NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW

Regarding the Bluebird and Taylor Swift

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 interview with Brian, I decided to do a supplemental commentary track to expand on my thoughts a...

Bluebird, a Music Doc on the Storied Nashville Venue, with Director Brian Loschiavo

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 that he set out to create a documentary about the place and the community of singer-songwriters it h...

Sheriff of Mars: the Long-Lost Musician Who Inspired Townes Van Zandt

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 France where he was discovered by Jason Ressler, the director of Sheriff of Mars. Jason was so ...

Will the Robots Save Us: Byron Reese on AI

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 I've read this year, so I brought him on the show to discuss it. I think pessimism is the thing...

When a Comedy Documentary Turns Tragic

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.  At Nashville Film Festival I had the chance to interview comedian and wife of Ralphie, Lahna T...

Two Notable Shorts from Nashville Film Festival

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 they can offer. The first interview is with Amanda Young, one of the directors behind Every T...

How to Make an Award-Winning Film with a Two Person Crew: The Planters

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 Kotcheff, Hannah co-wrote, co-directed, co-starred, and co-shot the film. The Planters ended up ...

Nashville Film Festival 2019 Recap: Part III - My Top 5 Picks

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 video We got to explore all kinds of places in Houston while making this music video I dir...

Nashville Film Festival 2019 Recap: Part II - Ideas on Screen

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 interviews are coming soon. Here, I'll recap some of the notable films and experiences I had a...

Nashville Film Festival 2019 Recap: Part 1

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 interviews are coming soon. Here, I'll recap some of the notable films and experiences I had a...

Capturing Authentic Cajun Culture on Screen: Lost Bayou

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 Festival, I had the chance to interview director Brian Richard, writer-actor Hunter Burke, and ac...

The NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW Will Return!

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. Sponsor for this Episode nsavides productions – I make friendly, engaging videos for earne...

Commentary: HBO's Treme, The Wire, & Tom Piazza

In this episode I reflect on my podcast interview with writer Tom Piazza and share more of my thoughts about HBO's Tremeand 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 was one of the things that brought me to Louisiana. # More of my videos are here. # Say...

How to Rekindle Creativity and Find Purpose in a Distracted Age: Brian Solis

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 his book launch event for Lifescale: How to Live a More Creative, Productive, and Happy Life. ...

Writer-Director-Actress Jenna Suru on the World-Changing Charms of Saint-Tropez

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. She also received some film production experience in Los Angeles, where she worked as a product...

Treme & Why New Orleans Matters: Writer Tom Piazza

Author Tom Piazza has written 12 books, many of which feature New Orleans, music, or both. His post-Katrina manifesto Why New Orleans Mattershelped 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 written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Oxford American. ...

Insider's Guide to Film Equipment Rentals with Expressway Cinema Rentals

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 this episode include How much time to plan for testing equipment What options filmmakers have i...

On Monsters & Disney Magic: Crypt TV's Kate Krantz

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 have brought Crypt TV over 1.5 billion worldwide views on social media and led to prominent partners...

How to Be Engaging Like a Rock Star: Ariel Hyatt

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 Campus Party London. Her work has been recognized in publications ranging from Oprah, CNN, Wired, ...

Into the Spider-Verse Title Sequence Director: James Ramirez

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 SXSW 2019 in a compilation of compelling title sequences, and it made enough of an impression t...

Big Ideas & Politics at SXSW 2019

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 perspectives on the world, and so the festival can serve as a bellwether for where the culture is h...

When a Film (or Life) Goes Awry: Alex Ferrari

First-time directors face all kinds of unexpected challenges. For Alex Ferrari, host of the Indie Film Hustle podcast, that meant trying to shoot a $20 million feature film in Louisiana and across the country for a bipolar, egomaniacal gangster. The dream of becoming a feature-film director turned into a nightmare for Alex, and it led to a textbook example of how not to make a film. That traumatic experience went on to forge Alex's interest in helping other filmmakers avoid similar heartac...

