Adult Film NYC Pod

We present: Peter Rinaldi, our most prepared guest to date.Peter — filmmaker, sometimes actor, and host of the @backtoonepodcast — came with a list of questions, critiques, and concerns.Once he's done grilling us, it turns into one of our most acting-process-heavy episode ever.Is the smoke in the basement immersive or obnoxious? What is the difference between an actor imagining vs pretending? And Ryan's absolute disgust for people who seek his approval.IWe talk about how teaching has changed us as actors. Ryan and David have very different answers. Also: • Peter's transcendent night doing The Seagull and trying to recreate it. • Ryan's upcoming dream play in Boston with @arlekhinplayers • The critical reception of AF productionsFriend of the pod. Interrogator of the pod. Peter Rinaldi, ladies and gentlemen.

Mike and Josh from Creative Risk really got us talking. About acting process, and building a community at AF, and so many other things we dont necessarily get to talk about when its just us. This is a good one.

We commemorate the legendary Dame Maggie Smith.  Ryan draws a wild artistic parallel between Maggie Smith and Carrie Coon.  Honestly, he's got something.  We talk acting styles, outlooks on life, and the 4 year period they both took of playing great roles in great plays without any possibility of acclaim or exposure.  Also.  Ryan saw Carrie Coon at Steppenwolf in ‘The March' and ‘Three Sisters' long before he knew who she was.  And now she's his favorite contemporary actress.  Ryan learned of some not so nice things being said.  We have an open conversation about something that some of our peers might be struggling with in private.  Non sexual, career related.   There's a lot more in there.    Xo 

We present the testiest episode in the AF Pod's history! W/ our friend Cynthia Robinson. Hear David get very defensive while proclaiming his lack of defensiveness! Is he afraid of his own sensitivity? Is his accent shtick a layer of defensiveness? Hear Ryan defend his strong opinions, intensity of his texting style, and gnawing need for validation. Who's at fault for the pods inconsistency? Why doesn't David ever bring guests onto the pod? We discuss the Kim Kardashian and Chloe Sevigny Actors on Actors interview. Is David.. Kim? What roles are Ryan and David playing on the pod, and how's that working for them? Cynthia Robinson, our resident psychoanalyst brings it all out of us. Friendships have ended over much less.

We had a surreal conversation with the legendary Austin Pendleton. Austin's credits would never fit in a caption. He's been in over 250 movies and worked with Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Elia Kazan. His recent Broadway credits include acting in Choir Boy in 2016 and The Minutes in 2022, and directing Between Riverside and Crazy, also in 2022. We talked Williamstown, receiving reviews bad enough to make you quit acting, mic dropping acting advice, and stories from the short lived Lincoln Center Repertory Theater (headed by Elia Kazan). Oh. Austin saw Adult Film's production of the Seagull, and Ryan offers him a role in AF's production of The Cherry Orchard.

We got a little drunk, and discussed two of the most iconic actors to have ever walked this earth.

We're talking all things Faye Dunaway.  The ‘Faye' documentary just came out on HBO MAX and boy is it a crazy one. We get into her iconic performances in ‘Chinatown', ‘Network', ‘Bonnie and Clyde' and the context around them.  And also her widely perceived misfire of ‘Mommie Dearest'.   Was it her performance, or the script, or what?  We get into it.   Why are there so many Faye Dunaway memes, and is this deserved?  Is she severe and cruel, or just one of the best actresses of all time? Ryan provides context around how she was perceived before and after ‘Mommie Dearest', and what made her as iconic as she was.   ALSO.  What is talent?  Does it grow like a pearl or is it porous? Enjoy.

We breakdown the Brian De Palma classic... 'Scarface' and then a whole lot of acting process talk. Is Al Pacino's performance as Tony Montana a masterclass in transformational acting or... demonic? Who's to say? Us. thats who. We break down this iconic movie-film and many of the performances. Ryan just took Lindy Davies workshop. We get into lessons learned, Ryan's take aways as an actor and as a director. We discuss moving slowly, and building the capacity to understand what we're actually feeling. And using it in our work. Then we get into acting goals and areas of focus. Enjoy. ex oh

