Bob Andelman Interviews

myQmunity.com, an online resource connecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to local events, activities and news of interest, has launched in the Tampa Bay market in preparation for a national expansion. A variety of media platforms, including podcasts, video casts and blogs, and features like searchable events and activities, and detailed listings of organizations and businesses, are designed to keep the community informed and connected. The site, aimed at engaged and active gay men and women between the ages of 25 and 55, highlights events and activities in a wide variety of categories, including arts and entertainment, sports and recreation, support groups, social clubs, spirituality, and dining and nightlife. It also includes an extensive directory of LGBT and LGBT-friendly businesses and organizations; and, signifying myQmunity’s commitment to community service, qualified non-profit organizations receive free listings. Steve Kmetko, who worked in television news for more than 30 years at CBS News and E! Entertainment Television, among other outlets, hosts “And Here’s Steve…”, a podcast exclusive to myQmunity. Kmetko will call upon his vast resource of experiences and contacts in the entertainment industry and beyond to cover a variety of topics with a distinctive point of view. Already, Kmetko has interviewed Judy Shepard, whose new book tells the story about her gay rights activism following her son Matthew's 1998 murder.

For ten years, between 1985 and 1995, Calvin and Hobbes was one of the world's most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life. There is no merchandising associated with Calvin and Hobbes: no movie franchise; no plush toys; no coffee mugs; no t-shirts (except a handful of illegal ones). There is only the strip itself, and the books in which it has been compiled. In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip, writer Nevin Martell traces the life and career of the extraordinary, influential, and intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. With input from a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Lethem, and Brad Bird) as well as some of Watterson's closest friends and professional colleagues, this is as close as we're ever likely to get to one of America's most ingenious and intriguing figures—and a fascinating detective story, at the same time. Watterson has left behind an impressive legacy. Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is an affectionate and revealing book about uncovering the story behind this most uncommon trio—a man, a boy, and his tiger. Nevin Martell is also the author of Standing Small: A Celebration of 30 Years of the LEGO Minifigure, Dave Matthews Band: Music for the People and Beck: The Art of Mutation.

It is the dream of many kids, tweens, and teens—landing a role on a TV series or starring in a feature film. With franchises such as “Hannah Montana,” “iCarly,” “Gossip Girl,” and High School Musical, and the new feature film FAME, there has never been a better time for aspiring child and teen actors to break into show business—but the path to stardom can be notoriously harsh. Enter Frederick Levy, top talent manager and sympathetic advocate for young stage and screen actors across the country. In his new book, Acting in Young Hollywood: A Career Guide for Kids, Teens, and Adults Who Play Young Too , Levy advises on everything from headshots and reels to the role of agents, managers, and parents to auditions and booking a job. Levy covers all the bases from how to get started finding basic training and representation all the way through managing your career and harnessing the power of publicity. Filled with inspiring anecdotes about the biz, this book entertains readers while offering sound, proven advice from actors, acting coaches, agents, and casting directors. In addition, Levy provides a comprehensive appendix filled with contact information for talent agencies, management companies, unions, studios, and more. With Acting in Young Hollywood as a guide anyone can successfully navigate the complex world of child acting and find fulfillment and lucrative opportunities. Levy is the author of five books and the owner of Management 101 in Los Angeles.

Natalie Wood was a Hollywood icon, beloved by millions for her performances in such classics as Miracle on 34th Street, West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause. Married for the second time to actor Robert Wagner and the mother of young children, Natalie had everything to live for. Her bizarre death on or near the yacht Splendour on a chilly November evening in 1981 has been shrouded in mystery. In his recent best-selling memoir Pieces of My Heart, Robert Wagner told his version of what happened on the yacht Splendour on the night his wife died. But is Wagner’s version accurate? Who knows the truth? Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour is the result of a decades-long investigation by journalist Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern, Natalie’s friend, confidant and captain of the Splendour on that controversial night. Painstakingly researched and written from the heart, here is an in-depth examination of Natalie Wood’s life—and death. Marti Rulli has held executive positions in printing and media. She runs her own advertising business and is a long-time freelance writer. Dennis Davern was the boat captain for Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood and was on the yacht Splendour on the night of Wood’s death. He currently owns and operates a marina and boat maintenance business.

