← Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
From Playmate to Filmmaker: Brande Roderick’s Journey of Grit and Growth
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- [00:01]
Shawn French
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- [00:51]
Brandy Rodrick
Ladies, you'll end up shopping for your guys deodorant.
- [00:54]
Shawn French
Right.
- [00:55]
Brandy Rodrick
So try Degree's Original Cool Rush. You see, last year, Degree changed the formula and men men were mad. One guy even started a petition. So Degree admitted they messed up and brought the original Cool Rush scent back. It's clean, crisp, and actually smells like someone you want to cuddle. And it's in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. So toss one in your cart and find out why it's the best selling men's antiperspirant for the last decade. Degree Cool Rush is back and it smells like Victory.
- [01:21]
Shawn French
Let's get back to Wineville. Everybody. Go watch it.
- [01:25]
Brandy Rodrick
It's a horror film. It's not for the faint at heart.
- [01:27]
Shawn French
It's your first time directing and producing it, correct? Yeah, it's a big freaking deal.
- [01:31]
Brandy Rodrick
Well, it's in 1978. My character, Tess, she ran away when she's about 15 years old because of some horrific things that happened to her at her family home, which is on a vineyard. Years later, she got a call that her father had passed away. And now she has an 11 year old son that has to come back and take care of the family estate. And when she comes back, she learns that everything has just darkened and festered and gotten worse. Please just let me go. And now, not only does she have to escape herself, but now she has to do everything she can to save her son. Messed up, screwed up serial killer family. Will they get out alive? I don't know.
- [02:14]
Sharp French
Sharp French. What up? This one. Luck. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in. Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I'm me for the entirety. I put it in overtime. I'll be working. Just know I'MMA go for mine cuz I earned it. They watch and I know it's time I confirmed it the whole society determined determin.
- [02:38]
Shawn French
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode. I am your host, Shawn French. Before I introduce today's guest, please feel free to hit the follow button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple podcast and share this episode with a friend that, you know would get a lot out of the conversation. So today I have with me Brandy Rodrick. She's a 2001 playmate of the year. She is now a director and producer of her own movies. She's an author. She's been in many films, and she's just an incredible businesswoman. So today you're going to hear a lot of her story and what she's doing now. And so, without further ado, welcome to the show.
- [03:14]
Brandy Rodrick
Hi. How's it going, Sean?
- [03:17]
Shawn French
It's going good. How are you doing?
- [03:19]
Brandy Rodrick
I'm doing fantastic. Doing really good.
- [03:22]
Shawn French
I'm feeling kind of like we probably should have taken a flown a plane out there and done this in your bar. I mean, look at that. Look at that bar.
- [03:29]
Brandy Rodrick
Yes. I could have made you, like, a really cool martini. A whiskey.
- [03:36]
Shawn French
Whiskey, yes.
- [03:37]
Brandy Rodrick
You like whiskey?
- [03:38]
Shawn French
I do, yeah. I do like whiskey.
- [03:40]
Brandy Rodrick
Gosh.
- [03:41]
Shawn French
I know.
- [03:42]
Brandy Rodrick
It's like, you know, some people have, like, oh, they love desserts. You know, it's like, you know, their downfall. But for me, it's like, whiskey is my dessert. Like, I love it. I love having a good nightcap after dinner.
- [03:54]
Shawn French
Oh, man, I wish, you know, for me, I almost, to me, I would be like, I wish that was my downfall for me. Brandy, if I have one piece of chocolate, I have 17.
- [04:04]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh, my gosh. Wow.
- [04:06]
Shawn French
Okay. And drinks. I can be like, all right, that was a good drink. And I could be done.
- [04:10]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah, okay. Yeah, probably.
- [04:15]
Shawn French
Well, you're lucky. You're lucky, right? Oh, my goodness gracious. Well, thank you so much for coming on. You've. You've had such an amazing career. You've done multiple things, and. And what I like to do in the first couple minutes of every show is allow the guests to kind of give the audience a little bit of a background on them. For those that may not know exactly who you are, they may not. If they saw some epic scenes, they would know exactly who you are. But, yeah, Starsky and Hutch, right? I was like, wait, that was her? I was like, wow, that's crazy. But. But listen, so please takes the time to educate the audience and who Brandi Roderick is.
- [04:54]
Brandy Rodrick
Well, I'm just A small town girl from Northern California. But I always grew up wanting to be an actress and started at a very young age doing, you know, like, little place for the neighborhood, parents and kids and little things like that. I went to college and my minor was in theater and did as much as I could in the San Francisco area as far as, like, independent films and TV shows like Nash Bridges and, you know, like, I was in the Rock and Metro and all these different big films that come there, like, as an extra. Right. But you can only go so far not being in Hollywood, so at the ripe old age of 23, you know, because that if you go any later than that, you know, you're pretty old, you know, going into Hollywood. But I packed up and I packed up a U haul. Didn't bring. Didn't bring my car, sold my car, packed up U haul, went to my friend's house, slept on his couch for like a month before a room was ready that I could move into, you know, going on auditions. I had to borrow his car. You know, it didn't even have first gear, so I had to start, you know, in second gear, driving all my auditions. Granted, it was a Porsche 911, but yeah, that's.