Film Financing Done Right: Forest Road Company

Our SXSW 2019 podcast coverage continues with two representatives from film-financing company Forest Road. The company sponsored one of the filmmaker dinners at SXSW this year. More importantly, they are a financing company that puts the filmmakers first. Forest Road Company's CEO Zach Tarica and Director of West Coast Operations Eric Boshart came on the podcast to break down the film financing process and what filmmakers should know when preparing to secure financing. Financing is a hug...

SXSW 2019: Notable Films, Music, & Experiences

Recently I had the opportunity to do podcast coverage at SXSW 2019, my third time doing coverage at Austin's preeminent film and music festival. (Before, I did coverage there as The nsavides Podcast. I changed the name to NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW for clarity and because nicksav.show is easier to remember then podcast.nsavides.com.) Part I of my coverage includes some general observations about the festival, what captured my attention and why, and some of my favorite film and music experie...

Last Bison: Southern Folk Rock Returns to SXSW

Years ago, I came to SXSW to see The Last Bison perform. Now with a few new hits and a refined sound, they're back, playing at Austin's esteemed film and music festival once more. Frontman Ben Hardesty came on the show to discuss The story behind their evolving sound What went into making their latest music video How they create a unified experience for their fans across the country What getting signed by a label has meant to the band Staying true to one's values while building an...

Commentary: New Orleans Singer-Songwriter Lynn Drury

This is the commentary track for my interview with singer-songwriter Lynn Drury, who has been performing in New Orleans for over 20 years. Some of the things I discuss include How to be more effective as a performer  Building quality relationships over quantity  The role of the artist in the world at large  Things that get in the way of trying to make the world better in some way For links and more detailed show notes: http://podcast.nsavides.com/LynnDrury

20 Years of Making Music in New Orleans: Lynn Drury

The seventh season of the NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW kicks off with Lynn Drury, a singer-songwriter who has played music in New Orleans for over 20 years. Those in the know about the New Orleans music community go out of their way to see Lynn perform, as do audiences across the country and around the world. Some of the things we discuss include How to build a music career that lasts for years How to get music on TV show like NCIS: New Orleans What it takes to get established in a disce...

Commentary: Game of Thrones, Mortal Engines, & Westworld Season 1

This is the commentary track for my interview with compositor Travis Nobles (Hugo, Game of Thrones, Mortal Engines). In it I share some of my takeaways from the interview, give my review of Mortal Engines and expand on my conflicted thoughts about Game of Thrones. The Lord of the Rings, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and Westworld Season 1 also get discussed. For links and more detailed show notes: http://podcast.nsavides.com/TravisNobles

From Game of Thrones to Weta Digital: Compositor Travis Nobles

Compositor Travis Nobles wanted to work on films ever since he saw The Lord of the Rings. Through an unexpected journey that led him from the United States to Germany and then to New Zealand, he finally got to work for the company that brought CG Gollum to life: Weta Digital. Before Weta, Travis's resume includes several Emmy-winning seasons of Game of Thrones, where he got to composite a number of the show's iconic dragon shots. Travis came on the show to discuss his work and the role of ...

Commentary: New Orleans Music Conference - Cutting Edge

This is my commentary track for my interviews at Cutting Edge C.E., an annual music conference in New Orleans that brings together prominent musicians, industry professionals, and filmmakers from across the country. Both episodes and show notes are here, or check feed for the prior episode with interviews.   # If you'd like to hear from another band that has played at Cutting Edge, check out thisinterview I did with Mystery Loves Company, a chamber rock band I met at the music confer...

Cutting Edge Music Conference 2018 band, filmmaker, & organizer interviews

Cutting Edge C.E. is an annual music conference in New Orleans that brings together prominent musicians, industry professionals, and filmmakers from across the country. The 26th Cutting Edge conference concluded a few weeks ago, and for my podcast coverage I had the opportunity to interview the festival's founder Eric Cager, along with some musicians performing at the conference and a filmmaker who screened work there. We seek out good people in the industry.  You can go out and meet sharks...

