Creative Principles

Creative Principles

Welcome to Creative Principles, I'm your host Brock Swinson. Here I'll be speaking with writers, directors, actors, musicians and more. We'll discuss the habits, routines, and methods of a creative life.

Episodes

Ep662 - Nate Bargatze, Comedian & Writer ‘Your Friend, Nate Bargatze’ & ‘The Breadwinner’

August 20, 2025 • 25 mins
Nate Bargatze is a stand-up comedian known for his clean, family-friendly humor and deadpan delivery. He gained popularity through appearances on late-night shows and has released multiple comedy specials, including THE TENNESSEE KID, THE GREATEST AVERAGE AMERICAN, and YOUR FRIEND, NATE BARGATZE. In addition to his stand-up career, he hosts a podcast called THE NATELAND PODCAST, and just published the book, BIG DUMB EYES. In this...
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Ep661 - Tony Tost, Writer ‘Americana,’ ‘Poker Face’ & ‘Longmire’

August 15, 2025 • 33 mins
Tony Tost is the showrunner of season two of Poker Face. His first feature film as a writer-director -- the modern-day western crime film Americana starring Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Halsey -- will hit theaters this summer. In this interview, we talk about challenges and rejections in Hollywood, strategies for getting films made, advice for aspiring screenwriters, and much more. As a special note, this was part of o...
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Ep660 - John McKeever, Showrunner Shane Gillis Comedy, ‘Tires’

August 13, 2025 • 30 mins
John McKeever is a versatile writer, actor, and director with a diverse portfolio spanning television, stand-up, and digital media. His writing credits include work for MTV, TruTV, NBC, and Comedy Central, and as a stand-up comedian, he was recognized as a New Face at the 2014 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. McKeever has appeared on Comedy Central’s Adam Devine’s House Party, HBO’s High Maintenance, and was a regular on TruT...
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Ep659 - Jeremy Saulnier, Director ‘Rebel Ridge,’ ‘Blue Ruin’ & ‘Green Room’

August 8, 2025 • 27 mins
Jeremy Saulnier is best known for his low-budget revenge thriller BLUE RUIN, which he wrote, directed, and cinematographed. He followed up with GREEN ROOM, a claustrophobic horror film about a punk band trapped with white supremacists, starring Anton Yelchin and Patrick Stewart. Most recently, he directed REBEL RIDGE. The film follows a former Marine who becomes entangled in a violent conflict with a corrupt small-town police chief...
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Ep658 - Jeffrey Doe, Director ‘Wick Is Pain’

August 6, 2025 • 26 mins
Jeffrey Doe is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker whose work has premiered at Sundance, Cannes, and Telluride. Starting his career as an editor of MTV Award-winning music videos, Jeff then transitioned to documentary, cutting WE SOLD OUR SOULS FOR ROCK ’N ROLL for famed “rock-u-mentary” director Penelope Spheeris and the Grammy Award-winning RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM for director Peter Bogdanovich, about the life and career of the late Tom Pet...
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Ep657 - Kristina Stanley, Author and CEO of Fictionary

August 1, 2025 • 25 mins
Kristina Stanley is the bestselling author of SECRETS TO OUTLINING A NOVEL, SECRETS TO EDITING SUCCESS, and SECRETS TO WRITING A SERIES, as well as the award-winning STONE MOUNTAIN MYSTERIES SERIES. In 2019, she developed a brand-new structural editing software, Fictionary. After years of outlining and editing in complex Excel spreadsheets, she designed the program she always wished she had. Since then, Fictionary has grown fast,...
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Ep656 - Julie Christeas, Founder & CEO of Tandem Pictures

July 30, 2025 • 40 mins
Julie Christeas is the founder and CEO of Tandem Pictures. Her recent films include NUKED, a comedy starring Justin Bartha and Anna Camp, and BLACK BEAR starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, and Sarah Gadon. She also Executive Produced three original, short-form comedy series for NBCU/Peacock, all are slated for release Spring 2025, and produces original short-form content for some of the biggest brands in the world -- Amazon...
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Ep655 - James DeMonaco, Writer ‘The Home,’ ‘The Purge,' 'The Purge: Anarchy' & 'The Purge: Election Year'

July 25, 2025 • 29 mins
James DeMonaco is the writer and director of the feature films THE PURGE, THE PURGE: ANARCHY, and THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR, as well as co-founder of the Man in a Tree production company along with his producing partner Sebastian LeMercier. His upcoming horror film THE HOME, starring fellow Staten Islander Pete Davidson, follows Max, who realizes that the residents and caretakers in the retirement home where he started working at h...
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Ep654 - Sam Lansky, Writer ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’

July 24, 2025 • 31 mins
Sam Lansky is making his feature film screenwriting debut with Sony's I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. This highly anticipated new installment of the cultural phenomenon franchise boasts an all-star cast, including Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Hauer-King, and Sarah Pidgeon. Additionally, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. will reprise their iconic roles from the original films. Sam is the author ...
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Ep653 - Jason Isaac, Actor ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘The Patriot’ & ‘The White Lotus’

July 18, 2025 • 22 mins
Widely recognized for his roles as Lucius Malfoy in the HARRY POTTER film series, Jason Issac’s extensive career includes various film and television appearances such as THE OA, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, and the third season of THE WHITE LOTUS. In this interview, we talk about shadowing people for roles and asking "awkward" questions, THE WHITE LOTUS and his character Timothy Ratliff, speculation on what happens to the family after th...
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Ep652 - Tony McNamara, Writer ‘Poor Things,’ ‘The Favourite’ & ‘The Roses’