The creative vision of Daymond John—the “Shark” in ABC’s business reality series “Shark Tank”—helped revolutionize the sportswear industry in the 1990s. As founder, president and chief executive officer of FUBU -- “For Us, By Us” -- Daymond created distinctive and fashionable sportswear and a host of other related gear. FUBU’s phenomenal success made mainstream apparel companies realize the potential for fashionable sportswear that appeals not just to trendsetting urban youth, but to mainstream teens as well. One day in 1992, he and his friend sold $800 worth of hats and realized their ideas had definite potential. They created a distinctive logo and began sewing the FUBU logo on hockey jerseys, sweatshirts and t-shirts. Daymond lured some longtime friends into the business and asked old neighborhood friend, L.L. Cool J., to wear a t-shirt in a photograph for a FUBU promotional campaign in 1993. Daymond and his mother mortgaged the home they collectively owned for the $100,000 in start-up capital. Even more amazingly, she then moved out so the quartet could use the home as a makeshift factory and office space. As CEO and president, Daymond guided FUBU to $350 million in revenues in 1998, placing it in the same stratosphere as such designer sportswear labels as DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger. In 2007 the street-smart businessman penned a book, Display of Power: How FUBU Changed a World of Fashion, Branding & Lifestyle. Watch the season finale of “Shark Tank” on ABC on October 20 at 8 p.m.

James Dashner’s The Maze Runner’s mysterious premise provokes thought in its exploration of power and identity. From the first paragraph, the story races forward at breakneck speed and will leave readers in disbelief as they reach the dramatic and startling conclusion. The Maze Runner opens with a jolt, when sixteen-year-old Thomas is dropped unwittingly into a dystopian society called the Glade. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, they’ve closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the maze after dark. But the day after Thomas arrives, a girl shows up for the first time, and everything changes. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might be able to find their way home . . . wherever that may be. But it’s looking more and more as if the maze is unsolvable. And something about the girl’s arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. For an interactive experience with the book, check out TheMazeRunner.com, where fans will find the Maze Runner Mission Game, a video book trailer, message boards, exclusive content, and more. James Dashner is also the author of the 13th Reality series. After several years working in finance, he is now a full-time writer.

Kevin G. Schmidt, 20, once best known as the chubby clarinet-playing son in the blockbuster Cheaper by the Dozen films, currently co-stars on the #1 daytime drama The Young and the Restless as Noah, heir to the Newman dynasty. Kevin recently co-starred as Bull, the jock who makes trouble for 'tween queens Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, in the latest Disney original movie, Princess Protection Program, which premiered in June as the third highest rated Disney original movie in the channel’s history. Every Tuesday, Kevin can be seen co-starring in fresh episodes of the online comedy series, Poor Paul. Kevin also produces Poor Paul, which is now in its second season. Kevin’s resume includes many notable television hits from dramas such as CBS’ NCIS and Without a Trace to quirky comedies like HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and USA’s Monk. Kevin also found success on the big screen. In addition to the Cheaper by the Dozen films, Kevin co-starred with Ashton Kutcher in The Butterfly Effect. In Catch That Kid, Kevin counted Kristin Stewart and Corbin Bell as his co-stars. Transitioning to leading man, Kevin starred in the indie thriller Resurrection Mary opposite Sally Kirkland. He will next be seen co-starring in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel on Christmas Day 2009.

