Scranton Talks

Scranton Talks

by Desiree Zielinski and Luz Cabrales
Performing ArtsAfter ShowsFilm Interviews
Season 4
An Evening talk with FrankenBetty Productions: Amanda, Steph & Gene
Join us this Monday, September 16, for a lively conversation with Amanda, Steph, and Gene as they share exciting insights about their upcoming show at the AFA Gallery, debuting on September 28th as part of The Scranton Fringe Festival! Cadavera's Cult Movie Club" is a horror-hosted event that blends live theatre and an interactive movie experience! Your hosts Cadavera and Jobber G, love movies so much that they invite the audience to join their special club. These ghouls are too cool for school with their crazy quip, gags, and shlocky props. Starring Amanda Sylvester-Altieri as Cadavera and Gene Altieri as Jobber G. Produced, edited, and directed by Steph Roman.
S4 · E3
Oct 1, 2024
40:20
A Convo With Gregory Lamberson
Guest host Tony Susi and Desiree Zielinski chat with Gregory Lamberson. 2024 marks Greg Lamberson's 40th year as an independent filmmaker. He has produced and directed nine feature films including SLIME CITY and KILLER RACK, has had 15 books published, and has worked on such cult films as I WAS A TEENAGE ZOMBIE. PLUTONIUM BABY, BRAIN DAMAGE and MODEL HUNGER. He's a member of the Producers Guild of America and teaches Screenwriting at University of Buffalo. FANGORIA called him "the busiest man in horror."
S4 · E2
Mar 1, 2024
47:31
A Talk With Tim O'Hearn and Jeff Grennell of Showdown In Yesteryear
Join Luz Cabrales and Desiree Zielinski as they chat with Tim O'Hearn (Producer/Actor Showdown In Yesteryear) and Jeff Grennell (Showdown In Yesteryear Lead Actor). Tim O'Hearn has been acting for almost 20 years. He has over 30 credits including cult slasher film "100 TEARS" and appeared on TV shows including DEADLY AFFAIRS and MYSTERIES AT THE MUSEUM. 2019 Tim decided to go behind the camera and wrote and directed 2 short films including THE DOOR which won several film festival awards, then decided to take on the ambitious task of producing the feature film version of the film SHOWDOWN IN YESTERYEAR calling on film maker friend Greg Lamberson to pen the feature script based on his short film THE DOOR. and featuring actor Vernon Wells (The Road Warrior, Commando). Jeff Grennell 2024 is the 9th year that I got back into acting, from my middle and high-school days in the 70s. The last 9 years has been a journey with 26 plus roles, 18 of them credited. Along with 6 awards, 3 nominations and 2 additional awards. Everything from film, to stage, including a few commercials, some music videos and 1 producer credit, for Showdown in Yesteryear as well. I'm hoping to capture the hearts and minds of many, in this industry, through my roles and involvement for years to come. SHOWDOWN IN YESTERYEAR trailer: https://youtu.be/202TrMo3csA?si=8KXhmsxtnT83rYdF Join Luz and Desiree for this inspiring conversation!
S4 · E1
Feb 14, 2024
46:14
Season 3
Gabbing With Tierney Violet Joyce, Zach Sprowls & Maureen Mcguigan
Join Luz Cabrales on a special episode of Scranton Talks, featuring Tierney Violet Joyce, Zach Sprowls & Maureen Mcguigan, all performing at the Scranton Fringe Festival 2023. Tierney Violet Joyce posted her first episode of 52 Mondays on January 2, 2023 - and hasn't missed a Monday yet! Tierney started this project to share her passion for Musical Theatre: the songs she loves, the shows that inspire her, and her respect for all of the elements that come together to create live theater. She will be joined on stage with the incredibly talented Stephen Murphy as Music Director and Accompanist. Tierney is excited to bring 52 Mondays The Cabaret to the Scranton Fringe Festival. Scranton-based pianist and composer, Zach Sprowls, presents the world premier of an instrumental telling of what it’s like to start over. Featuring the piano and a live string trio, Zach uses elements of neoclassical minimalism, melody, and aching harmony to translate his own life experiences into a deeply-felt journey for listeners. His music has already been featured on highly-acclaimed KEXP radio and performed by members of the US Army Strings and the National Symphony Orchestra. For fans of Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm - or really anyone who knows the ups and downs of growing up - this is an experience you don’t want to miss. This event is part of the Scranton Fringe Festival. Maureen McGuigan-Death is probably the most taboo subject in our society and rarely discussed enough, but the only certain thing in life is that we will die. We know this intellectually but facing and coping with the loss of loved ones and our own ultimate death in a real and visceral way can be scary and overwhelming. In this one-woman show, Maureen McGuigan shares her own struggle with dealing with this topic through humor, personal stories, history, and science. Directed by Alicia Grega featuring projection and music by Jason Smeltzer, the performance encourages us to reflect on and discuss death more to help us live a more authentic and meaningful life.
