POPULARITY
Categories
Christopher Hart has had, and continues to have, an amazing career, or should I say “careers”. Many people, not just magicians, would be satisfied with success in any one of the areas where Chris has exceeded expectations. Many listeners of The Magic Word Podcast know that it was his hand as “Thing” in “The Addams Family” movies. And yet there is a whole generation who have never seen nor heard of “The Addams Family”, the New Yorker comic strip, the TV series let alone the movies. The recent Netflix series “Wednesday” has introduced many to this genre, but Chris wasn't in that, and I digress.But he has performed in dinner theater with “Triple Espresso” and also singing on network TV, Plus of course he has presented his award winning act around the world with the torn and restored sheet music and the disembodied hand. You may think you know Christopher Hart, but there is so much to know about Christopher that you will be surprised what you learn in this episode. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize This week's episode was recorded in Appleton, Wisconsin, while we were at the SAM National convention. Christopher not only performed but also lectured. He had so much material to share, that he never got around to explaining some of the items on his agenda during his lecture. He resolves that by chatting on this week's episode as he talks about his touches on the torn and restored newspaper and the zombie gimmick. But we start, of course, by chatting about his film career, then his time with dinner theater, overcoming his fear of singing in public, working and touring with David Copperfield, plus serving as President of the Board of Trustees on the Academy of Magical Arts. He shares some great “behind the scenes” stories about all of this which makes this one of my favorite episodes, and I hope yours, too. Give Him a Hand Scott Wells with Christopher Hart Download Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly Stitcher) by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here. If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.
In this joyful episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes librarian and debut middle grade author Haley Neil to celebrate her spooky-silly new book, Greta Grimsdark and the Normal New Neighbor. Haley shares stories from her work in the library, where she spends her days covered in slime, leading "Make and Play" programs, and helping kids discover books they truly love—especially those transitioning from graphic novels to more text-heavy stories. Haley and Jed shine a big spotlight on librarians as unsung heroes, describing libraries as hubs for early literacy, STEM, crafts, and community support, especially for families who rely on them for internet access and free programming. Haley encourages families to "library hop," talk to their librarians, and never hesitate to ask for book recommendations. They dive into Greta Grimsdark's world, where Greta's parents are dragons, her brothers are ghosts, vampires, and zombies—and Greta herself is the "scariest" thing of all: a human child. Haley describes the book as "Addams Family meets Junie B. Jones" with "cute Wednesday Addams vibes"—a lower middle grade, highly illustrated story perfect for bedtime read-alouds, classroom reading, and precocious independent readers. Beneath the funny, eerie surface, Greta's story explores friendship, identity, difference, and belonging, including casual representation like a brother who uses sign language. Haley also talks about bibliotherapy—using books to help kids process big feelings and tough topics—and the joy of writing for kids, caregivers, teachers, and librarians all at once. Throughout, Jed and Haley return to their shared mission: helping families read together, talk together, and grow together through stories. Jed also welcomes back Ginny Neil, former longtime teacher turned nature-loving picture book author, to celebrate her new title A River of Wind. Ginny shares how a magical encounter with tiny "spiderlings" floating on silvery threads sparked the idea for the book, which explores all the surprising things that travel on the wind—from familiar sights to hidden wonders high above our heads. Drawing on more than 38 years in the classroom and her life in the mountains, Ginny reflects on how nature, curiosity, and hands-on exploration shape both her writing and her teaching. She and Jed talk about the lasting impact of COVID on kids' social and fine motor skills, the loss of unstructured play, and the pressure to "schoolify" young children too early. Ginny argues passionately for giving kids time outdoors, space to ask questions, and freedom from constant screens and supervision so their natural curiosity—and STEM thinking—can flourish. They also discuss bullying prevention, the importance of building a culture of respect instead of just running short-term programs, and how parents can nurture curiosity simply by modeling it themselves and involving children in everyday problem-solving. Throughout, Ginny's deep love for kids, learning, and the natural world shines through, along with her joy in visiting classrooms and creating books that invite children to look closer, wonder more, and fall in love with the world around them.
Coyote vs. Acme director Dave Green unpacks his favorite animated movies with a live-action sensibility and his favorite live-action movies with a cartoon sensibility with Josh Olson and (sometimes) Joe Dante! Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode Coyote vs. Acme (2026) Modern Times (1931) Beetlejuice (1988) Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) Batman (1989) Edward Scissorhands (1990) Batman Returns (1992) Ghostbusters (1984) The Conjuring (2013) The Addams Family (1991) Addams Family Values (1993) Get Shorty (1995) Ratatouille (2007) The Incredibles (2004) Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) The Lost Weekend (1945) The Last Action Hero (1993) Airplane! (1980) Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) Raising Arizona (1987) Predator (1987) M (1931) M (1951) The Black Vampire (1953) Barney's Great Adventure (1998) Other Notable Items Our revamped Patreon! The Hollywood Food Coalition Samy Burch Mel Blanc Charlie Chaplin Abbey Road Studios in London, England Tim Burton Wes Anderson Michael Keaton Batman: The Animated Series TV series (1992-95) The Real Ghostbusters TV series (1986-91) Beetlejuice TV series (1989-91) The Simpsons TV series (1989- ) The Ren & Stimpy Show TV series (1991-95) Ralph Bakshi Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures TV series (1987-88) The Tick TV series (1994-96) The Maxx TV series (1995) Christopher Nolan Daniel Waters Batman TV series (1966-68) ArcLight Cinemas Joan Cusack Barry Sonnenfeld Pixar Brad Bird Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! TV series (2007-10) Warner Bros. Peter Lorre The Animated Peter Lorre book by Matthew Hahn (2024) Arnold Schwarzenegger Mad magazine (1952- ) Sergio Aragonés Lee J. Cobb Sam Raimi Ted Raimi Joel Coen Ethan Coen Nicolas Cage Bugs Bunny Wile E. Coyote Woody Woodpecker Paul Chadwick Mega Man TV series (1994-96) Joseph Losey David Wayne David Wain The State SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We're a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests, and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.com linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Between the mid 60s and about 1990, it might be true that The Munsters was more popular, but after 1991, this family has overtaken them and continues to be very popular to this day. This week's Monster Mondays pays a visit to The Addams Family. Find new episodes of the Film Seizure Podcast every Wednesday and a new Monster Mondays each Monday at www.filmseizure.com Like what we do? Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/filmseizure Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/filmseizure/ Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/filmseizure.bsky.social Follow us on Mastodon: https://universeodon.com/@filmseizure Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/filmseizure/ You can now find us on YouTube as well! The Film Seizure Channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/c/FilmSeizure
This past June's Monster Bash saw a meeting of the monster offspring - Butch Patrick ("Eddie Munster" and Sean Cassidy (son of The Addams Family's Lurch)! Plus Mark Matzke's Beta Capsule Review (Ultraman Taro)! Voicemail: (360) 524-2484 Email: monsterkidradio@gmail.com Monster Kid Radio on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/monsterkidradio Monster Kid Radio on Twitch! - https://www.twitch.tv/monsterkidradio Monster Kid Radio on YouTube - http://youtube.com/monsterkidradio Follow Mark MatzkeMonster Study Group - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monster-study-group/id1526013554 Small Town Monsters - https://www.smalltownmonsters.com Creepy Classics - The Home of Monster Bash https://creepyclassics.com/ Monster Bash Conference Autumn 2026 - https://creepyclassics.com/monster-bash-conference-autumn/ Film Friday: The War of the Worlds - https://www.chandleraz.gov/events/film-friday-war-worlds-1953 Classic Horror Film Board - https://classichorrorfilmboard.com/ Executive Producer - https://www.podcascadia.com/ Deth Designs - https://dethdesigns.bigcartel.com/ Kaiju t-shirts by Monster Kid Radio https://www.teepublic.com/stores/monsterkidradio/albums/526275-kaiju Ensenada Incident ("Sinister Surf Sounds") appears courtesy of Tijuana Hit Squad https://rivermonsterrecords.bandcamp.com/ Bride of Monster Kid Radio is a Team Deth Production. All original content of Bride of Monster Kid Radio is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License. You can learn more about Team Deth, our other projects like Deth Merchant, Mail Order Zombie, Deth Writer, and more at www.teamdeth.com. Please rate and review Bride of Monster Kid Radio wherever you download your favorite podcasts. Next time on Bride of Monster Kid Radio: Follow us on Patreon to find out!
Send us a text or a voicemailIf you're not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you'll end up trapped in a podcast prison, where it's nothing but the stink of old beer stained rugs, the madness of mono-yellow cigarette stains, the endless background noise of technical difficulties at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million randomly segmented derailments over the course of 14 years. God save you if you hear something intelligent, because it sure as hell was an accident. On Episode 728 of Trick or Treat Radio our feature film discussion is the wildly successful theatrical hit, Backrooms from director Kane Parsons! We also talk about our 14 year anniversary, prepare for podcast summer school, and react to trailers for the films; Godzilla Minus One, and Demon Hunters! So grab your handheld VHS recorder, be sure to make an unsettling doppelganger of yourself, and strap on for the world's most dangerous podcast!Stuff we talk about: Abbot and Costello, NY Jets and Humiliation, Gwar, King Diamond, Horror and Rock, Universal, Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness, Mario Bava, Bava Booey, Luke Owen Wilson, Italian Superhero Team, The Cannoli Kid, “I got a Zard-on”, Podcast Summer School, White Power (Ranger), The Odyssey, Homer Dice Clay, Minions and Monsters, Java the Hutt, Ghost on the Loose, Mothra, Flesh Gordon, Squirm, Swamp Thing, The Secret of Nimh, So I Married an Axe Murderer, The Blair Witch Project, The Village, The Dead Matter, The Demented, Black Mountain Side, The Thunderbirds, Host, Together, Teddy Ray, Rage of the Yeti, I Frankenstein, Jamie Pressly, Biohazard, Hilary Swank, Sometimes They Come Back Again, Simon Baker, Land of the Dead, The Ring 2, Embrace of the Vampire, Vivica A. Fox, Idle Hands, Night of the Living Dead, Lisa Kudrow, Monique Gabrielle, 976-Evil 2, Laurence Fishburne, Event Horizon, Hannibal, Addams Family, Doctor Sleep, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ghostbusters, The Crow Salvation, The Girl Next Door, Boris Karloff, Bruno Mattei, Hell of the Living Dead, Rats Night of Terror, Zombi 3, Island of the Living Dead, Victor Wong, Tremors, Richard Johnson, The Monster Club, Dick Wilson, Diary of a Madman, The Munsters, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, Mark of the Vampire, The Mummy's Curse, Godzilla in the Mist, psychotic bubble, Harold and Kumar Demon Hunters, Demon Hunters, Godzilla Minus Zero, Doctor Strange, 12 Years A Slave, Hausu, James Wan, Osgood Perkins, The Slender Man, Kane Parsons, Backrooms, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, One Hour Photo, Punishment Park, Portal, Mr. Robot, What Dreams May Come, Robin Williams, The Furious, Forbidden Fruits, Obsession, Curry Barker, Mortal Kombat II, James Ellis performance video, Criss Angel, Spike and Mike's Twisted Animation, Backrooms Bonanza, and Deterred in the Punch Bowl.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/trickortreatradioJoin our Discord Community: discord.trickortreatradio.comSend Email/Voicemail: mailto:podcast@trickortreatradio.comVisit our website: http://trickortreatradio.comStart your own podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=386Use our Amazon link: http://amzn.to/2CTdZzKFB Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/trickortreatradioTwitter: http://twitter.com/TrickTreatRadioFacebook: http://facebook.com/TrickOrTreatRadioYouTube: http://youtube.com/TrickOrTreatRadioInstagram: http://instagram.com/TrickorTreatRadioSupport the show
I prefer Spooky | Earth Station Boo She doesn’t smile… She doesn’t hug… She doesn’t fit in anywhere… and she never wanted to. The Horraholic Hosts and our friends Beth & Sarah Rose are checking into Season 1 of Netflix’s Wednesday, the Tim Burton produced Addams Family reimagining that broke streaming records, launched a TikTok […] The post I prefer Spooky | Earth Station Boo appeared first on The ESO Network.
