General Meeting with Becky Sloviter

This week, Becky welcomes actor and producer Sam Lerner (The Goldbergs, Drop) to the pod, as he kindly indulges her Eagles jersey and Wawa mug in honor of the 10 seasons he starred as "Geoff Schwartz" on ABC's The Goldbergs — the sitcom that put (Becky's hometown of) Jenkintown, Pennsylvania on the map.Sam traces his path from his first role at age nine, playing Ben Stiller’s son in the movie Envy alongside Jack Black and Amy Poehler, to what was initially a recurring spot on The Goldbergs that turned into a pivotal role for a decade, and what it was like to share the screen with his own dad, actor Ken Lerner. Sam and Becky also get candid about life after a long-running sitcom, the limbo of being well-known in some places and not others, and why he’s trying to adopt his friend Logan Lerman’s “sexy indifference” approach to auditioning. Sam also shares how a mysterious barrage of Shrek photos AirDropped to his table at a restaurant inspired Drop, the thriller he produced with his best friend Cameron Fuller, legendary producer Brad Fuller, and powerhouse Jason Blum for Universal Pictures. Plus, Sam's "Last Looks" featuring Inglourious Basterds, Sicario, Chappell Roan, Succession and much, much more.If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, share, like, comment, all the things - thank you for your support!OUR SOCIAL ACCOUNTS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalmeetingpod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@generalmeetingpodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@generalmeetingpodWebsite: https://www.generalmeetingpod.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RsxRaefiegM4RBODS36Xc?si=8f28c55191ad43ceApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/general-meeting-with-becky-sloviter/id1836044182Host: Becky SloviterGuest: Sam LernerMORE INFO on Sam:IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1348102/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's a very special episode this week as Becky welcomes filmmaker Adam Sztykiel, the director of Let's Have Kids! (the movie Becky produced and will never stop talking about), which is now streaming on Amazon Prime! Adam and Becky reminisce about the wonderful time they had making the movie in Portland with the incredible cast — led by Karen Gillan, Zoë Chao, Sam Richardson, Max Greenfield and Mary Steenburgen — and the insanely talented crew of their dreams, before they get candid about the challenges they faced on the film's road to release. But before Adam and Becky dive into the movie, Adam shares his path to becoming a director after more than two decades as a wildly successful screenwriter, how meaningful it was to collaborate with his wife Ellie Knaus to co-write the screenplay for Let's Have Kids!, and shares behind-the-scenes stories of working with some of the greats: Todd Phillips, Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis on Due Date, and Bill Lawrence on Undateable, their NBC sitcom which aired for three seasons. And finally, in a Last Looks segment that will go down as an all-timer, Adam shows off his Gen X stripes as he celebrates being a kid in the '80s and a teen in the '90s (this is what I'm saying!), before diving into Nirvana Unplugged, Spielberg, Zemeckis, Pulp Fiction, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Major League and Dazed and Confused — just to name a few. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, share, like, comment, all the things - thank you for your support!OUR SOCIAL ACCOUNTS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalmeetingpod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@generalmeetingpodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@generalmeetingpodWebsite: https://www.generalmeetingpod.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RsxRaefiegM4RBODS36Xc?si=8f28c55191ad43ceApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/general-meeting-with-becky-sloviter/id1836044182Host: Becky SloviterGuest: Adam Sztykiel - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1186373/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Becky welcomes her pal, screenwriter Kevin Arnovitz, who had a long and illustrious career as a renowned NBA reporter and contributor at ESPN as well as a producer for NPR before pivoting to a flourishing screenwriting career — during the pandemic, no less. Kevin details his circuitous path to screenwriting, including ESPN hiring him in what he jokingly calls a "clerical error" after passionately (and borderline anonymously) blogging about the Los Angeles Clippers. Trying his hand at screenwriting also didn't initially come with career ambitions: it was simply Kevin's version of a "sourdough starter" pandemic hobby — something to keep his mind occupied while allowing him to express his creativity. Thus, a screenwriting career was born and, after over a decade at ESPN, he made the jump to screenwriting full-time. The conversation (obviously) also included some LeBron/Sixers talk and an extended "Last Looks" section where Kevin shares his holy trinity of sports movies, and makes a compelling case that Jerry Maguire is not a romantic comedy. Discuss amongst yourselves. For those paying attention, this podcast is, broadly speaking, as Gen X/elder millennial-coded as a podcast can be — and this episode is no exception. Lots of Jerry Maguire, Bull Durham, a debrief of Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney's The Flannel and The Fury Tour — and finally someone brought up thirtysomething! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, share, like, comment, all the things - thank you for your support!OUR SOCIAL ACCOUNTS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalmeetingpod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@generalmeetingpodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@generalmeetingpodWebsite: https://www.generalmeetingpod.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RsxRaefiegM4RBODS36Xc?si=8f28c55191ad43ceApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/general-meeting-with-becky-sloviter/id1836044182Host: Becky SloviterGuest: Kevin Arnovitz - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1330038/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's episode is like the most fun, casual therapy hang with your coolest friend as Becky welcomes actor, producer and writer Emily Arlook (Nobody Wants This, Grown-ish) to the pod.Before diving into anything and everything, they go behind-the-scenes of Emily's pivotal role on Netflix's Nobody Wants This, the joy of starring in Grown-ish alongside Yara Shahidi for Freeform, and the inspiration behind the short film Emily produced for PBS and the Los Angeles Times, A Swim Lesson, which focused on legendary swim instructor Bill Marsh and was directed by Emily's husband, Will McCormack, and his frequent creative collaborator, Rashida Jones. And as if Becky hadn't made it clear enough that this podcast is bullseye for Gen X and millennials, she and Emily barely took a breath as they chatted about ALL THE THINGS — from the life lessons Emily has gleaned from working in Hollywood, to talking about bravery and making parenting "repairs" with her kids, how helpful the acronym R.A.I.N. has proven to be (and why it came up so many times in this episode!) and, of course, the great River Phoenix.If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, share, like, comment, all the things - thank you for your support!OUR SOCIAL ACCOUNTS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalmeetingpod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@generalmeetingpodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@generalmeetingpodWebsite: https://www.generalmeetingpod.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RsxRaefiegM4RBODS36Xc?si=8f28c55191ad43ceApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/general-meeting-with-becky-sloviter/id1836044182Host: Becky SloviterGuest: Emily Arlook - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1354288/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you can't use your podcast to celebrate the much-anticipated launch of your movie, what's the point?Today, October 13, 2026, is a VERY special day because the movie I've talked about (nonstop) since Episode 1 of this podcast is finally out in the world!LET'S HAVE KIDS! is the story of lifelong best friends Emma (Karen Gillan) and Phoebe (Zoë Chao), who decide to try to have their first babies at the same time so they can navigate the journey into motherhood together — much like they've done everything else in their lives — but their friendship is tested when only one of them conceives.This episode of the pod is a compilation of clips from the LET'S HAVE KIDS! cast members who have already been guests — Zoë Chao, Sam Richardson, Lilly Singh, Amanda Crew, Taylor Misiak and Jana Schmieding — accompanied by A LOT of behind the scenes photos and videos from the most wonderful production of our lives.You can buy or rent the movie wherever one does that — iTunes Store, Amazon, Fandango, you know the drill.I hope you love the movie even a fraction as much as we loved making it!LET'S HAVE KIDS! - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9174288/Link to buy or rent LET'S HAVE KIDS!: https://vupulse.com/c/8222Host: Becky SloviterGuests: Zoë Chao, Sam Richardson, Lilly Singh, Amanda Crew, Taylor Misiak, Jana SchmiedingSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.