Meet Caroline Liem! Caroline is a Producer & Casting Director. She lives in Los Angeles and has worked as a Casting Director for over 20 years, Caroline has cast studio features, independent films, television series, and pilots for Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney Studios, Sony, Warner Bros. ABC, CBS, and NBC. She has also worked with many prominent producers and directors including Lauren Schuler Donner, David Goyer, Jon Turteltaub, and Jen McGowan to name a few. And during her time working for the casting department at Disney Studios, she oversaw the casting for such projects as Gone in Sixty Seconds, Pearl Harbor, and Gangs of New York. Caroline is also a sought-after audition coach and acting teacher who’s been a guest professor at several prestigious programs including - The Juilliard School, NYU Tisch, and Syracuse to name a few - and is currently faculty at Pace University and UT Austin. Recently Caroline has decided to use her extensive knowledge and skills in casting and try her hand at producing… a fact that makes me super happy as she’s one of my producers on Alone Girl! Yes, you guessed it, this is one of my “checking-in on Alone Girl’sJourney” episodes! Caroline and I have known each other since Grad School and we’ve remained close friends and collaborators throughout the years! During our chat, we’ll catch you up on who Caroline is, and also where we’ve been on Alone Girl’s Journey, on our shared mission to make Alone Girl diverse & inclusive – both in front of & behind the camera and what’s been happening on the film’s path recently. Find out more about Caroline on her website at: https://www.carolineliem.com Connect with Caroline on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/itscarolineliem/ Connect with Caroline on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/itscarolineliem
[00:00:00] Cris: Hi, and welcome to Blissful Spinster. This week's guest is a producer and casting director. Caroline Liem. Caroline lives in Los Angeles and has worked as a casting director for over 20 years. She's cast studio features, independent films, television series, and pilots for paramount 20th century Fox Disney studios, Sony Warner brothers, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
[00:00:21] Caroline has worked with many prominent producers and. Including Lauren Schuller, Donner David Goyer, John turtle top and Jen McGowan to name a few. And during her time working for the casting department at Disney studios, she oversaw the casting for such projects as gone in 60 seconds. Pearl Harbor and gangs of New York.
[00:00:39] Caroline is also a sought after audition coach and acting teacher. Who's been a guest professor at several prestigious programs, including the Juilliard school and NYU ti recently. Caroline has decided to use her extensive knowledge and skills in casting and try her hand at producing a fact that makes me super happy as she's one of my producers on a lone [00:01:00] girl.
[00:01:00] Yes, you've guessed it. You've stumbled on one of my checking in on a lone girl's journey episodes, Caroline and I have known each other since grad school and we've remained close friends and collaborators throughout the years. During our chat, we'll catch you up on who Caroline is and also where we've been on a lone girl's journey on our shared mission to make a lone girl diverse and inclusive, both in front of, and behind the camera.
[00:01:22] And what's been happening on the films path recently. So however you found this podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in and please enjoy this week's episode. Hi Caroline. How you. Hey, Chris. So
[00:01:34] Caroline: great to hear
[00:01:34] Cris: you. Well, I'm excited to have you here on BLIS, full spinster. You've been such a help with both my movie, your lone girl, and the podcast.
[00:01:41] So thank
[00:01:41] Caroline: you. I mean, I'm so excited about what you're you're doing with both. So I'm excited to talk about
[00:01:46] Cris: it too. Cool. I wanted to maybe start with. Your own journey and then fold into how we met so that we can start that at the beginning. Cuz a couple of these conversations I've noticed I've started from the middle of something and then people might not know why I'm talking to that person.
[00:01:59] can you [00:02:00] jump around and fine, but I thought I'd do something different this time.
[00:02:03] Caroline: I'm also sure your listeners are following you. So it's all good. They're jumping around with you. So my background, gosh, I've been many things. I was a musician for a period of time as an optician, not to be confused with an optometrist or an ophthalmologist and.