Greg and Yvonne talk with director Jace McCance about Peoria Players Theatre's upcoming production of The Addams Family, opening August 5 and running through August 9. He shares what makes the production such a fun experience, discusses the talented cast, highlights some of the show's memorable moments, and previews what audiences can expect from this entertaining musical filled with humor, heart, and the beloved Addams Family characters. For tickets and more information, visit www.peoriaplayers.org.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Believe it or not, there was a time when instant access to hundreds of horror movies didn't exist. Scary thought, huh? Before the late 1950s, unless you caught a movie in the theater, you probably weren't going to see it again, especially when it came to the classic monster films like Dracula and Frankenstein. But in October 1957, Universal released 52 of its horror films to television in what became known as the Shock Theater package. To help promote the broadcasts, television stations were encouraged to create "horror hosts" to introduce the films. Simply put, it exploded, and helped give birth to the Monster Kid generation. Then, the following year, Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine debuted, and there was really no turning back. Now you could watch these monsters in the safety of your own home. It was a far cry from today's world, where you can hop on a computer or streaming service and have thousands of horror titles at your fingertips. But this was the beginning of modern horror fandom: getting your weekly fix of classic monsters on television, reading Famous Monsters, building Aurora monster model kits... life was pretty great. In this episode, we discuss the importance of this moment in horror history and why it was such a game changer for horror fans. Films mentioned in this episode: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), The Addams Family (1964-66), The Black Cat (1934), Blood of Dracula (1957), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dark Shadows (1966-71), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), Dracula (1931), The Exorcist (1973), Frankenstein (1931), The Gorgon (1964), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Invisible Man (1933), I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Jaws (1975), The Jungle Captive (1945), King Kong (1933), The Last Warning (1938), The Mummy (1932), The Munsters (1964-66), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Return of Dracula (1958), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Son of Kong (1933), The Spy Ring (1938), Star Wars (1977), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Them (1954), The Wolf Man (1941)
From July to August, Filipino-Australian performer Marcus Rivera takes on the role of Gomez Addams in The Addams Family at Hayes Theatre Co in Sydney. More than simply a new role, his performance reflects the growing space for Filipino artists on the Australian stage. - Ngayong Hulyo hanggang Agosto, bibida ang Filipino-Australian performer na si Marcus Rivera bilang Gomez Addams sa The Addams Family sa Hayes Theatre Co sa Sydney. Higit sa isang bagong papel, ang kanyang pagganap ay larawan ng lumalawak na puwang para sa mga Pilipino sa Australian stage.
Summer horror gets bloody, claustrophobic, cursed, and undead in this episode of This Week in Horror History, covering the week of July 6 through July 12. This time, we're digging into splatter-film history, cursed-camera video games, one of the scariest cave movies ever made, Netflix's summer-camp slasher revival, Italian zombie cult madness, and the return of the Tall Man. Inside this episode:July 6, 1963 — Blood Feast reportedly plays Peoria, IllinoisHerschell Gordon Lewis changes horror forever with a cheap, outrageous, blood-soaked shocker often credited as a key turning point in splatter cinema and grindhouse gore. July 8, 2022 — MADiSON releasesA haunted-house horror game turns an instant camera into a cursed object, making every photo feel like an invitation for the nightmare to come closer.July 8, 2005 — The Descent opens theatrically in the UK and IrelandNeil Marshall sends a group of friends into an unmapped cave system where grief, betrayal, darkness, and something much worse are waiting below.July 9, 2021 — Fear Street Part Two: 1978 releases on NetflixThe Fear Street trilogy heads to Camp Nightwing for a brutal summer-camp slasher packed with cursed-town mythology, teen terror, and R.L. Stine nostalgia with real bite.Deep-Cut Spotlight — Burial GroundAndrea Bianchi's Italian zombie cult favorite unleashes ancient Etruscan dead, a cursed country estate, crumbling corpses, and some of the strangest undead chaos of the early 1980s.Horror Birthdays This Week:Shelley Duvall, Kevin Bacon, Anjelica Huston, and Fred Gwynne all enter the birthday roll, bringing connections to The Shining, Friday the 13th, Tremors, The Witches, The Addams Family, The Munsters, and Pet Sematary. Weekly Recommendation — Phantasm IIAngus Scrimm's Tall Man returns in a bigger, weirder, more action-heavy sequel filled with silver spheres, funeral-home dread, road-trip nightmare energy, and late-80s cult horror atmosphere.Plus, Weekly Spooky heads into the woods with “Branch Manager” by Gary D up in Ontario, Canada — aka Blue Fire Raging — where exhausted telemarketers escape into Algonquin Park only to discover that the forest is listening, moving, and hungry. From Blood Feast and MADiSON to The Descent, Fear Street Part Two: 1978, Burial Ground, and Phantasm II, this week in horror history proves that summer horror can trap you underground, curse your camera, resurrect the dead, send you to camp, and still leave room for one more silver sphere flying down the hallway.
Access over 130+ Ad-Free episodes of Calm History by becoming a Silk+ Member (FREE for a limited time!). Nordlayer Browser: https://nordlayer.com/browser/ ********************** Become a Silk+ Member (FREE for a limited time!) and enjoy over 600 total episodes from these relaxing podcasts: Calm History (130+ episodes) History Showcase (25+ episodes) Sleep Whispers (430+ episodes) ASMR Sleep Station (50+ episodes) 1 … Continue reading The Addams Family TV Show: History & Related Trivia about John Quincy Adams, Return of the Jedi, Kate Winslet, The Hulk, Shaq, Snoop Dog, and Elvira | Bedtime Sleep Stories about History (not A.I.)
The Author Events Series presents Marc Shaiman | Never Mind the Happy In Conversation with Alan Zweibel Featuring a special performance from Rob Reiner's THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT with MATTHEW GALLAGHER, Principal trumpeter of The Philly Pops Orchestra. In Never Mind the Happy, musical dynamo Marc Shaiman looks back on five decades of Broadway triumphs, Hollywood hijinks, and unforgettable collaborations. Along the way, he charts the personal highs and heartbreaks that have shaped him-spending his teenage years in community theater, starting a decades-long collaboration with Bette Midler in the '70s, surviving the AIDS crisis of the '80s, his award-winning film music career in the Hollywood of the '90s, right up to the peaks (and valleys) of creating Broadway musicals from 2000 on. Candid, hilarious, and deeply human, Shaiman's story is a tribute to the power of music, the pull of the spotlight, and the beat that never stops. Part showbiz tell-all, part love letter to the melancholy that fuels creativity, told with perfect comic timing-along with a few wrong notes, and plenty of standing ovations. Marc Shaiman is a renowned American composer, lyricist, arranger, and music producer known for his work across film, television, and theater. Shaiman began his career as a musical director and arranger for Bette Midler before expanding into film scoring. He gained prominence with his work on films such as When Harry Met Sally, The Addams Family, Sister Act, City Slickers, A Few Good Men, Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, and South Park, on television with SNL, and on his recordings with Harry Connick Jr. and Mariah Carey. Shaiman earned widespread acclaim for co-writing the Broadway musical Hairspray alongside his longtime co-lyricist Scott Wittman. The duo has also co-created the musicals Catch Me If You Can, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Some Like It Hot, and Smash. He has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards and has won a Tony, two Emmys, and two Grammys. Marc Shaiman is celebrated for his versatile, emotionally resonant music and his ability to blend classic musical theater sensibilities with modern storytelling. Born and raised in New Jersey, he currently lives in New York with his husband, Lieutenant Commander (ret) Lou Mirabal. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! If you'd like to purchase two tickets but only one copy of the book, please email authorevents@freelibrary.org All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 1/29/2026)
This week, John Adams and Toby Poser stop by to talk about thire new movie Mother of Flies
RNIB Connect Radio's Toby Davey is joined again by Vidar Hjardeng MBE, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant for ITV News across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands for another audio described theatre review.We have a musical comedy made from the finest ingredients this week as the current tour of ‘Waitress' visited the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre with description by Professional Audio Describer Nicola Williams. About ‘Waitress'The five-star musical returns, starring Carrie Hope Fletcher“Treat yourself to a slice of five-star musical pie” (The Times) with Carrie Hope Fletcher (Calamity Jane, Heathers, The Addams Family) as Jenna and Les Dennis as Old Joe for one week only! They'll be joined by Sandra Marvin as Becky and Evelyn Hoskins as Dawn.Meet Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of some happiness in her life. When a hot new doctor arrives in town, life gets complicated. With the support of her workmates Becky and Dawn, Jenna overcomes the challenges she faces and finds that laughter, love and friendship can provide the perfect recipe for happiness.Brought to life by a ground-breaking, female-led creative team, this ‘warm, witty, wise and hilarious' (Express) hit features ‘one of the best scores in years' (The Stage) by the Grammy award-winning Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave) a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony® Award-winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland).Having received standing ovations night after night in London's West End and on Broadway, Waitress is ‘the real deal' (Independent) musical comedy'.For more about the current tour of ‘Waitress' and details of performances near you do visit the production website - https://waitressthemusical.co.uk(Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white background ‘RNIB' written in bold black capital letters and underlined with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio' is written in black in a smaller font)
ALAKAZAM! The DizRadio Show Gets a literal Hand From Hollywood Magic Legend, and Addams Family Thing, CHRISTOPHER HART (Thing in The Addams Family Trilogy, Idle Hands, World Famous Magician, Columbo)! Get ready to be utterly enchanted and a little bit creeped out. This week we dive into Hollywood magic, movie-set secrets, and the art of illusion as we welcome a true industry icon to the show. He is a world-famous illusionist, a prestigious member of the Magic Castle, and possesses quite literally one of the most recognizable hands in cinematic history. We are beyond thrilled to welcome the legendary CHRISTOPHER HART to the studio! If you grew up loving family movies, Christopher's work is deeply woven into your childhood. As the man behind Thing in all three live-action Addams Family films, he brought an unbelievable amount of personality, wit, and charm to a character without ever showing his face. He sits down with the us to talk about the sheer wonder and timeless allure of magic, his personal favorite magicians who inspired his journey, and what it actually takes to bring an iconic, disembodied hand to life on the silver screen. From landing the coveted role to sharing incredible behind-the-scenes stories from the Addams Family sets, this is a masterclass in movie magic you don't want to miss! But the finger-snapping fun doesn't stop there! Chris also dives into his transition over to the horror-comedy genre, where he traded the lovable Addams family companion for a menacing, bloodthirsty appendage in the cult classic Idle Hands. He shares what it was like creating a totally twisted villainous hand, including the scoop on that unforgettable, chaotic scene featuring punk rock icons The Offspring! Then, Jonathan Grabs the Mic and Unlocks Magic! Keeping the mystical vibes rolling, Jonathan stops by the magic shop of memory lane to dust off some long-forgotten magic television specials that used to glue us to the screen. He also shares a hilarious personal tale about performing magic for a local Little League championship, and rounds things out with a fantastic breakdown of family-friendly magic movies that are perfect for your next weekend marathon! Grab your top hats, dust off your spellbooks, and give a big, high-five welcome! So enjoy the Nostalgia, the Magic, the Wonder, and the Memories with The DizRadio Show "A Pop Culture Celebrity Guest Show"!
