The Make It Podcast with Chris Barkley & Nicholas Buggs

443 - X-Men ’97 Cast - Rogue, Morph & Nightcrawler Walk Into a Podcast: The Voice Acting Craft Behind X-Men '97

August 12, 2026

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This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing. Use the Discount code: NASHFILM20 for 20% off EVERYTHING at themakeitpodcast.com

Hello, Hello!

In this episode, we sit down with three legendary voice actors from the animated series X-Men '97 — Lenore Zann (Rogue), JP Karliak (Morph), and Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler) — to discuss Season 2 of the hit Disney+ show, the craft of voice acting, and the personal journeys that have shaped each of their careers. The trio shares candid reflections on preserving character continuity across decades, the challenges facing working voice actors in an AI-driven industry, and how their art intersects with social justice, environmental advocacy, and political engagement. From cheat day meals to what it truly means to "MAKE IT," this conversation is as heartfelt as it is illuminating.

We also talk about:

The origins of Rogue's iconic catchphrase "sugar" and how it became part of Lenore Zann's everyday speech, blurring the line between character and performer
The nostalgia for the 1990s circulating on social media, and why JP Karliak believes humans were never biologically designed to process the volume of information we consume today via the internet
The very real threat of AI voice cloning in the animation industry, including Adrian Hough's discovery of unauthorized voice copies of his characters Nightcrawler and Haytham Kenway, and what that means for workhorse voice actors
The role the COVID-19 pandemic played in reviving interest in X-Men: The Animated Series on Disney+, and how that surge in viewership likely led directly to the creation of X-Men '97
Each guest's deep personal commitment to causes beyond entertainment, including environmental advocacy for old-growth forests (Adrian), LGBTQIA+ voice actor support and nonpartisan voter engagement (JP), and social/political justice work rooted in Lenore's 12-year career as a Canadian politician

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

X-Men '97

X-Men: The Animated Series

My Life with the Walter Boys

Marvel Mash-Up

Bob Trevino Likes It

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

Picnic at Hanging Rock

My Brilliant Career

The Aussie Six

People

Anthony Hopkins / Hannibal Lecter

Ian McKellen

Patrick Stewart

Tom Kenny / SpongeBob

Chris Rock

Ella Fitzgerald

Marilyn Monroe

Neil Gaiman / The Graveyard Book

David Letterman / Jennifer Aniston

Characters

Carol Danvers / Ms. Marvel

Organizations, Tools & Books

Queer Box

Nerds Vote

Nashville Film Festival

MTV Video Music Awards

Places

New York / Off-Broadway

Social Media

nerdsvote.com / @nerdsvote

@LenoreZann (Instagram) / @ZannLenore (X)

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters.

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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442 - Illuminai Studios Founder Jesse Weglein on Being Laid Off at Pixar, Why AI Is the Brush, Not the Artist, and Animation's Next Frontier

August 7, 2026

This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing. Use the Discount code: NASHFILM20 for 20% off EVERYTHING at themakeitpodcast.com

Hello, Hello!

In this episode, Chris, Nick, and Producer Papa Bear sit down with Jesse Weglein — 15 years at Pixar, now founder of Illuminai Studios — joining live from the foot of Mount Fuji. Jesse worked on Up, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4 before a mass layoff ended that run and pushed him into building his own studio. He's using AI as a tool, not a replacement, to make original animated films for audiences the industry keeps overlooking — including his short film Roar, which Whoopi Goldberg picked for the Tribeca Film Festival.

We also talk about:

The creative culture at Pixar and what makes it impossible to replicate — including how directors would skip watching their own films in theaters to study the audience's reactions instead
The global divide on AI in animation, from China's breakneck adoption of the technology to Japan's philosophical hesitation around whether AI can carry the "soul" of an artist's vision
The economic fragility of the animation business model, including the trend of outsourcing animation overseas and how AI might offer a path to reclaiming domestic production jobs
The importance of traditional art training as the essential foundation before any aspiring animator or filmmaker touches AI tools — and why skipping that foundation produces hollow, soulless content
The passionate debate around AI's role in filmmaking, including the social policing happening on different platforms, copyright and trademark risks when using AI-generated imagery, and the distinction between using AI to accelerate creativity versus allowing it to replace it entirely

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People

Films & Shows

Shine (Illuminai Studios)

Metropolis (1927)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Disclosure Day

The Boy and the Heron

The Odyssey

Companies & Organizations

Pixar Animation Studios

ILLUMINAI Studios

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Google DeepMind

Tribeca Film Festival

Texas A&M Visualization

Nashville Film Festival

WGA

Software & Technology

Maya

Presto (Pixar's proprietary tool)

Photoshop

Suno

Ray tracing / render farm

Websites & Social Media

illuminaistudios.com

nashvillefilmfestival.org

Books & Products

Mastering Film Marketing (ebook)

Make It Academy

Up Lego Set

Luxo Jr.