[00:02:19] I have and continue to be a, a teacher. And I started as a musician, as I said, I studied opera. I studied clarinet for a period of time. And then I moved into acting and did my undergrad in LA at UCLA, and then went to grad school. And that's where
[00:02:38] Cris: we met. Yeah, we met in, uh, The university of Illinois, what brought you to, to that program?
[00:02:44] Why did you want to go there? Sure. You
[00:02:45] Caroline: know, I come from medical background and so it was expected of me to become a doctor, you know, a brain surgeon or a heart surgeon. And while I do have a brain and a heart, I , I was not necessarily [00:03:00] gifted with the stomach to handle such things. So I, I just auditioned for several programs and there, there were a couple that I got in.
[00:03:10] What I liked about Illinois was okay. First of all, I'm an LA native and it took me out of my comfort zone. So everybody comes to LA, I left LA and I wanted to get a feel for what it was like to be out in America. And it was. Illinois but it's a great program, right? It's a wonderful program. It
[00:03:31] Cris: is. And I I've talked to our mutual friend Adria already on this podcast.
[00:03:35] And you both went in the acting program there when she was in the undergrad and you were in the grad school, you know, I was in the technical program and it was. I think to this day, it's still a very good program. Either direction you go, and whether it's for undergrad or grad school, but what I found, I mean, now looking back now, it's those connections I made mm-hmm like you or Adri or any number of people that I still, you know, James, that if anyone.[00:04:00]
[00:04:00] Of the listeners wants to go watch, um, some of my short films that they're littered with people that I collected into my tribe from back in my school days. And I think that's an important thing to learn is to hang onto those people who are crazy and kooky like you are. And. You can, you know, even in your, you know, forties go, Hey, you wanna show up today to shoot something.
[00:04:22] You know? I mean, we sound like we're in our twenties, but it doesn't, that doesn't change. That just doesn't change.
[00:04:27] Caroline: Yeah. What I love about that is, you know, these are the people who knew you, when you know, these are people who knew you before the rest of the world, did. So there's a shorthand, but there's also a sense of family, you know, and that, that's why you see so many productions they're working consistently with the same people over and over again, there are people who they went to school with, who they lived on the same block with who they used to party with and maybe still do.
[00:04:48] And that's, I think that's great. And then they expand it from there, which is what we've done. Yeah. And
[00:04:54] Cris: I also think it's so cool to see that group of people that you're hanging onto. [00:05:00] Everyone's succeeding in other ways, too. You, you you're each helping each other with the things that you're trying to do, or I know you were in interested in, you know, branching out and becoming a producer.
[00:05:09] And so I'm like, well, then come help me with my film. Yes. I'm a producer, but I can't do it all if I wanna write and direct film. Yeah. And, and it's all collaborative and then you're helping each other rise up together. I mean,
[00:05:20] Caroline: I also think that casting, my background's casting that it's a, it's a natural step to go into producing and you're working so closely with producers in pre-production.
[00:05:30] Why not jump into all of it. I love this process where we work together creatively and also collaboratively, but it's cool to be able to shepherd a project from its beginning.
[00:05:43] Cris: It's interesting. Cuz your journey as an actor also. Like you did, you became a casting director, but you've always maintained both mm-hmm and I've always loved that about you.
[00:05:52] Like, what was that journey like? And what were you learning about acting by CA being a casting director and what helped you from your acting background? Be casting
[00:05:59] Caroline: [00:06:00] director. Sure. I was casting before I went to grad school, so I was already, um, internships and working on different TV shows and, and feature films.
[00:06:08] And what's great. Having a background acting of course, is being able to really key into the actors and read with them and support them in the way, you know, there's a shorthand in supporting them as a casting director and doing that for over 20 years. I know what that process is. I have a, a way to help them through it that really supports who they are and how they come to the table and to also advocate for them and fight for them.
[00:06:32] And all of that. Does
[00:06:33] Cris: it also help you, when you yourself go in for auditions or do your self tapes, do you know, do you. Are you gaining some skill sets from being that coach and that casting director?
[00:06:43] Caroline: Sure. You know what it is? I, I will tell you this by I coach actors. I work with actors on set all the time and then just in the audition process.
