Paul McCartney, Stephen Colbert, Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Costner, Spike Lee, Bryan Cranston, Kristin Chenoweth, David Duchovny, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Burr, Laura Prepon, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Strahan, Historian Jon Meacham, Judd Apatow, Kristen Chenoweth, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times, , Sanjay Gupta, Ken Burns, Bill Wyman-The Rolling Stones , Tim Robbins, Bob Costasand MORE, join Emmy & Peabody award-winning comedian Paul Mecurio who interviews the biggest names in entertainment, music, media, sports, politics and science. Paul uncovers hilarious anecdotes and never-before-heard insights about his guests and how they do what they do and became so successful in their field.
William Shatner - Star Trek, Boston Legal, TJ Hooker
Mar 07, 2023
Show notes
William Shatner has gone from actor to being a cultural icon. He is ubiquitous in pop culture. He shares fascinating, funny, behind-the-scenes stories about getting his start in acting in Canada, what it was like working in the early days of LIVE television in New York in the 50s. Shatner talks about his relationship with Leonard Nimoy and how they first met, has great advice for young actors and why he thinks he's had such longevity in show business. An absolutely riveting conversation with this larger than life man.
Gina Gershon - Showgirls, Face/Off, Killer Joe, House of Versace
Feb 27, 2023
Show notes
Gina is very revealing and a lot of fun as she tells how she got her start in acting and the best advice she got as a young actress, and what it was like working with the great David Mamet on Broadway. We hear about her directorial debut and the challenges she faced directing her first film. Hear why Frank Sinatra was such a big inspiration to Gina. And Gina explains why she is concerned that we have become so divisive as a country, what we can do to come together as a nation and much more.
Patricia Heaton - "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Middle," & Director/Husband David Hunt - Comedy Series, "Versailles."
Feb 21, 2023
Show notes
Patricia and David talk about their new film, the off-beat comedy "Unexpected." They share secrets in a very cool, funny look at how a film is adapted from a book, why initially the script based on the book wasn't working, how they worked on set together as collaborators AND husband and wife without killing each other. Patricia shares stories about working on 2 of the biggest sit-coms in TV history, how she grew as an actor from those jobs and how she grew to become a producer of TV and film.
Mariel Hemingway - "Manhattan," "Lipstick," "Star 80," TV series "Civil Wars"
Feb 09, 2023
Show notes
A very revealing conversation with Mariel about her years as a child actor, the ground-breaking films she starred in, "Manhattan," "Star 80," "Lipstick," and what it was like working with giants in the industry like Woody Allen, Bob Fosse and John Candy. Mariel is candid about why one of her films probably couldn't be made today as she explains her concern with the "cancel culture" and how it can squelch creativity. Mariel also talks candidly about her mental health struggles and those of her famous family, including her famous grandfather Ernest hemingway. A wide-ranging, very honest perspective from this iconic actress.
Ric Prado - CIA Black Ops Officer
Jan 31, 2023
Show notes
Ric is spell-binding in this INSIDER account of the CIA from a lifelong Black Ops officer. Black Ops guys rarely talk about their work, or most importantly, are given a chance to. This is a FIRST! With agency approval Ric tells his whole career, explaining how he and others have guarded America's safety from the shadows - highlighted by operations globally (Central America, Asia, Middle East), dealing with international terrorism and Communist regimes. Ric still trains our forces and law enforcement officials as well. A MUST listen!
Bryan Cranston - "Your Honor," "Breaking Bad"
Jan 16, 2023
Show notes
A great conversation with the great actor Bryan Cranston about his Showtime series, "Your Honor." Bryan reveals why he decided to do another series of the wildly popular show, what life is like for his character, fallen Judge, Michael Desiato, how his character tries to pick up the pieces and what Michael's dilemma says about all of us. Bryan is terrific and let's us behind the curtain, explaining how he physically prepared for the role in the 2nd season and more.
Ian Bohen - "Yellowstone," "Teen Wolf: The Movie," "Mad Men"
Jan 11, 2023
Show notesIan is an amazingly down to earth guy who's very revealing. In this really fun conversation Ian explains why in show business it's not about "who you know but you knows YOU" and how that helped him land the role of Ryan on "Yellowstone." Ian talks about why it's so great about working with Kevin Costner and why growing up on his grandfather's ranch helped him understand the character of Ryan. He describes the fun and challenges of bringing back his role of Peter Hale from the MTV Teen Wolf show and how that was a big adjustment for him. He explains how being in "Mad Men," changed his life and much more. This was a really fun interview with an actor with a very impressive string of roles who's worked on some of the biggest shows in television history!
Joe Mantegna - "Criminal Minds," "Barry," "Godfather 3," Fat Tony - "The Simpsons"
Dec 28, 2022
Show notes
Joe is REALLY fun in this wide-ranging conversation about bringing back the hit show "Criminal Minds" to streaming. Joe reveals why the show is even more realistic on streaming (hint: realistic gore and swearing), what he loves about the story lines, how the Covid pandemic is part of those story lines, why playing Joe Rossi, his character on "Criminal Minds," is like seeing an old friend and how his character is the same but different - in a good way. Joe talks his love of baseball, throwing out the first pitch at Cubs games and he and I bond over his Chicago Cubs and my Boston Red Sox and how bad and good they have been and Joe tells what it's like playing Fat Tony on "The Simpsons" for over 30 years and much more.
Beverly D'Angelo - "Violent Night," "Christmas Vacation," "Coal Miner's Daughter"
Dec 13, 2022
Show notes
A really fun conversation with this film legend. Hear why she loved the script for "Violent Night" and the unique word she uses to describe the film. She has cool insight into working on the "Vacation" films w/Chevy Chase. Beverly is very open and funny about her years working in film, what she looks for in the roles she plays, how she prepares for a role, why she sounds like a trucker in this interview and much more.
Robert Alexander - Director, HBO Documentary - "Shaq" and HBO Series - "The Shop"
Dec 05, 2022
Show notes
Emmy winning director Robert Alexander describes what he learned about Shaquile O'Neal in the making of this 4 -part doc that surprised, challenged and delighted him. Robert gives a fascinating look at why he didn't want to make a conventional documentary and how he arrived at the creative approach he took to the documentary. This is a master class in filmmaking as Robert explains how and why he gave each installment of the 4-part doc its own look and feel. Hear why he describes Shaq as the most unique person he's EVER met or worked with (and it's not just because of Shaq's size). Robert shares the two very different sides of Shaq, how Robert had to make some tough choices of what to keep in the final edit of the film and what to keep out and much more.
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