Episode 224 gives you back-to-back "Addams Family" themed episodes! This week on Ready 2 Retro, we're diving into 1993's "Addams Family Values"— the sequel that somehow gets even weirder, funnier and arguably better!Returning once again is our spooky buddy, Nic Cowan, and he helps Max and Chelsea dig into the history behind the film, revisit some of their all-time favorite lines and tackle an important question: Which version of the Addams Family moive reigns supreme? This episode is so filled with so much fun that it would even make any camper from Camp Chippewa jealous!Nic Cowan:@undeadguyThe Surf Ninjas Shopready2retro.com
Beyond the Gun – Creative Partnerships There's a distinct difference between being cast as an actor in a theatre production and working as a creative collaborator and developing your own work. This session examines how actors can step into producing and move into the developmental life of a project—contributing ideas, shaping the script, and influencing the work as it develops. Actors such as Ngoc Phan, Nicholas Brown, Julia Robertson, Amy Ingram, and Cameron Hurry have expanded their work into producing, writing and directing. This conversation explores how actors can evolve their practice, build a reputation for meaningful creative input, and become initiators and collaborators whose contributions extend beyond performance into the heart of the work itself. Amy is a multi-award-winning actor and theatre-maker based in Brisbane, later this year she will appear in the return season of Pride And Prejudice at QTC and the World Premiere of Suzie Miller's Strong Is The New Pretty touring Nationally. Ngọc is an award-winning actor, director and playwright. Her diverse theatre work includes Vietgone, Boy Swallows Universe and Good Grief (Queensland Theatre), Laurinda (MT), Love Stories (Brisbane Festival/QPAC), Horizon (Playlab Theatre), Medea (Shock Therapy Productions), We're All Gonna Die, Away, A Streetcar Named Desire and Stunt Double (The Farm). Julia Robertson is a multidisciplinary theatre maker, director and actor living and working on Gadigal land. She is the Artistic Director of the award-winning devising group Little Eggs Collective, a recipient of the Ensemble Theatre's Sandra Bates Award for Directing, and a Young Artists Program finalist with Opera Australia. Julia was recently nominated for Best Direction of a Musical at the Sydney Theatre Awards for The Producers (Hayes Theatre Co. / Riverside Parramatta). In 2026, Julia will direct the premiere production of STELLA, The Musical in Melbourne, as well as The Addams Family for Hayes Theatre Co. She will also work as Movement Director on 84 Charing Cross Road for the Ensemble Theatre, and as Assistant Director on Suzie Miller's new work Strong Is the New Pretty for Sydney Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre and Brisbane Festival. Nicholas Brown is a NIDA graduate who has forged an impressive international career across film, television and theatre as an actor, writer, singer, songwriter and leading man with major roles in Bollywood films, Australian drama and as a much-loved ABC Play School presenter. He plays a lead role in upcoming Alex Proyas science fiction musical film R.U.R. As a playwright, Nicholas won the prestigious Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting in the 2024 NSW Premier's Literary Awards for his play Sex Magick which was performed in the 2023 Griffin Theatre season. It was also nominated for a 2025 AWGIE and a 2024 Sydney Theatre Award. Cameron Hurry is a Brisbane based actor and writer. He completed his actor training at the University of Southern Queensland. Cameron's theatre credits include: Pride and Prejudice (Queensland Theatre Company), Unconditional (Playlab Theatre), Three Little Words (Ad Astra), Twelfth Night (4MBS Brisbane Shakespeare Festival), Dance Nation (THAT Production Company), Grand Horizons (PIP Theatre), Frankenstein (Fractal Theatre), Macbeth (JUTE Theatre), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Brisbane Arts Theatre), and Aladdin and the Mysterious Magical Lamp, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Shadowlands (Harvest Rain Theatre Company). His film and television credits include: Spit, Boy Swallows Universe, The Bureau of Magical Things, Young Rock, and Wanted. Cameron has received the Matilda Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role – Independent Production (Grand Horizons) and has a proud member of MEAA for 20 years.
Josh and Dru kick off Pride with the L in LGBT with 1936's Dracula's Daughter. From wiki: “Dracula's Daughter is a 1936 American vampire film produced by Universal Pictures as a sequel to the 1931 film Dracula. Directed by Lambert Hillyer from a screenplay by Garrett Fort, the film stars Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden in the title role, and Marguerite Churchill, and features, as the only cast member to return from the original, Edward Van Sloan – although his character's name was altered from "Van Helsing" to "Von Helsing".”Also discussed: The Watcher in the Woods, All About Eve, Backrooms, By Design, Universal Monster Movies, Hays Code, Daughters of Darkness, The Addams Family, Sunset Blvd, Bonnie & Clyde, Piranesi, House of Leaves, Son of Dracula, and more. NEXT WEEK: Stranger by the Lake (2013) Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/
To celebrate the 79th Tony Awards tomorrow, we are joined by the great Broadway writer, producer and actor, Rick ELICE. You know Rick's work: Jersey Boys, The Addams Family, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Cher Show, Water for Elephants and Smash, among many others. This is a conversation about the theater, the creative life and why they matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Voice Of Costume - Creating Character through Costume Design
Legendary costume designer Colleen Atwood joins Voice of Costume for a fascinating look inside the gothic fashion and visual storytelling of Netflix's Wednesday. She explains how costume design begins with reality, then shifts slightly into the strange, stylized world of Tim Burton—where clothing must feel imaginative while remaining true to the character wearing it. Colleen explores Wednesday Addams' emotional evolution, her growing friendship with Enid Sinclair, and how costumes subtly express isolation, connection, and personal growth. She reveals how Wednesday's deliberately limited black-and-white palette creates opportunities to experiment with silhouette, texture, movement, function, and tonal contrast—especially during action sequences and the spectacular Venetian gala. The conversation also dives into Enid's deepening color palette, Morticia Addams' sculptural wardrobe, red-lined sleeves, Day of the Dead embroidery, and how Catherine Zeta-Jones' dance background helps bring dramatic costumes to life. Colleen discusses her longtime collaboration with Tim Burton, her obsession with fit and construction, and why costumes must look compelling from every camera angle—not merely beautiful from the front. A must-listen for fans of Wednesday, Jenna Ortega, Tim Burton, gothic fashion, the Addams Family, Netflix behind-the-scenes stories, costume design, and cinematic world-building. The "Voice of Costume" is the first podcast created between working costume designers sharing stories, inspiration, struggles, and insights into the creative career of costume design. A behind-the-scenes podcast to showcase the voices of Costume Designers around the world. Listen in on this inspirational, one-on-one conversation with Catherine Baumgardner. Audio available wherever you get podcasts. https://voiceofcostume.com/
Father-daughter film critics and podcast hosts Leonard Maltin and Jessie Maltin team with Turner Classic Movies for the essential guide to 25 family-friendly classic films, paired with delicious and simple recipes to make movie-watching a next-level experience for all ages.Family Movie Night Menus is the ultimate guide to family-friendly classic movie viewing. In this volume, bestselling author and critic Leonard Maltin teams with his daughter and Maltin on Movies podcast host Jessie Maltin to help introduce classics in the same way he did with his own family: by sharing the best of the best that's fit for the enjoyment of a range of ages from pre-school on up. And just like in the Maltin household, enhancing the experience with easy dishes-from snacks to entrees and desserts-inspired by the films to make together only adds to the experience.Each entry includes a film profile filled with behind-the-scenes stories about the production, stars, and filmmakers; moments to watch (or watch out) for; recommended further viewing; and a recipe inspired by the film to make together before the credits roll and enjoy while watching. The movies span one silent entry (The Kid), through classic horror (Bride of Frankenstein), to legendary stories (The Wizard of Oz), musicals (The Sound of Music), can't miss adventures (Star Wars), and modern must-sees (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone).Other featured titles include: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Singin' in the Rain (1952), To Kill a Mockingbird (1963), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1973), E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982), Princess Bride (1987), Addams Family (1991), The Secret Garden (1993), Enchanted (2007), and more!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.
