Ep583 - Kareem Rahma & Mary Neely, Writers & Stars of ‘Or Something’

Creative Principles

In 2021 Mary Neely and Kareem Rahma met at a Brooklyn comedy show. A week later they found themselves crammed at a downtown restaurant, elbows tucked and leaning forward, deep in discussion about an age-old argument: are men only nice to women who they want to have sex with? A settlement was never reached. Not long after, Kareem posted a still of Mathieu Kassovitz’ LA HAINE to his Instagram with the words, “I’m quitting comedy until someone casts me in a dramatic role.” Mary responded, “I’ll cast you.” The goal was set: write a joint personal essay, conversing about sensitive topics, and transcribing everything into the structure of a film that would be feasible to produce on a microbudget. Kareem Rahma is a three-time Webby-nominated writer, producer, comedian, and musician. He’s also the creator and host of two hit digital series: KEEP THE METER RUNNING and SUBWAYTAKES, which have both amassed 100s of millions of views on TikTok and Instagram. Mary Neely is an actor, writer, and director. She directed and edited the short film PINK TRAILER, which premiered at SXSW, played opening night of Palm Springs ShortFest and was featured in i-D, Paper Magazine, and Refinery29 before being selected by the Milwaukee Film Institute to screen before Olivia Wilde’s BOOKSMART in theaters. In this interview, we talk about the role of short form content in their careers, its impact on their work, and the advantages of a DIY approach, the challenges and rewards of self-producing films, the importance of constraints and much more. Want more? Steal my first book, INK BY THE BARREL - SECRETS FROM PROLIFIC WRITERS right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60 seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom of your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!