Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell

When a mutual friend told me about Young Adult novelist Crickett Rumley‘s 2011 book, Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell, I immediately decided I had to email interview the author. Here’s the official scoop on the book: “Expelled from thirteen boarding schools in the past five years, seventeen-year-old Jane Fontaine Ventouras is returning to her Southern roots, and the small town of Bienville, Alabama, where ladies always wear pearls, nothing says hospitality like sweet tea and pimento cheese sandwiches, and competing in the annual Magnolia Maid Pageant is every girl’s dream.

“But Jane is what you might call an anti-belle, more fishnets and tattoos than sugar and spice. The last thing on her mind is joining the Magnolia Maid brigade and parading around town in a dress so big she can’t fit through a door. So when she finds herself up to her ears in ruffles and etiquette lessons, she’s got one mission: ESCAPE.”

This interview was conducted in late 2011. My thanks to Rumley for her time and humor.

Tim O’Shea: When did you first realize you derived creative satisfaction from writing teen comedy?

Crickett Rumley: Being a teenager is one of the most terrifying states of existence on earth. At least it was for me. On some level, everybody feels awkward and is searching for who they are, whether they are the most popular girl in school or the computer geek who hides in the corner and only comes out to answer calculus questions. Under those conditions, emotions run at full velocity – the highs are stratospheric, the lows are deeper than the sea. Everything means everything. So I’ve always felt that period in a character’s life is ripe for story-picking.

But discovering that I could write comedy? That’s a funny story! It was my third year of film school (I got my MFA in Film from Columbia University), and I was taking a class in writing television movies. At that point, I was known for writing earnest, angst-filled, twenty-something dramas, but I was not truly satisfied with anything I had written. It didn’t feel right. So we had this assignment to write ten pages of scenes based on a newspaper article. I chose a piece about a family of women who married old men and killed them for money. I thought I had written another earnest, angst-ridden drama, but when we read the scenes out loud in class, people were laughing. I don’t mean a little chuckle here and there. I mean, full-on, falling on the floor, can’t-catch-your-breath-laughing.

Cut to me, petrified. Eyes wider than the Grand Canyon. Turning redder than Rudolph the Reindeer’s nose. I couldn’t believe what was happening! My words had had that effect on my fellow classmates? What!? I started giggling, too, but not a charming, amused little laugh, noooooooo. Mine was a very high-pitched squeal of a giggle. Kinda like a pig. A stuck pig. A very nervous, freaked out stuck pig. But when the reading was over and the laughing died down, and all the tears had been wiped away, I felt amazing. I knew I had found my writing home, my writer’s voice, and I have never turned back.

O’Shea: Were you involved with the development of the trailer for the book? How enjoyable was that to develop?

Rumley: Yes, indeed! I wrote, co-directed and produced it. With my background in film, making a trailer was a natural extension of the book. Matt Kohnen and Nick Sivakumaran, my fellow instructors at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, got on board early to co-direct and shoot it for me. They were such a joy to work with. Lake Sharp, who played the Belle, is a dancer as well as an actress, and such a funny woman, that I knew that she would be able to rock that hoopskirt. And boy, did she! We laughed our butts off watching Lake move around in that dress, and the expressions on her face, well, I could never KEEP a straight face during filming! I would have to shove my hand in my mouth so that I didn’t laugh and ruin the moment. I especially love when she tries to play soccer in the dress. The kids in the trailer, my young friends Ruby and Hart, had a blast chasing each other around the dress. And Marcello, my dashingly handsome actor, was totally game for anything. He actually fell out of that tree again and again trying to kiss Lake!

Everyone on the shoot was a superstar, and I am very grateful that they shared their talents with me.

O’Shea: What was the biggest challenge in terms of writing Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt?

Rumley: Learning to write prose. After so many years of focusing on screenplays, I was accustomed to writing short bursts of dialogue and very sparse paragraphs of scene description. Everything has to be externalized in film, but in prose, there is a tremendous amount of internal monologue. It was quite challenging – overwhelming, in fact – to shift gears. I had to convince myself to just get it in on the page, that no matter how bad it was, I could fix it later. The first draft was over 450 pages long. 450 messy, disorganized pages. It took me a long time to figure out how to construct a chapter that was entertaining and funny. But I really felt like I had something, and I am a big fan of the revision process, so I just kept chipping away at it until I was happy.

O’Shea: In addition to writing, you also teach screenwriting. What’s the most enjoyable aspect of teaching for you?

