Amy Talkington: On Valley Girl, Her Dallas Roots & Enduring Fascination, and Why Timing is Everything

For the 50th episode of the pod, Becky is joined by someone very special to her family: writer/director Amy Talkington (Little Fires Everywhere, Valley Girl), who went on a 12 year odyssey with an incredible producer to bring the remake of the classic film Valley Girl to life as a jukebox musical for MGM.Amy shares the juxtaposition of being raised in a prominent Dallas family while also being the "goth girl at cotillion," and how the countercultural music scene in Deep Ellum in the '80s saved her during those tumultuous teen years — ultimately inspiring her to leave Dallas and chase her dreams.She then shares a few incredible stories from her encounters with legendary filmmakers: first, Milos Forman — while Amy was in graduate school at Columbia — whose feedback on her short film helped forge her fairytale launch into Hollywood; and then with the master himself, Francis Ford Coppola, and why their meeting was lovely but not at all what she expected.Amy and Becky then reminisce about the commitment and dedication it took to get Valley Girl made and the many obstacles along the way — studio bankruptcies, multiple directors, a Logan Paul scandal, and a global pandemic, just to name a few — before connecting on the challenges of balancing motherhood and identity while navigating an artistic career.Check out our episodes on YouTube as well! https://www.youtube.com/@generalmeetingpodIf you enjoyed this podcast, please follow, share, like, comment, all the things - thank you for your support!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalmeetingpod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@generalmeetingpodWebsite: https://www.generalmeetingpod.comHost: Becky SloviterGuest: Amy Talkington - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848090/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.