- [06:17]
Shawn French
That doesn't suck.
- [06:18]
Brandy Rodrick
But it was really old. It was a classic. I was like in the 70s.
- [06:22]
Shawn French
It had the antique license plate.
- [06:24]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah. But, you know, I started out, like, just very, like, humbly, you know, with nothing, and was going to my acting classes. And then I landed my first gig, which was 90210, my first speaking role, I guess I should say. And then from there, you know, kind of got into that spelling family. And then I did Love Boat, two episodes of that, and continued my acting classes, you know, and going and doing different independent films. And then my big break came with Baywatch. That was like, you know, series regular lead role. And actually I went, when I auditioned for that, I read for just a smaller role. And I guess, you know, the. The directors and producers really loved what I did, and they ended up creating a role for me and made me the head main lifeguard, love interest of the head male lifeguard. So I actually, you know, ended up getting, like, this amazing role that they created for me, you know, and that kind of kick started everything and got to move to Hawaii and live in Hawaii.
- [07:40]
Shawn French
And that doesn't suck.
- [07:42]
Brandy Rodrick
It was the best job in the world. I mean, unreal.
- [07:45]
Shawn French
In the middle. That was Jason Momoa, right?
- [07:48]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah, Jason Momoa was on the show. So that was fun, you know, being with him and. And Starting his, seeing his, you know, journey and you know, starting out from just this young little kid, 21 years old, you know, on this, this show to where he is now. It's pretty exciting. See his journey and to see that he's still, you know, like that sweet little kind of innocent kid, to see how he is now. He's still the same, you know, big kid, which is nice to see, but absolutely. Yeah. So that was, you know, kind of the big break where it all started. And then that rolled into I got Playmate of the Year, which happened when I was on Baywatch. I ended up getting Playmate of the Year and you know, from there went on to Starsky and Hutch with Ben still and Owen Wilson and the Nanny D with Scarlet Johansson, the Celebrity Apprentice and the Surreal Life and you know, all the fun, exciting, you know, shows and, and movies I've been able to do since that.
- [08:57]
Shawn French
Yeah, I mean, like, I mean, listen, for the audience, like, you know, that's a big resume, right? But it started with a gamble, her moving to LA and understanding what, what she had to do. Right. And yeah, and for you that's a, that's a big thing, right? Because most people would sit there in that moment and like, I don't know, for you, like, I sold everything. You knew exactly what you needed to do. And a lot of people reference Hernan Cortez. Burn the boats, right? You want to make sure if you're going to go and you're going to do something, burn that bridge behind you or burn that plan B. So that way, you know, plan A is going to absolutely work out. And that's what you did.
- [09:30]
Brandy Rodrick
Absolutely. That's all I saw in front of me. There was no, there was no plan B. But yeah, you know, it's just, it's something that I really wanted to do. And there were, you know, there are, there's a lot of rejection, right, in this career and you go up against a lot of hurdles. And one thing I learned, and I'm, I'm such an advocate of self help type books. Anything you can learn. And I, ever since I can remember as a young person, young teenager, I had been reading every book you can imagine. So, you know, there are so many tools that I learned and you know, anytime, like a door closed, I would find a window to crawl into. You know what I mean? And you think outside the box and I do all the things that no one else was doing. Like for example, when I go into a casting, no matter what it might be, I would always find Something I'd be searching and looking like, what is this person? Like, let me find a connection. Because I would always send them a thank you card and a gift and I would, you know, do something like that so I'd be memorable. And let me tell you, there were so many times I kept getting called back with that certain casting director for different roles, you know, so that was always work. I mean, even Starsky and Hutch. Todd Phillips, you know, Academy Award winning director, went in for the audition for Starsky and Hutch. Him and Ben Stiller were in the room and they were like, oh, my God, we're. We're such huge fans of. Of you on the Surreal Life. They said, but we love Emmanuel Lewis. Oh, my God, we love him. He's so funny. Blah, blah, blah. So they were huge fans of Emmanuel Lewis, who was on my season. So I called up Manny, said, manny, you got to get me an autographed picture of yourself. Send it to Todd Phillips and say, hey, hire my girl Brandi. So genius. I had him do that and I got the freaking job. And who knows, you know? Was it because of my amazing acting? Yes, of course. But, you know, let's say it was between me and one other person and they really didn't know what to do that could have put them over the edge. Like, this girl's cool, like, to do this out of her way and like, make this happen. So I. I was always and still am thinking of really creative, out of the box types of ways to get what I want.
