If I Knew You Better

SERIES FINALE. On this, the last episode of the show, KEVIN GEIGER and BRENDAN DAVIS discuss their lives in 3 acts, namely Reckoning: with what’s happened and what’s changed, Orientation: to where we REALLY are, right now - us and the world, and Transformation: the only good option for us moving forward, in our opinions. Adapt or die, right? You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel (the new show will live there when ready) at https://www.youtube.com/user/SMCineman/ and add / contact me via my Twitter @VeritasInLux. THANK YOU for the great support over the years, please keep enjoying and sharing past episodes you’ve missed, and I hope to see you again soon.

JONATHAN LONDON (http://www.geekscape.net) has had an eclectic and cool career. Radio shows with bands like Blink-182 and Weezer led to music videos and more. He started Geekscape way back in 2005, where Kevin Smith first learned the joys of podcasting. We discuss Jonathan’s creative career, his mental and physical health journey, his cool older brother Daniel and how massively things changed when a drunk driver cut his life short, younger brother and former WWE superstar Paul London, and dealing with the normalization of pain. It’s an incredibly useful, funny and moving talk; please don’t miss it.

“I feel like I need to be objectified for more than just my body. I also want to be objectified for my brain.”   Actor, comedian, writer and producer LEAH LAMARR spent years in NYC studying acting and improv comedy there and later in LA. She is a 3-time champion in Jeff Ross and Brian Moses’ Roast Battles at The World Famous Comedy Store and host of the “Falling In Love with Leah Lamarr” podcast. We discuss learning from your heroes, being socially conscious in trying times, and what it means to relentlessly pursue your goals. Recorded two weeks ago, for context. A funny and also deeply thoughtful talk; please enjoy.    FIND all things Leah at: http://www.leahlamarr.com Leah on Twitter and Instagram: @leahlamarr

Saturday Night Fever. Dracula. War Games. Director JOHN BADHAM made those classic films and many more. He honed his craft doing years of TV, then Saturday Night Fever launched him into the stratosphere. We also discuss how Gregory Peck helped him get his first job in Hollywood, his big break as a TV director, how he made his way into features, his take on the auteur theory, how feature directors can move into TV and survive, and his experiences as an author and educator. Don't miss!

DENISE CARLSON is a very savvy film and TV producer whose war stories are shared here with insight, candor, and loads of sometimes salty humor. She’s also an old friend and colleague, and it was a real treat to get into the weeds of things with her. Among other things we discuss are her beginnings at the then William Morris Agency, her tenure at Disney TV (where she discovered “High School Musical”), and what a rude awakening it was to leap into the independent producing world. We also get into her animal rescue work and many other things too, so there’s something for everybody here. Enjoy!

“I’m glad I got to live long enough to hear that said”. ERIC ADAM CONNER is a screenwriter, director, actor and theater kid. A childhood in Delaware led to undergrad at Penn, stints in NYC, New Hampshire summer stock, and off-Broadway theater, and finally grad school at USC. Eric’s take on his life and career in the creative arts is highly insightful and very funny. We got to know each other during my years teaching filmmaking at the New York Film Academy’s academic headquarters in Los Angeles, and we talk candidly about many topics that creative entrepreneurs especially will find relevant, relatable, or just fun, including his early brush with fame on the Howard Stern Show and having Beetlejuice as a guest at his bachelor party, among others. As color commentary, I even work in a few of my old but somehow vaguely relevant music business war stories about drinking vodka with Michael Stipe of REM and working with bands like Luna and Bad Brains in Athens, GA. Great talk! 

