2 Degrees Of Alie

You can find my podcast with assistant director Scottie Gissel here. In this episode, I am lucky enough to sit down with assistant director Scottie Gissel.  Scottie started off in the DGA Assistant Director Training Program and from there moved through the ranks to become a 1st AD. She has worked in both television and film and her credits include such productions as "Glee," "Six Feet Under," "Get Shorty," "True Blood," "Jericho," "The Practice" and "Undead Or Alive," just to name a few. Scottie's impressive credits only show what an impressive force she is to have on set. She's the kind of AD you want behind the scenes, and she shares with us what it's like to do the work she does. We talk about everything from the DGA trainee program to working with Bette Midler to the audition process to play a corpse on "Six Feet Under."   For anyone who isn't sure what an assistant director is, here's a quote from Scottie that was first posted in her "Message From The Chair" on TrainingPlan.org. "Assistant Directors wor

In this episode, I have the immense honor of chatting with screenwriter Doug Richardson. Doug's screenwriting credits include "Die Hard 2," "Hostage," "Welcome To Mooseport" and "Bad Boys." Doug was the first screenwriter in Hollywood to sell a spec script for a million dollars and to date, Doug's produced features have made over 800 million dollars worldwide. Not many screenwriters can say that. But besides huge box office success, Doug also has found success writing novels (Dark Horse, True Believers, The Safety Expert). And if that wasn't enough, he also has an amazing blog with some great stories about screenwriting and working in the trenches of Hollywood. In the podcast, we cover some interesting topics, from how he got an agent to writing for Bruce Willis to making the leap from screenwriting to novels.  DOUG RICHARDSON'S BIO Doug Richardson was born in Arcadia, California. The son of a career politician, Doug grew up outside Sacramento and inside the state Capitol. He used to talk his way into then-

In this episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with comedian and Emmy Winning writer Adam Yenser. Adam is a writer on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and you can also see him performing standup all over the country. You may have seen him on TV either on "Last Comic Standing" or in sketches on "Conan" or on "Ellen." Adam shares his stories of starting out in standup and talks about everything from the audition process for "Last Comic Standing" to appearing on TV as Anthony Weiner's bulge to writing for Ellen Degeneres.  ADAM YENSER'S BIO Adam Yenser began performing stand-up comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City where he also studied sketch writing. He has performed at numerous venues around the country including Gotham Comedy Club, The Hollywood Improv, and The Laugh Factory. He has worked for "Late Night with Conan O’Brien," "The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien," and "Conan." He has also been a freelance contributor to Weekend Update and currently writes for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

In this episode, I talk to one of my favorite ladies, Ryan Case. Ryan is an incredibly talented and funny editor (and an Emmy winner) who helps shape one of the most successful shows on television, "Modern Family," every week. Some of her other editing credits include "The B--- In Apartment 23," "1600 Penn," "Kath and Kim," "Acting With James Franco" and my short film "My Mom's Just Not That Into Me." We talk about everything from being an extra on "Dawson's Creek" to what happens behind the scenes on "Real World" to where she was when she first read the script for "Modern Family." RYAN CASE'S BIO RYAN CASE is a television editor who is currently on her 4th season ofthe hit ABC comedy MODERN FAMILY. Ryan earned an Emmy for her workcutting the pilot of that series, as well as 2 other nominations.Ryan's other editing credits include the pilots of ABC comedy DON'TTRUST THE B---- IN APARTMENT 23 and upcoming NBC White House comedy1600 PENN. She also cut shorts for KIDS IN THE HALL on their last tour and worked on

In this episode, I chat with TV writer/producer Michael Jamin, a very funny man whose credits include: "Just Shoot Me," "King Of The Hill," "Brickleberry," "Wilfred," and "Maron." Michael shares a lot of great stories from "the trenches" of some of TV's best writers' rooms. We also talk about everything from how King Lear relates to "Just Shoot Me" to working for the Dionne Warwick Psychic Friends Network to how cats make terrible co-stars to directing Mel Brooks.  MICHAEL JAMIN'S BIO Michael Jamin's first writing assignment was a freelance episode of "Lois & Clark:  The New Adventures of Superman."   The series was responsible for launching the career of Teri Hatcher, as well as ending the career of Dean Cain.  After stints on "Just Shoot Me" and "King of the Hill," he and his partner, Sivert Glarum, sold two sold numerous pilots to HBO and CBS, as well as a pair of movies to 20th Century Fox.  Recently, they served as showrunners on  "Glenn Martin, DDS," a stop-motion animation series starring Kevin Ne

