Amy Koppelman is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, A Mouthful of Air and I Smile Back. Her recent directorial debut for A Mouthful of Air stars Amanda Seyfreid, Finn Wittrock, Jennifer Carpenter and Paul Giamatti.

She received her undergraduate degree from University of Pennsylvania, and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. Koppelman and her screenwriting partner adapted I Smile Back for the screen. The film, starring Sarah Silverman, premiered at the 2015 Sundance, Toronto and Deauville Film Festivals. Her other book is called Hesitation Wounds.

Shownotes

• Tips for dealing with REJECTION; what Amy does to push through the consistent rejection of being a writer and director

• What she thought of the other writers in her MFA program at Columbia and how much they disliked her

• How she got her first agent for A Mouthful of Air after being rejected from “all of the agents in NY”

• How she got her novel I Smile Back to Sarah Silverman and made that into a movie on a low budget, before premiering at Sundance

• How difficult it was to get financing for A Mouthful of Air, despite having Amanda Seyfried at meetings

• How she went from being asked by Amanda Seyfried not to direct A Mouthful of Air to getting her blessing

• Why you have to be indefatigable to pursue a career as an artist

• How you get to the next place in your career as an artist

Amy Koppelman

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Trailer for A Mouthful of Air

Review from Time Magazine

Where to Watch: Prime Video Apple TV Vudu More

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