The No Film School Podcast

How do you bring Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility to life for a modern audience while preserving its emotional depth? Director Georgia Oakley joins No Film School's GG Hawkins to discuss her new adaptation, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as the Dashwood sisters. Oakley shares how she approached the film through the lens of sisterhood, longing, and the timeless tension between women's expectations and societal constraints. She breaks down her filmmaking process, from shooting on 35mm film and using two cameras to capture authentic performances, to collaborating with cinematographers Arnaud Potier and Tasha Back on naturalistic visuals. The conversation also explores casting, building chemistry between actors, adapting rehearsal techniques to individual performers, and navigating the pressures of an ambitious location-heavy production. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Georgia Oakley discuss... (02:09) How Oakley landed the directing job on Sense and Sensibility and pitched her vision to Working Title (03:24) Making the relationship between Elinor and Marianne Dashwood the film's central love story (05:28) Why Austen's themes of women's independence, societal expectations, and romantic yearning remain relevant (07:16) How modern hyperconnectivity and busyness have fueled a cultural desire for longing and human connection (09:44) Using nature, stillness, and the passage of time to create intimacy in a period drama (11:22) Oakley's pre-production process, including storyboards, shot lists, and adapting camera setups on location (13:35) Collaborating with two cinematographers and using natural light and environmental details to build the film's visual language (15:04) How shooting with two cameras allowed Oakley to capture simultaneous emotional reactions and spontaneous performances (17:41) The challenges of shooting on 35mm film with limited takes and tailoring rehearsals to each actor's needs (19:55) Filming at London's National Gallery under strict time and lighting constraints (23:24) Building trust with actors through communication, personalized rehearsals, and relationship-focused preparation (27:26) Casting Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles and developing their believable sisterly chemistry (33:15) How Oakley uses intense focus and directorial intuition to recognize authentic performances (35:50) Redirecting actors when a scene isn't working without undermining their confidence (37:59) Sustaining creative energy through a demanding 50-day shoot and relying on a supportive production team (40:15) Working with Old English Sheepdogs and embracing the spontaneity animals bring to a film set Memorable Quotes: "This is really a story about what young women are kind of led to believe they might reasonably expect from their lives versus what the world is actually prepared to offer them." "We live in a moment where we're so kind of hyper-connected, and we've invented all of these ways to reduce time, you know, to save time, but then we have less time than we ever had before." "So much about directing is about being able to tune everything out so that you can have a stronger relationship with the gut instinct." "None of it is possible on your own, and sometimes it does feel like a bit of a weird solo mission when you're directing something." Guests: Georgia Oakley Resources: Sense and Sensibility (2026) Blue Jean (2022) Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web: No Film School Facebook: No Film School on Facebook Twitter: No Film School on Twitter YouTube: No Film School on YouTube Instagram: No Film School on Instagram 📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer-director Lee Kirk joins No Film School’s GG Hawkins to break down the making of Nimrods, his Green Day-inspired coming-of-age road movie. Kirk traces his path from studying acting at DePaul University to learning screenwriting and eventually directing, and explains how his acting background continues to shape the way he works with performers. He also discusses developing Nimrods with Billie Joe Armstrong, weaving real stories from Green Day into the screenplay, casting and rehearsing a young ensemble, building a collaborative crew, creating a timeless visual texture, embracing improvisation, and shooting a live Green Day concert with thousands of actual fans. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Lee Kirk discuss... How Kirk’s acting training at DePaul University led him toward screenwriting and directing Learning story structure through John Truby’s 22-step approach and The Anatomy of Story How Chris Messina encouraged Kirk to direct his first feature, The Giant Mechanical Man Why an acting background can help directors understand how to communicate with performers How Billie Joe Armstrong approached Kirk with the initial premise for Nimrods Reverse engineering a feature screenplay from a predetermined Green Day concert ending Using real stories from Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool as inspiration for the screenplay Drawing from movies like The Goonies, Vacation, Footloose, and Risky Business to establish the film’s tone Making a contemporary movie feel nostalgic through vinyl, cassettes, camcorders, old cars, and other analog textures What Kirk looks for when hiring department