Warning: High drama very personal big stakes episode!!Great week for us seeing theater…We both saw PRE-EXISTING CONDITION Now up at The Connelly, directed by Maria Dizzia and written by Marin Ireland.  It's a wild play.  We Discuss.Ryan saw Joey Merlo's MIDNIGHT COLESLAW running at The Tank till June 23rd, and David saw INVASIVE SPECIES at The Vineyard.  We get into it baby.Then…David works through a big insecure, kinda resentful acting related breakdown :(Ryan and David debate what playing a character means and how to do it.And the dynamics of working through acting blocks while teaching classes filled with terrific actors. Ryan discusses his expectations and hopes vs outcomes with The Seagull and what it means for his career and Adult Film going forward. Also.  Do you guys know who Mike Alfreds is?Mark Rylance says “If I was allowed to train again to be an actor, but I was only allowed one teacher, it would have to be Mike Alfreds.”Ps.  He's Michelle William's coach too. Perhaps this is worth investigating hmmm?Enjoy :)

Ross Shenker!!  Ross is an incredible New York Casting director, Chekhov teacher, scholar, writer and big friend of AF.  And he's definitely gonna get mad at me for calling him a scholar.  But it's true! We discuss Joanna Arrow's ‘The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something has Passed'.  It's a fucking wild ride.  See it while it's still in theaters.  Ross and David have both scene Adult Film's production of the Seagull.  We give thoughts (very honest). We talk about success.  What makes a film successful? How do we define it?  And what are any of us really chasing after? Also.  How does someone who's not a 19 year old model break into the industry.  No shade to 19 year old models, but how does an average looking adult start to think about building a career in the entertainment industry.  Ross weighs in.   Listen please.   Please.  We're desperate. Ha ha. just kidding. We're cool baby (our space is in Bushwick). K love you. Bye.

We had a very open, VERY AF conversation with the incredible Tina Satter.   Tina's an Obie and Drama desk winning playwright and director, and (sometimes) teacher at Adult Film. Her Broadway produced play ‘Is This a Room', was adapted into the critically acclaimed feature film ‘Reality' with Sydney Sweeney.   We go in depth on Tina's writing, and directing process.   Finding a personal connection to Chekhov, and how the hell she gets her students to leave a 2 day workshop with close to fully formed plays. Also advice to a hypothetical writer who's written a great feature.  Now what? We talk details on getting her movie ‘REALITY' made as a first time director.   And then we talk a little shit about actors not acting.  And the secret, relatively non woo woo way to turn intentions into reality.   Also.  David saw a rehearsal of @AdultFilm production of the Seagull.  Gives thoughts.   Enjoy. Time codes: 4:00 Tina's workshops, how she structures them, and deconstructing how she works into her teaching. 6:45 How Tina's teaching process developed and using prompts. Using personal themes and experiences in work.   9:10 Using gestures 10:10 Specific physical behavior in direction being freeing vs limiting 14:00 Finding secret codes during rehearsal process 14:30 Tina's journey, path to theater, and creative inspirations 19:30 Brooklyn College playwriting program 22:30 Knowing what to write about 27:00 Tina's play ‘Seagull (Thinking of You)' Discovering her way into Chekhov. 31:00 Experience doing a Q&A for ‘Reality' for a Russian audience.  33:56 ‘Reality' discussion begins 35:21 Cinematographer Paul Yee having seen ‘Is this a Room' on broadway from which ‘Reality' was adapted.  36:00 The play vs the movie 40:02 “Boring trap” in Chekhov, a lot of classic texts and application to ‘Reality' Making what's seemingly passive on the page active.   41:50 Nuanced acting w repetitive dialogue.  44:30 Reality's involvement in the process 46:30 The process of actually making ‘Reality'.  From reading transcript to making the film. 51:10 Pushback on being first time director?  52:30 Tina's non traditional path to making her first feature.   55:30 Dealing with resentment and developing “why not me attitude” 56:30 The process of doing.  57:30 Advice to writers who've written a feature.  Now what…  1:01:00 AF training center by necessity.   1:01:45 Intentionality and creative/energetic output.   1:05:00 Actors not acting.   We have to do the thing.   1:08:30 Tina's relationship with setting intentions “Intentions with actions”  1:13:50 Writing in the age of cell phone addiction  1:14:40 Tina coming back to Adult Film??? 1:15:15 David sits in on Seagull rehearsal (Opening may 10!!!) How Ryan is feeling with the process, acting. David tells semi unhinged story.