- [11:57]
Shawn French
Yeah, I. I love that about you. And it's funny because I've experienced it with you a little bit as well. Right. So we had. I mean, we had a mutual contact connect us, and we hadn't had any real communication. Talked on the phone a couple times. But you were always so kind, and I was like, this person is my people.
- [12:14]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
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Shawn French
Because I could tell that you're big on the relationship aspect of. Let me peel back the layers and see what this guy's about or this individual is about so I can make sure I nurture this interaction. And I haven't had one interaction with you that has been lifeless.
- [12:32]
Brandy Rodrick
Right.
- [12:33]
Shawn French
Like, and, and, and again, like, I mean. Right. Think about that, though. How many times have you had conversations with somebody? I had a conversation with someone earlier and I'm like, were they there? Like, was I really, you know, like, so I appreciate that about you.
- [12:47]
Brandy Rodrick
Thank you. Yeah, no, that I definitely. For me, that's very important. I mean, relationships are hugely important. And I like to. When I'M in with. With someone, I want to connect with them and I want to be in the moment, you know, turning. Shutting everything else off. And so you can actually be in the moment with that person because that's where you're going to have the best experience.
- [13:11]
Shawn French
Absolutely.
- [13:11]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [13:11]
Shawn French
I want to cover one thing, and then I want to get into Wineville. Yeah. So funnily enough, you and I did not grow up far from each other.
- [13:20]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh, okay.
- [13:21]
Shawn French
I think you're Nevada.
- [13:23]
Brandy Rodrick
You're not like Florida born and raised.
- [13:25]
Shawn French
Cali boy. I'm a Cali boy.
- [13:27]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh.
- [13:29]
Shawn French
I grew up in the East Bay. I grew up in Concord.
- [13:33]
Brandy Rodrick
Well, I mean, my. I mean, my. My. My cousin is a Concord police officer. Well, now he's an investigator, but was cool motorcycle cop. My uncle is a police officer in Richmond. So all that, like that area my dad was raised in, in the Richmond, Concord area. I mean, that's crazy. Yeah.
- [13:56]
Shawn French
Yeah, it is crazy. Another crazy thing, when I played baseball in junior college, your college was our biggest rival and we could never beat him. But no, it was. No, no, no, no. Um.
- [14:09]
Brandy Rodrick
Or Santa Rosa.
- [14:12]
Shawn French
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I went to Louisiana and played Division 1 ball after that. But yeah. So small world, right? Like small, small world. Roughly the same area. Yeah, but. All right, so one of the biggest things that you've been able to do in your careers is work multiple projects, multiple careers at one time. You've been super effective at it, most recently with Wineville that is streaming everywhere right now. You are not only the director, but you produce the thing too. So walk us through that. That's a big project and I'm sure it took a lot of your, you know, your business savviness, your creativeness, walk the audience through that journey.
- [14:51]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh, it was a crazy journey from start to finish. So it started actually with there was a gentleman who was going to wrote a story. Not wine Bill, but a previous story. I wanted to do a horror film and he was going to direct it. And you know, during the whole pre production process, he went to jail. I mean, that's just to show you or tell you the start of this journey.
- [15:22]
Shawn French
You're like, great, here we go.
- [15:24]
Brandy Rodrick
Like, start all over from scratch. Find a new director. Find or. Excuse me, find a new writer to create and write this new story. Which I'm so glad that we did because now it became my story with the writer. Right. It wasn't someone else's story. So we went to the location, which was my friend's winery. He said, yeah, you want to shoot movie you can shoot it here. So we went to his winery and, you know, was able to scope out and create the story around the location, around myself and my son, who was going to be playing my son, you know, what kind of characters I wanted us to be. And so we were able to create this story, which was kind of cool, and it made it, you know, logistically easier to shoot. But it was just, it was a crazy journey. We also were shooting kind of still in that Covid era, where you had to still wear masks and still had to go in and test for, you know, to make sure everyone didn't have Covid. Well, the day one of shooting, I was all excited and then we did our testing and then our wardrobe gal, the costumer, had freaking Covid. And my. Is a, is a period piece. It was based in 1978, so it's not like you could just go down to Walmart, you know, and get some clothes. I mean, it was serious business. So we had to scramble to get someone to replace her for, you know, that first week while she's, you know, masked up in the hotel room. But there was constantly things like that happening.
- [17:02]
Shawn French
And wasn't that at the time. Sorry to interrupt. Wasn't that also around the time like sag? There was an issue with SAG too. You had to get approval to do movies and all types of products, projects.
- [17:11]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh, yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because of COVID which was another whole crazy thing. And that's, you know, wearing all the hats, being producer and actress and all the things on set, I had to be pulled in so many different directions. You know, speaking of SAG, last minute they had. We had to do a FaceTime with them while I'm on set trying to do a C. Had to run in and facetime with them another day, the. Oh my gosh, the prop. One of the prop master sprayed spray paint in her eyes. We had to deal getting her the emergency room. I mean, it really was non stop, you know, So I. I don't know how Bradley Cooper does it. He. He does all those hats too. And those are huge film. But yeah, it's a lot to take on. Everything. I won't do everything next time, but.
