Shoot From the Heart with Diane Bell: Filmmaking, Screenwriting, & Inspiration

He made an award-winning feature film for $7,000. Here's exactly how. Joe Burke had a camera, a friend willing to act for free, and a real guy named Burt who'd never acted a day in his life. No big crew. No lights, mostly. No script - just a 15-page outline and two borrowed cameras rolling at once. What came out the other side was Burt: a black-and-white gem that got rejected by 28 film festivals in a row... and then swept the next three it entered. In this conversatio...

Feeling that back-to-school itch to get back to work...but also a little behind on the goal you set in January? You're not alone. In this episode, I get honest about my own year (the screenplay I meant to finish, the projects that didn't pan out, the summer I unapologetically took off) and the three things I'm focusing on right now to make sure December 31st feels like a win: protecting your time (yes, I booked myself a solo writing retreat), moving with momentum instead of waiting for ...

If you've ever found yourself marveling at those moments in your creative journey that feel genuinely miraculous…or wondered why sometimes, even when you do all the “right” things, nothing magical seems to happen: this episode is for you. I'm sharing something deeply personal in this session, something that's been front-of-mind for me lately. I open up about my beginnings: broke, no connections, no industry “in”; just a screenplay and a powerful, almost irrational belief that I would s...

If you've been quietly wondering whether AI is going to destroy screenwriting...or secretly curious about what would happen if you let it help with your next script: this episode is for you. I'll be honest: I did not come to this conversation easily. I made a film called Obselidia about a man who catalogues obsolete things and hates technology. That character came from somewhere real. I have always been the person who loves the old ways, is suspicious of new tools, and would...

Have you ever found yourself secretly hoping for a risk-free, magic-bullet way to get your script made? If so, this episode is for you...because trust me, I’ve been there too. In this session, I pull back the curtain on what every writer and filmmaker really craves: that fantasy scenario where a producer, agent, or financier swoops in, takes care of the business, and all you do is write. Sounds dreamy, right? But as I share from my own journey (starting out as a yoga teacher in Ba...