Welcome to the Season 7 Finale of Decorating the Set: From Hollywood to Your Home with Beth Kushnick! For our Season 7 Finale, Beth welcomes her long time friend, Emmy-award winning director and executive producer, Frederick E. O. Toye. Fred has been a part of some of the BEST television made in the last 25 years. In addition to being a treasure trove of stories and Hollywood history, he was a delightful guest. A big thank you to Fred for donating his time to speak to us. Thank you for listening to Season 7 of Decorating the Set and we can’t wait to see you for Season 8! The Interview with Fred begins at Time Code: 3:50 Join the Decorating the Set Community by subscribing to our Official Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/decoratingthesetpodcast)! Interact with Beth, Caroline, Producer Mike, and all of the DTS listeners! GUEST BIO: FREDERICK E. O. TOYE Frederick E. O. Toye is an American television director and executive producer. Toye made the move into television directing after working for five years as a production assistant and a decade as an editor. This background in the editing room gave him a solid sense of how to tell a clear story, which helped considerably in his work on such complex series as Chuck (NBC 2007–12) and Fringe (Fox 2008–13). Los Angeles native Toye got his first screen credit working as a production assistant on Billy Crystal’s 1989 HBO special Midnight Train to Moscow, before moving into visual effects on films like The Addams Family (1991) and then working as an assistant editor on hit films such as Forrest Gump (1994) and Men in Black (1997). As a TV director, Toye cut his teeth on network TV action and sci-fi thrillers like Alias, Lost, and Fringe and has also worked on character-rich dramas such as The Good Wife. That experience running the gamut between drama genres served Toye well in recent years, directing episodes of genre series like Westworld, Snowpiercer, Watchmen and The Walking Dead. In 2024, his prolific output included The Boys and Fallout. The same year, Toye received acclaim for his work on Shōgun, helming four episodes of the Emmy-winning FX drama series, including season finale “A Dream of a Dream.” The season’s penultimate episode, “Crimson Sky,” earned Toye his first-ever Emmy for outstanding directing, which was also Toye’s first-ever career nomination in the category. Toye followed it up by directing the pilot episode of Prime Video's prequel series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, starring Chris Pratt and Taylor Kitsch. He set to direct the opening episodes of the Prime Video series Bloodaxe and God of War. ### For over 35 years, Beth Kushnick has created character-driven settings for countless award-winning television series and feature films. As a Set Decorator, she’s composed visuals that both capture and enhance any story. Now, she wants to help you capture and enhance YOUR story. Join Beth and her co-host, Caroline Daley, each week as they go behind the scenes of Hollywood's magic, and give you approachable, yet sophisticated tips to realize the space that best expresses who you are. ### Follow Beth Kushnick on Social Media: Instagram: @bethkushnick Twitter: @bethkushnick Website: BethKushnick.com Beth is the Decorator By Your Side and now, you can shop her Amazon Store! CLICK HERE! Follow Caroline Daley on Social Media: Twitter: @Tweet2Caroline Website: PodClubhouse.com ### Credits: “Giraffes” by Harrison Amer, licensed by Pod Clubhouse. This is an original production of Pod Clubhouse Productions, LLC. Produced, engineered and edited at Pod Clubhouse Studios. For more information, visit our Website.
It's time to get creepy and kooky as Ready 2 Retro celebrates the 35th Anniversary of "The Addams Family" (1991). Returning to R2R is Nic Cowan as he brings his love for all things spooky and shares why this movie was so influential for him growing up! In the episode we cover the origins of the asentric family, history of the film and why the Addams Family still holds up to today's standards. This episode is guranteed to be "a review to die for" because Ready 2 Retro puts the "fun" in funeral!Nic Cowan:@undeadguyThe Surf Ninjas Shopready2retro.com
This episode of The Rizzuto Show spirals beautifully from wholesome weekend recap into full-blown suburban psychological warfare. You know… like every responsible daily comedy show should.Lern kicks things off with an annual hibachi pilgrimage complete with onion volcanoes, airborne chicken, mysterious yum yum sauce addiction, and a vegetarian teenager accidentally catching meat in her mouth out of pure social pressure. Honestly, hibachi is less “restaurant” and more “public performance art with teriyaki.”Meanwhile, Rizz discovers that the neighborhood children may officially think he's the mean old guy on the hill. After overhearing kids whisper “those are Mr. Rizzuto's dogs,” the gang conducts a full emotional autopsy on how years of HOA complaints, dirt bike feuds, poop-bag incidents, and aggressive radio storytelling may have turned him into the suburban cryptid of his subdivision.The solution? Obviously a bounce house festival called “Curmudgeon Fest 2026.”The crew also dives deep into the newest suburban panic sweeping America: grown adults stampeding Five Below stores to hoard “Neatos” and “dumpling” squishy toys before actual children can buy them. Tiny kids crying. Parents fighting collectors. Black Friday energy in Wildwood. Humanity thriving.Elsewhere in the chaos:Rafe accidentally spends his Saturday bonding emotionally with a stained-glass artisan named Dave while listening to Foghat in a basement.Lern delivers a passionate iced coffee complaint that somehow becomes a full societal discussion.Rizz warns everyone about a terrifying new AI Uber scam involving fake mess photos and cleanup fees.The gang discusses documentaries built entirely from bodycam footage and social media evidence.They debate whether single dads hosting sleepovers has unfairly become suspicious in modern parenting culture.Plus stories about weird dads from the 90s, mooning cops, NA beers, and the exact emotional danger of getting insulted while trapped in an Adirondack chair.Basically this episode has: neighborhood drama hibachi lore emotional damage weird toy economics suburban anthropology middle-aged confusion and one very wounded Blackstone grillIf you like sarcastic chaos, ridiculous conversations, and a group of adults turning tiny life moments into a full sociology documentary, congratulations — this daily comedy show remains medically unsafe for productivity.And yes… somebody absolutely compared Rizz to the Addams Family neighbor everyone warns their kids about.Another totally normal episode of your favorite daily comedy show.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShowHear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dan and Brian are joined by their friend Gavin and his lawyer father Kevin to discuss the courtroom comedy classic My Cousin Vinny. Join as they discuss their own courtroom experiences, the accuracies and inaccuracies of My Cousin Vinny's depiction of a jury trial, whether or not the film's farce gags work, the remarkable casting and lineup of performances, whether Marisa Tomei deserved that Oscar, The Munsters vs. The Addams Family, and the what the most accurate courtroom movie is. Dan's movie reviews: http://thegoodsreviews.com/ Subscribe, join the Discord, and find us on Letterboxd: http://thegoodsfilmpodcast.com/
390 Sean Cassidy Interview, Son of Ted CassidySteven had the pleasure to talk with Sean Cassidy about his father, Ted Cassidy. Ted Cassidy had worked on many movies and TV shows, and is most famous for being Lurch, on The Addams Family. Sean and I not only talk about his dad, but we also discuss what he has been doing. I hope that you enjoy our chat!Please visit the Son of Lurch website at:tedcassidyofficial.comFor more information about Monster Bash go to www.monsterbash.us.Please send feedback to DieCastMoviePodcast@gmail.com or leave us a message on our Facebook page.
Father-daughter film critics and podcast hosts Leonard Maltin and Jessie Maltin team with Turner Classic Movies for the essential guide to 25 family-friendly classic films, paired with delicious and simple recipes to make movie-watching a next-level experience for all ages.Family Movie Night Menus is the ultimate guide to family-friendly classic movie viewing. In this volume, bestselling author and critic Leonard Maltin teams with his daughter and Maltin on Movies podcast host Jessie Maltin to help introduce classics in the same way he did with his own family: by sharing the best of the best that's fit for the enjoyment of a range of ages from pre-school on up. And just like in the Maltin household, enhancing the experience with easy dishes-from snacks to entrees and desserts-inspired by the films to make together only adds to the experience.Each entry includes a film profile filled with behind-the-scenes stories about the production, stars, and filmmakers; moments to watch (or watch out) for; recommended further viewing; and a recipe inspired by the film to make together before the credits roll and enjoy while watching. The movies span one silent entry (The Kid), through classic horror (Bride of Frankenstein), to legendary stories (The Wizard of Oz), musicals (The Sound of Music), can't miss adventures (Star Wars), and modern must-sees (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone).Other featured titles include: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Singin' in the Rain (1952), To Kill a Mockingbird (1963), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1973), E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982), Princess Bride (1987), Addams Family (1991), The Secret Garden (1993), Enchanted (2007), and more!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.
This Way Out's Brian DeShazor talks with Out Opera and Broadway actor Zachary James about his roles in Philip Glass' Akhnaten, Broadway, and being out on stage. In addition to his current role as Amenhotep III in the Olivier and Grammy-Award winning production of Akhnatan, he's played roles as Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway, Abraham Lincoln in The Perfect American, Hades in the West End production of Hadestown. James was named one of the 30 most influential LGBTQIA+ artists in Opera by Operawire. And in NewsWrap: Hungary's anti-LGBTQ law ruled illegal as a new leader faces pressure to reform, the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a religious rights clash over queer families, Australia lifts blood donation restrictions for gay and bi men, Tennessee declares “Nuclear Family Month” to counter Pride, a trans custody case sparks international intervention, and a Trump photo-op goes off-script. Reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Michael Taylor Gray. Those stories and more when you find “This Way Out" for the week of April 27, 2026. Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.
Support the show and receive your link to the private discord: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastBonus Episode of the show coming at you featuring two local portland players and friends who met through the discord for this show, Rob and Miggy! They recorded this episode to tell everybody why they love Pat Lawlor and his 1992 game "The Addams Family" so much.You can hear the excitement in their voices and no, the playback has not been sped up, they are just naturally that hyped up all the time! Enjoy!Support the show
Recorded for release W/C 20th April 2026 This week Dapper Laughs chats about his charity football match, we find out about the Wolverhampton Film Festival, Gary from Rugeley Musical Theatre prepares to become Fester in the Addams Family, Rob Reynolds lets us know about the latest album from Lake and we talk Rambling with Wayne Perks. We also pay tribute top Robert Bowers who passed away at the weekend.
