Connective Tissue with John C. McGinley

Sean Penn is a powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work, who has gone from strength to strength during a colorful film career, and who has drawn much media attention for his stormy private life and political viewpoints. Sean Justin Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the second son of actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci) and director, actor, and writer Leo Penn. His brother was actor Chris Penn. His father was from a Lithuanian Jewish/Russian Jewish family, and his mother is of half-Italian and half Irish descent. Penn first appeared in roles as strong-headed or unruly youths such as the military cadet defending his academy against closure in Taps (1981), then as fast-talking surfer stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Fans and critics were enthused about his obvious talent and he next contributed a stellar performance alongside Timothy Hutton in the Cold War spy thriller The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), followed by a teaming with icy Christopher Walken in the chilling At Close Range (1986). The youthful Sean then paired up with his then wife, pop diva Madonna in the woeful, and painful, Shanghai Surprise (1986), which was savaged by the critics, but Sean bounced back with a great job as a hot-headed young cop in Colors (1988), gave another searing performance as a US soldier in Vietnam committing atrocities in Casualties of War (1989) and appeared alongside Robert De Niro in the uneven comedy We're No Angels (1989). However, the 1990s was the decade in which Sean really got noticed by critics as a mature, versatile and accomplished actor, with a string of dynamic performances in first-class films. Almost unrecognisable with frizzy hair and thin rimmed glasses, Penn was simply brilliant as corrupt lawyer David Kleinfeld in the Brian De Palma gangster movie Carlito's Way (1993) and he was still in trouble with authority as a Death Row inmate pleading with a caring nun to save his life in Dead Man Walking (1995), for which he received his first Oscar nomination. Sean then played the brother of wealthy Michael Douglas, involving him in a mind-snapping scheme in The Game (1997) and also landed the lead role of Sgt. Eddie Walsh in the star-studded anti-war film The Thin Red Line (1998), before finishing the 1990s playing an offbeat jazz musician (and scoring another Oscar nomination) in Sweet and Lowdown (1999). The gifted and versatile Sean had also moved into directing, with the quirky but interesting The Indian Runner (1991), about two brothers with vastly opposing views on life, and in 1995 he directed Jack Nicholson in The Crossing Guard (1995). Both films received overall positive reviews from critics. Moving into the new century, Sean remained busy in front of the cameras with even more outstanding work: a mentally disabled father fighting for custody of his seven-year-old daughter (and receiving a third Oscar nomination) for I Am Sam (2001); an anguished father seeking revenge for his daughter's murder in the gut-wrenching Clint Eastwood-directed Mystic River (2003) (for which he won the Oscar as Best Actor); a mortally ill college professor in 21 Grams (2003) and a possessed businessman in The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004).

Produced by John C. McGinley and Angie Quidim 

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May not be used without permission. 

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Zach Braff was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, to Anne Hutchinson (Maynard), a clinical psychologist, and Harold Irwin Braff, a trial attorney. His father is from Russia and Austria, while Zach's mother is from a family with deep roots in New England. Zach attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, and also graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in film. Zach is known for playing Dr. John 'J.D.' Dorian on the television series Scrubs (2001), for writing, directing, and starring in the films Garden State (2004) and Wish I Was Here (2014), and for starring in the movies Chicken Little (2005), The Last Kiss (2006), and The Ex (1996). He just completed directing the New Line/ Warner Bros. feature "Going In Style" starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin

Produced by John C. McGinley and Angie Quidim 

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May not be used without permission. 

