But voice is a little j se quois that makes it distinct. I think it's that five to 10 degrees left of center that I was speaking to earlier. It's a little bit of perspective, it's a little bit of tone. It's a little bit of uniqueness that makes the dialogue sing, that makes the characters feel just a little bit more real, a little bit more special. So that for me, is first and foremost what I look for. But apart from that, I mean it's things that, I think anybody would know who's taken, of courses in drama it's great characters. It's conflict intention. It's an interesting narrative I think for TV it's something that has long legs that you can see a story going on if it's intended to be an ongoing show. I think all of those things are important how about for film? Do you think it's different No, I think it's similar For film, I still look for voice and then all the same things. It's just you have the constraint of 90 minutes, two hours it's a more concise story, has to move at a different pace, and has to be complete in that period. So there are elements of it that are different, but I think they're still similar What makes a good comedy Gotta be funny. I think. I think one of the problems of the streaming era, not so much anymore, but early on, like we had all these dramedies or like mm-hmm half hour dramas, which were great and they were wonderful, but they weren't comedies. You gotta laugh. And I go back to my sitcom days and cheers. Cheers is funny. It has great characters and it actually has pathos, especially in the early seasons and dramas, but it's a riot. a hundred percent. what can a writer do and prepare themselves To meet with an executive Shouldn't I look you up and know your background? I think you wanna know who your audience is. So if you're meeting with somebody, if you're meeting with an agent, try to figure out who their other clients are. If you're meeting with a producer, know what they've produced or what they have in development. If you're meeting with an executive at a network or a studio what shows are they responsible for? It's just good background information. It might help you tailor what you say or how you pitch a story, just knowing what that person has done before. It's also good just to have points of connection with somebody, especially if you're familiar with their work. if I am meeting with a writer or director I wanna know their work. I want to be able to tell them what I've enjoyed about what they've done. Now here's a tougher one. for the writers out there when they're coming to see you, mark, they don't like the show. That you've produced? Yeah. Yeah. Did they be honest? No. No. you know, Look, if I, if I have a relationship with a writer or anyone and we have a level of trust, yes, they should be honest. I want to know their opinion and I want them to be able to tell me that if I don't know you, I don't want you to tell me you don't like something that I've worked on. There's no good that comes of that 100%. That, to me, is just basic manners. My mom would say, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. What are the studio's, networks and streamers looking for these days? I don't know. If you figure it out, lemme know. Look, this is the question that every agent, writer, producer and even half the executives at the studios and streamers are asking themselves right now. I think that we're in a little bit of a period of flux. I think during my time as an executive at Amazon, particularly in the early to mid years that I was there we made a lot of programming that was probably too expensive for too niche an audience. And so there had to be a course correction just to write the economics. It wasn't a sustainable business. I think the pendulum swung too far. And there was an over course correction where the answer was let's just go back to, very traditional broadcast tv. Let's do things that are right down the middle that play to the widest possible audience. I think in the next year or two we're gonna see a new equilibrium where, let's look at the things that have traditionally worked and they've worked for a reason. And then how do we do the best version of that, do a version of that's specific to, a streaming identity or brand. So if you're gonna make a medical show, make the pit'cause it's awesome, right? That's a genre that's worked for a long time, but that's really a good version of it. I think we're gonna start to see that in, in the next. Year or two. That's my gut of where the industry's going. But I don't know. We'll see. That's certain, that's certainly where I'm developing towards I was reading an article where someone said, Hey, if you're looking to go to the streamers, make sure it's fast-paced with a lot of characters. what do think about that? Don't, I dunno, about a lot of characters, but certainly fast paced and, but I, and I don't even know if that's specific to streamers. I think there was a thing that we did. Early in the streaming business that was wrong, where we said, Hey, we're not doing tv. We're telling 10 hour movies, and your first three episodes are your first act and then your next four episodes are your second act, et cetera. I don't think it worked. the truth is audiences that tune in to watch a TV show, even if you have something that's heavily serialized I think you have to grab people quickly. And I think you have to move, your storytelling has to move. It can't be, language. And I think I would, and certainly in the shows that I'm developing, try to have, even if something is heavily serialized, try to have episodes that