heads and why collaborative problem-solving matters Turning an Oklahoma City junkyard into a convincing punk venue Casting Mason Thames, Mckenna Grace, and the rest of the young ensemble Using actors’ existing talents to add specificity and production value to a movie Conducting chemistry reads over Zoom when the budget made in-person auditions impractical Why rehearsal is less about locking down performances and more about making actors comfortable enough to play on set Helping actors get out of their heads by giving them time, space, and permission to experiment Using long pauses as a directing tool to help actors access emotion Why Kirk deliberately maintains a calm demeanor on set, even when production is stressful Finding unexpected moments through ad-libs and improvisation, including a spontaneous Fred Armisen scene Shooting 28 days in Oklahoma City before moving to Los Angeles for four additional days Capturing the Green Day concert with four cameras and roughly 2,000 real Green Day fans Why Kirk specifically budgeted for large numbers of extras after lessons learned on previous productions Kirk’s advice for emerging filmmakers on studying story structure, watching films analytically, writing frequently, and taking advantage of accessible filmmaking tools Memorable Quotes: “I listen to these tapes and everything changed for me then.” “I feel like that's kinda like when the best stuff happens because now everyone's out of their comfort zone, but everyone's prepared so everyone can do, make that pivot.” “Even if I'm not calm, even if I'm feeling so stressed out on the inside, I just put forward this feeling like I'm good. I know what I'm doing. Everything's fine.” “Story is everything.” Guests: Lee Kirk Resources: Nimrods on IMDb Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web: No Film School Facebook: No Film School on Facebook Twitter: No Film School on Twitter YouTube: No Film School on YouTube Instagram: No Film School on Instagram 📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded at Fantastic Fest 2026 in Austin, No Film School founder Ryan Koo talks with Into the Sky writer-directors Drew Mylrea and Evan Buxbaum about the decade-long path to making their sci-fi comedy. They trace the project from an early script that Evan initially rejected through Black List evaluations, financing, casting Sam Richardson, and an ambitious 25-day production with dozens of locations and hundreds of VFX shots. Drew and Evan also explain how they divided responsibilities as co-directors, used LiDAR scans and Lego figures to pre-visualize scenes, navigated production setbacks, tested unfinished cuts with audiences, and learned to trust their instincts while making an independent film designed to feel like a blockbuster. In this episode, No Film School's Ryan Koo and guests Drew Mylrea and Evan Buxbaum discuss... How Drew and Evan became filmmaking collaborators after spending hours together shooting a Method soap commercial in a tiny shower Evan’s experience making Sun Belt Express and the long gap between his first and second features Why Drew kept returning to the alien-abduction concept that eventually became Into the Sky Revisiting old material after years of becoming better writers and filmmakers How strong Black List evaluations gave the filmmakers psychological momentum to commit to the project Spending roughly two years rewriting the script and assembling financing Why casting director Kate Geller became an important part of building the movie’s cast How attaching Sam Richardson helped the project gain momentum The pressures created when an in-demand actor gives an independent production a narrow shooting window Walking away from a “turnkey” production-services solution that would have forced most of the movie onto a single estate Finding the town of Catskill, New York, and rebuilding their location strategy around what the movie actually needed Why filmmakers sometimes have to reject the easiest logistical solution when it threatens the film creatively Shooting the movie in 25 days while managing frequent company moves How Drew and Evan divided directing responsibilities according to their complementary strengths Drew’s focus on visual storytelling, camera placement, and spectacle versus Evan’s focus on performance, character, and dialogue Using iPhone LiDAR scans and Polycam to create digital models of locations Printing location blueprints and using custom Lego figures and a Lego camera to block scenes with the AD and cinematographer Building detailed storyboards and turning them into rough animatics for complicated sequences Trying to create an “indie blockbuster” without a blockbuster budget The challenge of completing approximately 500 visual-effects shots with an extremely small VFX team Why extensive preparation became a starting point for improvisation once production problems appeared Delaying a cornfield sequence until the final day of photography so the corn would be tall enough for the scene How rain, heat, scheduling problems, and other uncontrollable factors reshaped the production Watching dailies and determining whether scenes needed to be reshot Why a scene they believed needed a reshoot ultimately used mostly material from the original shoot Working 12-hour shooting days followed by another four or five hours of preparation each night Splitting up the first stages of