Rom-Coms, Disney Adults, & the Hollywood Hustle | Jonah Feingold

September 14

57 mins

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Episode Description

Matt Buechele spots Zohran Mamdani riding his bicycle through the park with four guys in suits, kind of like The Sandlot, but with city government.

Then he sits down with filmmaker, writer, director, and producer Jonah Feingold to talk about his new movie Busboys, starring Theo Von and David Spade. They chat about Jonah’s childhood obsession with Hook, his internship with Hans Zimmer, his love of 1940s comedies, and why he decided to stop waiting for Hollywood to give him permission to make things. Plus, Matt and Jonah make predictions about the next You’ve Got Mail, the future of dating shows, and never working with AI actors.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Directing Busboys starring Theo Von and David Spade

00:03:22 Navigating dyslexia and reading classic books for writing

00:07:38 Finding inspiration in 1940s screwball comedies

00:13:00 Script writing process and leather notebook hierarchy

00:16:38 Childhood obsession with Captain Hook and character costumes

00:20:02 Analyzing Disney World Imagineering and fandom culture

00:24:21 Interning for Hans Zimmer and observing famous directors

00:29:01 Collaborating with film composers on custom character themes

00:30:33 Landing the job to direct Busboys for Hulu

00:36:37 Independent filmmaking hustle and securing brand sponsorships

00:41:02 Launching Romantic media brand and pitching new scripts