What is ‘Tepper Talks’?

This substack newsletter is a place for me to hopefully organize all my chaotic industry thoughts that I still ramble on about over on my tiktok while ideally saving others time by avoiding mistakes I made in this very confusing industry. Whether you want to write, act, direct or if you love the business side and want to become an agent, producer, manager, personal assistant, or work in film/tv marketing like I currently do… I hope this little interweb space is useful to you <3

The main topics of ‘Movie Industry Musings’ are:

1. Getting your Start in the Film Industry - from my own personal experience with recaps of what I’ve learned from resume best practices to networking and all of the different types of jobs you can have in this industry - there’s so much more than being a PA or exec assistant!

2. Community - an online group of supportive writers that keep you motivated to finish your scripts, learning how and who to network with, building real relationships.

3. Film and TV Marketing - conversations about popular campaigns and how to market your own projects 

4. The Industry - news and updates on the ever-changing landscape.

I’ll also of course be posting updates about my screenwriting journey and exciting new marketing projects as I learn more and more with every meeting and project!

And like… who tha HELL am I?

My name is Kristen Tepper but everyone calls me Tepper. I’m a freelance creative director for film and TV, my company is called Cherry Bomb Collective, it’s a referral based business which is lovely and lucky. I work for a lot of different management, and production companies along with studios, streamers and agencies. I do everything from plotting marketing and social campaigns to making pitch decks and graphic design to set visits for EPK specials. I’m also a baby screenwriter, that is delulu enough to think she might sell a spec this year or an OWA!

I got my start in 2019 when I became a personal assistant to Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Insidious, Bikeriders, Longlegs) - from there, he became a super helpful mentor to me and when I mentioned that his production company social media could use some help. He gave me a shot and from there Alma Har’el noticed what I was doing while she was working on Honey Boy and asked if I’d join her team. It was a wild experience and a way BIGGER budget project than I’d ever worked on.

From there it kind of kicked off a lot of different asks from various production companies needing social and marketing assistance. At this point Brian and his producing partner told me I should start a marketing company and they could assist in the more business aspects of the projects (taxes, 401k, etc) it was an insane offer. I was IN. I kept running their socials, started working more with Amazon on other projects, as well as QCODE Media to run their socials.

In December of 2022 I was lucky enough to land on the Blacklist’s list of most popular unproduced scripts in Hollywood…

Then came 2023…. I got reps but then it was the strikes 🙃 then the strikes ended!!! But 2024 became the year of one of the biggest and most painful industry-wide constrictions.

Why subscribe?

Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter - we’re gonna be talking all things film and tv, the industry, marketing and how to find your way. Staying Delulu but with a plan and publication archives.

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