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Director John-Michael Powell joins No Film School to talk about his gritty Southern crime thriller Violent Ends, which hits theaters October 31. Powell shares the winding journey that led to the film’s production—from being dropped from a college art program, to cutting indie films that made it to festivals like Sundance and SXSW, to editing the Emmy-winning Netflix series American Manhunt. Remarkably, he crafted a feature starring Billy Magnussen and Alexandra Shipp—without agents, managers, or festival support. This episode offers a raw, inspiring, and tactical look at building a career from the ground up, how to forge meaningful creative collaborations, and why the cavalry might never come.
In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins and guest John-Michael Powell discuss…
How Powell transitioned from music and graphic design to filmmaking
Why getting cut from a college program helped shape his resilience
The long road from writing Violent Ends in 2013 to securing funding a decade later
The strategy behind securing name actors without traditional representation
How he used relationships and resourcefulness to get a bidding war
What filmmakers should know about real-money offers and escrow
Why adaptability and microbudget thinking still matters—on any scale
How not having representation can actually work in your favor
Building a production company (Midnight Road) and what’s coming next
Memorable Quotes:
"I got cut. I got the axe."
"The most powerful tool you have as a filmmaker is your feet."
"I took out 'editor' and put in just 'director and writer.'"
"Violent Ends did not get accepted to any festivals… and we sold it to IFC."
Guests:
John-Michael Powell
Resources:
Watch the Violent Ends Trailer
Violent Ends in Theaters via Fandango
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