Tania Gunadi plays girl next door Emma in the action-adventure television series "Aaron Stone" on the new Disney XD television channel. Born in Bandung, Indonesia, Gunadi relocated to Los Angeles with her family and began taking acting classes with acting coach Robert F. Lyons. She got her first job as a dancer in a short film and then landed her first role in a commercial for Disneyland. Since then, her television credits include guest starring roles in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "The Inside" and a recurring role in Disney Channel's "Even Stevens." She also had a starring role in the pilot "Weiner Park." Her film credits include a role as Starfleet Cadet in the feature film, Star Trek, lead roles in The Magic of Ordinary Days, I Hoodlum and Lock Her Room, and co-starring roles in the Disney Channel Original Movies "Pixel Perfect" and "Go Figure." Gunadi currently resides in Los Angeles and enjoys playing the drums, swimming, cooking vegetarian meals and volunteering at the animal shelter. She speaks fluent Indonesian and Sundanese.

Who knew? Wisconsin comic artists, editors, and publishers have made both central and fringe contributions to the language, form, and content of comic strips, comic books, and other forms of this popular art. Paul Buhle traces this history in Comics in Wisconsin, illustrated by more than two hundred reproductions, from “The Gumps” and “Gasoline Alley”—which introduced the continuity of daily life into newspaper “funnies”—to comic book histories of Students for a Democratic Society and the Industrial Workers of the World, alternative press comics that fostered talents like Lynda Barry and James Sturm, and comic adaptations of totemic figures like Howard Zinn and Studs Terkel. Specialists and collectors will treasure this volume, and readers will find themselves educated and vastly entertained. Includes the work of Art Young, Frank O. King, Sidney Smith, Harvey Kurtzman, Bill Griffith, Sharon Rudahl, Gilbert Shelton, Howard Cruse, Alison Bechdel, Trina Robbins, Art Spiegelman, Mike Konopacki, James Sturm, and Lynda Barry. Cover is by R. Crumb. Paul Buhle was a senior lecturer at Brown University and in retirement is a returnee to Madison, where he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin. His forty published volumes include a dozen comic art volumes, five biographies, and a book series on the victims of the Hollywood Blacklist.

CollegeHumor.com was founded in 1999 by two high school friends from Baltimore, Maryland, Streeter Seidell and Amir Blumenfeld, who went to different colleges as a way to share all of the pictures, videos, and links their friends would IM and e-mail each other. Now, CollegeHumor is the #1 comedy site on the internet. We showcase hilarious original videos, articles, contests, and interactive features, as well as pictures and videos submitted by fans like you. Our in-house writing and production team powers CH Originals, which delivers original, TV-quality comedy videos multiple times a week.

Guillermo Diaz plays Nurse Angel Lopez on NBC's "Mercy." “Mercy” is a new medical drama about the lives of the people who work at Mercy Hospital seen through the eyes of those who know it best—its nurses. The show airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. He came to national attention after starring as Scarface in the cult film Half Baked, opposite Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer. He joined Academy Award winners Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Terminal for renowned director/producer Steven Spielberg. His varied resume also includes feature roles in indie hits such as Party Girl opposite Parker Posey, Stonewall, I'm Not Rappaport with Walter Matthau, 200 Cigarettes with Christina Ricci, High School High and Chelsea Walls, directed by Ethan Hawke. In addition to his feature film credits, Diaz is known for his three seasons on the award-winning Showtime series “Weeds” where he plays Guillermo, Mary Louise Parker's drug dealer. He has also been seen in “ER,” “Law & Order” “Chappelle’s Show,” “The Shield,” “Without a Trace” and “The Closer.” Diaz most recently wrapped the indie feature Peep World with Rainn Wilson and Sarah Silverman and the USA series “Royal Pains.” He will next be seen opposite Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in Kevin Smith’s feature A Couple of Dicks, Hear "Mercy" star Jamie Lee Kirchner on Mr. Media Radio