- [18:05]
Shawn French
I'll always learn your lesson because it's.
- [18:07]
Brandy Rodrick
I like having. I don't want to sound like control freak, but I do like having control of everything and having my say and input into every little thing so that I put my stamp on it and make sure it gets done right because I kind of have that little bit of philosophy, you know. If you want something done right, you got to do it yourself. Yeah. You know, or at least delegate very well. But it's, you know, it is my passion. It's my love. As hard as it was and as hard as it is, it doesn't matter, right? Because when you love something and you love doing it, it doesn't feel like work. Is it hard? Absolutely. But it doesn't feel like a job, you know, it's just you're doing something that you love. And I love producing, and I love acting.
- [18:51]
Shawn French
I love it, you know, because I can, I can look at that, you know, for the audience, you know, listening or watching is, you know, when things go wrong in, in our lives, right. We have a choice. We could sit there and we can be mad about it, or we can find the solution. Like, day one of shooting for you guys, someone gets Covid. Someone gets arrested. You know, now you got to find a new writer before it even. And then. But, but most people in that moment, they're gonna think, my project is torched now, right, because I got to find a new writer. But it worked out in your benefit, right? It worked out. So now it's your story. So no matter what happens in our lives, like, I challenge the audience to really listen, rewind back the past, you know, five, five minutes and listen to this over again. Like, everything in our lives chronologically, it could be happening to us or for us. And in your instance, you chose to be like, this is happening for me, and I'm going to implement something else and make it better.
- [19:46]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah, absolutely. And that is a very good example of something that went terribly wrong, that I could have just spiraled down but didn't and took that as an opportunity. And it ended up being so much better. The script was so much better. I mean, the whole experience, everything was so much better because of that bad thing that happened. And it could have went either way. I could have gave up, or I could do what I did and just switch it up and pivot. I find that there's a lot of pivoting in this business or in life in general. Right. So, you know, even when it seems like, oh, my God, how could this get any wor. Any better or worse? Or now I'm done. No, just freaking pivot, man, and, and do something else and just figure out a way to get it done.
- [20:37]
Shawn French
So, yeah, I, I, I agree, I agree with that. You know, I think that's one of the things that gets people, like, stuck, right, is because they get caught in the emotion of the actual thing that is going on. And we, and I think at some point, Randy, to be truthful like and honest with everybody, we all feel that way momentarily. High performers though, they go, all right, I gotta do this anyways, right. And, and how can I systematically and just, you know, piece by piece move forward instead of staying stuck in that moment? What are some of the things that you do in your own mind? And I know you've been working on you the self improvement for a very long time, right? How it. Once you get in a moment where you're stuck, how do you work out of it very quickly?
- [21:23]
Brandy Rodrick
H. Well, think about the alternatives which you never want, you know, you don't want the, the alternative which is to not move forward. Um, and I really, you know, I, I'm. I'm a big, you know, meditator. I will say like in the morning if I'm. If I don't meditate and do my gratitude list and, and all the things that I love to do in the morning, I will feel a little bit lost. But once I get grounded again and I do that sometimes things just become clear and I'll write stuff down and I just get calm and I think about what I need to do and I get creative. And now shoot. We have chat, GBT or whatever we can. We don't even have to like crack our brains so much like we used to, you know, with our little cloud circle and we put it. And then the, you know, all the things to brainstorm.
- [22:25]
Shawn French
The brainstorming, yes.
- [22:27]
Brandy Rodrick
You know, we don't have to do that anymore. Now we have get our AI to help us brainstorm. Right. I mean, yeah. Now we have all these tools that, that make it even easier for us to succeed, which is so cool. But yeah, no sitting down, getting clear and writing down and figuring out your next move. And when you start doing that brainstorming and start listening and reading. Reading or listening to self help books, it really helps to trigger what you need to do next. It will come to you because it's in there. You just have to clear it out and, and get creative with it and it's going to come out.
- [23:06]
Shawn French
I think it's just super important to your point about whether you meditate or you go for a walk or run or lift some weights. You know, when I find that I don't work out first thing in the morning, I'm completely like, I. It's hard for me to ground. Right. So for instance, last night I was feeling sick, there was a stomach bug going around and my kids have It And I was like feeling queasy. I'm like, wife goes, you are not going to work out in the morning. You are going to get some sleep. You're going to sleep until 6am and you have a recording. So you're not, you're not going to the gym. Like I need you to take care of. Not the point she was trying to control, but like she wanted me to take care of myself. Right. And, and all day I'm not, you know, it's like those moments, I'm like, okay, I'm not completely grounded. And so I had to go walk around the block for 15 minutes.
