Ep347 - Riley Stearns, Writer-Director ‘Dual’ & ‘The Art of Self-Defense’

Originally, Riley Stearns wanted to be a musician, but as he started to visit sets, he knew screenwriting could be his “in” to filmmaking. Today, he’s best known for being the writer-director of ‘The Art of Self-Defense’ and ‘Dual.’ In ‘The Art of Self-Defense,’ Jesse Eisenberg stars as Casey, a young man who gets attacked on the streets and decides to join a local dojo. In ‘Dual,’ Karen Gillan stars as Sarah, a woman opts to clone herself after she receives a terminal diagnoses, but once she survives her ill fate, she learns she must duel her clone to the death. In this interview, Riley talks about taking short films to festivals, mimicking Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright to learn the format of screenwriting, the blessing of misplaced confidence, and how he developed his dark comedic style. If it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Follow us on Instagram: @creativeprinciples If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!