Exclusive radio interviews by Mr. Media®, a.k.a., Bob Andelman, with celebrities and newsmakers in TV, radio, movies, music, magazines, newspapers, graphic novels, and comics! Now in its 4th year! Listen LIVE or download to your iPod or other portable MP3 player!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
'Lost' actor Andrea Gabriel isn't in every episode, but Sayid can't live without her!
By BOB ANDELMAN
Andrea Gabriel has appeared in every season of the ABC television smash hit, “Lost.”
But if her real name doesn’t ring a bell, I’ll bet her character will: she is Nadia, Sayid’s long lost love.
And like a lot of characters making a return to the series in this, it’s final season, Nadia is sure to play an important part in nailing down the show’s twisted storyline. She returns in the Tuesday, March 2 episode--and at least once more after that, as you'll learn.
You can learn more about actress Andrea Gabriel at her website.
ANDREA GABRIEL AUDIO EXCERPT: "There were three brunettes in a purple frock involved. There was me, my stunt double, and a dummy. I thought my part was going to minimal. Turns out, I was in a harness and they actually yanked me from a crane. There's no car involved in that point. They yanked me upwards, quite energetically. Anyone who wants to freeze frame on me the second I get hit, that is my funky face. All put together, it looks like a bad day for Nadia."
HBO 'America' star Luis Guzman calls Mr. Media 'eloquent'; after, can't stop laughing
By BOB ANDELMAN
Luis Guzman is the secret weapon behind HBO’s new comedy series, “How To Make It in America.” He is its Alec Baldwin—you know, Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”—or, in an even more apt comparison, he is its Jeremy Piven, who plays Ari Gold in “Entourage.”
Cousin Rene, the somewhat reformed, Dominican gangsta Guzman plays, isn’t in every scene of this new show from “Entourage” creator Mark Wahlberg. But, like Piven, whenever he’s in a scene, he commands your attention. There is no color as bright, no other actor as bold.
Even when he’s quiet in a rare moment, all eyes and ears are on him.
If you haven’t seen the show—or if you caught the first episode and didn’t quite get hooked—go back and pick up the action with episode two, either online or on HBO in Demand.
I’ve seen the first four and its uplifting, compelling TV with people you will root for, from its young male leads, Bryan Greenberg and Victor Rasuk, to a supporting cast of familiar faces such as Lake Bell, who played Alec Baldwin’s young wife in It’s Complicated, Eddie Kaye Thomas, who got busy with Stifler’s mom in the American Pie movies, Martha Plimpton and rapper Kid Cudi.
Not sure you recognize Guzman’s name? Trust me, you know his face. We’ll get into that in a moment.
LUIS GUZMAN AUDIO EXCERPT: "I love the premise of this guy. He's had his heart knocked. He's a really colorful character and I think a lot of people think, 'I've dealt with a guy like that.'"
The Law & Order television franchise has passed through numerous stages over its two decades on the air at NBC. There was innovation, as in the split show format of the original; shock, as in the horrible nature of some of the crimes depicted; expansion, as in the addition of series such as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”; ubiquity, as in, “isn’t there anything on besides these doggone crime shows”; and, finally, respect, as in Mariska Hargitay winning the 2006 Emmy Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
That’s all the stuff that you and my wife see when you watch hour after hour of “Law & Order.” But what goes on behind the scenes?
That’s what I hope to discover from today’s guest, Dr. Neal Baer, the executive producer of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Dr. Baer is a real medical doctor with a degree from Harvard; he interned at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and, more germane to a discussion of TV, he was on the original writing staff of “ER,” eventually rising to the position of executive producer.
AUDIO EXCERPT: "The secret of the show's success? I think it's the teaming of Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni. I think they're the longest running team in drama; Ozzie & Harriet beat them in comedy—they ran for 14 years. They've got great chemistry. Chris represents the rage we feel about the crimes and Mariska represents the empathy we feel toward the victims."
By BOB ANDELMAN
A few weeks ago, I didn’t know Adam Falcon from Adam West. But now I’m here to tell you that if you like jazz with a little bit of R&B, a touch of rap and maybe a twinge of Prince, you’re gonna love this guy.
The singer/songwriter/guitarist just released a new album, Bohemian 959. I don’t know to what the title refers—actually that would make a good first question.
But even if you haven’t heard of Falcon before, I can tell you he’s been a familiar face around some pretty familiar names: George Benson recorded a couple of his songs, for example. He also worked with two more of my favorites, the late great Rick James and Robert Palmer.
And Adam was discovered at age 15 when he snuck into The Fillmore East to watch Sly & The Family Stone. (I once waited outside a cheap, two-story motel in Pinellas Park, Florida, until 3 a.m. to interview Sly, but that’s another story.)
Enough of me yammering. Let’s get to Adam, and even better, spin a couple of his joyous tunes.
