When I found out that the folks over at Ironbound Films had made Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie, a documentary about one of the most unique television hosts from the 1980s, I was intrigued. Then when I learned the documentary was going to have its world premiere this month at the Tribeca Film Festival, I was fortunate enough to email interview one of the three creative forces (and directors) from Ironbound, Jeremy Newberger.

Tim O’Shea: Was it hard to track down folks that had worked on the production of his show, or are many of them still active in the industry today?

Jeremy Newberger: Finding the producers of “The Morton Downey Jr. Show” was easy. Getting them to overlook twenty years of repressed rage and therapy bills was a little trickier. Most of them are still in production on everything from theSPEED Network to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Show creator Bob Pittman is now CEO of a little company called Clear Channel.

O’Shea: Much has been made of the bigoted/anti-gay slur that Rev. Al Sharpton uttered (and was the subject of some coverage for the documentary last year). While I know Sharpton declined to be interviewed, were there other reluctant interview subjects that you were able to convince to participate? Don’t you expect once the film premieres at Tribeca and gains wider attention that Sharpton will have to comment on the clip in some regard?

Newberger: Often with documentaries, potential interviewees decline. Most people we approached were ready and willing to participate. In some cases, it seemed as if they were waiting for our call. Reverend Al Sharpton will speak volumes about our project, with either his words or silence.

O’Shea: I had long forgotten that present day presidential hopeful Ron Paul was on Downey’s show. What other present day movers and shakers were you able to feature from Downey’s shows?

Newberger: We have often referred to “The Morton Downey Jr. Show” as spring training for today’s pundits. In addition to Ron Paul, we feature Gloria Allred, Pat Buchanan, Stanley Crouch, Alan Dershowitz, and Curtis Sliwa, to name a few.

O’Shea: What did you learn about Downey in the research of the project that genuinely surprised you?

Newberger: One of the biggest surprises was the Downey family’s relationship to the Kennedys. Morton Downey Sr. and Joe Kennedy Sr. were neighbors and best friends. Clearly Morton Downey Jr.’s upbringing helped shape hisworldview.

O’Shea: How early in the project did you realize you wanted to include Chris Elliott among the interviews for the doc (because of his Downey imitation)?

Newberger: In the late ‘80s, all three directors watched “The Morton Downey Jr. Show” and Letterman after. At the time, a 28-year-old Chris Elliott was doing a hilarious Mort impression on Letterman. He loved Mort, and was one of the people I mentioned who was “waiting for our call.” We interview Chris at Manhattan’s Bowery Poetry Club. His performance had us rolling on the floor.

O’Shea: You attended many of the tapings of the show yourself (in fact, as noted here) “Jeremy even played Morton Downey Jr. Show dress-up with his high school friends.”) When the cameras were off, was there a substantial shift in the demeanor of folks involved in the show? What insight did you gain (which helped inform your work on this doc) from attending those tapings?

Newberger: None of the three of us ever actually made it to a taping, either because we weren’t allowed or couldn’t get a ride. We were forced to watch (and imitate) it in our living rooms. Our friends (then heroes) who did attend are featured in our film. We gather them for a therapy session in Downey’s old studio.

O’Shea: In the doc, are you able to draw parallels between some of Downey’s tactics with tactics employed by TV and radio talk show hosts of today?

Newberger: We visit a Tea Party media conference to tap into the latest crop of Morts. The cultural critics in the film detail the anatomy of a populist entertainer. Mort’s producers reveal how one is forged.

O’Shea: How challenging was it to convince Bob Pittman to license the Downey footage to you?

Newberger: The founder of MTV, Bob Pittman we believe was convinced by our creativity. We didn’t just want to make a Morton Downey Jr. documentary, but an in-your-face, take-no-prisoners cult classic. We took a gamble that Bob would share our vision. He rewarded us with the show footage.

O’Shea: Creatively, was there a debate whether or not to include animation in the documentary to recreate moments in Downey’s life that had not been filmed?

