Wait, who does that as a response to a book interview?! Is this what happens when someone is too much of a LOST fan?!  

Normally, I’d object to such imagined questions. Rude! But there is that title, and it is Christmas. OK let me explain. 

So you see, my LOST videos are the ones I’ve referenced but haven’t posted on my podcast feed until now. Clearly, the previous sentence is not about the TV show LOST.

This is about the kinds of conversations everyone has around the dinner table—or at least the kinds I want to have at dinner and elsewhere but don’t always get to, when I’m bewildered by the world or frantically racing through some arbitrary to-do list because everyone else is doing it.

Along the way, I’ll share some of the defining moments and strange encounters over the past few years that have shaped me into the person I’ve become. 

Sharing this now because soon I’ll need to make some decisions about what comes next, and that includes whether or not to keep the podcast going and in what form. So I figured I’d post the videos as podcast episodes, just in case doing so can help clarify things for me and for any of you wrestling with similar questions. 

This wouldn’t be a Christmas-minded story without a guiding spirit or a star of wonder to point the path to a better way, so there’s some of that as well. Oh, and there are also a couple of scattered references to the TV show LOST … 

Some episodes are on the podcast feed but are best experienced as videos.

Merry Christmas everyone! 

LOST Video I: Destiny or Delusion—an Anna Kendrick Question

LOST Video II: Coincidence or Connection—Taylor Swift/Anna Kendrick, JFK/CS Lewis, & Ralph Waldo Emerson

LOST Video III: Defending Elon Musk, Reevaluating Tom Hanks & Stephen King

pic.twitter.com/ms7sAjkzAW
Congratulations to Elon & co. for getting compensation approved!

I defended Elon early in the year and got flack for it from showbiz swamp.

Defending Elon Musk, reevaluating Tom Hanks and Stephen King—an unconventional, freewheeling conversation.

— Nick Savides (@nsavidesPRO) November 6, 2025

The post The LOST videos: A Strange Christmas-Minded Story Regarding Anna Kendrick, Taylor Swift, and Elon Musk  appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

Afterwards I share some updates about some possibilities on the horizon.

My conversation with Tom Piazza:

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My commentary about Treme and the interview with Tom:

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Related Episodes

On this podcast commentary from the 2018 Cutting Edge Music Conference, I share some takeaways about the New Orleans music community. My interviews episode from Cutting Edge 2018 includes a story about Clarence “Frogman” Henry.

The post Commentary: HBO’s Treme, The Wire, & Tom Piazza appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

I met with Tom at the historic Columns Hotel in New Orleans to talk about his work and the city that has shaped so much of it. Some of the things we discuss in the episode include

• Highlights from the 50th anniversary of Jazz Fest
• How to write about a place like a local
• What not to do when writing music criticism
• Research that went into his album notes for Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues
• How the writing room on Treme worked together to flesh out challenging story points

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Related Episodes

One of the bands featured in Treme is Papa Gros Funk. On this episode I interviewed the filmmakers behind Do U Want It, a documentary about the band that focuses on their final performances before their indefinite hiatus.

This episode features an interview with Laura Cayouette, a New Orleanian actress who played Kay, a recurring character on Treme. Laura is often recognized for her role in Django Unchained, where she played the sister of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character.

The post Treme & Why New Orleans Matters: Writer Tom Piazza appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

After landed a recurring role on the Starz series Magic City, Garrett was able to turn acting into a full-time career.

Some of his other notable projects include Bonnie & Clyde, which was the third most-watched basic cable miniseries of all time, and Deepwater Horizon, where he played Karl Kleppinger Jr., one of the 11 workers who died when the rig erupted.

Some of the things we discuss include

• What goes into researching a historical figure
• Techniques for finessing a performance that isn’t working
• How getting connected to an acting community helped Garrett find success
• Building rapport with colleagues when you have just a few hours to make a connection
• The lore around Bonnie & Clyde and the fascination that continues to this day
• What it’s like playing a real-life character who has died and meeting his family
• Learning how to be comfortable in your skin, onscreen and in reality
• Exploring a life of crime on screen

If you’d like to hear another interview with an actor and acting coach, you can listen to my interview with Laura Cayouette, who you might recognize as the sister of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Django Unchained. We discuss her approach to acting and instructing other actors, her collaborations with Tarantino, and more.