[00:06:52] It's all great. I love that whole, I love meeting creatives where they are and getting them through their next big thing. I love it. [00:07:00] And I, I would say that there's an ease about. So when I go in and have to self tape, something for myself, I have more of an ease about it. There's all this minutia that actors tend to, as they're developing, tend to latch onto or focus more on where there comes a point where you realize that none of that's important and what's important is your voice.
[00:07:21] And serving the story and bringing yourself to the table and being unapologetic and going for it. And so that's what I tr that's how I try to live my life and do what I
[00:07:32] Cris: do. That's awesome. And then the listeners, because there's no video, you're not gonna know unless you go to the website that, that Caroline happens to be part of the, a AIP community, um, which I love.
[00:07:42] And Caroline's been part of my journey in learning so much about making sure I'm mindful about representation and being. When I write something and I'm like, this isn't something that normally goes to somebody of color, but I want you to do it because that's part of representation, right? Not just telling the stories we're all used [00:08:00] to, but opening up your eyes to just giving anyone the chance to be any character you write.
[00:08:05] Right. Talk to me a little bit about that and that journey, cuz your journey's been a little different probably than everybody else. Well, yeah,
[00:08:11] Caroline: I think it's really important to give. Space. Thank goodness. It's happening more and more where we give space for all kinds of voices. I, I would say that growing up there really weren't a lot of people who I could, I admired a lot of talent and a lot of actors out there, but there really wasn't.
[00:08:27] I didn't really see myself on screen. And so. I think for a long time I had put off getting my degrees and I thought, okay, maybe I will just become a doctor and call it a day. I also thought music's a little bit more acceptable, so maybe I'll go do that. But when it came down to it, it's what do you love to do?
[00:08:44] And I love art and I love creating, and I love the collaboration that comes with it. And that's why I love working with you and with BD and with our team as well. And I went through a program where I. The only Asian person in the program. There's that? And [00:09:00] then even in undergrad, there were very few of. So it's, I think there's one conversation where it's about, let's give people more opportunities.
[00:09:08] There's a conversation about, we can't find them. We can't find these actors. The reality is they're there and they're trained. They just, haven't been given as many opportunities and we see that's changing over and over again. And so we need to meet them differently and support them and get them to where, you know, they need to be in order to be.
[00:09:28] And that's happening.
[00:09:29] Cris: Yeah. And there's also seek them out. Don't be lazy. Yes,
[00:09:32] Caroline: please. Yeah. I just finished a national search for talent and it was no stone unturned everywhere. Anyone who thought they were right for the role, I had them self tape and I watched thousands. And it was great. And we found our person and she's got a really interesting background.
[00:09:48] She's an interesting human being. That's the other part of it. You're still, you're studying your, your craft, but you're still going out there and living a life. And it's really exciting. Well, and
[00:09:58] Cris: that's great because she can pull all [00:10:00] of that into whatever the performance is. I do. I was watching a clip from, I think Jimmy Fallon and they, I can't remember cuz cuz she's brand new on the scene.
[00:10:09] So I don't remember her name, but she's Southeast Asian I think, but she just started in miss Marvel. Oh, I love her the season show and she was telling them how she found out about the audition. I don't know if you know this story, but they put out and I think I actually remember. Posting this post. I didn't know what it was for.
[00:10:26] It was just this random Disney is looking for an Indian or Southeast Asian. I don't know exactly how they put it actress between the ages of 16 and 20 or something like that. Mm-hmm . And so I think it was like an uncle or someone like texted her going, Hey look like she wasn't in a, and, and said, you should do this.
[00:10:42] You know, she's look like scam thing, but she did it. And lo and behold, Stage after stage from an Instagram post she's now on a Disney plus series, that's a Marvel series. And part of that universe and will probably end up in movies too. I
[00:10:56] Caroline: love that. We're talking about Iman Valani and what I love about her [00:11:00]story also is that she is of the world of the Marvel world.
