Mr. Media Interviews By Bob Andelman

Today's Guest: John Fricke, author, Judy: A Legendary Film Career Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of former gay icons who refuse to acknowledge their fabulosity in this world or the next… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order Judy: A Legendary Film Career by John Fricke, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! In the pantheon of movie stars who will live forever in the memories of cinema fans, few burn brighter than Judy Garland. She lived a well documented life of extraordinariness, from her big screen breakthrough in The Wizard of Oz on through A Star is Born and Meet Me in St. Louis. There was no medium she couldn’t conquer, whether it was movies, radio or, later, television. Wherever she went, whatever she did, she was universally respected for her God-given talent and adored for her smile and spunk. JOHN FRICKE audio excerpt: "Judy Garland married the wrong men again and again or trusted the wrong men again and again. It must

Today's Guest: Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge, co-authors, The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way You Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolution Order Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by clicking the book cover above!   Order The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way You Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolution by clicking the book cover above! I have a lot of respect for the practitioners of public relations services. Publicists are responsible for many of the interviews you hear on Mr. Media; they’re either pitching their clients to me or I go to them seeking their clients. And in this show’s third year, I feel like every day I’m either getting schooled in PR 2.0—the web iteration of public relations—or getting spanked by it. So I’m feeding a personal curiosity by inviting today’s guests, Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge. BRIAN SOLIS audio excerpt: "When PR people write press releases today, they're writing it for th

Today's Guest: Michael Uslan, executive producer, Batman, The Dark Knight films, author, The Boy Who Loved Batman Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Batman pajamas wearing youngsters dreaming of slaying their dragons and laying their Vicki Vales… in the NEW new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida! Order Michael Uslan's 'The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir' by clicking the book cover above! I’ve never produced a Batman movie, but other than that slight difference between us, I completely related to producer Michael Uslan’s autobiography, The Boy Who Loved Batman. It probably starts with us both being Jersey boys smitten by four-color dreams as young boys, buying the latest comics at a neighborhood drugstore or Mom & Pop convenience store. Then it was our similar devotion to organizing our friends according to their interest in arguing about who would win a fight, DC’s Batman or Marvel’s Daredevil, Superman or Batman, Deadman or, uh, never mind. MICHAEL USLAN audio excerp

Today's Guest: Michael Uslan, comic book writer, "Archie Marries Betty" Betty   Archie Marries Betty by Michael Uslan I remember the first time I encountered Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Moose, Mr. Weatherbee, Miss Grundy, Hot Dog and the rest of the Riverdale gang. It was in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1971, and we were visiting our cousins, the Sirotkins. Fred Sirotkin, the youngest of the three children, had a basement filled with shelf after shelf of neatly ordered comic books. It was nirvana for me—and probably still would be, if not for the great flood that hit Wilkes-Barre a year later, obliterating Fred’s collection and everything else in the wall of water’s path. MICHAEL USLAN podcast excerpt: "Yes, we take the Archie story one step beyond anything it's ever been taken before... This has become a firestorm on the Internet on a worldwide basis. The Today Show took a poll on who Archie should marry. It was 80% Betty, 20% Veronica--and Jughead came in a strong third." Fast-forward to Janu

Today's Guest: Michael Uslan, executive producer, Batman, Dark Knight movies Order Michael Uslan's 'The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir' by clicking the book cover above! Kids, if you want to grow up to be a successful executive producer of movies like Michael Uslan ("YOU-slin") did, the key is education – and patience. Lots and lots of patience. Uslan secured the rights to make Batman movies years before Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, and Jack Nicholson dreamed of working together. And he couldn’t give away the rights to Will Eisner’s The Spirit. But his patience and determination paid off. This year, the sixth Batman movie – The Dark Knight – and first Spirit movie will come to a multiplex near you, joining previous Uslan productions such as Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Batman Begins, Catwoman, Constantine, National Treasure, Swamp Thing – well, you get the idea. And he’s not one to rest on his laurels, either. Uslan’s current projects in development include Shazam!, The Shadow, an