Rumley: Getting to hear stories from my students! I have a very interactive teaching style, and I encourage writers to draw from their personal experiences to create characters and dramatic conflict. Because our students range in age (18-80) and nationality (often there are only two or three Americans in a class of 12), the stories they tell, the characters they talk about in class, are incredibly diverse. Yet we are all humans traveling under the sun, and emotions are powerfully universal, even if culture isn’t. Every day in the classroom, I find myself inspired, whether it’s a story that a South African television presenter tells us about a surprise birthday party that her family threw her at dawn in the African bush, or it’s a character portrait that an American vet creates based on an insurgent he shot in Iraq. Never a dull moment, believe me.

O’Shea: How important/beneficial was social media (such as FB) in terms of marketing the book?

Rumley: I am not quite sure yet, Tim. Of course I developed a website and a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account and I try to keep up with them on a regular basis. To be honest, though, I think my live, in-person interactions with people have had a lot of impact, as well. I LOVE talking to people!

That being said, look for more action on my website come the new year [2012]. I’m excited about upcoming blog posts, including interviews with bona fide Southern belles and anti-belles, and some contests featuring Smashbox Cosmetics as prizes!

O’Shea: Who was your favorite character to write in the book?

Rumley: That’s like asking who is my favorite child! Heehee, luckily, I have no children. I love all my characters, but Brandi Lyn was the most fun to write. She is incredibly thoughtful and sweet, yet she has strong beliefs and is not afraid to express them. She comes from a modest background, yet has a work ethic that would blow many of us out of the sky. She’s a fish out of water, but she doesn’t let that stop her from pursuing lofty dreams. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when she lovingly gives her daddy a hard time for using the Lord’s name in vain, and he responds by saying “Sorry, baby” and tossing a quarter into an overflowing jar. Brandi Lyn’s so sweet, everybody just wants to love her and make her happy! Talk about catching more flies with honey…

O’Shea: In terms of the book reviews, were you pleasantly surprised that the Booklist reviewer noticed that you worked “in nice points about shaking up the status quo while still keeping things light and bright”? 

Rumley: Thrilled, actually. In fact, I am still grinning from ear to ear. In all seriousness, the fact that readers can laugh and have fun with the characters, yet still respond to the serious points that matter the most to me as a storyteller, well, that is exactly what’s it’s all about for me.

O’Shea: Is it hard for you to read reviews, or do you enjoy reading them?

Rumley: I count myself lucky that most of my reviews have been good, so I’ve been enjoying them!

O’Shea: In doing book signings, did you ever have some fun encounters with recovering and/or active Southern Belles?

Rumley: Women of a certain age LOVE telling me about their hoopskirt stories from back in the days when hoopskirts were commonly worn to proms, debutante balls, cotillions, et.al. And the stories ALWAYS involve the skirt flying over their heads, often with a cute date present, which always leads to maximum awkwardness! I love it!

The truth of the matter is, though, people have strong reactions to the “Southern Belle Hell” part of the title. They either love it and immediately start telling me about the time they committed (or had to suffer through) some horrible Southern belle faux pas, or they hate it and think I am going straight to hell. Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but the head of the Historic Mobile Preservation Society did write me that as a bona fide Southern belle, she took issue with my title. Being the cheeky gal that I am, I immediately sent her a copy of the book. That was in May. Wonder if she’s read it yet?

O’Shea: Sorry, but I would kick myself if I did not ask–what was it like to work for John Sayles? Did working for him have some influence on your approach to writing?

Rumley: Working for John Sayles and his producer/partner Maggie Renzi was the best gig ever! They were incredibly supportive of their assistants and interns, and I learned a tremendous amount about how a film is made when I worked as their post-production assistant on the Secret of Roan Inish.

In terms of lasting influence, that would have to be in the realm of social commentary. This touches back on that question you asked about the review in Booklist. John’s work always contains an element of social commentary, and I also believe that it’s important that artists and writers not only express themselves, but express something of value to society. Of course, my take on life is a lot more comedic than John’s, but his influence is definitely present in my core belief system.

O’Shea: As writers go, you’re nothing if not ambitious. When most folks mention their next project, they have one or two items in the hopper. You had a list, that included:
— a TV pilot called Irreverent
— a screenplay about a bunch of crazy Southern women titled Fruitcake
– the stirrings of an idea for a musical for which I have named my father Head of Music Research
— And of course, I would love to write another Southern Belle Hell book!

