Columns
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“You Have to Commit Full-Time To It… You Will See How Good You Can Really Be”: Martin Harris, Back To One, Episode 352
Martin Harris has delivered stand-out work on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Young Sheldon, NCIS: Los Angeles, Stranger Things, and now he plays the Boravian General in Superman. On this episode he describes the surprisingly efficient production that James Gunn presided over, and how it felt like “shooting a party video.” He surmises why directors keep giving him more scenes on-set, how reading a book between set-ups not only gets you focused but is also a conversation-starter, why he credits Kobe Bryant with helping him get to the next level with his career, and much more. Back To One can be […]
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“You Go to L.A. and Then You Start Working with Roger Corman”: DP Paul Elliott on Duster, Ken Russell and Roger Deakins
In Duster, an impossibly cool wheelman (Josh Holloway) and a rookie FBI agent (Rachel Hilson) join forces to take down a crime boss (Keith David) in 1970s Phoenix. If any of the creative forces behind the HBO series ever wondered if they were properly capturing the vibe of 1970s pulp, all they had to do was turn to cinematographer Paul Elliott for confirmation. Though born and raised in London, Elliott arrived in the States at the end of the 1970s and began working at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures as a camera assistant. He crossed paths with cult B-movie figures […]
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“We Gave Space for Each Other to Breathe”: Unicorns Star Jason Patel, Back To One, Episode 351
Jason Patel is an emerging actor and artist. He plays the lead role of “Aysha” in Unicorns, opposite Ben Hardy. It’s his feature film debut. The film is co-directed by Sally El-Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd, who also wrote the screenplay. Unicorns also features Patel’s music, a true fusion of both art forms. On this episode, he talks about how he approaches everything in life with creativity and love, and why his life goal is to make people happy even when he’s not there. He describes the giant role music plays in his preparation, the importance of staying in the […]
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“If Every Art is Sacred, That Means the Act of Making Art is Itself a Sacred Thing”: David Malinsky, Back To One, Episode 350
For the 350th episode of Back To One, I sat down with an actor who brings me great joy when he’s on the screen, the one and only David Malinsky. He wrote the blurb himself for this episode. It follows: Peter has only met David three times in person before. His filmography includes Onur Tukel’s Abbey Singer/Songwriter, Black Magic for White Boys, Poundcake, Theodore Collatos’ Tormenting the Hen, MG Cinecraft’s A Moderate Folly and more. Dave has also done standup comedy, cabaret singing, and YouTube Video Essays. But Dave thinks it’s vital to situate acting within art and human history, […]
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“It was Physicalizing the Words That Became the Goal”: Erik Jensen, Back To One, Episode 349
Erik Jensen is a multipyphenate who, along with his wife and creative partner Jessica Blank have been called “the foremost practitioners of documentary theater in the U.S.” Their genre-defining plays The Exonerated, Aftermath, Coal Country, and The Line were all critically acclaimed. As an actor, Jensen’s credits include The Walking Dead, Mindhunter, Mr. Robot, The Americans, not to mention his praised portrayal of legendary NY Yankee Thurman Munson in The Bronx is Burning. On this episode he details his approach toward playing that beloved figure, and finding out that “almost the entire body of that character was an emotional word-gesture.” […]
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“Right-Size Yourself”: Bonnie Rose, Back To One, Episode 348
Bonnie Rose started her professional career as a stand-in for Bette Midler on First Wives Club. Next up, the iconic and legendary film director Sidney Lumet hand picked her for the feature film Night Falls On Manhattan, playing a New York City cop opposite Andy Garcia, which led to many other Lumet projects over the next decade including a recurring role as a legal aid attorney on the TV legal drama 100 Centre St. Bonnie’s massive credits in television and film include Inside Llewyn Davis, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Mr. Robot, Blue Bloods, Broad City, The Sopranos, and the trifecta of all Law & Orders. She recently won Best Actress at three different […]
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“The Set is Home, and You Get to a Point of Where You Stop Pushing”: Steve Zahn, Back To One, Episode 347
Steve Zahn gained early attention for his breakout roles in the 1990s, including Reality Bites and That Thing You Do! He became a frequent scene-stealer in films like Out of Sight, Happy, Texas, and Saving Silverman, showcasing his offbeat humor and charm. In HBO’s Treme, he played a passionate music teacher navigating post-Katrina New Orleans. More recently, he appeared in the first season of The White Lotus, earning critical acclaim for his role as a troubled father on vacation. His latest is personal on multiple levels—the indie film She Dances, which he co-wrote with his producing partner Rick Gomez, who […]
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Filmmaker ‘s New Issue and News from Our Editor-in-Chief
Every Friday I write a free newsletter that’s a riff on various topics — filmmaker sustainability, the health of our ecosystem, new players and ideas, the plight of the producer, the rise of AI and more are frequent subjects. This week, I used the newsletter to announce two upcoming events, our new issue, and my news that after the next issue in September I’ll be stepping down as Editor-in-Chief after 33 years. Read all of this below, and if you’d like to sign up to the newsletter, which I’ll be writing for almost three more months, you can do so […]
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Hollywood Underground: Joanne McNeil on EZTV’s Inventive Body of Work
In 1986, ia Kamandalu showed up at the EZTV space in West Hollywood for a screening of video art by Doris Chase. People recognized her, even though it had been a few years since she was a dancer in music videos like “Super Freak” by Rick James and on variety shows like Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, performing at the time under the name Kim McKillip. Michael Masucci, an artist and longtime participant in the EZTV community of video-makers, started talking to her. They kept up over the phone and made plans to work together. Kamandalu, who was living Phoenix at […]
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“If I Get Specific About What I’m Doing, Why I’m Doing It, the Humor Will Be There”: Tim Bagley, Back To One, Episode 346
Tim Bagley has so much experience doing comedy on television that his credits read like a comprehensive list of every sit com over the past 30 years. But his depiction of Brad Schraeder on the HBO series Somebody Somewhere is on another level. It’s beautiful, truthful, restrained work, that is often hilarious and sometimes very moving. Few performances on television this year have impacted me more. On this episode, he talks about how the collaborative nature of that show helped so much with his work, the big part logic plays in his comedy, why it’s important to keep challenging himself, and […]
