Employee of the Month

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AL JAFFEE, iconic cartoonist, discusses Stan Lee, Hugh Hefner, Mad Magazine, & PB & J sandwiches. Nov 29, 2014

Show notes

As you enjoy your Thanksgiving vacation or are traveling back from it, you will be grateful to hear from fascinating, fun, and formidably talented illustrator and writer Al Jaffee.

We met at his studio, where his MAD mind is as creative as ever, even if he says he's not as insanely prolific at age 93. (Uh, he's doing more than most folks at any age.) Jaffee is working on his fantastically detailed and vibrant illustrations for Sponge Bob Square Pants to MAD Magazine to his long running cartoon for the Lubavitch. We spoke about religion as Al is not religious, but spent most of his childhood in bleak Jewish towns in Lithuania and narrowly escaped the Holocaust.

We also spoke about his career through the decades, which started when he entered LaGuardia High School. Jaffee shared his insight into how illustrators, writers, and cartoonists created a field that didn't exist. He reveals why Jews changed their names when hustling for gigs pre-World War II to what it was like to work with Stan Lee pre-Marvel.

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ANTHONY BREGMAN, Producer of Foxcatcher, on raising equity and investing in indie films Nov 19, 2014

Show notes

In our interview Anthony Bregman breaks down what exactly a good producer does, since everyone and their mother seems to call themselves a producer these days. Bregman is one of the rare film producers who is as dexterous at developing smart scripts as he is at securing investors and delivering hits. He is also one of the last few producers left in New York who transformed what it meant to make independent films with (and without) studios. Before founding Likely Story, Bregman was a partner at This is That Productions for 4 years, and spent 10 years as head of production at Good Machine. He's produced over 30 features, including FOXCATCHER, SENSE & SENSIBILITY, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN, PLEASE GIVE, and ETERNAL SUNSHINE of the SPOTLESS MIND.

In 2006, Bregman founded his own production company, Likely Story. He has produced multiple films with writer/directors like Charlie Kaufman and Nicole Holofcener.

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WESLEY MORRIS, Pulitzer winning film critic, on breaking in and who really runs media Nov 14, 2014

Show notes

Wesley Morris writes about film, pop culture, sports, fashion, and politics. Currently at ESPN's Grantland, Morris previously wrote for The Boston Globe, where he received a Pulitzer for his film reviews. Wesley's love for film is palpable in his writing, but he also examines films in the context of what's going on in society. His reviews have been tremendously helpful, if not cathartic, in synthesizing what is going on on screen and off.

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BROAD CITY's ILANA GLAZER & ABBI JACOBSON talk about Craigslist, interning, and home videos. Nov 12, 2014

Show notes

When they were in their early twenties, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson met in improv class, loathed how hard it was to get on an improv team at UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade), and started their own. In November 2009, they began writing the web series Broad City and asked Amy Poehler, who had founded UCB, to do a cameo. She did, and then ended up signing on to Executive Produce Broad City as a television series. FX bought it and then let it go, so they went to Comedy Central, and the rest is herstory or her stories. Their hilarious take on the run-of-the-mill buddy comedy about two girls trying to make it in the big city is utterly unique and pure fun. Their lovable friendship is enviable, reminiscent of Laverne and Shirley, granted Ilana and Abbi aren't working in a beer canning factory and, as Laverne & Shirley's theme song goes, they are making "all of their dreams come true."

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ALEX BORSTEIN from HBO's Getting On and Lois on Family Guy relives her first big break... Nov 06, 2014

Show notes

Interviewing Alex Borstein means hearing her sing live and surprising her with never released footage of her first big break on stage. (Special thanks to the Los Angeles Unified School District).

Actor and writer Alex Borstein is in the prime of her career. She is one of the rare comedians who successfully crossed over to act and write in dramas and, what Hollywood cloyingly refers to as, dramedies. Oh, and she hasn't quit her day job either....

Since 1999, Borstein has served as a writer, producer, and, most notably, voiced "Lois" on the Emmy winning animated series Family Guy. Seth McFarlane created the comedy show, which is now in it's 13th year on Fox, and the duo will perform live, granted with a band the size that Duke Ellington would envy. (I am sure, Alex Borstein will say that her scene stealing role as an animated mouse in MYC, which I wrote, made her who she is today.