[00:11:05] Like she, this girl is, she is. She knows all the players, she understands the characters, she knows the backstory. So it's fascinating when she's right for the role, but she's right for the role in so many ways. Yeah.
[00:11:19] Cris: She's a fan she has. And it it's actually a little bit, Tom Holland was as well, like Tom Holland.
[00:11:25] I think there's like some clip from when he is 11 and they asked him what he wanted to do and. Maybe play Spiderman someday. And then there's a photo of him in a Spiderman. Get up for Halloween. She has the same thing. She would dress up as miss, um, Marvel. I love it for Halloween. Love it. Before she ever played miss Marvel.
[00:11:42] And so the fan has now become the part and isn't that beautiful. I just love that story and that they weren't lazy. They went out and searched. Yeah.
[00:11:51] Caroline: Right. That's also part of, I think for any project, you would hope that everyone would. Go out there globally and [00:12:00] just say, Hey, here, here's this opportunity.
[00:12:01] We we're looking for you. Where are you?
[00:12:03] Cris: Yeah. And that's, I just love mm-hmm those stories. And I, I like that. We are for, for a lone girl. We're you knew this from the beginning. I'm like, I want the lead to be someone of mixed background, despite the fact that the story's really about me. My heart's in that, every page of that script, but it's a woman's story.
[00:12:22] It's not a white woman's story. It's a story. Every woman, no matter what background you're in, are going to relate to. And I want to in a very real way, make a point of that. And I mean, I would love it if we reach Sophie Kato and she wants to do it, and I'm gonna be manifesting that, and we do have contact ready to go, but of course, we've got other pieces we're putting together, you know, and that's the thing that you and I are learning on this journey, especially from BD.
[00:12:47] And I would say probably mark Hallen, our lawyer as well. Who's very well versed in all of this. And that's the thing. You put a team together and you have to find the best people to come along with you that can teach you along the way as well, [00:13:00] because this is my first film as a writer director, like feature and despite knowing a lot about producing and everything else in other mediums, film is new and of.
[00:13:09] It's hard to get that money. right. And it's especially hard for a woman in her fifties telling a story about a woman in her late forties and early fifties. You know, that's what we found, but I have a feeling I've got a feel like, I think we're closer in getting closer and closer, but yeah, back to, you know, Sophia Canto would be.
[00:13:26] Such a perfect person to play Sam the lead. And you're the person who brought her to light to me. And as I looked at her more and I, um, I tend to for the listeners out there, if they're wondering what I tend to do when I cast it's either someone I know who I get a feeling can play that role. It's often like with my shorts or in this case.
[00:13:46] Oftentimes when I come to you, Caroline, and I go, what about this person? Some, most of the time, it's because I've also not just seen something they've done, but I, I tend to sit and I'll go into this rabbit hole of watching interviews. They've done all kinds, whether it's hot ones, which [00:14:00]gets you a really naturalistic because nobody can, uh, act while they're eating a hot wing.
[00:14:05] Since she had this really great interview that she did with an old friend of. That the national theater did a series in London while they were closed for quarantine, with actors that had been or directors or whatever. And she was talking to someone who was a director. I can't remember his name. And in it, she said, he asked her why she hadn't done more lead type roles.
[00:14:24] She goes, I don't know. But maybe it's she basically said maybe it's the color of my skin, but this woman has an Oscar nomination. Anie nomination. She won a Tony, she's got an additional Tony nomination, no reason that she hasn't been offered that. And I would love to be that vehicle for her to shine and for other actors to kind of rally around, hopefully when we get that.
[00:14:45] But those are decisions. What I love is that you and I have been able to collaborate along with BD to make those decisions and to consciously choose, to make this film, our choices be made with awareness. Yeah. I
[00:14:56] Caroline: love everything that you brought up because you're talking about in [00:15:00]intention, you're talking about strategic collaboration.
[00:15:03] You're talking about the keyword is collaboration. I mean, look, when I read the script years ago, I, I loved it then. And you know, to see all the different iterations over time and how it has grown. Since then grown and deepened, and even from the table reads that we've done with it. And just the different, the different people we've talked about playing the different roles.