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Actor/director/producer Eriq La Salle is best known to worldwide television audiences for his award-winning portrayal of the commanding Dr. Peter Benton on the critically acclaimed and history-making medical drama ER. Educated at Juilliard and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, his credits range from Broadway to film roles opposite Eddie Murphy in Coming to America and Robin Williams in One Hour Photo and Hugh Jackman in Logan. La Salle has maintained a prolific acting career while at the same time working steadily as a director, taking the helm for HBO, Showtime, NBC, Fox and CBS. He remains a valued member of the Dick Wolf Entertainment camp after 4 years as Executive Producer and director on Chicago PD in addition to directing episodes of Law & Order, and Law and Order Organized Crime. As a writer, La Salle is the author of several critically acclaimed thrillers published in 2022 and 2023-Laws of Depravity, Laws of Wrath, and Laws of Annihilation. He has also written an episode of The Twilight Zone which made WGA's list of 101 Best Written TV Series. He lives in Los Angeles, California

Produced by John C. McGinley and Angie Quidim 

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May not be used without permission. 

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Tim Shriver leads the Special Olympics International Board of Directors, and together with 6 million Special Olympics athletes in more than 200 countries, promotes health, education, and a more unified world through the joy of sport.

Shriver joined Special Olympics in 1996. He has been a leading educator who focuses on the social and emotional factors in learning. He co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the leading school reform organization in the field of social and emotional learning. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Co-Chairman of the National Commission on Social and Emotional Learning, President of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, Member of the Board of Directors for the WPP Group, LLC, and a co-founder of Lovin’ Scoopful Ice Cream Company.

Shriver earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University, a Master's Degree from Catholic University, and holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Connecticut. He has produced four films, authored The New York Times bestselling book Fully Alive – Discovering What Matters Most, and has written for dozens of newspapers and magazines. Shriver and his wife, Linda Potter, reside in the Washington, D.C. area and have five adult children.

Produced by John C. McGinley and Angie Quidim 

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May not be used without permission. 

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This week Johnny C has a special guest from his early days at NYU and the New York City theater. Eric Bogosian is one of the most prolific actors/playwrights today. You may have seen him recently on Anne Rice's Interview With A Vampire.

Eric Bogosian was born in Boston and grew up in Woburn, Massachusetts. After graduating from Woburn Memorial High School in 1971, he attended the University of Chicago and graduated from Oberlin College in 1976, whereupon he moved to New York City. In New York he was hired by the Kitchen as an assistant, established a dance series there and after five years left to devote all his energies to his theater work. Between 1976 and 1982, Bogosian wrote, directed and/or starred in over sixteen productions Off-Off-Broadway. In 1982, he toured the Midwest with Fab Five Freddy and the Rock Steady Crew.

In the early 1980's Eric Bogosian became well-known in New York for his intense one-man theater pieces, winning the Obie Award three times as well as the Drama Desk Award. In 1983, after attending one of his one-man shows, Larry Cohen cast Bogosian as the homicidal director in his low-budget film Special Effects (1984). Four years later, Bogosian's Pulitzer-nominated play, (in which he also starred), "Talk Radio" caught the attention of the greater film world. Robert Altman cast Bogosian in his film of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) while producer Edward R. Pressman obtained the rights to the play and brought it to director Oliver Stone. Stone and Bogosian adapted the play script to film script, Bogosian again played the lead and the film of Talk Radio (1988) opened in December 1988. Bogosian received the prestigious "Silver Bear" at the 1989 Berlin Festival for his work on the film.

After the release of "Talk Radio", Bogosian worked regularly as an actor in film and television while remaining very active in the theater. 1994 was a banner year in which Bogosian co-starred with Steven Seagal in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) as the diabolical "Travis Dane", was featured in Dolores Claiborne (1995), staged another one-man show Off-Broadway and authored the play, "subUrbia" directed by Robert Falls and produced by Lincoln Center Theater, ("subUrbia" was adapted for film by director Richard Linklater). Around this time, Bogosian would also cameo appearances in Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry (1997), Atom Egoyan's Ararat (2002), Cindy Sherman's Office Killer (1997) and Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996).

In the 1990's Bogosian continued to write for film and TV, adapting his own work as well as receiving assignments from studios. He began to write for television when he was invited to co-create a show for Steven Spielberg: High Incident (1996) in 1996. As an actor, in 2003, he co-starred with Val Kilmer as the notorious Eddie Nash in James Cox's Wonderland (2003). In 2006 he was invited onboard Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) as Captain Danny Ross (where he appeared in over sixty episodes).

