Ep. 28 - Sam Lipsyte on No One Left to Come Looking for You, 90's NYC and a Corrupt Mayor

As an acclaimed novelist, essayist and author of short stories, writer Sam Lipsyte knows what it’s like to push the boundaries of form in the context of bold, irreverent and iconoclastic situations. In each of his literary masterpieces, he provides a glimpse into the humanity which surrounds the complex experiences which inform the foundation of their characters. He authored his debut publication, Venus Drive, in 2000, which consisted of a hilarious collection of short stories which demonstrate this thematic undertone in action. The Subject Steve followed in 2001; a poetic, existential, humorous satire examining topics which include life, disease and the meaning of it all. The novel provides a meditation on the irony of mortality through the lens of an eponymous protagonist after he receives a terminal diagnosis. “Home land,” which captures the taste of revisiting one’s cherished high school experience and all its grateful memories, arrived in 2004. The Ask followed in 2010, and navigated one man’s attempt to regain his old job back through participating in an ask which would change his life indefinitely. Throughout the years, up to and including the publication of his recent book, Hark (2019), Sam’s writing has been featured in dozens of publications including GQ, The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Washington Post and Playboy. He was an editor at FEED, and in talks with HBO to create a show around his work, “People City.” For nearly 20 years, he has taught fiction at Columbia University. His most recent book, No One Left to Come Looking for You, will be published on December 6, 2022 and can be pre-ordered on Amazon. In our conversation, we discussed the origins of his literary interests and talents; his father, the renowned Robert Lipsyte; and the musical underpinnings which formed the backdrop for his latest work.

Opening Credits: The Wrong Sister - Looking at the sun I Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0); HoliznaCC0 - 2 (jazz); Closing Credits I CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication: El Jugador - A Couple Of Crumbs I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Ep. 27 - Hilary Brougher on South Mountain, Stephanie Daley and The Sticky Fingers of Time

Hilary Brougher writes and directs films which blend the mechanics of original storytelling with gritty development of character. Through incisive dialogue; emotional harbingers of hope followed by inevitable glimpses of realism, Hilary’s projects each carry with them a distinct piece of the era in which they were constructed. Growing up in Catskill, NY, she would frequent the cinema every week to catch a taste of the latest auteur to be featured, such as Fellini. Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, Gillian Armstrong and Jane Campion were among the filmmakers she admired into the 80’s. She made her film debut as writer and director of The Sticky Fingers of Time (Terumi Matthews; Nicole Zaray; James Urbaniak), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 1997. Shot on Super 16 in Williamsburg, the film captured the scent of the 1950’s noir genre in unparalleled unique fashion and flair through the vein of time-travel, feeling stuck and reminiscing about the future. Her next feature film, Stephanie Daley, was developed at the Sundance Lab and starred Academy Award Winner Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn in lead roles; the film portrayed themes of trauma, pregnancy and the search for truth fueled by heavy emotions and performances which followed suit. Timothy Hutton, Denis O’Hare, Melissa Leo and Jim Gaffigan support the storyline in masterful and different ways. Hilary won the Waldo Scott Screenplay Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and Best Director at the Milan International Film Festival; Stephanie Daley was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, while Tamblyn was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her gripping performance as the title character. Hilary then adapted Jane Mendelsohn’s novel Innocence into a feature film of the same name, which starred Kelly Reilly, Sophie Lane Curtis, Sarita Choudhury and delved into the teen horror, vampire fiction genre. Her latest film, South Mountain, is a poetic expanse on life, liberty and morality through lens of masterful performances by Talia Balsam, Scott Cohen and Andrus Nichols. She worked with “Sticky Fingers” collaborator, cinematographer and husband, Ethan Mass, on the project, and displayed the craft she has continued to execute with charm throughout her illustrious career. She is Professor of Professional Practice in Film at Columbia University. In our conversation, we discussed shooting on film; practical considerations in distribution; and directing some of the best actors of all time.

