The Viewfinder Podcast with Chris Hadley – Details, episodes & analysis

This week, we bring you a conversation with actor, writer and filmmaker Jake Matthews (CIA, THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME, WISDOM OF THE CROWD) about his experiences on screen and behind the camera, his creative projects outside the world of prime-time network procedurals, and the many challenges that come with being an actor in an always competitive business.

Follow Jake on Instagram @astronautjakematthews

Show logo designed by Matison Leblanc

Theme music - 'Call To Adventure' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.scottbuckley.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on X @ViewfinderPod

On Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

On Instagram: @TheViewfinderPodcast

On YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theviewfinderpodcastwithchrish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you have a question or comment about the show, if you have suggestions for future guests, and/or if you'd like to join Chris on the podcast, email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠theviewfinderpodcast@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠

Tony and Screen Actors Guild award-nominated actor David Furr (THE GILDED AGE, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, BULL, THE AMERICANS, 13 HOURS, THE HIGHWAYMEN, Broadway's NOISES OFF and BURN THIS) joins The Viewfinder Podcast to talk about both his remarkable career and how he's giving back to his native North Carolina and the next generation of performers as an acting professor at UNC Greensboro. Show logo designed by Matison LeblancTheme music - 'Call To Adventure' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.scottbuckley.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on X @ViewfinderPodOn Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram: @TheViewfinderPodcastOn YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theviewfinderpodcastwithchrish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If you have a question or comment about the show, if you have suggestions for future guests, and/or if you'd like to join Chris on the podcast, email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠theviewfinderpodcast@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠

This week, our lens is focused on another amazing short film that was part of this year's lineup at the inaugural Baton Rouge Underground Film Festival: writer/director Cory St. Ewart’s frightening supernatural thriller Evangeline, a story that re-imagines the beloved character from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's classic 1847 poem as a rebellious youngster - played by newcomer Renee Reed - who yearns to flee from the daily abuse inflicted on her by her cruel father (portrayed by Hick Cheramie) after she frequently runs away to the Louisiana swamps that surround their rustic home. 

In those swamps lives one of the most fabled and most feared creatures believed to have ever roamed Cajun country: the gruesome and devilish werewolf known as the Rougarou. Summoned by the siren song of Evangeline, and hungering for his next prey, the Rougarou comes face to face with his innocent human counterpart, becoming both the key to Evangeline's future and the ultimate threat to her father's existence. 

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on X @ViewfinderPod

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast

Show logo designed by Matison LeBlanc

Music by Audionautix.com

Owing its gritty style and character-focused plotlines to modern suspense standbys like TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. and director Michael Mann's 1995 thriller HEAT, the new crime drama  FRANK JAMES is a gritty journey into an emotionally fragile Los Angeles police detective's efforts to capture the reviled crime boss responsible for a teenager's killing.

Created by Jon Massey and starring Chris Muto in the title role, FRANK JAMES also features Fred Mata as Detective Byron Ozawa and Toni Robison-May as Detective Amy Washington, the two cops who assist Frank in his investigation of the young man's death. It's a search that also comes as Frank's soon-to-be ex-wife Maria (Angie Patterson) prepares to leave him after years of being frustrated with the way his career has overshadowed their once-joyful marriage.

Two of FRANK JAMES' first six episodes will be shown online during this year's virtual Minnesota Web Fest event (which runs from September 24th through the 27th), and funds for production of the remaining four shows are being sought through its currently ongoing IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign. You can find the links to the campaign's page in the show notes.

Coming at a time when the nationwide scourge of police brutality against Black Americans has been brought into its sharpest public focus through the Black Lives Matter movement, FRANK JAMES' serialized narrative gives the classic detective-based suspense genre a socially relevant edge, dramatizing both the decades-long conflict between Los Angeles' predominantly Black population and inherently corrupt elements in the city's law enforcement, and the darker side of a metropolis that most people associate with the glamorous world of show business.

