Seth Grahame-Smith: On Lego Batman, It, and How Big Hollywood Success Can Still Feel Like Failure

This week's episode was a reminder of exactly why I wanted to start this podcast: a vulnerable, deep, honest, and funny conversation that of course culminated in a chat about Twin Peaks — what a dream (pun intended).Seth Grahame-Smith (The Lego Batman Movie, It) is an incredibly accomplished screenwriter, New York Times best-selling author, successful producer, and (not for nothing) all-around great dude — and yet he still grapples with deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and failure.In our candid, wide-ranging conversation, Seth traced his path from growing up in Connecticut — where photos of Scorsese, Coppola, and Spielberg covered his bedroom wall and his lifelong worship of James Cameron began — to film school at Emerson College, and then to Los Angeles the week he graduated. He was still deciding whether to pursue writing, directing, or cinematography when a serendipitous offer to write a book led to bestsellers 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' and 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter', which were both quickly adapted into movies as Seth found himself shot out of a cannon.Seth and I both got very real about why so many of us are drawn to Hollywood (spoiler alert: processing trauma), and how the nature of being an artist makes it all the more challenging to navigate the "dagger in your heart 95% of the time" that describes even the most successful Hollywood careers.We also dug into Seth's desire to reinvent himself, why directing a movie soon matters so much to him, his collaborations with producing partner David Katzenberg, and the invaluable support he's received from David's father, Jeffrey — and why the moments he's spent working with some of his childhood idols, including Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg, are what he cherishes most, family aside.I personally got so much out of our conversation, and Seth's willingness to be vulnerable inspired me to share more than I normally would. But most importantly: it's a blue rose. Twin Peaks FOREVER.If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, share, like, comment, all the things - thank you for your support! OUR SOCIAL ACCOUNTS: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalmeetingpod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@generalmeetingpod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@generalmeetingpod Website: https://www.generalmeetingpod.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RsxRaefiegM4RBODS36Xc?si=8f28c55191ad43ce Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/general-meeting-with-becky-sloviter/id1836044182 Host: Becky Sloviter Guest: Seth Grahame-Smith - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0334381/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.