Show Notes
THE BLURB: My friend COLMAN DEKAY knows everybody. And if he doesn't, he knows almost everybody. It's always been that way. The son of a publisher, Colman got used to writers like DONALD WESTLAKE, JAMES BALDWIN and NORMAN MAILER just "hanging out" at their apartment in NYC. A terrific writer himself, Colman would go on to write several episodes of TALES FROM THE CRYPT and the feature BULLETS OVER BROADWAY and NINE LIVES: A MUSICAL HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS. He's also worked extensively with PENN & TELLER. I meant what I said: Colman DeKay knows EVERYBODY!
SHOW NOTES: So – why do I say my friend Colman DeKay knows everybody? Because, as you’ll hear, HE KNOWS EVERYBODY! And, he’s so used to knowing everybody that he doesn’t even realize that he knows everybody. As you’ll also hear, Colman doesn’t drop names. But names - ones you recognize cos lots and lots of people know who they are - they come up in conversation because Colman was having a conversation with that person just last week. You know, like he’s having a conversation with you right now.
An A List Literary Salon It’s been like that since Colman was a kid. His family was involved in publishing in New York. His family’s Manhattan living room was a non-stop, A-List literary salon. A very, very, VERY scant sampling of the people Colman's rubbed elbows with since he was a kid: Donald Westlake, James Baldwin, Norman Mailer, Penn & Teller, Ken Kwapis, Steven Soderbergh.
Colman became a talented writer himself - of screens small and large and of the stage. I first got to know Colman when he wrote a handful of episodes for us at Tales From The Crypt.
Among Colman’s episodes - “In The Groove” and “Fatal Caper” and an absolute classic - “Staired In Horror” - which Colman wrote with occasional writing partner Teller from Penn & Teller.
It’s a great episode because of the writing – and because we somehow put a whole Louisiana swamp on our stage in Los Angeles.
New Orleans
Something about that part of the world – southern Louisiana, the swamps around there, New Orleans especially – has a powerful hold on Colman. Along with the musician PAUL SANCHEZ, Colman put together "NINE LIVES: AN ORAL HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS", a 40 song cycle that tells The Big Easy's story via its music.
Personally? I think Colman's ripe for a podcast of his own. A conversation just with his friends would be, in essence, a conversation with everybody. Everybody interesting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast
IN THIS EPISODE It shouldn't be a revelation that we're huge Sherrie Rose fans here at the How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast. Sherrie appeared in two episodes of "Tales From The Crypt" and had a small role in "Demon Knight", the first Crypt-branded feature. Her first Crypt episode was the William Friedkin directed "On A Dead Man's Chest" - a classic episode! But, Sherrie's second Crypt appearance - as the mysterious, mask-wearing young woman in "Only Skin Deep" - is truly a world class performance. Acting is just the tip of the Sherrie Rose Creative Enterprise. She writes, produces, finds financing and pretty much does it all. She's fearless. Like a force of nature. In this episode, we get into all of it - especially the writing!
IN THIS EPISODE We first met Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated British composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist NICHOLAS PIKE back during the Freddy's Nightmares days. Celebrated for his vast stylistic versatility across Hollywood feature films, television series, documentaries, and high-profile music videos, Nick is known for his innovative fusion of orchestral arrangements, electronic syntax, and experimental and found-sound instrumentation. He's built a dynamic career bridging mainstream commercial projects with critically acclaimed independent and documentary films.
IN THIS EPISODE Creative relationships are exactly like marriages. They require the same TLC and careful nurturing if they're going to endure and be successful. Cy Voris and Ethan Reiff return for another conversation, this time about the craft of writing and how that craft works when two people are doing the crafting. Cy and Ethan have been writing (and producing what they write) super successfully for almost 40 years! How did they do it? How do they continue to do it? That's just for starters!
IN THIS EPISODE Depending on how you look at it, our friend Brandon Routh either got the best job of his life when he got cast as Superman or the worst job. That’s because Superman is an unusual character which dictates how movie and TV producers have to cast him. Playing a super hero is a lot harder than it looks especially whenn the super hero you're playing is such a genuinely super being. That doesn't make playing Superman easier, it makes playing him harder - and harder still to find and cast an actor who can actually be the character (as opposed to "acting like" him).
IN THIS EPISODE Returning for another visit – the first of at least two conversations – are old friends Cy Voris and Ethan Reiff. Those knowledgeable about the Cryptosphere, recognize Cy and Ethan as the authors of the first Tales From The Crypt feature film “Demon Knight”. Having been part of several successful writing partnerships, I truly marvel at what Cy and Ethan have achieved. They’ve been working together for almost 40 years. Most marriages don’t last that long! In this chat, we'll talk about the craft of writing - both as individuals and as a team. Those are two somewhat different processes.