Sean David Johnson

A Conversation with the director of American Horror Story, Mayans M.C., and Raising Dion – IP 147

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This week, we are excited to bring you our conversation with Rachel Goldberg, a successful TV and Film director who has worked on episodes of American Horror Story, Mayans M.C., and the upcoming Netflix series Raising Dion. Rachel discusses how she approaches directing in different genres, the recent shift in Hollywood when it comes to hiring female directors and gives some sage advice on how to be successful in the industry.

We are also in the midst of the Max Fun Drive! Take the time right now to head over to maximumfun.org/donate to become a member, renew or upgrade your membership. We appreciate your support!

Then, in this week’s Big Sell, Sean gives his review and rating of a recent album from the soul/funk band with an international vibe, Khruangbin, and sells Amita on new music from Tierra Whack.

You can find more info about Rachel Goldberg here.

Check out Khruangbin’s Tiny Desk Concert performance of Maria Tambien here.

Sean’s Top 4 female bass players:

4. Melissa Auf der Maur

3. Gail Ann Dorsey

3. Tina Weymouth

1. Meshelle NdegeOcello

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The Hollywood Apology Trend & Inside Pop Quiz: Oscars Edition – IP 146

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This week, we bring you another installment of the Inside Pop Quiz – but this time, Sean quizzes Amita on her Academy Award History knowledge and also gets a few predictions for the upcoming awards ceremony. Then, we discuss the increasing amount of apologies in Hollywood – from Aziz Ansari to Kevin Hart, it feels like every day a celebrity is apologizing, or *not* apologizing for suggestive behavior, comments, tweets or actions. The sheer number of mea culpas these days makes it hard to tell who is being genuine and who is trying to get ahead of bad PR. We dissect who seemingly is getting the apology right and who may be a little too late to say sorry.

Plus, Amita reviews Sean’s big sell- the Oscar nominated Animated Short – Bao – and shares an album from the soul/funk band with an international vibe, Khruangbin.

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Inside the Production Design of Fargo, American Crime, Strange Angel + Casting Disabled Actors – IP 145

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In this episode we speak to Warren Alan Young, the production designer of some of the most beautiful television shows and films we’ve ever watched. From Fargo to Strange Angel to American Crime to the upcoming film Harriet, Warren has been responsible for creating, designing and executing a look that propels the plot, illuminates the characters and elevates the overall storytelling of all of his projects. He shares the secrets of the craft of production design and reveals his journey as one of the only production designers of color in Hollywood.

And in this week’s Big Sell, Sean rates an article on Hollywood’s Disability problem and recommends the Oscar nominated animated short, “Bao”, to Amita.

Warren Alan Young’s Official Site

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Winter 2019 Pop Culture Preview – IP 143

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We kick off the new year with a special Winter Preview edition of the Inside Pop Quiz! Sean tests Amita’s knowledge of major upcoming releases in TV, Music and Movie. Play along and see how much you know (and how much you find out) about some of the most anticipated offerings of the season.

Plus – the Big Sell returns in a big way! Find out why Amita’s Big Sell of a conversation between  Gina Rodriguez, Gabrielle Union, Ellen Pompeo and Emma Roberts gets four stars! Plus hear all about Sean’s Oscar campaign season influenced Big Sell – a revealing discussion between actors Mahershala Ali and John David Washington.

Links/Info:

The Horror films Jordan Peele asked Lupita Nyong’o to Watch Before Filming Us:

Dead Again, The Shining, The Babadook, It Follows, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Birds, Funny Games, Martyrs, Let the Right One In, and The Sixth Sense.

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2018 Best Movie Moments and Entertainers of the Year – IP 142

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If it’s the end of December, then it’s time for our last episode of the year- our round up of the best movie moments of 2018! This year, Action, Horror, Indie, Drama, Foreign and Documentary films make up our lists. From the blockbuster Black Panther to the silent thriller A Quiet Place to the indie darling, Eighth Grade, we break down which moments moved us to tears, made us laugh and kept us on the edge of our seats.

But wait, there’s more! For the first time ever- we are sharing our picks for Entertainer of the Year. We first discuss our runners up and why they made our list and then we announce who each of us chose as THE Entertainer of the Year!

Closing Quote – “Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.” – The Matrix

Films discussed:

A Quiet Place

Black Panther

Eighth Grade

Free Solo

If Beale Street Could Talk

Roma

Sorry To Bother You

The Favourite

Three Identical Strangers

Entertainer of The Year contenders:

Beyonce & Jay-Z

Cardi B

Donald Glover

Janelle Monae

Lin- Manuel Miranda

Sissy Spacek

Tessa Thompson

Listen to our Best TV & Music of 2018 episode here

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The Best Television & Music of 2018 – IP 141

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Inside Pop presents our year end special highlighting the very best Television and Music of 2018! That’s right – this one episode brings you our picks for  the most binge-worthy TV shows ( including Atlanta, Dear White People, Barry, The Haunting of Hill House, Killing Eve, Queer Eye, Sense8) and most addictive music (including Janelle Monae, Cardi B, Meek Mill, Florence and the Machine, Ella Mai, Jacob Banks, Chloe X Halle) of the past 12 months. Listen to hear new insights into the shows that sit on top of the TV peak, plus we’ll celebrate our favorite albums and each declare our Song of the Year!