“Unity is our strength, diversity is our power”. MAX BARTOLI is a film, theater, and media writer-director-producer and also a sports businessman with a broad international portfolio. Born in Italy, educated in Florence and Rome, and former resident of the UK before becoming a US citizen, he’s received dozens of awards and much acclaim for his film work, including a Papal Blessing from Pope Benedictus. Max works as Media Director for the World Bank in DC, where much of his work - such as the unprecedented Fiat Lux light projection mapping show Max helped produce using St. Peter’s Basilica as a giant canvas -  aligns with his passions of climate change and sustainability. Max is also building his passion project: a brand-new team sport called Fireball. Max and partners created FXC: the Fireball Extreme Challenge, which has been gaining steady grassroots popularity in many countries - with 4 countries having created national teams and 11 more having applied to Max’s league - and which has its sights set on nothing less than becoming a new world sport. Links below!    IGNOTUS https://vimeo.com/42031344   FIAT LUX TEASER https://vimeo.com/180752183   FIAT LUX FULL SHOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtI6P9R3x4E&t=535s   THE RISE OF HEROES - FXC - Fireball Extreme Challenge https://vimeo.com/414538254

“Understand WHY you’re doing WHAT you’re doing”. Consciously directing our choices applies in most areas of our lives, and today I talk with filmmaker, professor, and author JACQUELINE FROST about this concept in terms of making aesthetic choices in cinematography and directing. But her interviews with legendary ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) members and top directors and producers inform her wider perspective in ways that I think everyone can relate to.   Book link: https://mwp.com/product/cinematography-directors-2nd-edition/

Knowing your audience. Multinational branding. The ideal brand-customer relationship. Creating tangible, transformative results through trust and understanding each others needs. Gumpian journeys and near-death experiences as deep-game changers. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and harnessing the energy of facing your fears. The importance of contingencies in long-term planning, and how if you think you’re still in the same business today that you were two months ago, you’re likely in trouble. Veteran music businessman JOSH LEVINE of the “Rebel Radio” podcast and I get into all of this and more.  AMP Music Summit (online, May 6): https://ampmusicsummit.com Josh’s "Rebel Radio” Podcast: https://www.rebelradio.net Mark Levine interview: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com/mark-levine-a-true-friend-of-china

RONALD PAREDES designed the logo of the podcast you’re listening to, but that’s only a tiny hint of what he’s all about. On our first talk (linked below) we talked about his background in Venezuela and his initial move to China when things went south in his home country. Today we discuss his experiences lately in Nantong, China as a father, husband, freelancer artist and designer, and socially aware human. Ronald cares deeply about women’s rights, homeless or otherwise displaced people, the overnight bricking up of the back road out of his town, rising nationalism and racism, the lack of acceptance and growing outright resentment he receives from less-educated people in his relatively rural home, and his feeling of being rootless and floating as he enters middle life. It’s a moving, candid, and powerful share by Ronald, and I’m honored to bring it to you.    Ronald Paredes online: https://mundosanto.art "Creativity Roots” latest episode: https://creativityroots.com/2020/04/22/change-happens-within/ “The Daily" April 20th episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-how-long-lockdowns.html Ronald Paredes 2017s interview: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/022-the-war-of-art-ronald-paredes

In the last week I’ve been a guest on THREE shows I love, so instead of releasing new interviews of my own, I wanted to take a break and acknowledge / share the shows that folks were nice enough to invite me on. Special THANKS to all involved with making the Grey Space Podcast, The Cinematography Podcast, and the CinemATL Podcast. Links below to check them all out!    Grey Space Podcast: https://youtu.be/VSKCGHftiX8 CinemATL Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/ycyuhxan The Cinematography Podcast: http://camnoir.com/podcast/ep71/  

Today’s show has been a long time coming. Actor turned TV producer CHRIS SANDERS (“My Ghost Story”) joins me for a long talk about his adventurous life. He was raised in Austin and moved to LA after stints in Japan and London, but his journey was just beginning. We’ve been close friends and business colleagues for 15 years, which made it easy to do deep dives on the city of his youth, his serendipitous and symbolically charged entry into Freemasonry in LA, and how his “social media anxiety” is playing out against the backdrop of the pandemic response.    CHRIS SANDERS online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xofersanders IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3221646/ Insta: misterxofer

