Mr. Media Interviews By Bob Andelman

Today's Guest: Dario Scardapane, showrunner, "Trauma" Cliff Curtis, Aimee Garcia star in NBC's 'Trauma.' (Courtesy NBC)   Dario Scardapane, showrunner, "Trauma," "The Bridge." Order 'Trauma: Season 1,' created by Dario Scardapane, available from Amazon.com by clicking the DVD cover above! (2009) From what I’ve read, the opening 10 minutes of the NBC drama “Trauma”—and say that five times fast—is the greatest introduction to a TV show ever. It cures cancer, tames global warming and reveals the secrets behind “Lost.” Okay, maybe it doesn’t do the last thing, but still! Seriously, NBC has had great success with emergency medicine shows going back to “Emergency!”—the one with the exclamation point—and, of course, the long-running “ER.” DARIO SCARDAPANE podcast excerpt: "I keep hearing, 'Okay, that's a pretty amazing way to start things. How are you going to keep up with it week after week?'  Television isn't the realm of the timid. Setting the bar really, really high for yourself... I embrace it." Dario Scarda

Today's Guest: Will Packer, film producer, Obsessed Order 'Obsessed,' available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! Will Packer, film producer, Obsessed (2009) Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter star in producer Will Packer’s new movie, Obsessed. I don’t know about you, but after learning those two are in it, I don’t really need to hear much more to know I’m going to see it. But if I’m in the minority, let me say that from the trailer, it looks like a Fatal Attraction-type thriller, with Larter—one of the stars of NBC’s “Heroes”—as a Glenn Close-style intruder upon Beyonce’s once quiet marriage. Joining me to talk about the movie is Will Packer, who brings more credibility to this show’s claim that St. Petersburg is the new media capital of the world: this is his hometown. I’m told he even received a key to the city that proves it. Will Packer Twitter • Rainforest Films on Twitter • Rainforest Fims website • Rainforest Films on Facebook • Order Obsessed from Amazon.com Will Packer Facebook • Tw

Today's Guest: Cristine Rose, actress, "Heroes" Cristine Rose, actress, "Heroes" (2009) If you’re a “Heroes” fan, I’ve got a treat for you today. My guest is Cristine Rose, who stars in the NBC drama as the mysterious, calculating matriarch Angela Petrelli, who, we believe, is willing to sacrifice anything, including her gifted sons, Nathan and Peter, to change the world. Apparently, having sons played by Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia, doesn’t have much impact on Angela! Christine, who is a commanding presence on the screen, is a veteran TV actress whose roles have included appearances on “Picket Fences,” “Providence” and “Friends.” She even has an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to her credit, playing, I believe, a Klingon. More recently, she’s been seen on episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” and “Big Love.” Don't miss these Mr. Media interviews with the "Heroes" cast: Milo Ventimiglia David Lawrence Cristine Rose Wikipedia • IMDB Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob

Today's Guests: Maura Tierney, Rob Morrow, actors, "The Whole Truth" Rob Morrow, The Whole Truth, ABC   Maura Tierney, The Whole Truth, ABC They are two of America’s favorite and most charismatic actors. They are also a man and a woman who have retained their dignity and privacy as we’ve watched them mature and grow on television for the past—dare I say it? – two decades. Maura Tierney appeared in almost 300 episodes of NBC shows, including 100 “NewsRadio”s with the late Phil Hartman and almost 200 “ER”s. And Rob Morrow had similar runs over on CBS: 102 episodes of “Northern Exposure” and 118 episodes of “Numb3rs”. MAURA TIERNEY Audio Excerpt: "I did a TV movie with Diana Ross where I played a schizophrenic. Did you ever do that?" ROB MORROW Audio Excerpt: "No. I did a thing with Annabella Sciorra... My wife saw Diana Ross shopping at Gelson's the other day. She can't stop talking about it. Diana Ross pushing a cart!" Now they’re together for what I believe is the first time, co-starring on the alphabet net

