Posts Tagged interview
Jeremy Newberger on Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie
Posted by admin in pop culture, talk show on April 5, 2012
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.
Musician J.D. McPherson on Signs & Signifiers
Article first published as Musician J.D. McPherson on Signs & Signifiers on Technorati.
These are busy times for musician J.D. McPherson, seeing as this week he will be making the rounds at SXSW, then next month will see Rounder Records re-release his album, Signs & Signifiers (initially released by his bass player Jimmy Sutton’s HiStyle Records in 2010). McPherson is a singer/songwriter who clearly has an affinity for music’s history, but with a distinctive voice that defies any comparison and that is garnering him an increasing amount of attention. Last week he learned that his music had been nominated in the rock/hard rock category by the Independent Music Awards. This was on the heels of learning last month that Decca Records will be releasing his Signs & Signifiers in the United Kingdom, news that pleased him so much that he tweeted “This is more special than gold to me”. McPherson was recently kind enough to answer a few of my questions about the making of his album in this email interview. After reading the interview, be sure to check his tour page to see if he’s playing near you.
How important was it to you to be able to record Signs & Signifiers in 100% analog?
It was my first experience recording in this way, and I can promise you that I have no interest in recording in any other environment from here on out. It was a completely exciting and rewarding process.
Actor Terence Bernie Hines on A Thousand Words, Rushlights
Article first published as Actor Terence Bernie Hines on A Thousand Words, Rushlights on Technorati.
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.
Raja Fenske and Fernanda Romero on Pendejo / Official Trailer Online
Article first published as Raja Fenske and Fernanda Romero on Pendejo on Technorati.
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.
Kevin Avery on The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson and Conversations with Clint
Article first published as Kevin Avery on The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson on Technorati.
The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson
From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Paul Nelson was known for writing passionate, insightful criticism of folk and rock music that showed a partiality for singer-songwriters. He, and his record collection, was of great importance to Bob Dylan early in his career. As an editor at Rolling Stone, he influenced many great critics, such as Charles M. Young and Mikal Gilmore. But suddenly, in the early 1980s, when editorial decisions at Rolling Stone ran contrary to his thinking, Nelson walked away from music criticism. In fact, he dropped out of criticism entirely, choosing to spend his remaining years in relative obscurity, working at a video rental store. He died in 2006, but not before writer Kevin Avery contacted him about a potential biography. After Nelson’s death, Avery was tapped to compile this new Fantagraphics book, Everything Is An Afterthought: The Life And Writings Of Paul Nelson, in which Avery documented Nelson’s career as well as collecting his writing. In addition to discussing this book, Avery also discussed his other Nelson-related book that he edited, Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983 (Continuum Books). To mark the release of both books, Avery recently allowed me to interview him via email.
Not to toss a large question your way, but how did Paul Nelson help to shape present day rock criticism?
I’m probably the wrong person to ask. As a result of immersing myself in the music and criticism of the Seventies and Eighties, I really don’t follow rock criticism much anymore, but what I do read bears very little resemblance to the kind of writing that Paul did. Paul’s writing was more contemplative and expansive—in contrast to some of what I read today, which is dictated by time and space constraints (some of the very things that brought Paul’s tenure at Rolling Stone to an end in 1982).
Ryan Stoner on MoPix
MoPix
I’ll be the first to admit, I know next to nothing about film distribution. But when I caught wind of the plans for MoPix, a film and video distribution platform set to launch in January 2012, I wanted to find out more about it. A few emails later, I was in contact with MoPix founder, Ryan Stoner, who was more than willing to educate me in the ways of digital distribution and technology. My thanks to Stoner for his time.
Tim O’Shea: When and how did MoPix initially get conceived?
Ryan Stoner: MoPix was conceived in late 2010. We were developing entertainment apps for the likes of Warner Brothers, Disney and entertainment moguls like Anthony Zuicker the creator of CSI. We had just finished building the Dark Prophecy app, and were exploring creating an ePub authoring solution for publishers looking to enhance their books with a layer of context aware content, transforming an ordinary ebook into a full sensory experience, complete with audio, visuals, discoverable content, special effects, and other content to enhance the reading experience. We quickly realized the pitfalls of transmedia content rights for back catalogues and shifted our focus to the film work. We saw an opportunity to replace the income lost from traditional distribution outlets by creating a platform for filmmakers to release their work. We also saw it as an opportunity to enable users to experience more than just the film, such as, photo galleries, behind the scenes, and any second story content created around the film.
