NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW

This was supposed to be a short follow-up to the interview I did with Byron Reese . Instead, it turned into a freewheeling conversation about some of the big questions I've wrestled with for over 10 years: Is there really purpose, love, and destiny? If so, how do we find those things in a world gone mad, and how does politics fit into the story, if at all? Wait, who does that as a response to a bo...

This was supposed to be a short follow-up to the interview I did with Byron Reese . Instead, it turned into a freewheeling conversation about some of the big questions I've wrestled with for over 10 years: Is there really purpose, love, and destiny? If so, how do we find those things in a world gone mad, and how does politics fit into the story, if at all? Wait, who does that as a response to a bo...

Byron Reese is a futurist and an optimist. His new book We Are Agora: How Humanity Functions as a Single Superorganism That Shapes Our World and Our Future is named after the Ancient Greek marketplace and suggests that we might be part of a bigger entity that shapes our ends. Does the book have the insights we need to revitalize a sense of optimism even amidst dystopian times though?

Hello again. The podcast has been on hiatus for a bit. I'm bringing it back in video form at least for a limited season. In this episode, I will discuss why I stopped doing the show, what brought me back, and where I hope to head in context of the films Gattaca, Begin Again , and Jerry Maguire . If you're trying to find your way or just trying to stay the course, perhaps this is for you. Podcast p...

In this episode I expand on some ideas that came up in my discussion with Brian A. Loschiavo about his documentary about the Bluebird Cafe, a now iconic music in Nashville. After I did the interview, certain subsequent news stories involving Taylor Swift came out, and they did affect my take on the film. Since Taylor Swift was prominently featured in the Bluebird documentary and discussed in my in...

Brian A. Loschiavo , the director-producer-editor of the Bluebird documentary, was first exposed to The Bluebird Cafe through the show Nashville , a series for which he developed supplemental digital content. The now iconic country-music venue that has been instrumental to the careers of so many musicians including Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, and Taylor Swift made enough of an impression on Brian th...

Premiering at Nashville Film Festival 2019, The Sheriff of Mars is a music documentary that tells the story of Daniel Antopolsky, a country and folk musician who was friends with Townes Van Zandt and who, the film suggests, helped to inspire Townes' now iconic outlaw country song "Pancho and Lefty." Wanting to escape the dark influence of the 1970s outlaw country music scene, Daniel retreated to F...

Byron Reese is an acclaimed author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He's spoken at TEDx Austin and SXSW and has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, Wired , and The Washington Post . Byron is also the publisher of GigaOm and hosts the Voices in AI podcast.  Byron's latest book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity , is one of the most thought-provoking books...

What's Eating Ralphie May won Best of the Fest at Nashville Film Festival and Documentary of the Year at Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival. The film was initially intended to be a weight-loss documentary that followed beloved comedian Ralphie May and his family, but it turned into a raw and intimate portrait of a family dealing with addiction during the last years of Ralphie's troubled life. ...

My podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival continues in this short-films episode where I interview the directors for two different short films that got my attention at the festival. One has more of a documentary feel while the other one is a more stylized film with elaborate production design, so I paired the two interviews to explore how shorts can come together and the creative possibilities...

Hannah Leder has a variety of acting credits including Deep Impact, Pay it Forward, and Judd Apatow's Love series. She also has a recurring role on Apple TV+'s The Morning Show . On this podcast episode I interview Hannah about her work on The Planters , a quirky, character-driven comedy that won Best of the Fest, Best Cinematography, and Best Song at Nashville Film Festival. Along with Alexandra...

This is Part III of my podcast recap of Nashville Film Festival 2019. In it, I share my top five films from Nashville Film Festival and why I picked them. It's a more personal take, so I also share some related things that came up when trying to put together the list. Sponsor for this Episode nsavides productions  – I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. Mystery Loves Company music v...