This week, JONATHAN GARRISON and I discuss: running an international business during a global crisis; invaluable insights from his time at Goldman Sachs, Dalian Wanda Group, and elsewhere; the pros and cons of operational diversity; finance, securities, debt; structural and cultural issues in the US and China; plus what’s really happening now, what might be coming next, and more. Jon offers executive-level insights on global business presented clearly and plainly, wrapped in a fun chat between friends. Recommend!   EnRoute Global: http://www.enroute-global.com/   Jonathan Garrison on previous podcasts:  Original interview - http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/046-from-punk-rock-to-international-business-jonathan-garrison   Punk Rock - http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/068-big-fish-side-dish-punk-rock-jonathan-garrison   At the US Embassy in Beijing - http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/103-the-state-of-migration-in-2018-event-the-bac-december-2018-mike-shaw-chrislyn-choo-cara-gleeson-jonathan-garrison-brendan-davis

Solar City. Tesla. Climate change, sustainability, and environmental consciousness in action. Independant filmmaking. Corporate media. BILLY SAMOA SALEEBEY has worn many hats, and he’s integrated lessons learned from his diverse experiences into his production company as well as his podcast, “Insight-Out”. Billy and I first met in 2007 at the Dances With Films Festival with our respective first feature films, and it was really great to catch up with him in such detail after all those years of change for both of us. Links below!    BILLY SAMOA SALEEBEY links: insightoutshow.com billysamoa.com   BRENDAN DAVIS connect:  Twitter: @VeritasInLux  Email: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us

Film and TV writer-director BEN ROCK (http://benrockonline.com) is an old friend, and we discuss all of this and more: Parenting and working while quarantining at home in Los Angeles. Building a career both before and after a lottery win (The Blair Witch Project). One of the best talks I’ve had lately about many things, including US politics, science, Faust, religion, China, the potential long-term implications of COVID-19 in all directions, and how we move forward to whatever the new normal ends up being - y’know, a good lighthearted chat. DMs are open on Twitter @VeritasInLux or write me at https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us

In this week's episode - cross-posted on both "If I Knew You Better" and "Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom"! - I discuss the BFMK reboot, a new layer for KNEW, the great new episode of “How China Works” done by my partner Yingying Li, and much more. KNEW is adding a feature that I think of as “Marc Maron hosts The Daily”, while the revived BFMK will take my solo China-centric chats in a new direction. Please check them all out via the links below, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE if you enjoy, and stay safe and sane while we head into the next exciting chapter of global humanity.    Show libraries: “If I Knew You Better”: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com  “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com “How China Works”: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com

This week’s guest has had a profound influence on modern comedy. STEVE KAPLAN is creator of the HBO Workspace, the HBO New Writers Program, and was co-founder and Artistic Director of Manhattan Punch Line Theatre. He’s the author of The Hidden Tools of Comedy and The Comic Hero’s Journey, and the creator and host of the 2-Day Comedy Intensive - happening THIS WEEKEND in Burbank, and later in the year in NYC, London, and elsewhere. Great, funny talk with a master!   Steve Kaplan online: https://www.kaplancomedy.com “The Hidden Tools of Comedy”: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1615931406/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_DqXyEbPTBMF02 “The Comic Hero’s Journey”: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07KCSPNTZ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_-sXyEbAPQBT0K 

It’s Sunday, March 1 in China as I post this, so to celebrate the end of a truly dismal February, I give you this humble podcast - wherein two middle-aged expats dissect it all as best they can. We cover the personal, professional, and political aspects of COVID-19, and more. 

This week I’m cross-posting an episode of my OTHER podcast, “How China Works”, that I thought was worth sharing even wider. David Thomas has a very special history with China. His father Michael was the Attorney General for Hong Kong in the early-mid 80s charged by the UK government with creating what ultimately became known as the Basic Law, and he had a front row seat as it all unfolded. David has been deeply involved with China ever since, and today - in an interview recorded before Covid-19 became a household word - he shares some of his insights from four decades of engagement with the Middle Kingdom. Also: we fill you in on the impact of the current situation on us, and the show. 

Fred Taylor’s entertainment career approach exemplifies the concept of long-term thinking. In this show, we dig into the complicated legacy of Kobe Bryant, the empire of Tyler Perry and “Hollywood” as both a concept and a place, race and class in and the future of the US (and China), and on winning by playing your own game. We really let it fly, holding nothing back - and I’m sharing it all in its uncut glory. Hope you enjoy!   Tomorrow Pictures: https://www.tomorrowpictures.com Fred Taylor’s previous episode: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/002-frederick-taylor contact me: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us

This is my 2nd chat with Chris Vogler, author of the classic book The Writer’s Journey. The 25th anniversary edition of his book discusses using esoterica such as the chakra system, the tarot, and more to get deeper into the truth of your characters, the world of your story, and your audience's emotions - and so do we. GREAT talk. Enjoy!   Chris Vogler blog: https://chrisvogler.wordpress.com The Writer’s Journey - 25th Anniversary Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1615933158/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_pvKpEbSJ9K83https://www.amazon.com/dp/1615933158/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_pvKpEbSJ9K8 Chris Vogler on our previous podcast: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/christopher-vogler-on-the-writers-journey

Originally I’d planned to release my NEW follow-up interview with Chris Vogler today. But coronavirus gonna coronavirus, so like many others who could, I had to make a dramatic escape from China to avoid possibly being on lockdown for months on end. So today, fellow displaced Beijinger KEVIN GEIGER and I dig into what’s going on, what might come next, and what we are doing in the meantime. 

Today’s show features the third act of my 3-part interview with Ellen Shook, my Mom. Her story is one of perseverance and overcoming, and it’s been quite a journey. I also have a quick update about the coronavirus here in China, and my plans to GTFO ASAP, as well as some shout-outs to several people who have helped make this show possible. LISTEN to all the previous shows at https://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/ and enjoy! 

Today I present part 2 of a very personal series of interviews I did with my mom, Ellen. WARNING: this episode deals extensively with domestic abuse, sexual secrets, and escaping violence in the home. But there is also lots of humor and inspiration to be found in her story, so I hope you check it out. Visit https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us to give feedback; the finale - Part 3 - is next week.

The next few weeks I’m presenting a very special series of interviews with the one woman who shaped me more than any other: my mom, Ellen. Her personal story and the vivid memories she shares - from growing up in small town America, striking out on her own, surviving domestic abuse, and ultimately creating a wonderful life and a 30-year happy marriage for herself - are fascinating, and I hope you enjoy. Visit https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-usto give feedback, and tune in next week for Part 2!

We’re coming off an extended hiatus and looking forward to a great 2020 of new shows. This week, I sit down with KEVIN GEIGER again for a special New Years Eve edition of the two-man jam we call the Fretful Laowai Radio Hour. Enjoy the show, and please join me NEXT week when I interview…my Mom. Happy New Year!

October’s solo episode of the show could be called “If You Knew ME Better”. This is a very candid and revealing one, as I share details about my father and his life that I never have publicly; *trigger warning* for those sensitive to stories of domestic violence that you might want to skip the second half of this one. I also have some updates regarding the show schedule, info about some upcoming LIVE events I’m part of in Las Vegas, San Francisco, at Stanford University, and UC Berkeley, and more. 

KEN LEE has been working with Michael Wiese and his production / consulting / publishing company from almost the very beginning. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ken met Michael through a friend’s referral, and several hours into their first lunch together they joined forces. We talk about the stories behind many classic film & TV books including Christopher Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey”, Steven J. Katz’s “Film Directing: Shot by Shot”, Judith Weston’s “Directing Actors”, and Blake Snyder’s “Save The Cat!”, which helped rewrite the entire vernacular of Hollywood. Ken and I discuss all this plus the mechanics of book publishing, growing a business organically, and more. LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

This week I’m cross-posting an 8-minute shortie episode to both “If I Knew You Better” and my original, retired podcast “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”. There are THREE recent episodes of my other show, “How China Works” (co-hosted with Yingying Li), that I really don’t want you to miss. Check out those shows and our guests MARK LEVINE, FU HAN, ISABEL CROOK, & JESSE APPELL via the links in the shows notes, and subscribe to “How China Works” and “If I Knew You Better” so you don’t miss anything. Thanks! LINKS: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com/resources

