Jared Christman is a writer, musician, and filmmaker who came up in the Victory Records era of metalcore, escaped the 360-deal grinder, and "fell ass-backwards" into making a feature film when three music videos turned into one. In this episode, he joins to discuss his 400,000-word fantasy debut, why he believes power reveals rather than corrupts, and the through-line connecting Ripley in Aliens to a saloon scene reshot in a horse arena.

In This Episode

* “What’s It Really About?”: Ridley Scott is famous for hammering screenwriters with that question. Jarrod’s answer for his debut is structural — the book is an interrogation of whether absolute power corrupts or whether it reveals.

* 400,000 Words on Accident: It started as a single image from the last scene of the book — who are these people, why are they here, why is that on fire?

* Why He Despises Nihilistic Storytelling: The line isn’t dark versus light. It’s whether you can see the author’s hand. When the structure sets up good to prevail and then the author yanks it away without justification, that’s the tell.

* Knocking Men Down to Raise Women Up: The pattern is a ladder problem. Cut three feet off a six-foot ladder and step up — you’re only three feet off the ground when you could be six. Two losses, not one win. He calls modern feminism “masculinism” — trying to make women into men.

* Ripley Did It Right: Alien and Aliens are the template. She’s a woman, as strong as the job requires, contending with men without becoming one.

* The Crisis Is Insecurity, On Both Sides: Young men and women are screaming into the void asking what the other wants and getting back contradictory garbage. Everyone performs because the camera never turns off. One cringe moment can end a life. He worries about the pendulum swing already coming.

* MySpace Killed the Music Industry: From roughly 2003 to 2008, the metalcore scene transitioned from a music event to a social event. Labels started signing bands off MySpace numbers. Then the records didn’t sell, because online presence didn’t translate to sales.

* The Universal Truth About Record Labels: A New York entertainment lawyer told Jared’s old boss that in 35 years of doing industry law, he had never once audited a record label and found they didn’t owe their artists money. The labels were already stealing bewfore the 360 deals showed up to take a cut of everything else, too.

* Publishing Just Copy-Pasted the Model: A reality TV star who didn’t read for leisure got a traditional book deal off TikTok fame. Nobody has produced data showing social following translates to book sales, but the industry keeps signing on it anyway.

* From Corpus Christi to Missouri Breaks: Victory Records is in the rearview. The new project is independent through DistroKid.

* Three Music Videos Became a Feature: The plan was three consecutive music videos sharing a narrative thread. Then a little interstitial footage. Then his co-director said there’s a feature here, and a three-page treatment turned into a full screenplay.

* $25K on an AmEx and the Saloon That Wasn’t: Two and a half days of guerrilla filming in southern Idaho with two cameras, a drone, and a volunteer crew. The opening saloon scene came back perfect — except for the modern power outlets and exit-sign switches nobody noticed on set. They built a sound stage in the back of an actor’s riding arena and shot the whole scene again..

* The Next Film — Where Even Shadows Fear to Tread: Modern crime thriller, small town, modern wardrobe. Every obstacle from Missouri Breaks (period authenticity, modernity bleeding into every frame) is gone by design.

* Why Multiple Kickstarters Instead of One: A smaller ask is an easier ask. If two campaigns hit and one misses, that’s still a lot of movie. Spread the burden, spread the asks, respect that gas just jumped a dollar overnight.

Guest Links

* Support Jarrod’s Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danielpriley/where-even-shadows-fear-to-tread-phase-one

* X: @jarrodchristman

* IG: @wearemissouribreaks

Kristin’s Links

* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com

* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com

* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristin

Timestamps

00:00 - Meet the Jarrod Christman.

00:45 - Storytelling Across Mediums.

01:44 - The 400K Fantasy Epic.

02:09 - Power Reveals Character.

03:40 - From Final Scene to Outline.

05:17 - Rejecting Nihilistic Endings.

06:41 - Masculine Heroes Today.

10:16 - Gender Tensions and Online Life.

13:44 - Advice for Stuck Creatives.

15:19 - Music Industry vs Publishing.

18:50 - Fame Over Craft.

19:51 - Followers vs Sales.

20:11 - Music Industry 360 Deals.

22:15 - Going Independent Today.

23:52 - Accidental Feature Film.

26:18 - Guerrilla Production Lessons.

28:54 - Directing Non Actors.

30:51 - New Thriller Kickstarter.

32:42 - Funding Strategy and Wrap.

About This Podcast

Nonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.

New episodes weekly.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com