Ep. 40 - Jesse Gustafson on Day 39, Black Site Delta and Army Peacekeeping Missions

Unique experiences affecting disparate individuals, from the marginalized to the privileged, form the template for the types of stories filmmaker Jesse Gustafson conveys in his projects. After graduating high school in Florida, Jesse enlisted in the US Army at age 17, and was deployed on a peacekeeping mission to post-genocide Bosnia-Herzegovina. Considering the possibility of remaining in the military, Jesse decided to study theater, studying scenic design at the University of Florida and graduating with a BFA degree in stage acting and directing from UC Santa Barbara. After college he moved to Bangkok, Thailand where he directed and performed for an English-speaking theater company. He went on to work in theaters across the US, including Playwrights Horizons in New York, the American Reparatory Theater in Boston and the Magic Theater in San Francisco. He has an MFA in Film from Columbia University, where his thesis film, DAY 39, was a finalist for the Student Academy Award. He has directed the camp-cult action film, Black Site Delta, starring Cam Gigandet; and his other short films include The Starlight; Riches; and Double Header. He also produced frequent collaborator Laurence Vannicelli’s feature, Vera, as well as his short film, The Young Housefly starring Alex Karpovsky. In our conversation, we discussed life in the military; the relationship between trauma and empathy; and my involvement in his next film which features a psychiatrist.

Opening Credits: selfpity - Always Feel the Cold I Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0); In De Nadfin - Encontré I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US); Closing Credits: A Crooked Pulse - Dark Spots I Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Jesse Gustafson (Ep. 40)

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Ep. 39 - Topper Lilien on Low Down, Where the Money Is and Fisher Stevens

Screenwriter Topper Lilien has a lens shaped with extraordinary life experiences, which have a symbiotic relationship with his diverse array of film projects. In other words, the two feed off of each other, and push forward the creation of something truly unique. The New York native has seen it all when it comes to the development, production, release, and perhaps most importantly, the collaborative aspects of film. He wrote one of the seminal jazz films about the colorful life and career of jazz pianist Joe Albany, Low Down, told through the perspective of his daughter, Amy-Jo, who served as co-writer. Directed by Jeff Preiss, the Sundance release surveyed their experiences in Los Angeles in the 1970s, and starred John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Lena Headey, Glenn Close and Flea; the latter of whom served as executive producer along with bandmate Anthony Kiedis. In the late 90s, Topper wrote Paul Newman’s second to last live action film, Where the Money Is, with E. Max Frye (Something Wild; Foxcatcher) and Carroll Cartwright. Produced by Ridley Scott, the film co-starred Dermot Mulroney and Linda Fiorentino, and journeyed the plight of a professional thief who experiences a stroke and is “forced” into a nursing home. Topper’s other notable collaborators include James Cameron, Michael Bay, Quincy Jones, Steve Golin and Robin Williams. In our conversation, we discussed the process of writing on a typewriter; trial by fire in Hollywood; working on the ill-fated Dungeons and Dragons, which starred Jeremy Irons and Marlon Wayans; and collaborating with Fisher Stevens, Elmore Leonard the late Willie Garson.

Opening Credits: 1st Contact - Wohin I Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0); So Cow - Off Out I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). Closing Credits: Miss Derringer - He Hung On A Sunday I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Topper Lilien (Ep. 39)

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Ep. 38 - Helen Schulman on Lucky Dogs, P.S. and Gordon Lish

As a renowned author and screenwriter, Helen Schulman’s work makes the isolated feel less alone. Her latest novel, Lucky Dogs, is a perfect example in its deep navigation of themes like mental illness, social media, duplicity and betrayal. In her novels and short story collections, which include A Day at the Beach, This Beautiful Life, Come with Me and The Revisionist, she explores topics like tragedy, technology, lost love and escape, affected by the lens of her own unique experiences. She wrote the screenplay adaptation of her acclaimed novel, P.S., which was made into a feature film starring Laura Linney, Topher Grace, Gabriel Byrne, Paul Rudd and Marcia Gay Harden. And she co-edited, along with Jill Bialosky, the anthology Wanting A Child. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in such places as Vanity Fair, Time, Vogue, GQ, The New York Times Book Review and The Paris Review. Helen is Fiction Chair of the Creative Writing Program at The New School, where she is a tenured Professor. She also serves as Executive Director for WriteOn NYC, a fellowship program that provides free creative writing instruction to underserved New York City school children. In our conversation, we discussed her take on the evolution of New York City throughout the years; her experiences as a student and professor at Columbia, where P.S. was shot, and The New School; being taught by Gordon Lish; the seeds of her new book; and her friendship with Peter Farrelly. Lucky Dogs was published by Knopf/Random House, and will be released June 6, 2023, wherever you buy your books; it is available for pre-order now.