Sean’s Top TV

black-ish

Dear White People

Castle Rock

Daredevil

Glow

The Haunting of Hill House

Killing Eve

Sense8 (Series Finale)

Amita’s Top TV

Atlanta

Barry

The Handmaid’s Tale

Killing Eve

Murphy Brown

Queer Eye

Amita’s Top Albums

A Star is Born (Soundtrack) – Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper

Championships – Meek Mill

Dirty Computer – Janelle Monae

Invasion of Privacy – Cardi B

Ventriloquism – Meshell Ndegeocello

Sean’s Top Albums

Dirty Computer – Janelle Monae

High as Hope – Florence and the Machine

Lean on Me – Jose James

Piano & a Microphone – Prince

Remain in Light – Angelique Kidjo (Remain in Light X 2 playlist)

Ventriloquism – Meshell Ndegeocello

Village – Jacob Banks

Sean’s Song of the Year

Happy Without Me – Chloe X Halle

Amita’s Song of the Year

Boo’d Up – Ella Mai

 

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Inside the World of a TV Casting Director: A Conversation with Evan Majors (Rhythm + Flow, The Real World) – IP 140

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Have you ever wondered what minds were behind the casting of your favorite unscripted TV shows and how they found the personalities who’ve grown to feel like family?

In this episode, we chat with Casting Director Evan Majors to find out his approach to finding talent worthy of TV screens and pop culture obsessions. He shares how he approaches meeting and interviewing talent, the need for more representation in film and TV and a little insider info on his latest project, the recently announced Hip Hop reality competition show, Rhythm + Flow for Netflix featuring Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and T.I. as judges. He also reveals the one casting video he’d love to get his hands on.

Then, in this week’s Big Sell, Amita gives her review of Sean’s suggestion- an article about Stan Lee after his passing- and then sells Sean on an honest conversation between Gina Rodriguez, Gabrielle Union, Ellen Pompeo and Emma Roberts about equal pay and representation in front of and behind the camera.

Links:

Find and follow Evan Majors on Twitter, Instagram and check out his website here.

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Movie Trailers: An Insider’s Guide to How They’re Made – IP139

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Have you ever wondered how a movie trailer is created? Have you ever questioned why you see a shot in a trailer that doesn’t exist in the film or fretted over the amount of plot detail a trailer reveals? Well wonder no more! This week, we speak to Nati Braunstein, Co-President and Creative Director at the Creative Advertising agency, Aspect, and get a look inside the process of making memorable movie trailers.

Nati discusses the collaborative effort behind the production of  trailers and reveals some inside info about the trailers and TV spots for the highly anticipated Aquaman and Mary Poppins Returns.

Plus, in the Big Sell, Sean reviews the new Riz MC single, “Mogambo” and sells Amita on an article about Stan Lee after his passing.

Aspect Website

Aspect on Twitter

Aspect Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode check out:

Our conversation with the Music Supervisor of The Florida Project and Tangerine

Our conversation with the Cinematographer of 20 Feet From Stardom and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

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Interracial Relationships in Pop Culture – IP 138

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Why is it still rare to see a romantic relationship between a black man and a white woman on TV? Is Netflix more progressive depicting interracial relationships than other networks?  How did the casting of a Cheerios commercial ignite a racist backlash?

In this week’s episode, we chat with Lori Tharps, a former Entertainment Weekly and Vibe Magazine writer, novelist and Associate Professor of Journalism at Temple University about how interracial relationships are portrayed on film and TV.

Lori breaks down the positive and negative aspects about the depiction of some of the more memorable interracial relationships in pop culture including Tom and Helen Willis on The Jeffersons, Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard and Aziz Ansari’s love interests in Master of None.

Then, Amita gives her rating and review of Jose James’ latest covers album Lean on Me and sells Sean on a new single from her multi-talented fantasy husband- Riz MC aka Riz Ahmed.

Links:
Follow Lori on Twitter & Instagram
Lori’s blog- My American Melting Pot

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Riz MC- “Mogambo”

Women in the Director’s Chair: A Conversation with Queen Sugar’s DeMane Davis – IP 137

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In this encore episode,  we speak with DeMane Davis, the director of the hit OWN series Queen Sugar. We chat with DeMane about the unique way she connected with Ava DuVernay to get the opportunity to work on the series and also discuss how she approached directing the premiere episode of the most recent season.

DeMane also discusses her new role as the series Producing Director and the responsibilities and creative challenges that come with the job. And she also dissects one of the most emotionally impactful moments of Season 3  – of course we’re talking about that infamous paternity test reveal scene!

Plus, Amita gives her rating and review of Sean’s Big Sell – Angelique Kidjo’s cover of the Talking Heads hit- “Once in a Lifetime” and sells a powerful TED Talk from Tracee Ellis Ross in the midst of the #MeToo movement.

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