Winning London
Are you a fan of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movies? Do you like podcasts? Then I have a treat for you! I was a guest on the latest episode of the Gimme Pizza podcast and we talked about my experiences on “Winning London” and other stuff.
Check out my episode, and all the other episodes, down below:
Filed under actor stuff, blatant plug, career, podcasts
Rene and I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Tobolowsky once at a meet-up for /Film and The Tobolowsky Files, the latter of which is his own storytelling podcast that is, in my opinion, some of the best audio you are likely to find. Heartfelt honest stories about his life and career that can bring you to tears as quickly as they can have you rolling with laughter. Follow the links to experience it – although the audio may not be up for long. He is starting to be syndicated on the radio and so they may have to take down many of the recordings.
In addition to being an actor, author and podcaster; Mr. Tobolowsky is also a an acting teacher and has written this article that I found at BackStageWest.com. In it he talks about how to build a character and, since I’m not too proud to steal a link, I thought you might like to read it too.’
Quick post to point you to episode #5 of Shmimcast, the podcast all about Improv Shmimprov! You can get it in iTunes and here: www.ShmimCast.com
If you’re a fan of Improv Shmimprov then these are great podcasts about how the show got started and insights into the players. For people new to Shmimprov it might be a little too inside baseball, but I think it’s still worth a listen.
Oh, and the whole reason why I’m plugging this is because I’m featured on episode 5! At least check out that one.
And come to a live Shmimprov show: www.improvshmimprov.com.
See you tomorrow!
Filed under acting, blatant plug, Improv Shmimprov, podcasts
Blatant Plug: I LOVE the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour!
I know that there is a risk of sounding pompous or hipster, but I do not care! To quote a segment from the show: Pop Culture Happy Hour is something that is making me happy this week – and really every week when it shows up in my iTunes. This morning when I was dropping Rene off I saw that I had a new episode and I felt as my face rose into a huge smile and I couldn’t click fast enough to start it.
Let me tell you a bit about the show as I see it:
It’s a round table conversation show – with real conversation, not just talking points. Your hosts are writers and editors from sections of the NPR studio that deal in pop culture specifically Linda Holmes of the NPR Monkey See Blog, Stephen Thompson from NPR Music, NPR.org arts editor Trey Graham, and comics blogger Glen Weldon. They are friends and colleagues that genuinely enjoy talking to each other and make you feel, as a listener, like you are as much a participant even though you can’t actually add to the conversation. They talk about current television, movies, books, music, whatever but also aren’t afraid to dip into pop culture’s back catalog and pull out the more obscure references and gems. There have been a few times when an old show or reference has sent me to my own archive and the internet to hunt down and see for myself what all the hubbub is about and they have also opened my eyes to the possibility of reading The Hunger Games books (thank you StephenReadsABook@gmail.com).
At the risk of sounding like a complete drooling fanboy, the biggest reason that I listen is because this show reminds me of the conversations that I enjoy having with my own circle of friends. Replace Linda, Stephen, Trey and Glen with Rene, Dean, Zeke and myself and the conversations drift into the same places – except I can rely on a weekly dose from PCHH and it can be hard to get all of your friends into the same place at the same time.
I’ve included a link HERE!
Check it out, I think you’ll like it. Or if you don’t let me know why in the comments. Each show is about 45 minutes long – but it goes by fast!
See you tomorrow!
Filed under blatant plug, friends, podcasts
Today I went with Rene, Dean and Zeke to the /Film meet-up at Jerry’s Famous Deli on Ventura Blvd. in Los Angeles. It was very exciting! In addition to being in and making film and television I’m a big fan as well. Something that is often pointed out when I’m with people from other industries is that filmmakers are filmmakers through and through. When we’re on the job we’re doing film and when we’re off the job we’re talking or watching film. It becomes a major component in our lives. This fact was illustrated during a networking mixer when one of the leaders asked all of us filmmakers to describe what we like to do that isn’t film related and all of us – literally all 20 or so of us – looked at each other slack jawed and really had to think about it. To be clear it isn’t that we don’t do other things it’s just that it takes so much time and dedication to actually make a career work in film/T.V. that there isn’t a lot of time left for much else.
Part of how I like to spend my time when I’m not making business proposals or shooting things is by listening to podcasts about my favorite geeky things and one of my favorites is the /Filmcast. I’ve mentioned it before in my favorite podcast blog (along with a few others that I think are worth checking out) and was very happy that Dave Chen from the /Filmcast actually commented on it! On a tangential note, /Film also produces the Tobolowsky Files podcast that features stories told by character actor Stephen Tobolowsky – another great podcast and if you like stories, and I assume you do, this is absolutely worth your time. All of these things came together at the /Film meet-up!
Peter Sciretta and Dave Chen were there as well as Stephen Tobolowsky and his wife Anne, Dan Tractenberg of Totally Rad Show Fame and DC from Derrek Comedy. Everyone was very nice and it was was really nice to talk to them about the sites, shows and movies in general. Besides the headliners, we got a chance to chat with some cool movie/pop culture lovers. It was a great night all the way around.
Today’s picture is of Rene, Stephen Tobolowsky, Anne, Dave Chen and myself at the bowling lanes:
And as a special bonus here is a video of the night where I start by relieving my beer of a slice of fruit:
See you tomorrow!
Filed under drinking, fun, geek, podcasts, pop culture, project 365 2010
Talk Radio
I wanted to start this by talking about “how old I am” and emphasizing age and being cranky, but that’s not really what this is about and I’m starting to annoy myself with how much I talk about being “the old guy” at 32. Mind you, when I’m at Shmimprov or surrounded by my students, it’s easy to feel like that when everyone else is 25 or under, but when it comes right down to it I’m still “young” in the eyes of society.
What I will bitch about, though, is that at 32 I am pretty set as an adult. You won’t find many people that will say that at 32 you don’t have any responsibilities or notice that your tastes have changed at least a little and that’s really what I want to talk about, changing tastes.
I knew that I had entered “adult life” the moment I discovered podcasts.
Yes, that’s what I said, podcasts.
Or, as I like to call them, talk radio for Generation X.
While people in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s listen to Rush, Dr. Laura and the other freaks on the radio people in their 30’s and younger listen to the freaks that record via Skype on all manner of esoteric topics like Star Trek, Doctor Who comic books and such-n-such. When I first got my iPod I was all music all the time. I spend the better part of a month uploading all of my CD’s onto the computer and then importing to iTunes. I scoured my friends music collections, my parents, any stranger who would let me and added it to the mix. I got obsessed with making playlists that would be perfect for any particular occasion.
Then, during a trip to the iTunes store, I stumbled on these things called podcasts and they had titles like iFanboy, Around Comics, Gallifrey Embassy… all very geeky and all up my alley. I started by downloading anything that looked like it might be good. That habit stopped very quickly. Just because you have a podcast doesn’t mean that it’s any good. The only quality control there is are the reviews that are written by the most committed of listeners. But to the point, as I explored further I found the combination of podcasts that satisfy all of my needs, from news to geeky pursuits. Just like the talk radio so popular with the older adult demographic, I now know that I’m close to joining their ranks, at least in spirit, as I get more enjoyment from listening to fanboys talk rather than Panic at the Disco.
Here is a list of the pocasts that I currently subscribe to for your perusal. I would add hotlinks, but I got all of these from the iTunes Store, so I suggest getting them there.
See you tomorrow!
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Filed under comic books, Games Workshop, geek, making movies, movies, podcasts, politics, social commentary