Storybeat with Steve Cuden

Okema T. Moore is an Emmy Nominated PGA producer and rising director. She’s created unscripted and branded content for Lifetime, Netflix, and Disney/Marvel, including: Beat Bobby Flay and The Kitchen on Food Network, Oprah’s Color of Care, Founding In Color on Peacock, and Nomad with Carlton McCoy on CNN. Most recently, she developed and produced Down in the Valley for STARZ, and was lead producer on Chocolate with Sprinkles for the AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, which won the HBO award at the American Black Film Festival.

Okema was a Directing Fellow for Minorities In Film’s Branded Lab, a semi-finalist for The Blackhouse Producer’s Lab, a 2nd rounder for the Sundance Producer’s Track, and a fellow for both the Stowe Story and the Black Magic Creative Producers Labs. She was a finalist for the PANO production microgrant, received a writing fellowship to create her first TV Pilot with Writer’s Boot Camp & Women Going Places. And her short script had a live staged reading at the Essence Film Festival in 2024.

Okema proudly serves on the board of New York Women in Film & TV and The Black TV & Film Collective. She is committed to lifting while she climbs, building up women, queer, IPOC, Caribbean and Black creatives.

She also happens to be a very fine actress.

www.moorethanenuff.com

Steve Skrovan has worked as a stand-up comedian, actor, and TV comedy writer since the early eighties. He’s written for many shows, most notably, Seinfeld, Hot in Cleveland, Til Death, Wendell and Vinnie, School of Rock, and the entire nine-year run of Everybody Loves Raymond, a show which he has also adapted internationally in Russia, Israel, and India. 

He currently writes a Substack blog called Bits & Pieces, an anthology of humorous stories and essays.  

Steve is also the co-director, writer and producer of An Unreasonable Man a documentary about the career of legendary consumer advocate and third-party presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, which was not only an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival but also made the “shortlist” for Academy Award consideration in the documentary category. 

In 2005, Steve co-produced the TBS environmental special “Earth to America.”

Additionally, Steve co-hosts the weekly radio show Ralph Nader Radio Hour, which runs on Pacifica’s KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles and various other independent radio stations, as well as being available on all podcast platforms. 

He is also a board member of the non-partisan public interest organization Public Citizen in Washington DC. 

WEBSITES:

Bits & Pieces 

podcast platforms

            This is Paul Chitlik’s second appearance on StoryBeat. Paul has written for all the major networks and studios in both English and Spanish.  He was story editor for The New Twilight Zone, and staff writer for the Showtime sitcom, Brothers.  

He’s directed episodes and been coordinating producer for “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol” and “U.S. Customs Classified.”  He wrote and produced “Alien Abduction,” the first network movie shot on digital video for UPN.  He wrote, produced, and directed “Ringling Brothers Revealed” a special for The Travel Channel, which was right up his alley because years earlier he’d been a roustabout for Circus Vargas.  

Paul has written features for Rysher Entertainment, NuImage, Promark, Mainline Releasing, and others.  Most recently he wrote, produced and directed “The Wedding Dress,” for Amazon Prime.  

Paul was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for his work on "The Twilight Zone" and a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Telemundo’s "Los Beltrán.” He also won a Genesis Award for a Showtime Family movie. 

Paul has taught in the MFA programs at UCLA, the University of Barcelona’s film school ESCAC, Cuba’s film school EICTV, Chile’s film school UNIACC, The University of Zulia in Venezuela, The Panamerican University in Mexico City, The Story Academy of Sweden and as a clinical associate professor at Loyola Marymount University. 

Paul’s latest novel is Lies, All Lies. I’ve read Lies, All Lie, and found it to be one of the most entertaining works of fiction about behind-the-scenes Hollywood I’ve had the pleasure to peruse.

He’s also the author of one of the most indispensable, must-read books for anyone interested in writing screenplays, teleplays, plays, and even novels, called Rewrite.

For the record, I was one of Paul’s students during my days in graduate school at UCLA. Without question, Paul’s teachings have remained exceptionally influential on me for both my own writing and in my subsequent years as a college professor of screenwriting.

            The noted author and teacher, Joseph B. Atkins, is a veteran writer and professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Mississippi. 

