Monday Morning Critic Podcast

Latest Episodes:

(Episode 98) "Alpha" Film Score Composer: Joseph S. DeBeasi Oct 26, 2018

Show notes

Joseph is a film composer and conductor whose recent work includes original underscore for Oscar nominated, Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper. Earlier that year, he composed the music for the award-winning feature documentary, Kidnapped for Christ. His score for Judges won Best Soundtrack at the Miami Sci-fi Film Festival in 2016. He is also known for his work as a music editor in more than 50 feature films, including The Revenant, Sicario, Book of Eli, Prisoners, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Dirty Dancing.

Joseph has given seminars on Film music at Heartland Film Festival, Nashville Composers Association, Club Cubase at Belmont University. He is an honors graduate of film composition from Berklee College of Music. His primary instrument is trumpet with a dual emphasis in classical and jazz performance. In 2015, Joseph received a BMI Film Music Award for his score on American Sniper. Joseph is a Steinberg Artist.

Joseph’s composing credits include the films: American Sniper, (Clint Eastwood, dir) Kidnapped For Christ (Kate Logan, dir) The Shattering, (Andy Fraser Exec. Prod.) Ceremony (additional music, Max Winkler, dir) 3 of Us (Miks Ozolins, dir) Before Breakfast (Paul Levin, dir) He also wrote additional music for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape – Paramount Pictures and Mad Dog and Glory – Universal Pictures.

See Joseph’s Filmography page for a complete listing of credits. Joseph has over 50 feature film credits as a music editor working alongside composers like Johann Johannsson (Prisoners) Atticus Ross (Book of Eli), Ilan Eshkeri (Ninja Assassin), Dickon Hinchliffe (The Texas Killing Fields), Mark Isham (Reservation Road), Rachel Portman (Because of Winn-Dixie), George Fenton (Last Holiday), Philip Glass (Academy Award Nominated Score, Notes on a Scandal).

Joseph’s Awards are:BMI Film Music Award – Film Music for American SniperPark City Film Music Festival:Silver Medal for Excellence, Best Use of Music in a Short Film for Before BreakfastSilver Medal for Excellence, Best Use of Music in a Short Film for Anything You Can DoSilver Medal for Excellence, Best Use of Music in a Short Film for Flypaper

Joseph's latest work, "Alpha" is among the best scores of 2018.

Meet: Joseph DeBeasi.

(Episode 97) "Cinderella Man" Actor: Nicholas Campbell. Oct 23, 2018

Show notes

Nicholas Campbell's mother was a Russian woman who escaped a Nazi concentration camp, and his father was a Canadian of Scots descent. Grew up in Montreal. Studied pre-law when he entered college, but then switched his focus to English and drama.Was the original portrayer of the title character in The Hitchhiker, an HBO anthology series, but the role was recast after the first season.Has written and directed several films, including the 1992 documentary Stepping Razor: Red X.Has won several Canadian Gemini Awards, including one for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the made-for-TV movie Major Crime (1997). Is a horse-racing enthusiast. And plays "Sporty Lewis" in one of my all time favorite movies "Cinderella Man"

Meet: Nicholas Campbell

(Episode 96) "The Walking Dead" Actor: Josh Mikel. Oct 08, 2018

Show notes

Josh Mikel is an actor, playwright, director, and musician from Conyers, GA. A graduate of Florida State University's Theatre and Creative Writing programs, he honed his craft on the stage at FSU's School of Theatre. There, he developed a love for film and TV working on both sides of the camera, with the acclaimed Florida State Film School. A published playwright, Josh is known particularly for his theatre for young audiences works, "The Monster Hunters," and "Good Good Trouble on Bad Bad Island." He is the resident playwright at Endstation Theatre Company (Lynchburg, VA). As a director, he has created and animated music videos for the acts Against Me!, Waxahatchee, Jake Bugg, Neon Trees, and American Authors. Josh is the long time drummer for the indie rock band Look Mexico. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia where he is represented by J Pervis Talent Agency.

Meet Josh Mikel.