Show notes for that episode are here:

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Films & Shows Mentioned

• 48 Hrs.
• Bonnie & Clyde (2013)
• Burn Notice 
• Common Law
• Deepwater Horizon 
• Devil’s Acid
• Free State of Jones
• The Iceman 
• Magic City
• Mr. Right 
• Shakespeare on the Range 
• St. Jude’s Crossing
• Underground
• Ya Albi 

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Book Mentioned

• The Organic Actor: Insider’s Secrets to Auditioning for Film and Television

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The post Acting in Deepwater Horizon & Bonnie & Clyde: Garrett Kruithof appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

Hope shared a lot of great insights, so rather than try to cut down the interview’s length, I decided to do my commentary on a separate episode. It would also give me the opportunity to think more about Aaron Sorkin’s work and to delve more deeply into The Newsroom, which I watched all the way through for the first time in preparation for the interview.

While The Newsroom came out in 2012, it still feels relevant in today’s political landscape. It dares to imagine what the news could be like if more of its practitioners were focused on telling the truth, and not merely entertaining for the sake of ratings or succumbing to the pitfalls of partisan politics.

It’s a big vision, but does the show live up to its potential and its own ideals? What if anything can we take away from the show as we try to navigate the often polarizing waters of today’s current events?

That’s what I set to examine in my commentary. The Newsroom involves a number of political discussions, so I couldn’t see a way to thoughtfully discuss the show without touching on its political outlook. My podcast is not primarily a political one, but I do believe it is important to address challenging issues on occasion, even if they do touch on politics.

I understand that politics can be polarizing, so I was hesitant to dive in, but the stakes felt substantial enough, and just because certain terrain is tricky to navigate doesn’t mean we should avoid it entirely. On the contrary, it can be important to engage and to do so in a civil way. Otherwise only the most belligerent and extreme voices will be heard.

My perspectives might be a little different than how you see things or what you might expect based on other film and TV commentaries, but they are earnestly offered.  Regardless of where you fall in the political spectrum, I’m hoping that you’ll consider my outlook and that we can continue the conversation in a thoughtful and considerate way.

Let’s work together to make things better, shall we?

The Newsroom includes ongoing references to Man of La Mancha, a musical that has also meant something to me over the years. I discuss it in the commentary and briefly mention it in my prior discussion with Steve Kaplan, Hollywood’s go-to comedy consultant. Check out the interview with him below to get a better sense of how comedy works and why it matters.

Show notes for that episode are here:

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Films & Shows Mentioned

• 500 Days of Summer
• I, Tonya
• Man of La Mancha
• Molly’s Game
• The Newsroom
• On the Waterfront
• The Post
• Thank You For Your Service

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Books Mentioned

• Elia Kazan: A Life
• Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials

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spoti.fi/2nSw4bY

The post Commentary: Hope Hanafin, The Newsroom, & Impossible Dreams appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

Frank is also an accomplished director. The first feature film he directed was Dark Crystal, which he co-directed with Jim Henson. He then went on to direct films like The Muppets Take Manhattan, Little Shop of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, What About Bob, and Bowfinger. To many though, myself included, Frank is best known as the performer who brings Yoda to life in the Star Wars films.

Recently he directed a documentary about what it was like for him and his colleagues to work with Jim Henson on the Muppets. The documentary is called Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched and will be available online for viewing on the film’s site on March 16.

The Muppets and the Star Wars films have meant a lot to me throughout the years, so I was eager to do the interview, one I’ve been pursuing ever since I met Frank at SXSW 2017. The interview finally happened recently, but it didn’t go as expected.

Instead of editing out the complications, I decided to include them and offer some commentary about what happened. It felt like doing so could offer a more honest look at what a creative collaboration can involve.

In this episode we discuss

• What it was like collaborating with Jim Henson
• Whether there is a place for films to convey a moral outlook
• How Frank gained the confidence to do voices along with his puppetry
• How the character of Yoda developed and what if anything inspired the character
• What kind of influence a good creative leader can have on others

Want to hear another puppet-related episode? You might appreciate this interview with Clay Achee. His Dark Crystal fan film got featured on the Jim Henson YouTube page, which led to him getting an exclusive tour of The Jim Henson Company’s studio space. Show notes for that episode are over here.