Opening Credits: Delay 77 - Nothing at All I Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0); Closing Credits: HoliznaCC0 - The Dull Blade Of Repetition I CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Ep. 26 - Madeline Taylor on John Adams, The Girl Next Door and Changeover

Madeline Taylor knew she wanted to become an actress from an early age, and she transferred drive toward action in a swift series of steps at the age of 8. As a 10 year old, she made her feature film debut in The Girl Next Door (Blanche Baker; Mark Margolis; Blythe Auffarth) as the sister of a teenager severely abused by their caretaker aunt and a neighborhood gang of boys. Madeline played a character who has polio; has to wear a leg-brace; and is subject to witnessing the gravity of the trauma which takes place. The film, which was based on a true story, was a 50’s period piece, and demonstrated Madeline’s ability and interest to take on darker, more adult roles which warranted serious discipline and commitment. Since then, she has acted in several significant works of film and television, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Rectify (SundanceTV); Banshee (Cinemax); Army Wives (Lifetime); and The Inspectors (CBS). In addition, she worked on the acclaimed HBO mini-series John Adams (Paul Giamatti; Laura Linney; David Morse) which won 13 Emmy Awards during its run; she played “Young Nabby Adams,” daughter of John and Abigail Adams and was directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper. Her collaborative acting work with veteran actor Estes Tarver culminated with Changeover, a film ahead of its time which examined the affect of trauma on mental health in a high school student who attempts to deal with significant loss and grief. And she explored comedy and improvisation in her leading role in Raliegh, I Kinda Like You (Reid Hutch; Bill Frost; Tor Ramsey), which brought her to her home state of North Carolina. We discussed the value of independence during adolescence; trauma in characters; stage combat; the ensemble element of performing; Little Miss Sunshine; and growing as an actor, performer and personally.

Opening Credits: HoliznaCC0 - Western ShowDown I CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication; Closing Credits: Miseryslims - Cub's World I Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Ep. 25 - Andrew Hafitz on Bully, Naz & Maalik and Todd Solondz

Andrew Hafitz is a veteran editor who has worked on some of the most unique films of all time. After graduating from Yale, and parleying a foray into copywriting, the New Jersey native gained experience in apprentice and assistant editor roles on several films, including Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility. He edited multiple feature films prior to working on Whit Stillman’s 1998 film Last Days of Disco (Chloe Sevigny; Kate Beckinsale; Matt Ross; Robert Sean Leonard), with whom he later collaborated with on Damsels in Distress in 2011 (Adam Brody; Greta Gerwig). Another major collaborator of note is the interesting Larry Clark; Andrew edited the seminal Bully in 2001 (Bijou Phillips; Leo Fitzpatrick; Nick Stahl; Michael Pitt), and Ken Park (2004). Other acclaimed films Andy has edited include Keane (Damian Lewis; Amy Ryan; Abigail Breslin); Here (Peter Coyote; Ben Foster); Very Good Girls (Naomi Foner; Dakota Fanning; Elizabeth Olsen); Angelica (Jena Malone); Naz & Maalik (Jay Dockendorf); Equity (Anna Gunn); the Tony Gilroy/Brad Anderson, Beirut (Jon Hamm; Rosamund Pike); Charlie Says (Mary Harron); and The Evening Hour (Lili Taylor). He is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. In our conversation, we discussed his collaborations with Whit Stillman and Larry Clark; editing film and the era of digital filmmaking; his relationship with Todd Solondz; and the experiences governing his evolving perception of filmmaking and being a prolific editor.

Opening Credits: HoliznaCC0 - Grunge I CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication; Closing Credits: PSRV - Túneis I Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ep. 24 - Stephen Molton on The Drowning, Brave Talk and Elvis Meets Nixon

Acclaimed screenwriter and novelist Stephen Molton has amassed a lauded portfolio of impactful credits in several media. After breaking into television through writing screenplays for the Paul Newman-produced PBS's Children's Television Workshop, Stephen wrote his first novel, Brave Talk, which was published by Harper & Row in 1987 and provided a riveting, multi-angled introspective portrait of life in the Navy. He served as a creative executive for HBO, Showtime and MTV in the years which followed, while writing his second novel, and co-directed and produced L.A. Homefront: The Fires Within, a Showtime documentary about the Los Angeles Riots, in 1994. Other features he authored for Showtime include SmarTalk and The Accident; the adaptive mini-series, Live By the Sword (Gus Russo) and Weaveworld (Clive Barker). With the former, Stephen co-authored Brothers in Arms: The Kennedys, the Castros and the Politics of Murder, endorsed for Pulitzer Prize consideration by the book’s publisher and winner of the New York Book Festival’s prize for history in 2009. Films Stephen has written include Deep Blue (Stealth) for New Line Cinema (based on Brave Talk); The Road to East Jesus; and The Drowning for Netflix in 2017 (Josh Charles; Julia Stiles; Leo Fitzpatrick), a Bette Gordon directed adaptation of the book Border Crossing, which he also executive produced. Stephen is an adjunct assistant professor of screen-writing at Columbia University and an instructor at the Jacob Krueger Studio in New York; he attended University of Chicago, MIT and Oberlin College. In our conversation, we discussed his unique upbringing as the son of a progressive Baptist minister; the Navy infrastructure which laid the backdrop for his first novel; Generation 9/11, his documentary, and Elvis Meets Nixon, which he was involved with as an executive for Showtime and inspired Elvis & Nixon (Kevin Spacey; Michael Shannon; Evan Peters); rock and roll and folk music; and the differentiability between the east coast and the midwest.