[00:15:25] What's been great conversation within it all is exactly what you said. Like it's not about let's check the box. On who we're gonna fit into this. So we can that HR kind of thing it's always been about. Where's the spirit and the vibe of this human, human being. It's always been about the humanity and the humor, uh, in the peace.
[00:15:44] And I think the humor's ridiculous. It's
[00:15:46] Cris: so fun. And I don't know if you've seen it, but there's a movie called beginners that. Mike Mills, um, wrote and directed and for listeners out there who haven't seen it, find it and watch it. It's got you and McGregor and Christopher plum, Christopher plumber [00:16:00] won the M the, uh, Oscar for it.
[00:16:01] And I believe Mike Mills won an Oscar for the script. If, if he didn't win it, he was nominated for it. And the script which you can find online for screenwriters listening is just go read it. And what you'll notice is super, super close to what he ended up filming on screen. There's very little. That is cut or changed and the way he wrote his, the reason I, one of the reasons I had it as an inspiration is cuz it's got these really transitional interesting transitional elements to it that are born from the lead character, Y McGregor's job.
[00:16:32] So he's a graphic designer that designs album covers basically for bands and all of the transitional elements. Interesting really visual things that you could imagine are coming from you and McGregor who has also got some VO. Now I don't have VO in my movie because I'm, it just didn't feel right to me.
[00:16:49] I wanted to be able to communicate what was going on with Sam in a more, I don't wanna say more clever, but I think that's what I was thinking in my head. it's just different. So when I watched that, I was like, okay, so [00:17:00] what is, she's a writer? She's a, what can I do? It's not just her sitting, writing with a pen or a, or on a computer, and then you hear what she's writing or whatever.
[00:17:09] And, um, and then my friends, so my friend growing up, her name's NA whose name is also in my script. Cause I love her name, a beautiful name. So she's one of the characters, but NA is a fantastically, talented visual artist and writer in her own. Right? When she started years. On her Instagram page, she started putting up photos before you've ever seen it.
[00:17:31] Cuz now you see it here and there. You see this like a little square with typed, um, notes on it from a typewriter, but she was actually typing them on a typewriter I believe. And she was, she called it a story in a sentence. And so most of those sentences in the script come from Naomi that I repurposed after talking to her and asking her, I just feel that collaboration is also something when the movie gets made.
[00:17:54] that she can now publish a book and cuz the, the, the agreement I made with her and I was [00:18:00] very careful and I'm like, I wanna make sure she retains all the rights to these and that she can continue on with this because they come from a book she thought of, of publishing with a really funny name with one of the sentences about a cat, oddly enough.
[00:18:10] Um, and serendipity silly enough for the listeners. There's the, these sentence. She has this art project and those sentences very much tell the story of what's going on with Sam emotionally, um, at any given moment in the script. And it's a very clever if I do say so myself I'm sound like I'm patting myself on the back, but okay.
[00:18:28] Girl, I just, I like that idea. yeah. I like that idea of figuring out a way to communicate. What's a very internal thing, which is how do we want to relate to the world and others, whether we're, you know, cisgendered or gay or LGBTQ or IA or any of those things, a lot of those decisions and the way you present yourself, you know, start in an internal fashion.
[00:18:53] And so how, how do you communicate that without either VO or having the character turn the [00:19:00] camera? Which of course Fleabag did so immensely. Well, and I'm not knocking it. I loved what she did with that. It just wasn't, I, I needed to find the way I was gonna do it in the script. Sure. You know, and that table read, you mentioned.
[00:19:11] Helped on my journey of figuring out, you know, and all of the actors you pulled together were wonderful. And I still, to this day, think of that young actress you had come in, play the hostess who wrote you. That really lovely note you shared with me. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So she was she's I wanna say she was 22, 23.
[00:19:28] She was something like that. And she wrote, she thanked me because the script, she hasn't been in many relationships if at all, and had been wondering about her own self. Like whether. There was something wrong with herself. And she said, thank you for showing me about love and romance in a different way.