In 2010, Bogosian starred on Broadway in Donald Margulies' "Time Stands Still" with Laura Linney, Brian d'Arcy James, Alicia Silverstone and Christina Ricci.

In 2013, Bogosian created a website featuring his numerous monologues performed by notable actors. Visit 100monologues.com to view the complete catalog of over 75 monologues.

More recently, Bogosian landed a series of featured television roles on Netflix's The Get Down (2016), Showtime's Billions (2016) and as Senator Gil Eavis on HBO's Succession (2018).

Bogosian has been featured in Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems (2019) (starring Adam Sandler).

In addition to his numerous plays, Bogosian is the author of three novels "Mall", "Wasted Beauty" and "Perforated Heart." His non-fiction history, Operation Nemesis: The Assassination Plot that Avenged the Armenian Genocide was published by Little, Brown in 2015.

He lives in New York City with his wife, director Jo Bonney with whom he has two children; Travis Bogosian and Harry Bogosian

Produced by John C McGinleye and Angie Quidim 

Copyright TME Productions 2023-2024 all rights reserved 

May not be used without permission. 

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Chris Cortazzo is an icon. His name is synonymous with Malibu, a rare breed of real estate agent born and raised in the famed coastal haven. When Chris speaks about his beloved hometown, you don’t just hear the passion in his voice — you sense it at the soul level. It’s one of the many reasons why countless celebrities and high-profile business leaders continue to seek him out for real estate representation. “Malibu is the greatest place to live and work in the world,” he says. “My clients trust me because I know the market better than anyone. I understand the locations and the lifestyle each unique area provides.” Knowledge, passion, discretion, and integrity have been the undercurrents of his real estate business for over 29 years. His natural charisma, combined with his ability to be laser-focused on clients in a way that makes them feel like there is no one else in the room, are well-known trademarks. In addition, Chris is widely hailed for his outstanding production and his market-making opinions, which are sought after by businesses, financial publications, and broadcast media.This version is the uncut version that includes a transcript. Enjoy.

Connective tissue is produced by John C. McGinley and Angie Quidim

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Produced by John C Mc Ginley and Angie Quidim

Edited by Chris Sweda and Angie Quidim 

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May not be used without permission 

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ale Dye was born Oct. 8, 1944, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He graduated as a cadet officer from Missouri Military Academy, but there was no money for college, so he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1964. He served in Vietnam in 1965 and 1967 through 1970, surviving 31 major combat operations. He emerged from Southeast Asia with numerous decorations, including a Bronze Star for valor and three Purple Heart medals for wounds suffered in combat. He spent 13 years as an enlisted Marine, rising to the rank of master sergeant. He was chosen to attend officer candidate school and was appointed a warrant officer in 1976. He later converted his commission and was a captain when he was sent to Beirut with the multinational peacekeeping force in 1982-83. He served in a variety of assignments around the world and along the way managed to graduate with a BA degree in English from the University of Maryland. Dye worked for a year at Soldier of Fortune magazine after his retirement in 1984. He spent time in Central America, reporting and training troops in guerrilla warfare techniques in both El Salvador and Nicaragua before leaving the magazine in 1985 and heading for Hollywood. He is the founder and principal of Warriors, Inc., which provides technical advisory services to the entertainment industry worldwide. Services included performer training, research, planning, staging and on-set advisory for directors and other key production personnel.

Produced by John C Mc Ginley and Angie Quidim

Edited by Chris Sweda and Angie Quidim 

Copyright TME Productions 2023-2024 all rights reserved 

May not be used without permission 

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This week on Connective Tissue? We are going to take a: “pause-for-the-cause”, 

and look back at our last SEVEN guests. The density and quality of content, that these SEVEN storytellers have shared with us, makes it all together appropriate and fitting, that we “...take a breath.” 