Will he or wont he???? Have a panic attack as we're recording that is ;)  It's a fun, slutty lil episode.  You'll see.   Small business ownership is hard and some people are mean.  What do we do about it? Adult Film was featured in the @gothamist… but not everyone's happy about it. Alotta psychology talk.  About our responses to people talking shit, and where those responses were formed.  Ryan just shot a movie in ATL. We get into this experience.  We talk in depth about Kenneth Lonergan's ‘You Can Count on Me', the performances, and themes. And of course a great Jungian debate ensues.   David learns big lesson from Austin Butler in Dune, and thought on the play “The Effect” that was just up at @TheShedNY. Ryan goes on our favorite (acting) podcast @backtoonepodcast, And David makes a resolution to give up pettiness..  Enjoy.  

“Hollywood Contraction: Actors Struggle To Find Jobs As TV Castings Dry Up” declares deadline.  We get into it.    Are we all fucked? Should we find another profession?  Or is everyone playing a different game? We talk the TV revolution, Pilot Season's last sighting, and who exactly is to blame for the near extinction of 22 episode seasons? Also.  Acting in NY vs LA, investing time/energy into things that don't exist without us, and building a home at AF.  Then we break down Mike Leigh's ‘Naked' (which won best director and best actor at Cannes).  And Mike Leigh's use of improv to develop character and script.   Okay bye.   Time Codes: 2:00 A3 doesn't exist anymore 2:50 The TV revolution Girls, True Detective, House of Cards 4:10 True Detective's supernatural through line 6:20 Sofia Coppola  10:00 That deadline article 11:15 When was the last time pilot season existed?  13:40 Who's to blame for no more 22 episode seasons? 17:30 Series regulars are capped at 100k an episode oh nauuuerrrrr 19:15 Is “Peak TV” over? 20:45 Our takeaways from the article 23:40 What does being an actor mean to us. 26:00 Acting in La vs NY 28:30 We're all living in different worlds 31:00 Building a home at Adult Film 35:40 Not putting your life on hold 37:20 Meaning.  And Investing our energy into things that don't exist without us. 40:45 Mike Leigh's ‘Naked' Discussion begins And also quick tangents to Meryl Streep, ‘Sophie's Choice', Charlie Kaufman, ‘Bridges of Madison County', ‘Past Lives' 46:50 Mike Leigh's method.  Using improv to develop character and script. 49:00 Using improv to understand dynamics that aren't on the page 50:45 What stayed with us from “Naked” 57:45 Sheila O'Malley's ‘Streetcar Named Desire' essay

Cynthia Robinson came on the pod and completely shifted Ryan and David's dynamic. This is good. Very unhinged episode. I think this is excellent for us. We broke down Jonathan Glazer's "Sexy Beast", and our slutty reasoning behind picking it to review. Ryan tells us his biggest acting/career related regret of his 20's, and we talk about the roots of our deepest egoic desires and whether they're worth following. ALSO. Our experience being in our mid 30's at Adult Film, and in this industry in general. Expectation, and things we would have done differently. Oh. and we even talk about everyones favorite channeled non-physical entity Abraham Hicks! This is a good one. Time Codes: 2:40 Sexy Beast Conversation begins.  5:30 Why'd David pick this movie 9:00 Surprising characters qualities and casting  13:00 How we pick the movies to talk about and differences in our tastes Types of movies going forward 19:40 cultural/film context around Sexy Beast 21:20 Ryan's favorite film subject  24:20 Brief ‘Irishmen' discussion 26:40 Sensitive movie mobsters and what we're projecting on to them. 28:45 societies expectations of men… and are they real.   Who actually punishes young men for vulnerability?   37;44 Cynthia loves making guys mad.  Thoughts around jealousy and acting out in a relationship.  41:10  Getting older and AF.    Being 35 and not having ‘MADE IT' 42:30 Ryan's biggest regret in his 20's.  Art vs businessmindedness 45:00 Actual timeline of a career.  Missing benchmarks.   46:22 Trap of class and community validation. 48:00. What are we actually in control of?  Leaving a body of work…   What is the “Meaning” of Adult Film? And defining meaning.   52:00 Why do we want the things we want? Should we follow purely egoic desires? 56:00 Difference between Ryan and David's identities or non-identities as actors 58:30 Not trying as a defense mechanism to avoid heartbreak 1:01:00 Doing something for the sake of the doing. 1:04:00 Lil Abraham Hicks//manifestation debate 1:13:00 Very interesting conversation that I will not include in these notes. 1:14:00 Sex and The City discussion.  