S3 · E9
Nov 9, 2023
34:12
A Chat With Joe Dain, President of Terror Films
Join Luz Cabrales and Tony Susi on a conversation with Joe Dain. Joe Dain has been an Actor, UPM, Line Producer, Producer, Executive Producer, Film and Distribution Executive on various independent films across all genres.He has overseen the structure of financing, development, acquisition and production of various award winning projects including the Berlin International Film Festival Official Selection "Gardens Of The Night" starring Gillian Jacobs, Evan Ross, John Malkovich, Tom Arnold, Kevin Zegers and Jeremy Sisto and the GLADD Media Award Nominated film, "Geography Club" based on the bestselling book.From 2011 until 2017 Dain was the Executive in Charge of Production for Sunrise Pictures where he oversaw various aspects of several high profile films including, "The Trials of Cate McCall" starring Kate Beckinsale, Nick Nolte and James Cromwell (Distributed by Lifetime); "The Whistleblower" starring Rachel Weisz, Benedict Cumberbatch, Vanessa Redgrave and David Strathairn (Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Studios); "Always Woodstock" starring Allison Miller, Brittany Snow, Katey Sagal, Jason Ritter, Ryan Guzman and James Wolk (Distributed by Gravitas Ventures); and was also involved in several high profile development projects for the company including Doug Liman's feature film, "Attica" written by Oscar Winning writer, Geoffrey Fletcher and a TV Development deal with eOne Television. In 2016, Dain along with fellow Sunrise Executive, Jim Klock started the indie distribution label, Terror Films followed by sister label, Global Digital Releasing in 2017. Between 2016 and 2019 Terror Films has quickly become one of the fastest growing indie horror distribution labels in the industry with films in over 50 countries across 20 platforms and growing. Global Digital Releasing has distributed TIFF and BAFTA Winning Films - among many others.Joe continues to focus on building the distribution labels while working diligently with his team to continue to create a "filmmaker first" distribution model unlike anything available in the indie market.
S3 · E8
Jul 28, 2023
44:55
A Convo With David Lee Madison
David Lee Madison developed his love for film as a very young man. At the age of five, he had already seen and loved all of the original Universal horror films. He got his first taste of film making at age nine, when he was an extra in Hero at Large, a John Ritter film directed by Martin Davidson. Throughout his teen years, he appeared in Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs and James Lemmo’s Heart starring Brad Davis. Dave’s recent work includes Emerging Past- a film he produced and in which he appears alongside his childhood idol, Stephen (Fright Night) Geoffreys, in a very funny scene.Mr. Hush, which he wrote, produced, and directed, has become a cult classic. It stars Brad Loree (Michael Myers in Halloween: Resurrection), Stephen Geoffreys (Fright Night, 976-EVIL), and Steve Dash (Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part 2). Mr. Hush enjoyed a limited, US national theatrical run in NYC, LA, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, northeastern PA, and Pittsburgh. It was released nationally on DVD and Blu-ray on August 7, 2012 and spent 6 weeks on Redbox’s genre top 10 list. In 2012, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requested a copy of the Mr. Hush script to be placed in the permanent core collection of the Margaret Herrick Library to be preserved forever.In 2014, Dave started a podcast/radio show titled The End of the Night. In his first 10 episodes, guests included Corey Feldman, Doug Bradley, David Naughton, Brian O’Halloran, Harrison Page, Tiffany Shepis, Fred “the Hammer” Williamson, G. Tom Mac, and Tony Moran, just to name a few.In November of 2015, Dave released his film Middle Village. Its theatrical debut was at the historic Cinemart Theater in Queens, New York. It has garnered Laurels from the Forwardian Film Festival, and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. It was featured on whatchareading.com’s list of the best films of 2015. The film features his dear friend, Brian O’Halloran (Clerks 1 & 2, Mallrats), Ray Abruzzo (Mad Men, Sopranos), Scott Schiaffo (Clerks) and WWE Superstar Gene Snisky.In October of 2016, Dave appeared in Tom Holland’s Your So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night. In May of 2018, Dave played Agent Smith in Stevan Mena’s film, Malevolence 3: Killer.Dave’s latest film, Wit’s End, was released July 17th 2020, and has garnered some wonderful Reviews. It features pop culture icons Brian O’Halloran and Scott Schiaffo. Dave was also featured in the film Darkness Waits, directed by Libby McDermott and featuring Conrad Brook’s last performance, which was released in the spring of 2020.Join Luz and Desiree for this inspiring conversation!
