THE HOLLYWOOD PODCAST

Recreating the visually dazzling costumes of one of cinema’s most celebrated musicals may have been an intimidating task for many, but for Tony-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell, it was a craftsperson’s dream come true. Tazewell, known best for his costuming work in Broadway musicals such as Hamilton and In the Heights , has recently transitioned his talents to film where one of his first big...

In this episode, cinematographer Romain Lacourbas to discusses how he brought grand medieval fantasy worlds to life in season two of THE WITCHER, now streaming on Netflix. Romain shares how he worked with the series' directors, Stephen Surjik and Ed Bazalgette, in translating their visions through his own eyes by utilizing various colors, contrasts and lenses to create the many fantasy worlds the...

Dawn Ritz has designed costumes across the music, television, and film industries for several years. In this interview, Ritz discusses her creative approach in her costuming work for some of the most popular television series and music icons we all know and love. Over the course of her career, Ritz has worked for musical artists such as Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Bella Thorne, Elton John, Timbal...

In this episode, Max chats with costume designer Avery Plewes about her work in Warner Bros' 8-BIT CHRISTMAS, now streaming on HBO Max. Plewes discusses the creative approach she brought to this holiday film in designing the 1980s costuming. Based on the book of the same name by Kevin Jakubowski, 8-Bit Christmas takes place in an idyllic Chicago suburb in the ’80s, centering around a 10-year-old’s...

muti-Emmy Award winning production designer James Pearse Connelly currently stars as a judge on season 2 of HBO Max’s crafting competition show CRAFTOPIA, which just dropped four winter spectacular episodes on November 18th. The Halloween and holiday themed season follows master crafters compete in “Quick Craft” and “Master” challenges to see who can create the most complex and visually stunning c...

Directed and written by Clint Bentley, JOCKEY is about aging jockey Jackson Silva (Clifton Collins Jr.), who hopes to win one last title for his longtime trainer (Molly Parker), who has acquired what appears to be a championship horse. But the years – and injuries – have taken a toll on his body, throwing into question his ability to continue his lifelong passion. And the arrival of a young rookie...

Tracey Scott Wilson is the screenwriter of the Aretha Franklin biopic RESPECT, starring Aretha Franklin as the Queen of Soul. The film, which was released by MGM in August, takes one of the most famous women in the world and tells the little-known story of her journey to find her own iconic voice.  In approaching the daunting task of telling the story behind the icon, Tracey focused on creati...

Hannah Chaddha was one of the 16 houseguests from this summer's season of the CBS reality series Big Brother, finishing in fifth place. In this interview, Hannah opens up about her time in the Big Brother house, deciding to apply because of CBS's recent casting diversity initiative, her superfan-based knowledge of the game, the strategy she had going into the house & how it evolved and the sig...

Derek Frazier was one of the 16 houseguests from this summer's season of the CBS reality series Big Brother, finishing as runner-up. In this interview, Derek opens up about his time in the Big Brother house, his initial thoughts on his fellow houseguests, the strategy he had going into the house & how it evolved and the significance of the historic Cookout alliance.

Emmy-winning costume designer Helen Huang discusses how she brought a true story to life through her work in the new dark comedy, THE SHRINK NEXT DOOR, premiering November 12th on AppleTV+. The miniseries is inspired by The Shrink Next Door podcast on Wondery about power, control and turning to the wrong person for help. The dark comedy explores the bizarre, alarming and co-dependent relationship...

Simon Helberg stars in legendary director Leos Carax’s new Amazon Prime film, Annette. Co-starring with Oscar winner Marion Cotillard and Oscar nominee Adam Driver, Helberg holds his own in this three-hander where he plays Marion’s conductor, whose character is the true heart of the film. Deadline, rightfully so, points out that “Helberg nearly steals the film, particularly in a seq...

Britini D'Angelo was one of the 16 houseguests from this summer's season of the CBS reality series Big Brother, finishing in 11th place as juror #1. In this interview, Britini opens up about her time in the Big Brother house, taking us week-by-week on the alliances, strategy, and events that unfolded in the weeks leading up to her eviction. Britini also shares what it was like living in the jury h...