ADAM FALCON AUDIO EXCERPT: "I
wanted to work with Rick James--and I didn't want to work with Rick
James. It was a crazy scene and I didn't know if I could survive one week of that
scene."
Chet the Dog, mystery author, leads Mr. Media astray in "interview"
By BOB ANDELMAN
Dogs that can express themselves in a language we can all understand are nothing new.
Remember the movie Cats & Dogs? One dog had the voice of Tobey McGuire, another the sonorous tones of Alec Baldwin.
But how many dogs have written books about their adventures?
Point for Chet the Dog, sidekick of Bernie Little and sole employee of the Little Detective Agency and—do you smell that? Hint of bacon, ground black pepper, sizzling burgers on the grill…
Where was I?
Oh, right, the Chet and Bernie mystery series. Book one, Dog Gone It, was a big hit, quickly followed by the just published Thereby Hangs A Tail. Both books are narrated by Chet the Dog, who is a pretty adept storyteller, except for when he gets distracted by the smell of food, another dog’s butt, fresh pastries, Frisbees, baseballs…
Chet also has some problems remembering details a short time after an event occurs, but once he catches a scent the second time, the large incisors are known around the desert to take a big bite out of crime. And criminals.
CHET the DOG AUDIO EXCERPT: "Everything is dictated in a mental telepathy way, through Spencer Quinn, whose name also appears on the books. I would call him my muse; he's the interface with the publishing business. But the stories are mine."
You can LISTEN to this interview with CHET the DOG and SPENCER QUINN, authors of DOG GONE IT and THEREBY HANGS A TAIL, by clicking the audio player above!
Ted Raimi is directing Playing Dead but writer Suzanne Keilly is actually playing dead in the new web-only series, Playing Dead.
The Groundlings comedy alumnus is a struggling young actress—well, maybe not as young as she’d have you think—when her desperate plea for a job attracts the attention of The Grim Reaper.
Raimi should be a familiar face from television projects such as Xena: Warrior Princess, Seaquest, DSV (partially filmed over three seasons here in the new new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida), episodes of Legend of the Seeker, and movies including all three Evil Dead/Army of Darkness movies directed by his brother Sam Raimi, all three Spider-Man movies—also directed by brother Sam—Adam Sandler’s underrated Reign Over Me, and the newly released Drag Me to Hell.
Playing Dead is his second web series; he also directed Rebooted.
This is the second time friends Raimi and Keilly have worked together. He previously directed her in the comedy short, My Treat, based on her live sketch show with Kirsten Roeters.
And fear not, Dead fans, there will be plenty of time for questions about his brother Sam, buddy Bruce Campbell, and plans for a fourth Evil Dead film.
TED RAIMI AUDIO EXCERPT: "I have no idea what's going to happen with the Evil Dead. I wish I could tell you. I know it seems like, because it's my brother, I would know. But I really don't."
SUZANNE KEILLY AUDIO EXCERPT: "I just want to be clear that Ted may not know, but it's also a very good excuse for getting out of saying things he shouldn't be saying."
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and have I got the perfect interview!
Rob Elder is the founder of a pair of websites that capture both the joy and angst of modern romance. First, the joy: ItWasLoveWhen.com is dedicated to cataloging the exact moment when you realize that you are in love with someone.
And then, inevitably, there’s the angst: Elder’s second site, ItWasOverWhen.com, is dedicated to cataloging the exact moment when you realize a relationship isn’t going to work. This could be years into a romance, on the first date or even before the first date. These stories can be funny, poignant, abysmally sad and universal.
Bastard that I am, I’m much more entertained by the latter, of course.
ROB ELDER AUDIO EXCERPT: "Not all of them are 'family friendly.' Here's one that is, from a woman: 'I asked him what his favorite sexual fantasy was. He said, "Two redheads." I'm a brunette. The aftermath? He left me two months later for a blonde.'"
Former Time, Life and People magazine editor Jim Gaines goes all digital upside Mr. Media's head
By BOB ANDELMAN
Jim Gaines and I have lots in common.
We both have popular blogs on TrueSlant.com about media topics.
We both converted from typewriters to computers at one point in our careers.
And, of course, we both were once editor of Time, Life and People magazines.
Hold the presses, wait a minute! Will somebody get a fact-checker in here? I don’t think this is right. When was I editor of People? Who writes this stuff, anyway?
You just can’t good help these days on what Google Adsense and Amazon Associates pay, you know?
Since leaving the print world, Jim has been in a couple of interesting online media situations. His most recent was as editor of FLYP—yup, with a 'Y' where you’re expecting an 'I'—which he calls a “proof-of-concept experiment in digital storytelling.” You can see it for yourself a www.FlypMedia.com. Shortly, I’ll force him to explain what that means under threat of a lifetime editorial consulting and personal services contract with the New York Post.
