Bleav presents On The List with Brett Gursky

It's March 2026- and this is an Encore Presentation of our episode with Michael B. Jordan, who just won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in "Sinners". Michael was a guest on my podcast back in February 2013. We had just gotten back from the Sundance Film Festival, where Michael's movie "Fruitvale Station" had premiered. It was also the feature directorial debut of a new filmmaker named Ryan Coogler. The movie won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, which only a few films have done. I knew I had just witnessed something magical happen and that Michael's life would never be the same. I wanted to capture the  magic of that moment, so we recorded this interview while we were still on that Sundance high. We did a deep dive into Michael's life & career. We talked about how a kid from Newark, New Jersey made it in Hollywood, including TV shows like "The Wire", "Friday Night Lights", & "Parenthood" and movies like "Chronicle" and, of course "Fruitvale Station". I knew he would win an Oscar someday, and we talked about that too. I hope you enjoy this encore presentation of "On The List" with Michael B. Jordan.

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It’s the seventy-sixth episode of On The List with Brett Gursky... and it's our Oscar episode! This week's guest is Brett's friend Doug Kolk, entertainment reporter for KTLA & host of "Live from the Oscars". Brett and Doug make their Oscar predictions in all 24 categories. They also talk about Oscar stats & facts & figures leading up to the big day. They discuss growing up in New Jersey, how Doug decided to go into journalism & ended up in Los Angeles, their shared love of the Dave Matthews Band, and Brett's friendship with Michael B. Jordan. Check it out- and feel free to use their predictions in your Oscar pool!

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It’s the seventy-fifth episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guest Grant Harvey talks all about his new movie “The Accountant 2”, in which he stars opposite Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal. Grant shares behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the movie- Everything from how he got the role of “Cobb” to what it was like working with Affleck, Bernthal, and director Gavin O’Connor. Grant shares his story about originally moving to Los Angeles, a city where he knew nobody, to pursue a career in acting. He discusses his first big break, playing “Grant” on the hit television series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”. He also talks about his other roles on shows like “Animal Kingdom” and in movies like “Emancipation” with Will Smith. He offers insight into future projects, like the film “Hotel Tehran” with Liam Neeson and Zach Levi, and the upcoming Amazon series “Countdown” with Eric Dane. Last but not least, Grant offers advice to aspiring actors. Be sure to check out “The Accountant 2”, in theaters nationwide on April 25th!

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It’s the seventy-fourth episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guests Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao talk all about their hilarious new movie “Joy Ride”. They share behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the movie- Everything from writing the script, to casting the roles with actors like Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, & Sabrina Wu, to shooting the film in Vancouver. Cherry & Teresa also discuss their extensive careers writing for television, including the shows they’ve written on together- like “Family Guy” & “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” (which Teresa also created)- and separately- like “American Dad”, “The Orville”, and “Fresh Off The Boat”. They talk about their upbringings in Michigan & Boston, their college experiences at Yale & Harvard, and why they ultimately gave up potential careers as lawyers and bankers to become comedy writers instead. They also offer insight into the current Writers Strike and, last but not least, they share their advice for aspiring writers everywhere. Be sure to check out “Joy Ride”, in theaters nationwide on July 7th!

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It’s the seventy-third episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guest Taylor John Smith talks all about his career as an actor. Taylor shares behind-the-scenes stories from his new movie “Where the Crawdads Sing”. He talks about chemistry reads over Zoom with Daisy Edgar Jones, filming in New Orleans, Reese Witherspoon producing, and Taylor Swift’s original song for the movie. Then Taylor takes Brett back to the beginning, from growing up in Virginia to making the move to California. He discusses everything from his first acting job on the TNT show “Perception” to his appendix bursting on the set of “Grey’s Anatomy”. He tells Brett all about booking the role of Reese Witherspoon & Ryan Phillippe’s love child on the “Cruel Intentions” pilot for NBC and then starring on the second season of the Emmy-winning anthology series “American Crime”. Next, Taylor talks about his first starring role in the movie “Wolves” and the method acting of his co-star Michael Shannon who played his father. He also discusses his hit Netflix movie “You Get Me” co-starring Bella Thorne & Halston Sage. Taylor then talks about how he got his role in the Emmy-nominated HBO limited series “Sharp Objects” opposite Amy Adams- and how she helped lighten the mood on set. Taylor gives Brett more behind-the-scenes from the sets of his all recent films, including “Hunter Killer” with Gerard Butler & Gary Oldman, “The Outpost” with Orlando Bloom & Scott Eastwood, “Shadow in the Cloud” with Chloe Grace Moretz & Nick Robinson, and “Blacklight” with Liam Neeson. Last but not least, Taylor shares his advice for aspiring actors. Be sure to check out his new movie “Where the Crawdads Sing” exclusively in theaters on July 15th.

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It’s the seventy-second episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guest Ruben Fleischer talks all about his career as a director. Ruben and Brett talk about his latest movie “Uncharted”, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, which was just the #1 movie in the world for 2 weeks in a row. Ruben gives Brett all the behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the film, including what it was like filming in Berlin during a global pandemic… especially when their original start date was March 16th, 2020. Then Ruben takes Brett back to the beginning, from growing up in Washington D.C. and making home movies to attending college at Wesleyan University as a history major. Ruben talks about his first gig as a P.A. on “Dawson’s Creek”, which was followed by a job as director Miguel Arteta’s assistant. Ruben explains how he got to direct his first movie “Zombieland” in 2009, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Woody Harrelson, and Bill Murray- and how it catapulted his career. Then Ruben tells Brett how he chose his next film “30 Minutes Or Less”, starring Jesse Eisenberg again, alongside Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, and Nick Swardson. From there, they talk about Ruben’s third movie “Gangster Squad”, starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and a reunion with Emma Stone. Ruben also discusses directing the pilots for the hit NBC show “Superstore” (which he also produced), the ABC sitcom “American Housewife”, and the Netflix series “Santa Clarita Diet”, which starred Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Then Ruben shares stories about the making of his next two films- “Venom” starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed, and “Zombieland: Double Tap”, which reunited the original cast 10 years later. Of course Brett asks Ruben if there will be more “Zombieland” and “Uncharted” movies in his future. Last but not least, Ruben shares his advice for aspiring filmmakers. Be sure to check out “Uncharted” now playing at a theater near you.