Newberger: The three of us were all on board to animate parts of the film. Not necessarily to recreate un-filmed moments of Mort’s life, but to portray his demons. Our South African animator Murray John employs a hand-drawn,“Heavy Metal” style.

O’Shea: Were there other challenges to overcome in getting this documentary made?

Newberger: The biggest challenge we faced was combing through more than 400 tapes of show footage to not necessarily capture the finest moments—as if putting together a “best of” compilation—but to sculpt a narrative and get inside Mort’s mind and motivation.

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

Newberger: ÉVOCATEUR: THE MORTON DOWNEY JR. MOVIE is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2012. We encourage your readers to attend a screening:

The video was posted on YouTube courtesy of Smith and the 880+members of the Facebook group, We Miss the Stein Club.

What recently garnered my interest about this seemingly obscure club of the early 1980s? Well I stumbled across a YouTube video of Allen Ginsberg appearing at the club. I am hoping to find out more about the club in the coming weeks (looking at the folks on the fan page, it appears that many of the folks are friends with many of my Atlanta art scene fans–so I am hoping to mine their collective knowledge). But for today, I offer the video (plus a link to the second part). Enjoy.

What really surprises me about my ignorance of this club? Less than 10 years later in the early 1990s, my then girlfriend and I rented an apartment less than a mile from the club’s former location.

Article first published as Stephen Battaglio on From Yesterday to TODAY on Technorati.

From Yesterday to Today

In 2012, the U.S. national TV broadcast network NBC will celebrate that Today, its morning news and talk show, first went on the air 60 years ago in January of 1952. Indeed, NBC’s celebration started a little early in mid-November, with the release of From Yesterday to Today: Six Decades of America’s Favorite Morning Show, a book written by Stephen Battaglio (TV Guide‘s business editor) and published by Running Press. Battaglio, who was granted access to the TODAY show’s archives in order to fully document the rich history of the show, was kind enough to take part in a recent email interview about his 272-page book. The book features a variety of information and photos covering the show’s 60-year history as well as an introduction by current Today show host Matt Lauer.

Did NBC give you full access to its show archives?

Yes. We were able to use their photos. I was able to review past episodes of Today – a lot of fun – and interviews with the personalities that NBC News producers had done over the years. I combined that with my own research and reporting on the show done over my career as a journalist covering the TV industry. I also did a few dozen fresh interviews with the current and past Today producers and cast members.

Personally I think an entire book could be devoted to Pat Weaver, a very important figure in NBC’s history. While I am sure you were already well aware of his role in Today’s formation, I was wondering if there were things you learned about him that you did not know.

Pat Weaver wrote his autobiography a few years ago and always appeared on the Today anniversary shows. He has never been shy about recounting his role as a television pioneer. I think the enduring key to his brilliance was his understanding that live television with personalities who provide a connection and companionship to the viewer could survive the technological changes we’ve seen in television. Sixty years after he created Today, people still want to get up in the morning and have someone they like tell them that the world is still there.

No other morning show ever had a chimpanzee for a host. But I am curious if, in researching the book, did you find there was another host during the show’s history that surprised you?

The chimp, J. Fred Muggs, was not a host. But his arrival saved the program, which was almost cancelled in its first year. I think the surprising aspect of the hosts is that they all possessed distinctive personalities, interesting quirks and diverse backgrounds. They did not all come out of the same mold. That made them fun to write about.

A morning TV news show of this kind had not been attempted before the TODAY show. Are you surprised, despite the trail he blazed in new TV content, that Dave Garroway is far from a household name?

For nine years, few people logged as many hours on television as Dave Garroway. But it was live television. There were no repeats that ran in perpetuity like I Love Lucy. He was not an actor who appeared in classic films that still run on cable TV. He has been dead for 30 years and his career had faded 20 years before that. When you’re not on the air, it’s easy to fade from the public memory. But I think this book will remind or reveal to readers that he was a unique talent and a very unusual guy.

When did the Today show stop having the host doing commercials (a practice done as shown in this photo of Hugh Downs)?