JIM GAINES AUDIO EXCERPT: "Content is migrating to the broadband world and the iPad is the first real device that can deliver multimedia content that satisfies. The Amazon Kindle clearly can't do it; the Sony eReader can't do it."
Romance novelist Adriana Trigiani shares her recipe for Valentine's amore
Adriana Trigiani (third from left) with fans, image by nancydowd via Flickr
By BOB ANDELMAN
Valentine Roncalli is 35 and feeling every bit of years. While her friends and siblings all have families of their own, she lives in her 80-year-old grandmother’s home, amongst all of her grandmother’s trinkets and memories, running her grandmother’s shoe company.
Valentine wants—needs—a man.
Gianluca is that man. The suave, sophisticated Italian lights her up like a Roman candle when they’re close—which isn’t often, as she’s in Manhattan and he’s in Italy.
What’s a woman to do?
That’s the issue novelist Adriana Trigiani (author website) confronts in her second Valentine story, Brava, Valentine, on sale today, February 9. The previous novel in the series, Very Valentine, was a New York Times bestseller and this new one is probably headed for the same territory.
ADRIANA TRIGIANI AUDIO EXCERPT: "Thematically, the two things my books are always about is, Who do you love?, Who do you choose to love? and What do you do with the labor of your own hands? They're the two things that keep giving."
Recommendations are worth what you pay for them, so I don’t always accept them at face value.
But the same literary agent who turned me on to young adult novelist Sara Zarr two years ago thought I’d also enjoy James Dashner’s new YA book, The Maze Runner, enough that he sent me a copy without first asking. And Michael—who, in the interests of full disclosure, represents all three of us—even though there is hardly a bit of similarity between the work of these two authors, you read me pretty well so feel free to recommend something else.
The Maze Runner is the kind of book that teens and youthful readers of all ages in search of an appropriate follow-up to the adventures of Harry Potter will no doubt enjoy. It takes place in a fantastical, impossible place, develops a language of its own, and features characters you will instantly love—and hate. (Sorry, Gally.)
This is the first book in a trilogy from Dashner, who you may already know as author of the 13th Reality series.
AUDIO EXCERPT: "The words in The Maze Runner are never used exactly as replacements for swear words. Their main intent was to give their dialogue a futuristic flavor and that they've been isolated and developed some words on their own."
Mercy's Jamie Lee Kirchner takes Mr. Media for a hospital tour, stat!
By BOB ANDELMAN
Reports of the death of the TV hospital drama—foretold by the end of "ER" last season after 27 years on the air—were apparently premature.
Showtime has "Nurse Jackie"; TNT has "HawthoRNe" and NBC is back with a new one that adds an "M," a "C" and a "Y" to "E" and "R" and that gives us "Mercy." (Oh, stop groaning—you saw that one coming a mile away.) ("Mercy" Website)
But alert Nurse Hathaway! In this network show, the nurses—not the doctors—are running the asylum. Starring Taylor Schilling, Michelle Tractenberg and my guest today, Jamie Lee Kirchner, "Mercy" lets viewers know who's really in charge on the floors.
"Mercy" airs every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.
AUDIO EXCERPT: "It's a friendship show. It's like 'Sex and the City' with cheaper footwear. There's a lot of comedy; just when you think you know who these people are, they make a hard left turn."
How do the movie studios follow the humongous, year-after-year success of the Harry Potter movies?
That is, where do you find a character and situation that will grab the imagination of everyone from elementary school students on through your grandmother? And craft tales that will make audiences come back for more? Again. And again. And again.
The answer wasn’t Lemony Snicket, although a lot of people thought it would be.
Maybe Rick Riordan’s got it. Riordan created a young adult novel series called Percy Jackson & The Olympians about the mythological gods and monsters coming to life in modern day circumstances with only a trio of unusual high school students standing between us and them.
I smell a formula, but the kids love the series. Now a movie based on the first book, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, opens in theatres on Friday, February 12. The trailers look very cool and any resemblance to Harry Potter, the Hogwarts School and all the rest is surely intentional—and who could blame the producers?
Joining me today is one of the poor bastards upon whom the cinematic weight of the world is apparently resting, one week out from the picture’s debut. But I suspect screenwriter Craig Titley, who adapted Rick Riordan’s story for the silver screen, can handle the pressure. Maybe you’ve seen some of his previous films, including the original Scooby-Doo live-action film—it grossed more than $100 million. He also co-wrote the Steve Martin movie, Cheaper By the Dozen—which also grossed a hundred mil.
CRAIG TITLEY AUDIO EXCERPT: "The Lightning Thief is rich with imaginative material. But from day one, you know things have to go. It's honing in ont things that move the story frorward, that are the most exciting. It's always hard; it's the hard cold reality of adapting that not everything can make it into the movie. But it still feels true to the spirit of the book."
