This week we’re talking about world building - from the minutiae to the BIG ideas. We discuss the ones who did it best and our strategies for recreating that magic.

• Pod Racing, George Lucas and the Star Wars prequels
• Kathleen Kennedy - President of Lucasfilm and patron Saint of our career endeavors 
• The 2021 Cannes Film Festival and Brit’s fave - the red carpet fashion 
• Pink suits are in! Spike Lee in Vuitton, Olivia Rodrigo in vintage Chanel, Kamala Harris in Sergio Hudson! (Even Kate Middleton at Wimbleton!)
• Which reminds us - Wimbledon just happened and it was high fashion and star studded. We love to see it. 
• The J.Crew sweater jacket that Meghan Markle wore to Wimbleton. (FYI she has it in heather dove aka light gray)
• HBO announced ANOTHER GOT spinoff. But we finally get to leave Westeros! 
• Tze (pronounced Z) Chun - a cool dude, an AWESOME twitter follow and his timeline which is THE place to find Asian American creators! (Also he’s hella cool and lowkey hilarious.)
• What is World Building? 
• Great examples in literature (and therefore tv/film): Tolkien and Lord of the Rings, Rowling and Harry Potter, GRRM and GOT, CS Lewis and Narnia, etc.
• We have ~ thoughts ~ about The Witcher (on Netflix). Season 2 drops this winter.
• HBO’s new show The Last of US - based on a video game and adapted for screen by Craig Mazin.
• Story archetypes! 
• The Kevin Fiege interview Caitlin loves and recommends too much. 
• Correction: Post credit scenes are called STINGERS (not spider lol). 
• John Francis Daley - Actor (Freaks and Geeks/Bones) but now a successful screenwriter (Horrible Bosses, Vacation, Dungeons and Dragons) 
• Anna Waterhouse - screenwriter (The Gray Man, Rebecca)
• The Edge of Tomorrow (2014) aka Live Die Repeat - Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt sci-fi action movie that is awesome. 
• World building techniques - top to bottom or bottom to top?
• Trying to film something set in NYC while not in NYC.
• Studios and production companies want you to build a world that they can mind for IP for the next 50 years. (Also favorite words from execs “aspirational” and “elevated”)
• Brittany wants to live in The Sopranos universe… HBO open a damn theme park!
• Caitlin makes pretty obvious conclusions about post WWI and WW2 audiences and the rise of film and tv but someone had to say it.
• Emmy Noms - HBO holds its dominance alongside the rise of Disney+. (Which reminds us - Warner Brothers, where are those Harry Potter spin off series at? What are you waiting for?)
• Perfect IP situation - writing within a world people know and love but telling a story audiences know little to nothing about so there are limited expectations or comparisons. 
• John Mayer’s new album “Sob Rock” - out now. Also, we love a well executed theme. The merch! The branding! What a triumph! 
• CAN YOU GET US HARRY STYLE TICKETS?! HELP US PLZ.
• Brit is heading to DisneyWorld and the world is her oyster!