'Don't Wait for Permission to Start' with Riker Lynch
How Art Finds Us When We Need it Most
Riker Lynch joins my podcast with James Tolbert to talk about making his first feature and what it took to actually start before everything was in place. We get into collaborating with friends, not waiting for creative permission, and how the process of making the film showed up at a moment when he really needed it.
Riker brings:
• Directing his first feature Stakeout, skydiving, Old Dominion’s Barbara
Riker talks about being drawn to things that require full engagement, directing a feature, skydiving, putting yourself in situations where you have to be all in. We get into what it means to commit before you feel ready and how that mindset carried into making Stakeout with his friends.
He also talks about how Old Dominion’s Barbara found him at the exact right time after a difficult season, and how certain pieces of art seem to show up when you need them. Not in an abstract way, but in a way that actually helps you process what you’re going through and keep moving forward.
James brings:
• Jungle’s visual album
James talks about the choreography and visual storytelling across Jungle’s music videos, how it’s directly inspiring two projects he’s working on, and why storytelling through dance in music videos feels like a bit of a lost art.
Curt brings:
• Project Hail Mary
Curt talks about why the book stuck with him and how it frames scientific and emotional curiosity as something that can actually move us forward, and the idea that a better future is possible if we’re willing to stay curious enough to build it.
Along the way the conversation keeps circling back to a bigger idea: what it means to just start, to make something with the people around you, and to trust the process even before you feel ready.
We talk about:
• Starting before you feel ready
• Making things with your friends
• Not waiting for creative permission
• Storytelling through choreography
• Curiosity as a creative engine
So… what are you into right now?