General Meeting with Becky Sloviter

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.

This week's episode was a reminder of exactly why I wanted to start this podcast: a vulnerable, deep, honest, and funny conversation that of course culminated in a chat about Twin Peaks — what a dream (pun intended).Seth Grahame-Smith (The Lego Batman Movie, It) is an incredibly accomplished screenwriter, New York Times best-selling author, successful producer, and (not for nothing) all-around great dude — and yet he still grapples with deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and failure.In our candid, wide-ranging conversation, Seth traced his path from growing up in Connecticut — where photos of Scorsese, Coppola, and Spielberg covered his bedroom wall and his lifelong worship of James Cameron began — to film school at Emerson College, and then to Los Angeles the week he graduated. He was still deciding whether to pursue writing, directing, or cinematography when a serendipitous offer to write a book led to bestsellers 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' and 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter', which were both quickly adapted into movies as Seth found himself shot out of a cannon.Seth and I both got very real about why so many of us are drawn to Hollywood (spoiler alert: processing trauma), and how the nature of being an artist makes it all the more challenging to navigate the "dagger in your heart 95% of the time" that describes even the most successful Hollywood careers.We also dug into Seth's desire to reinvent himself, why directing a movie soon feels so vital to him, his collaborations with producing partner David Katzenberg, and the invaluable support he's received from David's father, Jeffrey — and why the moments he's spent working with some of his childhood idols, including Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg, are what he cherishes most, family aside.I personally got so much out of our conversation, and Seth's willingness to be vulnerable inspired me to share more than I normally would. But most importantly: it's a blue rose. Twin Peaks FOREVER.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: Seth Grahame-Smith - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0334381/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 Emmy-nominated writer, stand-up comedian, and Cincinnati Bengals superfan Jasmine Pierce (Saturday Night Live, Big Mouth) to the pod for a chat about the importance of finding your voice, remaining authentic (even and especially in Hollywood), and their queen, Oprah.Acting since elementary school, Jasmine traces her path from an incredible performing arts school in Cincinnati to her time as an undergrad at NYU, where she ultimately pivoted from acting to stand-up comedy and writing, and found her passion and purpose. Becky and Jasmine dive into mentorship and the remarkable difference unsolicited words of encouragement can make — especially when they come from SNL Head Writer Anna Drezen (and General Meeting Episode 5 guest, just saying) when you're just starting out.Jasmine talks about her early years writing for the satirical website Reductress, landing her first gig at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and then, after a brief stop at Crank Yankers, finding her way back to 30 Rockefeller Plaza as a writer for Saturday Night Live. She and Becky discuss what it was like to start at SNL a few months before a global pandemic hit, and how she and frequent collaborator Chloe Fineman leaned on each other through the wild experience of making the remote shows in the spring of 2020.And finally, Jasmine shares what it was like to write on the final season of Netflix's Big Mouth, what she learned from brilliant showrunners Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin, and how the show is truly a source of sex education alongside the comedy and heart.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: Jasmine Pierce - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5276392/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.