Returning Champion KEVIN GEIGER swings back by the studio to have an unfiltered chat about, among other things: spinning plates, Brexits big & small, the comedy & tragedy of film financing, the care & feeding of billionaires, the ever-changing China mental map, plus Brendan’s upcoming speaking engagement in Vegas, among other things. We riff far and wide with this one, name-checking Robert Anton Wilson & “model agnosticism", Gordon White & “Fortress America”, Marshall McLuhan’s “The map is not the territory", Korzybski & General Semantics, and the coming relevance of the 2013 Matt Damon dystopian sci-fi movie ELYSIUM to our daily lives. Enjoy! MORE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Christopher Vogler’s seminal work The Writer’s Journey distilled the key lessons of Joseph Campbell’s classic The Hero With A Thousand Faces in a way that took first Hollywood and then the world by storm. It’s influence over the last 25 years has been profound, yet while it remains as relevant as ever (see: the box office results of the Marvel Comic Universe for a few billion dollars of evidence), Vogler has hardly remained static. His upcoming, updated edition of the book will add even MORE amazing tools to the storyteller’s arsenal and he teases some of them here with me. This is the longest episode yet but it flies by, and we are already planning the sequel. Enjoy! MORE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

This show is on hiatus until September, but I wanted to let you know about another podcast I just released that I think you’ll like, too. This week on my other show, “How China Works”, my cohost Yingying Li & I had our first “HCW Live!” event at The Bookworm in Beijing. We interviewed a force of nature businesswoman named Fu Han, along with special guests. Learn more about it below, and I’ll see you again here soon! MORE: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com/fuhan

Writer-Producer-Director Kevin Geiger & I had a long-running “bonus feature” on my old show called the “Fretful Laowai Radio Hour”, which was a chance for us - two American entertainment guys in China - to chop it up in a free-form conversation about all sorts of current events and issues we were dealing with. I’m very pleased to bring the Fretful Laowai to THIS show as a recurring feature. Enjoy! KEVIN GEIGER links: Peewee Frogbooks http://peeweefrog.com/news.html Magic Dumpling Entertainment www.magicdumpling.com “If I Knew You Better” - LISTEN on APPLE devices: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / ALL devices: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website SHOW site: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Michael Wiese has lived an extraordinary life as a writer, artist, filmmaker, philosopher, businessman, & much more. His namesake company Michael Wiese Productions (MWP) is the leading publisher of film, tv, & media books in the world, & his Divine Arts imprint produces spiritually-focused works of similar consequence. We discuss the 60s, Bali, Bucky Fuller, Michael Murphy & Esalen, Cornwall, and treating Parkinson's disease with ayahuasca in the jungles of Peru, among many other topics. Enjoy! Michael Wiese LINKS: MWP: https://mwp.comDivine Arts: https://divineartsmedia.com  Bucky Fuller: Wiki bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller Critical Path: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Path_(book) Synergetics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetics_(Fuller)  “If I Knew You Better” - LISTEN on APPLE devices: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / ALL devices: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website SHOW site: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

GREG LOFTIN is a screenwriter, director, editor, & professor, and the author of Writing For The Cut. He has developed an innovative approach to crafting screen stories that starts by considering how they will end up in the final edit. We talk about how his method improves upon the traditional writing process, what he's learned from Walter Murch & other legends, and much more. LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

interregnum [ in-ter-reg-nuh m ], noun: any pause or interruption in continuity. I’m just back from one myself, which I briefly (~5 mins) explain the reasons for here. Plus: a quick look back, and a happy look ahead. Please enjoy! APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / ALL DEVICES: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ SHOW SITE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Nick Cheng is a popular British comedian based in Beijing, and a natural storyteller. And he has some great stories to tell: some are funny, most are fascinating, and a few - discussing a family member’s suicide attempts, his coming out while a member of the Royal Navy - are wrenching. But all are worth hearing, and I am glad to share them with you on this very special LAST REGULAR EPISODE of “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”, cross-posted here. Please enjoy! LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

This week I want to tell you about another of my podcasts, “How China Works”. My co-host Yingying Li interviews 2-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Malcolm Clarke about his new film BETTER ANGELS. If you like THIS show, I think you’ll like THAT one, too, so I hope you’ll check it out! APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/0001-introduction-to-how-china-works/id1440747395?i=1000422918906&mt=2&app=podcast / ALL PLATFORMS: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / WEB: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com

