Fri, 26 May 2017
We talk with Ildy Modrovich, co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer of Lucifer, which is about to wrap it’s second season on Fox. The show is based on the Vertigo comics series which spun out of the pages of Sandman. The TV series follows Lucifer Morningstar, the literal devil, having abandoned hell to live in modern day Los Angeles to run a bar called Lux. The show departs from the source material’s high fantasy mythology by grounding it as a police procedural, with the fallen angel assisting LA detectives - in his own unique, self-absorbed way - while combating supernatural conflicts and balancing a dysfunctional family of earth-bound celestials. We talk with Ildy about the themes, production process, and character evolutions on the show. Fans should enjoy our discussion of its humor, fantastic cast, and how much fun it is to create. We also discuss Ildy’s career path from musician to writer to producer.
Direct download: n4al87-ildy-modrovich-lucifer.mp3
Category:Film & Television -- posted at: 3:34am CDT |
Wed, 19 April 2017
Host Adron Buske talks with pop-culture icon, actor Ernie Hudson. Film fans know him from his role as Winston Zeddmore in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, and also as Sergeant Albrecht from the 1994 cult classic The Crow. Ernie has an enormous body of work in film, television, and also animation voiceover, and he's been very busy working across 3 different current television series - Grace & Frankie (Netflix), Graves (FX), and APB (Fox). APB is a police drama with a high-tech twist, produced by Len Wiseman. It follows a billionaire engineer who, after witnessing a violent crime, takes charge of a troubled Chicago police department and reboots it as a technically innovative force for 21st century challenges. APB stars Justin Kirk, Natalie Martinez, and Ernie as the skeptical police captain Ned Conrad. Adron and Ernie talk about his long history as an actor and how he keeps the work rewarding. They discuss being a steadily working professional whose name carries the weight of a beloved franchise. And Ernie talks about the fun of moving between different shows filled with fresh faces, and legendary veterans. |
Tue, 14 March 2017
We talk with American Ninja Warrior breakout star Jessie Graff. Jessie is a Hollywood stuntwoman, with an amazing body of work in film and television, including Supergirl, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., X-Men First Class, Iron Man 2, and many more. But while most stunt people are hidden faces behind the scenes, Jessie has become a very popular public persona through the television competition American Ninja Warrior. Through several seasons of amazing athletic feats, Jessie has broken barriers as the first female athlete to advance to the city finals, and the first to make it to Stage 2 of the national finals. She stands among the sport's most elite competitors. |
Wed, 22 February 2017
Michael Wylie is the production designer for the Marvel television series Legion, airing Wednesday evenings on FX. His production design resume also includes such fan favorites as Marvel’s Agent Carter, Masters of Sex, Grimm, Californication, Pushing Daisies, and The Tick. Legion follows a troubled young man, a diagnosed schizophrenic, who may in fact possess incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. The show stars Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, and Rachel Keller. It’s a remarkable series with a non-linear story, incredible design and music, and stellar performances. It’s by turns fascinating, disturbing, and intriguing, and it will keep you glued to the screen and constantly questioning reality.
