Ugly, Irresponsible, & Childish

Hosts Jeremy & Marc unpack the damaging rise of procurement in marketing — from unpaid agency pitches and re-bids to opaque fee battles and stolen ideas.
They share firsthand stories about lost accounts, the pressure to cut creative work to fit budgets, and practical ideas for how agencies might respond.
Listen to them connect all this back to terrorism. Prepare for head-shaking moments and a lot of whining. Fun!!!

Concluding their run with Joe Eszterhas, Marc and Jeremy sit down with and discuss Joe's more recent work, sudden throat cancer diagnosis, risky surgery, and a long recovery.
Joe reflects on the role of his wife Naomi and a renewed faith, his anti-smoking campaign, the return to writing, and the hard-won lessons for creatives: write the work in your heart and never give up.

In Part 4 of the Joe Eszterhas sessions, the Hollywood screenwriter behind Music Box recounts how his film about Hungarian warcrimes unexpectedly echoed his own family history when his father became the target of a U.S. investigation. The conversation traces the shock of discovery, the collapse of their relationship, and the moral and emotional fallout.
Hosts Jeremy & Marc frame the story around creativity, risk, and the personal costs of art, closing with a look ahead to Joe’s later cancer battle and spiritual renewal.

Joe Eszterhas joins hosts Marc  and Jeremy to revisit the defining Hollywood moments of his career — from mentorship under Norman Jewison and hard-fought battles with Sylvester Stallone to the controversy, criticism, and commercial highs and lows that shaped his work.
Tune in for candid stories about creative clashes, the power dynamics of agents like Michael Ovitz, moral ambiguity in storytelling, and the personal choices that ultimately led Joe away from Hollywood and back to a different life.

On today's episode, Jeremy & Marc continue their conversation with Hollywood legend Joe Eszterhas as he recounts breaking the My Lai photos, his rise at Rolling Stone, and his leap into films. Joe discusses creative risks, clashes with studios and stars, the ‘twisted little man’ in his work, and notorious unproduced scripts like Sacred Cows.
Joe's topics include Vietnam, Rocky Balboa, Hunter S. Thompson and more. Jeremy & Marc also tease a future episode about a family secret and Joe’s battle with stage-four throat cancer, promising a deeper, more personal conversation next time.

Hosts Jeremy & Marc sit down with Hollywood legend and best-selling author Joe Eszterhas to trace his extraordinary life and career — from living in Hungarian refugee camps to becoming the sold-out, record-setting writer behind films like Basic Instinct, Flashdance, and Jagged Edge.
The episode covers Eszterhas' early years as a journalist, encounters with music icons, his creative process and themes of good versus evil, enduring risk-taking in Hollywood, and advice for young writers.

It happens. That idea you so loved and believed in crashes and burns. How do you handle the embarrassment, the bruised credibility, theshaken confidence? Marc and Jeremy feel your pain and have the creative battles scars to prove it. In the words of Good Will Hunting’s Sean Maguire, “It’s not your fault.” 
The duo discuss creative failure, resilience, and how to recover credibility after an idea tanks. They announce the show’s move to video and preview a multi-part interview series with Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, covering his remarkable life, career highs and lows, and lessons about creativity.
The episode blends candid industry stories, practical tips for bouncing back, and reflections on taking risks—offering listeners guidance and encouragement for anyone who presents ideas and faces rejection.

In today's episode, Jeremy & Marc reflect on the people who shaped their careers—mentors, bosses, clients, and unexpected influences. Through candid stories about fear, trust, and boldness, they explore how relationships and moments of failure forged their creative approach.
They share lessons from a brilliant but intimidating leader, a renegade mentor who taught them to be daring, a manager who put people first, and a client who enforced discipline. The episode highlights the importance of having a boss who has your back, learning from everyone, and embracing risk to produce original work.

Hosts Marc and Jeremy share their top picks for three categories of Super Bowl 60 ads: Ugly ones, Irresponsible ones, and delightfully Childish ones. They call out celebrity-packed flops, awkward AI/de-aging work, and wasted big-budget moments, while praising standout spots like Liquid Death, Manscaped, and Redfin.
This episode mixes sharp critiques, business perspective, and honest laughs as the hosts debate which ads landed and which should have spent their money elsewhere.
Give it a listen to find out which brands fumbled, which played it perfectly, and which tossed Hail Mary passes.

In this episode of Ugly, Irresponsible, and Childish, we explore the unrelenting pursuit of creativity and the workplace cultures that either celebrate or suffocate it.
In this episode of Ugly, Irresponsible, and Childish, hosts Marc Levy and Jeremy Baka sit down with industry veteran Bob Osmond to discuss leadership, coaching, psychological safety, career transitions, and practical ways agencies can protect creativity while driving results.