Best Job Ever

Markus Mentzer (This is the End, Neighbors, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Garfunkel & Oates) has one of those jobs that when you explain it to someone who doesn't work in the film business it sounds both bizarre and insanely impossible...which it is.  He's a 1st Camera Assistant (commonly known as a "Focus Puller") and among many other things he keeps the image you see in the movie theater in focus.  I consider it to be the hardest and most thankless job on a film set and when you find someone like Markus (who is simply masterful at it) you can't help but wonder about how he does it.  Makus's story is emblematic of what this podcast is all about.  He's got one of those ludicrously tangential career paths that we love to hear about and will, no doubt, inspire those of you out there who want to follow your dream (or run away from your nightmare).  Enjoy.

You may have seen Billy Brooks on stage at Hall H Comic Con 2015 to promote the upcoming Vimeo series "Con Man" (starring Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion) as well as to be proposed to in front of thousands of ecstatic fans and the entire Internet.  If you missed that I can guarantee you didn't miss Billy's visual fx work in countless classic films that have are permanently burned into our collective synapses (Transformers Age of Extinction, Xmen 2, Galaxy Quest, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, Men in Black 1 and 2, The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition, Star Wars Episode 1 and 2, E.T. Special Edition, and Space Station 76 among many many more).  Listen in as Billy tells us how he went from scanning printer cartridges at Circuit City to working at the world's foremost Visual FX House Industrial Light & Magic.  If that weren't enough he makes a cameo in Con Man as a decomposed zombie eating a churro.  C'mon now.  

Jay met Kathrin just recently while working on the upcoming series "Con Man" (starring Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, and almost the whole Joss Whedon-verse).  Kathrin is from Austria and runs a pretty smooth Art Department.  That was enough to inspire a little conversation about how she went from a tiny little town in the Austrian Alps to the glamorous landscape of sun baked pavement and cavernous sound stages here in Hollywood.  It's the Interntational Edition of Best Job Ever.  Viel Vergnügen!  

Much like The Godfather...pt2 is better.  Enjoy

Growing up in the 1980's in Tehran, Iran the last place anyone expected Reza Tabrizi to end up in would be Hollywood, CA.  And yet the incrutable Reza managed to move to the US without speaking a word of English and (within a relatively short amount of time) create a vibrant career in the film industry.  Until recently Reza was an "A" Camera Operator on major network television shows (Detroit 187, Necessary Roughness, Chicago Fire).  Now he's in the drivers seat directing Network Episodic TV and killing it.  We talked for so damn long I had to break this one into 2 parts.  Here's part 1.  Enjoy. 

Jon Sperry is THE GO-TO voice and dialect coach in Hollywood.  Beginning with Harvey Keitel in Jane Campion's "The Piano", Jon has had a hand in shaping countless performances in feature films over the last 3 decades.  He teaches and coaches actors (in a general sense) but also specializes in voice & dialect technique.  If you need to capture what it sounds like to be a farmer in rural Spain circa 1912...Jon's the guy who cracks that code for you.  He's worked with Russell Crowe, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Gael Garcia Bernal, Liam Neeson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Zoe Saldana, Fmake Janssen, Olga Kurylenko, Juliette Lewis, Geena Davis, and Melanie Griffith (just to name drop a few).  If that weren't enough Jon Sperry is also a Magician.   (Drops Mic and walks off stage).

Lex Halaby has been directing commercials and music videos day and night ever since he quit his day job over 10 years ago and going "all in".  The field Lex operates in is a hyper competetive arena in which you see a steady flow of flavor of the month talent come and go.  That said there are a few Directors who manage to stay hip, fresh and relevant and stick around for life.  Lex is one of those that are here to stay.  His body of work (with such acts as Death Cab For Cutie, Islands and Man Man) is unique and diverse.  He's got a very distinct voice while always evolving his styles and avoiding repetition.  As if that weren't enough he's also a pioneer within the cutting edge of fields of Virtual Reality (ex Oculus Rift) and 3D filmmaking.  The guy makes builds his own camera systems for God's Sake.  Ridiculous. Just Listen.

She's the 12th female to ever be inducted into the American Society of Cinematographers.  She's one of the most interesting and inspiring people I know.  Lisa Wiegand kicks ass and takes names.  Nuff said.  Enjoy.

Chad Damiani is yet another example of that typical, by the book, Hollywood career trajectory you've all heard before...Avant Garde Theater to Pro Wrestling Live Commentating to Studio Screenwriting by day and Underground Comedy Cultivator by night.  All kidding aside, Chad's story is anything but predictable.  The great Hunter S Thompson once wrote, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn Pro".  Yep.  Enjoy.  

Jay sits down with fellow Camera Department comrade BJ McDonnell.  For being one of the top Steadicam Operators in the world (yes, world) one couldn't have taken a more circuitous route to the top.  BJ talks about his youth growing up in Florida and his long tenure on the road playing in the punk rock band "Lick 57".  These days he hops from one movie set to another working on some of the biggest and best films being made (Tomorrowland, The Interview, Neighbors, Jack Reacher, Macgruber, The Lonely Island Movie, and so many more).  Most importantly though...Bj is metal as f**k.  Enjoy.

