Kevin is joined by Marc Evans, a highly respected studio executive with over 25 years of experience in the film industry. Evans worked his way up in Hollywood, becoming President of Production at Paramount Pictures. In this role, Evans oversaw the creative development and production of major blockbuster films like Mission: Impossible, Transformers, and Star Trek franchises. He has worked closely with top directors including J.J. Abrams, Michael Bay, David Fincher, and Martin Scorsese. Evans provides unique insights into greenlighting films and shares some behind-the-scenes stories of mistakes and triumphs during his studio tenure. After leaving Paramount, Evans founded his own production company Marc Evans Productions which has already scored hits with Netflix’s The Mother starring Jennifer Lopez, and action movie The Old Guard. Join us as we get the inside scoop from this Hollywood veteran.

Kevin and Marc recall what could have been a disastrous experience of his audience being canceled for a test screening of a major studio film.

Marc shares what screenwriter Alvin Sargent told him about “the pleasure of making something big good” in regards to blockbuster franchise films.

Marc discusses his recent production successes including The Mother starring Jennifer Lopez, The Old Guard starring Charlize Theron, and Instant Family starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne. He shares that the common theme in these movies is a strong emotional core.

Marc on Netflix’s most watched movie of the year, The Mother starring Jennifer Lopez:

I think the relationship in that movie and the scenes where the mother and daughter are just sitting around talking are every bit as important as the big action scenes in the movie. So, I feel very, very lucky to have been invited into that and to get to work on it. And I hope we get to do a second one, because there are more stories to tell.

Kevin asks Marc about the best advice he ever received. Marc had two gems: Listen and let people finish before interrupting, and work on projects you actually like.

Marc on picking projects:

Make sure you like what you’re working on is really important. And there are a lot of opportunities to work on things that seem valuable for your career, but you don’t really like enough.

Marc Evans has worked on some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of the last 20 years. His candid perspectives on succeeding – and occasionally stumbling – reveal thoughtful lessons for creating films that truly resonate with audiences. Evans believes in always staying connected to the emotional core in every project.

Don’t Kill the Messenger, hosted by movie and entertainment research expert Kevin Goetz, brings his book Audienceology to life. This bi-monthly podcast takes a peek behind the filmmaking curtain as Kevin talks with famous filmmakers, studio executives, stars, and other creatives about movies, filmmaking, audience test screenings, and much more.