She also revealed how success in one arena begets success in another.

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SIMON RICH is best known for SNL and The New Yorker, but he also published his own newspaper Oct 22, 2014

Show notes

Considering Simon Rich published his first two books before graduating from college, where he also served as President of The Harvard Lampoon, it's not surprising that he became the youngest writer hired by Saturday Night Live. Veteran SNL writer Paula Pell, who has also been on Employee of the Month, joked that she'd nestle Rich in her objectively sizable bosom, gently teasing him for being so young.

Even now at the ripe old age of 30, Rich maintains a "Doogie Howser" youthful appearance, which belies his discipline, drive, and gilded resume. He's written for Pixar, Mad Magazine, and The New Yorker regularly features his short stories. He's published six books, one of which, The Last Girlfriend on Earth, Rich developed into a TV series now called Man Shooting Woman for FXX. Rich's first boss, Lorne Michaels, serves as his producing partner.

I interviewed Simon Rich a couple days before he left for Toronto to begin shooting and right before his latest book Spoiled Brats hit stores. Legendary...

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Top Chef's TOM COLICCHIO on Employee of the Month Oct 15, 2014

Show notes

Tom Colicchio keeps adding to his impressive, albeit daunting, schedule as a father, husband, chef, restauranteur, entrepreneur, TV personality, pitchman, guitar aficionado, film producer and policy wonk. He takes all of his multi-hyphenates seriously, especially food activism.

Tomorrow, Thursday, October 16th, Colicchio will spend World Hunger Day, as co-founder of Food Policy Action, reminding (read: lobbying) Congress to help the 14.3 percent of American homes which are “food insecure.” The glaring statistics about hunger in our country leave out people who are homeless and otherwise un-documented and cant afford to buy food, never mind eat healthy. In our interview, you'll hear why he isn’t running for political office, and I ask him what effect high priced restaurants have on driving up the price of food. Whip-smart and good natured, Colicchio offers genuine insight into everything from tipping to why kale is so hot.

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Mad Magazine's AL JAFFEE on Employee of the Month Oct 07, 2014

Show notes

This October marks Al Jaffee reign as Mad Magazine’s longest running contributor, clocking in 59 years and over 479 issues. Since 1952, the comic book turned magazine infused a childish silliness with biting political depth and orignal artwork. By engaging readers to add their own “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,” and even mangling the magazine to solve the “Fold-In” picture riddle, Mad was one of the first enterprises to treat consumers as co-conspirators. The result was an entirely new forum for humor in an era when few questioned whether father really knows best. It’s allure for children and teenagers simultaneously fueled outrage from the FBI to Congress the collective imaginations of future comedy writers and cartoonists. Writers behind The Simpsons, The Daily Show, The Onion, and The Colbert Report credit Mad Magazine for inspiring them.

The sheer joy Jaffee’s work provides fans offers to fans is inverse proportion to what he and his three brothers experienced growing up.

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Tony winner JAMES MONROE IGLEHART on Employee of the Month Aug 25, 2014

Show notes

James Monroe Iglehart won his first Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his role of the Genie is Disney’s Aladdin. Considering Iglehart had only appeared on Broadway in Memphis and The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee, Aladdin is now permanently etched in stone, well gold, as a defining career role for the wildly talented singer. Iglehart also performs with the hip hop improv groupl Freestyle Love Supreme (FLS), who can be currently seen on the television channel Pivot. After you hear our interview and Iglehart freestyling, you’ll know why Broadyway is thrilled to claim and celebrate Iglehart.

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Singer David Berkeley on Employee of the Month Aug 25, 2014

Show notes

While it's easier for musicians to self produce these days, it's also easier to get lost in the shuffle of the faceless internet. Still singers, like David Berkeley, have figured out how to live the dream. Berkeley, who lives with his family in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is currently mixing his latest album, which he recorded with fellow musicians like trumpeter Jordan Katz, who has appeared on American Idol, and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek. Berkeley raised the financing on Kickstarter. He's also made money penning tailor made songs. In our conversation, which took place at The Writers Guild of America in New York, Berkeley spoke about the dangers of playing Cyrano, difficulty in turning down gigs, and the joys of living in New Mexico.

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