[00:19:45] And that love can come in many different ways basically. And that's exactly what I wrote this for. And I cried you did. I think I called you while I was crying. I'm like, because to me, I've been asked several times while pitching this to try to get the funding going or [00:20:00] whatever. And I get asked often, what does success mean to.
[00:20:03] And success is that it's exactly that if I can touch even one or two people so that they can see themselves or see that their journey doesn't need to be the boxes that society has put out for us, which is basically we are supposed to be seeking out a relationship and be in one. And as women that's. We find are happy and you, and I both know we're very, very happy without that.
[00:20:28] And, uh, it's just not something that we are not defective. We're not anything we're just happy the way we are. And why can't we all just understand each other that way? Well, we're
[00:20:37] Caroline: all just doing our life. Yeah. And I think we're all connected anyways. So we connect the way we connect and we move forward the way we move forward, but it's all energy, it's all positive.
[00:20:46] It's all love. It's all
[00:20:47] Cris: good. Yeah. And that's one of the purposeful things I did in that script is that character who is single has a whole lot of friends, you know, and I've been very mindful in that, which I'm sure you picked up on right away, but. [00:21:00] Most of those characters have very like intentional names.
[00:21:03] It's not a bunch of white people, right. That she comes with. And that's also intent. Like you can be intentional in what you're, what you're trying to communicate to the readers and to the, to whoever's gonna make your film or your TV show or whatever. you don't always have to rely on 45 year old Latinx if the person's name is Naomi she's she's Latinx so yeah, at least in my mind she is, you know?
[00:21:27] Yeah, yeah. Pria is Southeast Asian and I just think those are also. I also very importantly, and we've all you and I, and BD have always had those conversations is, is it's. It also extends to behind the scenes. I'm pretty held in on my DPS of a woman. I went out and sought out a, a costume designer. Who's attached herself.
[00:21:47] Who's um, African American and knows if Sam is gonna be African American mixed background, then I wanna make sure. Although that is taken in the consideration of her clothes. And she's already got ideas. She's already, I've read the [00:22:00] script several times and I've got ideas for this. And, and that just makes my, my heart go.
[00:22:04] Cuz you want all of your art, all of the people who sign on to have that kind of same passion you did.
[00:22:09] Caroline: Absolutely. I mean, that's that collaboration is also passion, right? That's with anybody, anyone in your community, you want them, they don't have to. They don't have to love what you do, but it's, if you've got the same passion about the same kind of art, that's, that's amazing.
[00:22:24] And I love what you said about the different characters, obviously, by the way, they're named you instantly have an image of where they may be from. But what I also wanna mention is that you don't necessar, there's no stereotype. Like, like, they're not your stereotypical check, the box characters. They're really deep, lovely, kind, fierce human beings on their own,
[00:22:49] Cris: which I love.
[00:22:49] That's one of the notes. My favorite notes is if someone reads my script and they're like, these are, yeah. What I like is that all of them have something mm-hmm to say that to contribute. I don't know. We're all [00:23:00] human. You're not a stereotype. , you know, nobody is everybody's their own human like entity. I don't know how to explain that.
[00:23:07] I just, I love, but the other thing I was gonna say partly was when I said that she has all these friends is I think I watch somebody sent me there's a lot of spinsters popping up in different movies in different ways. Mm. And a friend of mine sent me a trailer. Cause he goes, look, it's in this, the time's now for this film kind of.
[00:23:24] and it was for the, I think it's George Miller was the director. It was at can. And it's it opens on this. The trailer has this scene, which I'm assuming comes at the beginning of the film and she's a widow. So she's dispensed her basically, cuz she's not in a relationship, but it's, it's her sitting at a restaurant alone.
[00:23:42] And it's this giant frame, like the she's tiny in the frame and the room is empty and she's sitting and it just makes you feel lonely. Like she's lonely. And I'm like, why are you communicating that? You're making an assumption that she's lonely because she's alone. And those two things are [00:24:00] not the same.