Massey joins us today on The Viewfinder Podcast to talk about how his life in Los Angeles and his fascination with gritty suspense thrillers (such as HEAT and other films) influenced the concept for FRANK JAMES, as well as how he is attempting to stay creative while staying safe from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as it accelerates once again in California and across the United States. 

Watch FRANK JAMES' first 2 episodes on its official web site: 

www.frankjamesseries.com 

Help FRANK JAMES' IndieGoGo campaign raise money to produce the show's next four episodes:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/frank-james-a-web-series#/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankjamesseries/

Twitter: @FrankJamesWeb

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on Twitter @ViewfinderPod

and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast

Music by Audionautix.com 

Streaming video services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime capture all the attention and awards these days, leaving upstart platforms to fight however they can for their share of audiences. Into that marketplace comes Show Me TV, now available on Roku and coming soon to Amazon Fire TV and other set-top services to be announced.

Joining us to talk about Show Me TV are my guests on this week’s Viewfinder Podcast: Kurt Sather, Show Me TV’s co-founder, project director and connected TV/over the top specialist, Andre Boyer, Show Me’s content specialist, director of programming and creative team leader, and Shivani Patel, the company’s director of development and full stack app developer.

Show Me TV's web site: 

http://www.showmetelevision.com/

Find out more on Show Me TV on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ShowMeTV/

On Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/showmetelevision/

The Viewfinder Podcast on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast

On Twitter @ViewfinderPod

Music by Audionautix.com

This week's episode of The Viewfinder Podcast focuses on the hilarious new comedy short film WAIMEA, written and directed by Steve Herold and co-starring Kevin Kolack as a man who desperately tries to track down a missing lottery ticket. Yet with plenty of his neighbors on the hunt for that lucky ticket, will he find it in time before his wife finds out?

WAIMEA continues the collaboration between Herold and Kolack, who previously worked on the acclaimed 2018 comedy DEATH OF AN UMBRELLA SALESMAN and 1999's H.R. PUKENSHETTE. In this interview, they discuss not only their memories of making WAIMEA, but also how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted them on a professional and personal level.

WAIMEA recently screened at this year's online-only Jersey Shore Film Festival on July 15th, two days before this podcast aired. Please note that our interview was recorded last Friday (July 10th), which is why you'll hear references to the then-upcoming festival. 

Find out more about WAIMEA and Herold's production company Joint Partners Productions (which made WAIMEA and DEATH OF AN UMBRELLA SALESMAN) on these links:

ON THE WEB: http://jointfilms.com/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyDrCLmEAPWNa4Con-6mwmQ

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jointfilms 

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jointpartners

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jointfilms/

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on Twitter @viewfinderpod

and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast

NOTE: Slight spoilers for THE HONEY KILLER toward the last five minutes of the podcast.

This week's Viewfinder Podcast features what may be the most improbable story of filmmaking success ever told on this show: that of writer/director Richard Harrison and his award-winning 2008 comedy/thriller THE HONEY KILLER. 

Finally released on Amazon Prime, Google Play and iTunes over 12 years after it was finished, THE HONEY KILLER isn't just a Tarantino-esque action-packed story of revenge. The film's production and distribution processes were plagued by an inexplicable array of mishaps, disappointments and near-misses that almost doomed Harrison's first feature-length project to obscurity.

Yet when audiences got their first look at THE HONEY KILLER on video-on-demand, the movie's unexpected success further added to its incredible history. That success has now propelled Harrison to work on a big-budget remake of the original 2008 film, as well as an expansion of the film's concept into a TV series (THE HONEY KILLERS).

Harrison discusses his memories of making THE HONEY KILLER, as well as the invaluable lessons he learned about the craft and business of filmmaking while working on the film, on this week's show.

