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First Time GoAuthor: Benjamin Duchek
A weekly podcast highlighting the creators of independent film and the business behind it. Hosted by Ben Duchek. Language: en Genres: Arts, Film Interviews, TV & Film, Visual Arts Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Eric Leja
Episode 22
Friday, 24 April, 2026
Only a Marine could get away with writing a novella entitled -- let me make I'm sure I got this right -- "Let's Murder the Fuck out of Baby Hitler." And even then, maybe only a Marine who is a filmmaker and screenwriter.Fellow redleg Eric Leja (servicemember assigned to the artillery branch) returns to the podcast to talk about his new novella which is he is hoping to turn into a feature or a series; the reaction to such a provocative title in an industry that claims to support free speech; the lumping of veterans immediately into the red hat crowd, and more.He asked me, are you sure you're okay with the title? Fuck yeah, I'm okay. I'm supporting fellow veterans till I die. We do touch on politics in this episode, which I'm usually loathe to do because you hear enough of this stuff on everything other than a film podcast. But if you do hear something you disagree with, certainly as it relates to the film industry, I'd love to hear why.And that brings us right back to where we started: Eric's novella. Spoiler alert, no babies are actually harmed. The whole point of it is to think about our current situation in a new and hopefully funny way. And to let Eric turn this into a feature film. Fire for effect, I'm cheering him on.In this episode, Eric and I discuss:how the catchy name came about;what he's been up to since the strike;why he decided to self-publish on Amazon and the amount of money he makes per sale;the chilling of speech and how that's different than Hollywood at any point in Eric's lifetime;how far he decided to go politically in the novella;the assumptions made about veterans in film and politics;what the future of the novella is;the challenges facing the business right now and the power of dentists in filmmaking!Eric's Indie Film Highlight: GODMOTHER dir. by John VeronMemorable Quotes:" I don't think it's ethical to Hitler-ize my children."" if things keep going like this unchecked, this is what it's gonna look like and it's gonna be, dystopic far right version of America. That was what the screenplay was about. And it came from a place of anti extremism."" Everyone's horrified to do anything right now."" I've never seen in my lifetime out here, like these corporations also having to fight for attention from the government and a constant approval as well."On the expectations of being red-pilled as a veteran: " I've noticed a lot of sighs of relief when I like reveal that I'm not like that."" People have literally said to me like, I think it's so cool that you're a veteran, but you're not like one of those veterans."" Nobody at like Warner wants to be the guy holding the TV show with three showrunners that's struggling to get off the ground when Paramount buys 'em."Links:Buy LET'S MURDER THE FUCK OUT OF BABY HITLER NowFollow Eric On Instagram