- [23:53]
Brandy Rodrick
There you go.
- [23:54]
Shawn French
And reground myself. So to your point there, it's like for the audience listening, the takeaway is whatever grounds you go, do it. Because once you get into that, like you disconnect from the issue.
- [24:07]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [24:08]
Shawn French
You don't have the issue anymore. You can work through it and like the solutions over here, I'm going to walk that way, I'm going to go towards it. Right?
- [24:17]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah. And everybody, you know, it's not going to be the same for everyone. Everyone needs to find out what that thing is that's going to help them to feel good, right? Yeah. Whether it's meditating, doing gratitude practice, affirmations, visualizations, working out, walking, grounding, you have to find journaling, you have to find something that really you connect with because you need to do that every day. Whatever it is that is making you feel connected and grounded, you need to do that. Speaking of grounding, it's so funny because last night I was googling grounding shoes because one of my books is talking about grounding and now that you know there's grounding shoes. So I'm like, they even have grounding shoe kits, you know, because no way where you can make your own like leather bound sandals or whatever. But there's so much. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm gonna freaking do that. I don't care how ugly they are. I'm gonna get to me some freaking grounding shoes and walk over. Because even outside my house, my grass is fake turf on, you know, that surrounds like the immediate part of my house. And you have to be touching the earth. Right. To get that magnetic energy to really.
- [25:34]
Shawn French
Yeah.
- [25:35]
Brandy Rodrick
You know, make you feel good and make you healthy and your immunity and all that. So I, I'm checking out these grounding shoes so everyone knowing you, knowing you.
- [25:43]
Shawn French
You'Ll probably look at them and go, I can make them better. And you'll, you'll start A new venture.
- [25:49]
Brandy Rodrick
That's what. Well, maybe because that's what I was thinking last time. I was like, well, I'll just make some, because then I know they're really authentic and real and you're not, you know, order something from Amazon. You don't know if it's real or not, so.
- [26:01]
Shawn French
Exactly. You know, I. It's funny because, like, you're talking about grounding. I don't ever. I've never really done it. Sometimes I'll walk outside if I'm walking my dogs at night because I'm too lazy to put my shoes on. I'm like, let me see how this feels.
- [26:12]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [26:12]
Shawn French
And I don't really take the opportunity to connect with it. Right. I'm going to try it, though, because.
- [26:18]
Brandy Rodrick
Like you said, like, the benefit documentaries on it that I've seen where they actually. There was one on Netflix where the. The doctor did the testing and saw their body and all their body waves, and they were just very low in energy. And then they went outside for 10 minutes on the ground with just their feet on the grass, walking, came back and everything was heightened. It was like all their levels went up and this person was healthier. Just walking out for 10 minutes on the ground. Yeah.
- [26:50]
Shawn French
Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I love it. I love it. Let's get back to Wineville, right?
- [26:55]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [26:56]
Shawn French
Because everybody go watch it.
- [26:59]
Brandy Rodrick
Yes, Go watch it, Michael. It's my baby. It was. You know, it's a horror film. It's not for the fainted heart at all. So don't watch kids, for sure.
- [27:08]
Shawn French
Oh, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't. My wife either. She. She. If it's not a romantic comedy, Randy, she's out. I'm the sicko in the. In the household. Right. So I'm excited to. To see it. I like the crime thrillers. I like the horror films to an extent. Yeah. But, like, you know, it is your baby, and I want you to take the time to talk to the audience about it. Say what you can. I don't want you to ruin the movie for anybody. But, you know, definitely, like, talk about your passion project, because this is something again. It's your first time directing and producing it. Correct? It's a big freaking deal.
- [27:47]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah. Well, it's based in 1978, because that genre of films for me was, like, pivotal. Like, that's just what my family loved. We grew up on, like, you know, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and even Psycho, which Psycho was in the 60s, but, you know, that kind of feeling of old school poor and this film and the Script really lent itself to being a period piece and, you know, I wanted to kind of bring back that feel. So, you know, it's a, it's my character, Tess had to, she ran away when she's about 15 years old because of some horrific things that happened to her at her, you know, family home, which is on a vineyard in Southern California. But she ran away to Las Vegas and you know, years later she got a call that her father had passed away. And now she has a. An 11 year old son that has to come back and take care of the family estate. And when she comes back, she learns that everything has just darkened and festered and gotten worse. And now not only does she have to escape herself, but now she has to do everything she can to save her son. So will they get out alive? I don't know, but it's really have to tune in. Really messed up, screwed up serial killer family. And I love that. That is, you know, my, my jam. Like, I, I even in college, I took a course on serial killers and how they grew up and what, what makes them who they are and, you know, kind of obsessed with, with that type of thing.
- [29:28]
Shawn French
So it's funny because, like, I'm kind of sick like that too.