Today's Guest: Adi Tantimedh, novelist, Her Nightly Embrace: Book 1 of the Ravi PI Series Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Adi Tantimedh by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of conspiratorial whisperers who know there are cameras and microphones recording their every move… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Her Nightly Embrace by Adi Tantimedh. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! (EDITOR'S NOTE -- This is a very special interview. It is the 1,300th overall  post on Mr. Media and, coincidentally, it marks the site's 10th anniversary, February, 2017. Neither my guest nor I realized when this conversation was recorded that it would fall on such a significant occasion. Thank you to novelist Adi Tantimedh and thank you to the more than 4.5 million people who have visited, read, listened and watched Mr. Media over the past decade! -- Bob Andelman) I have to admit I was a bit skeptical o

Today's Guest: Claudia Zevallos, actress, "Day of Days," "A Better Place"   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Claudia Zevallos by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of dying old men who are not sure that they’re going to survive today’s episode… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Day of Days stars Tom Skerritt and Claudia Zevallos Day of Days is a painful movie to watch. Don’t get me a wrong – it’s a pretty fascinating two-person indie drama about an old man’s last day on earth and the substitute nursing aide who picked the wrong day to be on call. What makes the movie painful is seeing actor Tom Skerritt playing such an elderly, infirm old codger. He’s too damn good at convincing the viewer that he could go at any minute. CLAUDIA ZEVALLOS podcast excerpt: "I lot of people have a different takeaway from the movie. They have regret, they have pain, they have tears of joy. That's the beautiful thing about '

Today's Guest: Billy Idol, rock star, "White Wedding," "Rebel Yell" (I was first introduced to the music of Billy Idol by my then-roommate, photographer Dennis Osborne, in the early 1980s. Dennis would bounce around the house to "Dancin' with Myself" and it was hard to resist the song's infectious beat and lyrics. I recently located the audio to my 1984 Music magazine interview with Billy and present it here in all its amateur glory. -- Bob Andelman) Billy Idol on the cover of Music magazine (Photograph by Dennis Osborne, (c) 1984 All Rights Reserved.) With his startling blonde spiked hair and bona-fide punk stance, Billy Idol would be about as acceptable in the Deep South today as the long-haired hero of Charlie Daniels "Uneasy Rider" was a decade ago. But when Idol titled his 
latest album Rebel Yell, he
caused a lot of second looks.
What does a British
renegade noisemaker know
about confederate flags,
'shine or the Mason/Dixon Line?
Not much. The 28-year-old native of Bromley, England was considering a ho

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of recovering former cathouse dwellers… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!   Part 1 of 2   Order Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! I hates cats. Maybe “hate” is a strong word. The problem is I’m allergic to them. I can think of many aspects of my life that would have turned out differently if it were not for the adult onset of cat allergies. Dinner parties I would not have had to leave early due to puffy, red eyes. Intimate social encounters uninterrupted by wheezing and breathlessness. You get the idea. So I can’t be around cats. And, I suppose, because of that, I do hate cats. JACKSON GALAXY audio excerpt: "When I first started, I wasn't the most comfortable walking into people's homes. We want the focus to be you and your cat, not the guy who might duct tape you to your chair. If

Today's Guest: Ritch Shydner, comedian, author, Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life as a Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Ritch Shydner by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of comedy road dogs who went straight to the index of Ritch Shydner’s new book to see what secrets he told` about them… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! 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! Comedian Ritch Shydner made a career onstage painting pictures with words, so it should be no surprise that he transitioned easily to doing the same in book form. What might be surprising is that more comics haven’t told their stories in this way. RITCH SHYDNER podcast excerpt: "Rodney Dangerfield once said, 'Listen to what the audience is laughing at.' I tape myself not just to help structure the

Today's Guest: Alexandra Daddario, actress, "Parenthood" Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Esquire readers who want to hear the joke about the elephants falling off the cliff again and again… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!   Alexandra Daddario guest stars on NBC's 'Parenthood,' Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) My wife is a huge fan of the NBC series “Parenthood,” but I don’t usually do interviews based on her interests; she’s a tough one to impress. My teen son, on the other hand, still might raise a smile if the old man has a guest that he’s interested in. So talking to beautiful Alexandra Daddario was a must. ALEXANDRA DADDARIO audio excerpt: "I get very scared very easily, but there is something to be said for the fun level of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D type of film." Alex played Annabeth Chase in the movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Her job was shepherding Jackson from adolescence to young Godhood.