Shortly after the original interview was recorded Zakin called up Jay and requested that we do a follow-up interview to discuss some things that we failed to mention during the first session.  We discuss a lot of advice for anyone looking to enter the film/tv business as well as the internship program at The Director's Bureau (Roman Coppola's production company).  It's a short talk but lots of gems in there. Michael Zakin started off as Set PA on Beverly Hills 90210.  It was there that he caught the bug and joined the circus.  Before long he was producing music videos with some of the best bands and directors in the world at Virgin Records.  The bubble burst in the music video industry leaving few unscathed but Zakin survived and has been serving a long residency at American Zoetrope as the VP of Film Production.  American Zoetrope was founded by Francis Ford Coppola in 1969 and has produced countless classic films since.  While at Zoetrope Zakin produced "Life After Beth", "The Bling Ring", "Mozart in the Jungle" as well the upcoming "A Very Murray Christmas" (Starring Bill Murray and Directed by Sofia Coppola) and "Bonjour Anne" (Eleanor Coppola's directorial debut).  You can't find a more honest, trustworthy and talented Producer than Michael Zakin.

Michael Zakin started off as Set PA on Beverly Hills 90210.  It was there that he caught the bug and joined the circus.  Before long he was producing music videos with some of the best bands and directors in the world at Virgin Records.  The bubble burst in the music video industry leaving few unscathed but Zakin survived and has been serving a long residency at American Zoetrope as the VP of Film Production.  American Zoetrope was founded by Francis Ford Coppola in 1969 and has produced countless classic films since.  While at Zoetrope Zakin produced "Life After Beth", "The Bling Ring", "Mozart in the Jungle" as well the upcoming "A Very Murray Christmas" (Starring Bill Murray and Directed by Sofia Coppola) and "Bonjour Anne" (Eleanor Coppola's directorial debut).  You can't find a more honest, trustworthy and talented Producer than Michael Zakin.  Zakin wasn't fully satisifed with his first interview at Best Job Ever so he came back a week later to share some more wisdom and advicce with us.  Part 2 of our conversation will be released later this week as a Bonus Episode.  

Claudia Lonow has led one of those unpredictable, chaotic, adventurous, amazing, and inspiring lives that you read about in novels and see at the movies.  Unlike such works of fiction Claudia's journey from the punk rock streets of late 70s Manhattan to the blaring sun and air conditioned sound stages of Los Angeles in the 80s is the stuff of truth.  These days the unstoppable Claudia Lonow is out here in Hollywood running tv shows, writing scripts and loving every minute of it.  Want to do the same?  Give a listen and hear how it's done.

Way back when Jay didn't have a lick of experience in film production he met Devendra Cleary on the set of a tiny short film in Denver, Co.  Devendra is about the most passionate man in the art of sound that Jay has ever met and their careers and lives have been intermingled ever since that fateful day in Denver.  Devendra knew what he wanted to do from Day 1 and he didn't wait around for someone to hand him a gift-wrapped career.  If you want to know how to live your dream...listen here.  "D Man" has the answers.  

Jay sits down with Feature Film & Tv editor Ryan Brown.  Jay and Ryan go way back to the college days at CU Boulder but Ryan was filling his spare time shooting and editing short films and skate videos on video toasters and VCRs all the way back to his teen years in the 90s.  He's come a long way since the "toaster" days and now enjoys editing some of the best films, tv shows, and commercials out there.  His recent credits include Adam Carolla's "Road Hard", "The Young Kieslowski", Eugene Levy's "Schitt's Creek" (Pilot) and The Lonely Island's new pilot "Home for the Weekend". Throw another log on the fire and curl up on that shag carpet while you take a trip to Brown Town.

Jay sits down with Lee Metzger (Executive Producer of NBC's "The Voice").  Lee's story begins in the early 90's on the Sunset Strip shredding hot guitar licks in his hair metal band "Mona Lisa".  When the band broke up Lee traded in his Flying V and studded leather jacket for a career behind the camera.  From Boom Operator to Screenwriter to Show Runner Lee's story of diligence and devotion is a perfect example of what it takes to "Live the Dream".  How do you get that job?  Listen and find out.

This week we sit down with an old friend, Zeb Wells.  For years he wrote comic books for Marvel before working full time as a staff writer on the popular Adult Swim show Robot Chicken.  Before long Zeb upgraded to Director and has successfully directed the last two seasons of Robot Chicken.  Currently he's hard at work on a new show of his own creation, "Super Mansion", which will air on Sony's Crackle.com online network in late 2015.   Zeb tells the unbelievable story of his "big break" during college that led to a full time gig writing comic books and eventually a career in television and film.  Buckle up.

Jay sits down with Film/TV/Commercial director Nick Jasenovec.  Nick walks us through his journey from the early days dubbing tapes at a post house in Burbank and shooting no budget short films on the weekend to shadowing Judd Apatow on the set of Knocked Up and the eventual launch of his directing career on the feature film Paper Heart.  The story of Nick's rise from total obscurity to highly successful in-demand Director is about as unlikely as it is inspiring.  This one is packed with tales of Nick's adventures with Martin Sheen, Bill Hader, Judd Apatow, Jonah Hill, Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake Johnson and many others.

Rich Talarico is not only a master of Long Form Improv Comedy but also writes, directs and acts in television and film.  Jay talks with Rich about his fascinating journey from small town life in Upstate New York to working on some of the best comedy shows of our time.