In the mid 1970s, NBC News wanted Tom Brokaw to host Today. He was the White House reporter at the time, and he did not want to do commercials. He thought it would hurt his reputation as a hard news journalist. When he was approached a second time he was told that he would not have to “hold the can” as they used to say, and he signed on.

Given her long history in TV, some people may not realize how pivotal Barbara Walters was to the show, how much do you delve into that?

The book goes into great detail about how Barbara Walters paved the way for women in TV journalism and helped define the skills that every morning program personality needed to have to succeed – the ability to comfortably do hard news and softer entertainment segments. She also had a deep affection for Today, and I don’t think she has ever gotten over leaving NBC.

Not every author can have the full current Today show lineup promoting the book with a signing, how great was that?

What I liked most about it is that it allowed me to experience close up what I wrote in the book. The people on Today understand how much the program means to the viewers and how it’s really important part of their lives. It’s a very intimate relationship unlike any other in television.

Employee of the Month and Other Big Deals

If you have enjoyed the comedy of Mystery Science Theater 3000, or the more recent movie-mocking gang, Cinematic Titanic, you have comedian/print and radio essayist Mary Jo Pehl partially to thank. There are a few writers that have the power to bring a smile to my face, far less writers can make me laugh uncontrollably. I have grown to rely on Pehl to always be in the latter writer category. Her recently released book, Employee of the Month and Other Big Deals, features some of the comedian/essayist’s strongest (and most amusing) tales. This collection of essays partially chronicles her life as she moved from Minnesota to New York, then ultimately Texas–with all the great and funny tales in between. Upon learning of her new book, I contacted Pehl for a brief email interview about her stories, as well learning which writers entertain her…among other big deals (to clearly borrow from her title).

The blurbs in praise of this book are the who’s who of good comedy, including Trace Beaulieu who said: “Mary Jo Pehl can do what very few authors can—make me laugh out loud.” How gratifying was it to see your peers say things like this and of a similar vein?

I suppose I put them on the spot since we travel together and they’d have to face me. Still, I really respect and value their sensibilities, and so was hoping they’d think of something good to say about the book.

How cathartic was it to write the write the introduction, where you were able to discuss your other previously published “book” (a term I assume you prefer I use loosely).

A friend sent me this quote by Robert Cormier: “The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.”

I remember reading an essay or story by Ann LaMotte in which she spoke of a high-profile failure. I was so struck by how candid – and funny – she was about the whole thing. That resonated with me, just to own up to it and to realize there are no perfect systems. It’s very freeing to be honest. It’s very freeing to be able to laugh at one’s self. It’s very freeing to admit there were mistakes along the way!

I hope it was clear that the whole thing wasn’t the publisher’s fault. He was a sweet fellow. It just wasn’t a good match and I hadn’t thought it through nor did I take enough responsibility for the end result.

In the introduction you also mock the quality of your journal-writing as a child, but would you say that all of that journal-writing helped to make you a stronger writer?

I think it has always clarified my thoughts and my process. Sometimes I think so many things about something that I have to write to sort it out. A flow chart for myself, I suppose! Hard to say if it’s actually improved my writing. I hope so. I hope I’ve made some progress from labored taco chip analogies.

Your self-made pants that figure so prominently in your essay, The Crush, did you ever wear them again after (not to spoil things for folks who have not read the book) the incident?

Ha! Great question! I’m sure I did! I thought I was pretty bitchin’ in ‘em!

When you write about your family, do you ever vet the stories by them, or are they all fine with you writing about them–no matter the subject?

I don’t vet the stories through my family. I know their sensibilities and none of the stories are particularly inflammatory. However, a person here and there has taken me to task for what they perceive as a harsh portrayal of my parents in the story about living with them. I don’t see it. I say nothing in that story that I haven’t ribbed them about personally! My parents’ are so great: my mom loves it any time she’s portrayed. I could call her a puppy-killing, lard-ass, meth dealing tyrannical despot and she’d show her friends: “Look! Mary Jo wrote about me! That’s me!”

That said, I was concerned about the story about my sister losing a child. Because we are very close, I asked her if it would be okay if I wrote about it. She said yes. I’m not sure she’s ever read it, or what she thinks of it.

