This Canadian producer, celebrated for Little Mosque on the Prairie, wanted to do a show about death, too often “depicted as this morbid sad thing. We wanted to do a comedy about death.” The Hollywood (Toronto?) suits rejected her. A merry chat about mortality at the New York Baha’i Center. Music from Gloria Thomas Gassaway and the … Continue reading »
Category Archives: Television
Episode 269: Eric Bogosian
On a Berlin sidewalk in 1921, Soghomon Tehlirian assassinated Talaat Pasha, an architect of the Armenian genocide. Vengence or justice? Actor and writer Eric Bogosian talks about history, identity, and the cultural implications of curly hair. A conversation at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, with music from Zoë Aqua and Mattias Kaufmann. Continue reading »
Episode 241: Marc Guggenheim
A writer and producer for TV, movies, comic books, and video games, he is best known for creating the series Arrow and co-writing the feature film Green Lantern, but his heart belongs to Billy Joel. “There’s no scientific or rational explanation,” he tells the UAlbany Alumni Association. Doctors are working on a cure. With music … Continue reading »
Episode 212: Noah Emmerich
Admired for his portrayal of FBI agent Stan Beeman on The Americans, Noah Emmerich didn’t intend to be an actor. He was a history major, studying the Constitution and headed for law school when something happened. A cheap tease, but a great story. Music from the Gregorio Uribe Trio, a great band. PERSON: Ron … Continue reading »
Episode 205: Rainn Wilson, part two
When he was an acting student at NYU, “I didn’t hear word one about faith,” he says, but he and his fellow students found an almost religious meaning in theater. Making a spiritual life through work, religion, and political engagement – a conversation at the NY Baha’i Center. With music from Kevin Nathaniel Hylton. … Continue reading »
Episode 204: Rainn Wilson, part one
Beloved as Dwight Schrute in The Office, he was raised a Baha’i but abandoned those teachings at a moment of spiritual crisis. “The main reason I left the Baha’i faith,” he says “ was ‘cause I wanted to have sex with my girlfriend and not feel guilty about it.” Eventually the prodigal son returned. A very funny … Continue reading »
Episode 203: Michael Rauch & Ian Olympio
Mentor and mentee in a Writers Guild program that pairs veteran and novice TV writers, they agree that Annie Hall is not a “manic pixie dreamgirl” (although Michael is not sure what that is) and that it would be a horrible idea to remake the movie that bears her name. Unless the new Annie … Continue reading »
Movies / Television / Theater
Episode 198: F. Murray Abraham
This fine actor was first admired by many people my age as Salieri in Amadeus and those my daughter’s age as Dar Adal in Homeland. We spoke at the Friars Club about his childhood in El Paso – El Paso! – his passionate devotion to our immigrant nation, and his suprising friendship with Louis C.K. … Continue reading »
Episode 186: Bill Persky
Does a sense of humor make you a better person? Bill Persky thinks it might, and he should know. He wrote for the Dick Van Dyke Show, co-created That Girl for Marlo Thomas, and directed 100 episodes of Kate and Allie. He says this about the president: “Nobody’s ever seen him laugh. He sneers, … Continue reading »
Episode 10: Samantha Bee
We spoke a few years ago for one of our first episodes, when she was a correspondent for The Daily Show, before she created her own show, Full Frontal, and before we could even imagine a President Trump, who makes us so desperately need Full Frontal and powerful mind-numbing drugs. Smart, funny, and humane, she … Continue reading »
Episode 141: Paul Giamatti and Maggie Siff
When we spoke at Wave Hill, these fine actors, colleagues on the TV series Billions, suggested that Sadaharu Oh is the Vanessa Redgrave of Japanese baseball. Or is Redgrave the Oh of actors? Either way, why are we inspired by such titans rather than intimidated by their inimitable brilliance? Plus a few jokes about Ibsen … Continue reading »
Episode 121: Danai Gurira
TV fans know her as an actor – Mochinne on The Walking Dead. Theater goers know her as a playwright: her Eclipsed, starring Lupita Nyong’o, is on Broadway. Moose hunters know her as… no! They don’t know her at all. She hunts no moose. But she spoke with wit and insight when we met … Continue reading »