Home From L.A.!

Hey there friends and readers!

So I’ve returned from my pilgrimage to the Bethlehem of Pop Culture, Los Angeles USA!  What can I say about it?  Well, there is truly too much to fit into this space.  I spent ten amazing days in the sun, the surf, the streets of Hollywood and with some of the most beautiful and wonderful people I’ve ever met.  LA was a real eye opening experience this time, and I left the city with some possible new directions as well as a whole lot of inspiration.  LA really is where pop culture dreams come true!

However, my trip to LA would not been nearly as memorable without the wonderful people who made it so special.  A heartfelt thanks goes out to Christine Cowden, Paul Dini and Misty Lee, Kelly Ann Ford from 20^th Century Fox, Aron Kincaid, Deirdre V. Lyons and Stephen Butchco,  Bruce McCollough and the staff at Westside Rentals Hollywood Hotel, Robbie Rist, Alisha Seaton, Carol Summers, Howard Schoenfeld and Veronica O. Torres from The Towers Company.  Each one of you, for one reason or another, made my trip to Los Angeles wonderful enough to ensure that I will come back.

But I need to reserve a special thanks to Erin Feeney and Matthew Schoenfeld who kindly allowed me to spend half of my trip camped out in their living room.  I have featured Erin Feeney a number of times over the last year here at PCA for her brilliant pop culture articles at http://www.21pimlico.com.  Erin and I met, as many friendships do, in a most peculiar way.  When I was in Los Angeles in July 2009 I met Erin in line at an autograph signing featurimg British comedians Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes who were releasing their cult British comedy, Spaced, on DVD.  For an hour and a half Erin and I bonded over our love for Doctor Who and our common struggle as writers trying to make it in the entertainment industry.  We exchanged e-mails, I bought Erin lunch, she drove me to my hotel in Hollywood and that could have been it.  However, for over a year Erin and I have kept in touch and she often is not only my eyes and ears in Los Angeles, but also an inspiration and strength to me.  When I feel like nobody in the small little Canadian city I live in gets what I’m doing I can call Erin for a hour long phone conversation and hang up feeling rejuvenated and ready to continue chronically the pop culture journey.  Her original articles continue to inspire me to, if anything else, find interesting topics before she thinks them all up first.  This time, while in LA, it was watching her preparation for a short film that she is putting into production that made me realize that I need to set my own clear goals and paths.  Anyhow, despite only meeting me once Erin and her partner Matthew trusted me enough to come into their home for a number of days.  I mean, I could have been an axe killer for all they knew!  They not only put up with me, but Erin brought me to the historical Culver Hotel in Culver City, brought me to an amazing Halloween party at actress Alisha Seaton’s (who is appearing now in The Fourth Kind) home and, in a once in a lifetime opportunity, via her friend Kelly Ann Ford, got me into the legendary 20^th Century Fox studios!  I believe that I was blessed the day that I met Erin Feeney and I only hope one day that I can return the kindness that she and Matthew showed to me when I was in LA.  It is people like them which is why I still have faith in the kindness of others.  There are good people everywhere we go.  However I do have one thing to apologize for. Erin, I ate way too many of your Jelly Bellies and I still feel a bit guilty about that.  I owe you a box when I return.  The white ones are just so darn good!

I was also pleased to spend a wonderful evening with two of my very favorite people in the world, Emmy award winning writer, and probably the world’s best Batman scribe, Paul Dini and his fabulous and beautiful wife Misty, on what proved to be a very special night.  The day that Paul, Misty and I were planned to meet up it was confirmed in Variety that Paul’s brand new television series, Towers Prep, will be making its debut on The Cartoon Network.  As part of The Cartoon Network’s foray into live action series, Tower Prep is one of two new live action series that will be debuting at a yet to be announced date.  Variety reported the premise of Tower Prep by saying:

Tower Prep is about a rebellious teen who wakes up one day trapped in a mysterious, inescapable prep school. By teaming up with his fellow students/inmates, this series looks like a long term caper.