[00:24:00] Mm-hmm mm-hmm and being single is not a tragedy. As I like to say,
[00:24:06] Caroline: I don't think it is no. It's like we, we can fill up a space just like anybody else.
[00:24:11] Cris: it's also not a waiting room to marriage, which I think we need to really deprogram whether you're a man or a woman or whatever. It's there's you being happy being single or if you're single and you're happy.
[00:24:23] And you do want a relationship. That's the best time to find it is to find someone else who's, happy in their own self. And then you have a happy life together. But if you're consistently going, I'm, there's something wrong with me. If I'm not in a relationship or I don't want to be single, you know, I'm in this horrible relationship, but I don't wanna be single because I don't wanna leave because being single is seen as this negative place to be.
[00:24:49] To me, those are really toxic and tragic signals to be sending anyone. Mm-hmm no matter where you are in
[00:24:55] Caroline: life. I would agree with that. Not to go down the real sad alley here, [00:25:00]but it's just, when you lose a loved one and you're alone, quote unquote, I'm air quoting this, or, you know, as you said, you lose. You leave a relationship and it's who you are in, in it and who you are after it are, you learn a lot and you move forward, but it's, there's still a lot of energy and magic and greatness still left to be had.
[00:25:22] It's not the end of days
[00:25:24] Cris: has, has every. Valentine's day would tell you, oh my God.
[00:25:28] Caroline: every romcom will
[00:25:29] Cris: tell you. Yeah. Which is why I wrote a long girl. It's a response to every romcom we ever seen. Yeah. And don't, don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of all of those romcoms. I mean,
[00:25:39] Caroline: we, we both watch all the romcoms.
[00:25:41] Yeah. I mean, we're sitting here pooing it, but no, we watch them all the time.
[00:25:46] Cris: yeah. And I have a running joke about hallmark movies. Why. It's actually true. Yep. I do watch Christmas, hallmark Christmas movies. Every year. Caroline will tell you I will text her going oh my God. It [00:26:00] started so true. Um, I mean, partly because I like to make fun of myself, but I do, I can't the season starts and I'm like, oh, it's not even Halloween yet, but I guess I should turn it on.
[00:26:09] It kicks off the holiday, you know, I don't wanna get, I don't wanna get behind, but,
[00:26:13] Caroline: but it kicks off the holiday season and there's something that's just, I like the, the assurance of what the story's going to be in a. And it's just different storyline. You know, the frame of it is very similar and, and sometimes it's unexpected and I, I stop and I rewind it cuz I'm like, that's a nice twist, you know, but it's reliable in that respect and they're always
[00:26:33] Cris: delicious.
[00:26:34] Well, and I also, like, as, as I said in the script, I am. I grew up without snow and was born in a very snowy state, but moved when I was one and had all of these pictures of my family that I would look at, cause I'm the youngest of six and they all had white Christmases at some point and they were all documented and I never had that.
[00:26:52] And we never, during my growing up, did we ever go visit our family up in new England during Christmas? Right. So I never [00:27:00] got that. So I was, and still. Uh, I think miss what I never had is basically the feeling that I have every, every kind of Christmas and, and that kind of thing. And that fills that void as silly as it sounds, they have a lot of great what I like to call Christmas porn.
[00:27:20] And so it's not always, it's not even, you know, sometimes I'm just like, Ooh, look at that tree. You know, meanwhile, they're doing some plot point with the, with it, but I'm like, Ooh, look at that tree. But yeah, it's. I, I think we can hold space for both. I think so. So I, I did wanna catch you up a little bit cuz you, you weren't at the last meeting mm-hmm because you're getting for everyone, Caroline's getting over COVID and I'm very happy.
[00:27:44] She is. Um, I'm not happy she had it, but I'm happy.
[00:27:47] Caroline: She's getting through. I'm telling you for all of those people who thought that here we are. How many years into it and you thought, okay, great. I, I survived and now you're getting it. I feel you immensely. And I am [00:28:00] with you. It's not easy. And it's, it touches all of us and just sending good vibes to everybody out there.
[00:28:07] Who's dealing with this.