Places

Emeryville, California

Lake Kawaguchi / Mount Fuji

Tokyo, Japan

San Francisco, California

Lucas Building/Steve Jobs Building

Dartmouth College / Dartmouth workshop, 1956

Other References

WHALE 52 — Suite For Man, Boy, And Whale

Dear Upstairs Neighbors

Joseph McCarthy / McCarthyism

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters.

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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SUMMARIES - Actress Christine Woods - How to Walk Into Any Audition Room and Completely Flip the Power Dynamic in Your Favor

August 4, 2026

Hello, Hello!

In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness take a deep dive into the life, craft, and career philosophy of actress Christine Woods — known for her roles in HBO's Hello Ladies, ABC's Flash Forward, and The Walking Dead — exploring how a profoundly shy girl from Lake Forest, California built a sustainable, authentic acting career by rejecting Hollywood's arbitrary rules. Drawing from a wide-ranging interview hosted by Chris, he unpacks how Christine transformed her fear of failure into a powerful, service-driven approach to storytelling that flips the traditional power dynamic of the audition room on its head. From her early tap dancing days and her grandfather Sterling's love of classic movie musicals to her unconventional college path, her manager's game-changing advice, and her expanding work as a producer and director, this episode offers a masterclass in building a creative career on your own terms.

We also talk about:

How Christine's grandfather Sterling — a hulking, ex-military man who secretly loved classic movie musicals — introduced her to films like Meet Me in St. Louis and Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, fundamentally shaping her belief that performance is communal storytelling, not ego-driven spectacle
Why Christine chose to attend the University of Arizona on a singing and vocal jazz scholarship rather than audition for prestigious conservatories like Juilliard or Carnegie Mellon, and how she made a calculated pivot to a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater to fill a critical gap in her training
How severe creative constraints on low-budget indie sets — such as having only one hour left at a location to capture a crucial, emotionally exhausting scene — can actually serve as a psychological gift by forcing actors entirely into the present moment and bypassing the internal critic
The fascinating physiological mechanics behind Christine's on-set habit of performing classical vocal warm-ups right before the director calls action — including how stretching the jaw and engaging the vocal cords stimulates the vagus nerve to calm the parasympathetic nervous system
Christine's expanding work behind the camera, including producing and directing experimental comedy shorts with friends, such as one brilliantly titled Finding the Asshole, as a way to tell stories on her own terms without waiting for permission from industry gatekeepers

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:

People

Christine Woods (actress)

Sterling Woods (Christine's grandfather)

Eric Emery (Christine's first LA manager)

Shows, Films & Projects

Hello Ladies

FlashForward

The Walking Dead

Meet Me in St. Louis

Stray

Finding the Asshole — experimental comedy short

Schools & Programs

University of Arizona

Juilliard

Carnegie Mellon

Social Media

@TrickyBear (Christine Woods' Instagram)

Bands / Artists

The Smashing Pumpkins

Frank Ocean

Places

Lake Forest, California

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters.

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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441 - How YouTube Lore Is Rewriting the Hollywood Playbook, Why George Lucas Is Right, and the New Rules of the Box Office (Your Father's IP Is Dead) - Indie Talk

July 24, 2026

This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://themakeitpodcast.com/products/mastering-film-marketing

Hello, Hello!

In this episode, Chris and Nick reunite for an Indie Talk episode packed with film industry insights, starting with Chris's powerful experience watching the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro and a heartfelt shoutout to Carlton Adkins and the Enlightenment Film Academy's standing-room-only student film screening in Nashville. We dive deep into the evolving box office landscape, dissecting why certain legacy IP films are underperforming while YouTube-lore-driven films like Backrooms are shattering A24 records, and what that means for the future of indie filmmaking. We close with a rich discussion on George Lucas's comments about AI and audience testing, the Warner Bros./Paramount merger controversy, and a passionate defense of the theatrical experience as a community-building institution.

