Triumph & Disaster with Cam McHarg

Former T&D guest Kevin Shulman stops by to join writer/director Matthew Wilder (Dog Eat Dog) and host Cameron McHarg for a wiseass and funny off the cuff roundtable about movies and politics at a sidewalk cafe in Los Angeles.

Derrick Peltz (Fox TV's MasterChef) went from a pro baseball prospect, to a professional drummer, to going on to become the most popular contestant on Gordan Ramsay's famous cooking show. Derrick stops by to talk with host Cameron McHarg about the power of saying no, being paid for one's art, mentors, humility, and how learning to conquer his own ego changed his life forever.

Director Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies, I Melt with You) talks about going punk rock with your art, the rise of Mtv and how experimental film influenced it, poetry, growth as a filmmaker, being relentless and willing a film into being, and having the strength to do your own thing without caving in to anyone or anything.

Fred Jourden of Blitz Motorcycles (Paris) talks brotherhood, mentors, initiation into manhood, the importance of giving, how he imbues a man’s specific personality and culture into a unique custom motorbike, his childhood obsession with Legos, his appreciation of all things old school, his love of Americana and it’s cowboy culture of freedom and the open road, how living fully translates into better creativity and vice versa, how listening to his gut on going on one fateful motorbike trip with buddies completely changed his life forever, and how being good at whatever you do makes you a better man. This is a special episode that really embodies what this show is all about, and I hope you enjoy this heartfelt conversation as much as I did.

Prolific LA based street artist, WRDSMTH talks with host Cameron McHarg about anonymity, writing, BANKSY, street art, creative discipline, making a living as an artist, and the importance and need for positivity in the world.

Director Marcus Nispel (Conan the Barbarian, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Exeter) discusses Clint Eastwood's "pussification" of the American male, his own concerns about the current decline of masculinity in men and in art today, his near Little Big Horn film collaboration with John Milius despite his usual dislike for westerns, Sam Peckinpah, male existentialism in Fight Club, grey areas in life reflected in storytelling, and coming of age with the films of the 70's.

Casting Director Billy DaMota stops in to talk about Predator, working with Dennis Hopper and Sean Penn on Colors, the LA punk scene in the 80's, and giving Billy Bob Thornton his first big break.

Actor Curtis Nelson has a scotch-fueled conversation with host Cameron McHarg about shooting a Harley Davidson commercial together, John Milius, Michael Cimino, Ben Johnson, Mali Finn, Billy Bob Thornton, old school video stores, sneaking into movie studios back in the day, persistence, blue collar values, being a family man and an artist at the same time, and making things happen for yourself.

American History X director Tony Kaye has a conversation with host Cameron McHarg about being in and out of Hollywood/Madison Avenue jail, Marlon Brando, Paul McCartney, Muhammad Ali, acting, directing, art, his love of America, and even about Donald Trump and the crazy state of American politics. We recorded in the seedy back alley of a bar on Hollywood Blvd, and will probably have a Part 2 episode together again in the near future.

Jeff Dowd (the actual "Dude" from The Big Lebowski) drops in for a conversation in the back of a Venice Beach lingerie shop owned by Peta Wilson (the star of La Femme Nikita), who also gets in on the talk. The dude covers everything from his Seattle 12 activist beginnings, to his early involvement with the Sundance Film Festival, politics, the Coen Brothers, White Russians, and bowling Lebowski-style.