Angle on Producers with Carolina Groppa

Hosted by Carolina Groppa

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Jun 2026

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About the show

ANGLE ON PRODUCERS spotlights producers from all corners of the entertainment industry to demystify the age old question: "What exactly does a producer do?". Join Emmy nominated producer Carolina Groppa as she gives you an honest glimpse into what it's like to walk in our shoes.

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June 16, 2026Episode 16044 min

Comedy Legends Bob Odenkirk and David Cross Climb Machu Picchu

What does it take to hike 26 miles at 14,000 feet with no signal, no Uber, and two of the funniest people alive? We're about to find out. Join me as I sit down with comedy legends Bob Odenkirk and David Cross at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival to discuss their documentary Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu — a film about friendship, mortality, and what happens when Hollywood strips away and the mountain shows you who you actually are. Plus: Why David chose Bob for this — and why Bob almost said no How Bob's heart attack during Better Call Saul gave the whole journey a different kind of weight The moment the mountain cracked them both open — and what they found on the other side Special thanks to Greenslate, Theorem Media, and Portrait for making this panel happen! Greenslate has been a longtime partner of AOP and it never gets old talking about the ways they have revolutionized production payroll and accounting for independent film. They had 22 projects at Tribeca this year and Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu was the one we chose to spotlight, via their client Left/Right. AOP SUBSTACK 📫 Musings, Mixers, Workshops, and Exclusive Content https://angleonproducers.substack.com/ AOP WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@angleonproducers Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6UBux9RgxeW1MiQDXSMrnr iTunes: https://apple.co/3FDyhmC JOIN THE AOP COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: / https://instagram.com/carolinagroppa | https://instagram.com/angleonproducers 📱 TikTok: / https://www.tiktok.com/@carolina_groppa 👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn: / bit.ly/2BqHs8L QUESTIONS ❔Answering your questions on our Subtasck! Submit here: anglonproducerspodcast@gmail.com

May 12, 2026Episode 1411 hr 6 min

Colby Day On How Screenwriting is A Career For Maniacs

Colby Day is a breath of fresh air who refuses to be performative. In an industry that runs on heat and carefully curated perception, he just gives it to you straight. Day is an Emmy-nominated writer whose credits include the Netflix film "Spaceman" starring Adam Sandler and "In the Blink of an Eye," which premiered at Sundance this past year. He also served as a writer and story editor on Apple TV's For All Mankind season five. He is also the creator of Hollyweird, a Substack where he documents the unglamorous reality of being a working writer in Hollywood with more honesty than almost anyone else in this business. His directorial debut "The Comedy Hour "with Tim Heidecker and Tatiana Maslany is up next. This was one of my favorite chats of the year so far. Colby and get super real about 10-year timelines, selling a show and watching it collapse, why transparency is a radical act in this industry, and what keeps us going when everything falls apart. Tune in! xx CG

April 28, 2026Episode 15029 min

How Bill AB 2319 Could Keep Hollywood Home with Marielle Abaunza

Post is where a movie becomes a movie. Where a TV show gets it's bells and whistles. The edit, the VFX, the color, the sound mix, the sound design, and everything in between. It's where everything comes together. And yet for years, California has had no standalone incentive to keep that work here. In this episode I sit down with Marielle Abaunza, President of the California Post Alliance and EVP of Business Development at Signature Post, to talk about AB 2319, the proposed standalone post-production tax incentive that could be game changer in helping keep jobs in LA. We get into: How we took Hollywood for granted and where we go from here. How 1,800 post jobs have been lost since 2012 and what that actually means for working crew. What AB 2319 does and why the "shoot anywhere, finish in California" model is the shift the industry needs. How New York netted $47 million in state revenue from post credits in a single quarter The people this bill protects are not Hollywood elites. They are editors and sound designers and post producers trying to log enough hours to qualify for health care. This is a movement. And there is not a lot of time. Go to www.californiapostalliance.org to join, donate, or submit a letter of support for AB 2319. Legislators read those letters. Your story matters! Angle on Producers spotlights the magic makers in Hollywood. Hosted by Emmy-nominated producer Carolina Groppa, the show goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the craft, challenges, and unfiltered truths behind one of Hollywood's most essential, and often misunderstood, roles. AOP SUBSTACK 📫 Musings, Mixers, Workshops, and Exclusive Content https://angleonproducers.substack.com/