Stephen Battaglio on From Yesterday to Today
Posted by admin in episodic TV, pop culture on December 1, 2011
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.
Sara Hickman on The Best of Times
Article first published as Musician Sara Hickman on The Best of Times on Technorati.
The Best of Times
During 2010, in the wake of the Texas Legislature’s budgetary cuts for arts funding, Sara Hickman, the Texas State Musician of the Year, decided to use her position to raise funds and awareness for the importance of arts education (and the funding of it) for children. More exactly, she spearheaded a collaborative effort–with a variety of Texas artists including Shawn Colvin, Willie Nelson, Rhett Miller, Robert Earl Keen as well as many more–to record a collection of Hickman’s own songs. The project, The Best of Times, was recently released as a two-CD, 38-cut collection by Waterloo Records. All proceeds from the sale of the CD set go directly to the Theatre Action Project, a non-profit that supports unique arts programs for more than 16,000 young people. To fully grasp the drive behind her charitable efforts, I recently email interviewed Hickman.
How did you go about getting all of the many fellow talented people who contributed their musical talents to Best of Times?
I knew I had, at least, a year to start lining up musicians to record for The Best of Times because Willie Nelson, who also recorded for the album, was the State Musician before my position took place. So, I immediately made a “wish list” and began calling/emailing/asking in person. I kept a giant chart on the wall with the names of artists/bands I had contacted, the titles of songs I had sent, if they had responded, if they were in the studio, if they had finished recording, if I had the recording.
Chelsea Crowell on New Album, Crystal City
Posted by admin in Music, streaming video on September 28, 2011
Chelsea Crowell's Crystal City
Winter 2012 marks the U.S. release of singer/songwriter Chelsea Crowell’s second album, Crystal City. To mark the upcoming release, Crowell was kind enough to do another interview with me. And her frequent collaborator/producer Loney Hutchins jumped in with his perspective. Crowell is giving folks plenty of places to give a listen (or watch a video) to her new music. My thanks to Crowell and Hutchins for their time on this email interview.
Tim O’Shea: I love the video for I’m Gonna Freeze, where did you find the archival footage to use for the video? Or was that present day video made to look vintage?
Chelsea Crowell: I don’t know, ask my favorite person to work with Colm O’Herlihy. I entrust him with whatever and he never fails. Plus part of it is that it’s a surprise for me too. He is one of about one I would let take over full control of something like that.
Actress-Producer Camille Mana
Article first published as An Interview with Actress-Producer Camille Mana on Blogcritics.
Camille Mana
October is going to be a busy month for actress-producer Camille Mana. First up, she has a supporting role in the feature film Norman, which opens in theatres on October 21. She plays Helen Black, a unique high school classmate who has a crush on Norman (played by Cougar Town‘s Dan Byrd). Secondly, she will appear in actor/playwright Jesse Eisenberg’s new Off-Broadway play Asuncion, which opens October 27 at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre (directed by Kip Fagan and produced by The Rattlestick). To mark the launch of these two latest projects, Mana was kind enough to do an email interview, where we also discuss her plans for new projects allowing her to pursue additional writer-producer opportunities as well as her additional upcoming film releases.
How many pages did you get into Talton Wingate’s script for Norman before you realized you wanted the role of Helen Black?
I’d say that within the first 5 to 10 pages, I knew I would love to be a part of the project. I think you always know within the first 10 pages if you’re attracted to a piece. Just like first impressions in life- you know early on whether or not you’re hooked on something. All good screenplays establish tone and the world of the story in their opening beats. I remember writing my agents, saying I loved the screenplay, because this is exactly the kind of movie that I love to watch!
Twitter RSS- talkingwithtim: @j_bacardi love how Wenders explains that the sequel is a film that partially comments on post Berlin Wall Germany
- talkingwithtim: @j_bacardi that is one of my favorite films #LoveSeeingColomboReferencedInSubtitles
- talkingwithtim: @chris_roberson @allisontype :)
- talkingwithtim: @allisontype @chris_roberson That sounds like it could be the title of a failed sequel to 1983's All the Right Moves #AllTheFairPoints
- talkingwithtim: @romenesko Did @NPR issue a correction after reporting on air yesterday (as part of #RobinGibbObit) that #AndyGibb committed suicide?
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