If I Knew You Better

SERIES FINALE. On this, the last episode of the show, KEVIN GEIGER and BRENDAN DAVIS discuss their lives in 3 acts, namely Reckoning: with what’s happened and what’s changed, Orientation: to where we REALLY are, right now - us and the world, and Transformation: the only good option for us moving forward, in our opinions. Adapt or die, right? You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel (the new show will live there when ready) at https://www.youtube.com/user/SMCineman/ and add / contact me via my Twitter @VeritasInLux. THANK YOU for the great support over the years, please keep enjoying and sharing past episodes you’ve missed, and I hope to see you again soon.

Saturday Night Fever. Dracula. War Games. Director JOHN BADHAM made those classic films and many more. He honed his craft doing years of TV, then Saturday Night Fever launched him into the stratosphere. We also discuss how Gregory Peck helped him get his first job in Hollywood, his big break as a TV director, how he made his way into features, his take on the auteur theory, how feature directors can move into TV and survive, and his experiences as an author and educator. Don't miss!

DENISE CARLSON is a very savvy film and TV producer whose war stories are shared here with insight, candor, and loads of sometimes salty humor. She’s also an old friend and colleague, and it was a real treat to get into the weeds of things with her. Among other things we discuss are her beginnings at the then William Morris Agency, her tenure at Disney TV (where she discovered “High School Musical”), and what a rude awakening it was to leap into the independent producing world. We also get into her animal rescue work and many other things too, so there’s something for everybody here. Enjoy!

“I’m glad I got to live long enough to hear that said”. ERIC ADAM CONNER is a screenwriter, director, actor and theater kid. A childhood in Delaware led to undergrad at Penn, stints in NYC, New Hampshire summer stock, and off-Broadway theater, and finally grad school at USC. Eric’s take on his life and career in the creative arts is highly insightful and very funny. We got to know each other during my years teaching filmmaking at the New York Film Academy’s academic headquarters in Los Angeles, and we talk candidly about many topics that creative entrepreneurs especially will find relevant, relatable, or just fun, including his early brush with fame on the Howard Stern Show and having Beetlejuice as a guest at his bachelor party, among others. As color commentary, I even work in a few of my old but somehow vaguely relevant music business war stories about drinking vodka with Michael Stipe of REM and working with bands like Luna and Bad Brains in Athens, GA. Great talk! 

Knowing your audience. Multinational branding. The ideal brand-customer relationship. Creating tangible, transformative results through trust and understanding each others needs. Gumpian journeys and near-death experiences as deep-game changers. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and harnessing the energy of facing your fears. The importance of contingencies in long-term planning, and how if you think you’re still in the same business today that you were two months ago, you’re likely in trouble. Veteran music businessman JOSH LEVINE of the “Rebel Radio” podcast and I get into all of this and more.