Descanso Gardens’ unique take on Halloween, Carved, has returned, featuring exciting new displays and experiences. Carved is a family-friendly event for all ages. For three weeks in October, thousands of carved pumpkins will line a 1-mile walk through the Camellia Forest and Oak Grove. Along with pumpkins, there will be exciting new oversized sculptures made of sticks and other natural materials....

Nate Weber and Allison Weber are the co-founders of the immersive theatrical production company 88 Twenty Group. Together, they developed the first-ever virtual interactive live theatre experience, QuaranSCREAM Live, a sold-out limited run online show featuring live, isolated actors and cinematic sequences. Now, they're gearing up for their first in-person production HOLLYWOOD & VAMP, an immer...

Freeform put a spell on fans in Los Angeles with their annual Halloween Road immersive experience. The event was a spooky event to kick off Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween programming which airs Oct. 1-31, which offers the opportunity to celebrate Halloween all month long at home with our favorite classics. The outdoor, immersive event featured the worlds of “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Ch...

Justin Fix is the founder & executive director of his industry-leading entertainment production company and creative development incubator JFI Productions which produces several interactive entertainment experiences every year but is most known for CREEP, a critically acclaimed original interactive theater production. Known for reimagining and redefining the theatre-going experience, JFI Produ...

Jasen Smith is the CEO of Experiential Supply Co., an award-winning company to which the Hollywood film industry turns when it comes to creating large-scale, immersive experiences for such big budget movies as IT: Chapter 2, Ready Player One, The LEGO Movie, Smallfoot, and more. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith created the first Experiential Supply original event HAUNTOWEEN LA, offering familie...

Emmy and NAACP Image Award nominated directors Deondray and Quincy Gossfield – known for being the couple behind the GLAAD Media Award-winning series, The DL Chronicles, that paved the way for Black queer storytelling, as mentioned by The Advocate. Now they’re out with their latest project Smoke, Lilies and Jade which is a short film adaptation from writer/painter Richard Bruce Nugent’s short stor...

Inspired by true events, Everybody's Talking About Jamie follows Jamie New (Max Harwood), a teenager from Sheffield, who dreams of life on stage. While his classmates plan their livelihoods after they leave school, Jamie contemplates revealing his secret career ambition to become a fierce and proud drag queen. His best friend Pritti (Lauren Patel) and his loving mum (Sarah Lancashire) shower him w...

Emmy-winning producer/director Chris McKim is known for his executive producing work over the years for RuPaul’s Drag Race. In 2017, he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special for the TV documentary Out of Iraq. He also won the 2020 Freedom Award at LA Outfest for the film Freedia Got A Gun. His newest film Wojnarowicz is an autobiographical portrait of the life of noted N...

Written and directed by Luke Willis, Pool Boy is the tender love story which follows a conflicted young man who must reconcile his growing feelings for someone he never expected against the face he shows the world. GLAAD-award winning actor/filmmaker/activist River Gallo stars in the titular role, opposite Tim Torre. Pool Boy made its world premiere at BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival in Au...

Actress/composer Brittany Allen is known for her Emmy-winning portrayal of Marissa Tasker in the soap opera All My Children, along with her performances in horror films such as Extraterrestrial, It Stains the Sands Red, Jigsaw and What Keeps You Alive. She also starred in a recurring role on the popular Amazon Prime superhero series The Boys. More recently, she has taken a step behind the scenes w...

Peruvian writer/director/producer Javier Fuentes-Leon most recently served as the director and executive producer of the first Colombian Netflix original series Wild District telling the story of a guerrilla fighter who moves from the jungle to Bogota after the signing of the Peace Treaty. Now, with his newest film The Best Families, Fuentes-León shares the story of a long-hidden secret which flip...

Two-time Emmy winning hair stylist Lawrence Davis is known from his work on a variety of notable films and television series such as J Edgar, Bessie, Green Book, Watchmen, True Detective, Lovecraft Country, and The Underground Railroad. Now, his work can be seen in the new Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson. Davis has worked with Hudson for several years, and was tasked with...

Since 2002, Cinespia has grown to become the preeminent destination for the outdoor theatrical experience that brings movie magic to life with screenings of classic films throughout the year to an audience of hundreds of thousands from all around the world, including some of Hollywood’s most famous faces. With over 30 events per year, Cinespia hosts dazzling screenings under the stars at iconic ve...