The Directors Take Podcast

PODBEAN COPY  This is episode 9 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast. Your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are back, having both largely finished their longform projects, Marcus with his debut feature film CAST ME! and Oz with a couple of TV directing jobs now under his belt, they both break down their journey across this year and discuss the key differences they experienced in transitioning from directing shorts-to-longform. Credits Graphic Design by Ria Nightingale Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected] Nugget of the Week Marcus: Scriptnotes - With Obsession Writer/Director Curry Barker Oz: Scriptation App Bonus: Scriptnotes - With House of the Dragon Showrunner Ryan Condal

This is episode 8 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by Manchester based Writer/Director and 2025 Screen Daily Star of Tomorrow Liam White.  Liam built traction through his short film work which includes Doughnut (2020), Tick Tick Tick (2020), Punch-Drunk an exceptional thriller set in a cafe in Marseille which was longlisted for a BAFTA in 2022 and his most recent short film Housewarming won Best UK Short at Raindance Film Festival and earnt a BIFA nomination, firmly securing him as one of the UKs most exciting filmmaking talents.  Liam now has several features in active development, two with Anna Keeley at Escape Plan and another with Heyday films. In this episode which was recorded live in 2025, with a catch up on the end, we break down his journey so far as he ascends the industry.  As ever, it’s a must listen! Credits Graphic Design by Ria Nightingale Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram Liam White: Instagram & his work If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 7 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by some of the creative team behind SURVIVING EARTH, the BFI & FILM4 backed debut feature film from Writer/Director Thea Gajic.  Producer Sophie Reynolds also joins us to talk through the film’s life cycle, as it successfully navigated the UK development system to eventually earn a Premiere at SXSW2025 and a UK theatrical release from 24th April. As ever… This is an in-depth episode about the pathway and process!   NUGGET OF THE WEEK   Marcus: Love on the Spectrum Oz: Thirteen lives & The Rescue  Sophie: Gatecrashers - Sona Films Thea: Moonlight by Barry Jenkins   Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram Thea Gajic: Website & Instagram Sophie Reynolds: Sona Films & Instagram If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 6 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by Producer Hollie Bryan and Writer/Director Jack King, the BAFTA nominated team behind The Ceremony, the indie feature film that won the Sean Connery Prize at Edinburgh International Film Festival before going on to earn two BIFA nominations and a BAFTA one too for good measure.  We caught up with them the morning after the BAFTAs to talk through their experience of making the film on limited resources and the journey which came after… It’s a must listen!   NUGGET OF THE WEEK   Marcus: The Ceremony director Jack King and actors Tudor Cucu-Dumitrescu and Erdal Yildiz | BFI Q&A   Oz: Prints Short film by Jack King   Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram Jack King: Website Hollie Byran: Website If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 5 in the third season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad were joined for a LIVE conversation at the wonderful venue of MetFilm School Manchester by acclaimed actor Corin Silva.  Corin is a rising star in the Film & TV industry with roles in SAS Rogue Heroes, Masters of the Air, All the Light We Cannot See and the upcoming release of the BAFTA nominated Wasteman. He is also a big advocate of short filmmaking and has featured in over 100 short films.  As ever, this conversation breaks down his pathway into acting, his process and we uncover his thoughts on the Actor/Director relationship.    Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz:Instagram Corin: Instagram & IMDb If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 4 of the third season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad were joined for a LIVE conversation at the wonderful venue of Manchester HOME by Writer & Director Claire Tailyour.  Claire is a working director whose credits include The Wives, Beyond Paradise, Phoenix Rise and Netflix/BBC’s Get Even. Her debut feature script Mother Wild won BAFTA Rocliffe and PAGE awards in 2020. She is also a semi-finalist for Sundance International Scriptwriter and also for The Academy Awards Nicholl Fellowship. We talk about her unique journey into the industry, the craft of directing and the challenges in navigating life as a director in TV.    Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram Claire: Instagram & Website If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 3 of the third season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by Director Nick Rowland, who is seen as one of the UK’s and Hollywood’s brightest young stars. He joins us to talk about his latest release She Rides Shotgun, an action thriller which stars Taron Egerton and Ana Sophia Heger, available now on Amazon Prime. Nick breaks down his journey, process and the difficulties in dealing with expectation in this revealing conversation that very much centres on craft.    This conversation covers the following: -Nick’s journey into directing from Rally driving. -How he navigated his early career/expectation. -The difficulty of imposter syndrome. -His philosophy on directing and how it relates to his sensibilities as a human. -The difficulties of making a first feature film. -His struggles and learnings around tone in film. -How Nick prepares for interviews and pitches. -A breakdown of the craft of She Rides Shotgun and his philosophy in working with actors.   NUGGET OF THE WEEK Marcus: Dancing in the Ashes (short film)  Oz: SLAP (short film) Nick: Pablo Neruda’s poetry   Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram Nick: Instagram & Directors Now   If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 2 of the BRAND NEW third season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad get honest about what they’ve been up to in the show’s close season, explaining the introspective work that they’ve completed and the journey that has taken them on. Oz has explored the origins of his own artistry which has seen him sign on to an agency, and Marcus gets candid about his own artistic journey, neurodivergence and the preparation on his latest VFX film.  This episode is formed of two separate conversations recorded several months apart from each other, beginning with one in August, before heading back in time for the other. We hope it makes you feel better about your own artistic endeavours. Enjoy!   Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram   If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 1 of the BRAND NEW third season of The Directors Take Podcast.   In this week’s special episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined in conversation by UK TV legend Angela Griffin, who discusses her transition from distinguished actor with over 500 hours of broadcast TV under her belt into the Directors chair on Season 16 of Waterloo Road.   This conversation was recorded LIVE as a part of the Series 16 Waterloo Road launch, and was chaired solo by Oz Arshad at the Lowry Hotel in Media City, Manchester.    This conversation covers the following:   -What is Directing?  -The directing pathway and how Angela herself made that transition. -What did she learn from working with so many different directors across her career so far. -What was the most surprising part about stepping into the directors chair?  -How does she create an ‘actor friendly’ environment and does she have a philosophy on blocking actors? -What is Angela’s take on tone and how to sustain it as a director? -How do you balance family life alongside being a working actor & director?   Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram   If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]