Today's Guest: Scott Cooper, director, Crazy Heart Order 'Crazy Heart' [Blu-ray] directed by Scott Cooper, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! (2009) When a movie director surrounds himself with talent, it makes the first day of shooting a lot more pleasant. So imagine being director Scott Cooper when principal photography began on his new film, Crazy Heart. His top line featured not one but three stars: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Duvall. And it left the writer of the film feeling pretty confident, too—and that was also Cooper. It probably didn’t hurt that two of his stars, Mr. Duvall and Mr. Bridges, are also producers of Crazy Heart. SCOTT COOPER audio excerpt: "Jeff Bridges is a better person than he is an actor, and that's saying a lot... In between 'Action!' and 'Cut!', it's revelatory what he can do. He's so facile...so sublime in the picture. He spoiled me. It's an embarrassment of riches." So how did this serio-comic story about a broken-down country music s

Today's Guest: Tim Pilcher, editor, Erotic Comics: A Graphic History from Tijuana Bibles to Underground Comix Order 'Erotic Comics: A Graphic History from Tijuana Bibles to Underground Comix' edited by Tim Pilcher, available from Amazon.com by clicking the book cover above! Tim Pilcher has a dirty mind! That’s what some people think, no doubt. He did just publish the second edition Erotic Comics: A Graphic History and it is filled with cartoon images of men, women, aliens and even a cat dancer engaged in all manner of physical intimacies. (If you have sensitive ears or are under the age of 18, please stop here. You might be offended by some of the content of this interview.) Volume 2 picks up where Volume 1 left off and examines how the form has become an international publishing phenomenon by showcasing artwork that has inflamed desires, incensed censors, and caused controversy. Order 'Erotic Comics 2: A Graphic History from the Liberated '70s to the Internet' edited by Tim Pilcher, available from Amazon.c

Today's Guest: Lea Thompson, actress, Back to the Future trilogy, "Caroline in the City"   Back to the Future Trilogy on Blu-Ray, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson. Order now by clicking on the DVD cover above! Actress Lea Thompson, perhaps best-known for starring in the NBC sitcom “Caroline in the City” and the Back to the Future movies with Michael J. Fox, is swallowing her pride and appearing on Mr. Media Interviews! Here is the Evelyn Wood version of Thompson’s career, courtesy of IMDB.com: Her first role was in the movie Jaws 3-D (1983) as a water ski bunny, although she couldn’t swim or ski—and still can’t. Her next role was in All the Right Moves (1983) in which she worked opposite Tom Cruise. Order 'Howard the Duck (Special Edition)' starring Lea Thompson, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! Thompson’s big break came from the first Back to the Future (1985). It was the biggest hit of 1985, and Thompson was suddenly a wanted actress. Director Howard

Today's Guest: David Spaltro, indie filmmaker, ... Around Filmmaker David Spaltro I get pitched on an awful lot of potential interviews. This one caught my attention: Order from Amazon.com by clicking the DVD cover above! "My name is David Spaltro and I'm an independent filmmaker and producer from NYC. Last year I completed my first feature film ... Around. It was a labor of love about a young man with a dual life 'living' out of Penn and Grand Central Station while going to film school, based on my own personal experiences a few years ago in this city. 21 shooting days, 190 locations all over the city, self-financed and done for $175,000 on 40 credit cards... no, seriously. I may have caused the fiscal crisis. Sorry. "I'm writing you because I'd love to send you a screener DVD. I think, as someone who is an avid lover of film, the story will really hit home... I think because of the struggle to make the film, the whole DIY approach with no previous experiences or resources, to fund, make, and distribute a

Today's Guest: Nathan Fillion, actor, "Castle," "Firefly" Order 'Castle: The Complete First Season' starring Nathan Fillion, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! (EDITOR'S NOTE: Unfortunately, this was not one of the show's better moments, technically speaking. I'm a big fan of Fillion's work and everything that could go wrong here, did. It was Firefly fail times a thousand.) Nathan Fillion has paid his dues and, I suspect had a good time doing it. He’s the guy you know and recognize when you see him—oh, yeah, you think—that guy! He was last seen on “Desperate Housewives” as Dana Delany’s beaten-down, much younger husband, Dr. Adam Mayfair. But before that, you’ve seen him in everything from Joss Whedon’s late, lamented sci-fi series “Firefly” to the online sensation, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” He also co-starred in the movie Waitress with Keri Russell. Order 'Firefly: The Complete Series' [Blu-ray] starring Nathan Fillion, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD set