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Films & Shows Mentioned

• Boiler Room
• Bowfinger
• The Dark Crystal
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
• Empire Strikes Back
• Fraggle Rock 
• In Their Own Words: Jim Henson
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched
• The Muppet Show
• The Muppets Take Manhattan
• The Producers
• Star Wars
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• What About Bob
• Walk With Me

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Books Mentioned

• Jim Henson: The Biography
• Poetics
• The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery
• Sesame Street: A Celebration—40 Years of Life on the Street
• Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World

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The post Frank Oz: The Man Behind Yoda, Miss Piggy, & Fozzie Bear appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

Filmmaker Cynthia Hill earned an Emmy for her work on the PBS show A Chef’s Life, which gets over 4 million views per episode and is seen around the world. Her latest project is Road to Race Day, a documentary series executive produced by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) that offers unprecedented access into the world of Hendrick Motorsports, the most successful stock car racing team in NASCAR history. The team is co-owned by Jeff Gordon and some of their other driver include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, and Jimmie Johnson.

Some of the things that we discuss include

• Filmmaking as a way to bridge cultural divisions
• How Cynthia earned the trust of an exclusive, occasionally secretive, organization
• What it’s like getting notes from a filmmaker like Peter Berg
• The appeal of NASCAR and what makes it a quintessential American past time
• What we can learn from the collaborations of top-performing race teams and pit crews
• Cynthia’s unconventional directing approach that allowed for real-time storytelling in the midst of race-day chaos
• How Cynthia and her team was able to record crisp sound even in the midst of a noisy speedway

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Films & Shows Mentioned

• Boxing 24/7 
• Beasts of the Southern Wild 
• A Chef’s Life
• Friday Night Lights 
• Patriot Day   
• Raw
• Road to Race Day

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The post Emmy-Winning Director Explores NASCAR’s Winningest Team appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

Xan Aranda has collaborated with the Duplass brothers on a number of projects including Blue Jay, a film that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival with critical acclaim. It is now available for streaming on Netflix. Xan also helped the Duplass brothers produce Room 104, their upcoming series for HBO.

Xan has also produced and/or directed a couple of music videos for Andrew Bird and directed the feature-length documentary Andrew Bird: Fever Year. Another one of her notable music-related credits includes directing an album trailer for Neko Case.

This is Me, the docu-series she produced to supplement Amazon’s Transparent, got nominated for an Emmy.

Very often producing can be matchmaking.” – Xan Aranda 

Some of the things we discuss in this episode include

• What a creative producer can bring to a project
• Working with artists to help them express themselves
• What goes into producing a music video with animation
• How a producer can get better performances from actors
• When it might make sense to do an album trailer instead of a music video
• The unexpected benefits that come from hanging out with those we cherish
• Exploring challenging topics like transgender issues with people of faith

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Listen to the Episode

• Andrew Bird: Fever Year
• Blue Jay 
• Room 104
• This is Me 
• Transmormon
• Transparent

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• “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen

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If You Liked the Show

The post Xan Aranda – Duplass Brothers producer, Andrew Bird director appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

The TV show Dukes of Hazzard turned John Schneider into a household name, and many still think of him as Bo Duke, the iconic character he played on it. To a younger generation, John Schneider is probably better known as Jonathan Kent, Superman’s dad, on Smallville.

John has also played recurring roles on shows like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Diagnosis Murder, Nip/Tuck, Dirty Sexy Money, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Currently he can be seen on the Oprah Winfrey Network in Tyler Perry’s show The Haves and the Have Nots, where he plays the menacing anti-hero Jim Cryer.

In addition to his work as an actor, John is also an accomplished musician. In the 80s, John had four hit singles that topped the country-music charts. After stepping away from the music industry for a few years John is back with a new album called Ruffled Skirts. Recorded in a flooded home, the album is a tribute to the resilient people of Southeast Louisiana who are fighting to rebuild their lives after the historic flooding in 2016.