Opening Credits: 1st Contact - On the other Side I Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0); Closing Credits: 1st Contact - Beware of the Cow I Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Ep. 23 - David Soldier on The Kropotkins, John Cale and Kurt Vonnegut

David Soldier has achieved a rare distinction — not only is he an accomplished Columbia University neuroscientist with over 200 papers and publications, several research grants and numerous prestigious awards to his credit, he is an equally successful and prolific musician in almost every genre of music. His musical undertakings include his work with the Soldier String Quartet (since 1984), a punk chamber group which has recorded with Guided by Voices, Rick Ocasek (Frontman for The Cars), Elliott Sharp, Leroy Jenkins and frequent collaborator John Cale (Velvet Underground); The Kropotkins, comprising Lori Velvette, Velvet Underground Drummer Moe Tucker, Charles Burnham (James Blood Ulmer’s Odyssey Band) and Jonathan Kane, the latter with whom David formed the versatile duo, Soldier Kane. Other prolific legends with whom David has collaborated include Bo Diddley, Pete Seeger, Richard Hell and Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo. He wrote two chamber operas with Kurt Vonnegut (The Soldier’s Story and Ice-9 Ballads), with Vonnegut playing multiple characters in the works. Films David has arranged or scored include I Shot Andy Warhol (Jared Harris); Andy Warhol’s Eat and Kiss; and Basquiat, directed by Julian Schnabel and starring Jeffrey Wright and Benicio del Toro. From an experimental side, he has collaborated with conceptual Russian artists Komar & Melamid; and formed the Thai Elephant Orchestra, a musical ensemble consisting of 14 elephants, which he assembled, coordinated and composed. In our conversation, we discuss David’s unique discovery of music in Southern Illinois; working with the giants of music; creating music which transcends genre; the origins of rock and roll; and the power of simplicity in hip hop.

Opening Credits: Independent Music Licensing Collective (IMLC) - New Lands I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0); Closing Credits: Jack Adkins - Little Stinky I Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Ep. 22 - Kevin Isola on Billions, The New Bozena and Shakespearean Clowning

Kevin Isola is a self-described journeyman actor, who has experienced great longevity in several media, including theatre, television and film. The Pasadena native attended Duke University, and consequently studied acting at NYU-Tisch, where he discovered the value of being freed-up creatively through faculty who mentored and pushed his creative strengths. We discuss a major moment in his career, which came when he played Rev in the hit 1997 play, The New Bozena, alongside friends and Tisch classmates David Costabile (Lincoln; Billions; Breaking Bad; Low Winter Sun), Michael Dahlen (Blue Man Group; Men in Black II); and Rainn Wilson (The Office; Super; Juno), the latter serving as director. The experience was a trial by fire of navigating an original, creative property which flourished in New York to its sale to Twentieth Century Fox, and being immersed into the Hollywood system. In theatre, Kevin has appeared in WASP and Other Plays (Written by Steve Martin); Twelfth Night; Brooklyn Boy (on Broadway); Accidental Death of an Anarchist; Venus; and Everett Beekin (by Obie Award winner Evan Yionoulis). He was recently in Our Lady of 121st Street (Off-Broadway) and Life Sucks, a reimagined adaptation of the Anton Chekhov classic Uncle Vanya, in which he played Vanya. He has appeared in films such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey); Blumenthal (Brian Cox); and Academy Boyz (Ed Asner). His numerous television credits include Billions; Damages; Fringe; Boston Legal; Elementary; Bull; and Law & Order. He has returned to his alma mater, Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where he previously earned an MFA, as Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Acting Department to teach courses on Shakespeare’s Clowns and Advanced Clowning Techniques. In our talk, we discuss his unique journey into several of these creative experiences, including developing recurring character arcs on television; finding himself on the stage through genuine mentors; the evolution of clowning; the irreverant comedy of the web-series Mommy Blogger (Tricia Paoluccio); and working with Glenn Close, Damian Lewis and C.J. Wilson.