Opening credits: 1in10_Varia - a million ways I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0); Noaidi - angelville I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0). Closing credits: voyageurs - The Distance I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Helen Schulman (Ep. 38)

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Ep. 37 - Joel Stein on Story of the Week, I Love the '80s and Martha Stewart

After finding his voice as a columnist for The Stanford Daily, journalist, commentator and podcast host Joel Stein headed off to New York City to begin his career as a fact-checker and writer at Martha Stewart Living. Since then, he has written for publications such as Time Out New York; Time Magazine, where he authored over 20 cover stories throughout a 20 year period; Entertainment Weekly; and the Los Angeles Times. Throughout his career, he has appeared as a commentator on VH1’s I Love the ‘80s; developed television shows like Crumbs and Hey Joel; and taught a course on humor writing at Princeton. His books, Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity and In Defense of Elitism: Why I'm Better Than You and You Are Better Than Someone Who Didn't Buy This Book, have analyzed topics like manhood; populism; and factors which act as a barometer for the word “elite,” and are acclaimed. In 2009, he wrote for the The 81st Annual Academy Awards, collaborating with host Hugh Jackman. In our interesting conversation, we discussed topics which ranged from parenthood to masculinity, and of course, the great Martha Stewart. We also discussed his podcast, Story of the Week, and why he refers to himself as a journalist in quotes.

Opening Credits: Zero V - Friendship I Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0); We vs. Death - The Things You Did I Naamsvermelding-NietCommercieel-GelijkDelen 3.0 Nederland (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NL). Closing Credits: Nafta - Aurora Australis (instr.) I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

Joel Stein (Ep. 37)

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Ep. 36 - Lauren Wolkstein on Dead Ringers, A Friend of the Family and The Strange Ones

One of the signatures which differentiates filmmaker Lauren Wolkstein’s work is adaptability through medium. Lauren’s approach toward narrative and storytelling harbors a rare versatility, which allows her to nearly seamlessly transition from film to television; short to feature; thriller to drama; and dystopian commentary to historical narrative. She harnessed her talent and developed her ability as a screenwriter at Columbia’s MFA program, and made short films, like Cigarette Candy, which pushed the boundaries of trauma exploration. Her debut feature, The Strange Ones (Alex Pettyfer; James Freedson-Jackson), which she co-directed with Christopher Radcliff, was based on the short film of the same name and premiered at South by Southwest in 2017. One of John Waters’s Top 3 films of 2017, the film, which dealt with themes like obsessive love, sexual abuse and trauma, spoke to her multifaceted ability to combine complex mental health themes with dynamic performances. In television, Lauren has directed episodes of Cloak & Dagger (Marvel); Dare Me (USA Network); and Y: The Last Man, starring Diane Lane, for FX. She directed the finale of the renowned mini-series, A Friend of the Family, starring Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks and McKenna Grace, for Peacock in 2022. And she recently directed episodes of Dead Ringers, a television adaptation of the David Cronenberg classic film of the same name, which is set to premiere on Amazon Prime on April 21, 2023; the series stars Rachel Weisz as twin gynecologists, reprising the Jeremy Irons role in the original film. In our conversation, we discussed the touchpoint we both share in being Columbia and Duke alums; growing up in Baltimore; shooting on film; mental health themes; and the continuity of serving as Producing Director on Queen Sugar for Oprah Winfrey’s network for multiple seasons.

Opening Credits: Ketsa - 10 Can-t-touch-me I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0); Ketsa - 01 Test-Case I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0); Closing Credits: Ketsa - 05 Eternal-Funk-Palace I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) I https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Lauren Wolkstein (Ep. 36)

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Ep. 35 - Selina Fillinger on The Morning Show, POTUS and Faceless

Selina Fillinger is the playwright behind renowned theatrical works like POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying To Keep him Alive; Something Clean; Faceless; and the Armor plays: Cinched/Strapped. The former marked her Broadway debut at the Shubert Theatre in 2022; was directed by Broadway legend, Susan Stroman; and led to three Tony Award nominations, including Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role nods for both Julie White and Rachel Dratch. She also wrote for Season 3 of the acclaimed Apple TV+ program, The Morning Show (Jennifer Aniston; Billy Crudup; Reese Witherspoon), set to premiere in 2023. In our conversation, we discussed her Oregon upbringing; the juxtaposition of light and dark themes in her plays; juggling multiple projects at once; and her journey to being one of the most unique, talented and versatile artists in the landscape of television and theatre.

Opening Credits: Checkie Brown - Clooney (CB 232) I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); HoliznaPATREON - Feels I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0); Closing Credits: Ketsa - A Little Bit I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Selina Fillinger (Ep. 35)

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Ep. 34 - Josh Pais on Joker, Committed Impulse and Ray Donovan