John can relate in more ways than one. His John Schneider Studios flooded twice in the past year, but even before the flooding John learned a thing or two about resilience. In an often brutal industry known for one-hit wonders and crash-and-burn lifestyles, John has built a career that has lasted decades.

Not content to rest on his laurels, John is also hard at work as a filmmaker. Last year he released four films that he directed and is getting ready for year two of CineFlix Film Festival, which he puts on with his partner Alicia Allain. The two of them have a big dream  for how CineFlix can turn the film festival experience into a profitable one for filmmakers.

That’s dreamers helping dreamers dream. Not bean counters blessing your dream, and there’s a difference. For me, there’s a difference.” – John Schneider on the potential of the CineFlix Film Festival

John invited me to the John Schneider Studios to do an interview. There we discussed

• The inspiration he draws from Tyler Perry
• The impact that our fathers can have on our lives
• Why Johnny Cash was a different kind of Christian
• Techniques that anyone can use to improve his or her voice
• What his years of experience have taught him about filmmaking
• His new film-festival model and how he hopes it will transform the industry

The room where we did the interview was used for a church in one of John’s films, so is it any surprise that our conversation took a spiritual turn?!

Listen to the Episode

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I first met John when attending a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at John Schneider Studios.

• John Schneider Studios
• John Schneider on Twitter & IMDb
• The photos of John when he lost his dad
• I once did a monologue contest for actors with Laura Cayouette. John agreed to consider  our winner, Kelsey White, for future projects.

Films and TV Shows Discussed

• 91 Percent
• Anderson Bench 
• Dukes of Hazzard
• Hate Crime
• Inadmissible 
• Liberty Waning
• Like Son
• Road to Perdition
• A Salute To Honor, my favorite film from CineFlix 2016
• Smothered 
• Smallville
• The Haves and the Have Nots
• Vanilla Sky

Music Albums Discussed

• The Golden Hum – Remy Zero
• Ruffled Skirts – John Schneider and the Cajun Navy

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The post John Schneider of Dukes of Hazzard & Smallville on Filmmaking, Family, & Fighting Floods appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.

Steve Kaplan teaches comedy workshops around the world. Companies like Dreamworks, Disney, HBO, Paramount, and Touchstone regularly hire him as a consultant and script doctor. His comedy book, The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny, includes many of the techniques he teaches.

Steve also created the HBO Workspace and the HBO New Writers Program to develop new comedic voices and is co-founder and Artistic Director of Punch Line Theatre, a theater in New York dedicated to producing comedies (as opposed to angsty black-turtleneck dramas.)

Some of the writers he helped to develop at the Punch Line Theatre include

• David Crane, co-creator of Friends
• Michael Patrick King, writer/executive-producer of Sex in the City, creator of 2 Broke Girls
• Kenneth Lonergan, writer-director of You Can Count on Me & Manchester by the Sea
• Peter Tolan, writer of Analyze  This, creator of The Jim Gaffigan Show

Comedic actors that Steve has worked with include Jack Black, Nathan Lane, Bob Odenkirk, Oliver Platt, Mercedes Ruehl, and Nia Vardalos.

Comedy is the art of hope.” – Steve Kaplan

Steve came on The nsavides Podcast to discuss his comedic theories and how we can use them in our work, whether we are writers, performers, or just ordinary men and women looking to connect with others in more engaging ways.

Some of the things we discuss include

• How comedy tells the truth about who we really are
• Why creative hubs like the Punch Line Theatre produce so many distinguished alumni
• How the comedy works on shows like Annie Hall, Big, The Big Bang Theory, Groundhog Day, Inside Out, The Odd Couple, Seinfeld, and Silicon Valley. 
• How to make a dramatic scene more comedic and vice versa
• What is it about comedy that make it inherently hopeful
• Why the best comedies involve teamwork

Plus, Steve is offering a substantial discount to those who plan to attend his upcoming Comedy Intensive on January 28-29 in Los Angeles. (You’ll have to listen to the show to find out how to get it!)

Listen to the Episode

The post Comedic Insights from Hollywood Comedy Consultant, Steve Kaplan appeared first on NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW.