Bryan and Jason discuss takeaways from the Nick Cassavetes episode, what it's like turning 50, what life was like in 1970 (the year of Jason's birth), and preview next week's episode with screenwriter and actor Bob Sáenz , author of the book That's Not The Way It Works: a no-nonsense guide to the craft and business of screenwriting ....
Nick Cassavetes is an actor, screenwriter, and director. The son of independent film pioneer John Cassavetes and Academy Award-nominated actress Gena Rowlands , Nick started his career as an actor but eventually settled into screenwriting and directing. He wrote the screenplay for the 2001 biopic Blow starring Johnny Depp , directed The Notebook starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams , and wrote and directed Alpha Dog starring Justin Timberlake , Emile Hirsch , Amanda Seyfried , and Chris Kink...
Bryan and Jason discuss: Last week's interview with David Frangioni . How they are coping as the pandemic drags on. The loss of folk/country music songwriting legend John Prine. Bryan's childhood trauma of being rejected by "Company 7" (an arts program in elementary school); and Next week's interview with film director Nick Cassavetes, who directed The Notebook with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams....
David Frangioni is a professional drummer, music technologist, magazine publisher, author of three books, designer of custom recording studios, and philanthropist. David has been the music technologist for Aerosmith for over 30 years and has worked with acts like The Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Sting, Journey, Styx, Kiss, Ozzie Osborne, Phil Collins, Shakira, and Cher. He is also the publisher of Modern Drummer Magazine . What you will learn: How he found the drums at the age of two...
Bryan and Jason discuss takeaways from the eight interviews recorded at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City this year. They also talk about the challenges of podcasting during a global pandemic and preview next week's episode with the Modern Drummer publicist David Frangioni, who has served as Aerosmith's music technologist for over 30 years.
Natalie Johns is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker. In 2007 she founded Dig For Fire, a studio capturing inspired music stories and live experiences. Commercial clients included Nike, iTunes, Coca Cola, Spotify, Amnesty International, and Rock the Vote. Johns has collaborated with Bono, Sam Smith, Childish Gambino, Solange, John Legend, and Gil Scott Heron. Her most recent collaboration with British composer Max Richter is a feature documentary which premiered at the Sundance. Her documentary I Am Tha...
Brian Knappenberger is a documentary filmmaker. His film Church and the Fourth Estate , about a sexual abuse scandal in Idaho that rocked the Boy Scouts of America and the Mormon Church, premiered at Sundance this year and. Joining Brian on this interview is the subject of the film, Adam Steed. Adam was one of the first sexual abuse survivors to report the abuse to the Boy Scouts and the Mormon Church, only to be rebuked. Brian’s most recent documentary, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez , is now ...
Florentine Grelier is a filmmaker from Paris who specializes in animation. Her animated short My Jukebox premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. My Jukebox explores the relationship between Florentine and her father (who sells and repairs Jukeboxes at the famous “Le Puz” Flea Market in Paris) through the metaphor of a juke-box, using multiple forms of media, including paper dolls, paint on glass, and computer animation. What you will learn: How long it takes to produce just one minute of a...
Kristian Zuniga is a cinematographer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Kristian has shot commercials for Coachella, Adidas, and Proctor and Gamble. He has also shot music videos for Ed Sheeran, featuring Chance the Rapper, and Drake. His latest feature film, Beast Beast, premiered at Sundance this year. Directed by Danny Madden and Produced by Alec Baldwin, Beast Beast , is a look at the lives and trauma surrounding three people living in a southern town. What you will learn: How Kristian learned the a...
Film composer Anthony Willis has worked on Hollywood films such as How to Train your Dragon , Solo: A Star Wars Story , Pirates of the Caribbean , Jason Bourne , Wreck it Ralph , & Despicable Me 2 . Anthony’s most recent film is Emerald Fennell’s drama/thriller Promising Young Woman starring Carey Mulligan which premiered at Sundance 2020. He has also scored video games such as Fortnite. Willis grew up in London, and studied composition at Marlborough College, Wilshire and the University of ...
Nick Basta is a television and film actor. His film credits include Harriet (nominated for 2 Oscars), about Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery, and The Glorias , a biopic about Gloria Steinem starring Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, and Janelle Monáe. The Glorias premiered at Sundance this year. His TV credits include a major role in Turn: Washington Spies , Season 3 of True Detective with Stephen Dorff and Mahershala Ali, and the upcoming D.C. Comics series Star Girl starring Luke Wilson. Wh...
Adri Siriwatt is a production designer in television and film. Her film credits include Batman Begins with Christian Bale (directed by Christopher Nolan), Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman, and The Last Shift, directed by Andrew Cohn and starring Richard Jenkins, Shane Paul McGhie, and Ed O’Neil. Adri’s next film, Echo Boomers, starring Michael Shannon, is in post post-production. Based on a true story, it’s about five college graduates who decide the bes...
Jeff Orlowski is a documentary filmmaker whose latest film, The Social Dilemma , premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The film weaves interviews with tech founders into dramatically portrayed scenes with Hollywood actors to reveal disturbing information about how technology shapes and manipulates society. Jeff won an Emmy for his debut documentary, Chasing Ice , which follows one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. His sec...
Bryan and Jason talk about the Mai Leisz and Jim Haven interviews. They also talk about Bryan's experience at the Sundance Film Festival and preview the first of eight long-form interviews conducted in Park City which will launch next week.