Today's Guest: David Spaltro, indie filmmaker, Things I Don't Understand, Around... Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of seriously depressed social zombies with nothing to fear but fear itself… in the NEW new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida!   Molly Ryman stars in the new David Spaltro indie film 'Things I Don't Understand.' Filmmaker David Spaltro was one of my smartest finds of 2009. His first independent production, …Around, was stitched together on dozens of credit cards and a peanut-butter-and-jelly budget. It made for a great backstory and an even better film. I was delighted to interview David on this show back then and couldn’t be happier to welcome him back with a new film. DAVID SPALTRO audio excerpt: "I had a kamikaze mission for my first film, ... Around. I had a six-month plan that if we finished the film, I'd juggle all the credit card debt... If it didn't work out, I'm young, I'm stupid, I'd figure it out. The only way to protect the film was to sign it a

Today's Guest: Maulik Pancholy, actor, "30 Rock," "Whitney," "Weeds" Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Kabletown personal assistants vying to replace Jonathan for Jack Donaghy’s… attentions… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!   Maulik Pancholy's '30 Rock' character Jonathan is not done with Alec Baldwin yet. (Photo by: Ali Goldstein/NBC) As trade-ups go, it’s hard to beat Maulik Pancholy’s change of scenery. He’s just graduated from recurring character Jonathan on “30 Rock” to Neal, a sensitive renaissance man on the new NBC sitcom “Whitney, starring comedian Whitney Cummings. It airs on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., sandwiched tightly between “The Office” and “30 Rock.” WHITNEY -- Season:1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Maulik Pancholy as Neal, Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne, Zoe Lister-Jones as Lily, Whitney Cummings as Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia as Alex Miller, Dan O'Brien as Mark (Photo by: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC) MAULIK PANCHOLY audio excerpt: "Both shows are NBC shows s

Robert Schimmel: Life Since Then. Order your copy today by clicking on the DVD cover above!   Today's Guest: Robert Schimmel, comedian, author Cancer on Five Dollars a Day (chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life Order from Amazon.com by clicking the book cover above Comedian Robert Schimmel was my guest on Mr. Media recently and despite an hour of conversation, I felt like we barely began talking when time ran out. And based on listener response, it seems many of you felt the same way, so I’ve invited Robert back to pick up where we left off. So please welcome back to Mr. Media one of the best stand-up comedians in America and the author of Cancer on $5 a Day, Robert Schimmel. Robert Schimmel Wikipedia • IMDB • New York Times obituary • Order Cancer on $5 a Day via Amazon.com WATCH! Geri Jewell interview with Mr. Media about her friend and roommate Robert Schimmel Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your co

Today's Guest: Robert Schimmel, comedian, author, Cancer on Five Dollars a Day (chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life Order from Amazon.com by clicking the book cover above (APRIL 2008) I tried my hand at stand-up comedy twice in college, once as a freshman at the University of Miami and again a year later at the University of Florida. And no, I wasn’t so bad at Miami that I was asked to leave. They were a lot more subtle than that. Anyway, I gave up that dream early. It’s a tough, humiliating life, not for me. Now, Robert Schimmel, on the other hand, is one of the best stand-up comedians of his generation. He, like Richard Belzer before him, is the guy other comedians watch and measure themselves against. He is naturally funny and naturally crude, rude, and not recommended for listeners under the age of 18. That’s my way of saying if you’re too young to drink or if you’re easily offended, tune out now. The button-down mind of Bob Newhart this definitely is not. These

Today's Guest: Carlen Maddux, author, A Path Revealed: How Hope, Love, and Joy Found Us in a Maze Called Alzheimer's     Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Carlen Maddux by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of strong men and women who have found themselves powerless to protect their loved ones in the face of inexplicable diseases such as Alzheimer’s… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! A Path Revealed by Carlen Maddux. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! For nearly two decades, I have worried about my friend Carlen Maddux. Carlen published some of my best work as a journalist for more than 20 years as the man behind the Maddux Business Report, a long-running Tampa Bay area magazine. Through every editor he hired (and fired) and at least two recessions, my byline was a constant on his masthead and I have an armload of awards to prove it. In 1997, his wife Martha, a beloved political f