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend and do podcast coverage at the 50th Nashville Film Festival . While there, I interviewed a number of filmmakers and filled an entire notebook with observations about the various films and events I attended. My Nashville Film Festival podcast coverage began with this interview I did with some of the filmmakers behind Lost Bayou . More filmmaker...

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend and do podcast coverage at the 50th Nashville Film Festival . While there, I interviewed a number of filmmakers and filled an entire notebook with observations about the various films and events I attended. My Nashville Film Festival podcast coverage began with this interview I did with some of the filmmakers behind Lost Bayou . More filmmaker...

My podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival begins with Lost Bayou , a film that premiered at Tribeca and went on to win Best Picture at the El Dorado Film Festival. Lost Bayou tells the story of a struggling addict who returns home to the Louisiana bayou to reconnect with her faith healer father, only to discover he's hiding a troubling secret aboard his houseboat. During the Nashville Film Fe...

Just a quick update about the recent hiatus, and where I'm at with the show. Short version: the podcast will return with my coverage at the 50th Nashville Film Festival. Special thanks to Stephen T. Hoover. His script Damage Control made it into the top-four finalist round for half-hour pilots in the festival's screenwriting contest, and he was the impetus for me to attend and cover the festival....

In this episode I reflect on my podcast interview with writer Tom Piazza  and share more of my thoughts about HBO's  Treme and how it compares to The Wire , both of which were created by David Simon. Afterwards I share some updates about some possibilities on the horizon. # Sponsor for this Episode   nsavides productions  – I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. # This music video wa...

Even in the early days of the internet,  Brian Solis was advising prominent companies about how to use social media to connect with potential customers. He's been called "one of the greatest digital analysts of our time" and has been sought out by the likes of Oprah, Shaq and Ashton Kutcher.  Brian is also an award-winning author and world-renowned keynote speaker. I met Brian at SXSW 2019, during...

Jenna Suru 's early film career involved working for Gaumont, one of the major French film studios and the world's first and oldest film company. There she was in charge of distributing Gaumont new releases to film festivals around the world. Later she went on to work for SND Groupe M6, a French distributor that also distributes American films in France including the Twilight  series and Scream 4....

Author Tom Piazza has written 12 books, many of which feature New Orleans, music, or both. His post-Katrina manifesto Why New Orleans Matters helped to inspire the HBO show Treme,  and the show's co-creator David Simon brought him on as a staff writer largely because of it. Tom received a Grammy Award for his album notes to  Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey  and has also writt...

Renting film equipment can seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be.  John Baumgartner , the rental manager at  Expressway Cinema Rentals  in Philadelphia, came on the podcast to walk filmmakers through the rental process.   "... at the end of the day I'm not going to let you walk out of my rental house not being able to make your picture. " -John Baumgartner Some of the things we discuss in t...

Kate Krantz , the Chief Content Officer for Crypt TV, began her career by working for William Morris Endeavor. From there, she went to work for Walt Disney Studios in live-action production. That gave her a chance to observe how Disney developed characters and intellectual property beloved by millions around the world. Those observations helped her manage Crypt TV's universe of monsters, which hav...

For the past 23 years, Cyber PR Founder  Ariel Hyatt  has been helping prominent musicians and creative people use public relations, marketing, and social media to connect with fans and be more engaging. She's also written four books on the music industry and is an internationally recognized speaker who has spoken at conferences around the world including SXSW, Vivid Sydney, Hubspot Ignite, and Ca...

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse  developed a new approach to computer animation so as to translate the comic-book experience for the big screen. Academy voters took notice and awarded the film an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. One of the last things that moviegoers see before leaving the film is the hyperkinetic title sequence animated by visual studio Alma Mater. The sequence was featured at...

On this episode, I explore some of the big ideas and political discussions I heard at SXSW 2019. While this is not an inherently political show, political outlooks inform the films, music, and art we take in and strive to create, whether directly or indirectly. SXSW isn't just a prominent film and music festival. It's also where presidential hopefuls and thought leaders gather to share their persp...