Commentary: Screenwriter & BlueCat Founder Gordy Hoffman

This is my commentary and takeaways from my conversation with Gordy Hoffman, the Sundance-winning writer of Love Liza (starred his brother, Philip Seymour Hoffman), and founder of BlueCat Screenwriting Competition. Check the feed for the interview.    In this commentary I discuss What I appreciate about Gordy  My thoughts on feedback and dealing with the issues that come up when giving and receiving it The importance of having uncomfortable conversations Some reflections on addiction...

Sundance-Winning Screenwriter & BlueCat Founder Gordy Hoffman

Gordy Hoffman's  first produced feature screenplay, Love Liza, won the prestigious Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award when it premiered at Sundance. The film also featured a memorable performance from his brother, Philip Seymour Hoffman, his first starring role in a film.  Dog Bowl, a short film that Gordy wrote and directed, also premiered at Sundance, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Gordy has also taught writing at prominent film institutions around the country including USC...

Critic Turns Musician: Alex Cook from The Rakers

Alex V. Cook is a journalist and music critic who has written for an assortment of publications including The Believer, The Oxford American, DownBeat, and Paste Magazine. His book Darkness, Racket and Twang: Essential Listening from the Fringes of Popular and Unpopular Cultureis a compilation of his music essays, which includes commentary on artists ranging from Lou Reed to Bob Dylan to the Mountain Goats. He has also written a book on Louisiana's Juke joints, honky-tonks, and dance halls ...

New Orleans Music Documentary on Papa Grows Funk

Do U Want It? is a music documentary that tells the story of the New Orleans funk band, Papa Grows Funk, their residency at The Maple Leaf Bar, and then their indefinite hiatus that they announced in 2013. The film doesn't just capture a band in transition and the creative differences that came along though. It also offers an insider's glimpse into what makes the New Orleans music community so special, which the film sometimes accents with New Orleans-styled animation. No surprise then tha...

When Collaborations Don't Work ...

Wumbo: Serious About Space-Rock Whimsy

Wumbo is a word coined on SpongeBob SquarePants. It is also an indie-rcok band that The Advocaterecently included in their list of 10 bands to check out in Baton Rouge. The band has played at most of Baton Rouge's esteemed music venues including The Varsity, Spanish Moon, Mid City Ballroom, Happy's Irish Pub, 524 Studios, and more. In a few days they'll be starting their tour across the South and Midwest. There’s no blueprint to being a band.” - Jake Heflin The band describes their hard-to...

Filmmaking Conversation on Collaboration, Forgiveness, & Serendipity

Filmmaker Joshua Overbay's first film, As It Is in Heaven, was a Critics' Pick in The New York Times and favorably reviewed on rogerebert.com. Luke & Jo is Josh's third film, and it continues the tradition of exploring big questions while telling an intimate, character-driven story that Josh started with his first film. Nathaniel Glass was one of the producers on As It Is in Heaven, and he returned as producer on Luke & Jo. This time around, he was also the director of photography, his fir...

Ashanti & Giancarlo Esposito Musical for Getting Unstuck

Michael Berry is the writer-director of Stuck, an original character-driven musical set in a New York subway that stars Giancarlo Esposito, whom Breaking Badfans might recognize as the cunning owner of Los Pollos Hermanos. Giancarlo plays a very different character in Stuck: a mysterious, seemingly homeless man prone to break into song, who may or may not be on some kind of cosmic special assignment to impact the lives of the passengers who share his New York subway car. Someone breaking in...

How to Write Songs for Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, & Randy Travis

Some songwriters would kill for the chance to work with just one multi-platinum artist. Songwriter Brent Baxterhas worked with a handful of them. One of his songs even made it onto Rolling Stone's list of the 40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time. How does a songwriter get to write for multi-platinum artists, and what's it like writing songs for Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum and Randy Travis? I brought Brent on the podcast to find out. You want to make friends you can rise with not friends y...

Louisiana International Film Festival Recap #LIFF2018

This year, I had the chance to interview several filmmakers screening films at the Louisiana International Film Festival.  On this episode, I recap some of those interviews and share some of my experiences and takeaways from LIFF2018. Here are my prior interviews from #LIFF2018. On the recap below, I share some of the highlights from each interview, what it was like getting to screen my short at the festival, and some of the new discoveries and filmmaking observations, and life lessons I l...