Dave and Eric tackle the "trilogy" of Addams Family movies, including the dumb Made for TV one with Tim Curry: The Addams Family (1991) Addams Family Values (1993) Addams Family Reunion (1998)
This episode we are joined actor and Nashville recording artist, Rachel Potter! Rachel is known for her roles on Broadway as Wednesday in The Addams Family and Mistress in Evita. She has also appeared on The X Factor and The Search for the Next Elle Woods. Her album Stages is out now and can be streamed on all music streaming platforms. Now based in Nashville, Rachel has made it her mission to bring Broadway to Music City. In partnership with the Hutton Hotel, Rachel has brought her concert series Off Broadway at the Hutton to life. On April 18th the newest concert will be performed- That's So High School featuring Taylor Louderman, Elle McLemore and Jelani Remy! You can check out Rachel's instagram for more info on how to get tickets! (There is a prom to follow!)We speak with Rachel about how Off Broadway at the Hutton Hotel started and what she hopes the future of the concert series will bring, being a working mom, her start on Broadway and much more!
YDirector Barry Sonnenfeld joins Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast with more true stories from his career as both a Hollywood director and cinematographer. Peter discovered a TED Talk that Barry did called How to Get People to Do What You Want, that was fascinating, funny and very informative. Barry also has a new book out called, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood, that's filled with fascinating stories spanning his whole career in Hollywood. From starting off as a cinematographer for the Coen Brothers to directing blockbuster movies like Men In Black, The Addams Family and Get Shorty. Barry will share some pretty entertaining stories. Some of our favorite stories include a scene from Get Shorty that needed to be cut for budget purposes but was also the head of MGM's favorite scene. Plus, you'll want to hear about his story working with Tommy Lee Jones and Rip Torn on Men In Black. They truly hated he each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On episode 340 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and contributors Mark Johnson, Karen Peterson, and Josh Parham to go back 35 years and take a look at the 64th Academy Awards, covering the films of 1991. On this retrospective, the AW team takes a look back in time to when the Oscars last rewarded a film for winning the "Big Five" awards, with The Silence of the Lambs taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. In being only the third film in Oscar history to ever do that, and it being 35 years since it's big night, the wins for the film are historic, so the question would be for this episode, will The Silence of the Lambs stay a "Big Five" winner? In a wide ranging conversation, the Best Picture winner is mentioned alongside films The Prince of Tides, JFK, Beauty and the Beast, My Own Private Idaho, The Addams Family, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cape Fear, Thelma & Louise, Boyz n the Hood, and more, as well as spicy, first time moment for the game that you'll want to listen to asap! In their in-depth discussion, the AW team talked about the film year of 1991, briefly discuss talk about The Silence of the Lambs as a Best Picture winner, and how that speaks to the legacy of their nominates and or wins, do an extensive conversation over the below the line categories and nominees for the year, and then the new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a group who the nominees and winners should be in the top eight categories. The rules of the game state they can only replace two of the nominees that year from each category, except in Best Picture, where the group could replace up to three films to make up the final set of five nominated films. Like past retrospective episodes, it was a fascinating, fun conversation including spirited debates, alliances, vote swinging, celebrating various movies, performances that aren't normally talked about and more that we all hope you enjoy. You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page. This podcast runs 2h32m. We will be back in next week for a review of Mother Mary, the latest film from director David Lowery. Till then, let's get into it. Music: "Modern Fashion" from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
A two-season black-and-white sitcom leaves a 60-year shadow, a band logo becomes more famous than the band name, and a random music reference boomerangs back into your week at the perfect moment. That's the lane we love: pop culture history that feels like real life, where classic rock stories sit right next to TV theme songs and the little memories that make certain tracks impossible to forget.We start with The Addams Family and why the characters, jokes, and visuals still land. From there we follow the thread into TV music history with Vic Mizzy, including his connection to Green Acres, and we detour into some old-school Hollywood facts that make you hear those familiar themes a little differently.Then we go bigger on music culture: the origin of the Rolling Stones tongue and lips logo, how it first appeared in 1971, and what inspired it. We also tip our hat to creators who don't always get the spotlight, like Chip Taylor (Wild Thing and Angel of the Morning) and arranger Ted Nichols, whose work helped define the sound of classic cartoons. Add a Minute With Jimmy on Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, plus reflections on Bowie, The Police, Hall and Oates, and INXS, and you've got a packed nostalgia podcast built for curious music fans.If you like music history, classic rock deep dives, and the stories behind the sounds, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review. What song instantly takes you back to a specific season of your life?Learn Something New orRemember Something OldPlease like and follow the Music in My Shoes Facebook and Instagram pagesReach out to us at musicinmyshoes@gmail.comSend us a one-way message. We can't answer you back directly, but it could be part of a future Music In My Shoes Mailbag!!!
Writer, journalist and pop culture expert Steve Cox has authored more than twenty books on film and television, including books about Johnny Carson, The Three Stooges, "The Addams Family," "I Dream of Jeannie," "The Munsters," "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Wizard of Oz." This week, Steve joins Gibert and Frank for a lively (and then some) conversation about Larry Fine's lady-killing, the unappreciated comic timing of Fred Gwynne and “Grandpa” Al Lewis, and Abbott and Costello's influence on Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. PLUS: A Munchkin suicide hoax! Mayor McCheese cleans up! Buddy Hackett enjoys a malted! And Frank attends a Stooge funeral! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Riki Lindhome is an, actor, comedian and musician whose career spans film, television and music. She got her first major break when Tim Robbins cast her in his hit play Embedded, before making her film debut in Million Dollar Baby, directed by Clint Eastwood. She has since appeared in a wide range of projects, includingas Dr. Valerie Kinbott in Wednesday on Netflix, Knives Out alongside Daniel Craig, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and Gilmore Girls, as well as films such as The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Alongside her on-screen work, Riki is an accomplished songwriter, writing for series including Scrubs, Duncanville and The Big Bang Theory, and contributing music to films like The LEGO Movie 2, The Addams Family and The SpongeBob Movie. She also earned an Emmy nomination for her song “Frozen Lullaby.” Riki co-created and starred in Comedy Central's Another Period and the series Garfunkel and Oates, based on her musical comedy duo with Kate Micucci. The duo has amassed over 80 million YouTube views, released three chart-topping comedy albums, and been recognised in the Comedy Hall of Fame. She is currently performing her sell-out show Dead Inside at Soho Theatre in London until the 18th of April .Riki Lindhome is our guest in episode 576 of My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things she'd like to put in a time capsule; four she'd like to preserve and one she'd like to bury and never have to think about again .Tickets for Riki's Soho Theatre run available here - https://sohotheatre.com/events/riki-lindhome-dead-inside .Follow Riki Lindhome on Instagram: @rikilindhome .Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter/X & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter/X: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people .To support this podcast, get all episodes ad-free and a bonus episode every Wednesday of "My Time Capsule The Debrief', please sign up here - https://mytimecapsule.supercast.com. All money goes straight into the making of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The guys investigate whether The Addams Family and the Book of Daniel exist in the same universe. For franchise sake...
Kevin Chamberlin sits down to discuss the serendipitous nature of a forty year career that has spanned from the Jersey Shore to the heights of Broadway and the global reach of the Disney Channel. He shares the story of his first big laugh as Smee in Peter Pan, an experience he describes as a drug that instantly solidified his career path. Kevin also dives into the "Uncle Fester contract," a unique industry standard he inadvertently helped create during the development of The Addams Family, and reflects on the bittersweet experience of being the sole Tony nominee for shows that were otherwise struggling with critics. The conversation shifts to Kevin's modern evolution as a digital creator, where he has amassed a massive following on TikTok and Instagram. He opens up about finding a creative outlet during the pandemic and how he balances his theatrical roots with the fast paced world of social media branding. Kevin also gives a look behind the scenes of his current project, When Playwrights Kill, discussing the joy of playing a role that allows him to pull from decades of experience working with legendary directors while finally portraying a gay character on stage for the first time in his theatrical career. Kevin Chamberlin is a three time Tony Award nominee for his performances in Dirty Blonde, Seussical, and The Addams Family. His extensive Broadway credits include My Favorite Year, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Triumph of Love, Chicago, The Ritz, Disaster!, and Wicked. On screen, he is widely recognized for his work in Die Hard With a Vengeance, the film adaptation of The Prom, and for his long running role as Bertram on the Disney Channel series Jesse. He is currently starring in the world premiere of When Playwrights Kill in Boston. This episode is brought to you by WelcomeToTimeSquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for a day. Connect with Kevin: Instagram: @chamberlin.kevin TikTok: @chamberlin_kevin Threads: @chamberlin.kevin Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support the podcast on Patreon and watch video versions of the episodes: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's finally here... Baseball is back and no one is happier than Chris McMonigle as the Yankees are going to play ball! Plus, we find out that the Giants offered Matt Stafford $100 million dollars to join the team. We're inching closer to the first pitch of the 2026 season and the anticipation is rising, so let's get ices! Craig and C-Mac find out the details on the 9/9/9 challenge at the ballpark, and it sounds like a scam! Craig and C-Mac can't old back their laughter as they find out how "Thing" from the Addams Family is going to throw out the first pitch. Suzyn Waldman joins Craig & C-Mac to talk about opening day, Luis Gil's return to the rotation and if there are any concerns for the 2026 season. Plus, it's Wednesday which means the boys SPIN THAT WHEEL!
Craig and C-Mac can't old back their laughter as they find out how "Thing" from the Addams Family is going to throw out the first pitch. Suzyn Waldman joins Craig & C-Mac to talk about opening day, Luis Gil's return to the rotation and if there are any concerns for the 2026 season. Plus, it's Wednesday which means the boys SPIN THAT WHEEL!