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It’s the seventy-first episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guest Walt Becker talks all about his career as a director. Walt and Brett talk about his latest movie “Clifford the Big Red Dog”, which was both the #1 family film at the box office and the #1 trending movie on Paramount Plus. Walt gives Brett behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the live-action film starring a CGI dog. They discuss the history of Norman Bridwell’s iconic Clifford character, which spawned 80 books and an animated series. They also chat about the breaking news that the movie will be getting a sequel. Then Walt takes Brett back to the beginning, from growing up in California and making home movies to attending USC film school. Walt explains how he got to direct his first movie “Buying the Cow”, which starred Jerry O’Connell and a newcomer named Ryan Reynolds, and how that led to Walt & Ryan making their breakthrough movie “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder”. Walt tells Brett how he got his next film “Wild Hogs” and how he assembled the cast that included John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Ray Liotta, and Marisa Tomei. Then Walt talks about working with John Travolta again on “Old Dogs” and adding the legendary Robin Williams to the mix. They also chat about Walt’s TV shows “Glory Daze” and “Kirby Buckets” and how he started directing family films with the blockbuster hit “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”. Last but not least, Walt shares his advice for aspiring filmmakers. Be sure to check out “Clifford the Big Red Dog” at a theater near you or on Paramount Plus.

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It’s the seventieth episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guest Travis Van Winkle talks all about his career as an actor. First, Travis and Brett talk about how they share the same birthday- November 4th (though Travis explains that his birthday is both November 4th and November 5th). They also talk about how they’re both dog lovers. Then Travis tells Brett everything that went into preparing for his role of “Cary Conrad” on the #1 Netflix series “You”. He talks about working with the cast, including Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti, and shooting the much talked about scenes from episode 5 and episode 8. Travis also details the workout and nutrition plans that went into transforming his body for the role of “Cary”. Next, Travis takes Brett back to the beginning, including growing up in Peachtree City, Georgia and his earliest memory of wanting to be an actor. Travis talks about moving to Los Angeles, the first acting jobs he booked on TV shows, and his first studio movie: “Accepted” with Jonah Hill, Justin Long, and Blake Lively. He then shares behind-the-scenes stories from his next studio movies: “Transformers”- directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, “Meet the Spartans”, and the 2019 reboot of “Friday the 13th”. They even discuss the possibility that Travis’ characters named “Trent” are actually the same person in both “Transformers” and “Friday the 13th”. Then Travis talks about his recurring roles on hit TV shows like “90210”, “Happy Endings”, and “Hart of Dixie” and his series regular role on the hit TNT show “The Last Ship”. Travis also chats about moving to New York City to film the CBS series “Instinct” opposite Alan Cumming. Last but not least, Travis offers advice to aspiring actors. Be sure to binge season 3 of “You”, now playing on Netflix.

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It’s the sixty-ninth episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guest Richard Marx talks all about his career as a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter. First, Richard and Brett discuss his brand new autobiography “Stories To Tell”, as well as the soundtrack that goes along with it. Then Brett- who’s been a Richard Marx fan since he was 7 years old- tells Richard about the impact his music has had on his life. They also go back to the beginning of Richard’s life, including his upbringing in Chicago and how he ended up in Hollywood after being discovered by Lionel Richie. Brett dives into Richard’s first four albums- “Richard Marx”, “Repeat Offender”, “Rush Street”, and “Paid Vacation”. Along the way, they talk about all of Richard’s memorable hit singles, including “Hold on to the Nights”, “Endless Summer Nights”, “Right Here Waiting”, and “Now and Forever”. They also talk about songs he’s written for other artists, including “This I Promise You” for NSYNC, “To Where You Are” for Josh Groban, and “Dance With My Father” for Luther Vandross, for which he won the Grammy for Song of the Year. They also discuss Richard’s latest album “Limitless”- his 14th studio album- which was just released in 2020. Last but not least, Richard offers his advice to aspiring entertainers. Be sure to check out Richard Marx’s autobiography “Stories To Tell”, available everywhere books are sold as of July 6th.

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It’s the sixty-eighth episode of On The List with Brett Gursky. This week's guest Chord Overstreet talks all about his career as an actor and a musician. First, Chord shares behind-the-scenes stories about the making of his new album “Stone Man”, which features his latest singles “Stone Man”, “Beautiful Disaster”, and “What’s Left of You”. Then Chord takes Brett back to the beginning to discuss growing up in Nashville as the son of songwriter Paul Overstreet, including the first time he took the stage. Chord also talks about moving to Los Angeles to start his acting career and the audition that led to his role as “Sam Evans” on the hit series “Glee”. Chord reminisces about his five seasons on the show, his castmates, and his Teen Choice Award. Then Chord and Brett discuss his other albums: “The Tree House Tapes” from 2017 and “Man On The Moon” from 2019. Chord also talks about his latest movie “The Swing of Things”, which filmed at an actual swingers resort in Jamaica. Last but not least, Chord offers his advice to aspiring actors and musicians. Be sure to check out Chord’s latest album “Stone Man”, which dropped June 25th, and look for his new show “Acapulco”, coming soon to Apple TV+.

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