post-production so Drew could eventually watch the assembly with fresh eyes Why comedy becomes difficult to judge after watching the same material dozens of times Screening cuts for friends and family to measure real laughter and audience energy Using QR codes and Google Forms to collect individual reactions before a group discussion could influence everyone’s opinions Measuring character likability and other audience responses between different test screenings Asking test audiences to respond to major VFX sequences while those sequences were still extremely unfinished The moment completed visual effects and music finally made the filmmakers feel that the movie was working Their goal of making large, entertaining movies with heart on an independent scale Why Drew and Evan believe their filmmaking education ultimately came from making things, making mistakes, and “touching the stove” Memorable Quotes: “If I have any takeaway from that, it's that, like, in those moments of extreme pressure when you have a lot of competing interests that have started rolling down on you, you've just gotta trust your gut.” “We always called this movie an indie blockbuster. You know, we were trying to make an indie film that felt like a blockbuster.” “We went in with a great plan, and then you get hit in the fucking face. And your plan becomes the launching point for an improvisational new plan.” “We learned by making mistakes and doing things out in the world. We learned by touching the stove.” Guests: Drew Mylrea Evan Buxbaum Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web: No Film School Facebook: No Film School on Facebook Twitter: No Film School on Twitter YouTube: No Film School on YouTube Instagram: No Film School on Instagram 📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer-director Sabrina Greco joins No Film School to discuss the making of her feature debut, Lockjaw, a dark comedy centered on a woman whose jaw is wired shut after a car accident. Greco explains how the project grew from a short into a feature, why she committed to an 11-day all-night shoot in Los Angeles, and how a tight-knit filmmaking community helped make the production possible. She also breaks down directing Blu Hunt’s physically constrained but highly expressive lead performance, adapting scenes when they stopped working on set, using two cameras to move quickly, and drawing on her editing background to reshape the film in post-production. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Sabrina Greco discuss... How Greco went from studying film at Boston University to editing for digital media, Nickelodeon, and feature films Why filmmakers like John Cassavetes and the mumblecore movement changed the way she thought about feature filmmaking How Lockjaw evolved organically from a 25–30 page short into Greco’s first feature Planning the production a year in advance so winter’s early sunsets would make an entirely nighttime shoot more manageable Building the film around an existing Los Angeles creative community of actors and crew members How producer Abbie Jones helped secure a house where the production could shoot for eight of its 11 days Deciding to move forward with the movie after Greco lost her job during the Hollywood strikes Developing Rayna as an active, magnetic, self-destructive protagonist rather than a passive victim How Blu Hunt approached Rayna without judging the character’s choices Using Rayna’s wired jaw as both a physical filmmaking constraint and a source of conflict, comedy, and miscommunication Why Greco wanted Rayna’s accident to complicate her behavior rather than simply justify it Shooting an 80-page feature in 11 days using two Canon XF605 cameras, small crews, autofocus, and minimal lens changes Rehearsing and blocking scenes before sunset so the production could begin shooting immediately once it was dark How Greco, Blu Hunt, and Colin Burgess reworked a breakup scene on set when its original tone stopped working Learning when a director needs to stop rushing, reconsider a scene, and ask collaborators for help How Greco’s editing background helped her know which shots were essential and which material could be sacrificed Cutting entire storylines that were not serving Rayna’s central story Bringing in co-editor Neal Wynne when Greco needed fresh ideas, then returning to the film for the fine cut The process of getting Lockjaw into Slamdance and finally watching audiences respond to the film What Greco learned about LLCs, paperwork, and production infrastructure that she applied to her next project Why making a feature reinforced the importance of trusting collaborators instead of believing the director has to solve everything alone Memorable Quotes: “I’m going to make this happen no matter what.” “But it would be so much more fun if it was the opposite.” “Take a step back. You need to figure this out. Like, it’s okay if it takes 10 minutes away from shooting.” “Anything’s on the chopping block. I don’t care what it is. Like, if it’s, it’s not working, it’s not working.” Guest: Sabrina Greco Resources: Lockjaw on IMDb Lockjaw on Instagram Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web: No Film School Facebook: No Film School on Facebook Twitter: No Film School on Twitter YouTube: No Film School on YouTube Instagram: No Film School on Instagram 📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices