Soman Chainani — The School for Good and Evil
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“I don’t like depending on my art for income, because then I start to think in a mercenary way.”
– Soman Chainani
Soman Chainani (@SomanChainani) is a detailed planner, filmmaker, and New York Times best selling author.
Soman’s debut fiction series, The School for Good and Evil, has sold more than a million copies, has been translated into more than twenty languages across six continents, and will soon be a film from Universal Pictures.
A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University’s MFA Film Program, Soman began his career as a screenwriter and director, with his films playing at over 150 film festivals around the world. He was recently named to the Out100 and has received the $100,000 Shasha Grant and the Sun Valley Writer’s Fellowship, both for debut writers. Special thanks to mutual friend Brian Koppelman for making the introduction!
Grab a notebook, pay attention, and please enjoy my conversation with Soman Chainani!
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Want to hear a podcast with an award-winning movie maker? — Listen to my conversation with Brian Koppelman, co-writer/producer of Rounders, The Illusionist, and Ocean’s Thirteen. In this episode, we explore how he got started, how he handles rejection, his big breaks, creative process, and much more (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Soman Chainani:
Twitter | Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
The School for Good and Evil Series Complete Box Set: Books 1, 2, and 3 by Soman Chainani
Universal Picks Up Rights to ‘School for Good and Evil’ by Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance by W. Timothy Gallwey
The Hard Facts of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar
The Little Mermaid by Disney vs. The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Hansel and Gretel Standard Edition: A TOON Graphic by Neil Gaiman and Lorenzo Mattotti
The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco
Garden Cities of To-Morrow by Ebenezer Howard
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and Ralph Manheim
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (which also happens to be my favorite audio book.)
Considering its source material, The Golden Compass really should have been a better movie.
Soman doesn’t cook, so he uses services like Portable Chef and Heart & Belly.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
Trainer Dave at CrossFit NYC is “a non-bro, bro.”
The Eating Clubs of Princeton (I still donate to Terrace)
Some Practical Thoughts on Suicide by Tim Ferriss
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Cirque du Soleil: The Spark — Igniting the Creative Fire that Lives within Us All by John U. Bacon
Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within
Dior and I
Valentino: The Last Emperor
Lagerfeld Confidential
Ballet 422
The Making of South Park: 6 Days to Air
That Time South Park’s Trey Parker & Matt Stone Dropped Acid At The Oscars by Shannon Carlin, Refinery29
Theater of War
The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World by Alan Downs
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
Mother Dirt AO+ Mist Live Probiotic Skin Spray
My No-Soap, No-Shampoo, Bacteria-Rich Hygiene Experiment by Julia Scott, The New York Times Magazine
InnoGear Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser
Majestic Pure Lavender Essential Oil, Therapeutic Grade
The One-Handed Concert Pianist, Nicholas McCarthy
Starbucks Mint Majesty Herbal Tea
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
The Man Who Studied 1,000 Deaths to Learn How to Live
Ed Cooke, Grandmaster of Memory, on Mental Performance, Imagination, and Productive Mischief
Show Notes
How did Brian Koppelman help Soman get back on his feet after a failed filmmaking project? [06:33]
Soman gives us the current state of “The School for Good and Evil” series. [08:47]
Why did Soman continue tutoring well after getting lucrative book and movie deals that took care of his financial needs? [10:02]
Soman talks about the small island town where he grew up and the factors that contributed to habits of high performance. [12:10]
On coming out as openly gay: why he’s envious of the way it’s done now compared to when he did it, and how his parents reacted. [14:45]
What appealed to Soman most about the idea of filmmaking? [20:35]
What advice does Soman have for the tennis novice? [22:05]
What makes a good coach? [26:32]
What are some of Soman’s weaknesses in tennis that manifest elsewhere? [28:29]
“The School for Good and Evil” is a way to revisit the darker origins of fairy tales in which heroes sometimes died as a consequence of their decisions. [31:51]
We talk about the city-building aspirations of Walt Disney, and how it relates to a future project Soman has in mind. [35:12]
On the flaws of heroes. [37:45]
Favorite failures? [39:03]
How marketing books for kids is different from marketing books for adults. [43:24]
The disaster that occurred during one of my first book signing events. [45:04]
Soman fills me in on the nuances of categorizing fiction for children and young adults. [47:40]
How does Soman protect the integrity of his work — especially when translating it from book to screen? [51:27]
How does Soman minimize the likelihood of stupid studio notes getting forced into his script? [54:56]
With irons in so many fires, Soman shares time management tips. [57:01]
Favorite ways to wind down at the end of the day. [1:03:04]
Bedtime rituals. [1:03:30]
What’s Soman reading now? [1:04:01]
A contrast of training styles. [1:08:29]
How Soman chose his personal trainer and agent. [1:12:20]
As a young student filmmaker, how did Soman get into so much debt? [1:15:04]
Would Soman recommend film school? [1:17:08]
What’s the problem with Stanford? [1:20:32]
We consider ourselves the odds and ends who don’t fit in anywhere. [1:22:02]
Books and documentaries that will inspire artists. [1:25:35]
What books has Soman gifted the most? [1:33:31]
The best investment of energy, money, or time Soman has ever made. [1:35:13]
Health tips for frequent travelers. [1:42:47]
If Soman were to give a TED Talk about something for which he’s not known, what would it cover? [1:45:10]
The problem with “follow your passion” as advice. [1:47:50]
Soman’s billboard, and musings on life and death. [1:49:51]
Parting thoughts. [1:52:09]
People Mentioned
Seth Godin
Noah Kagan
Brian Koppelman
Adam Robinson
Steven Spielberg
J.K. Rowling
Mike Belkin
Jimmy Connors
Derek Sivers
Walt Disney
Maria Tatar
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Hans Christian Andersen
Neil Gaiman
Glenn Beck
Joe Roth
David Magee
David Stogsdill
Justin Peck
Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Amelia Boone
Nicholas McCarthy
BJ Miller
Ed Cooke