            Joe’s latest book, Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel, won the Bronze Award for biography from the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2021. 

            Regarding Joe’s novel, Casey’s Last Chance, Edgar Award-winning author Megan Abbott called it, “…pitch-perfect vintage noir.” 

            Among his other notable works, Joe authored the nonfiction Covering for the Bosses: Labor and the Southern Press. And his novella, Crossed Roads, was a finalist in the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Awards in New Orleans. Joe also edited and contributed to the short story collection Mojo Rising: Contemporary Writers, Vol. II. 

            His articles and short stories have appeared in The Oxford American, Noir City, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, USA Today, Baltimore Sun, In These Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Guadalajara Reporter. 

            Joe’s feature film screenplay, Memphis Tango, was a finalist in the 2021 Final Draft Screenplay Competition and Toronto and Vancouver independent film festivals.       He served as a congressional correspondent for Gannett News Service in Washington, D.C. and worked for several newspapers across the U.S. South. 

I’ve read both Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel and Casey’s Last Chance and can tell you that Joe has remarkable range. His book on Harry Dean Stanton is a fascinating, in-depth look at one of the most beloved yet unsung actors Hollywood has ever produced. And Casey’s Last Chance is a ripping, action-filled, page-turner. I highly recommend both books to you.

Ryan Raddatz is a Los Angeles-based TV writer and producer who has worked on numerous broadcast sitcoms and kids shows including: The Neighborhood on CBS and WordGirl on PBS. And he’s developed more than a dozen pilots at various networks. 

Ryan won two Daytime Emmys for his writing on WordGirl and another three for his work on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. 

Before writing and producing, Ryan made a living as an actor and composer while failing to make a living playing in indie-rock and bluegrass bands. 

Ryan Raddatz on IMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1347221/

Filmmaker and author, Dan Mirvish’s recent feature, 18½, starred Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro and Bruce Campbell as the voice of Nixon. The award-winning film played in 25 festivals, had a 60-city theatrical release, played on 7 airlines and is now available on Starz. 

Prior to that, Dan directed Bernard and Huey, scripted by Oscar and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jules Feiffer.  It starred Oscar-winner Jim Rash and David Koechner. 

Dan’s film Between Us, an adaptation of the hit Off-Broadway play, starred Julia Stiles, David Harbour, Taye Diggs and Melissa George. He was mentored by Robert Altman on his first film, Omaha (the movie), which led him to co-found the upstart Slamdance Film Festival.  And his film Open House prompted the Academy Awards to rewrite their rules on the Best Original Musical category. 

Dan co-wrote the critically acclaimed novel I Am Martin Eisenstadt. And he wrote two editions and recorded an audiobook of his non-fiction book, The Cheerful Subversive’s Guide to Independent Filmmaking.

Dan is a graduate of USC’s renowned film school and is a member of the Director’s Guild of America. 

Of note, he’s also worked as a speechwriter for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin. 

Max Kinnings has written the feature films, Act of Grace, Alleycats, and The Pagan King, as well as various film projects currently in development including a film adaptation of his critically acclaimed play, Wireless Operator. 

He’s the author of four novels, Hitman, The Fixer, Sacrifice, and Baptism. I’ve read Baptism and can tell you it’s a tremendously exciting thriller in the vein of Lee Child, John Grisham, Dan Brown, John Le Carre, and many other great novelists. 

Max is also the ghost writer of comedian and actor Rik Mayall’s bestselling spoof autobiography, Bigger Than Hitler Better Than Christ. Max’s work will form the basis of a one-hour documentary he’s writing and presenting on BBC Radio 4, due for broadcast in June 2024, which is the tenth anniversary of Rik Mayall’s passing. 

Max was part of the writing team for the award-winning Sony PlayStation game, Little Big Planet 3. 

Prior to his writing career, Max spent twelve years devising advertising and marketing campaigns for music festivals, tours, comedy shows and West End theatre productions. He holds a PhD. in Creative Writing from Brunel University, London, where he also teaches. 

The actor, singer, and podcaster, Patrick Oliver Jones has been in the performing arts, both onstage and onscreen, for more than 30 years. Originally from Birmingham Alabama, he brought his Southern charm to New York City in 2008 with dreams of Broadway.  And he’s gotten close with roles in off-Broadway world premieres, touring nationally with The Addams Family and Evita, and the pre-Broadway cast of First Wives Club that never quite made it. 

