#18: Michael Schwarz (Producer/Filmmaker)

Michael Schwarz, Sam Worthington's producing partner @ Full Clip Productions and current producer @ Deepwater, offers some brazen and unpretentious insights into the nature of film producing in all his Australian-ness. This isn't so much an analysis of expressing your POV, but rather a clear example of how being authentic and down-to-earth is a sure-fire way of forging your path in the industry. We discuss the practical realities of how he got started as a producer (preview: there were lots of random jobs in his early-late 20s, plus a few acting classes thrown in for good measure), how he connected and started working with the AVATAR superstar, as well as the means by which anxiety is clearly a common incentive experienced by entertainment professionals. Oh, and make sure to listen past the 9 minute mark to hear about which big-budget flop Michael convinced a certain A-lister to turn down -- while technically still a film-school student. A few further anecdotes suggest that perhaps not even Hollywood veterans really know what they're doing.