How Sweet the Sound

Amazing Grace, 2018.

Get thee to the movie theater now, gentle reader, to see Aretha Franklin’s concert film Amazing Grace.  To see it on the big screen is to be transported back to 1972, to the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles where Franklin recorded her Grammy-winning gospel album.  In search of authenticity that a studio recording could never achieve, Franklin brought the studio to church in every sense of the word with the support of the Southern California Community Choir, her band, and Rev. James Cleveland, one of the most renown gospel figures of the time.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Press!

Special thank you to everyone who is watching!  We are thrilled with the amount of positive press.  Here is a small sampling which I am continuing to update…

Goodbye, Carl!

The Walking Dead, Season 8, AMC

The Walking Dead returned for the midseason premiere of Season 8 on Sunday and that means that Talking Dead is back!  8.3 million viewers said goodbye to Chandler Riggs whose character Carl finally met his demise.

Chandler grew up on the show, and this week Talking Dead aired never-before-seen footage of an interview that I shot with Chris Hardwick and Chandler on set in 2012.  They say that nothing measures time like children, so it was a special thrill for me to see this old footage from my first visit to the Walking Dead set.  Just a week earlier, I got the first call to direct interviews with Chris and cast. To prepare, I watched 8 hrs of episodes from the prison season and then got on a plane to Atlanta.  We arrived to scout during a night shoot. I can’t describe how creepy/awesome it was to have binged watched a show I love and then stand there on the prison set just a few hours later.  I love my job.

Watch Talking Dead every Sunday at 10pm ET on AMC. Check out exclusive interviews with cast & crew during my time on set in Atlanta.

Turns Out the Bat is Mightier Than the Sword

Grand Central Station

(Oct 25, 2016 UPDATE: 7.57 million viewers watched Talking Dead this weekend.  Congratulations to the team and thank you all for tuning in!)

Y’all ok?  Do you need a hug? That was rough.  I’ve known what was going to happen since our trip to Atlanta this summer, but it was still hard to watch.  The good news is that this season will introduce our pals to new characters and communities. I can hardly wait.

Chris Hardwick wins “Hardest Working Host” in television for his performance.  A “very special” Talking Dead aired last night in Hollywood Forever cemetery with the entire cast available to talk about the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead.  What they didn’t count on was the pouring rain.  What started out as a light sprinkle got progressively worse causing Hardwick’s mic to short out, but I have to hand it to him, he never once lost his cheer.  What a night!

Tune in for more exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew of Season 7 of The Walking Dead.

¡Vivan Los Muertos Vivientes!

Fear the Walking Dead, Episode 208 “Grotesque.” AMC. 2016.

Who watched Talking Dead following the Season 2 mid-season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead last night?  An awful lot of you, that’s who!  Thank you for continuing to make Talking Dead the number one talk show on television among adults ages 18-49.  Last night Talking Dead featured exclusive on-set interviews with Cliff Curtis, Colman Domingo, and Paul Calderon.  In June, I went down to Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico and met with the cast and crew.  The local Mexican crew that worked with us were fantastic and knew what I wanted even before I knew myself.  Gracias a todos.

Meat Ponchos

Walking Dead Mid-Season Premiere

The Walking Dead, Season 6: “Start to Finish” AMC, 2015.

Greetings, y’all!  The Walking Dead returns this weekend!  Will we find out what happens to our heroes we left covered in walker guts?

Once again, I traveled to Georgia to film behind-the-scenes interviews with some of our favorite characters for the second half of Season 6.  We shared the crew’s craft service where I learned that it’s a special thrill to sit next to a picnic table full of walkers during lunch.

Stay tuned to Talking Dead with Chris Hardwick on Sundays following The Walking Dead to learn more!

Make a date this Valentine’s Day on AMC 10/9C.

Farewell and Adieu to You, Ladies of Mad Men

Betty (January Jones), Peggy (Elizabeth Moss) and Joan (Christina Hendricks), Mad Men, AMC.

The cultural phenomenon Mad Men ends its seven season run tonight May 17 on AMC.

 

Last week the creator, Matthew Weiner, talked about the end of the series on the Nerdist podcast.   For him, at the crux of Mad Men is the idea that everyone wants the life that was promised in the ads – the idyllic expectation of life that is based on a cultural fiction that we’ve all agreed upon.  “In America in particular, the heroic myth is always a myth.”

 

Over the course of the series, one of the most blatant cultural fictions that the women of Mad Men have confronted is the American dream itself.  Hard work both at home and at the office very rarely pays off in the sexist era of the 1960s.  My favorite character by far is also the one I find most tragic: Joan, who bought into the ethos that betrayed her.  Modeling herself on the Marilyn Monroe archetype and attaining the top position in the secretary pool, Joan thought she had her own trajectory figured out, and for as long as the 50s lasted, she did.  

There’s No Place Like Home

The Walking Dead in Alexandria

Season 5 cast members of The Walking Dead – photo source: thetellybible.co.uk

The Walking Dead returned this month to AMC with new cast members and a new location.  And that means, new behind-the-scenes footage from yours truly!  This trip to Georgia in November was so top-secret that I didn’t even know what we were filming until I got there.  I love this job!

Stay tuned to Talking Dead with Chris Hardwick on Sundays following The Walking Dead to learn more.

In the meantime, please enjoy these promos from AMC’s Dead, White, and Blue Weekend special this summer.

AMC’s Dead White and Blue Weekend

 

Chris Hardwick and Steven Yeun on location in Georgia, TWD Season 5. AMC 2014.

Last month I found myself traipsing around Georgia on location with Chris Hardwick and cast members of The Walking Dead.  I directed a series of promos and vignettes for AMC’s Dead White and Blue Weekend, a full series marathon of The Walking Dead.  Jenn Nelson did an incredible job with her camera in really hot and muggy conditions.  As before, the cast and crew of TWD were so welcoming and generous with their time.  Our local BTS crew were pros and made it look easy.  Needless-to-say, we had a blast being on set, and I discovered that I like fried pickles.  Who knew?

Ode to Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey in “True Detective.” HBO. 2014.

Lo! There’s hardly an actor more committed

to risks of content and character.  He has made

an impression that even Matt Damon admitted

– a dedication that leaves lesser men afraid.

But there once was a time that belied his talent.

A penchant for super-tan flesh like Peking Duck

and bongos concealed the serious actor within

destined for leading man caliber with style and pluck.

In recent days there’s much to admire:

True Detective, Dallas Buyers Club and the like.

With critical acclaim, his star will soar higher

as did my fondness for his work in Magic Mike.

So, sing love and praise that once you hid.

It’d be a lot cooler if you did.