Tony-nominee and TikTok sensation Kevin Chamberlin says kindness is the key to longevity. The When Playwrights Kill actor joins host Robert Peterpaul for a morning chat on The Art of Kindness to discuss: How kindness and authenticity built his legendary acting career from Wicked to Seussical to Addams Family. Going viral on TikTok years after his Disney Channel hit Jessie and embracing a whole new digital chapter. Surviving Broadway chaos, on-stage mishaps, and finding humor in it all. Why you should “let it ruin your breakfast, not your lunch.” The importance of finding one moment of joy every day—and much more! KEVIN CHAMBERLIN is a three-time Tony Award-nominated actor. Kevin is best known for his work on stage in Dirty Blonde, Seussical, and The Addams Family as well as on-camera in Disney Channel's “Jessie”. Following his time on “Jessie”, Kevin quickly rose to online prominence, accumulating an audience of 12 million engaged fans across social media platforms. Check out: WHEN PLAYWRIGHTS KILL Got kindness tips or stories? Please email us: artofkindnesspodcast@gmail.com Follow Kevin @chamberlin.kevin Follow us @artofkindnesspod / @robpeterpaul Support the show! (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theaok) Music: "Awake" by Ricky Alvarez & "Sunshine" by Lemon Music Studio. We are supported by the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The hot topic of conversation at last weekends Game Developers Conference was the RAM shortage and the hot topic of conversation at this weekends Podcast Developers Conference will be the RIFF surplus on this episode of Filthy Casuals! We're chatting about dev kits going out for Project Helix, AI generated podcasts, The Addams Family (?) and reviewing Slay The Spire 2 and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection!Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code FILTHY at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/filthy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today on Too Opinionated, we're joined by actress, comedian, writer, and creator Anastasia Washington, one of the stars of the horror-comedy anthology The Grind, premiering at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival. The Grind is a four-part horror-comedy anthology exploring the dark side of gig work, hustle culture, and late-stage capitalism. Anastasia plays multiple characters that connect the film's interconnected stories into one world, starring alongside James Paxton (Twisters), Christopher Marquette (Barry), James Urbaniak (Oppenheimer), and Rob Huebel (Transparent). The film has already generated buzz with festival selections including SXSW and the Chattanooga Film Festival. A Los Angeles native, Anastasia has been performing since the age of three and has built an impressive multi-hyphenate career as an actress, comedian, podcaster, writer, director, singer, and host. Her work includes:
Brad Oscar is a two-time Tony Award nominee for his performances on Broadway as Franz Liebkind in Mel Brooks' The Producers and as Thomas Nostradamus in Something Rotten!Brad has performed in more than 15 shows on Broadway, including being in the original casts of the stage version of Schmigadoon, Mrs. Doubtfire, Big Fish, Aspects of Love, and a show I know a little bit about called Jekyll & Hyde. He's performed in Wicked, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Addams Family, and Spamalot. He's also starred in The Producers in both the West End and Las Vegas productions.National tours in which Brad has performed include: The Phantom of the Opera, Young Frankenstein, and, of course, Jekyll & Hyde. Off-Broadway, Brad has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors, Broadway Bounty Hunter, Sweeney Todd, and Forbidden Broadway. Stages he's worked on in America include: the Arena Stage, the Old Globe, the La Jolla Playhouse, the McCarter, Barrington Stage, and more.In film and on TV, you can find Brad on such shows as: Ghost Town, The Producers, Smash, The Good Wife, and three Law & Orders.
Screw Scream 7, watch this instead (on Shudder!)Follow Spooko on Insta: @_spooko_Join the Feel Bad Club on our discord: https://discord.gg/mJAJYCChGyAnd if you're keen for more Peach and Shag, check out our OTHER pod (it's about Gordon Ramsay): @peachandshagsnightmaremethodOh, and pls drop a review if you've been listening for a while!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The full version of this episode (80 minutes & Ad-free) is available for Silk+ Members (FREE for a limited time!) and includes access to over 600 more episodes from these podcasts: Calm History (120+ episodes) History Showcase (25+ episodes) Sleep Whispers (430+ episodes) ASMR Sleep Station (50+ episodes) 1 & 8-Hour Nature Sounds (50+ episodes) 1 & 8-Hour Background Sounds (30 episodes) … Continue reading *Sample* | 1 Hour about the TV Shows: Gilligan’s Island & The Addams Family | Bedtime Sleep Stories about History (Bonus Episode #86)
How do you juggle multiple book projects, a university teaching role, Kickstarter campaigns, and rock albums—all without burning out? What does it take to build a writing career that spans decades, through industry upheavals and personal setbacks? Kevin J. Anderson shares hard-won lessons from his 40+ year career writing over 190 books. In the intro, Draft2Digital partners with Bookshop.org for ebooks; Spotify announces PageMatch and print partnership with Bookshop.org; Eleven Audiobooks; Indie author non-fiction books Kickstarter; Bones of the Deep – J.F. Penn This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Kevin J. Anderson is the multi-award-winning and internationally bestselling author of over 190 books across different genres, with over 24 million copies in print across 34 languages. He's also the director of publishing at Western Colorado University, as well as a publisher at WordFire Press, an editor and rock album lyricist, and he's co-written Dune books and worked on the recent Dune movies and TV show. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights, and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Managing multiple projects at different stages to maximise productivity without burning out Building financial buffers and multiple income streams for a sustainable long-term career Adapting when life disrupts your creative process, from illness to injury Lessons learned from transitioning between traditional publishing, indie, and Kickstarter Why realistic expectations and continuously reinventing yourself are essential for longevity The hands-on publishing master's program at Western Colorado University You can find Kevin at WordFire.com and buy his books direct at WordFireShop.com. Transcript of Interview with Kevin J. Anderson Jo: Kevin J. Anderson is the multi award-winning and internationally bestselling author of over 190 books across different genres, with over 24 million copies in print across 34 languages. He's also the Director of Publishing at Western Colorado University, as well as a publisher at WordFire Press, an editor, a rock album lyricist, and he's co-written Dune books and worked on the recent Dune movies and TV show. Welcome back to the show, Kevin. Kevin: Well, thanks, Joanna. I always love being on the show. Jo: And we're probably on like 200 books and like 50 million copies in print. I mean, how hard is it to keep up with all that? Kevin: Well, it was one of those where we actually did have to do a list because my wife was like, we really should know the exact number. And I said, well, who can keep track because that one went out of print and that's an omnibus. So does it count as something else? Well, she counted them. But that was a while ago and I didn't keep track, so… Jo: Right. Kevin: I'm busy and I like to write. That's how I've had a long-term career. It's because I don't hate what I'm doing. I've got the best job in the world. I love it. Jo: So that is where I wanted to start. You've been on the show multiple times. People can go back and have a listen to some of the other things we've talked about. I did want to talk to you today about managing multiple priorities. You are a director of publishing at Western Colorado University. I am currently doing a full-time master's degree as well as writing a novel, doing this podcast, my Patreon, all the admin of running a business, and I feel like I'm busy. Then I look at what you do and I'm like, this is crazy. People listening are also busy. We're all busy, right. But I feel like it can't just be writing and one job—you do so much. So how do you manage your time, juggle priorities, your calendar, and all that? Kevin: I do it brilliantly. Is that the answer you want? I do it brilliantly. It is all different things. If I were just working on one project at a time, like, okay, I'm going to start a new novel today and I've got nothing else on my plate. Well, that would take me however long to do the research and the plot. I'm a full-on plotter outliner, so it would take me all the while to do—say it's a medieval fantasy set during the Crusades. Well, then I'd have to spend months reading about the Crusades and researching them and maybe doing some travel. Then get to the point where I know the characters enough that I can outline the book and then I start writing the book, and then I start editing the book, which is a part that I hate. I love doing the writing, I hate doing the editing. Then you edit a whole bunch. To me, there are parts of that that are like going to the dentist—I don't like it—and other parts of it are fun. So by having numerous different projects at different stages, all of which require different skill sets or different levels of intensity— I can be constantly switching from one thing to another and basically be working at a hundred percent capacity on everything all the time. And I love doing this. So I'll be maybe writing a presentation, which is what I was doing before we got on this call this morning, because I'm giving a new keynote presentation at Superstars, which is in a couple of weeks. That's another thing that was on our list—I helped run Superstars. I founded that 15 years ago and it's been going on. So I'll be giving that talk. Then we just started classes for my publishing grad students last week. So I'm running those classes, which meant I had to write all of the classes before they started, and I did that. I've got a Kickstarter that will launch in about a month. I'm getting the cover art for that new book and I've got to write up the Kickstarter campaign. And I have to write the book. I like to have the book at least drafted before I run a Kickstarter for it. So I'm working on that. A Kickstarter pre-launch page should be up a month before the Kickstarter launches, and the Kickstarter has to launch in early March, so that means early February I have to get the pre-launch page up. So there's all these dominoes. One thing has to go before the next thing can go. During the semester break between fall semester—we had about a month off—I had a book for Blackstone Publishing and Weird Tales Presents that I had to write, and I had plotted it and I thought if I don't get this written during the break, I'm going to get distracted and I won't finish it. So I just buckled down and I wrote the 80,000-word book during the month of break. This is like Little House on the Prairie with dinosaurs. It's an Amish community that wants to go to simpler times. So they go back to the Pleistocene era where they're setting up farms and the brontosaurus gets into the cornfield all the time. Jo: That sounds like a lot of fun. Kevin: That's fun. So with the grad students that I have every week, we do all kinds of lectures. Just to reassure people, I am not at all an academic. I could not stand my English classes where you had to write papers analysing this and that. My grad program is all hands-on, pragmatic. You actually learn how to be a publisher when you go through it. You learn how to design covers, you learn how to lay things out, you learn how to edit, you learn how to do fonts. One of the things that I do among the lectures every week or every other week, I just give them something that I call the real world updates. Like, okay, this is the stuff that I, Kevin, am working on in my real world career because the academic career isn't like the real world. So I just go listing about, oh, I designed these covers this week, and I wrote the draft of this dinosaur homestead book, and then I did two comic scripts, and then I had to edit two comic scripts. We just released my third rock album that's based on my fantasy trilogy. And I have to write a keynote speech for Superstars. And I was on Joanna Penn's podcast. And here's what I'm doing. Sometimes it's a little scary because I read it and I go, holy crap, I did a lot of stuff this week. Jo: So I manage everything on Google Calendar. Do you have systems for managing all this? Because you also have external publishers, you have actual dates when things actually have to happen. Do you manage that yourself or does Rebecca, your wife and business partner, do that? How do you manage your calendar? Kevin: Well, Rebecca does most of the business stuff, like right now we have to do a bunch of taxes stuff because it's the new year and things. She does that and I do the social interaction and the creating and the writing and stuff. My assistant Marie Whittaker, she's a big project management person and she's got all these apps on how to do project managing and all these sorts of things. She tried to teach me how to use these apps, but it takes so much time and organisation to fill the damn things out. So it's all in my head. I just sort of know what I have to do. I just put it together and work on it and just sort of know this thing happens next and this thing happens next. I guess