Jim Haven’s career is rooted in advertising and design but at his core he is a storyteller and problem solver. His corporate clients, including Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, Amazon, Nike and Bill Gates, come to him for help with branding and advertising, but end up on a journey to discover who they are as a company and ultimately as a brand. The results are ads so grounded in story and emotion that they are more cinema than a commercial. Jim started his career at the legendary firm Goodby, Silverst...
Mai Leisz (pronounced Lease) is a “melodic” bass player and composer from the post-soviet country, Estonia. In 2010 she moved to Sweden to hone her craft, where she started her own jazz-fusion group, MaiGroup . In 2015, a musician touring with Jackson Browne heard Mai busking in the subways of Stockholm. The next night, Mai sat in with Jackson Browne on stage. This led to her writing and performing with other music legends, like David Crosby, and eventually moving to Los Angeles where she contin...
Bryan and Jason discuss takeaways from the Chris Kinkade episode, what's coming up next week on the podcast, and what they are reading, watching, and listening to. They also pay homage to the late drummer, Neil Peart, of Rush.
Chris Kinkade is a stage and film actor whose work includes Alpha Dog with Emile Hirsch and Justin Timberlake, and My Sister's Keeper with Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin (both directed by Nick Cassavetes). He's the former lead singer of the Seattle-based 1970s/80s rock band Rail, the current lead singer of the band Elsewaves, and a professional harpist. Chris is also one of Hollywood's most sought-after massage therapists, whose clientele includes Woody Harrelson and Nick Cassavetes, among others...
Bryan and Jason discuss takeaways from the A.J. Eaton episode, read listener reviews, and discuss what's coming up next week on the podcast. They also talk about what they are reading, watching, and listening to.
The son of a musician and songwriter, A.J. Eaton grew up in rural Idaho but has worked as a television and film director in Los Angeles for the last 20 years. His 2019 documentary David Crosby: Remember My Name ( produced by Cameron Crowe, Greg Mariotti, and Michele Farinola). From its premiere at Sundance and subsequent theatrical release, the film garnered positive reviews with a 98% “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and won multiple awards, including Best Music Documentary at the B...
In this special New Year's Day episode, Bryan and Jason reflect on interview highlights from 2019, listen to clips from memorable guests, and share behind-the-scenes stories about how the podcast went from an idea to reality.
Tess Gallagher is an American poet, essayist, and short story writer. Her many honors include a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts award, and Maxine Cushing Gray Foundation Award. In addition to authoring numerous collections of poems and short stories, and teaching writing at Syracuse University for 10 years, Tess consulted with Robert Altman on the Oscar-nominated film Short Cuts, based on the stories of her late husband, Raymond Carver, as well as with ...
Bryan and Jason discuss takeaways from the Jeff Hamilton episode and what's coming up next week on the podcast. They also talk about what they are watching and listening to, as well as their experience seeing the Portland-based punk band Nasalrod in concert.
Jeff Hamilton is a muti-instrumentalist, recording engineer, live audio engineer, and side man for bands like Uriah Heap and Dennis DeYoung from Styx. Jeff toured with the Violent Femmes for 10 years and also recorded two of their studio albums. He’s also a member of multiple bands, including the internationally acclaimed Beatallica, with whom he will soon be performing in Montreal, Canada, and Moscow, Russia. What you will learn: How Jeff was inspired to learn to play guitar as a kid. How his p...
Bryan and Jason discuss what they learned from last week's interview with filmmaker Tracy Rector (Episode 22), who won an Emmy this year for her work on the documentary Dawnland . They also talk about listener reviews, what they are currently listening to and watching, and what to expect on next week's episode with musician Jeff Hamilton.
Tracy Rector is Seattle-based filmmaker focused on amplifying and empowering indigenous voices. She won an Emmy this year for her work on Dawnland , a documentary about the State of Maine's Truth and Reconciliation Commission which addressed cultural genocide perpetrated by social workers upon tribal families. Tracy has directed or produced over 400 films and is currently the director of Storytelling at Nia Tero, a world-wide NGO that focuses on securing indigenous guardianship of vital ecosyste...
Bryan and Jason discuss what they learned from last week's interview with neon artist Dylan Neuwirth (Episode 20). They also talk about the upcoming episode with filmmaker Tracy Rector, who was nominated for an Emmy for her documentary Dawnland .
Dylan Neuwirth is a Seattle-based artist who works with light space and interactive technologies. His neon light installations and sculptures can currently be seen at the Bellevue Arts Museum. His installation “All My Friends” is a permanent feature outside the Museum of Museums on Capitol Hill. What you will learn: How art brought him from Athens, Georgia to Seattle, Washington. How vivid memories of his childhood have influenced his work. The origin story of his most recent installation (“All ...
Bryan and Jason discuss what they learned from last week's interview with Pacific Northwest artist Dan Friday (Episode 18). Dan is a world-class glass blower whose unique work is influenced by tribal culture as well as the elements he is surrounded by in the Pacific Northwest.
Dan Friday is a world-class glass blower whose art is shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States. A member of the Lummi Tribe, Dan’s pieces, which include totems, ravens, bears, and owls, are a reflection of his tribal culture and his Pacific Northwest roots. What you will learn: How Dan went from fixing cars to working with world-class glass blowers like Dale Chihuly, and then became a world-class glass blower himself. How Dan developed his unique glass blowing style and aesthe...