Paul revealed a bit more about the series then that to me, but for the sake of our friendship, and the fact that I am not sure what Paul wants revealed and what is supposed to be kept under my hat, I won’t say much more.  What I can say is that Tower Prep could be one of the next cult series on TV.  Paul Dini has proven year after year that he is a gifted writer who brings a third dimension to every character he writes, and whose stories can be both whimsical and dark at the same time.  Tower Prep is sure to have the magical Dini stamp all over it.  By the way, for all those reading Gotham City Sirens, Paul’s new book featuring Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Paul gave me the run down on the next issue and it is a real treat, especially for old school Joker fans.  If you’re not reading it, make sure to pick up the next issue which gaps continuity of Bob  Kane’s era and the modern Batman beautifully.

And speaking of upcoming projects, I spent an intense afternoon with my new friend Carol Summers at the Directors Guild of America theatre where I saw advanced screenings of John Hilcoat’s The Road, starring Viggo Mortison, Charlize Theron and Robert Duvall and Jim Sheridan’s Brothers starring Toby McGuire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal.  The Road, which is being released November 27^th, is a murky and grim post-apocalyptic tale of a man’s attempt to keep his overly sensitive son safe as they make their way across America while outrunning cannibals, predators and other dangers that follow them.  However, it was Brothers that really captured my attention.  The film chronicles the uncomfortable family dynamics which take place when a soldier (McGuire) goes missing in Afghanistan and his brother (Gyllenhaal) steps up to plate to take care of his grieving sister in-law (Portman) and develops a bond with his two nieces.  All three leads gave incredible performances but it is Toby McGuire who gives a performance unlike any he has done before which is why I predict that McGuire will be up for an Oscar nomination for Brothers next year.  Brothers opens in theatres December 4^th and is my pick to see this winter.

But I know what you folks want to know about.  How about interviews?  You all know I wouldn’t travel all the way to Los Angeles without doing any interviews!  Well, the truth is, even before I left for Los Angeles I was already doing interviews.  A few days before I left for LA I was pleased to talk to former wrestler and current horror film icon Tyler Mane, who is possibly most famous for his roles of Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s incredible Halloween relaunch, as well as his portrayal as evil mutant Sabertooth in the first X-Men movie.  Currently developing a new film, Penance Lane, the first film that will be produced by his own production company, Mane Entertainment, Tyler and I talked about his wrestling career, his early acting career and how he made Michael Myers more then just a knife welding killer.

Then, upon arriving to Los Angeles, I sat down with a true pop culture original – former child actor Robbie Rist.  Now a fixture in the Los Angeles music scene, Robbie Rist will always be infamous for playing the notorious Cousin Oliver in the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch, which hurtled him into pop culture lexicon as the most famous “jump the shark” kid ever.  Yet, Robbie also appeared as a regular character in one of the 1970’s best sit-coms when he played David Baxter, Ted Knight’s boy genius son, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Still working in show business, now primarily as a voice actor, Robbie Rist spoke to me over a huge Italian meal about how he kept sane as a child actor in Hollywood, his musical career and his own insights on the Cousin Oliver phenomena.

Finally, upon returning from Los Angeles, I had the great pleasure to do an interview with Alison Arngrim, who played one of televisions’ most notorious villains, Nellie Olson, on the family classic Little House on the Prairie.  Currently touring North America and Europe in a one woman show called Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, and appearing in the new holiday film Make the Yuletide Gay, Alison charmed me with not only stories about her days playing one of the most despicable characters this side of Nurse Ratchet, but with stories about growing up in Hollywood, her childhood encounters with Liberace and even the real life history of the actual Nellie Olson.  My visit with Alison was a pure delight and I am excited to be featuring her at PCA.

My interviews with Tyler, Robbie and Alison will be here at PCA soon, but as many regular readers know, this fall has been a busy time for me and the interviews are beginning to pile up.  We have a small very team here at PCA and, as a result, it takes time to get the interviews transcribed, edited and formatted.  But, I am committed to get our latest interviews up between now and the end of January.  To recap who is coming to PCA in the weeks to come, along with Tyler Mane, Robbie Rist and Alison Arngrim I have interview with DC Comics head honcho Dan Didio, Married with Children’s David Faustino and James Bond alumnists George Lazenby, Lana Wood and Maud Adams in the can.  I also left Los Angeles with the foundations of five additional interviews being arranged so there is lots to come in 2010.

Anyhow friends, it is great to be home and there is work to be done.  Stay tuned because there is more to come.

Sam “There’s No Place Like Home” Tweedle

Pop Culture Addict