ABOUT THIS EPISODE
This week, Ilse sits down with John David Wolfe, a DGA member and Chicago based producer whose two decade career as a location scout and manager put him behind the scenes on Spider-Man 2, High Fidelity, Proof, and Rhythm + Flow before he made the leap to producing his own work.
John talks through his path from West Des Moines, Iowa to Chicago, landing High Fidelity as his very first studio credit, and what he'd tell someone trying to break into the industry today. The conversation gets delightfully weird during Hot Cakes, including a real ghost sighting at the Uptown Theatre and a detour into Mandela effect conspiracy theories. Then John shares the real story behind Candy House Productions, the company he co-founded with Chloe Koegel, including the surprisingly literal Hansel and Gretel connection behind the name. He also gives an update on Big Spooky House, Candy House's upcoming feature from filmmaker Jerry S. Gonzalez, which is currently in pre-production with a crowdfunding campaign launching this fall.
Time sensitive: Big Spooky House is heading into a GoFundMe style campaign launching in early fall 2026, so keep an eye on Candy House's Instagram for updates.
In this episode:
- 03:02 From Iowa to Chicago
- 04:05 Landing High Fidelity as his first credit
- 06:06 Is the PA route still the way into the industry?
- 09:53 Getting your creative work seen today
- 13:34 Hot Cakes
- 17:35 The haunted Uptown Theatre
- 19:05 A Mandela effect rabbit hole
- 22:49 How Candy House Productions came together
- 26:36 Why "Candy House"? The Hansel and Gretel story
- 28:14 Big Spooky House and working with Jerry S. Gonzalez
Follow Candy House Productions on Instagram: @candyhouseproductions @wolfejohndavid
Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias
Mentioned in this episode:
Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com
