THE HOLLYWOOD PODCAST

The timely, news-breaking documentary Gemmel and Tim, about the deaths of two black men in connection with this week's recently convicted political donor Ed Buck in West Hollywood - from award winning director, Michiel Thomas.  In 2017 and 2019 respectively, Gemmel “Juelz” Moore and Timothy “Tim” Dean, two gay black men, both died of a meth overdose at the now-infamous Laurel Street apartment of Ed Buck, a once influential Democratic donor, businessman and animal, LGBTQ+, political activist. The deaths sent shockwaves through LA’s LGBTQ+ community and particularly West Hollywood, LA’s gay mecca. The ensuing media circus cooked up a spicy concoction of sex, drugs, race and politics, but had no appetite for the in-depth human stories of who Gemmel and Tim truly were. This documentary looks at Gemmel and Tim’s parallel walks of life through the eyes of their extended families.

Belgian native Michiel Thomas (35) is a documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. His debut film Game Face was distributed by Netflix in 2016, screened at more than 50 film festivals worldwide and won 12 awards, including the Audience Award at Frameline 2015. His next feature doc That’s Wild (2020) was sold to PBS and AMC Networks, screened at 30+ film festivals and won 4 awards.

Based on a true story, Firebird is an intense cold war thriller set in the 1970’s Soviet Air Force.  A dangerous love triangle forms between Sergey, a troubled conscript, his best friend Luisa, a charming and ambitious secretary to the base Commander, and a daring young fighter pilot Roman.  Driven by curiosity, they embark on a fatal affair of forbidden love and deception, navigating the precarious line between love and friendship.  Sergey is forced to face his past as Roman’s career is endangered and Luisa struggles to keep her family together.  As the walls close in they risk their freedom and their very lives in the face of an escalating KGB investigation and the multiple perils of an all-seeing Soviet regime.

Tom Prior (The Theory of Everything, Kingsman: The Secret Service) plays the role of Sergey, and leads an international cast including Oleg Zagorodnii and Diana Pozharskaya. The film is directed by University of Southern California and Harvard alumni Peeter Rebane (Robbie Williams – Live in Tallinn), written together with Prior.

Chris Wagner, founder & CEO of White Label Productions, speaks about the evolution of unscripted television – particularly how productions have changed in the last year.

Wagner is an Executive Producer and EIC with 20 years of experience in all genres of television across all platforms around the world. As Founder & CEO of White Label Productions, Wagner has overseen high-profile series such as The Masked Singer for FOX, Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party for TruTV, Celebrity Show-Off for TBS, Miss Universe 2019, Savage X Fenty Show (Vol. 1 & 2) for Amazon Prime Video, and Encore! for Disney+. Over the last year, Wagner’s White Label Productions has produced Can’t Cancel Pride 2020 for iHeart and Hulu, Unicorn Hunters, and HBCU: Meet Me On the Yard for YouTube, and this year will produce Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3, Miss Universe 2021, and Can’t Cancel Pride 2021. His work has received Emmy nominations for Season Three of The Masked Singer and the syndicated edition of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. He also received a Producers Guild Award earlier this year for The Masked Singer.

Wagner has overseen more than $2.5B in TV budgets and has helped run companies as well as starting three of his own, focusing on production services. Chris has offered his partners a competitive deal structure at an unbeatable price point for the networks. He built these companies from the ground up, providing the infrastructure that includes office space, legal, insurance, accounting, negotiating all deals, all union signatory entities, overseeing the key staff and crew hires from a crew of 50 to 3,000, all while being a liaison within the network.

Emmy-nominated cinematographers John Behrens and Jonathan Pope discuss the unique roles they played in capturing the existential threats of social media in their Netflix documentary-drama hybrid film THE SOCIAL DILEMMA.

The film is set up into two unique portions, blending documentary investigation and narrative drama to unveil the potential threats posed behind most popular social media and search platforms. With the film being broken up into two portrayals, each cinematographer had a very distinct and individual role to play while shooting the hybrid film. The documentary portion of the film was shot by John Behrens, while the narrative portion of the film was shot by Jonathan Pope.

The Social Dilemma is now available to stream on Netflix.

Damien S. Navarro is the executive director of Outfest, the world's leading organization that promotes equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBT stories on the screen. Outfest builds community by connecting diverse populations to discover, discuss and celebrate stories of LGBT lives. For nearly four decades, Outfest has showcased thousands of films from around the world, educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers, and protected more than 40,000 LGBT films and videos. 

This year's 10-day long Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival kick's off on August 13th with their Opening Night Gala featuring the Amazon Studios film Everybody's Talking About Jamie. is ten days of world-class films, panels, and parties. The global program slate features over 50 international films and 15 languages representing countries like South Korea, Nigeria, Mexico, Cuba, Israel, and Croatia. Los Angeles continues to be a trailblazer for multicultural LGBTQIA+ representation in entertainment. Additionally, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, nearly every film in this year's festival line-up will be available for streaming.

To learn more about Outfest and purchase tickets, you can visit outfestla2021.com

Celebrated horror master Jon Braver announces the return of DELUSION, the overwhelmingly popular Los Angeles interactive attraction.  Returning for the 2021 season, the all-new show ushers’ guests back to its horror roots, with ‘Reaper’s Remorse.’    Inviting you to ‘play your part,’ the 2021 edition of this now-renowned attraction will open September 16, inhabiting the delightfully dilapidated Phillips Mansion in Pomona, CA. Adding even more excitement to the DELUSION experience in 2021, the first-ever ‘Open World’ accompaniment to the attraction will continue the immersive experience.  All tickets entitle guests to wander the ‘Open World’ and explore multiple narrative threads within a whole new adjacent event area, featuring food, drinks and more.  Like that of an eerie scavenger hunt, the experience will help further shape the story and is available before or after the main attraction.  This fantastic new addition continues the already twisted tale for hours of scary fun!  You can visit enterdelusion.com to purchase tickets. Other frightful additions to DELUSION include “Her Private Collection: VIP Experience,” allowing guests to continue their mansion visit in a secluded 2nd floor of terror and the private ‘Dark Arts Bar & Lounge’ where more fun awaits with entertainment and perhaps a chance encounter with the mansion’s strange, magical and eccentric resident.

