Martini Shot

Rob makes a series of painful confessions surrounding politics, Interstate 40, Hollywood pettiness, and trying to be happy for other people's success. He more or less pulls it off.

Rob helps actors with their headshots and writers with their pitches and even executives with their office politics. He says to stop worrying about the boss, because the boss is only worried about the boss one level up.

Rob sends you a LinkedIn request to join your professional network and then endorses you for your many skills and then we both get lots of push alerts and notifications and we both wonder why we're on LinkedIn.

Rob discovers that recaps are a really great way to get out of watching television.

Rob talks about DC and Marvel, Sunni and Shia, and whether cancer can be funny -- all in three minutes. Yes, it's a stretch, but that's sort of the point. 

Some people just like choosing from among available options.

Rob on how hard it can be to direct actors, who are hypersensitive and ego maniacal and in that respect resemble everyone else in your life and on the planet, and that's: make them think it's their idea.

Rob on Twitter bots, followers for sale, and because it's the law that he cannot be ignored, Donald J. Trump.

Rob tells us the best sales technique in the world, which is to make your pitch and then fall silent -- which he has a hard time doing.

Rob eats ice cream and bread in front of an actor who needs to lose weight -- and he's not sorry about it.

How losing two million dollars on a show is something to celebrate...for someone else.

Remembering a great teacher.

How the late Andy Grove, of Intel, helped make it easier for executives to give notes.

You know when you're at a party and you're leaving and you make this long circuit to say goodbye? Don't do it. Do a French Exit. Just walk out.

There's no not-weird way to say this. Rob asks Nancy Reagan out on a date.

Rob's complicated and probably unsuccessful attempt at comparing the navigation app Waze to his current creative process. . .

Rob fast forwards through all the screeners he got this year. It's sort of an industry secret.

Today's Martini Shot is all about Beyoncé. Well, it's about Rob and Beyoncé. That came out wrong.  It's about money and Beyoncé.

The secret to keeping your production on budget. Just arrange to have your credit card declined.

Rob wishes he could do what Orson Welles did, which was to shoot ten pages in a night.