Michael Nakan is the founder of Clipper Media Capital, a London-based production and packaging company. He cut his Hollywood teeth on the US version of “House of Cards” and then in NYC at HBO before returning home to the UK to work in development for DARKEST HOUR director Joe Wright. He's also established a China office of his UK firm and is successfully bridging the gap between the two markets. A great talk! SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more here - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Weiko Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, & he continues to work throughout Asia, but it’s in Hollywood that he’s really made his name. His upcoming book, Crazy Screenwriting Secrets (Michael Weise Productions, avail July 1) is both a solid art & craft writing manual, AND a knowledgable how-to on navigating the often-treacherous waters between China and the global cinema industry, as epitomized by Hollywood. If you follow the world entertainment business with any degree of seriousness, YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS SHOW. Just sayin’. Enjoy! MORE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/weiko   WEIKO LIN book: Crazy Screenwriting Secrets - Pre-Order now on AMAZON:  https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Screenwriting-Secrets-Capture-Audience/dp/1615933018   BRENDAN DAVIS on “The Carl King Podcast”: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-carl-king-podcast/id1202709564?i=1000440895085 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/carlkingdom/brendan-davis-interview-carl-king-podcast-15-060619 or SEARCH “The Carl King Podcast” in your favorite podcatcher   SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more here: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Fei Wu is the host of the Feisworld podcast, a documentary filmmaker, & a digital marketer. She left China to finish high school in the US, where she’s lived for almost 20 years now, but lately she’s been revisiting her China roots and supporting her artist mother, whose paintings illustrating Chinese literature classic The Dream of the Red Chamber made her famous and which are now getting a permanent gallery home in Qingdao. We also touch on Fei’s passion promoting palliative care for the sick & dying, which she developed after her father’s long illness and passing when she was a little girl. This topic just became highly relevant to me, too, as my own father died just this past Monday (after the interview was recorded). The first 10 minutes of the show is me talking about that, but the interview with Fei is fun, enlightening, fresh, and optimistic about the power of art to transform. Please enjoy this very special episode of the show, and visit https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources for links and more.

Steve Katz has possibly the most eclectic background and resume of anyone I’ve ever spoken to. His early influences in the 1960s, like Ray Harryhausen and Famous Monsters magazine, mixed with watching rehearsals at the nearby Westport Country Playhouse with visiting directors like Woody Allen to the influence and support of his parents to propel him into an artistic life from the very beginning. That led him to, among other things: learning film cameras via a cousin in New York who worked on TV shows like “Car 54, Where Are You?”; putting together psychedelic light shows in NYC at places like the Fillmore East and working with bands like The Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Byrds, and Sly & The Family Stone starting at age 19; playing bluegrass banjo; working on John McTiernan’s first film; befriending “Saturday Night Live” writing legend Michael O’Donoghue and seeing a legendary short film he directed, “The Clams”, go on to open a season of “SNL” and catch a big break as a TV writer; he continued to work and grow and eventually established himself as a writer-director-producer in Hollywood; created the first digital previz on the feature Clear and Present Danger; and eventually, all his experience brought him to - yes - China, where he has been involved in many projects big and small. But of all the references I just name-checked, the one that originally cemented Steve’s name in my mind back in the day was that he wrote a truly legendary cinema book called Film Directing: Shot by Shot, published by the then-upstart Michael Weise Productions. It was released in 1992, which is when I was in film school, and it instantly became required reading in my Film Production courses! It’s familiar blue cover was updated a few years ago to announce the new, 25th anniversary edition, which was freshly and thoroughly revised for the digital age. It’s easily the film book I have gifted to more people than any other, and it was a real treat to get to hear some of Steve’s stories in-depth. Among the crazy but true tales already mentioned, we scratch the surface on Steve’s several engagements as Michael Jackson’s personal filmmaking tutor - a story he has NEVER told before! Steve was resident at the Neverland Ranch for months at a time, was flown into luxury hotels to work with the star, sometimes just watching movies late at night. He also saw things in his time around MJ that will likely merit another show entirely, but we will have much more on that topic another day. We even overlap on his interest in the intersection between art and neuroscience, among many other wonky and highly specific topics. To top it off, he’s also a good friend of one of my best friends, Kevin Geiger, so the “small world” meter is off the charts with this one for me. More on all that later. For now, though, you can visit the blog post at https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources for links, contact information, and I hope you enjoy this epic conversation with Steven Katz!