(Episode 95) "Leave it to Beaver" Actor: Jerry Mathers. Oct 04, 2018

Show notes

Gerald Patrick "Jerry" Mathers is an American actor. Mathers is best known for his role in the television sitcom Leave It to Beaver, originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963, in which he played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the younger son of the suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver and the brother of Wally Cleaver.

An actor, a veteran, an entrepreneur and a fantastic human being... Meet Jerry Mathers.

(Episode 94) "Cop and a ½". Actor: Norman Golden II Oct 02, 2018

Show notes

Norman D. Golden II AKA Enormus was born in Racine Wisconsin. He moved to California with his family when he was 3 years old. He grew up in the South Bay Area of California. Norman is best known for his co-starring role as Devon Butler in the movie "Cop and a half" with Burt Reynolds. Norman has starred and co-starred in several movies such as, his portrayal of Pharaoh Rivers in the made for television movie "There Are No Children Here" starring Oprah Winfrey, Jim Jam Ween in "On Promised Land" Joan Plowright, Aaron Crawford in "America's Dream": "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black", Wesley Snipes and the remake of "Moby Dick", where he played the role of Pip, starring Patrick Stewart and the late Gregory Peck.Norman has an enormous heart of generosity and believes in helping people to become happy. While on the set of "Cop N Half" he visited the cancer division of a Florida children hospital. He also joined Tatiana Ali, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and other child actors on a Celebrity Cruise to raise funds to help with research for Juvenile Diabetes. He spoke before 1500 young people at the Festival Hall in his hometown (Racine WI) at "Violence No More" events. Norman made several visits to various schools encouraging students to stay in school and make sure they learn how to read. And at six years old he created his very own Public Service Announcement encouraging people to learn how to read!Norman had an incredible career as a child actor; without regret, he took time off from the entertainment industry to concentrate on his education. He received his AA degree in English and is finishing his BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in creative writing at Antioch University Los Angeles. While on his hiatus, he developed other skills and interests such as music and writing screenplays. Norman is quite a diverse artist and always hard at work, he is continuously working on new film and music projects that are in various stages of development. Norman is now entering the music business as "Enormus"He has collaborated and performed with Grammy-award winning flutist Nestor Torres and has graced the stage with Jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock and Bennie Maupin. Enormus continues to do live performances across Southern California. He released his debut EP entitled SEEDS Vol 1 "Pick of the Litter" with Vol II in development/production.As a child actor Norman burst onto the silver screen where he stole the hearts of many and is preparing to take the hip-hop/spoken word scene by storm as a rapper-poet and producer. Through the measure of time Norman has evolved into an enthusiastic young adult with a dynamic presence expanding his artistry into several areas. Norman's approach to creating this artistry is one of unlimited possibility and straying from what is considered to be the "norm". With experience in hand, and a global vision of sharing his gifts, one can say that, "Norman is truly Enormus"!

Meet: Norman Golden II.

(Episode 93) "The Shawshank Redemption" Actor: Mark Rolston Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

Mark Rolston is an American actor, known for his major roles in well-known films such as Aliens, Lethal Weapon 2, The Shawshank Redemption, The Departed and the Saw film series.

Meet: Mark Rolston.

(Episode 92) NBA Analyst: Peter Vecsey Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

NBA Analyst and Friend of the show Peter Vecsey is back!

Peter Vecsey has been one of the most prominent basketball columnists in the world for more than 40 years. He has covered the NBA and ABA for decades and been an expert analyst on both network and cable television in the United States. He is best known for his exclusives and biting commentary in his “Hoop du Jour” column that ran for years in the New York Post.

Vecsey’s inside information and access to the league’s top players, coaches and executives helped earn him recognition as one of the “Most Powerful People in Sports” by The Sporting News. He was honored with the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2009 by the Basketball Hall of Fame.In addition to the Post, Vecsey has also worked at USA Today, the New York Daily News, NBC, TNT/TBS, NBA-TV and the USA Network. Active on Twitter since leaving the Post in 2012, Vecsey is now back in the game and covering the NBA.

Meet Peter Vecsey.