A film and theatre director, action coordinator, and Disney Imagineering consultant, Jon Braver’s extensive career has run an exciting path. His love for the fantastical and experience working with some of the top directors in the business has helped to shape his unusual range of talent and keen ability to deliver a unique vision. He began work on his Delusion Universe in 2011 and continues to shepherd the property as it continues to expand to new audiences and formats. In a new era of storytelling, Delusion (#playyourpart) remains one of the most popular interactive events with an absolute commitment to quality and originality. Delusion began in 2011 as a passion project for creator Jon Braver and for seven seasons has captivated sold-out audiences, thrusting them into an otherworldly adventure where they must play their parts in order to move the story forward. Live actors, creature effects, stunts, elaborate set design, and an original score weave together a tale unlike any other. Learn more at www.enterdelusion.com.

Quei Tann is a recurring guest star on Tyler Perry’s “Bruh,” airing on BET+. Quei plays Officer Darla Grills on the series, which is about the lives of a group of 30-something Black men as they explore the world of dating, careers and friendship in present-day society. Season 2 of “Bruh” premiered on May 27. She is also awaiting the release of the Bella Thorne-executive produced short film “Jelly,” where she stars as ‘Edith,’ opposite Harley Quinn Smith. She has previously starred opposite Viola Davis on the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder and had a recurring role on the Netflix series Dear White People.

Inspired by the phenomenal popularity of the superhero genre, Digital Sky and veteran creator Scott Zakarin have developed Superhero Diaries, a hilarious new comedy web series parody that officially debuted July 21 on YouTube.  Uniquely celebrating the superhero boom, this action-packed new bi-weekly series presents a fantastic mash-up of comedy, fights and campy satirical situations, turning the multiverses upside down as never before.  It features a fantastic cast, including Phil LaMarr (voice of the animated Green Lantern), veteran actor and improv favorite Patrick Bristow, Don Jeanes (Budweiser Super Bowl commercials), Disney Channel’s Hannah Kat Jones (Austin & Ally) and many more from across the world of improv and comedy.  Putting the camp back into the multiverse, viewers will get a total of 30 episodes over 10 weeks.

You can watch Superhero Diaries at https://www.youtube.com/superherodiaries

Duvar is a short drama film based on actual events of one man's experience grappling with an unjust criminal justice system while attempting to save his daughter's life. Taking place in Mesquite, Texas in 2009, the film is an examination of the American justice system and how media can influence public perception. Duvar has recently been showcased at several film festivals across the world including the Paris Independent Film Festival, Phoenix Shorts Film Festival, Cift Film Festivan in Toronto, Georgia Shorts Film Festival, and the Diversity in Cannes film showcase. It will also be competing at the Queens World Film Festival, an Oscar-qualifying festival.

Director/Writer Brittney London is a multi-hyphenate creative that has worked across, film, theatre, and new media mediums. After graduating from the University of North Texas with a B.A in Theatre, Brittney went on to work in regional theaters in Atlanta, and off Broadway in New York. Later, Brittney was accepted into an acting intensive at the Stella Adler school in Los Angeles. Eventually, she took her talents to Beijing, China where she worked as a teaching artist and voice actor. She's since worked across the country in various capacities and recently in Cape Town, South Africa. Brittney currently resides in New York City and wrote her first pilot Compromised, which was an official selection in The Portland Comedy Film Festival, a semi-finalist in HCF’s screenwriting competition and nominated for Best Romantic Comedy Short Screenplay at the Atlanta Comedy Film Festival & the Women’s Comedy Film Festival. You can follow Brittney on Instagram @blondon_87

Producer Alex Geschwind was born in New York City and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts. Alex began dancing at the age of four and appeared in many shows associated with The Commonwealth Opera, Hampshire Performing Arts and the Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton. Alex moved to Los Angeles at 16 and finished her senior year at Hollywood High's performing arts magnet. She has appeared in several national commercials including Nissan and Ford and television shows which include Shameless and Mixology. She recently received her B.A. from The New School in New York City where she studied screenwriting and producing. Currently, she's writing/producing a short psychological horror film which is set to shoot later this year. You can follow Alex on Instagram at @alexgeschwind

This week, we chat with Bill Steele and Taylor Umphenour from the Hollywood Legion Theater where they've launched the only drive-in cinema on the West Coast of the United States to run 35mm film projectors. On July 1st, the Legion Theater Drive-In kicked off their "Summer of Celluloid" screenings series, sponsored by Kodak Motion Picture and Entertainment, with the brand-new film projectors. 

Umphenour, the theater's creative director and chief projectionist, shares what some of the obstacles were toward securing and installing these very costly projectors and the uptick in popularity the theater has experienced due to this novel outdoor cinematic experience. Steele, the theater's director, expresses optimism for the positive experience and appreciation audiences will leave with at the Legion Theater as well as his hope that 35mm drive-in's are here to stay post-pandemic.

Films being shown as part of the theater's Summer of Celluloid drive-in screening series include Purple Rain, Inception, Boogie Nights, and The Dark Knight. For more information and to buy tickets, visit https://www.hollywoodlegiontheater.com/drive-in/showtimes