Which of these on your list is closest to completion?

Rumley: You’re talking about a curse of blessings here, Tim! I always have a lot going on, but I don’t have a lot of time to devote to my own projects since I teach full-time. The good news is that I have drafts of the pilot and the screenplay written. They just need to be fixed. I am tossing around various ideas for my next novel, and I think I am going to draft a TV series version of Hoopskirt for my film and TV agent to shop around. I am SO looking forward to winter break – I am going to check myself into a hotel in Palm Springs (two hours east of my home in LA) for a few days and write me up a storm!

O’Shea: Is there anything you’d like to discuss that I neglected to ask you about?

Rumley: I am thrilled that this book got published and that people are responding warmly to it. Hands down, the best thing about publishing a novel, though, has been that I’ve had the chance to reconnect with people from all stages of my life! Friends from college, high school, of my mother, of my father, of my sister, long-lost relatives – they have come out of the woodwork with a tremendous amount of support and interest. I am so grateful! It’s been such a fun year and I can’t wait to get the next book out into the world!

The Mimic’s Own Voice

Tom Williams’ novella, The Mimic’s Own Voice, was released in 2011. Williams was kind enough to entertain a few questions of mine in this email interview (conducted in early December 2011). Williams’ story is a quirky consideration of mimicry and biography. And I’m not just saying that because of the kind sentiment he expresses at the start of the interview. As noted in his bio: “A former James Michener Fellow, he has received individual artist fellowships from the Wisconsin Arts Board and the Arkansas Arts Council. He currently is an associate editor of American Book Review” and Department Chair/Professor of English at Morehead State University. My thanks to Williams for his time and thoughts as well as Susan Henderson for helping to arrange this interview.

Tom Williams: Tim, let me first say thanks for agreeing to do this interview. One of the great things about having a small press book is that I’ve been required, pretty much, to do a lot of my own publicity. Yet I get to meet (in this virtual way) people like yourself, who do so much for writers and, it seems to me, receive so little in return. I hope I don’t stumble too much over these great questions.

Tim O’Shea: In developing this story, how early did you realize it was best suited as a novella, as opposed to a novel or short story?

Williams: As evidence of my unerring commercial intuition, I knew almost right away that it was a novella. The opening lines had a certain kind of tone and were pointing toward an almost historic sweep. I thought for a time it might be a novel but sensed the appropriate length was short of novel length after I had gone through, for the first time, my comedy history–from the one liner royalty to the vernacular story tellers to the mimics to the social critics to, finally, the observational comics. To flesh it out too much would, I thought, ruin the joke, and to try to bring it in under 30 pages would leave too much out.

O’Shea: In this Creative Loafing review, it is written: “Despite the layers of voices and styles, nothing about this book feels pastiche-ey or cobbled-together. Williams expertly subordinates each to the larger narrative, the academic story of Douglas Myles, and incorporates his source material smoothly into something more like a quilt than a collage, or like an onion.” How frustrating or taxing was it to build your narrative with the layers of voices and styles?

Williams: I’m having a conversation via email with another fiction writer, John Warner, whose debut novel, The Funny Man, shares many of the same themes and obsessions as The Mimic’s Own Voice, and one thing that he said that intrigued me was that in his own writing he needed to find ways to keep himself interested in the story. I went through a similar process. In trying to utilize all those voices and texts (I invented newspapers, journals, TV shows, all sorts of things for this purpose) in one narrative I was challenging myself and it became one of the joys of coming back to the manuscript every day. I can remember distinctly one morning inventing one of the critics, Melissa Tangier, and saying, “Oh man, she’s biracial, too,” and working to figure out where her lines would come in and blend with the other critics and the voice of the narrator. Seriously, though, I don’t think it would be the book it is without that element of multiple voices. That review,too, that you cite, by Jason Cook, is one that I think really gets at a lot of the crucial matters of the book, which is really heartening, knowing some people might have gotten what I was up to.

O’Shea: How important was it for the fuel/drive of the story that the lead character be “the only child of Angela and Ellis Myles, a black mother and white father“. And when I ask that question, I not only mean the racial aspect, but the element of being an only child?

Williams: You’re one of the first people to highlight the only child aspect of Douglas’s life, Tim, and I can’t stress enough how important I thought that was. Because I’m biracial, many people wondered how much of Douglas’s story has parallels with mine, and while I won’t say we are without similarities, what really helped make him the character I finally started to work with was his being an only child–unlike me. Had he any siblings, he wouldn’t have become a mimic, he wouldn’t have become the person he is, as he would have had somebody enough like him to identify with. As it is, when he’s finally orphaned and wholly alone, it’s as if he identifies with everyone else and never really, as we used to say, finds himself–though he’s one of the most famous people in the world.

