Mr. Media Interviews By Bob Andelman

Today's Guest: Actress Tanna Frederick, star of Queen of the Lot and Irene in Time. Order from Amazon.com by clicking the DVD above Scorsese and DeNiro have this kind of relationship. So do Spielberg and Hanks. And Scorsese has it with DiCaprio, too, now that I think of it. Every so often, a director finds his match with an actor who “gets” their material, their vibe, their je ne sais qua. That’s what’s happening between writer/director Henry Jaglom and actress Tanna Frederick. HENRY JAGLOM audio excerpt: "The chemistry between Noah Wyle and Tanna Frederick takes this film to a whole other level. Every review is talking about it. They have this strange, funny, romantic chemistry; you can't take your eyes off of them." Order 'Irene in Time' starring Tanna Frederick and Henry Jaglom, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! Queen of the Lot — a sequel to Hollywood Dreams — opens at selected theaters in Los Angeles on Friday, November 19. It is the third movie that Jaglom has written and d

Today's Guest: Roger Chiocchi, branding expert, author, Baby Boomer Bust? Order Baby Boomer Bust? by Roger Chiocchi from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! The post-war baby boom is becoming something else, more than half a century later. But is that something else a bust? In his new book, Baby Boomer Bust?—and the title ends in a question mark—Roger Chiocchi (pronounced KEY-o-key) says it may be a problem that the average baby boomer nearing retirement only has $68,000 in a 401k. And no, if you’re looking at the totality of retirement, and not just the first year, that is not much. ROGER CHIOCCHI podcast excerpt: "What we find is that people in the lower and middle end of the spectrum are much more resilient than those at the high end. They're used to living hand-to-mouth, so it becomes not a big deal to them when things get even tougher." Tomorrow, April 15, 2010, I’ll be attending the second day of the Florida Boomer Lifestyle Conference, which will be held in Clearwater at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

Today's Guest: Raymond Schlogel, indie filmmaker, For Love & Stacie For Love & Stacie, a film by Raymond Schlogel All the air escaped my lungs at the end of Ray Schlogel’s independent film, For Love & Stacie. I was angry, petulant… and then the credits rolled and I was reminded that it was a drama, not a documentary. Poor, dumb ol’ Mr. Media was so sucked into this tale of heartbreak and obsession that I completely lost sight of what I was watching. And that’s when I realized what a fine job the independent Austin-based filmmaker—who wrote, starred, directed and produced Stacie—had done. RAY SCHLOGEL podcast excerpt: "(Chris Brogan) took up the cause. I can't thank him enough. He's got 90,000 followers. For him to take a risk outside the box of what he usually does and mention this little indie film was more than flattering. I have had a lot of people tweeting about it, posting about it, who have heard about it directly from Chris." Raymond Schlogel, director, 'For Love & Stacie' Schlogel ca

Today's Guest: Kit Boss, writer, producer, "King of the Hill," "Bob's Burgers," "Carpoolers," "iZombie" Order 'Bob's Burgers: The Complete First Season' from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! (2012 UPDATE: Congratulations to Kit Boss, who shared an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Animated Program" as consulting producer of "Bob's Burgers" on Fox!) The confounding thing about seeing your friends become successful is that while you’re obviously happy for the good things that come their way, a tinge of jealousy and envy is not unusual, and that certainly captures my feelings about today’s guest. Most of you won’t know this man by name, but when you hear his credits, I think you’ll agree with me that he’s accomplished an awful lot, and you will probably understand why I greet him with a touch of envy, at the very least. Kit Boss was a gangly young kid when I met him more than twenty years ago in the Clearwater Bureau of the St. Petersburg Times. He arrived as this year’s intern, joining the staff f

Today's Guest: Renee Rosen, novelist, Windy City Blues   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Renèe Rosen by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters fans who will never agree on who was the greatest Chess guitarist of all time… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Windy City Blues by Renèe Rosen. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! Sometimes a great novel gets lost in lousy packaging. That’s the case of Renee Rosen’s fifth book, Windy City Blues. It is one of those magnificent, emotional reads that you can’t put down, capturing the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, race records, racism, and illicit relationships in one terrific bundle that you won’t put down until the final page. In fact, the only problem with the book is the way the publisher chose to market it. The cover features an attractive, white, WASP-y woman in 1960s clothes when the lead character, Leeba Gr