Having collaborated with Tony-winning directors such as Jerry Zaks, Randy Skinner, and a favorite StoryBeat guest, Richard Maltby Jr., he's gotten to perform alongside Broadway talents like Joey Fatone, Alfonso Ribeiro, Faith Prince, and Andrea McArdle. And he has found regional theater acclaim with Henry and SALT Award nominations for standout performances in Fun Home and Crazy for You. 

On camera, there have been numerous national commercials, award-winning short films, and co-starring roles on TV shows like Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Imposters. 

In 2022 he received the Communicator Award of Distinction from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts for his work in podcasting. He currently produces and hosts three performing arts podcasts: Why I’ll Never Make It, which is in its eighth season, Closing Night, which focuses on Broadway history, and The Spotlight Series in which he talks with those making a difference in the arts and beyond. For the record, I’ve been a guest on Why I’ll Never Make It discussing my career in show business and how I created Jekyll & Hyde, the Musical with Frank Wildhorn.  I’ve got to tell you, it was a lot of fun for me to do the show with Patrick, and I highly urge you to give it a listen.

Doug Pray is a documentary filmmaker of great range and substance. His portraits of subcultures and creative visionaries have led him to numerous Sundance premieres, critical raves, and awards. His feature documentaries include: “Love, Lizzo,” “Surfwise,” and the Emmy Award-winning “Art & Copy.” His first two films, “Hype!,” the story of the Seattle music scene, and “Scratch,” about DJs and the birth of hip-hop, are often ranked among the best music docs of all time. 

Doug won a Grammy and 5 Emmy nominations as executive producer, writer and editor of HBO’s “The Defiant Ones.” He executive produced “From Cradle to Stage” with Dave Grohl, and the AppleTV+ series “Home.” This year, 2024, Turner Classic Movies and Max debuted “The Power of Film,” a 6-part series with Professor Howard Suber, for which Doug was executive producer, supervising editor, and writer. 

Doug has also directed dozens of commissioned short films and non-fiction commercials, including an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign which won him his first Emmy.  

For the record, Doug and I know one another from “The Power of Film” as I became involved in this extraordinary project as a Co-Executive Producer. Like Doug, I’m a UCLA MFA Graduate and one of Howard Suber’s former students.

https://dougpray.com/

Jimi Fritz is a filmmaker, musician, writer, entrepreneur, raconteur and roustabout. He’s written two feature-length screenplays, numerous articles, and a non-fiction book about rave culture. He’s also made numerous films and music videos.

His latest book, entitled, The End of Everything, An Ironic Black Comedy, is about an older man simply named Fritz, who spends his days in a psychiatric institution plotting his own suicide while contending with the extraordinary insanity all around him. I’ve read The End of Everything and can tell you this is one of the most unique stories I’ve ever had the pleasure to peruse. Deeply intellectual, smartly psychological, and wildly hilarious, The End of Everything had me turning pages and wanting neither the story nor Fritz to end. If you like darkly comic storytelling, I highly urge you to read it.

Previously, Jimi published Confessions of an Ethical Drug Dealer, which is a psychedelic travelogue and memoir. Jimi takes his readers on a journey both geographical and philosophical, while sharing a half-century of adventures in buying, selling and consuming psychedelic drugs. Along the way we learn the difference between smart drugs and dumb drugs, the truth about religion, and how to make a perfect cup of tea.

Jimi Fritz professes to be a heterodoxical polemicist, a sceptical polymath, an iconoclastic antitheist, and an aficionado of Stoicism. 

PLEASE NOTE: This show contains a discussion about assisted suicide. Experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm can be distressing.  Speaking with someone about your feelings could help with your distress. Either talk to someone close to you, or there are services with volunteers who are trained to listen. 

If you are considering suicide or self-harm or are in danger, please call your local emergency services or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) immediately to ensure your safety.        

Please also consider seeking the assistance of a mental health professional. They can provide you with support over a longer period of time.

You may also find it useful to establish a safety plan which can be designed to help you navigate suicidal feelings.  

Jimifritz.ca