O’Shea: In developing the novella, how much did you research the craft of being a mimic?

Williams: I hope this doesn’t disappoint, but virtually none. For one, there isn’t a whole lot, I’ve since discovered, to research. Mimicry seems one of those skills that people have or don’t have. I’m an okay mimic myself, but I’m out of practice and I was never up to the level Douglas Myles is. With him, I tried to imagine what it would be like if I could find in everyone’s voice something to reproduce and let it go from there. This lack of research might explain why I also left out in Douglas’s manuscript any of the techniques of mimicry. I feel kind of like a fraud now. Thanks, Tim.

O’Shea: How intrigued were you to read this analysis, which juxtaposed you work with Phong Nguyen’s Memory Sickness?

Williams: Speaking of great reviewers, John Stazinski couldn’t have written a better review if I had invented him. As well, in passing, he compared me to Sartre, Camus and Ellison, who belong to a club where I won’t even be invited to to clean the bathrooms. Moreover, I liked that my book shared space with Phong’s incredible collection. I don’t think his stories in that particular collection confront head on as much the issue of biracial identity, but his sensibility, shaped by being biracial, too, is very similar to mine. It’s that sense of being in-between, having connections with but never completely, to different cultures and experiences. I don’t want to speak for Phong, but as a biracial man, I’ve always felt like a spy without allegiances, bouncing between two warring nations.

He and I, along with some other first book authors, are going to read at Barbara’s Bookstore in Chicago during the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference [which was held in February 2012]. Should be a good time.

O’Shea: I’m curious, given that the novella is dedicated to your mother, do you agree with this writer’s assessment: “He keeps the memory of his mother alive in Myles’ beautifully written character.”

Williams: That is a wonderful sentiment, one that makes me wish I were the writer this person thinks I am, but in truth the book was finished long before my mother died. At the risk of sounding totally sentimental, I had always known that I would dedicate my first book to my parents. When I got the notice from Main Street Rag that they wanted to publish The Mimic’s Own Voice it was September and she’d died that May.

But in a way, Douglas Myles’s whole need to mimic stemmed from a need to keep people’s voices alive, even when the people themselves were no more. And of course this is, to me, the tragedy of the book, of Douglas’s art (if you want to call mimicry art)–that art can console but not quite heal. Yet what would we do without it?

This reminds me, too, that I need to get to work because I owe my dad a dedication. And my wife. And my son. And all the teachers who helped me to get where I am now.

O’Shea: Given the complexity of the novella, how much revision and editing (and how long as process) did it take you to get it completed?

Williams: I’ve shared this before in interviews, that , for one, I finished it so long ago, I’m wondering whether I’m inventing another fiction when I talk about its composition. But in truth it was such a joy to draft that I remember finishing the first version very quickly. A couple of months, perhaps. It was called at that time the Impressionist’s Own Voice, which sounds incredibly clumsy now yet the only reason I changed it was because a visit to Books A Million in 2003 shoved in my face some copies of Hari Kunzru’s novel The Impressionist.

Revision didn’t take all that long either. A month or two. I worked, as I tend to do, exclusively on this. Douglas Myles really consumed me. I wanted his world to be as amazing as he was and literally seven days a week I tried to make that happen.

The real story is how long the book sat, unpublished and nearly forgotten by its author. I am pretty sure the earliest completed version of it was part of a collection of stories I sent out in the summer of 2003; obviously, it didn’t get published. (Though the press, I point out with no glee, is no longer, so I got lucky by their rejection.) I sent that collection out to some contests, and tried too with some novella contests–no luck. I even sent out the novella to an online journal that specializes in longer works. Again, same story. That Scott Douglass (it just occurred to me that he has nearly the same last name as my central character’s first name) of Main Street Rag asked me if I had a novella to submit to their nascent novella series, and that he and Craig Renfroe said yes to it still strikes me as the most unlikely of dreams coming true.

O’Shea: Anything you’d like to discuss that I neglected to ask you about?