- [29:30]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [29:31]
Shawn French
Like, I like watching if I get a nude, like a Netflix documentary on Charles Manson or the, the Zodiac. The Zodiac. I mean, because that's where we grew up. Like, dude, like that, that, that happened within 40 minutes of where we live.
- [29:47]
Brandy Rodrick
I know. Petaluma. I mean, it was like all over those areas.
- [29:53]
Shawn French
Valo. Valo.
- [29:55]
Brandy Rodrick
I know. Oh my gosh. What about Marine World?
- [29:58]
Shawn French
Marine World? That's where you go. Yeah, that's where the Zodiac hung out. It's, it's crazy to me, but like those, those things, like those, you know, chronicling those types of killers, like. Yeah, you know, and it's great because when we do passion projects, right, we do things that you're doing with Wineville and you know, you start with like, what you're really interested in, you know, and it's interesting that you went down that path.
- [30:23]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [30:24]
Shawn French
How did that creative process work with you? I mean, like afterwards, were you super excited? Did you, did you go down? Like, because I've never acted. Right. So I don't like getting into a character or getting into like a storyline. How does that work for you?
- [30:39]
Brandy Rodrick
Well, as far as acting goes, the storyline, it's not like it was, you know, Academy Award, you know, worthy story acting. Because my character, you know, I was a single mom, you know, with an 11 year old, 12 year old son. And guess what? In real life, I'm a single mom with an 1112 year old son. Protect my son. So the acting was not far fetched. Like, I will freaking kill for my kid. Right?
- [31:11]
Shawn French
Like, good.
- [31:12]
Brandy Rodrick
So, you know, that's there already. So I got lucky. This character is a mom like myself. So that part, you know, was easy. But the creative process coming up with the story was fun because I get my sick and twisted mind from my mom. Wrong. So her and I were constantly going back with ideas about how this serial killer family should be because of all of our knowledge from, you know, watching so many sick and twisted films to my knowledge of, you know, taking the classes in college. But it was a fun process doing that with my mom, going back and forth. Of course I did it with the, you know, the writer and I went back and forth. But then I'd go and, and get ideas for my mom and you know, so that, that, that was a lot of fun.
- [31:58]
Shawn French
Hey, mom, doing this movie on serial killers. Let's collaborate.
- [32:02]
Brandy Rodrick
She was like, yes, like, that's her. I mean, my very first film, horror film. I was 6 years old with watching the Exorcist with my mother on the couch.
- [32:11]
Shawn French
Oh, geez.
- [32:12]
Brandy Rodrick
What kind of sick mom has her kid watch the Exorcist at six years old? You know, I mean, not even just the scary part of it, but if you remember Aaron Blair, you know, saying, F me, F me. Stabbing herself with a crucifix in her vagina. You know, I am watching, going, what the.
- [32:31]
Shawn French
Hey, mom, pass the popcorn. You know, it's funny because like I was, I don't have that exact same type of story, but I do have something. Like me and my mom used to watch Friday together, like almost every day. It's like, how up is that? Like I'm sitting there watching like I'm in high school, right? At the most impressionable age. And my mom's like, yeah, let's watch Friday together. They're sitting on the porch smoking weed and meanwhile I'm 16, 17 years old. Like, did she didn't think that maybe my son's going to want to do this?
- [33:07]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh my God, that's so funny. So my nephew, I say my nephew, but my brother's dog is named Debo. And people think it's probably debo from the 49ers, but it's really Debo from Friday.
- [33:24]
Shawn French
Yeah, like that's funny. Like, you know, no, definitely Debo from Friday. But yeah, so like I used to watch and my parents oh, my parents, when I was young, used to watch America's Most Wanted.
- [33:33]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh, yeah. Oh, me too. That was our jam. I love that, dude. I wanted to recreate a new show kind of similar to that, which I'll tell you later, because I was so influenced by that show so much. Right. And the best part of that show was you'd wait. You'd watch it, and at the end, you would wait to see did they capture them? And you'd always hope, you know, because then it would show you, oh, we. We captured. Blah, blah. And you always wanted to see if they captured them at the end of.
- [34:01]
Shawn French
The story until they freaking didn't. And you learn that the killings were happening in your area, and you're like, eight years old. I'm like, oh, I don't want to go to bed.
- [34:12]
Brandy Rodrick
Holly Cl. Clouse, right? Had a luma right there.
- [34:14]
Shawn French
Y. Y. Yeah. So many of them. So many of them is kind of a little sick.
- [34:21]
Brandy Rodrick
We had a lot of snake stuff going on. Northern California.