You can LISTEN to this interview with CRAIG TITLEY, screenwriter of PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF, by clicking the audio player above!
ELISHA CUTHBERT AUDIO EXCERPT: "When you come from a show like '24,' the bar is raised pretty high. Working with Christian before, I knew I was coming into a professional place and I knew it would be a lot of fun... My commitments to '24' are completed now. I think the door is still open, but it's trickier for them because they have to work around 'The Forgotten.'"
By BOB ANDELMAN
It seems like movie star Christian Slater has at last found solid footing on network television. His ABC series, “The Forgotten,” got off to an admittedly slow start in the ratings when it debuted last fall, but the network stayed with it and so has a growing audience.
Now the show stands to get a boost from the addition of a familiar face: Elisha Cuthbert, who we saw grow up over eight seasons—or days, if you will—of the Fox series, “24.” She’s joining "The Forgotten" as of Tuesday, February 9 in the recurring role of Maxine Denver.
The sound you hear is a million Elisha fanboys around the world giving thanks to God.
Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran puts the bite on Mr. Media Radio
"Shark Tank" panelists Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec, image by Getty Images via Daylife
By BOB ANDELMAN
“Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran has a sense of humor. She must: an incredibly successful real estate mogul, she’s the author of three books, including my favorite title, If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails.
Yikes!
On her ABC show, which airs its second season finale this Friday, February 5 at 9 p.m., Barbara is on a panel of experts assessing potential business investments. There are some great ideas; and there are some horrible ideas.
Barbara is the only woman on the panel and presents some of the best “Are you out of your mind?” facial expressions to the deer-in-the-headlights, wannabee capitalists.
But she’s also invested in a few good ideas along the way.
AUDIO EXCERPT: "Think of the opportunity and the sheer entertainment value of 'Shark Tank'! We're working 11-hour days, listening to pitch after pitch and we're never bored. It is so fascinating! And then you go home with new business partners. Who would say no to something like that?"
I don’t know too much about the boy bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s except that they were extremely popular and that, because my daughter was born in 1996, I missed that entire era of pop.
So I went online to school myself on 98 Degrees, in anticipation of today’s guest, singer Jeff Timmons, joining me on the show to talk about his latest work.
I clicked on a Google link to the band’s official website, 98Degrees.com, but it never materialized. My second choice was to read the Wikipedia page on the band.
Before I could read anything else, the following disclaimer appeared:
“This article is about the band. For the body temperature, see 98.6.”
Apparently there are only point-six degrees of separation between the band and normal human body temperature. Wonder if Kevin Bacon knows this?
(And, incidentally, there is no redirect on the 98.6 Degrees site back to the band 98 Degrees, just in case you were wondering.)
So where was I?
Oh, Jeff Timmons, of course. The founder of 98 Degrees was part of a singing act that sold more than 10 million albums and scored several Top 40 singles, including “Because Of You” and “This Gift.”
The group’s successes were eventually overwhelmed in the public eye when one of its members, Nick Lachey, married singer Jessica Simpson. Their short-lived marriage was memorably chronicled on MTV’s “The Newlyweds.”
98 Degrees released its last album, The Collection, and toured in 2002. Jeff Timmons released a solo album, Whisper That Way, two years later and is now readying to release a third. You can download cuts from it for free for a limited time at ReverbNation.com.
AUDIO EXCERPT: "When you dream about being a pop star, it's about having all of these crazy girls after you. The first two or three months, when we were on the road, I was excited, hanging out with different girls. At a certain point, though, it wasn't that interesting to me anymore. It lacks a little bit of depth. That phase didn't last too long for me."
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About Me
Name: Bob Andelman
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
Bob Andelman is the host and producer of the “Mr. Media Radio” online interview show, now in its 4th year. He is also the author or co-author of 10 books including: The Profiler; Will Eisner: A Spirited Life; Built From Scratch; Mean Business; The Profit Zone; The Corporate Athlete, Stadium For Rent and several others. Complete biography & book reviews here. Looking to hire a collaborator or writer for a book? Contact my agent, Michael Bourret. Magazine editors can contact me directly.
Billy Powell (1983) (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rossington-Collins Band, Allen Collins Band)
Legs McNeil (Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk,” “The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored History of the Porn Film Industry,” Punk Magazine)
Bob Gruen (John Lennon, The Clash, New York Dolls rock ‘n’ roll photographer)
ANDREA GABRIEL AUDIO EXCERPT: "There were three brunettes in a purple frock involved. There was me, my stunt double, and a dummy. I thought my part was going to minimal. Turns out, I was in a harness and they actually yanked me from a crane. There's no car involved in that point. They yanked me upwards, quite energetically. Anyone who wants to freeze frame on me the second I get hit, that is my funky face. All put together, it looks like a bad day for Nadia."
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