Today's Guest: Kevin Avery, author, editor, Conversations With Clint, Everything is An Afterthought Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Rolling Stone magazine writers and past Mr. Media guests such as Ben Fong-Torres, David Wild and Parke Puterbaugh who are hanging on every word today as they seal their own unpublished interviews in air-tight mayonnaise jars and hide them under my bed… in the NEW new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida! Order 'Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson's Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983' by clicking the book cover above! I completely get Kevin Avery – I think. Growing up, he admired the writing and reviews of a long-time Rolling Stone journalist named Paul Nelson. He even wrote a fan letter to the magazine about Nelson; it was published in the April 30, 1981 issue. Personally, while I was a regular reader of Rolling Stone in those days, Nelson’s name and work didn’t have quite the same impression upon me. In fact, I didn’t remembe

Today's Guest: Freddie E. Williams II, comic book artist, The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics Order The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics by Freddie E. Williams II, available right now at a great price by clicking on the book cover above! I am old enough to remember what a sensation Stan Lee and John Buscema caused back in 1978 when the book, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, was published. That book promised to pull back the curtain and teach would-be comic book artists how the House of Ideas did things and how you could, too. But that was then—this is now. In the digital age, knowing how to hold a pencil is so 1999. If you want to make it in comics today, you need a lot more technical skills and information. And that, no doubt, is why Freddie E. Williams II is going to do very well with his timely new instructional book, The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics. Freddie E. Williams II, artist, The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics FREDDIE WILLIAMS podcast excerpt: "

Today's Guest: Chuck Workman, Stephen J. Kern, documentary film producers, In Search of Kennedy   In Search of Kennedy, a documentary film by Chuck Workman and Stephen J. Kern. Order your copy now by clicking on the film poster above! If MTV edited a presidential campaign video, it would probably look and feel a bit like In Search of Kennedy, a new documentary film by Chuck Workman and Stephen J. Kern. The movie applies a 21st century sheen to the most iconic of 20th century political figures, John F. Kennedy. It is incredibly au currant, with the 2008 Democratic references narrowed down to Obama and Clinton. The movie - which reminds us that, in 2000, even George W. Bush was sold to the American public as being Kennedy-like! - is crammed with familiar faces interviewed expressly for this project, including Norman Mailer, Tom Hayden, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Michael Moore, Garrison Keillor, Chris Matthews, Arianna Huffington and Senators Edward Kennedy, Joseph Biden and Chris Dodd. Alec Baldwin and Elisab

Today's Guest: Jesse Bradford, actor, "Outlaw" Jesse Bradford in "Sequestered" Over the past week, I’ve been delighted to play host to the two leading ladies of NBC’s new legal series, “Outlaw” – Carly Pope and Ellen Woglom. They both told me how wonderful the star’s show, Jimmy Smits, is. Who cares about him? JESSE BRADFORD podcast excerpt: "I've never really had a steady gig. That was always a tremendously appealing life to me throughout my 20s; I didn't want my life to be about my work. But now, at 31, I would love to have a steady gig."  What I really want to know, only a man can tell me: what’s it like to work with Carly and Ellen, who have starred, respectively, in the film Young People F@cking and the TV show “Californication”? I know, I know: I’m hopeless. You’ll probably recognize Jesse Bradford, by the way: he’s been in a pile of successful films by renown directors prior to playing Eddie Franks on “Outlaw,” which airs Fridays @ 10 p.m. on NBC. There was Clint Eastwood,’s Flags of Our Fathers and O

Today's Guest: Peri Gilpin, Candace Cameron Bure, actors, "Make It or Break It" Make It Or Break It, Peri Gilpin, ABC Family, Mr. Media Interviews Could one man possibly be responsible for all of our nation’s salacious schtick? Yes, say sitcom staples Peri Gilpin and Candace Cameron Bure – and that man is Bob Saget. Interviewed on Mr. Media, Peri, who played Roz Doyle on Frasier, and Candace, who played D.J. Tanner on Full House, roast their pal Bob – who led the Full House cast as widowed dad Danny Tanner – big-time. Discussing her TV alma mater with host Bob Andelman, Candace says: “There’s definitely a place for shows like Full House, where, as parents, we can safely allow our children to watch, and not worry about whether they’ll be exposed to something that isn’t age- appropriate.” That’s when Peri, who co-stars with Candace in the ABC Family series Make It or Break It, jumps in with this zinger: Candace Cameron Bure, Peri Gilpin, actresses, Make It Or Break It, Mr. Media Interviews “Wait a minute. Wha