Elliott Zaagman has built a professional life as a writer, podcaster, investor in, & consultant to the leaders of some of China’s most famous (& infamous) tech companies. He appears in print & on-air internationally speaking truth about that environment. Ell co-hosts the China tech Investor podcast w/James Hull and has been on my other shows several times too, so we started from a place of comfort and dove deep from there. LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Millions of people in the tech & startup world know Steve Hoffman as “Captain Hoff” from Foundersspace, a leading incubator from Silicon Valley that is now omnipresent throughout China. But very few people know that his FIRST career was as a development executive in Hollywood, and this is the first time Steve’s talked about all this in-depth since beginning his China adventures. The lessons he's learned from his success shaping startups & stories are invaluable, & applicable regardless of your vocation or location. I especially love his closing thoughts: “Are you putting your time into the most important things? Given who you are and where you are in your life, what's the most value you can be creating for the people around you and the world around you, and can you focus your energies on that instead of getting distracted by all these other things?” This was a very fun and special conversation, so I hope you check it out. LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/steve-hoffman-2019

Lee Chen is a familiar face on US TV, but her own story is more impressive & incredible than the many shows she’s appeared in. For starters, she’s probably the only successful Hollywood actor who got their start in a "Chairman Mao Thought" propaganda performance troupe towards the end of the Cultural Revolution in China. She was born in Inner Mongolia, was a founding-class member of the Johns Hopkins Chinese Program at Nanjing University, then moved to the US for grad school - earning two Master’s degrees - and began a dual professional life as an academic and an actor. She landed in Chicago after grad school, and fell into studying acting at the famous Piven Theater Workshop. Lee worked and studied for years, moved to Hawaii for a second Masters, did every theater production she could, and finally moved to Hollywood. Today, Lee has built an eclectic film, TV, & theater career with roles ranging from the dramatic to the absurdly funny. She also worked diligently over a 20 year period to move her ENTIRE family - one by one - over to the US from China. I was lucky to meet Lee when she accepted a role in a small film I produced, and when I heard her incredible story I knew I had to get her on the mic to share it with you, too. I am cross-posting this show "If I Knew You Better" and my original China-focused podcast “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” too, but no matter where you hear it, I hope you enjoy it. DO NOT MISS this one! MORE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/lee-chen

CARL BRESSLER is an actor & advisor with an extensive career in Hollywood & a profound business network around the world. He studied acting with Stella Adler & learned agenting the hard way: face first. Carl is one of my closest friends & my most important mentor; if I had a big brother, it would be him, so I'm thrilled to introduce you to him, too. Visit https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources for more.

Raymond Ma is a talented and hilarious actor who has worked with everyone from Ali Wong and Awkwafina to Chuck Lorre and Aaron Sorkin. He was born in Hong Kong, discovered by Jack Lord on the original “Hawaii 5-0”, & lives in Los Angeles. This talk is funny, practical, & gets a little deep, too. Please check it out, & visit https://www.crazyinagoodway.com for more!

Stewart Cararas is a songwriter-musician as well as a music engineer & producer in Los Angeles. He’s from Monroe, Louisiana, and his road to Hollywood is positively cinematic. Great talk! LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Frederick Taylor is an award-winning director & producer & the founder of Tomorrow Pictures (https://www.tomorrowpictures.com). I’ve known Fred for 30 years, but it was great to sit down with him and REALLY get into it all. Great first talk; enjoy! Theme music by Carl King, logo by Ronald Paredes. Visit crazyinagoodway.com for links & more.

Welcome to “If I Knew You Better”, the new podcast from Brendan Davis! The show asks fascinating people the questions YOU’D ask, too, if you knew them better. Today we intro the show, next week we have our first guest. Enjoy! MORE INFO: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com