Irwin Winkler, renown producer, director and writer, sits down with Scott Tallal to discuss his prolific career in moviemaking. He opens by explaining how he stumbled upon his beginnings in the mail room of William Morris (1:11), his feelings about being an agent (2:46), and how he finally found himself in film production (3:31).

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Irwin goes dives into what being a producer entails and how today’s producer differs from when he started (5:48). He discusses his book, A Life in Movies, and the process of writing it (8:02). He describes how the business is tough (10:03) and what made him a good fit for this career from the start (10:29).

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He moves on to discuss how marketing is a vital and expensive part of a film’s budget (11:42). He reveals the “only difference” between working with a studio and a streaming service (12:53), raves about partnering with Netflix (13:11) and goes on to discuss the genesis and production of The Irishman (13:43).

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The conversation then turns toward the Academy awards, where Irwin discusses his first win with Rocky (18:02) and the disappointing losses (19:08). Irwin dives into what qualities make a successful producer (19:41) and how the opportunities have increased for current filmmakers (20:20).

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He declares that retirement isn’t coming for him any time soon (23:12), looks back at his proudest moments (24:14) and discusses some chances that he took that paid off (25:43).