Hayley McFarland can’t remember a time she didn’t want to be an actress. She currently stars as Tim Roth’s daughter on FOX’s breakout hit, “Lie to Me” and recently recurred on the first season of Showtime’s edgy “The United States of Tara.” It’s been a very good year for the young actress. More Mr. Media interviews with the stars of “Lie to Me”: Monica Raymund Kelli Williams   Exclusive Hollywood, celebrity, pop culture podcast interviews by Mr. Media®, a.k.a., Bob Andelman, with newsmakers in TV, radio, movies, music, magazines, newspapers, books, websites, social media, politics, sports, graphic novels, and comics! Now in its 5th year! Subscribe FREE on iTunes or mobile devices via the Stitcher app and never miss a show! Watch or listen to more interviews like this one at http://www.mrmedia.com . Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/andelman Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MrMediaRadio Download the free Mr. Media app for Android phones: http://www.noticeorange.com/r/MrMediaInterviews Or listen on Stitcher via your iPhone, Blackberry or Palm Pre: http://www.stitcher.com/mrmedia

Aimee Garcia stars as tough young helicopter pilot Marisa Benez in NBC's new ensemble medical drama series, "Trauma." The show airs Mondays at 9 p.m. Best known for her role as Andy Garcia's daughter and George Lopez's niece, Veronica Palmero, on "The George Lopez Show," she is currently the only Latina in her generation to be on syndicated television. Garcia is an actress of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She began at age 7 as a professional dancer in Paul Mejia's "Cinderella" at the Auditorium Theater, and by age 12 was dancing 20 shows a month as Clara in "The Nutcracker" which led to her first commercial as a dancer. She then began taking acting lessons at the Piven Theater Workshop, whose alumni include John Cusack, Joan Cusack and Jeremy Piven. She moved to Los Angeles, getting her first official Hollywood break as a series regular in the WB's "Greetings From Tucson." The short-lived series established her as a TV regular, and since then she's filmed various TV pilots and appeared in episodes of shows such as "Gary Unmarried," "Family Guy," "Bones" and "My Boys."

Sara Zarr has appeared on Mr. Media Radio to discuss each of her young adult novels (Story of a Girl, Sweethearts) and will be the first guest to return for a third visit. Here’s how Sara explained the new story in a recent blog entry: “A few years after I moved to Salt Lake City, a girl named Elizabeth Smart—who lived more or less in my neighborhood—was kidnapped. You probably remember. At the time, I worked at a church, and had no car, and it was hot, hot summer. Like everyone in Utah back then, I obsessively followed the case and watched the news. I’d walk to work in the heat and think about Elizabeth and imagine what it would be like to be a teen girl in Salt Lake right then. A story started to form on those walks to work. It existed in numerous forms before it became Once Was Lost, in which we see this local crime through the eyes of a pastor’s daughter, Sam, who is already in the midst of a crisis of faith. “My faith is still important to me, and I’ve long wanted to write a YA novel that involved a character with a sincere but conflicted religious faith. That’s how I usually feel: sincere but conflicted. So, in some ways Once Was Lost is about faith. In some ways it’s a mystery. But, at its heart, it’s about what all my books are about: family, identity, and growing up.” More Mr. Media interviews with Sara Zarr: Story of a Girl Sweethearts

Yvette Nicole Brown stars as Shirley, a sassy middle-aged divorcée, in NBC's new comedy series "Community." As a young girl growing up in East Cleveland, Ohio, Brown dreamed of a career on stage and screen. She began her entertainment career as a vocalist while still in her teens, when after an impromptu audition for Michael Bivins (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) she was signed to Motown Records as a part of the East Coast Family, a group of new talents that included Boyz II Men. Brown emerged as one of the most sought-after character actresses in Hollywood, highlighted by memorable appearances on numerous hit TV shows, including: "House," "Entourage," "The Office," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Two and a Half Men," "Malcolm in the Middle," "7th Heaven," "Fat Actress," "Til Death," "That's So Raven," "Rules of Engagement," "Privileged" and "That ‘70s Show" among others. In addition, she has had recurring roles on "Boston Legal," "Girlfriends," "Sleeper Cell," "Half & Half" and "Drake & Josh." In 2004, Brown made her feature film debut in the hit romantic comedy Little Black Book. She has since had roles in The Island, co-starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson, as well as Dreamgirls, The Kid & I, Meet Dave, Tropic Thunder, Hotel for Dogs, The Ugly Truth, Repossession Mambo, and 500 Days of Summer with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.