one of the ways is when I was in college, I put myself through the university by being a waiter and a bartender. As a waiter and a bartender, you have to juggle a million different things at once. This guy wants a beer and that lady wants a martini, and that person needs to pay, and this person's dinner is up on the hot shelf so you've got to deliver it before it gets cold. It's like I learned how to do millions of things and keep them all organised, and that's the way it worked. And I've kept that as a skill all the way through and it has done me good, I think. Jo: I think that there is a difference between people's brains, right? So I'm pretty chaotic in terms of my creative process. I'm not a plotter like you. I'm pretty chaotic, basically. But I come across— Kevin: I've met you. Yes. Jo: I know. But I'm also extremely organised and I plan everything. That's part of, I think, being an introvert and part of dealing with the anxiety of the world is having a plan or a schedule. So I think the first thing to say to people listening is they don't have to be like you, and they don't have to be like me. It's kind of a personal thing. I guess one thing that goes beyond both of us is, earlier you said you basically work at a hundred percent capacity. So let's say there's somebody listening and they're like, well, I'm at a hundred percent capacity too, and it might be kids, it might be a day job, as well as writing and all that. And then something happens, right? You mentioned the real world. I seem to remember that you broke your leg or something. Kevin: Yes. Jo: And the world comes crashing down through all your plans, whether they're written or in your head. So how do you deal with a buffer of something happening, or you're sick, or Rebecca's sick, or the cat needs to go to the vet? Real life—how do you deal with that? Kevin: Well, that really does cause problems. We had, in fact, just recently—so I'm always working at, well, let's be realistic, like 95% of Kevin capacity. Well, my wife, who does some of the stuff here around the house and she does the business things, she just went through 15 days of the worst crippling migraine string that she's had in 30 years. So she was curled up in a foetal position on the bed for 15 days and she couldn't do any of her normal things. I mean, even unloading the dishwasher and stuff like that. So if I'm at 95% capacity and suddenly I have to pick up an extra 50%, that causes real problems. So I drink lots of coffee, and I get less sleep, and you try to bring in some help. I mean, we have Rebecca's assistant and the assistant has a 20-year-old daughter who came in to help us do some of the dishes and laundry and housework stuff. You mentioned before, it was a year ago. I always go out hiking and mountain climbing and that's where I write. I dictate. I have a digital recorder that I go off of, and that's how I'm so productive. I go out, I walk in the forest and I come home with 5,000 words done in a couple of hours, and I always do that. That's how I write. Well, I was out on a mountain and I fell off the mountain and I broke my ankle and had to limp a mile back to my car. So that sort of put a damper on me hiking. I had a book that I had to write and I couldn't go walking while I was dictating it. It has been a very long time since I had to sit at a keyboard and create chapters that way. Jo: Mm-hmm. Kevin: And my brain doesn't really work like that. It works in an audio—I speak this stuff instead. So I ended up training myself because I had a big boot on my foot. I would sit on the back porch and I would look out at the mountains here in Colorado and I would put my foot up on another chair and I'd sit in the lawn chair and I'd kind of close my eyes and I would dictate my chapters that way. It was not as effective, but it was plan B. So that's how I got it done. I did want to mention something. When I'm telling the students this every week—this is what I did and here's the million different things—one of the students just yesterday made a comment that she summarised what I'm doing and it kind of crystallised things for me. She said that to get so much done requires, and I'm quoting now, “a balance of planning, sprinting, and being flexible, while also making incremental forward progress to keep everything moving together.” So there's short-term projects like fires and emergencies that have to be done. You've got to keep moving forward on the novel, which is a long-term project, but that short story is due in a week. So I've got to spend some time doing that one. Like I said, this Kickstarter's coming up, so I have to put in the order for the cover art, because the cover art needs to be done so I can put it on the pre-launch page for the Kickstarter. It is a balance of the long-term projects and the short-term projects. And I'm a workaholic, I guess, and you are too. Jo: Yes. Kevin: You totally are. Yes. Jo: I get that you're a workaholic, but as you said before, you enjoy it too. So you enjoy doing all these things. It's just sometimes life just gets in the way, as you said. One of the other things that I think is interesting—so sometimes physical stuff gets in the way, but in your many decades now of the successful author business, there's also the business side. You've had massive success with some of your books, and I'm sure that some of them have just kind of shrivelled into nothing. There have been good years and bad years. So how do we, as people who want a long-term career, think about making sure we have a buffer in the business for bad years and then making the most of good years? Kevin: Well, that's one thing—to realise that if you're having a great year, you might not always have a great year. That's kind of like the rockstar mentality—I've got a big hit now, so I'm always going to have a big hit. So I buy mansions and jets, and then of course the next album flops. So when you do have a good year, you plan for the long term. You set money aside. You build up plan B and you do other things. I have long been a big advocate for making sure that you have multiple income streams. You don't just write romantic epic fantasies and that's all you do. That might be what makes your money now, but the reading taste could change next year. They might want something entirely different. So while one thing is really riding high, make sure that you're planting a bunch of other stuff, because that might be the thing that goes really, really well the next year. I made my big stuff back in the early nineties—that was when I started writing for Star Wars and X-Files, and that's when I had my New York Times bestselling run. I had 11 New York Times bestsellers in one year, and I was selling like millions of copies. Now, to be honest, when you have a Star Wars bestseller, George Lucas keeps almost all of that. You don't keep that much of it. But little bits add up when you're selling millions of copies. So it opened a lot of doors for me. So I kept writing my own books and I built up my own fans who liked the Star Wars books and they read some of my other things. If you were a bestselling trad author, you could keep writing the same kind of book and they would keep throwing big advances at you. It was great. And then that whole world changed and they stopped paying those big advances, and paperback, mass market paperback books just kind of went away. A lot of people probably remember that there was a time for almost every movie that came out, every big movie that came out, you could go into the store and buy a paperback book of it—whether it was an Avengers movie or a Star Trek movie or whatever, there was a paperback book. I did a bunch of those and that was really good work. They would pay me like $15,000 to take the script and turn it into a book, and it was done in three weeks. They don't do that anymore. I remember I was on a panel at some point, like, what would you tell your younger self? What advice would you give your younger self? I remember when I was in the nineties, I was turning down all kinds of stuff because I had too many book projects and I was never going to quit writing. I was a bestselling author, so I had it made. Well, never, ever assume you have it made because the world changes under you. They might not like what you're doing or publishing goes in a completely different direction. So I always try to keep my radar up and look at new things coming up. I still write some novels for trad publishers. This dinosaur homestead one is for Blackstone and Weird Tales. They're a trad publisher. I still publish all kinds of stuff as an indie for WordFire Press. I'm reissuing a bunch of my trad books that I got the rights back and now they're getting brand new life as I run Kickstarters. One of my favourite series is “Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.” It's like the Addams Family meets The Naked Gun. It's very funny. It's a private detective who solves crimes with monsters and mummies and werewolves and things. I sold the first one to a trad publisher, and actually, they bought three. I said, okay, these are fast, they're fun, they're like 65,000 words. You laugh all the way through it, and you want the next one right away. So let's get these out like every six months, which is like lightning speed for trad publishing. They just didn't think that was a good idea. They brought them out a year and a half apart. It was impossible to build up momentum that way. They wanted to drop the series after the third book, and I just begged them—please give it one more chance. So they bought one more book for half as much money and they brought it out again a year and a half later. And also, it was a trad paperback at $15. And the ebook was—Joanna, can you guess what their ebook was priced at? Jo: $15. Kevin: $15. And they said, gee, your ebook sales are disappointing. I said, well, no, duh. I mean, I am jumping around—I'm going like, but you should have brought these out six months apart. You should have had the ebook, like the first one at $4. Jo: But you're still working with traditional publishers, Kevin? Kevin: I'm still working with them on some, and I'm a hybrid. There are some projects that I feel are better served as trad books, like the big Dune books and stuff. I want those all over the place and they can cash in on the movie momentum and stuff. But I got the rights back to the Dan Shamble stuff. The fans kept wanting me to do more, and so I published a couple of story collections and they did fine. But I was making way more money writing Dune books and things. Then they wanted a new novel. So I went, oh, okay. I did a new novel, which I just published at WordFire. But again, it did okay, but it wasn't great. I thought, well, I better just focus on writing these big ticket things. But I really liked writing Dan Shamble. Somebody suggested, well, if the fans want it so much, why don't you run a Kickstarter? I had never run a Kickstarter before, and I kind of had this wrong attitude. I thought Kickstarters were for, “I'm a starving author, please give me money.” And that's not it at all. It's like, hey, if you're a fan, why don't you join the VIP club and you get the books faster than anybody else? So I ran a Kickstarter for my first Dan Shamble book, and it made three times what the trad publisher was paying me. And I went, oh, I kind of like this model. So I have since done like four other Dan Shamble novels through Kickstarters, made way more money that way. And we just sold—we can't give any details yet—but we have just sold it. It will be a TV show. There's a European studio that is developing it as a TV show, and I'm writing the pilot and I will be the executive producer. Jo: Fantastic. Kevin: So I kept that zombie detective alive because I loved it so much. Jo: And it's going to be all over the place years later, I guess. Just in terms of—given I've been in this now, I guess 2008 really was when I got into indie—and over the time I've been doing this, I've seen people rise and then disappear. A lot of people have disappeared. There are reasons, burnout or maybe they were just done. Kevin: Yes. Jo: But in terms of the people that you've seen, the characteristics, I guess, of people who don't make it versus people who do make it for years. And we are not saying that everyone should be a writer for decades at all. Some people do just have maybe one or two books. What do you think are the characteristics of those people who do make it long-term? Kevin: Well, I think it's realistic expectations. Like, again, this was trad, but my first book I sold for $4,000, and I thought, well, that's just $4,000, but we're going to sell book club rights, and we're goingn to sell foreign rights, and it's going to be optioned for movies. And the $4,000 will be like, that's just the start. I was planning out all this extra money coming from it, and it didn't even earn its $4,000 advance back and nothing else happened with it. Well, it has since, because I've since reissued it myself, pushed it and I made more money that way. But it's a slow burn. You build your career. You start building your fan base and then your next one will sell maybe better than the first one did. Then you keep writing it, and then you make connections, and then you get more readers and you learn how to expand your stuff better. You've got to prepare for the long haul. I would suggest that if you publish your very first book on KU, don't quit your day job the next day. Not everybody can or should be a full-time writer. We here in America need to have something that pays our health insurance. That is one of the big reasons why I am running this graduate program at Western Colorado University—because as a university professor, I get wonderful healthcare. I'm teaching something that I love, and I'm frankly doing a very good job at it because our graduates—something like 60% of them are now working as writers or publishers or working in the publishing world. So that's another thing. I guess what I do when I'm working on it is I kind of always say yes to the stuff that's coming in. If an opportunity comes—hey, would you like a graphic novel on this?