Direct download: n4al84-legion-michael-wylie.mp3
Category:Film & Television -- posted at: 12:19am CDT |
Tue, 20 December 2016
Rachael Stott is a comic book artist, currently doing covers and interior art for the official Doctor Who series published by Titan Comics, which follows Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor. And while she’s only been a professional comic artist for about two years, she’s already racked up an impressive resume. She drew the Star Trek/Planet of the Apes crossover series for IDW. She did covers for the licensed Assassin's Creed and Heroes comics, and covers for Archie. She provided covers for the Green Lantern / Star Trek crossover series, as well as covers and interiors for Ghostbusters International. She won the 2015 British Comics Award for Best Newcomer. |
Wed, 30 November 2016
Legendary comics editor Karen Berger talks with us about her new project at Image Comics, Surgeon X, with writer Sara Kenney and artist John Watkiss. We also talk about her work at Vertigo, the creator-driven, mature-readers publishing imprint she founded at DC Comics. Karen is well known in comics circles as the editor on massively influential comics work, including Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, The Sandman, Preacher , Y: The Last Man, The Invisibles, Fables, and many, many more. Written by documentarian and comic-newcomer Sara Kenney, with art by John Watkiss, Surgeon X explores a near-future world where antibiotics are becoming ineffective and governments regulate their availability to patients. In a time when minor infections and previously treatable diseases are now deadly, hospitals are forced to withhold services from patients who fall low on a Productivity Contribution Index. The rise of increasingly autocratic governing parties who arbitrarily decide who is worthy of live-saving treatments provokes riots and violent counter-measures. And one doctor, sick of the restraints on the medical community, leaves her position at a hospital to pursue unregulated, underground surgery solutions. She becomes the titular Surgeon X, struggling against a corrupt system, and against her own growing god-complex as she controls who lives and who dies. |
Tue, 1 November 2016
NaNoWriMo executive director Grant Faulkner joins us to discuss National Novel Writing Month. We discuss how the NaNoWriMo initiative promotes daily writing habits, community building, and leads to the galvanizing goal of a 50,000 word novel. Grant explains how social events and communication are at the core of the NaNo experience, how to survive writing obstacles - both situational and self-imposed - and how NaNo can jumpstart your efforts at a serious writing career. |
Thu, 27 October 2016
We talk with Emmy-winning choreographer and comedienne Kathryn Burns. Kathryn has contributed dance numbers and movement direction to five seasons of Key & Peele, to the hit Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer, and to tons of productions with the Upright Citizens Brigade. She worked on Children’s Hospital and Another Period, and danced in a “Weird Al” Yankovic video. She also choreographed the Grammy-winning international megahit music video “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Kathryn is currently working on the critically acclaimed CW series, Crazy Ex Girlfriend. It’s a comedy punctuated by impressive musical sequences that heighten the absurdity but also showcase an immensely talented cast and crew. And, as a show flying below the radar of mass audiences, Crazy Ex Girlfriend manages to be one of the most hilariously raunchy, explicit, subversive shows on network television. There’s nothing else out there like it. The series has won a number of awards, including a Golden Globe and a couple of Emmys - one of which went to Kathryn, for her choreography routines.
Direct download: n4al80-kathryn-burns-crazy-ex-girlfriend.mp3
Category:Film & Television -- posted at: 3:49pm CDT |
Wed, 28 September 2016
We talk with writer Bonnie Burton, author of Crafting with Feminism: 25 Girl-Powered Projects to Smash the Patriarchy. Crafting with Feminism arrives in stores and online retailers on October 18th, and features a forward from Felicia Day. The book contains projects ranging from merit badges to googly-eyed tampon puppets, and takes an enthusiastic, tongue-in-cheek approach to both crafting and defiance of the patriarchy. She has also written The Star Wars Craft Book, You Can Draw: Star Wars, and Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change. She is the former Senior Editor for LucasFilm’s StarWars.com, and is currently a freelancer writer for CNET. Bonnie is the co-host of Vaginal Fantasy Book Club, a YouTube series with Felicia Day and Veronica Belmont. We talk with Bonnie about the often not-very-lucrative business of being an author, and supporting writer-y pursuits with other work. She walks us through the pitch process for a crafting book, creating a viable product for existing audiences. And we discuss her long career writing for magazines and websites, from the early days of the web to the current, cluttered blogosphere. |
Wed, 14 September 2016
We have a really fun chat with comedy writer Rob Kutner. He’s a monologue writer for TBS late night show CONAN, and also has five Primetime Emmy’s for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Recently, Rob released a new audio mini-series called Runaway Brains, available exclusively on subscription-based podcast service Howl.FM. It’s a madcap comedic romp starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, Mayim Bialik, Michael Ian Black, Dave Koechner, and Ken Jennings. Rob has also partnered with Farrago Comics to produce the original series, Shrinkage, illustrated by John Lucas. Farrago Comics is a new free-to-read, ad-supported comics app, available now on Apple and Android devices. We talk with Rob about his career writing for TV, and how he broke into the late-night comedy business. We also discuss branching out into different media, exploring new distribution models, and how he attracted big names to indie projects. |