Happy New Year!!  Wanna hear us say stuff we might regret?  Great. We talk some of the new movies of the year, Ryan's experience on Ariana Grande's video for ‘Yes, And?'.  AND the original ‘Rocky', which turns out is 95% incredible indie drama and 5% boxing movie.   There are some spicy takes, cringy confessions and a day of Intermittent Fasting broken with 4 glasses of red wine.   Oh.  And we discover a major plot hole in Long Day's Journey Into Night.  Why does no-one talk about this?  Is 2024 is the year of Adult Film?  Lets see baby.   Time Codes: 2:55 Ryan is in Ariana Grande's new music video 4:45  Thoughts on new movies  6:45 Blue Valentine  12:10 May December and Charles Melton's performance  15:00 Adult Film's end of year showcase  16:00 Dramatic improv/fishing for compliments  17:50 Sense memory class at AF?  19:00 Rocky discussion  26:20 David is a new man, Ryan watches Mean Girls 27:45 The Notebook Rachel McAdams and Ryan ‘The King of Love' Gosling 28:50 Sylvester Stallone documentary  29:45  Setting goals/intentions for 2024 Thoughts on manifestation and affirmations  And a big embarrassing confession  35:00 The year of Adult Film ;)  36:30  An interesting encounter on the L train.  38:30 AF schedule for the year  39:45 Big plot hole in Long Days Journey Into Night.  41:45  We need help making video content for the pod!! 42:30 Closing thoughts from Ryan

We sat down with Maria Dizzia!!  Maria is a Tony and Drama Desk nominated actor/Ryan's acting teacher and mentor.  Her film and TV work includes ‘Martha Mary May Marlene', ‘While We're Young', ‘Christine', and '13 Reasons Why'. We talk acting process in detail, feeling numb on stage and working through blocks, using imagination vs drawing from your own life, “giving it all up” in performances, and seeing Liev Schreiber in ‘View From the Bridge” Also learning from Maria's journey in acting and biggest lessons learned.   This is a good one.  Enjoy

Our very first guest! Sheila O'Malley is an incredible actor-focused film critic (Roger Ebert, film comment) and cultural essayist.  Her work has had a huge impact on Ryan.  If you love film, if you love acting… this episode will make you happy.We talk Gena Rowlands, Bette Davis, and our favorite modern actors. We discuss John Cassavetes' ‘Opening Night', Streetcar named Desire at Williamstown, and the ever changing pipeline of how directors discover actors.  Oh, and also a whole lot of actor process talk. Enjoy. xo 3:00The impact of Sheila's work on how Ryan thinks about film and culture7:50Sheila's essay on ‘Streetcar named Desire' at Williamstown. Stella being the key to the play.9:10‘who am I this time?' And ‘Opening Night' being some of the best films about acting12:20How Sheila developed her artistic perspective and started writing16:00Director vs actor focused film critiques20:20‘Raging Bull' discussion and casting26:10How directors discovered and fall in love with actors34:40Green Screen being everywhere (even in TRUE DETECTIVE?????) and what we lose.37:50Dan Callahan's 2 incredible books on American film acting.Positive vs negative responses to life in performances40:38“A sense of searching” in performances. Gena Rowlands as an example46:20“Thin air acting”47:45More on Dan CallahanBette Davis. Playing the result not the cause53:00Ryan: “this is the most important minute of acting pre-brando”56:20Modern Actors we love1:00:45Gena Rowlands performance in “Opening Night”. Sense of truth.Ryan's favorite movie.1:12:00Cassavettes and relationship based movies.1:14:04Continuing ‘Opening Night' discussion. Why it's Ryan's favorite movie.1:16:00How consensus about a film builds andtimes when Sheila got a review wrong1:18:05Rebecca Hall in ‘Resurrection'1:19:45Discussion about younger actors that we love1:29:20The heir of Bette Davis1:34:00Meryl Streep and hints about her process