April 14, 2026Episode 15658 min

How to Start a Bidding War with Verve Agent and Partner David Boxerbaum

David Boxerbaum built his career the hard way, with no connections, no shortcuts, and a relentless belief that great stories still change everything. He first fell in love with making movies as a young kid growing up in the Bay Area, camera in hand, directing his friends before he even knew what an agent was. After attending New York University, he realized the there was real power in understanding the business behind making movies. So he mailed his resume across town, worked his way through some of the most iconic agencies in the business, and quietly became one of the most prolific spec script sellers in Hollywood. By 26, he was named one of The Hollywood Reporter's Next Generation 35 Under 35 — one of the youngest agents ever to earn that recognition. Today he's a partner at Verve, representing top writers, directors, and showrunners, and is widely credited with helping open the door for the short story market. Join us as we get into what it actually means to believe in your clients, how he generates heat in a bidding war, and why he's optimistic about the future Hollywood. AOP SUBSTACK 📫 Musings, Mixers, Workshops, and Exclusive Content https://angleonproducers.substack.com/ LISTEN TO THE SHOW Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6UBux9RgxeW1MiQDXSMrnr iTunes: https://apple.co/3FDyhmC JOIN THE AOP COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: / https://instagram.com/carolinagroppa | https://instagram.com/angleonproducers 📱 TikTok: / https://www.tiktok.com/@carolina_groppa 👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn: / bit.ly/2BqHs8L QUESTIONS ❔Answering your questions on Tuesdays in our newsletter! Submit here: anglonproducerspodcast@gmail.com

April 2, 202648 min

Substack Live: Six Offers. No Rep. No Problem. Indie Filmmaker Carolina Alvarez on Self-Distributing "Sync"

This is a recording of a members-only Substack Live I hosted two weeks ago. If you're a paid subscriber, this is exactly the kind of access and conversation you're signing up for! Carolina Alvarez, writer-director and founder of Femme Regard, is the force behind Sync — a self-financed sci-fi feature now streaming on Amazon Prime that received SIX distribution offers. In this special chat, she breaks down what film school doesn't teach you: how she crowdfunded a feature in stages built a festival strategy around genre and community (not just prestige) reached out to 20+ distributors without a rep spotted the red flags in bad offers decoded the unsexy deliverables that can quietly blow your budget in post-production This episode is for any filmmaker trying to figure out how to actually get your movie seen! Subscribe to the AOP Substack for free to stay in the loop, or go paid to get access to members-only lives like this one, bonus content, and the full archive. Links are in the show notes. AOP SUBSTACK Musings, Mixers, Workshops, and Exclusive Content https://angleonproducers.substack.com/ LISTEN TO THE SHOW Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6UBux9RgxeW1MiQDXSMrnr iTunes: https://apple.co/3FDyhmC JOIN THE AOP COMMUNITY Instagram: / https://instagram.com/carolinagroppa | https://instagram.com/angleonproducers TikTok: / https://www.tiktok.com/@carolina_groppa LinkedIn: / bit.ly/2BqHs8L QUESTIONS Submit them in our on going AMA https://tinyurl.com/5aprkzz6

March 17, 2026Episode 13020 min

Personal Update + Listener Questions Answered

In this solo episode, I get candid. I open up about losing my father in January, what grief looks like when you can't afford to stop moving, and the complicated truth about showing up anyway — to the meeting, to the festival, to the mic. I also dig into eight listener questions from the year-end survey, covering: how I select guests, whether I'm still producing, how independent producers can find financing outside traditional models, tips for batching scenes on a micro-budget shoot, how to pitch yourself for freelance producing opportunities, where to actually network, how to work festivals like Sundance and SXSW, and how to define and achieve your goals in a season of uncertainty. Raw, practical, and very real... Thanks for doing this life thing with me!

March 10, 2026Episode 13047 min

How Pam Carbonero Built The Directors Community of Her Dreams

Pam Carbonero is a seasoned Latina director, producer, writer, and first AD with 15-plus short films, a 12-episode mini-series, and a one-and-a-half hour vertical series under her belt. When she's not directing, she's working full-time as a first AD across features, commercials, music videos, you name it. And she is a proud anti-gatekeeper. But the thing I really wanted to bring her on to talk about is what she built from scratch out of pure necessity: the LA Director's Lab. In 2021, she had an idea for a space where directors could simply practice their craft. She started small: six directors, eight actors, a friend's bar, iPhones, zero professional gear. That was all she needed. Today, LADL has grown into full two-day workshops with DPs, professional crews, screening days — and most recently, she executive produced five horror short films in three and a half weeks with her community of artists. Tune in as we discuss mental health, doing the reps, and what makes an exceptional 1st AD.