Today's Guest: Ilene Kristen, actress One Life to Live   Actress Ilene Kristen If you’re on an airplane in the coming weeks and see Ilene Kristen engrossed in a bright and shiny new iPad, blame me. Kristen, who has starred on ABC’s "One Life to Live" as “Roxanne Balsom” since 2001, already has an iPhone. Last night, when we did a late night Skype video chat to test the connection and increase her comfort level with the program, she told me about all the things that she would use the iPad for. But she couldn’t make up her mind whether she actually needed one. ILENE KRISTEN podcast excerpt: "I'm going to work next week and it's rather odd; I have no idea where Roxy has been, except maybe in a motel room with this young dentist. It's a little disconcerting that I'm not there and haven't been told why I'm not there. I had a major storyline and the next thing I knew, it disappeared." Actress Ilene Kristen I told her that it sounded to me like she had already pictured herself with one, the real question was why

Today's Guest: Summer Glau, star, "The Cape," "Firefly," "The Sarah Connors Chronicles" Summer Glau, as Orwell, stretching on NBCs 'The Cape' (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)   Summer Glau as seen in Esquire magazine Summer Glau gets some of the most enviable genre roles on television. Her first was on "Angel," where "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon liked her so much he cast in the wonderful, yet short-lived sci-fi adventure "Firefly" and the film that followed it, Serenity. SUMMER GLAU audio excerpt: "I'm havin' a blast on The Cape. I'm fighting crime. I'm throwin' down -- it's a blast." Summer Glau in 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles She was on the cult series “The 4400,” then made it big return to network TV as the hottest Terminator ever in the Fox series, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” Now she’s an investigative blogger named “Orwell” who partners with the lead character in NBC’s “The Cape” to fight crime and corruption in Palm City. It’s the perfect accompaniment for fans

Today's Guest: Eugene Mirman, comedian, author, The Will to Whatevs, actor, "Flight of the Conchords," "Bob's Burgers" Order "The Will to Whatevs" by comedian Eugene Mirman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Eugene Mirman is one of the driest comedians I’ve ever encountered. He’s so droll, so subtle, that at first it’s difficult to detect if he’s on or really believes what he’s saying. Here’s a hint: he’s on. Mirman, who you may know from his guest appearances on the HBO show “Flight of the Concords” or his appearances on the comedy web site, 23/6, is promoting his first book, The Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life. Eugene Mirman Website • Facebook • Twitter • IMDB • Order The Will to Whatevs from Amazon.com Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Howard Finberg, director, NewsU, The Poynter Institute   Howard Finberg, NewsU, Poynter Institute You may not know my guest today by name, but it’s safe to say that if you read an English-language newspaper anywhere in the world, Howard Finberg is having at least an indirect effect on its content. Finberg is Director of Interactive Learning for NewsU, the online training and education arm of The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. That’s where I am today, in fact. NewsU has enjoyed explosive growth since opening its virtual doors on April 11, 2005. Starting with just a few courses and little more than word of mouth advertising, the mostly free training for journalists now has thirty-five courses and 35,000 registered users. In the interest of complete disclosure, I have often worked on assignment for The Poynter Institute and even wrote two white papers and the script for an animated video for NewsU. In fact, I wrote the following Dr. Seuss-inspired rhyme, which Howard himself record

Today's Guest: Cheryl Crane, daughter of Lana Turner, author, Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies   Order 'Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies' by Cheryl Crane with Cindy De La Hoz, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Nothing twinkles quite as bright as a classic Hollywood star and few were ever bigger in their day than Lana Turner. Of course, there is Lana Turner the legend… and Lana Turner the wife and mother. In her over-size collection of family photos and personal anecdotes, Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies, Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane pulls back the curtain and offers a fascinating peek at a life well lived. This is Cheryl’s second turn at telling us about life in the Turner household; in her first book, Detour: A Hollywood Story, she wrote about her own life, from the controversial death of Johnny Stompanato to coming out as gay and how it changed her relationship with her mom. Cheryl Crane Wikipedia • National Enquirer • Order 'Double Feature: Port