feel. Cohesive and contained in a way. I don't mean contained, like it's a procedural or it's all wrapped up, but that there's a beginning, middle, and end to that episode, even if it's part of a eight hour journey of the first season. That's very helpful. Yeah. That it feels like, Hey, if I watched an hour, I got a complete meal. I want another meal. I want the second meal. But I came away with this with a full experience. I think we lost sight of that in the early days of streaming. I don't think we were doing that. Have you ever clashed with a writer or felt they were too difficult to work with? Again, you don't have to name names. There's been more than one. And by the way, I'm sure there are writers who maybe would say they wouldn't work with me. I don't know, but it goes both ways. Look, yeah, I think what I'll speak in generalities rather than specifics. Yeah. I think it's important for writers and filmmakers and also for executives to realize that you have a shared goal. I think sometimes, particularly in the network talent relationship, there's this kind of subconscious adversarial thing sometimes. Oh, they're not, they're the network. We gotta hide this from them, We both want the same thing. We wanna make a great show that a lot of people are gonna watch that's gonna go on for success. And so I think it's important for everybody to always step back and remind themselves of that, because I think it can get lost in the process sometimes. We're rowing, we need to be rowing in the same direction. sometimes if as an executive you are clashing creatively with a writer, you may just not be in business with the right person on the right show. That's entirely possible. you just don't share the same vision have the same approach, and that's okay. That happens. I think it's everyone's job, both the creator, writer, and the. Studio or network to try to vet that as much as possible early on? I think sometimes people can go into things with blinders. I had an old boss tell me once in the movie business that they kept making the same mistake over and over again, which is the first meeting you have with a director. That's the director's vision, and that's always gonna be the director's vision. And it may change like five degrees, but that's what you're getting. And too often as a producer or a studio executive you are like so excited that this director wants to do your movie. That you pretend that their vision's gonna be something that it's not, That is so smart. And it's like dating. A hundred percent. I think the hard thing, particularly as an executive, it's slightly different as a producer.'cause I, a lot of times now I'm the go-between and have to protect the show and the writer, but also deliver for the financier. But I think it's also important just again, in a spirit of collaboration, like if you're a network executive and you tell a creator we can't afford this, we don't have the money, it doesn't mean you don't like their show, it doesn't mean you're penalizing them in some way. It just, at the end of the day, it is a business. And particularly for an ongoing show, you might overspend on the first season and then it makes the economics really tricky. And it may be less likely that show gets a second season. And so it's not about I don't believe in you or I don't believe in the show. It's just about at what price point does this make sense for this network? How do you both get there together? But sometimes those conversations can be really contentious and difficult. but the other thing I think that's important, just back to your question about the writer and relationships. One of the things that I've always tried to do is always just be honest and have a point of view respectful and thoughtful and recognizing that someone has put their passion and their self into something. But just to be honest the truth is we all have bosses. And I may, when I was an executive at Amazon, I had bosses that I had to answer to above me, but I could still have my own opinion and I could still have a candid conversation with you and tell you what I thought and share with you how the process was gonna go. I think one of the things that can be really frustrating for writers and creators is when they feel They're not getting the real, they're getting double speak or they're just not sure where they stand. when you are 24 and you are giving notes to a 55-year-old cigar smoking writer, That's I'm not gonna learn anything from the whipper snapper. How did you deal with those moments? Yeah, and by the way, I was super insecure as a 24-year-old, so I'm like, who am I to be giving notes to? and by the way, I feel like that sometimes now I was sharing with somebody recently when I was an executive at Amazon, I had the privilege of not to undersell myself, but I had the privilege of meeting with Michael Mann multiple times, and he would come in to talk about certain projects. And I frequently would be like, who am I to be like decider about Michael Mann, who's one of the greatest filmmakers gets to make that's just the business. And I think it's always just about, on both sides, about respect. I would say that, as the 24 year olds, you wanna recognize who you are and what your level of experience is versus who you're talking to. And tailor your approach and style towards that. also for writers, recognize that good ideas can come from anywhere and the audience. Is comprised of everybody. I'll tell you just really quickly, one of the, my favorite writers and is a friend that I worked with writer named Ed Solomon, who's incredibly successful