Williams: One thing that I have yet to hear about in the reviews and responses The Mimic’s Own Voice has generated is a discussion about the anonymous scholar narrator. John Stazinski gets it right that the narrator, in the world of the novella, is a “Comedic Studies scholar” but to my knowledge, no one has commented much on him. And to me he’s as much a mimic as Douglas, as any young scholar or even student who has to go through the paces of speaking with a bunch of others voices to speak for his point of view. That’s another thing I love about John’s review: He speaks of how the book turns on the idea of the notion of how all of us are nothing like a stable or consistent self but instead a “pastiche of voices.” But while I’m not saying that we’re all mimics, I am, or at least I thought I was, through both Douglas and the narrator, trying to have fun while exploring the notion of trying to find one’s voice through the use of other’s voices. I’m still trying to find my own, to be quite honest.

Thanks again, Tim. This was a blast.

Terence Bernie Hines

The next two months are going to be quite busy for actor Terence Bernie Hines. First up, on March 9, A Thousand Words, a comedy-drama Eddie Murphy film will open, featuring Hines among the supporting cast. Then, in April, Rushlights, a murder-mystery movie with a cast featuring Beau Bridges–and including Hines as well–will be released. In anticipation of these two new films, Hines was kind enough to entertain a series of questions in an email interview about the creative process in both projects.

In your next film, A Thousand Words, you are part of a cast that includes Eddie Murphy, Allison Janney, and Jack McBrayer. How did you land the role–and who are most of your scenes with?

I auditioned for the part and was initially cast in a different role; but when I met with the director Brian Robbins on set, he felt I would better fit the role as a friend of Eddie’s in his office. So everything I do is with Eddie – and we definitely had fun!

What were some of the benefits of getting to work with a director like Brian Robbins?

Brian has been in the business since he was a kid and has done literally hundreds of shows as an actor, producer or director, so he has a great sensibility for working with actors. And when he sees something that works, he just lets you go with it, which is always nice.

What appealed to you about working on A Thousand Words? Were there certain aspects of the role or your scenes that proved challenging?

I pride myself on being able to hold my own with anyone I work with – and I’ve worked with Academy Award-winning actors. I’ve followed Eddie’s career from way back when he was on SNL, before breaking big time in Hollywood. Yeah, he’s had some downs like everybody, but at the same time he’s made some of the funniest movies ever. Bottom line: Dude is funny! So for me, the challenge was to keep up with him and his improv and not let anything fall flat. And we wound up hitting it off really well and loved working together.

Not many folks can say they worked in a film with one of the legendary Bridges brothers. Did you have many scenes with Beau in Rushlights?

This is murder-mystery drama where I play the owner and cook of a small-town diner who knows everyone. I only had one scene with Beau, but it’s a pivotal one in the movie. I loved working with him. He really is a great guy, personally as well as professionally. Very easy to work with and just as easy going as anybody. What’s really cool about this movie is his son Jordan – a great actor in his own right – also plays a lead in the film. We all got along great, and I got a kick out of seeing how tight they were off set. I try to learn something from everyone that I work with, and spending time with them on breaks was like sitting around a campfire listening to great stories. And he had a ton of them about his experiences growing up in Hollywood as the son of an iconic actor, going to acting school, and as an actor himself. I would jump at the chance of working with Beau again.

What kind of a creative dynamic did Rushlights director Antoni Stutz foster?

I had worked on a black comedy called Expired, with Samantha Morton and Jason Patric, that Antoni was the Executive Producer on. But this movie is most definitely a drama, and he was at first a bit leery that I would be too funny in the film; but I convinced him that I could be great in any genre. Antoni has a very strong sense of atmosphere and mystery and goes out of his way to convey that on film.

Typically with feature films, there’s a great deal of lagtime between when you film your scenes and when the film is finally released. How much patience does it take, patiently waiting for a film to be released–given that understandably you want people to see your work that you are proud of, of course?

You know, sometimes I hate that! Don’t they know every film we do is really about “us” and getting our work out there to the fans?! I mean really! All kidding aside, it really can be frustrating. And the reasons a film gets delayed can be so varied (not enough money to release and promote it properly, a big star with power didn’t like the director and demanded his role be re-cast and re-shot after principle photography was completed, sometimes a great independent movie can take a while to get a distributor). On the other hand, sometimes it works in your favor and several movies you’ve done in the past all come out within months of each other and you appear to be much busier than you are!

How many scripts/roles do you consider in a given year? I’m always auditioning or having meetings.

I usually do one to two features per year. I also do TV and have done some classic short films as well, such as Jedi Gym and a short called The Handkerchief, which won the LA film festival a few years ago.

