THE HOLLYWOOD PODCAST

Tony-nominated theatre producer Lou Spisto currently serves as the executive director and producer of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, a choral group of gay men in the Los Angeles area formed in 1979. The chorus has gone on to appear on several films and television shows including Will & Grace, Six Feet Under, Mad TV, and Access Hollywood. Additionally, GMCLA has performed at awards shows such as the Oscars and the Independent Spirit Awards, as well as for two U.S. presidents (Clinton and Obama).

Now, GMCLA's biggest show of the year is coming up, Disney Pride in Concert, where 50 songs from Disney films and the parks will be performed by the 200-member choral group at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on June 24 and 25. Accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra and video projections, the concert will include songs from classic Disney films such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Mary Poppins.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased at www.gmcla.org/disneypride.

Costume designer Bernadette Croft discusses her process designing the many different worlds through her costuming work in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.

Audrey Fisher is a costume designer whose previous credits include True Blood, Girlboss, Destroyer, Camping, Barry, and the Amazon series I Know What You Did Last Summer. Now she is out with her latest project, the Max miniseries Love & Death based on the true story of Wylie, TX housewife Candy Montgomery who was accused of the brutal axe murder of her friend Betty Gore in 1980.

Nick Bassett is the production designer of the newest installment of the Evil Dead film franchise, EVIL DEAD RISE. Nick's past credits include AVATAR, the TV series SPARTACUS, ASH VS. EVIL DEAD, and Netflix series SWEET TOOTH.

Hair and Makeup Department Heads Lorna Reid and Amy Sparks chat about their latest project, Searchlight Pictures’ QUASI, a new historical satire by the Broken Lizard comedy troupe.

QUASI follows a hapless hunchback who yearns for love, but finds himself in the middle of a murderous feud between the Pope and the king of France when each orders the hunchback to kill the other.

QUASI is now streaming on Hulu.

Costume designer Colin Wilkes discusses her work on the new AppleTV+ sci-fi comedy series "The Big Door Prize" starring Chris O'Dowd. Based on M.O. Walsh’s novel of the same name, “The Big Door Prize” tells the story of a small town called Deerfield that is forever changed when residents discover a mysterious, yet magical, destiny-predicting machine in their grocery store, promising to reveal each resident’s true life potential.

Two-time Emmy winning producer/director Michael Pressman (Picket Fences, Chicago Med, Law and Order SVU) has made his live musical theater directorial return with the Los Angeles premiere of the intergalactic love story COME GET MAGGIE. This is the story of a brilliant, but socially awkward, Maggie - a physicist who’s out of place in 1950’s post-war suburbia where gender roles are rigidly defined. But when Maggie is abducted by Aliens, she finds love and hope for a more expansive, inclusive humanity.

Pressman is partnering on this project again with three-time Emmy winning writer Diane Frolov (both collaborated recently on Chicago Med) as well as John Perrin Flynn, who produced Pressman’s last Los Angeles play, Finks, which was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards and was a New York Times Critic’s Pick.

Pressman, who started his career in feature film comedy, has worked primarily in dramatic long form and series television in recent years. His two recent stage productions, like COME GET MAGGIE, were also set in the 1950’s and featured themes that continue to be relevant. His Broadway revival of Come Back, Little Sheeba, which received six NAACP Theatre Award nominations and garnered its star, S. Epatha Merkerson, a Tony Award Nomination, as well as Finks, the westside hit spotlighted issues at the forefront of 1950’s America’s social and political struggles.

Kristina Wong is a performance artist, actor, comedian, writer and elected representative in Koreatown Los Angeles. Following its highly acclaimed premiere at New York Theater Workshop, "Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord," was a New York Times Critics Pick. Wong was then named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama (2022). “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord” also garnered a veritable awards sweep this year including The Drama Desk Award, The Lucille Lortel Award and The Outer Critics Circle Award.

Writer/director Michael Maren's latest film A LITTLE WHITE LIE, starring Michael Shannon and Kate Hudson based on the book SHRIVER by Chris Belden, is currently playing exclusively in theaters. This is his second feature, which comes a decade after his first film A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY. Before becoming a filmmaker, Maren was a journalist for much of his life serving as a foreign correspondent based in Africa writing for publications such as The New York Times, The Village Voice, Newsweek, and GQ.

The film is about Shriver (Michael Shannon), a down-on-his-luck handyman who has never read a book in his life, who is mistaken for a famous writer that has been in hiding for over 20 years. With nothing to lose, he accepts an invitation to attend a college literary festival and finds himself surrounded by adoring fans and an English professor (Kate Hudson)who captures his heart. Shriver must do whatever it takes for his shot at love in this fish-out-of-water comedy.

In addition to Shannon and Hudson, other cast members include Don Johnson, Peyton List, Zach Braff, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Kate Linder, Wendie Malick and M. Emmet Walsh.

The 95th Oscars are just days away, meaning it's time for our third annual chat with IndieWire's Anne Thompson as we prognosticate what will win on Hollywood's biggest night.

One of the top Oscars prognosticators in film journalism, Anne is the editor-at-large of IndieWire and the founder of the Thompson on Hollywood blog. She's previously written for entertainment publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and the LA Weekly. She co-hosts IndieWire's Screen Talk podcast, which releases a new episode every Friday.