PA Nation

On this episode, we have part two of our conversation with Neda Armian. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast. We want to hear any stories you have of working on sets or in entertainment offices.

On this episode, Cooper talks to Emmy and Peabody-winning producer Neda Armian who started her career as a day player on Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia before producing projects like Rachel Getting Married and HBO’s true-crime documentary Murder on Middle Beach. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast. We want to hear any stories you have of working on sets or in entertainment offices.

On this episode, Cooper talks to sound and music editors Sally Boldt and Justin Pearson who had their own journeys through the world of audio editing before collaborating on Pixar’s Soul. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast. We want to hear any stories you have of working on sets or in entertainment offices.

On this episode, Cooper talks writer and actor Marcy Jarreau who started her career as a talent PA for Aubrey Plaza before going on to write and act on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast. We want to hear any stories you have of working on sets or in entertainment offices.

On this episode, Cooper talks to two time Academy Award winning cinematographer Chris Menges who started his career as an apprentice to American film maker Alan Forbes before going on to work on films featuring Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, and Sandra Bullock to name a few. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast. We want to hear any stories you have of working on sets or in offices.

On this episode, Cooper talks to writer and showrunner, Anthony King, who started his career as an intern at Manhattan Theatre Club before going on to write for TV and Theatre, receiving Emmy and Tony nominations along the way.If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, we talk to stand-up comic and writer Will Miles who started his career going to open mics and doing extra work before writing on shows like The Chris Gethard Show and Grown-ish.If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast. We want to hear any stories you have of working on sets or in offices.

On this episode, Cooper talks to Director, DP, and Photographer Danilo Parra who started his career interning at Vice before going on to create the Vice original show Hamilton’s Pharmacopoeia with Hamilton Morris. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode Cooper talks to producer, photographer, and now author Mandee Johnson who started her career interning for a number of photographers before going on to produce a wide range of projects spanning from photography to live comedy in addition to her new book Super Serious: An Oral History of Los Angeles Independent Stand-up Comedy. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, Cooper talks to writer, producer, and actor Neil Garguilo who started his career as a Production Assistant for TV Guide Network before going on to create and star in his own projects for TV and Film including his most recent show Hell Den on Syfy. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode Cooper talks to writer, animator, and actor Phil Matarese who started his career working at an advertising company and before creating the HBO animated series Animals. We discuss how he finds creative community, what it was like creating episodes of Animals. on spec, and his expert opinion on Doritos flavors.If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, Cooper talks to comedic writer and performer Rajat Suresh who started his career as an intern at SNL before going on to lend his voice and writing to CBS All Access’s Tooning Out the News. We discuss his time studying at NYU, working with his creative partner Jeremy Levick, and just how much Rajat and Spiderman have in common.If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, Cooper talks to Comic and Musician Isabel Hagen who started her career as a gigging violist in New York before finding another passion in stand-up comedy. We discuss her road to studying at Juilliard, the finer points of comedy barking, and what it was like performing on The Tonight Show just days before New York’s quarantine. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, Cooper talks to Director and Showrunner Rhys Thomas who started his career as a PA on Saturday Night Live before becoming the director of the show’s Film Unit. We talk about our mutual struggle with impostor syndrome, how a chance meeting allowed him to go from managing a Cold Stone Creamery to working on SNL within a month, and how an ultimatum catapulted him from having an Associate Producer credit to Directing some of SNL’s most iconic short films. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, Cooper talks to comic Andrew Michaan who started his career as a production intern on Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule while honing his craft as a standup. We discuss how nihilism and pragmatism have helped him navigate LA, what it’s really like making his fantastic podcast, Podcast but Outside, and we figure out exactly how many people have slept with Obama. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, Cooper talks to Writer Caitie Delaney who started her career as an assistant to Jared Leto before working her way up the ladder in comedy writing. We discuss how luck played a role in getting Caitie into her first writers' room, her experience working with her childhood idol Jim Carrey, and a night she spent searching Las Vegas sex shops for props for 30 Seconds to Mars music video. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

On this episode, Cooper talks to Audio Engineer and Producer Emma Erdbrink who started her career editing audio for industrials before finding her way into the LA podcasting landscape with shows like High and Mighty and Doughboys. We discuss how driving Lyft got her her first podcast job, helpful mindsets for freelancers, and what it’s like to be part of the Emerson Mafia. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram  @PANationPodcast. 

On this episode, Cooper talks to comedian Jon Gabrus who started his career shadowing his dad who worked as an I.A.T.S.E. stagehand at a New York news station. We discuss how he balanced working as a PA while performing at the UCB, what it takes to build a career that can weather a global pandemic, and the best strategies for getting away with telling someone to put their phone away in a movie without them wanting to fight you. If you enjoy our show please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you’re listening. Those two actions make all the difference for us being able to make more and more episodes for you. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast.

Welcome to PA Nation, the entertainment podcast about life below the line. I’m your host Cooper Peltz. I’m a TV producer living in Los Angeles, and on each episode of this show I talk to a fellow creative who started in this industry just like me, working on sets and in offices as interns, production assistants, personal assistants, the list goes on and on. We’re going to hear stories from Jon Gabrus, Caitie Delaney, Andrew Michaan, Emma Erdbrink, Rhys Thomas and a whole bunch more. And we want to hear your stories as well. If you’d like to contact us feel free to email us at PANationPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram @PANationPodcast. Alright, that’s all for now. I can’t wait for you all to listen to the show. See you soon.