Jon Sperry is THE GO-TO voice and dialect coach in Hollywood. Beginning with Harvey Keitel in Jane Campion's "The Piano", Jon has had a hand in shaping countless performances in feature films over the last 3 decades. He teaches and coaches actors (in a general sense) but also specializes in voice & dialect technique. If you need to capture what it sounds like to be a farmer in rural Spain circa 1912...Jon's the guy who cracks that code for you. He's worked with Russell Crowe, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Gael Garcia Bernal, Liam Neeson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Zoe Saldana, Fmake Janssen, Olga Kurylenko, Juliette Lewis, Geena Davis, and Melanie Griffith (just to name drop a few). If that weren't enough Jon Sperry is also a Magician.
(Drops Mic and walks off stage).
Lex Halaby has been directing commercials and music videos day and night ever since he quit his day job over 10 years ago and going "all in". The field Lex operates in is a hyper competetive arena in which you see a steady flow of flavor of the month talent come and go. That said there are a few Directors who manage to stay hip, fresh and relevant and stick around for life. Lex is one of those that are here to stay. His body of work (with such acts as Death Cab For Cutie, Islands and Man Man) is unique and diverse. He's got a very distinct voice while always evolving his styles and avoiding repetition. As if that weren't enough he's also a pioneer within the cutting edge of fields of Virtual Reality (ex Oculus Rift) and 3D filmmaking. The guy makes builds his own camera systems for God's Sake. Ridiculous. Just Listen.
She's the 12th female to ever be inducted into the American Society of Cinematographers. She's one of the most interesting and inspiring people I know. Lisa Wiegand kicks ass and takes names. Nuff said. Enjoy.
Chad Damiani is yet another example of that typical, by the book, Hollywood career trajectory you've all heard before...Avant Garde Theater to Pro Wrestling Live Commentating to Studio Screenwriting by day and Underground Comedy Cultivator by night. All kidding aside, Chad's story is anything but predictable. The great Hunter S Thompson once wrote, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn Pro". Yep. Enjoy.
Jay sits down with fellow Camera Department comrade BJ McDonnell. For being one of the top Steadicam Operators in the world (yes, world) one couldn't have taken a more circuitous route to the top. BJ talks about his youth growing up in Florida and his long tenure on the road playing in the punk rock band "Lick 57". These days he hops from one movie set to another working on some of the biggest and best films being made (Tomorrowland, The Interview, Neighbors, Jack Reacher, Macgruber, The Lonely Island Movie, and so many more). Most importantly though...Bj is metal as f**k. Enjoy.
Shortly after the original interview was recorded Zakin called up Jay and requested that we do a follow-up interview to discuss some things that we failed to mention during the first session. We discuss a lot of advice for anyone looking to enter the film/tv business as well as the internship program at The Director's Bureau (Roman Coppola's production company). It's a short talk but lots of gems in there.
Michael Zakin started off as Set PA on Beverly Hills 90210. It was there that he caught the bug and joined the circus. Before long he was producing music videos with some of the best bands and directors in the world at Virgin Records. The bubble burst in the music video industry leaving few unscathed but Zakin survived and has been serving a long residency at American Zoetrope as the VP of Film Production. American Zoetrope was founded by Francis Ford Coppola in 1969 and has produced countless classic films since. While at Zoetrope Zakin produced "Life After Beth", "The Bling Ring", "Mozart in the Jungle" as well the upcoming "A Very Murray Christmas" (Starring Bill Murray and Directed by Sofia Coppola) and "Bonjour Anne" (Eleanor Coppola's directorial debut). You can't find a more honest, trustworthy and talented Producer than Michael Zakin.