S3 · E7
Jul 6, 2023
1:05:03
A Conversation With Josh Fox
Join Luz Cabrales and Desiree Zielinski as they chat with American Film Director, Playwright, and Environmental Activist Josh Fox.Josh Fox is an independent filmmaker and founder and artistic director of International WOW Company, a film and theater company working closely with actors and non actors from diverse cultural backgrounds, including activist communities in sustainable energy and design, creating work that addresses current national and global environmental, social and political crises.Josh Fox is best known as the Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning writer/director of GASLAND Parts I and II (HBO). He is internationally recognized as a spokesperson and leader on the issue of fracking and extreme energy development. In 2017, he was awarded his third Environmental Media Association award for Best Documentary for his latest film HOW TO LET GO OF THE WORLD AND LOVE ALL THE THINGS CLIMATE CAN’T CHANGE (HBO), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, toured the world theatrically and was released on HBO in June 2016. In 2017, he produced and co-directed and co-wrote AWAKE, A DREAM FROM STANDING ROCK (Netflix) with indigenous filmmakers Doug Good Feather and Myron Dewey, which premiered on Netflix and toured to hundreds of locations around the world.In 2018, Fox created THE TRUTH HAS CHANGED, a solo performance, book and film about misinformation, propaganda and psycho-graphic targeting aimed at manipulating our current media and political ecosystem.https://josh-fox.ghost.io
S3 · E6
May 18, 2023
1:13:57
Star Wars Day Part II: With Visual Effects Artist Martin La Land Romero
We are hosting a special episode of Scranton Talks for Star Wars Day! with Special Visual Effects Artist Martin La Land Romero.Martin is a visual effects artist who pushes creative boundaries while generating optimized solutions for games and VR.He is currently a Visual Effects Lead at Amazon Game Studios in San Diego, CA, and is a former Visual Effects artist at ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm's immersive entertainment studio.He has worked on several immersive experiences for players and fans!Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War (2020) Avengers: Damage Control VR (2019) Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run (Park Ride) (2018) Ralph breaks VR (Lucasfilm + The Void) Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire (Lucasfilm + The Void collaboration) DC Comics Legends Mobile (2016) Dawngate PC(2013) (2014) SimCity: Cities Of Tomorrow PC (2013) Tomb Raider Console/PC (2013) Thor: God of Thunder Console (2011) Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Console (2009)
S3 · E5
May 11, 2023
40:15
Scranton Talks: Star Wars Day!
Calling all Jedi, Sith, Ewoks, Scoundrels, Nerfherders and Womp Rats! We are hosting a special episode of Scranton Talks for Star Wars Day! Join us as Luz Cabrales moderates our panel of Star Wars experts Desiree Zielinski, Rich Drees, Tony Susi, and Josh Bidwell talking all things Star Wars and doing some Star Wars Trivia. Come geek out with us and may the force be with you!
S3 · E4
May 11, 2023
1:07:54
A Chat With Director and Indie Filmmaker Tom Ryan
Tom Ryan is a writer, director, and producer who was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. He studied the media arts for two years at New Jersey City University (formally Jersey City State College).Since his early childhood Tom has had a great passion for genre films, particularly horror. He nurtured that passion by shooting movies on a VHS camera, drawing a slasher-comic series titled “Midnight”, and taking every opportunity he could to escape to the movies.With a handful of childhood friends that share in his love of terrifying stories, Tom founded an independent production company called “Theatre of Terror”. With a mission to make high-quality, low-budget independent horror, they launched their first short film “Day 9” in January of 2013.Tom then wrote, produced, directed and starred in his first feature film, “FACES”. Filming began in late 2013 and the production wrapped in August of 2014. The film premiered on October 10th at the Landmark Loews theater in Jersey City to an audience of over 350 people. A successful festival run resulted in an Audience Choice Best Feature, Best Soundtrack, and a Best Actor Award for Tom.This momentum inspired him to officially create Theatre of Terror LLC. He created a website and social media page to focus his marketing strategy. The production company successfully completed the four- film anthology “The Theatre of Terror” featuring the award-winning shorts: The Gift, The Bookworm, Abducted, and Endangered. The feature received distribution through Bayview Entertainment and led to the development and production of the sequel anthology, “Return to The Theatre of Terror”.Tom has worked as a director and actor on other productions outside of his own as well. He helmed the 2015 short film “RAPT” and the 2022 feature film “Ramsey”. In 2020 he launched T.O.T Videography, a subsidiary of Theatre of Terror LLC, to support local small businesses with engaging commercial ads. He also created the YouTube series, “The Chilling Childhood Adventures of Jack & Cody” to distract his children from the pandemic still while making movies. The series has proven to be a favorite among parents wanting to introduce their children to the horror genre.https://www.theatreofterror.netJoin Luz and Desiree for this inspiring conversation!
S3 · E3
Mar 30, 2023
1:07:23
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