BELOW THE LINE PODCAST

This is the second of two episodes discussing John Carpenter's The Thing, and I'm once again joined by Dean Cundey (Director of Photography), Ken Diaz (Special Makeup Effects Coordinator), Dave Kelsey (Mechanical Animation Coordinator), and Bruce Humphrey (DGA Trainee).

Dean also shared a video demonstrating how closely the filming of the movie aligned with Mike Ploog’s original storyboards, which you can watch on our YouTube channel:  https://youtu.be/Pve-hRIJGWc

This is the first of two episodes discussing John Carpenter's The Thing, the 1982 sci-fi/horror classic starring Kurt Russell. I'm joined by crew from the film: Dean Cundey (Director of Photography), Ken Diaz (Special Makeup Effects Coordinator), Dave Kelsey (Mechanical Animation Coordinator), and Bruce Humphrey (DGA Trainee). Welcome to Season 6 of Below the Line.

This is the final episode of Season 5, and we're checking in with crew members from the season's first episode for status updates. Join Katie Carroll (assistant director), Allison Choi Braun (costumer), Dan Fisher (property master), and Dave Tuttman (cinematographer) for a discussion about how film production in both NYC and LA is responding to the ongoing pandemic.

My guests today represent the motion picture craft locals of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters: Tommy O'Donnell (Local 817 - NYC), Steve Dayan (Local 399 - Hollywood) and Lorrie Ward (Local 155 - Vancouver). We discuss how the pandemic is impacting their members, resources for those in need, and the strategy for getting back to work.

Earlier this month, Danger Force (the superhero tv show in its first season on Nickelodeon), produced and aired a special quarantine episode, and my guests today explain how it came together: Jimmy Brooks (line producer), Mike Caron (director), and Robyn Willey-Pratt (first assistant director).

Our series focused on the property department concludes today with a pre-pandemic visit to Independent Studio Services (a prop house headquartered in Sunland, CA, with offices worldwide) for a conversation with Gregg Bilson, Jr. (CEO of ISS) and Scott Buckwald (property master, ISS customer, and longtime podcast contributor).

If you'd like to listen to this episode while looking at pictures from our tour, visit our YouTube channel for an edited slideshow = https://youtu.be/5v34PMDnHLI

My guest today is assistant property master Travis Bobbitt, whose work on 2019's Avengers: Endgame was the culmination of a journey he started a decade ago on 2010's Iron Man.

Today I'm speaking with the legislative directors from IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, WGA-East and the DGA, who collectively represent their members at the national level through their participation in the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industry Coordinating Committee (AEMI). We discuss their work to-date on behalf of creative professionals in response to the pandemic ... and what's still to come.

Ken Levin and Jill Parry join me today to revisit their time managing props for Wizards of Waverly Place, the Disney sitcom that aired four seasons (2007-2012) and introduced the world to Selena Gomez.

My guest today is Erik "Dr. Booty" Kieltyka, an assistant property master on the television show, S.W.A.T. (starring Shemar Moore), currently airing its third season on CBS.

Last week, we lost one of our own:  Larry Lerner, an assistant director with a film career spanning more than 35 years, passed away after contracting COVID-19. My guests today are fellow Directors Guild members who knew Larry, both on and off set.

Today I'm speaking with Jeff Butcher and Dan Fisher, the property team from 2008's The Wrestler (directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Mickey Rourke, and featuring supporting performances by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood).  

My guest today is Property Master Scott Buckwald, sharing his insights from the set of 2006's The Prestige (directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale).  This is the first of a multi-episode series focused on the Property Department. 

And just like that, we're back for a new season.  An assistant director, a costumer, and a property master meet virtually because of social distancing . . . this episode, my guests are crew members whose productions stopped filming due to concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19.  

Bonus Oscar episode! A hairstylist and a sound mixer walk into a bar . . . want to know what really happens at the Academy Awards? My guests today are hairstylist Yvonne De Patis-Kupka, who has crewed many an Oscar ceremony, and three-time Sound Mixing nominee Steve Morrow, who tells us about the red carpet, the after parties, and everything in between. It's a Below the Line look at the event itself from both sides of the curtain.

Our discussion of the Oscar nominees in the technical/craftsman categories concludes today!  A wardrobe department insider walks into a bar . . . this episode, we're assessing the nominees for Costume Design (Academy Awards series: 7 of 7).

A cinematographer walks into a bar . . . this episode is a deep-dive discussion of the Oscar nominees for Cinematography (Academy Awards Series: 6 of 7).

A makeup artist and a hairstylist walk into a bar . . . today, we're talking about the Oscar nominees for Makeup and Hairstyling (Academy Awards Series: 5 of 7).  

A pair of composers and a music critic walk into a bar . . . our Oscar conversations continue with a discussion of the nominees for Original Song and Original Score (Academy Awards Series: 4 of 7).

A pair of editors and a producer walk into a bar . . . today, our discussion of the Oscar technical categories focuses on the nominees in Film Editing and Visual Effects (Academy Awards Series: 3 of 7).

Our Oscar coverage continues!  A sound mixer and a sound editor walk into a bar . . . our discussion of the technical nominees continues with Sound Mixing and Sound Editing:  two categories with a complicated relationship that lends itself to an interesting discussion (Academy Awards Series: 2 of 7).

For the next two weeks, we're all about the Oscars!  A production designer, a set decorator and a leadman walk into a bar . . . our assessment of the nominees in the technical categories starts with an in-depth look at Production Design (Academy Awards Series: 1 of 7).

That same group of assistant directors are keeping the bar open late . . . our third of three episodes about the Directors Guild of America nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement is a discussion of the nominees in the various Television categories.  

A group of assistant directors continue talking at a bar . . . our second of three episodes about the Directors Guild of America nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement is about the First-Time Feature Film and Documentary categories.

Welcome to Awards Season!  A group of assistant directors gather in a bar . . . this week we're talking about the Directors Guild of America nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.  This episode (first of three) we discuss the Theatrical Feature Films.