This is episode 34 and the FINAL EPISODE in our second season of The Directors Take Podcast. In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad do a round up of their 2024 highlights, lowlights and their favourite episodes from the second season of the podcast, before throwing out some optimistic feels for the year ahead.  It’s been a tough year, but we are here to bring you some positivity for 2025 with a little help from our friends and guests of past episodes.  Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is THE NATIONAL FILM and TELEVISION SCHOOL. We’ve also partnered with SCRIPTATION to offer our listeners an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT on their software, which you can find on the link below…  http://scriptation.com/thedirectorstake    Nugget of the week   Marcus: The Telepathy Tapes by Ky Dickens Oz: The Actors Guide to Success by Michaela Longden   Our Favourite Episodes of Season 2 Marcus:  Episode 1 - How I Directed Baby Reindeer with Weronika Tofilska Episode 17 - Demystifying VFX with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s Angus Bickerton   Episode 8 - Showrunning BBC’s Domino Day with Lauren Sequeira    Episode 19 - Demystifying the road to BAFTAs & Oscars with Flair PR’s Catherine Lyn Scott   Episode 31 - How we created EMILIA PÉREZ with Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain   Oz: Episode 1 - How I Directed Baby Reindeer with Weronika Tofilska Episode 15 & 16 - The Journey to Directing PRESUMED INNOCENT with Greg Yaitanes Episode 9 - How I Directed HOUSE OF THE DRAGON with Clare Kilner Episode 13 & 14 - The Journey to Directing SUPACELL with Sebastian Thiel Episode 6 - Is Perfectionism Killing Your Creativity? With Dr. Thomas Curran   Credits Music by Oliver Wegmüller   Socials The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram Oz: Twitter (X) & Instagram   If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at [email protected]