Scene N Nerd Podcast

A Millennial host and a Gen X geek talk about the biggest franchises in pop culture.Join Sarah Belmont and Will Polk, two generations of fandom energy, for weekly deep dives, reactions, and reviews on Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Boys, Gen V, House of the Dragon, Paradise, and prestige TV. Fresh takes. Real debates. No filter.🦸 Marvel Studios: MCU movies, Disney+ series🦇 DC Studios: James Gunn's new DCU ⚡ Star Wars: Andor, Mandalorian, and everything coming next🖖 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Starfleet Academy, and 60 years of legacy🩸 The Boys: when the shows get dark, we get real🍿 Prestige TV: Severance, House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and moreSarah brings the Millennial stakes and fresh eyes. Will brings the Gen X lore and nostalgia. Together, they debate, react, and break down what it all means.New episodes weekly. Subscribe and join the Scene N Nerd crew.

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May 13, 2026

She Walked Away from Academics to Direct Star Trek, It's Not Like That, and More! | Dr. Valerie Weiss

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What makes a Harvard-trained PhD scientist in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology walk away from the lab and into the director's chair on a Star Trek set, no less? Dr. Valerie Weiss joins Scene N Nerd to share her extraordinary journey from earning a PhD at Harvard to directing some of the biggest franchises on television. We talk about the grit she carried from science into Hollywood, why she directs fight scenes from a place of emotion rather than choreography, and what she learned about leadership from putting Kirk in the captain's chair. Plus, Dr. Weiss gives us an inside look at her upcoming Amazon Prime dramedy, It's Not Like That (premiering May 15th), a show with the DNA of Parenthood that tackles grief, family, and mental health with humor and heart.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction to Dr. Valerie Weiss

1:49 From Molecular Biology to Film

6:43 Scientific Tenacity in Hollywood

10:18 Applying Research to Creative Direction

15:05 The Mechanics of Television Directing

21:19 Directing Character-Driven Action Scenes

27:30 Navigating the Shift to Streaming Media

33:37 Previewing "It's Not Like That" on Amazon Prime

40:48 Promoting Sustainability in Production

45:25 Supporting Women and Diversity in the DGA

49:25 Insights from Directing Star Trek

Follow Dr. Weiss: https://www.instagram.com/valerie.weiss.director and IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1401177/

Kids Mental Health Foundation: https://www.kidsmentalhealthfoundation.org/

Sustainability: https://scriptation.com/blog/tag/valerie-weiss/ and Earth Angel: https://www.earthangelsets.com/blog/dr-valerie-weiss

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