We also talk about:

The cultural and historical significance of the deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers in the 1960s, and how their simultaneous loss effectively ended a generation of Black empowerment leadership
The nostalgia and community value of Blockbuster Video, including employee perks, the tactile VHS experience, and how video rental stores created a unique social ecosystem that streaming has failed to replicate
The philosophical tension between George Lucas's belief in pure artistic storytelling and Kevin Goetz's data-informed audience testing approach, and what each means for the future of cinema
The proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger, the protests and petitions against it, what it could mean for creative competition and content diversity, and parallels to Disney's acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars
The complicated cultural conversation around celebrities and public figures in the internet age, and how total transparency disabuses audiences of the idea that their heroes are perfect or infallible

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

People

James Baldwin

Malcolm X

Martin Luther King Jr.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Tom McCullough (PB's childhood friend)

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Films & Documentaries

I Am Not Your Negro

Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Fifth Element

12 Monkeys

Moana (live action)

The Mandalorian and Grogu

Barbie

Everything Everywhere All at Once

A History of Violence

Fatliners (NSFW)

Masters of the Universe

Another Version of You

Companies & Organizations

Oddfellows Pictures — THR profile

National Action Network

Enlightenment Film Academy

Nashville Film Festival

Letterboxd

Blockbuster Video

Music

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Places

Websites & Platforms

The MAKE IT Podcast

Letterboxd

NashvilleFilmFestival.org

Products & Miscellaneous

Callwood Family Distillery (Caribbean)

Mastering Film Marketing

VHS / DVD / Blu-ray

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters.

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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SUMMARIES - Caroline Locorriere - Camera Appropriateness, Script Architecture, and the Three Pillars of Craft

July 21, 2026

Hello, Hello!

In this episode, AI Hosts Alex Ivey and Allison Inverness dive deep into the remarkable journey of Caroline Locorriere, founder and lead coach of the Nashville Acting Studio, exploring how she walked away from a thriving commercial acting career in Los Angeles to discover her true calling as an acting teacher and coach. They unpack her empathy-driven teaching philosophy, which stands in direct opposition to the industry's notorious "whiplash method" of emotional terrorism, and examine how her three core pillars of acting craft — staying human on camera, accessing emotional life, and rigorous script analysis — create self-sufficient, sustainable artists. Drawing parallels far beyond the world of acting, this conversation serves as a masterclass in career self-awareness, psychological safety in creative environments, and the relentless tenacity required to survive in any subjective, competitive industry.

We also talk about:

Why getting a talent agent too early can permanently damage an actor's reputation with casting directors and how Caroline advises building craft first before seeking representation
The fascinating story of student Matt Williams, whose romantic performances lacked emotional depth because he had never been in love — and how Caroline's unconventional homework assignment (to go fall in love) led him to eventually get married
The brutal reality of casting subjectivity, illustrated through a heartbreaking story of a highly talented student who auditioned flawlessly for David Fincher's Mindhunter but lost the role to someone Caroline felt was objectively less impressive on screen
The role of tenacity over pure talent in sustaining a creative career, exemplified by former student Alan Powell, who wrote, produced, and starred in a film that reached number four on Netflix
The mystical and deeply personal story of Martha, an 80-year-old Episcopalian woman with the ability to see auras, whose unprompted words to Caroline at a crossroads moment gave her the validation she needed to trust her instincts and pursue teaching

People, Places, Products, and References Mentioned:

People

Caroline Locorriere

Matt Williams

Alan Powell

Missy (Caroline's mother)

Martha (Episcopalian aura reader)

Konstantin Stanislavski

Shows / Films

Mindhunter

The Shining

Institutions / Places

Nashville Acting Studio

Belmont University

Ohio State University

Platforms

Netflix

Concepts / Methods

The Whiplash Method

Sunk Cost Fallacy

"The three pillars of acting craft" — Caroline's framework

"Camera appropriateness"

Active listening/listening labs

We are humbled to have a community of creatives who care deeply about our work. And your support makes our work possible. Every subscriber, rating, and review matters.

So, if you like what we're doing, please consider subscribing, rating, or giving us a review. Cheers, and best of luck on your filmmaking journey. #MAKEIT

Subscribe: https://themakeitpodcast.store/shop/support

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Latest Episodes

443 - X-Men ’97 Cast - Rogue, Morph & Nightcrawler Walk Into a Podcast: The Voice Acting Craft Behind X-Men '97

442 - Illuminai Studios Founder Jesse Weglein on Being Laid Off at Pixar, Why AI Is the Brush, Not the Artist, and Animation's Next Frontier

SUMMARIES - Actress Christine Woods - How to Walk Into Any Audition Room and Completely Flip the Power Dynamic in Your Favor

441 - How YouTube Lore Is Rewriting the Hollywood Playbook, Why George Lucas Is Right, and the New Rules of the Box Office (Your Father's IP Is Dead) - Indie Talk

SUMMARIES - Caroline Locorriere - Camera Appropriateness, Script Architecture, and the Three Pillars of Craft