BPS 272: Down the First Feature Rabbit Hole with Carlson Young

BPS 272: Down the First Feature Rabbit Hole with Carlson Young

Author: Bulletproof Screenwriting February 1, 2023 Duration: 40:10
Today on the show we have writer, director and actress Carlson Young. Carlson is the creator of the new film The Blazing World.

Ever since Margaret (Carlson Young) was six years old, she has been haunted by the memory of watching her sister drown during an explosive fight between her parents. As a young woman, she slides further into her twisted inner life, ultimately finding herself on the brink of suicide. Through an epic journey down the smokiest and scariest corridors of her imagination, she tries to exorcise the demons pushing her closer and closer to the edge.The Blazing World is Carlson Young’s debut feature; it is based on her short of the same name, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Young brings to life in striking vibrancy an internality that is at once darkly beautiful and entirely terrifying.Blending horror and fantasy, this film is imaginative and gutsy, painting Margaret’s inner life as at once an alien realm and a devastatingly familiar emotional landscape. Manifesting her trauma through a series of lusciously unnerving locations and moving, bizarre interactions, Young unearths something often quietly, privately buried in our struggles toward the light.




As the writer, director, and star, Carlson took her decade of on-set acting experience appearing in film directorial debut, THE BLAZING WORLD MTV’s SCREAM TV Series, KEY AND PEELE, and Netflix’s EMILY IN PARIS, and developed the feature which was shot during the height of the pandemic in Austin, Texas and also held its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021.The film co-stars Dermot Mulroney, Vinessa Shaw, and horror icon Udo Kier. The Blazing World premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2021 to rave reviews.

We discuss the difficult process of bringing this personal film to the screen, how she used a short to get the feature film made, how she got financing, shooting durning COVID and much more.

Enjoy my conversation with Carlson Young.

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Ever find yourself staring at a blank page, wondering how the stories you love actually got made? Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast digs into that process with the people who live it. Each week, we sit down for honest, detailed conversations that pull back the curtain on the craft and business of telling stories for the screen. You’ll hear from Oscar® and Emmy® award-winning writers, not just about their triumphs, but about the drafts that failed and the specific problems they had to solve. We also talk with best-selling authors who have adapted their work, seasoned Hollywood agents and managers who know what sells, and various industry insiders who provide a clear-eyed view of how things really work. This isn't about abstract theory or motivational fluff. It's a practical resource built on real experience, covering every aspect of the screenwriting process from that initial spark of an idea to navigating the complexities of the marketplace. The goal is straightforward: to provide you with actionable insights and straight talk that can strengthen your work and clarify your path forward. Whether you're just starting out or have a few scripts under your belt, this podcast offers a grounded perspective on the journey, one concrete discussion at a time. Tune in for a dose of reality and craft from those who have been in the trenches and emerged with stories to tell.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 500

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