In this episode, hilarity ensues when I chat with director/writer/producer Robert Cohen. Rob is one of the funniest guys you will ever meet, and has some amazing credits to his name ("The Simpsons," "The Ben Stiller Show," "Tropic Thunder," "The Big Bang Theory," to name a few). Rob has worked with some of the biggest names in comedy (Mike Myers, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, etc.), but more importantly, one of the biggest names in comedy is modeled after him... the character, Milhouse, on "The Simpsons." Rob talks about how he inspired Milhouse and the early days of "The Simpsons." We also cover other topics like having one's own carbonite statue to writing crank calls for Moe's bar to making the transition from writer to director. A BRIEF BIO FOR   ROBERT COHEN   The pride of the Canadian Rockies, Rob is an established television and feature writer/producer, and director, who has been successfully working in every format over the last 21 years, including sitcoms, sketch, variety, improvisation, animation and

In this episode, I have the immense pleasure of chatting with writer/producer/performer/comedian Jessie Gaskell. Some of you may recognize her as Steph Schwartzman from the hit Hulu web series "Dorm Life." Jessie is a super talented, funny lady with many awesome credits to her name ("Dorm Life," "The Soup," "The Dish," "Pop Up Video"). She's also one of the few people working in comedy who has also worked at a ThinkTank in DC. We talk about many topics from working at "E! True Hollywood Story" to finding a strong zebra for a sketch to creating a hit web series.  JESSIE GASKELL'S BIO Jessie is a comedy writer and performer living in L.A. She's written for E!'s "THE SOUP," Style's "THE DISH," and various shows for VH1 and Disney. She also worked as a joke writer for RuPaul. Jessie created and wrote "DORM LIFE," the most-watched original web series on Hulu.com. You can hear her weekly on the the "What's Goin' On" podcast. She loves puppies of all kinds, because she's not a f-ing racist. You can find more info on

In this episode, I have the immense pleasure and honor of talking about comedy with "Conan" writer/actors Brian McCann and Brian Stack. Both guys are two of the most hilarious men you will ever meet. Stack and McCann both started in the improv world in Chicago and from there got hired to write on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." They've created and portrayed some of the most memorable characters on late night TV. We cover many topics from performing at Improv Olympic in Chicago to talking to Walter Cronkite while dressed as Frankenstein to having one's bare ass on national television.    BRIAN MCCANN'S BIO Brian McCann is a brilliant writer/performer who has had an extremely successful career in television and film. Brian Stack is jealous of this.   BRIAN STACK'S BIO Brian Stack has been with Conan since ’97, and has played such characters as The Interrupter, The Ghost Crooner, and Frankenstein.  He performed at Chicago’s Second City for 4 years, and still performs regularly at UCB and IO-West.  He has also a

In this episode, I interview two guys I would describe as "fucking hilarious," Steve Agee and Scott Chernoff. They are both writer/actor/comedians with many amazing credits to each of their names ("Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Sarah Silverman Program," "Tom Goes To The Mayor," "Two Broke Girls," to name a few). Steve and Scott are old friends who first met taking classes at the legendary improv company, Groundlings. They talk about what it was like to be in Groundlings, and what it was like to get "kicked out" of Groundlings and how that ultimately led them to their careers. We also talk about other topics from Steve Martin to "Three's Company" to getting paid to watch TV. STEVE AGEE'S BIO STEVE AGEE is an actor, writer and comedian whose comedy career began with stand-up and taking classes at The Groundlings. Steve's writing credits include JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, THE ANDY MILONAKIS SHOW and various Channel 101 productions. Steve's acting credits includes dozens of appearances on film and TV from co-starring on THE

In this episode, I get to chat with one of my favorite friends and a super talented and funny actress, Mircea Monroe. Mircea currently can be seen on the small screen on EPISODES on Showtime with Matt LeBlanc and on the big screen in MAGIC MIKE. Mircea shares her story of breaking into acting and talks about everything from being eaten by a Pterodactyl to pantsless Skype meetings to working with legendary comedy writer Bill Lawrence.   MIRCEA MONROE'S BIO You would never guess, but this whitey was raised in the Solomon Islands and Fiji (she’s exotic you guys). Monroe has quickly become one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars and has done it without sleeping around! Mircea first showcased her acting skills in the theatre, but quickly moved on to the big and small screens where she has proven to be as versatile as she is beautiful (blah blah), having earned starring roles in comedies, dramas, action, and genre pictures.  She prefers comedy, but loves a good cry as well.  Monroe is just as recognizable on

In this episode, I have the immense honor of interviewing Dave Porter, the composer for the best show on television, Breaking Bad.  We talk about everything from his musical influences as a kid (Miami Vice) to couch surfing in New York and working for Phillip Glass.  Dave’s an amazingly talented guy and I hope you enjoy this podcast!   DAVE PORTER’S BIO Dave Porter began his musical training at the piano at age five, and began composing as a teen. He studied classical and electronic music composition at Sarah Lawrence College, and started his professional career at Philip Glass’ studio in New York City. Dave is the series composer for the Emmy-acclaimed drama “Breaking Bad” on AMC, and was awarded an ASCAP Film and TV award for “Breaking Bad” and the FOX Studios paramedic drama “Saved” which aired on TNT. He also served as music editor on the final season of the HBO drama “Six Feet Under.” He was the composer for the documentary “Bigger, Stronger, Faster”, which premiered at Sundance and is currently airing o