Today's Guest: Ray Billingsley, syndicated cartoonist, "Curtis" Order A Boy Named Curtis: The Curtis Chronicles by Ray Billingsley by clicking on the book cover above! There are a number of daily newspaper comic strips that we tend to take for granted. “Cathy,” by Cathy Guisewite, is one. Mort Walker’s “Beetle Bailey” and “Hi & Lois” are two more. And then there is my friend Ray Billingsley’s strip, “Curtis.” Ray Billingsley, cartoonist, Curtis “Curtis” shares the adventures of a young African-American boy whose age I’d put at about 10 or 11, dealing with life in his community. He’s chasing—unsuccessfully—girls, being chased—successfully—by bullies, struggling with his dad’s cheapness and smoking… in other words, all the stuff boys his age do. RAY BILLINGSLEY Audio Excerpt: "The strip is a lighthearted tale about a boy. That's all it is. It's just that one little factor that turns publishers off. I still go through, 'Well, blacks don't really read this stuff and whites don't get it." Dagwood Bumstead m

Today's Guest: Ray Billingsley, syndicated daily cartoonist, creator, "Curtis" 'Curtis' by cartoonist Ray Billingsley When I was researching my biography, Will Eisner, A Spirited Life, one of the biggest surprises for me was learning that two extremely successful daily cartoonists, Ray Billingsley of “Curtis," and Patrick McDonnell of “Mutts,” were once students of Eisner’s at the New York School of Visual Arts. Eisner spoke highly of both men, and he developed an ongoing mentor-style relationship with Billingsley, who was a very young man, just about 16, when he first took Eisner’s class. Billingsley’s strip, “Curtis,” brings a black perspective to the daily comics pages of more than 250 newspapers. It’s a steady performer recognized by the American Cancer Society for Curtis’ efforts to get his father to stop smoking. And Billingsley takes the detour from the usual story lines every December for an original Kwanzaa tale. Ray Billingsley Website • Facebook UPDATE: May 23, 2007 Curtis by Ray Billingsley The

Today's Guest: Monica Raymund, actress, "Lie To Me," "The Good Wife," "Chicago Fire"   Monica Raymund St. Petersburg, Florida is pretty good at turning out dramatic talent. There is Angela Bassett, of course, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in What’s Love Got to Do with It” and is currently starring on the NBC series “ER.” And then there is Patrick Wilson, who has been nominated for Tony awards, Golden Globes and Emmys and stars in the upcoming film, Watchmen. MONICA RAYMUND podcast excerpt: "I don't know HOW I got this job! I hadnt graduated from Julliard yet; I was just the right person at the right time. I tested for the 'Lie To Me' pilot; a month later, I got the call that I got the job. I had to move my life to LA in a week! I don't even have my diploma yet; I haven't had time to go by the school and get my degree!" Monica Raymund is the latest to emerge from this sunny city on Tampa Bay. A graduate of Shorecrest Preparatory School—like Wilson—and the daughter of two of the communit

Today's Guest: Bill Engvall, comedian   Bill Engvall, image via Wikipedia Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of TV stars who haven’t updated their blogs since September 29, 2008… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Don’t tell my wife, but I’ve watched those Blue Collar Comedy standup specials on Comedy Central starring Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Ron White about a hundred times. I usually catch them on the little TV in the kitchen while I eat lunch. It doesn’t matter that I already know the jokes and the punchlines – and you know that Larry is always going to be the punchline when they’re together. BILL ENGVALL audio excerpt: "Unfortunately, no, I'm not the love interest (for Jada Pinkett's Smith's character on 'Hawthorne')... If I had my pick, it would be Michael Vartan. But I had a great time with Marc Anthony." These four guys are like a 21st century version of the Three Stooges to my way of thinking. Not in terms of looks or slapp

Today's Guest: Tania Gunadi, actress, "Aaron Stone"     Tania Gunadi As a co-star of the Disney XD channel’s “Aaron Stone” series, Tania Gunadi has a dual life—she’s the girl next door to Charlie Landers, a.k.a. Aaron Stone, played by Kelly Blatz, and she is also a player in the online game that drives the show’s plot. TANIA GUNADI podcast excerpt: "Working on Star Trek with J.J. Abrams was so amazing. My alien makeup took five hours in the morning to put on; we did 11 days of fitting to make it work. My ears would move as I walked and I had a really long tail. J.J. would ask every couple of minutes, 'Are you okay? Can you breathe?'... Chris Pine is so cute. After our scene we walked outside. He said, 'Are you okay? Do you need a jacket?' And I said, 'No, I just need a hug.'"  And while this might be child’s play to some—Tania is older than she may look. Despite playing a teen on the show, this native of Bandung, Indonesia is actually 26! Tania might be a familiar face to fans of everything from Even Steven