Today's Guest: Georgene Lockwood, author, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organizing Your Life Order 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organizing Your Life', 5th Edition, by Georgene Lockwood, available right now at a great price by clicking on the book cover above! Only one of the three of us living in the Mr. Media® residence is organized. The other two? Not so much. It’s a constant pressure point, too, where the one is constantly picking up after the rest. They complain they don’t have any room, don’t know where anything is, can’t find something important at a crucial moment… If this sounds like your home and your life, let’s work together today to do something about this. GEORGENE LOCKWOOD podcast excerpt: "Where do you begin? Do you begin in a corner? You might begin on the couch so someone can sit on it. For most people, it's the area that causes the most stress and aggravation every day." Joining me today is Georgene Lockwood, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organizing Your Life, now in its fifth e

Today's Guest: Mindi Abair, saxophonist Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience that includes Clarence “Big Man” Clemons, David Sanborn and the ghosts of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane … in the new new media capitol of the world – and birthplace of Mindi Abair! … St. Petersburg, Florida!   Part 1 of 4 Order 'Wild Heart' by saxophonist Mindi Abair, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the CD above! Not everyone took saxophone player Mindi Abair’s path to being a guest on Mr. Media. Most get booked through a publicist, quite honestly. I get a note or a phone call saying, “Have you ever heard of…” Something like that. I consider each one carefully and invite only the men and women who strike a chord with me. But in Mindi’s case, I received an email from someone whom I trust without question – her aunt, Becky James. Becky has been transcribing audio interviews for me for the last two decades. She probably knows things about me from those recordings that even my wife doesn’t, and bless her, she

Today's Guest: Christopher Ward, Canada’s first MuchMusic VJ, author, Is This Live? Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic: The Nation's Music Station Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with CHRISTOPHER WARD by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Alannah Myles and Bryan Adams impersonators doing “The Safety Dance”… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! "Is This Live? Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic: The Nation's Music Station" by Christopher Ward. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! What I don’t know about the Canadian music video scene could fill a half an hour or more… as rock ‘n’ roll historian Christopher Ward is about to discover. Ward has published a charming new oral history of MuchMusic—a Canadian take on MTV for my clueless fellow Americans. The book—Is This Live? Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic, The Nation’s Music Station—takes us behind-the-scenes at the creation

Today's Guest: Terri Libenson, cartoonist, "The Pajama Diaries" Terri Libenson is creator of "The Pajama Diaries" daily comic strip My mother’s maiden name was Kaplan. My favorite person in the whole world—after mom, of course—was my grandfather, Sam Kaplan. I even convinced my wife to give my son “Kaplan” as his middle name. So I must admit a touch of prejudice in reading cartoonist Terri Libenson’s daily strip, “The Pajama Diaries.” How could I resist the story of a family of Kaplans as told by someone who grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania? That’s where my Kaplans are from, too. All that, and the fact that “The Pajama Diaries” makes me laugh. Order by clicking the book cover above TERRI LIBENSON podcast excerpt: "I've always drawn and I gravitated toward cartooning at a very young age. What inspired me was 'Peanuts'; I used to draw Snoopy and Woodstock all the time. My brother also had a lot of MAD magazines and I used to read those over and over again."  Before launching “The Pajama Diaries” in 2002

Today's Guest: Chris Browne, cartoonist, "Hagar the Horrible," author, The Monster Who Ate the State Part 1 of 4 (More below)   Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of famous vikings including Leif Ericksen, Erik the Red and Brett Favre… in the new new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order 'Hagar the Horrible: The Epic Chronicles: The Dailies 1976-1977' by clicing on the book cover above! Hagar the Horrible is getting his due. Finally. The adventures of one of the most unique, consistently funny comic strip characters – a dirty, drunken viking, of all things – is finally being collected in book form with publication of Hagar the Horrible: The Epic Chronicles. The strip, created in 1973 by Dik Browne – co-creator of with Mort Walker of “Hi and Lois” – holds a special place in my heart. When it debuted, I was a 13-year-old with his own subscription to the Newark Star-Ledger. My parents paid for home delivery of the New Brunswick Home News, but it was an afternoon paper with