(Episode 91) "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade" Actor: Richard Young. Sep 07, 2018

Show notes

Richard Young (born December 17, 1955) is an American actor, independent filmmaker, screenwriter, photographer and artist. Active from the early 1970s, he gained prominence starring in the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Other feature films appearances include: The Ice Pirates (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) and An Innocent Man (1989).In the 1990's, Young had a position as a cameraman for a documentary of a woman who came into the U.S. for a new life after the Bosnian War. During the time of the filming, the crew found out that her family went missing in Croatia. It was when then at the time Young, the crew and the woman went into the war zone looking for the last surviving members of the family. After the shooting was completed, Young stayed behind in Croatia. The war had a profound effect on him and, after his return to the US, he chose to follow his love of photography, and is now working on detailing his Croation experience in either a screenplay or an autobiography.As of 2018, Young has been living in Seattle, Washington in the Pacific Northwest, and owns the Silverwing Images where he does fine art photography.

Meet "Fedora": Actor Richard Young!

(Episode 90) Former Hells Angels President: George Christie. Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

https://linktr.ee/mondaymorningcritic
Episode 90.
Former Hells Angels President.
George Christie.
George Christie, Jr. was born in 1947 in Ventura, California to a family of Greek immigrants and grew up as an only child. From an early age he was fascinated by motorcycles and outlaw culture, and by the time he started school his intelligence and rebellious attitude set him apart from his peers. As a teenager he became an avid surfer, who are outlaws in their own rite.Over the objections of his father he bought his first bike, a 1957 Panhead, for $200 in 1966, and was soon hanging around with outlaw bike clubs The Question Marks, Satan Slaves and famous motorcycle customizers Von Dutch and Dick Woods. As George puts it, "some people run away and join the circus. I ran away and joined the Hells Angels." He became a full-patch Hells Angel in the Los Angeles charter in 1976 and, six months later, became president of that charter before founding the Ventura charter in 1978. His tenure as such was the longest in the clubs history, spanning 7 U.S. Presidential terms beginning with Gerald Ford and ending with Barack Obama. As a club leader in Ventura, he became one of the most powerful voices in the national Hells Angels organization, and spent three decades battling the law, rivals and members of his own club while building the club’s daily business operations. He famously carried the Olympic torch in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. After challenging the Kennedy family over fund disbursements for Special Olympics, he found himself on the radar of many police agencies as well as the establishment. Never one to back down, he went on a world wide pilgrimage for peace between all outlaw bike clubs declaring law enforcement their common enemy. This made him a police target for the next three decades. In 1986/87 he was tried for a murder that never happened and after spending a year in federal prison he was found not guilty and cleared of all charges. In 1997, the Ventura District Attorney launched an investigation and after three grand juries, George was arrested in 2001 with a 59 count indictment. He spent a year in solitary confinement before the case collapsed under its own weight. George was offered a plea bargain for time served, which he took. In 2011, he resigned his presidency of the Ventura charter and left the club. George was quickly excommunicated by his former brothers. The feds wasted no time and within weeks came with an indictment for a 2006 conspiracy to firebomb two Ventura tattoo shops. As George faced a mandatory life sentence if found guilty, the government offered a plea deal, but he would have to accept responsibility for the arson. In a surprise move just before sentenced was rendered, Mr Christie asked to address the court. He explained to Judge Wu that he had not directed anyone to burnout the two shops but would accept responsibility for poor leadership. The court accepted his explanation, and after two years on house arrest recovering from double hip replacements, George left for a Texas Federal prison where he would spend the next year. In August of 2014 he was released from custody. George currently serves as a consultant for defense attorneys, news outlets and works with first time offenders to understand the judicial process. He lives with his wife and son in Southern California and has three adult children. He has no regrets.

Meet: Goerge Christie.

(Episode 89) Actor: Bernard White. Sep 01, 2018

Show notes

Actor Bernard White and I talk depression, mental health, "Its Kind of a Funny Story" and his new show, "Kidding"

Meet: Bernard White (again)!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Monday Morning Critic Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected