Faced with choosing between bystander or participant, screenwriter Jeanie Bergen reveals some untold moments where making that decision led to unexpected memories, connections, and outcomes.
Episode available on beststoryinevertold.com, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play.
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Television drama writer and filmmaker Lindsey Villarreal (Sacred Lies) digs up a story from her high school days in Texas that involve the supernatural and the collapse of a friendship.
“Lindsey pulls no punches and brings it every time. She tells a story that involves Texas, cholas, the supernatural, screenwriting, and a friendship she truly cherishes that no longer exists. This story is raw, real, and ready for your ears, my friends. There’s also a great tangent on dating via Tinder which is hilarious and sobering at the same time.”
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The release of her book, G.I. Hollywood, is a celebratory moment for author/screenwriter Lila McLaughlin, but it’s also a time to make sense of her unique relationship with the subject of her book, a war veteran, and a period in her life where she couldn’t write for several years. (Lila’s novel: G.I. Hollywood)
“As a writer, I know that a finished work is the result of a series of work-in-progress versions. But sometimes, I forget that the author herself is the result of a life-in-progress. Lila’s conversation was a refreshing reminder of this. Though we were both celebrating the release of Lila’s first novel, Lila takes the conversation into a deeper space and examines her writing career from the time she couldn’t write for years until now. It was a fantastic talk about writing and writers. Also, we mention Suge Knight twice.”
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Television drama writer Leah Benavides (The Arrangement) unveils her past life as a singer and the most important yet unexplainable vocal performance of her life, a song for her grandma.
“To me, and I don’t think she’ll be embarrassed by me saying this publicly, but Leah is a boss. She’s that gritty coach that goes for the 2-point conversation at the end of the fourth quarter to win a game instead of just tying it. So, to catch Leah in a vulnerable moment, when talking about a song for her grandma, caught me off-guard. It was one of those moments in a conversation when you realize, “Oh snap, this is getting very personal,” and it made me appreciate Leah’s candor with her story even more. Even in that moment though, Leah powered through the story like a pro. This is a great conversation for anyone that loves their grandmothers and the unexplainable.”
(Leah’s handles: Twitter @leahbenavides, Instagram @leahbenavides)
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Pitching a feature movie to an executive is tough enough, but what if you had to do it to a Catholic Priest in rural Michigan? I Animal author and filmmaker Kevin Del Principe explains.
“Kevin is a long-time creative collaborator and friend of mine. We both know the throes of being in and out of Hollywood at the same time. It’s like that for a lot of creatives. The stars in the all the magazines are really just a small minority in the huge pool of those making content. Kevin is one of those dudes that just works to make things happen for himself, regardless of whether he is “in” or “out”. One day, he was like, “I’m making my first feature film.” And then roughly a year later, he’s on a plane to Michigan to shoot his film. It’s cool for me to hear that he had quite a memorable experience during his shoot of Up On The Glass, one that involved an unexpected Catholic priest. Kevin goes deeper into the significance of that priest in this episode. We also joke about our old web series that forecasted Putin before the 2016 election happened. We used to do a lot of Putin jokes, but now we’re scared to do more.”
(Kevin’s handles: Twitter @kevdelprincipe, Facebook @kevindelprincipe, IG: @kevdel22, www.kevindelprincipe.com)
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Producer/Director Jin Yoo-Kim has never told anyone this story, even her husband, and it involves a Key Lime Pie, America, and personal connections.
“Full disclosure, Jin is married to me. I know I’m biased, but who cares, Jin can light up a room and hold court at a dinner party or any social gathering, really. She is a fantastic storyteller, who is always able to catch someone’s attention through her words and expressions. And I thought I’ve heard every story she’s ever told, so to hear one that she’s never told before, at my request, was a fun experience. And it’s true, I never heard her Key Lime pie story before this episode, and it wasn’t what I was expecting. It touched on America, life as an immigrant, and personal connections. It was definitely more than a foodie story.”
(Jin’s handles: Instagram @jykfilms, www.jinyookim.com)
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Countertransference occurs when a therapist is emotionally triggered by a client. So, what would trigger H the Therapist? A childhood bully.
“To protect the identity of H the Therapist, I can’t say too much about this person. However, this episode has wonderful insight on mental health from the perspective of the professional. Usually, I hear about mental health issues from the client’s POV. But I got to hear from the therapist this time! What a privilege. I felt like I was in a free graduate school class on therapy, and I learned so much about the process from H. Maybe, it will give you, the audience, some helpful information on therapy and mental health that you never heard before.”
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Our host David Ngo steps into the valley of the wolves with special guest Kevin Del Principe and discusses the first and last time he will stay in a Bolivian hotel 13,000 feet above sea level.
“I had done a few interviews prior to being interviewed myself by special guest Kevin Del Principe, so I kind of knew how the conservation would run to a degree. That said, Kevin asked some really great questions and gave wonderful insight into an experience I was trying to make sense of. Also, it’s one thing to know why you don’t tell a certain story publicly, but to actually then say it out loud definitely puts you in a vulnerable space. I didn’t want to tell this story because it freaks me out, but I felt like I owed it to my guests because they were so open with me. I will probably never listen to my own episode though. It gives me goosebumps.”
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Screenwriter, television development executive, and pizza enthusiast Dan McCarthy mirrors his triple threat identity by talking about his mysterious last name, the origin of Santa Claus, and TRL era Carson Daly.
“My buddy Dan McCarthy is gonna do what Dan McCarthy is gonna do. That’s how he rolls. That said, Dan is quite a generous guy. For the taping of this episode, he gave me a really expensive ice cream sandwich to eat as a snack. He didn’t care about the price. He just wanted me to have the experience of eating a pricy ice cream sandwich. Dan is generous. So generous, in fact, that he is the only guest thus far to tell three separate untold stories back-to-back-to-back. He three-peated like the Lakers during the Shaq/Kobe era. Swish.”
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Public servant, International Host, and Foster Youth advocate Carlos Collard pinpoints the trajectory of his professional career to one incident in fifth grade involving his mother and a textbook.
“I’ve known Carlos for a long time, and I sort of forget that he is a foster youth. We only talk about pro wrestling. Foster youth is a topic Carlos didn’t start talking about until the last few years, so there’s a lot of stories related to his youth that I’ve never heard before, especially this one. And on top of that, Carlos hasn’t revealed this particular foster youth story until now. It’s a story that certainly shatters some myths about foster youth, while also allowing us to understand how this specific experience of a fifth grade book protest was a turning point in his life.”
(Carlos’s handles: Instagram @los_collard, Facebook @carlos.collard.1)
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At a mysterious location during the post-production of small indie movie Creed 2, film producer Bernie Duran, Jr. reveals his true identity as the Walter White of East LA and a secret that has lasted over two decades.
“I can’t believe Bernie, a person I know to be a legit guy, has been living a secret life for over two decades. He is Bryan Cranston if Bryan was Latino. Bernie’s revelation about his true identity is genius, hilarious, and quite an amazing acting performance. It’s no surprise that Bernie was working on Creed 2 at the time of this episode’s taping, as Bernie delivers a Oscar-worthy performance. This is the most Hollywood episode ever.”
(Bernie’s Twitter @bernieduranjr)
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Actor and professor Allan Axibal-Cordero doesn’t talk about his father publicly, until now, and chronicles his complicated history with him in Southern California, the Phillipines, and beyond.
“You think you know someone, and then they talk about their family in a way that opens your eyes up to them. This was my conversation with Allan. He’s a fantastic, all-around guy that you think nothing can possibly affect. He’s rock solid. So, when Allan talks about his history with his father, it caught me off-guard. He goes deep into his rocky relationship with his father, one filled with all sorts of tough, funny, unexpected, and compelling moments. Now knowing about Allan’s family history, he’s an even more stand-up guy to me now.”
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Volume One features some of the best storytellers I have the privilege of knowing, so for them to share a story that they’ve kept locked in their vaults is a treasure. What are they holding back? And why? It is a true honor that this podcast is the chosen platform for these storytellers to share their untold tales. You, the audience, is hearing the unveiling of these hidden experiences as I am for the very first time in these episodes. The results, as you might discover, are surprising, cathartic, hilarious, scary, bittersweet, somber, heartwarming, unexplainable, relatable, and real.
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