How $100,000 Kickstarter Campaign Became Crowd-Pleasing Sci-Fi #LIFF2018

My coverage of LIFF2018 continues with Tinker producer Tom Bhramayana.  It was a sci-fi film that started as Kickstarter campaign which brought in over $100,000. A few year later, it has won 19 best-of awards at festivals around the country, and all three screenings at this year's Louisiana International Film Festival have sold out. The term producer has many connotations, but Tom wasn't just in charge of getting the money. He was also one of the writers, did a voice-over for one of the ch...

Louisiana Live-Action Shorts #LIFF2018

Show notes coming soon. 

Brimstone & Glory: Doc on Fireworks & Danger! #LIFF2018

Brimstone & Glory is a documentary produced by the Department of Motion Pictures that tells the story of Tultepec, a town in Mexico that is dedicated to the making and celebration of fireworks. It's a poetic, visually stunning film that the National Board of Review recognized as one of the top five documentaries of 2017, and it is one of the films screening at this year's Lousiana International Film Festival. Director Viktor Jakovleski initially conceived of the film as something that he w...

How College Football Got Past Segregation with Director Maya Washington #LIFF2018

My podcast coverage of Louisiana International Film Festival 2018 continues with director Maya Washington. She's the filmmaker behind Through the Banks of the Red Cedar and the daughter of Gene Washington, the wide receiver who played for Michigan State and then the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Broncos. Gene's storied football career led to an induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, two Pro Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl game. He was also one of 23 African Americans who ...

Kevyn Aucoin, Complicated Makeup Artist Celebrity #LIFF2018

My #LIFF2018 coverage continues with makeup artist and documentary filmmaker Tiffany Bartok. She's the director behind Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story. Prior to seeing the documentary and doing the interview, I wasn't aware of Kevyn, but then the few makeup artists I'm aware of tend to be special-effects luminaries like Jack Pierce (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein) or Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, Hellboy). It turns out that Kevyn was quite the makeup trailblazer...

Telling a Nuanced School-Shooting Story #LIFF2018

This is the first part of my coverage for Louisiana International Film Festival 2018, which happens in Baton Rouge from April 19-22. In this episode, I talk to director Vincent Grashaw about his film And Then I Go. His film tells the story of two young people who contemplate a potential school shooting against their classmates as retaliation for the slights they've endured. Unfortunately, the Parkland shooting and other recent events have made And Then I Go all too topical, but unlike cert...

Gothic Tropic: Beck’s Guitarist Has Her Own Band & It Rocks

Cecilia Della Peruti has played guitar for and gone on tour with acts like Beck, BØRNS, and Charli XCX. That's helped to prepare her to launch her own band, Gothic Tropic. The band has a guitar-driven 80s pop sound infused with some R&B and funk influences. Elsewhere, Gothic Tropic has been compared to Blondie, Fleetwood Mac and Haim. I had a chance to catch two sets that Gothic Tropic did at South by Southwest this year, one at the M&M house that had been set up on Rainey St. and one at t...

(Strangely Elaborate) SXSW 2018 Recap

South by Southwest is the whirlwind of activity that takes over Austin for about two weeks each March. It's a massive film, music, and interactive super festival, plus an education summit, plus a video game expo, plus a job fair, and so much more. It's a full-time job just attending the festival and figuring out what to check out next, so needless to say putting together a SXSW 2018 recap over 2.5 hours long took some time to put together. I got do my first-ever live show of The nsavides P...

Our SXSW Live Show with Fable House!

For the first time ever, I did a live episode of The nsavides Podcast a few days ago, and what an honor it was to do that as an official event at SXSW 2018. What's more I got to do the show with my friends and some of the most talented filmmakers I know in Louisiana: cinematographer Matt S. Bell, director-editor Misty Talley, and producer Sam Claitor. All three are from Fable House, a production company in Baton Rouge that has produced over $2 million in content. Whether shooting commercia...