—and I go, yes, I'd love to do that. Could you write a short story for this anthology? Sure, I'd love to do that. I always say yes, and I get overloaded sometimes. But I learned my lesson. It was quite a few years ago where I was really busy. I had all kinds of book deadlines and I was turning down books that they were offering me. Again, this was trad—book contracts that had big advances on them. And anthology editors were asking me. I was really busy and everybody was nagging me—Kevin, you work too hard. And my wife Rebecca was saying, Kevin, you work too hard. So I thought, I had it made. I had all these bestsellers, everything was going on. So I thought, alright, I've got a lot of books under contract. I'll just take a sabbatical. I'll say no for a year. I'll just catch up. I'll finish all these things that I've got. I'll just take a breather and finish things. So for that year, anybody who asked me—hey, do you want to do this book project?—well, I'd love to, but I'm just saying no. And would you do this short story for an anthology? Well, I'd love to, but not right now. Thanks. And I just kind of put them off. So I had a year where I could catch up and catch my breath and finish the stuff. And after that, I went, okay, I am back in the game again. Let's start taking these book offers. And nothing. Just crickets. And I went, well, okay. Well, you were always asking before—where are all these book deals that you kept offering me? Oh, we gave them to somebody else. Jo: This is really difficult though, because on the one hand—well, first of all, it's difficult because I wanted to take a bit of a break. So I'm doing this full-time master's and you are also teaching people in a master's program, right. So I have had to say no to a lot of things in order to do this course. And I imagine the people on your course would have to do the same thing. There's a lot of rewards, but they're different rewards and it kind of represents almost a midlife pivot for many of us. So how do we balance that then—the stepping away with what might lead us into something new? I mean, obviously this is a big deal. I presume most of the people on your course, they're older like me. People have to give stuff up to do this kind of thing. So how do we manage saying yes and saying no? Kevin: Well, I hate to say this, but you just have to drink more coffee and work harder for that time. Yes, you can say no to some things. My thing was I kind of shut the door and I just said, I'm just going to take a break and I'm going to relax. I could have pushed my capacity and taken some things so that I wasn't completely off the game board. One of the things I talk about is to avoid burnout. If you want a long-term career, and if you're working at 120% of your capacity, then you're going to burn out. I actually want to mention something. Johnny B. Truant just has a new book out called The Artisan Author. I think you've had him on the show, have you? Jo: Yes, absolutely. Kevin: He says a whole bunch of the stuff in there that I've been saying for a long time. He's analysing these rapid release authors that are a book every three weeks. And they're writing every three weeks, every four weeks, and that's their business model. I'm just like, you can't do that for any length of time. I mean, I'm a prolific writer. I can't write that fast. That's a recipe for burnout, I think. I love everything that I'm doing, and even with this graduate program that I'm teaching, I love teaching it. I mean, I'm talking about subjects that I love, because I love publishing. I love writing. I love cover design. I love marketing. I love setting up your newsletters. I mean, this isn't like taking an engineering course for me. This is something that I really, really love doing. And quite honestly, it comes across with the students. They're all fired up too because they see how much I love doing it and they love doing it. One of the projects that they do—we get a grant from Draft2Digital every year for $5,000 so that we do an anthology, an original anthology that we pay professional rates for. So they put out their call for submissions. This year it was Into the Deep Dark Woods. And we commissioned a couple stories for it, but otherwise it was open to submissions. And because we're paying professional rates, they get a lot of submissions. I have 12 students in the program right now. They got 998 stories in that they had to read. Jo: Wow. Kevin: They were broken up into teams so they could go through it, but that's just overwhelming. They had to read, whatever that turns out to be, 50 stories a week that come in. Then they write the rejections, and then they argue over which ones they're going to accept, and then they send the contracts, and then they edit them. And they really love it. I guess that's the most important thing about a career—you've got to have an attitude that you love what you're doing. If you don't love this, please find a more stable career, because this is not something you would recommend for the faint of heart. Jo: Yes, indeed. I guess one of the other considerations, even if we love it, the industry can shift. Obviously you mentioned the nineties there—things were very different in the nineties in many, many ways. Especially, let's say, pre-internet times, and when trad pub was really the only way forward. But you mentioned the rapid release, the sort of book every month. Let's say we are now entering a time where AI is bringing positives and negatives in the same way that the internet brought positives and negatives. We're not going to talk about using it, but what is definitely happening is a change. Industry-wise—for example, people can do a book a day if they want to generate books. That is now possible. There are translations, you know. Our KDP dashboard in America, you have a button now to translate everything into Spanish if you want. You can do another button that makes it an audiobook. So we are definitely entering a time of challenge, but if you look back over your career, there have been many times of challenge. So is this time different? Or do you face the same challenges every time things shift? Kevin: It's always different. I've always had to take a breath and step back and then reinvent myself and come back as something else. One of the things with a long-term career is you can't have a long-term career being the hot new thing. You can start out that way—like, this is the brand new author and he gets a big boost as the best first novel or something like that—but that doesn't work for 20 years. I mean, you've got to do something else. If you're the sexy young actress, well, you don't have a 50-year career as the sexy young actress. One of the ones I'm loving right now is Linda Hamilton, who was the sexy young actress in Terminator, and then a little more mature in the TV show Beauty and the Beast, where she was this huge star. Then she's just come back now. I think she's in her mid-fifties. She's in Stranger Things and she was in Resident Alien and she's now this tough military lady who's getting parts all over the place. She's reinvented herself. So I like to say that for my career, I've crashed and burned and resurrected myself. You might as well call me the Doctor because I've just come back in so many different ways. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but— If you want to stay around, no matter how old of a dog you are, you've got to learn new tricks. And you've got to keep learning, and you've got to keep trying new things. I started doing indie publishing probably around the time you did—2009, something like that. I was in one of these great positions where I was a trad author and I had a dozen books that I wrote that were all out of print. I got the rights back to them because back then they let books go out of print and they gave the rights back without a fight. So I suddenly found myself with like 12 titles that I could just put up. I went, oh, okay, let's try this. I was kind of blown away that that first novel that they paid me $4,000 for that never even earned it back—well, I just put it up on Kindle and within one year I made more than $4,000. I went, I like this, I've got to figure this out. That's how I launched WordFire Press. Then I learned how to do everything. I mean, back in those days, you could do a pretty clunky job and people would still buy it. Then I learned how to do it better. Jo: That time is gone. Kevin: Yes. I learned how to do it better, and then I learned how to market it. Then I learned how to do print on demand books. Then I learned how to do box sets and different kinds of marketing. I dove headfirst into my newsletter to build my fan base because I had all the Star Wars stuff and X-Files stuff and later it was the Dune stuff. I had this huge fan base, but I wanted that fan base to read the Kevin Anderson books, the Dan Shamble books and everything. The only way to get that is if you give them a personal touch to say, hey buddy, if you liked that one, try this one. And the way to do that is you have to have access to them. So I started doing social media stuff before most people were doing social media stuff. I killed it on MySpace. I can tell you that. I had a newsletter that we literally printed on paper and we stuck mailing labels on. It went out to 1,200 people that we put in the mailbox. Jo: Now you're doing that again with Kickstarter, I guess. But I guess for people listening, what are you learning now? How are you reinventing yourself now in this new phase we are entering? Kevin: Well, I guess the new thing that I'm doing now is expanding my Kickstarters into more. So last year, the biggest Kickstarter that I've ever had, I ran last year. It was this epic fantasy trilogy that I had trad published and I got the rights back. They had only published it in trade paperback. So, yes, I reissued the books in nice new hardcovers, but I also upped the game to do these fancy bespoke editions with leather embossed covers and end papers and tipped in ribbons and slip cases and all kinds of stuff and building that. I did three rock albums as companions to it, and just building that kind of fan base that will support that. Then I started a Patreon last year, which isn't as big as yours. I wish my Patreon would get bigger, but I'm pushing it and I'm still working on that. So it's trying new things. Because if I had really devoted myself and continued to keep my MySpace page up to date, I would be wasting my time. You have to figure out new things. Part of me is disappointed because I really liked in the nineties where they just kept throwing book contracts at me with big advances. And I wrote the book and sent it in and they did all the work. But that went away and I didn't want to go away. So I had to learn how to do it different. After a good extended career, one of the things you do is you pay it forward. I mentor a lot of writers and that evolved into me creating this master's program in publishing. I can gush about it because to my knowledge, it is the only master's degree that really focuses on indie publishing and new model publishing instead of just teaching you how to get a job as an assistant editor in Manhattan for one of the Big Five publishers. Jo: It's certainly a lot more practical than my master's in death. Kevin: Well, that's an acquired taste, I think. When they hired me to do this—and as I said earlier, I'm not an academic—and I said if I'm going to teach this, it's a one year program. They get done with it in one year. It's all online except for one week in person in the summer. They're going to learn how to do things. They're not going to get esoteric, analysing this poem for something. When they graduate from this program, they walk out with this anthology that they edited, that their name is on. The other project that they do is they reissue a really fancy, fine edition of some classic work, whether it's H.G. Wells or Jules Verne or something. They choose a book that they want to bring back and they do it all from start to finish. They come out of it—rather than just theoretical learning—they know how to do things. Surprise, I've been around in the business a long time, so I know everybody who works in the business. So the heads of publishing houses and the head of Draft2Digital or Audible—and we've got Blackstone Audio coming on in a couple weeks. We've got the head of Kickstarter coming on as guest speakers. I have all kinds of guest speakers. Joanna, I think you're coming on— Jo: I'm coming on as well, I think. Kevin: You're coming on as a guest speaker. It's just like they really get plugged in. I'm in my seventh cohort now and I just love doing it. The students love it and we've got a pretty high success rate. So there's your plug. We are open for applications now. It starts in July. And my own website is WordFire.com, and there's a section on there on the graduate program if anybody wants to take a look at it. Again, not everybody needs to have a master's degree to be an indie publisher, but there is something to be said for having all of this stuff put into an organised fashion so that you learn how to do all the things. It also gives you a resource and a support system so that they come out of it knowing a whole lot of people. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Kevin. That was great. Kevin: Thanks. It's a great show. The post Managing Multiple Projects And The Art of the Long-Term Author Career with Kevin J. Anderson first appeared on The Creative Penn.