Opening Credits: UP Paolo Pavan Pasqualino Ubaldini - 06 five special blues I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); Closing Credits: Another Brick - 1. Refraction I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Ep. 21 - Jeremy Robbins on The Purge, Aftermath and Barry Sonnenfeld

Writer and director Jeremy Robbins was Story Editor for two seasons of the Blumhouse horror anthology series — The Purge — based on the successful film franchise (grossing $500M+ worldwide) of the same name; he worked closely with James DeMonaco, creator of the franchise, in allowing viewers to explore a time in which all crime is declared legal for a 12 hour period. The show aired on USA Network and Hulu, and has featured actors including Gabriel Chavarria, Lee Allen Tergesen, Derek Luke and William Baldwin through its run. Prior to The Purge, Jeremy wrote and directed the acclaimed short films Newsworthy and Aftermath, both featuring his younger brother Noah Robbins (The Trial of the Chicago 7; Indignation; Miss Sloane; Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and the latter featuring Will Rogers (Bridge of Spies; A Rainy Day in New York), both in standout performances. He also wrote APEX, the pulse-pounding wilderness thriller about “man, woman and nature” which was featured on The Blacklist in 2021. A BA graduate from Yale, Jeremy returned to Columbia, where he earned his MFA in Film, as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Film. We discuss his family’s encouragement for the arts; the seeds which lay the foundation for his desire to attend film school; writing for a major television show; working with Barry Sonnenfeld and Adam McKay; and retaining authenticity as an artist, writer and director.

Opening Credits: 1st Contact - Seeds of Life I Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0); Closing Credits: HoliznaCC0 - Manic WarLord Mother I CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Ep. 20 - David Klass on Out of Time, Kiss the Girls and Walking Tall

Prolific writer David Klass has explored his unique, exquisite talent for storytelling throughout his career in a plethora of literary media. Since his debut publication, The Atami Dragons, David’s 20 novels have navigated the nuances of themes which include complicated father-son relationships; differences between eco-terrorism and environmentalism; and team dynamics. David’s own significant athletic background nearly always seems to make its way into his novels, which enhances the medium through which his characters communicate with each other. His bibliography includes You don’t know me, named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; Firestorm, the first book to be endorsed by Greenpeace which was optioned by Warner Bros; Danger Zone; and the transcendent environmental thriller Out of Time. He has written over 40 Hollywood films which include Kiss the Girls (Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Tony Goldwyn); Desperate Measures (Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Marcia Gay Harden); In the Time of the Butterflies (Salma Hayek, Edward James Almos, Demian Najera); Walking Tall (Dwayne Johnson; Johnny Knoxville); Runaway Virus; Emperor (Tommy Lee Jones); and Shelter in the Storm, which he also directed. He has written and produced Law & Order: Criminal Intent; and developed several works for television, including Austen’s Razor for CBS and ABC. He is currently the Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Theatre and Film and Co-Head of the Television Writing Concentration at Columbia University. In our conversation, we discussed the difference between writing for film and in the novelistic form; his family pedigree, which includes several accomplished writers; and his incredible journey from Yale to Hollywood.

Opening Credits: M33 Project - Obstination I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0); Closing Credits: Hernán Samá & Marcelo von Schultz - cósmos I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Ep. 19 - Teresa Harris on German architecture, Marcel Breuer and Frank Lloyd Wright

As Head of Classics, Drawings & Archives at Avery Library of Columbia University, Teri Harris holds an important responsibility as it relates to upholding the legacy of legendary architects and artists. While she was earning her B.A. in Art History at Williams College, Teri took a class which changed her life, and established a bent toward architecture. It led her to move to New York City from the rural landscape she had been living in to work at an architectural nonprofit, where she became exposed the in’s and out’s of architectural ingenuity. She then began an MA in Art History at Columbia University in September 2001, a time she recalled during our conversation. After earning her master’s degree, Teri fled the city for greener pasturers in Syracuse, NY where she worked as a project coordinator for the “Marcel Breuer Digital Archive” at the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Libraries. However, she eventually came back to Columbia to earn her PhD; joined Avery Library as Curator of the Classics Collection; which led to her current role. We discussed the formative experiences which compelled her towards art and architecture; the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright; her doctoral thesis, The German Garden City Movement: Architecture, Politics and Urban Transformation, 1902-1931; the several exhibits she’s been involved with at Columbia; and life in New York City.

Opening Credits: Dee Yan-Key - sisyphus I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0); Closing Credits: Dee Yan-Key - gone I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)