Who was your editor on Employee of the Month–and how did they help you to make it a stronger book?

The splendid Tom Dupree, with whom I’d worked on the MST3K Colossal Guide. He has this great way of understanding what I’m trying to do and being encouraging and supportive, and yet administering tough love as needed. It definitely, hands-down, no two ways about it, unquestionably and indubitably made it a stronger book.

There are Postcards from China (and Postcards from Peru) that pop up periodically in the book, were you hesitant to depart from the traditional essay format with these comedic snippets?

Nope! Not hesitant in the least! It was really exciting, actually, to discover a way to have the bits in there. The postcards were derived from longer, more traditional travel essays, and I just felt like those essays, though they had appeared elsewhere, were a little plodding. It was fun to reduce them to their essence – the intent of which was to entertain and make you laugh. And that’s when it struck me – why couldn’t these just be postcards? When you’re self-publishing, you have room to experiment.

Clearly you are a damn funny writer, but I am curious, which writers entertain you?

Why, thank you! Where do I even start… E.B. White, David Sedaris, Nathaniel Philbrick, Sarah Vowell, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Kevin Kling, Evelyn Waugh, Anne LaMotte, E. B. White, James Thurber, Dawn Powell, Wallace Shawn, Lynda Barry… and on and on.

I enjoyed the diagrams/art that accompanied some of the book’s essays. Who provided art for your book and how much did you enjoy seeing the comedic diagrams that accompanied your writing?

Len Peralta did the illustrations. There were a couple of things that I thought would be heightened or augmented with illustrations; the story of me trying to get out of a guy’s car just felt like, “You have got to see this”. With the bridge drawing, I wanted to give a sense of Wodney’s artistic rendering of his cautionary tale — as he was driving a car. Len is tremendously talented, I wanted to work with him, and I think the illustrations are just the right touch!

I love the honesty with which you write in your essay on scuba diving (and the struggles of getting on your wetsuit). Is it harder to write essays like that where you expose yourself half naked (in a manner of speaking) flaws and all to the reader?

Like I mentioned at the top, it is very freeing to me to be honest. To be sure, my ultimate goal is to be funny, not to perform some personal catharsis at the expense of the time of the reader. I find that that when I’m just honest about it, and exposing my own foibles and vulnerability, people can relate.

So will you be selling the book if folks come to see you at future Cinematic Titanic shows?

Yes, indeed!

What did I forget to ask you about?

Irritable bowel syndrome.

So when pal of the blog, award-winning novelist and host of  History Channel’s Decoded, Brad Meltzer, sent me a link to his new TEDxMIA speech, How To Write Your Own Obituary, I clicked on it immediately.

As with most things Meltzer, it’s worthwhile viewing.

Given that I was curious to learn more about the folks cited, I did a search for their names. Imagine my surprise when I found that both women had been featured in the same newspaper back in mid-September, in a Style piece, Find your body’s perfect skirt.

I love the irony of the story’s opening paragraph: “If you have a less-defined waist with large breasts and narrow hips and slim legs, you have a top-heavy, apple-shaped body. Show off your womanly figure by highlighting your legs and cleavage (but not too much). ” That’s right, “but not too much.”

But once I discovered the main mission of the website: “Largehearted Boy is all about sharing the love I have for music, literature, and popular culture. A true labor of love, the site now features every day daily downloads of free and legal music as well as shorties (daily music, literature, geeky and popular culture news). ” I realized it was a site I should be visiting more frequently. And if you love pop culture as much as I do, you should visit the site as well.

Welcome ContainsEggs

There’s a couple of pals of mine who I have pestered for a good long while to get a blog or a twitter account, and damn if it did not happen. The blog is called ContainsEggs (an inspired and yet odd branding of a blog) and it is drowning in witty and wacky as hell content.

Bottom line, anytime you write a headline with soap opera veteran Deidre Hall as the punchline, you have hooked me.

Another interesting fact? The writers of that blog rarely use exclamation points. Rarely, but I did not say never.