[00:28:09] Cris: I'm sending you goodbye still. Cuz I'm so happy. You're you seem like you've gotten more rest than your lots of rest.
[00:28:16] Caroline: Nothing but rest
[00:28:17] Cris: better clear. Yeah. But yeah, so we, um, BDS back from 10, which is super exciting and she. Made a, a couple of connections, one with vertical entertainment, and then, um, her slate, which we're a part of went to them.
[00:28:33] And I know that the woman there was interested in a lone girl, uh, just from the, the basic pitch in can. So. We'll see what happens there. It's a little, our budget's a little bigger than they normally go for, but maybe if we can figure out how to raise the rest of it, we can get the, if 1.5 from them and then Sony picture classics.
[00:28:53] I don't know if I told you right. Got interested as well. She, um, went to some, uh, like a round table [00:29:00] thing or something when people were able to discuss things when, and she met the development person from there, or the acquisitions person from there. And, uh, our lawyer happens to have a connection with.
[00:29:10] So we'll see how that goes, but I know a lone girl, as part of BD slate has also been submitted to Sony picture classics. So we'll see if that and that one we're all very excited about because if they like it, they might choose to do everything from finance to all the way through to distribution. And the budget's not a it's within the budget that they like to work, if that happens.
[00:29:32] Amazing. So yeah, we're trying to, that's kind of what came out of that and, and it was really. That was a really good instinct on BD. She like last minute, she's like, I'm gonna go to can, and she'd never been. And that's so fun.
[00:29:44] Caroline: I love that when we're at our meeting and we're like, so have you been there before?
[00:29:48] You know, I'm just gonna go. The other thing that I love about the script and about our entire process and how we all communicate as a team is there's that feeling of inclusiveness. [00:30:00] Definitely. And just being heard. And I. In in the world at large, what we're seeing is a lot of communities being overlooked.
[00:30:09] And they're finally seeing that, oh, we can have a kick ass female superhero, and that person can be a box office, draw, things like that. And these stories. And the talent and the people behind the scenes behind the camera, we've been here the whole time and we're doing really great work. So I think it's, it's a Testament to you and to BD and to other like-minded.
[00:30:41] Women who just keep it going and having a podcast like this, that it's, it creates a platform for people to just keep having this conversation. Because when we keep talking about it, I don't think it gets boring. I think it becomes the norm. And then we can just keep moving forward the way it should
[00:30:57] Cris: be.
[00:30:57] Yeah. I think there's a lot of [00:31:00] conversations to be had, but I. In those conversations comes understanding and seeing how collaboration can be fostered through that understanding mm-hmm , everybody has something they can bring to the table that can elevate whatever it is you're working on. You should take, I would say to the listener, just look around and whether it's your friends or someone that you've always wanted to reach out to, people want to be heard.
[00:31:24] And when you hear them and you listen, you'll, you'll be. You'll be surprised what comes of that collaboration and that's something I just, I, I love, and I love that you've been in my, my life for so long, cuz we graduated so long ago. I know I won't, I won't say how, how long ago, but it was a whole other, it's been a minute.
[00:31:41] It was a whole other century to give you everyone in idea.
[00:31:43] Caroline: It's been a minute and a half.
[00:31:47] Cris: Yeah. Keep your collaborators close. Build your tribe from old friends and new and keep helping to elevate everyone else with your platform and your own platform will rise to. Amen. Thank you so much, [00:32:00] Carolyn. This has been great and have more of these discussions as we move along with alone, girl, with both you and BD as, oh, I'm excited.
[00:32:08] And I'm excited that everyone got to meet you, uh, on the podcast.
[00:32:12] Caroline: Yeah. Thank you so much for having
[00:32:13] Cris: me. Thank you so much for tuning to bliss. Spinster. If any of these conversations are resonating with you, please subscribe on apple podcast, Google podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can find bliss will spinster on Instagram and Twitter and through our website, bliss will spinster.com.
[00:32:28] Again, thanks so much for joining me on this journey and until next week go find your happy.