Check out THE HONEY KILLER on Amazon Prime, Google Play and iTunes, and find more information about the film here:

http://www.thehoneykiller.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Movie/The-Honey-Killer-21561237464/

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast

and on Twitter @ViewfinderPod

Music by Audionautix.com 

This week's show features an interview with actor and filmmaker Susan Gallagher (known to COBRA KAI fans as "Homeless Lynn" on the popular YouTube TV series) as she discusses her work on the acclaimed LGBTQ web series QUEERING, and how her female-owned and operated production company Her Little Red Productions is paving the way for talented women filmmakers to find success in the industry.

Created by Leticia De Bortoli, QUEERING stars Gallagher (who also served as the show's associate producer) in the role of a recently divorced woman (Val) whose life-changing sexual awakening occurs when she publicly announces that she's bisexual - much to the surprise and anger of her young lesbian daughter (Harper, played by Sophia Grasso), who's going through her own romantic problems at the same time. 

Having come out after 50, Val is guided through the finer points of bisexual life by Harper's best friend Devon (Diana Oh) while learning about how the monumental consequences of her decision to come out have affected both herself and the people she loves.

Season 2 of QUEERING is a co-production of De Bortoli's Gancho Films and Gallagher's production company Her Little Red Productions. Check both seasons of the show out on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1MfUBIrPMwj4oMelDe_osg/

Find out more about Gallagher on her official web site:

http://susangallagher.com/

On iMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0302500/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanGallagherOfficial/

Also check out the "Homeless Lynn Theories and Spin-Off Ideas" Facebook group (for fans of Gallagher's COBRA KAI character):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2701589869963294/

On Twitter: @SusanLGallagher

On Instagram: @IAmSusanGallagher

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on Twitter @ViewfinderPod

and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast

Music by Audionautix.com 

Described as "SEX AND THE CITY meets ENTOURAGE...only the poverty version", the hilarious comedy web series ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP is brash and bold in the tradition of female-led comedies like BRIDESMAIDS, FLEABAG and BROAD CITY. Created by Joelene Crnogorac and co-starring Kelly Frye, ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP focuses on a group of four actresses who'll do whatever it takes to reach the heights of stardom - but will their dreams crash into the harsh reality of Tinseltown? Crnogorac and Frye join us to talk about ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP on this week's show!

Check out all 6 episodes of ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1yOTFHUL6tx7_8fbcCtkEvS3A0W9OZcE

Find out more about ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP on the show's official web site:

https://www.allthewaytothetoptv.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allthewaytothetoptv/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/atwttttv

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthewaytothetoptv/

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on Twitter @ViewfinderPod

and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast

Music by Audionautix.com 

The Viewfinder Podcast returns with an all-new episode featuring this week's guest, filmmaker and actor Bri Castellini. Through her production company Undead Burrito Productions, Castellini created and co-starred in the web series BRAINS and SAM AND PAT ARE DEPRESSED. Also under the aegis of Undead Burrito, Castellini wrote, produced, directed and edited short films such as ACE AND ANXIOUS and BUY IN. Behind the camera, Castellini has also directed episodes of other web series like BETTER WITH YOU and ROSALIE.

In addition to her filmmaking work, Castellini has also served as community director for the web series content aggregator Stareable, and now serves as Film Community Manager for the popular indie film crowdfunding site Seed&Spark. Castellini is also an adjunct professor of the MFA Screenwriting program Stephens College, and serves in the same capacity as an instructor at LIU Brooklyn's MFA in Writing and Producing for Television. Find out more about Bri's work and her projects on her official web site:

http://bricastellini.com/

Support Bri's work on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/BrisOwnWorld

Reach out to Bri on social media: 

TWITTER: @BrisOwnWorld 

INSTAGRAM: @BrisOwnWorld

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpLE5who1dSJJJtDtVuN1Q?

Visit Undead Burrito's Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/undeadburritoproductions

Follow The Viewfinder Podcast on Twitter @ViewfinderPod

and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheViewfinderPodcast