Conducted ~11/2002

Over the course of his 40 year career, Bob Balaban has worn numerous hats. He’s been a writer, a director, and a producer, but he’s most well known as an actor, appearing in Catch-22, Midnight Cowboy, 2010, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, many Christopher Guest films, Seinfeld - just to name only a few.

It was in Close Encounters that he played the role of the translator, David Laughlin, and it was the on-set relationship with Francios Truffaut during the film that formed the backbone of his wonderful - and highly recommended - memoir of this period, Spielberg, Truffaut and Me: An Actor’s Diary, which provided a good enough excuse to do this interview.

The real reason, though, is that Balaban’s one of those actors you always see on the screen, and his is a career I thought would be fascinating to find out about. I certainly enjoyed finding out more about him, and I hope you do, as well.

Here’s my interview with Bob Balaban…
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Conducted ~1/1999

After my interview with Muppeteer Jerry Nelson, Jerry was kind enough to provide access for to the set of Muppets From Space, and vouched for me to his fellow Muppeteers.

What followed was over a month of me just hanging around the set in the increasingly cold January of 1999, part of which was spent chatting with and ultimately interviewing Muppeteers. Also, getting my hair cut by the production’s hairdresser… just because. Well, my hair was getting too long. She cut it with a razor. I felt like a movie star.

Anyway.

One of the Muppeteers I met was Dave Goelz. Goelz, if you’re not familiar, is the Muppeteer responsible for Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Boober Fraggle, Zoot, Beauregard, Uncle Travelling Matt, and many, many more.

And he’s a pretty nice guy, to boot. Below, you’ll find our conversation…
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Conducted ~6/2000 & ~4/2002

I’m a comic fan. Despite what I think of the emaciated, dying industry as it exists today, I’ll forever hold fond memories of my comic book reading childhood.

And if you’re a child of comic books and Saturday morning TV (like myself), then Stan Lee is instantly recognizable as the creator (with artists such as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, & Don Heck) of Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Avengers, Daredevil, X-Men, and many, many more.

If that list reads like a story out of a Hollywood trade magazine, it’s because all of those properties have gotten - or are about to get - the big screen treatment.

As with many of my interviews, I got a hankering to chat with one of my childhood idols, and went out and did it. When chatting with Stan, you’re instantly aware that his mutant power is sheer, unbridled enthusiasm. He has been, and remains, a dynamo of boosterism.

And a fun guy.

Also, despite his claims that he has a bad memory, many a gem will slip from that forgotten treasure trove if the circumstances are right.

What follows are two of the interviews I’ve done with Stan, the first of which was while he was having huge success with the internet media start-up Stan Lee Media - which would end the year under a dark legal cloud (through no fault of Lee’s) that would decimate the company.

The second interview followed about 2 years later, and was mainly me taking a promotional opportunity just to chat with him again.
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Conducted ~6/2000

I must admit, I don’t recall exactly what my rationale was for chasing down this interview, other than just respecting Sir Ian as an incredible actor who was just beginning to really get noticed by Hollywood. The first X-Men was just about to open, and the first installment of The Lord Of The Rings, The Fellowship Of The Ring, was still in the future.

Regardless of what the circumstances were, this is one of the interviews I’m most proud of. Sir Ian was wonderful, speaking n full candor, and I thought our conversation hit a wonderful groove. I also managed to do the interview before such in-depth pieces like this became a bit of a rarity for him.

I hope you enjoy it…
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Conducted ~12/1998

While trying to come up with the best term that describes Jerry Nelson, one’s mind turns inevitably to the words multi-talented and multi-faceted. Both contain the prefix “multi,” meaning many, and they illustrate the numerous talents - and characters - contained within him. From his humble roots in Oklahoma to his literal hand in creating cultural icons (The Count von Count, Floyd Pepper, Gobo Fraggle, Robin, Emmet Otter, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Herry Monster… The list goes on and on…), Jerry has accomplished much in his long and distinguished career. Although you don’t ever see him, you know and appreciate it when he’s there.

I’ve long been a fan of the Muppets, and being the inquisitive person I am, I researched exactly who the people were that worked to bring the Muppets to life - those wild men and women known collectively as Muppeteers.

Through the still-newish medium of the internet, I had begun a correspondence with longtime Muppeteer Jerry Nelson, and when the back-to-back filming of Elmo In Grouchland and Muppets From Space brought him to my backyard, I arranged to have a lengthy sit-down interview with him.

It was also through Jerry that I was able to hang around the set for months on end (effectively sacrificing my college career - an anecdote for another time) and befriend many a Muppeteer.

Jerry has become a good friend over the years (we also share a birthday, which led to me helping pull off a big surprise party for his 65th - gulp! - 10 years ago), and his life’s work has contributed nothing but joy to both children and adults for generations. I hope you’ll understand why doing this interview was so important to me, and I hope you get a kick out of it as well…
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Conducted ~9/2003

Without a doubt, Penn Jillette was an interview that had me worrying.

I’m always trepidatious going into an interview with someone who’s fiercely intelligent and highly opinionated - as any right-thinking, overly self-conscious person would be.

Despite my reservations about making an utter fool of myself, what usually (thankfully) happens is a kind of verbal high wire act, where the conversation feels like its dancing along on the thinnest of threads, propelled by an intellectual energy and give-and-take that can be quite exhilarating. And no, I’m not being hyperbolic.

Anyway, the interview with Penn was done with no real agenda in mind other than to just try and get some background and insight into a man and a mind I’ve always found fascinating.

And I made it out alive.

I’ve long wanted to have another conversation with Penn - and numerous attempts to chat with Teller over the years have been scuttled by scheduling snafus - but I’m happy if this piece is the only one I’ll ever have.
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Conducted ~10/2005

In early 2000, I did a massive in-depth interview with Dave Thomas, of SCTVand Bob & Doug McKenzie fame (which you can read HERE). During that conversation, I mentioned to Dave that I had attempted to arrange an interview with Rick Moranis earlier in the year, and encountered one of the most intimidating yet courteous declines I’d ever had when Rick answered my query with a phone call in which I essentially had to pitch him why the interview was necessary. I also had to explain the internet and the emerging field of online journalism.

Yes, I was utterly intimidated.

Nothing in Rick’s performances would have prepared me for the deep (deep!) voiced, utterly serious, level-headed, and most of all inquisitive person that rang me up that day, who finished our brief chat with a polite decline of the interview, as he felt he had nothing to talk about or promote.

Now, I’ve never wanted to do an interview just to pimp a product. I’ve always tried (when not doing favors or assignments) to chat with people I genuinely have an interest in conversing with, as I don’t believe in prepared, iron-clad questions. I want to have a conversation with someone. I think that’s far more interesting to them, to me, and to whoever might be reading the interview in the future. So I knew that Rick’s belief that he had nothing to offer in an interview was wrongheaded. Convincing him, however, would be an uphill battle.
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Conducted ~1/2000

Dave Thomas has a reputation for being a guy quick to temper who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, going all the way back to his Second City days and the landmark comedy show that grew out of them, SCTV.

As is my wont, though, I didn’t care about whatever reputation he may or may not have - I viewed him as a comedy icon and someone who would probably be fascinating to chat with.

And, after you read the interview below, I hope you’ll agree.

He’s also known as one half of that most-Canadian of duos, Bob & Doug McKenzie, alongside Rick Moranis (you can read my in-depth interview with Rick Moranis HERE).

I’ve since stayed in touch with Dave, and my own personal opinion of him hasn’t changed in the time I’ve known him - he may seem gruff and succinct, but he’s smart, funny, and a genuinely good guy. He’s got an amazing comedy mind, and he’s also one of those writers who has a knack for mentoring the next generation.

Oh, and if you ever talk to him, ask him about his car.
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Conducted ~10/2000 & ~8/2005

Terry Gilliam was the first member of Monty Python I ever had the pleasure to interview. As you can imagine, it was quite a momentous event for a comedy fan such as myself. I confess to being a bit nervous, but I needn’t have worried - of all the Pythons I’ve had the chance to chat with, Terry G was easily the most open and candid, with no subject taboo.

This first interview was conducted a month out from the start of principal photography on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and while he had his usual pre-shoot jitters, this was a very confident Gilliam, still riding high on the financial and critical success of 12 Monkeys and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. Unfortunately, as we all were able to view in the documentary Lost In La Mancha, the production of Quixote unraveled quickly, leaving Gilliam emotionally drained.

Over the next few years, audiences would be hard-pressed to even find theaters playing Brothers Grimm (marked by battles with the Brothers Weinstein) and the gothic Tideland (both are worth a second look on DVD. And, as we all know, tragedy marked the production of his latest film, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, further fueling the ludicrous chants of the so-called “Gilliam Curse”.

Immediately following this 2000 interview is my second in-depth conversation with Terry, which took place as Brothers Grimm was being unceremoniously dumped in theaters in the Fall of 2005 as part of the slate of final Weinstein films pushed out when they departed Miramax. I think both pieces, read consecutively, provide an interesting study of Gilliam as a filmmaker and man who, above all, keeps on pushing forward.
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Conducted ~6/2003

I was a late-to-the-party fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, having not begun watching the series until the musical episode. With the availability of DVDs and its recent premiere in syndication, though, I was able to catch up ludicrously fast, quickly falling in love with the show and its troubled spin-off, Angel.

As is my wont, I decided to do an in-depth interview with Buffy’s mastermind, and found him to be a fascinating guy.

You can see for yourself in the interview below, which follows the original introduction for the piece.
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