Today's Guest: Sarah Szalavitz, entrepreneur, 7Robot, Zaproot, AwkwardSexStories.com Sarah Szalaitz, 7Robot, Taproot.com I don’t care if you never before heard of my guest, social media guru Sarah Szalavitz. A week ago, frankly, neither had I. But I suspect that at the end of this hour, we’ll all want to hear more from Sarah. Or maybe we’ll just want to be her. Sarah is the co-founder of 7 Robot, a new company involved in digital storytelling and social design. (Some examples: ZapRoot, AwkwardSexStories.com.) More about that, later, because that’s just her latest career. A Harvard-trained lawyer, that credential is almost incidental in a resume that includes two years as assistant to then-Speaker of the California State Assembly, Willie Brown Jr. More recently, she was director of content development for Veoh Networks. Sarah Szalavitz Twitter • LinkedIn • Facebook • YouTube • 7-Robot • "Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great" by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman, available i

Today's Guest: Steve Rosenbaum, author, Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators Curation Nation by Steve Rosenbaum. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! We’re going to do something a little different on Mr. Media today – instead of being a half-wit know-it-all, I’m going to try to learn something practical from my guest. Joining me is Steve Rosenbaum, who developed, created and produced the groundbreaking “MTV Unfiltered” program in 1993. Shot entirely by viewers, UNfiltered marked the first fully user-created program in television history and was the model used by Al Gore for CURRENT.TV. Along the way networks such as CBS, A&E, and HBO all counted on Rosenbaum to help them explore and deploy user-generated video in programming. Today, Rosenbaum is behind a new venture, Magnify.net, which uses video in still new ways. If you’re a blogger, podcaster or web site producer, I think you’ll find this program particularly interesting – and practical, as Steve wa

Today's Guest: Margo Martindale, actress, "Justified," Scalene Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of tough broads who you don’t want as next-door neighbors… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order Scalene from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD above! Imagine stretching a rubber band between the index finger on one hand and the thumb on the other. Now visualize pulling your fingers as far apart as possible. That’s it… …keep pulling… … and pulling… OUCH! Somebody will always get hurt when you do that. Emmy Award winning actress Margo Martindale (Justified, A Gifted Man) stars in the indie psychological thriller Scalene. MARGO MARTINDALE audio excerpt: "I like intense. In a movie, you can let go at the end of the day. On stage, you kind of have to live it until the run is over. But I love acting. It's like playing in my backyard."  That’s what I pictured happening upstairs to Margo Martindale’s character, Janice Trimble, in her new movie, Scalene. And that’s j

Today's Guest: Erin Cummings, actress, Bitch Slap, "Detroit 1-8-7" ABC had me at “redhead” when the opportunity to interview “Detroit 1-8-7” co-star Erin Cummings appeared. Learning she had a recurring role on AMC’s “Mad Men” earlier this season didn’t hurt either. Erin Cummings And neither did her experience as a co-star of the film Bitch Slap, in which she played “The Sex Bomb” alongside America Olivo, a recent guest on Mr. Media. (Julia Voth, you know you’re next!) ERIN CUMMINGS audio excerpt: "(Mad Men star) Jon Hamm is even more sexy, more enjoyable, and more intelligent in person than anything he has ever portrayed on television. I hope every actress has a chance to work with him."  Seeing that she looks like the Playboy magazine idea of a librarian was certainly a plus. And how about the timing? Cummings’ freshman police procedural series, “Detroit 1-8-7,” which stars Michael Imperioli of “The Sopranos” somewhat reprising his role from the short-lived “Life On Mars,” as well as James McDaniel of “NYPD

Today's Guest: Marti Rulli, author, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, Dennis Davern, captain, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner yacht Order 'Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour' by Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern by clicking the book cover above! What happened to Natalie Wood on the night of November 29, 1981? The next morning, as we all know, she was discovered floating in the waters off Catalina Island. But what happened during the night before she died? That night, Natalie was aboard the Splendour, the boat she and her husband, actor Robert Wagner, owned. Also on board was actor Christopher Walken and the ship's captain, Dennis Davern. Wagner and Davern were drunk. None of the three men has talked in detail about the events of that evening. Until now. DENNIS DAVERN podcast excerpt: "As soon as we departed Marina Del Rey, Robert Wagner had jealousy written all over him. Tension was building and it was just terrible... All of a sudden Robert picks up a wine bottle and smashed it in the middle of a coffee table. Gl