What’s the biggest challenge to staying a successful actor in the highly competitive film market?

For me it’s finding the right opportunities, being prepared, and then taking advantage of them. Being a great actor is never enough in this business; there are plenty of excellent actors that don’t work for way too many reasons to mention. I’ve been very fortunate to have worked in films with the likes of Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Harrison Ford – among other great actors. I constantly watch and never stop learning. That and really believing in your talent – and getting important people in the business to agree with you by any means necessary!

And yet, there is a familiarity to his Tweets. Consider this.

.@rupertmurdoch Great New Year’s party the other night. I think I left my LMFAO cd at your pad. Need that. Burn it & return it. #watsupdoch

— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) January 3, 2012

Then oddly Dave tweets this

Great New Year’s party the other night.I think I left my LMFAO cd at your pad.Need that.Burn it & return it.

— Late Show (@Late_Show) January 3, 2012

I hope he keeps “jokingly” ripping off his fellow hosts.

A couple of months back, I interviewed writer/director Jairaj Walia about Pendejo, his romantic comedy starring Danny Trejo, Raja Fenske and Fernanda Romero, while the film was in post-production. More recently, the Pendejo team granted Technorati the exclusive premiere of the film’s official trailer (featured above) along with brief interviews of Fenske and Romero. My thanks to Fenske and Romero for their time. Current plans are for Pendejo to be released in 2012.

Five Questions with Raja Fenske

Were you nervous the first day on the set, or are you too experienced to get nervous any longer?

Not so much nervous. More anxious and excited to take on the role and begin shooting. It was my first experience being the lead in a film and I loved the idea that I would be in a position to carry a film.

Which attracted you more to working on the project, the director or the script?

Initially the script drew me in. It was witty and smart. It was one of those projects that you relish the chance to be a part of. Once we began filming, I quickly became very close friends with the director Jairaj Walia.

What was it like working with Danny Trejo?

An absolute pleasure and honor. Mr. Trejo is well known for his tough exterior and the badass characters he portrays. But I was lucky enough to see a rare side of him. He’s one hell of a comedic actor with a great sense of humor. I hope we’re lucky enough to collaborate again in the future.

Can you single out a favorite scene or moment in the film?

Wow, there’s so many brilliant scenes – and I had fun with every moment – but if I had to narrow it down to only one, I’d have to say the Haunted House scene was one of my favorites to shoot. Everyone on set had such a great time making that scene happen.

What is the most challenging aspect of doing a comedy?

Doing justice to the script and story Jai created. When I read the script, it was laugh-out-loud funny. My biggest concern was making sure that when the scenes came off the page they were as funny seeing them as they were if you had read them.

Five Questions with Fernanda Romero

How quickly were you able to establish a rapport with your co-star Raja?

It was pretty easy. We had instant good energy, which made it very easy and fun.

What interested you in working on the movie?

The script and the humor in it! I really liked the story.

What was it like working with the cast?

It was drama-free and quite fun on set.

Was it hard to decide how you wanted to approach playing your character?

Not at all. When I read it, I pictured her immediately! I saw her as savvy, fun, and a little bit of a joker – but never mean.

What did you enjoy most about working with director Jairaj Walia?

Jai really listens to you and is very happy to hear your feedback. At the end of the day we are a team. And having great communication with your director is a must.

It’s bittersweet to hear him be critical of his Sullivan appearances, lamenting that he cannot watch them…but admitting he intended to watch them someday. I hope he got the chance. Or hopefully heaven has a great cable package.

The term comic genius is an understatement with this fellow. His influence on comedy can be felt everyday. Hell, his influence permeates throughout The Daily Show.

Mayhem's Allstate Presence

Back in October, I expressed admiration for Allstate’s Mayhem commercial branding.

But today, I got contacted by the fine marketing folks at Allstate, who clearly appreciated my post.  But they also wanted to make me aware that while I linked to the Allstate Mayhem YouTube page, I overlooked Allstate’s main Mayhem page, which is pretty engaging in its own right–as it provides links to the videos and Mayhem’s equally funny Facebook posts.

My thanks to Allstate for the comedy and for making me aware of the page. Enjoy.

Added bonus, comments include a supposed endorsement by Doors surviving member, John Densmore, as well as someone who appreciates the fact that Fallon’s people reproduced the set from The Doors’ Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

I am not sure which I enjoy from this project: Stewart riding a bike through the opening credits or the guest star for that week’s episode: Kate Jackson.