film and television writer. And I worked with him when I was a young executive with Denise De Novia on something. And ed was the nicest, most gracious writer and there were a lot of voices in the process and on the project with the producers in the studio. And Ed always asked me what I thought and cared about what I had to say and would have separate conversations with me. And he was just a naturally curious person who was open to ideas no matter where they came from. And that was huge. And, 25 years later I love Ed and worked with him again on developing something and would love to do something else with him. So that was, Part of the other side of the equation. Yeah. I think what we can take away from this episode, for the writers out there, respect and communication will go a long way. Hundred percent. Although look, there's also plenty of executives and who give bad notes. I've probably given bad notes, but hopefully you do it with respect as you said. Now the writer's side, you hear, if you don't wanna take a note, address it at the time and say, I'll think about that. Is that a good response? Not if you're intending not to take the note. I think the important thing is to there's an expression in the note behind the note. It's to understand what's not working right? Like an executive may not be properly articulating or they may be asking for the wrong thing, but it's to understand what is the executive or the reader bumping against? you may not share that concern, and you may have a discussion and a debate over whether it's a valid concern or not, but I think a lot of times. It can be easy for a writer to dismiss a note because it's not articulated properly. And so it's important to really get under the hood and make sure you understand what the issue is because there may be something there. It may be that the executive's just not couching it in the right way or expressing it in the right way. That is such a good point. Hey what do you think about the Warner Brothers Netflix Paramount deal? good or bad for the creative community? Look, I think the more buyers and financiers we have, the better, and that anytime there's consolidation I think it's you know, proposes challenges to creators and to writers and to audiences. On the other hand, I would also say we have in some ways more buyers than we had previously. we didn't have 15 years ago. Netflix, Amazon, apple those are new places. There maybe was an expansion. There's now a little bit of a contraction. I think it's important to look holistically at the history of the business, but, I wanna make sure that audiences still have a lot of choices. And I wanna make sure that as a producer I have a lot of places to sell. I wanna see movies and theaters still. So I think those are all really important questions. Can you share the best piece of advice someone ever gave you about working in Hollywood? Yes. I worked for a producer Walter Parks who ran Dreamworks with he and his wife, Laura McDonald. And Walter told me that, and he got this advice, I think from David Geffen that. Or maybe it was Katzenberg. I don't remember. That people who succeed in the business are people who are able to say no and do it in a way as a producer and an executive, and do it in a way that is respectful that is quick. And that leaves the talent wanting to work with you again still. And I, that has stuck with me and I tried to do that the entire time I was at Amazon. I tried to do it now as a producer. I think it's, Walter would say it's easy for a studio executive to say your movie's green lit or a network executive to say, your pilot's picked up or you've been cast in this. It's everybody loves giving the good news. The bad news is harder but there's way more bad news and I think it's shocking to me sometimes how executives delay giving bad news, can't articulate it clearly enough. Worry about offending, but then offend more because they're not giving a clear answer. We all just wanna know where we stand and we all wanna be able to work together again. And to me, that's something I've always tried to do is be honest, be forthcoming, and if it's something's not for me, say it quickly and explain why. And hopefully we can, move on to something else together in the future. Nice. Are you watching, listening to or reading anything you're excited about that you'd like to share with us? I just watched his and hers on Netflix that I really enjoyed. And working with Dee Johnson, who was the showrunner on that, it was a really good thriller. My wife and I really enjoyed it. That's the most recent thing that I've watched. And I'm reading it's a little bit older, but I'm reading a Peggy Nunan book. It's a collection of her columns which just seems like a good time in our country right now to be reading Peggy Nunan. I hear you. Mark Rini you are such a cool person. Thank you so much for joining us on the Writer's Hangout. Thanks for being interested in anything I had to say. I hope, your listeners um, can find something that's useful. I hope you come back. I'd love to. Thank you so much. Check out young Sherlock in a month. March four. and that's a wrap for the Writer's Hangout. Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Your positive feedback will help us keep the show going so we can continue bringing you more future episodes. Remember, keep writing. The world needs your stories. The Writers Hangout is sponsored by the Page International Screenwriting Awards, with executive producer Kristen Overn, Sandy Adamides, And our music is composed by Ethan Stoller. Alexa, you are gaslighting me,