…That we revisit a few of their storytelling “gems”. 

And, that we take a moment to APPRECIATE and possibly even LEARN and TAKE-AWAY, as much as we can, from these extraordinary storytellers? 

Each one of whom, has managed to craft the relevance of their message, into an abundance of “cross-over-worthy-material”, that has: surprised us, 

moved us,  transported us,  enriched us,  and ultimately, 

has offered us the CONNECTION: that we so often crave from those that we listen TO, in this podcasting format.

Host John C McGinley

Produced by John C McGinley and Angie Quidim

Audio editing and recording by Chris Sweda, TME Productions audio team

Copyright 2023-2024 TME Productions all rights reserved.

May not be used without permission

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Peter Berg is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. His first role was in the Adam Rifkin road movie Never on Tuesday (1988). He went on to star in the World War 2 film A Midnight Clear (1992). Roles in Fire in the Sky (1993) and Cop Land (1997) followed, and the Tom Cruise films Collateral (2004) and Lions for Lambs (2007). Peter has since moved behind the camera, directing films such as as Very Bad Things (1998) and Hancock (2008). He has also turned pen-to-paper and scripted many projects including Friday Night Lights (2004) and The Losers (2010). He is best known on-screen for his role as Dr. Billy Kronk in Chicago Hope (1994).

Produced by John C Mc Ginley and Angie Quidim

Edited by Chris Sweda 

Copyright TME Productions 2023-2024 all rights reserved 

May not be used without permission 

Contact: [email protected]

Todd Garner, the head of Broken Road Productions, is a veteran producer and Hollywood creative executive with a remarkable gift for creating and nurturing mainstream, commercial motion pictures. In various capacities throughout his career, Garner has developed, overseen, executive produced or produced well over 170 movies, many of them major hits for their respective studios. Formerly a founding partner of Revolution Studios and before that co-head of production at Walt Disney Studios, Garner founded Broken Road Productions in summer 2005. In the last fifteen years, Broken Road has produced 22 movies and 3 TV series. After producing the runaway hit PAUL BLART: MALL COP and its sequel, which combined grossed over $290 million in worldwide box office, Broken Road produced KNIGHT AND DAY for Fox grossing over $261 million worldwide, MGM & Sony's ZOOKEEPER which grossed $170 million, and INTO THE STORM for New Line, which grossed over $161 million worldwide. In November 2018, Screen Gems' THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE starring Shay Mitchell & Stana Katic finished with a stellar $45M WW on a $6M budget. Released summer 2019 was New Line Cinema's TAG, starring Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, Jake Johnson and Isla Fisher and February 2019 featured the release of ISN'T IT ROMANTIC starring Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam DeVine, & Priyanka Chopra. Garner is currently in post-production on MORTAL KOMBAT at New Line and the true story ALL MY LIFE for Universal. He is currently in production on the comedy VACATION FRIENDS starring John Cena & Lil Rel Howery at Fox/Hulu and the Netflix sitcom "The Crew" starring Kevin James. Garner has the Bert Kreischer series "The Cabin" premiering on Netflix this fall. Other features in development include: a SLEEPY HOLLOW reboot at Paramount Pictures, a remake of AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON at Universal, FUZZY TOWERS starring Kevin James at Netflix and SENIOR YEAR with Rebel Wilson at Paramount. Garner was an Executive Producer on films such as XXX, ANGER MANAGEMENT and 13 GOING ON 30. He joined Revolution as a partner in May 2000 and was responsible for overseeing all aspects of development and production for the company's motion pictures during its remarkable first five years. During his tenure, Garner oversaw such hit Revolution films as BLACK HAWK DOWN, PUNCH DRUNK LOVE and HELLBOY. Todd currently hosts "The Producer's Guide: Todd Garner & Hollywood's Elite," which takes an in depth look at the movie business and what it takes to be a producer in today's world.