July 17, 2025 • 25 mins
Tony McNamara is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and playwright, whose most recent film, POOR THINGS, earned his second Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. POOR THINGS marked the second creative collaboration between McNamara and director Yorgos Lanthimos, and it is the third collaboration for McNamara and star Emma Stone. The film was released in theaters in December 2023 and was the second-most Oscar-no...
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Ep651 - Stephen Murphy, Cinematographer ‘Say Nothing,’ ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ & ‘Atlanta’

July 11, 2025 • 27 mins
Stephen Murphy is a cinematographer known for his work on MR. & MRS. SMITH, ATLANTA, and HEART EYES. In 2025, Murphy received a BAFTA TV Craft nomination for Photography & Lighting in Fiction for the mini-series SAY NOTHING, as well as a nomination for Best Cinematography from the Irish Film and Television Awards for the same project. He currently presides on the Board of Governors for the British Society of Cinematographers and ...
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Ep650 - Director Matt Tyranuer & Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, on ‘NOBU’

July 10, 2025 • 27 mins
Matt Tyrnauer is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose acclaimed works include the Oscar-shortlisted VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR, STUDIO 54, and WHERE'S MY ROY COHN? Chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa is a globally renowned Japanese chef who revolutionized modern cuisine by blending traditional Japanese techniques with Peruvian ingredients. His partnership with Robert De Niro created the Nobu empire, which now encompasses over...
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Ep649 - Shannon Lewis, Choreographer ‘Just In Time’

July 3, 2025 • 28 mins
Shannon Lewis is making her Broadway debut as choreographer for the musical JUST IN TIME. The show stars Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff as Bobby Darin in an immersive experience featuring iconic hits like "Beyond the Sea" and "Mack the Knife." As a choreographer, she's well-known for her work on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, creating viral video dances, and has choreographed projects for THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON and LAST WEEK T...
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Ep648 - David Koepp, Screenwriter ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’

June 27, 2025 • 27 mins
David Koepp is a highly successful screenwriter best known for his work on some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters. With a career spanning decades, he has worked on the scripts for iconic films such as JURASSIC PARK, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, SPIDER-MAN, and WAR OF THE WORLDS. His latest work, JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH, follows the story five years after JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION. In it, an expedition ventures into isolated equatorial r...
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Ep647 - Justin Spitzer & Eric Ledgin, Co-creators ‘St. Denis Medical’

June 26, 2025 • 31 mins
Justin Spitzer is a co-creator and executive producer of ST. DENIS MEDICAL. Prior to that, he created and ran NBC comedies SUPERSTORE and AMERICAN AUTO. Eric Ledgin is the showrunner and co-creator of ST. DENIS MEDICAL. He is an Emmy award-winning writer and producer, whose TV credits include SUPERSTORE, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, AMERICAN AUTO, and LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON. Their show ST. DENIS MEDICAL follows an un...
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Ep646 - Peter Craig, Writer ‘Dope Thief,’ ‘The Batman’ & ‘Gladiator II’

June 20, 2025 • 28 mins
Peter Craig is behind some of the biggest box office successes of the past decade writing screenplays for such hits as THE TOWN, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY (part 1 and 2), BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, THE BATMAN and TOP GUN: MAVERICK which earned Craig an Oscar and WGA nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Craig also wrote GLADIATOR II, which received a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding British Film of the Year. Craig’s films have generat...
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Ep645 - Luke Cormack, Cinematographer ‘David Blaine Do Not Attempt’

June 19, 2025 • 27 mins
Luke Cormack is a skilled GSS, Shotover, U-Crane Arm, Aerial, and Phantom operator, and is at home shooting underwater, in the air, long lens, macro, or with A-list celebrities. He has won an Emmy, Panda, and Grand Teton Awards for cinematography and has had the pleasure of working on many Emmy and BAFTA-nominated shows. His latest work was on DAVID BLAINE DO NOT ATTEMPT, where Magician David Blaine travels globally, connecting ...
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Ep644 - Aaron B. Koontz, Creator and Co-Showrunner ‘Revival’

June 13, 2025 • 31 mins
Aaron B. Koontz is a filmmaker, writer, and founder/CEO of Paper Street Pictures, a leading force in independent genre cinema. He has directed CAMERA OBSCURA, THE PALE DOOR, and the cult-favorite SCARE PACKAGE series on Shudder. As a producer, he has worked on projects like THE ARTIFICE GIRL, THE REQUIN, OLD MAN, and BLOOD RELATIVES. Most recently, he worked as the co-showrunner of the series REVIVAL. The show follows a rural town...
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Ep643 - Kim Rosenstock & Elizabeth Meriwether, Creators & Showrunners ‘Dying for Sex’

June 12, 2025 • 29 mins
Kim Rosenstock is an Emmy and WGA-nominated TV writer, producer, and playwright, best known for shows like NEW GIRL and ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, for which she received Emmy and WGA nominations. Elizabeth Meriwether is a screenwriter, playwright, and producer best known as the creator of the hit TV sitcom NEW GIRL, starring Zooey Deschanel. She also gained attention with her screenplay for the romantic comedy NO STRINGS ATTAC...
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