- [34:25]
Shawn French
Our generation just destroyed, isn't it? Good Lord. Watching the Exorcist and America's Most Wanted in Friday with their mom. Cool, man. Really cool. Yeah. And, like. And, like, here we are now. And I'm, like, not letting my son watch. Like, is that. What is that. Is that PG or PG 13? Like, what are. What are we watching? Okay, you're 11. You can watch that. Right, right. But, like, I'm definitely more on it. But, you know, in the same token, there was movies that my parents would go out to see in the movie theater before I went and watched them. Yeah, but they went and watched Major League. Remember Charlie Sheen?
- [34:59]
Brandy Rodrick
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
- [35:01]
Shawn French
I'm a baseball guy. I love. I want to go see that movie they went and saw just to make sure it was appropriate for me and then let me go see it.
- [35:09]
Brandy Rodrick
That's funny. Yeah.
- [35:11]
Shawn French
It's like, guys, like, good Lord.
- [35:13]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [35:13]
Shawn French
But hey, hey, childhood was good. Childhood was good.
- [35:16]
Brandy Rodrick
That made us who we are today, the sick and twisted individuals we are.
- [35:22]
Shawn French
That's why we're so creative.
- [35:23]
Brandy Rodrick
Very. Exactly. Very well rounded.
- [35:26]
Shawn French
Very well rounded. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, dad. You did a great job.
- [35:29]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [35:29]
Shawn French
Kicking ass. This is great. So, okay, so what's next, Randy? Like, what. What? You have any new projects you're thinking about? Where are we going here?
- [35:39]
Brandy Rodrick
Well, I mean, I'm. I'm definitely heavily out, you know, getting the word out about Wineville, but, yeah, App my book of all the. The films and TV shows and everything that I want to do. So as soon as I'm done out promoting Wineville, I'm going to kind of, you know, see where I'm at in my life. And which one of these projects do I want to spend the next two years working on? Because I have any. I just, I. I'm a very creative person, and every time I, like, I have all these ideas and stuff happens. Oh, that'd be funny for this show. And that's this and that. Oh, that's nice and sick, you know, whatever it might be. Love comedy, and I love horror, suspense, drama. But anyway, I'm always creating and writing stuff down, so I have my book of stuff. So the time comes, I'm really going to sit down, and where do I want to spend the next two years of my life on?
- [36:29]
Shawn French
I love it. In the meantime, as far as getting the word out about Wineville, talk to the audience. I know it's everywhere, but specifically, direct them on where to go. Because if. If, you know, I know the audience, you know, starts to key in on certain things that we talk about, and they're going to want to go watch it.
- [36:45]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah. Amazon, Apple, itunes, Google, Play, to be. And then for all of you, you know, for all the old school horror people, they like DVDs, so I sell the autograph DVDs along with a picture, and that's on the website, which is Wineville movie dot com. And that's always fun to have. So, yeah, I just would, you know, go support, you know, an independent filmmaker, and we all supported each other in all of our dreams, then we'd all be living the dream, right?
- [37:22]
Shawn French
Yeah, I think. I think it's important. I don't want to glance over that. Right. Because that's an important thing. There's so many people that are doing their own thing and focusing on their own thing and not really rooting somebody else along. Right. I don't think. I don't think there's. When you. When that happens, like, the energetic flow gets cut off. Right. I. I listen to other podcasts, I support my friends, I promote their stuff.
- [37:46]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [37:46]
Shawn French
I'll share things sometimes, you know, from another show, like, oh, my God, you have to do that. I'm like, what do you mean? You're my friend and you're doing a great job. Like, yeah, how have you. How have you continued? Because you've done a lot of great things, like continue to keep that at the core value of you and cheering for others.
- [38:04]
Brandy Rodrick
You know, I don't know if it's just something internal or what it is, but this very Exact thing. I have this conversation with other filmmakers, independent filmmakers. There are so many of us that if we all just. Our independent filmmakers supported each other and went and watched each other's movies, guess what? We would all be a success. That's how simple it is, that if we all just support each other in what we love, in our dreams, we will be successful. We just have to get everybody else to understand this, because it so true. I support my. My. My fellow filmmakers not only by watching their films, but like you just said, I share their movies with people I want them to be successful on. Yeah. It's just something that we should all really try and do is to support each other, because it's all going to come back.
- [39:04]
Shawn French
Yeah. I think it's important. Right. Because, like, when. When we all break it down, really what it is, it's art. And, you know, what I do is an art. What you do is an art. And we all want to feel seen and heard, but how could we ever expect to feel seen and heard if we're not seeing and hearing others.
- [39:23]
Brandy Rodrick
Exactly.
- [39:24]
Shawn French
Supporting them.
- [39:25]
Brandy Rodrick
Absolutely. 100. Yep.
- [39:27]
Shawn French
Yeah, I'm big on that.
- [39:29]
Brandy Rodrick
Take, take, take. You have to give.
- [39:33]
Shawn French
Exactly. I got. I got somebody that I want to connect you with. They recently put out a good, really good independent film. And then I want to put your movie in his hands and, you know, do kind of like a thing. So, like, you guys are both watching each other. Like, that's. It's exactly what we're talking about, right?