Today's Guest: Danny Trejo, actor, Machete, Spy Kids   Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of hardcore ex-cons who are scared silly by being anywhere close to Machete, even if it’s via Wi-Fi… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order by clicking the DVD cover above Of course there are stereotypes in Hollywood! Look up “Scary Mofos” in any dictionary and you’ll find a picture of actor Danny Trejo. Even when he’s smiling, he’s frightening. (No disrespect, sir.) Mention his name in casual conversation and watch the visceral fear come rising up in someone’s eyes. As the master thespian Jon Lovitz once said, “Acting!” Yeah, maybe. DANNY TREJO audio excerpt: "Machete doesn't wear a cape and he has no superpowers. He's just a badass. Clint Eastwood was just a badass. Iron Man needed a therapist and he had a daddy complex! Machete is just a guy, a day laborer. There is some sense of realism!"  Order 'Machete' [Blu-ray] starring Danny Trejo, available right now at a g

Today's Guest: Jeremy Redleaf, filmmaker, Sarah Palin parody, Juneau   Jeremy Redleaf, director, Juneau Apparently there is a big national election campaign underway in the United States featuring an old man, a black man, a bald man and a woman who shoots moose. Who knew? Anyway, amidst all the noise for John McCain and Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Jeremy Redleaf has created a short, musical film parody called Juneau. It sounds just like that other movie of the same name with a different spelling. And instead of a pregnant teen named "Juno," it revolves around a pregnant teen named "Bristol." Jeremy Redleaf Website • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • LinkedIn 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: Norm Feuti, cartoonist, "Gil," "Retail" Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of real people whose lives only make it seem like they’re trapped in a comic strip… in the new new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!   That Gil is one smart kid! (Illustration by Norm Feuti) Does anyone else think that daily comic strips are a lot like local radio shows? And that cartoonists have a lot in common with disc jockeys and talk show hosts? Confused? Let me try to explain. There are hundreds of daily comic strips in the world and your local newspaper might carry 30 at most. Where I live, for example, there are strips that I see in the Tampa Bay Times that readers of the Tampa Tribune don’t get and vice versa. Similarly, a morning radio show host that everybody in the Tampa Bay area knows as hysterically funny is virtually unknown 90 miles away in Orlando. Like I said, I see similarities between the two professions. Which is my odd way of saying that there are a lot of great

Today's Guest: Lullwater, rock band < Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of local rock heroes who may want to quit the business after hearing Athens rockers Lullwater take center stage… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order the the Lullwater CD, Silhouette, by clicking on the album cover above! When the first notes from Lullwater’s new CD, Silhouette, begins to play, you’ll know—without question—that these boys have their hearts firmly planted in Dixie. It’s not strictly Southern fried rock, but there are unmistakable bits of Lynyrd Skynyrd tucked away in “Worse By Better.” I hear the Georgia Satellites in places, too. Maybe a BoDeans twang in the guitar structure. And even a little R.E.M., in terms of the catchier tunes – not surprising since they’re both born of Athens, Georgia. JOHN STRICKLAND audio excerpt: "When we were on the road, we got to know each other and we all had the same goals in mind." This is one of those rock bands that, the moment you h

Today's Guest: Neil Hopkins, actor, "Lost," Skyline Neil Hopkins, actor, "Lost"   Skyline (Blu-ray) starring Neil Hopkins. Order your copy today by clicking on the DVD cover above! I suspect Neil Hopkins might see himself as a man THISCLOSE to a career breakthrough. You probably know him best as Liam Pace, Charlie’s heroin-addicted brother and bandmate in a couple of backwards-looking episodes of ABC’s “Lost.” He's also had recurring roles on HBO’s “Big Love” and the Starz series, “Crash,” and played the long-lost brother of Dr. McNamara on FX’s “Nip/Tuck.” NEIL HOPKINS audio excerpt: "They had written all these different lyrics for the song; 'You All Everybody' was just the refrain... I thought part of the reason they cast me was because clearly I could sing like a rock star. Then I got to Hawaii and they already had it recorded so we could just lip sync to the playback. When I finally saw it, I thought I guess I'm really not singing on it."  Today, he’s eagerly awaiting the Nov. 12 opening of his new movi