February 19, 2026Episode 12553 min

How Culture Impacts Craft with Marina Stabile, Producer of Sundance Winning Film "Josephine"

Marina Stabile is a Brazilian-born, Swiss-raised producer and line producer with over 20 years of experience in film, documentaries, commercials, and digital content. She is also one of my favorite humans and I'm lucky I get to call her a friend. She grew up in São Paulo, moved to Geneva at 10, attended an international school with 118 nationalities, and knew she wanted to produce after watching the Irving Thalberg Award presented at 3 a.m. on an Oscar broadcast. She studied film and international relations at USC, produced documentaries for the United Nations in Geneva, and returned to the U.S. to earn her MFA in producing at AFI, where her thesis film The Response won a Student BAFTA. Marina's credits span indie and studio, including Miguel Arteta's Beatriz at Dinner starring Salma Hayek, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize–winning Clemency starring Alfre Woodard, Harrison Ford's The Call of the Wild (as VFX supervisor), Searchlight's Hold Your Breath starring Sarah Paulson, The People We Hate at the Wedding, and the pandemic-shot Untitled Horror Movie alongside fellow producer Bronwyn Cornelius. Most recently, she produced Josephine — written and directed by Beth de Araújo and starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan — which won both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before being acquired by Sumerian Pictures in a competitive seven-figure deal. The film went on to screen in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival. In this conversation, we explore how culture impacts your craft, define once and for all what line producers really do, why the best career moves sometimes look like steps backward, and whether Los Angeles is still a special place to make movies. Enjoy!! CG

February 3, 2026Episode 12439 min

Live from Sundance with "Bedford Park" Producer Gary Foster on How to be a Director's Offensive Lineman

*Brought to you in partnership with GreenSlate* Bucket list moment unlocked! 🎬 Our first-ever live episode from Sundance is here. I sat down with producer Gary Foster to talk about the seven-year journey of bringing "Bedford Park" to the screen—a deeply personal Korean-American story that almost didn't get made. We tackle: How Gary met director Stephanie Ahn 12 years ago when she was an assistant editor, and why he championed her debut feature for seven years The unconventional move that landed Hyundai as the first major investor with $1 million That terrifying moment when he started production without full financing How changing a key character from Caucasian to Korean-American transformed the entire film What being a "career producer" actually means If you've ever wondered what it really takes to get an indie film made in today's landscape: the persistence, the creative partnerships, the calculated risks....this conversation is for you. xx CG AOP SUBSTACK 📫 Musings, Mixers, Workshops, and Exclusive Content https://angleonproducers.substack.com/ LISTEN TO THE SHOW Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6UBux9R... iTunes: https://apple.co/3FDyhmC JOIN THE AOP COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: / / carolinagroppa | / angleonproducers 📱 TikTok: / / carolina_groppa 👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn: / bit.ly/2BqHs8L QUESTIONS ❔Answering your questions on Tuesdays in our newsletter! Submit here: anglonproducerspodcast@gmail.com

January 20, 2026Episode 1401 hr 8 min

What Sundance & TIFF Programmers Are Really Looking For

Ever wondered how festival programmers decide which films make the cut? For our first episode of 2026, I'm joined by two incredible women who've been shaping the landscape of independent cinema for over a decade. Ana Souza has been with Sundance Film Festival for 10 years, working alongside some of the most exciting independent filmmakers in the world. Diana Cadavid is currently Director of Industry Programs for the Latino Film Institute (LFI) in Los Angeles, and International Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) She helped build IFF Panama's programming department from scratch. In this conversation, we break down: → The REAL selection process (spoiler: it's not about who you know) → How to map your premiere status strategy BEFORE you finish your film → The big film/small film balance that keeps festivals alive (and why you should stop resenting those studio movies) → Distribution in the post-COVID era: why the all-night bidding wars are gone, but deals are still happening → Why attending festivals WITHOUT a film might be the smartest career move you can make 🔗 READ MY SUBSTACK - The History of Film Festivals: [https://angleonproducers.substack.com/] 🎙️ LISTEN TO THE SHOW Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6UBux9R... iTunes: https://apple.co/3FDyhmC JOIN THE AOP COMMUNITY / carolinagroppa | / angleonproducers 📱 TikTok: / / carolina_groppa 👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn: / bit.ly/2BqHs8L