- [39:50]
Brandy Rodrick
Exactly. 100%. Yes.
- [39:53]
Shawn French
So the audience. The audience. I want you guys to really go check this movie out. Right. And I want you to share it with people, sit down with some friends, and keep talking about Wineville. Because there's a. There's amazing things going on in Brandy's career and things that she's doing. We want to support it. That's why we have it on the show. We want to promote Wineville. Big deal, you know? So.
- [40:13]
Brandy Rodrick
Yes. Date that.
- [40:16]
Shawn French
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, I just want to thank you again for coming on and sharing your journey, first and foremost, about just who you are as a person and some of the things that you believe in. Because I. What I do know, people that love about the. The show, the determined society, is when people like you come on the show, they don't just. When they don't just talk about their movies and their projects and they talk about who they are, there is a sense of connection there.
- [40:43]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [40:43]
Shawn French
Right. And I know you truly connected with my audience today.
- [40:47]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah.
- [40:47]
Shawn French
Because you were a lot of your Core values are what we talk about here.
- [40:51]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah. Good. I'm glad. Well, I really enjoyed it. I loved being able to get to know you better and, you know, having this fun conversation. So we'll see you maybe right in June when you come out here.
- [41:05]
Shawn French
I will. As soon as I know, I will give you a call and let you know when I'm going to be out there, what dates, so we can connect. Even if it's for a drink, whatever. We'll be able to connect. Yeah. Be awesome. One more question, though, before we land the plane here. Yeah. One more big question.
- [41:20]
Brandy Rodrick
All right.
- [41:21]
Shawn French
So the show is called the Determined Society. And when I created the show, it was by accident. It was just a Facebook group. It turned into a top podcast on Spotify and Apple. And the premise has always been I just. Me personally wanted to wake up in a society that woke up and chased their dreams, no matter how they felt emotionally about it. So my question to you is, what does determination truly mean to Brandy Roderick?
- [41:45]
Brandy Rodrick
Ooh. Well, determination to me is going after. This might be just kind of what you just said, really.
- [41:55]
Shawn French
Okay.
- [41:57]
Brandy Rodrick
Determination to me is being determined to go after what I want, whether it's a dream or something simple that day, and not giving up and going and doing anything I need to do to get that thing accomplished.
- [42:16]
Shawn French
I. I love it. And it's. It's very simple. Right. A lot of people in the audience, I really want to pay attention here is. Is we. We see this big goal, right? You know, producing and directing your own movie. If you looked at that goal, and it's like you're standing at the base of the mountain and you're looking up, you're like, oh, there's no way. That's a big mountain. Right? And. And what I want people to understand is doing the small things every day. Right? It does. You don't have to go from A to Z every single day. You can go from A to B. And as long as you move forward, didn't. There's no. There's no such thing as staying the same. Either move forward or you go backwards. That's truly how I feel. Right. And I know a lot of people out there will, you know, contest that. That's fine. That's fine. They can do that. But for me, you either move forward or you get worse. And as long as you take the steps and you get out of your own head right then. Then it's a successful day. Right. And people define their days. Well, I didn't win today, or did you? Right, Right. Because People define wins. They have to feel like people are clapping for them for it to feel like a win. And people like you, people like me, understand that even doing one thing that's going to move that proverbial football down the field a little bit, that's the win. That's the journey.
- [43:34]
Brandy Rodrick
Absolutely. Have to have all the little wins and those steps to get to that goal. You can't. You know, Rome wasn't built in a day. Right.
- [43:44]
Shawn French
It's so funny because people say, oh, that's a cliche. Well, yeah, for a reason.
- [43:49]
Brandy Rodrick
Yeah, exactly.
- [43:51]
Shawn French
For. For a very good reason. You cannot build Rome in a day.
- [43:54]
Brandy Rodrick
Right, Right.
- [43:55]
Shawn French
So I really enjoyed, you know, this conversation with you. You're my people, my friend. Like, straight up about this new friendship, man. Yeah. Nor cal. Nor cow. So.
- [44:07]
Brandy Rodrick
Dude.
- [44:08]
Shawn French
But yeah, so thank. Thank you again. I look forward to meeting you in person soon. And for the audience, I want you to look at the deeper meaning of today's episode. Right. It's always about moving forward in the moment. No matter how you feel in that current state, whether you feel bad or feel good, there is a goal that you have, that you have set. And it is your job to move forward no matter what. Doesn't matter how you feel. What matters is that you move forward on your dreams. Until next time, stay determined.
- [44:43]
Brandy Rodrick
Sharp.
- [44:44]
Sharp French
French. What up? This one. Luck. I let the pain inspire me I put my all in Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I'm me for the entirety I put it in no Fatana, I'll be working Just know I'm a go for mine Cause I earned it they watched and I know it's time I confirmed it the whole society determined.