The dynamic nature of actor Josh Pais’s approach toward constructing performance; harnessing creativity; and retaining the spontaneity associated with each moment on-screen is part of his signature. With over 100 roles to his credit, the Lower East Side native grew up in a culturally vibrant, evolving environment which led him to cultivate his own unique sense of identity as one of the finest performers in the film and television industry. His remarkable filmography includes memorable performances in Safe Men, in which he acted among contemporaries like Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn and Peter Dinklage; The Station Agent, penned and directed by one of his best friends, Tom McCarthy; the brilliant Lynn Shelton’s emotional masterpiece, Touchy Feely; Nicole Holofcener’s classically independent, Please Give, with Catherine Keener; and Charlie Kaufman’s directorial opus, Synecdoche, NY, acting opposite Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Along the way came multiyear arcs in television shows like Ray Donovan, alongside Liev Schreiber; and memorable scenes with Joaquin Phoenix in the seminal Joker (Todd Phillips; Scott Silver). You can immerse yourself into the techniques he has developed and experienced throughout his prolific career by visiting Committed Impulse (committedimpulse.com), and find him on his Instagram (@JoshPais). In our conversation, we discussed his documentary, 7th Street, describing the state of culture which governed his Alphabet City upbringing; collaborating with some of the best directors on the planet; and acting on projects which gave meaning to the landscape of film. His latest projects include Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings (David Cross; Amber Tamblyn; Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and David E. Kelley’s upcoming mini series, A Man in Full, with Regina King directing (Jeff Daniels; Bill Camp).

Opening Credits: Bureaucrat & The Conspirators - Yankees I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US); The Rope River Blues Band - Wrist Lit I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US); Closing Credits: POVALISHIN DIVISION - Сестра I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Josh Pais (Ep. 34)

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Ep. 33 - Shrimoyee Chakraborty on India Bites, Calcutta Street and Chicken Curry

Host of the Tastemade Travel docuseries, India Bites on Apple TV, Chef Shrim Chakraborty transcends the “chop and chat” model by placing her own stamp on the food travel show genre. From being a talk show host, to honing her culinary craft in graduate school in Manchester, to opening her own restaurant, Calcutta Street, in Britain after a series of pop-ups, Shrim uses her versatile talent to shed light on a range of issues like the Indian middle class; the stereotypes present among Indian food; and taking ownership of the cultural narrative. Her food blog, Eat With Me Shrimoyee, features recipes, cultural commentary and a snapshot into the current tastes governing her plate at the time. She has been featured in The Independent, the Financial Times, the Telegraph and Grazia, and her restaurant Calcutta Street has been lauded by food critics across the globe. In our conversation, we discussed her Indian upbringing; growing up with a philosopher/chef mother; pushing boundaries with food; and creating original projects using the media of food and conversation.

Opening Credits: Checkie Brown - Funky Banane Nightclub (CB 202) I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); Alex Figueira - Silky I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0); Closing Credits: Ketsa - Don't Worry I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Shrimoyee Chakraborty (Ep. 33)

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Ep. 32 - Maureen A. Ryan on Becoming, Man on Wire and James Marsh

Maureen Ryan is a veteran producer who has made a number of seminal, impactful films throughout her versatile career. Her several documentary collaborations with acclaimed British director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) are among them, and began with Wisconsin Death Trip (1999). Constructed with a film-noir grittiness, the film surveyed a series of grizzly murders which took place in Black River Falls, a small remote town, in the 1800s, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. She herself was nominated for a BAFTA award. Several works followed, including The Team (2005), which she produced, observing a homeless soccer team which travels to compete in Austria; the BAFTA nominated Project Nim (2011); and the iconic Man on Wire (2008), a hybrid-documentary about tightrope walker Phillipe Petit as he prepared to walk across the World Trade Center in 1974, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film and the BAFTA Award for Best British Film in addition to sweeping the “Big Four” critics awards the same year. Documentaries Maureen has produced include The Gates (2007) and Bomber (2009). Recently, she co-produced Becoming (2020), following Michelle Obama on the book tour circuit; the film was nominated for four Emmy Awards, and is available on Netflix. Also on Netflix is the comedic documentary Dick Johnson is Dead (2020), which Maureen co-produced; premiered at Sundance; won an Emmy Award, and was also shortlisted for an Academy Award. She has been a professor at Columbia University for over 20 years, and her essential publication — Producer to Producer: A Step-by-Step Guide to Low Budget Independent Film Producing (2nd Edition), is available on Amazon and all the literary outlets. In our discussion, we spoke about Maureen’s unique, prolific career marked by longevity; collaborating with moving pieces in film; differentiating film from a practical and theoretical framework; and country music.

Opening Credits: KieLoBot - Golden Pineapple Funk I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0); KieLoBot - Hippie Funghi Policeman Downhill I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0); Closing Credits: Jason Shaw - TRAVEL LIGHT I Attribution 3.0 United States (CC BY 3.0 US)

Maureen A. Ryan (Ep. 32)

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Ep. 31 - Avy Kaufman on Succession, Capote and Steven Spielberg

Avy Kaufman’s filmography includes projects which changed the landscape of cinema. The three-time Emmy winning casting director has worked on over 300 films and television shows including The Sixth Sense, Artificial Intelligence, Brokeback Mountain, American Gangster and Capote. In television, she has cast acclaimed shows including Succession, Mare of Easttown, Damages and Dopesick. In our conversation, we discussed her Atlanta upbringing and concurrent interest in ballet; working with Steven Spielberg, Jodie Foster and Ang Lee; as well as how casting continues to evolve in a post-pandemic world.

Opening Credits: Arkana Music - Through Sacco's Eyes I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0); Lisa Hammer - Jazzy Inquisitors I Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0); Closing Credits: Ketsa - Sunnyside I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Avy Kaufman (Ep. 31)

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