This week we discuss Christian Petzold's ‘Afire'. The performances of the incredible leads, unlikeable main characters, and the German version of a “Summer Blockbuster”.   We make a quick detour to psychoanalyze Franz Rogowski and to debate happiness vs. meaning.     Then we get into all things career related. Development as an actor, when to focus on getting an agent, how to actually get good at auditioning when you have no idea what other people's auditions look like, and our different approaches to our careers.  Oh! And Ryan reveals Adult Film's next major production after ‘The Seagull'. There's a whole lot of other stuff in there.  Time codes below: 1:20 Afire discussion  6:30 Unlikeable main characters  15:45 Psychoanalyzing Franz Rogowski Happiness vs joy vs meaning  19:06  Thoughts on how to develop as a younger actor 22:00 Getting an agent  25:55 Role of pay-to-plays with casting directors/agents  27:50 Role of private coaching    31:00 Not delaying life while ur waiting to book something  35:00 Ryan and David's different approaches to career  36:55 David wants to do a play w Ryan  39:00 No Fun improv w/ @reunion  42:50  David went to Ryan's acting class!!  47:50  Seeing ‘Seaguts' at the actors studio  48:25 Ryan reveals Adult Films next production after The Seagull!!!  52:15 Tom Hardy/crazy talk begins  56:30 Fanboying over Peter Rinaldi and his podcast/our favourite podcast @backbone 59:00 Thoughts on why some technically not so good actors are working.  Watchability vs technique 

Wild one for you today!!! Apologies for the reverb. Maybe listen on 1.3/1.5 speed if it bothers you. Ryan goes on a retreat with Adult Film, David finishes the run of his play and reads the reviews. The guys both auditioned for Danny and The Deep Blue Sea, and then watched each other's tapes. Oh! And Ryan just did a reading at New York Theater Workshop. We've got acting lessons and even a touch of working through shadow elements. Time codes: 1:40The Seagull retreat10:15How Ryan's love of Chekhov was born16:27David's relationship w Chekhov19:06Experience of doing Bite Me @ WPActing lessons, uncomfortable moments24:20Reading the reviews26:37Ryan‘s feedback on the play29:25Ryan and David both audition for Danny and the Deep Blue seaBreakdown the difference in their auditions37:30Ryan did a reading at NY theater workshop!! Also interesting detour about working through shadow

We break down Isabelle Huppert's and Robert De Niro's performances in 'The Piano Teacher' and 'Taxi Driver.' We discuss themes, and similarities/differences in character drives. Ryan gets Jungian. Then we discuss our own trajectories in the industry and in NY, and our lowest points. We get nice and personal :) And we also briefly debate whether or not everyone under the age of 30 is bisexual.

The guys debate America's fascination with character acting. We respond to Ira Sach's comment on our last pod! Oh, and we discuss Phantom Thread in depth, and the differences in acting style between Daniel Day Lewis and Vicky Krieps. Also... The stylistic differences in what Ryan and David look for in performances. And the most revealing topic of discussion...how would we each go about playing a medieval queen who believes she's ordained by god for the throne? We debate. Then we get into what we're working on right now as actors, all things happening at Adult Film, and David's play. Before we end we talk about figuring out our dynamic on the pod and what we actually want out of this career.... and this life. Okay bye. 1:00 Ira sachs listed to our pod/responding to his comment 3:35 Transformational acting discussion begins 8:00 Meryl Streep and Daniel Day lewis (Very contentious

We discuss the new film 'Passages' by Ira Sachs. We geek out a little/a lot about Franz Rogowski and all the performances, the differences between European and American movies. Then we do a little analysis of Ingmar Bergmans 'After the Rehearsal'. Then we get into the real meat of the episode... Do actors play the role of societies designated bisexuals? And do all leading men need a little heir of bisexuality to succeed?

Ryan Czerwonko tells us about his juvenile delinquency and his intro to theater. David Garelik asks a lot of questions. what a curious guy. The guys discuss what they would do if they moved to NYC in their mid 20's with no credits and no reps. Then they talk about auditioning, and recovering from rejections that hurt particularly badly. Somewhere in there they discuss and disagree on audition technique. Give it a listen. It's our first episode. It has it's moments. Much love.