418: Best Of The Year So Far! (with Ryan McQuade)

We feel the need for speed!! On the show this week actor Rick Rossovich who played Ron ‘Slider’ Kerner, wingman to Val Kilmer’s Iceman in Top Gun (1986). Mr. Rossovich talks about his career, his experiences on Top Gun, the myths and legacy of the franchise, his work in TV and more! All leading up to this summer and the release of Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel 33 years in the making! Will we see him in The new movie on June 26th 2020? Well, we will just have to wait and see. Grab your Ray Bans and catch this interview now! Rick Rossovich has starred in some of the most pop culturally iconic films and TV shows ever: The Lords of Discipline, Streets of Fire, The Terminator, Steve Martin’s Roxanne  and Navy Seals . He played Dr. John 'Tag' Taglieri on ER and, and spent two years playing Lt. Anthony Palermo on Pacific Blue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Feb 202032min

We are thrilled to bring you this special and personal conversation with actor Alicia Vikander! She talks to us about starring as feminist icon Gloria Steinem in the upcoming film ‘The Glorias’ (directed by Julie Taymor), about how she has has found her voice and what she wants to do with her Hollywood power! After more than a decade in the industry, and post Oscar-win, Alicia Vikander speaks to Christina about how she is learning to take small breaks and how cooking helps! About her focus and how she and Steinem connected in personal ways. How, early in her Hollywood career, an actress spoke up for her in an uncomfortable, sexist situation and how much that taught her. And how she wants to use her voice and her power to play women from all angles and all dimensions and to get smaller movies with interesting writer/directors off the ground, like her upcoming film ‘Blue Bayou’. And much more! ‘The Glorias’ premiered at Sundance and will out later this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Feb 202042min

On this Pop Culture Confidential Oscar week special:  Predicting the Oscars with math, analytics and good old fashion statistics! Our guest is mathematician Ben Zauzmer. Mr. Zauzmer majored in applied math at Harvard University and works as a manager of baseball analytics for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He applied his knowledge to his passion: the movies, and he has created a complex mathematical model to calculate a nominee’s percentage probability of winning. His model includes different factors: historic data,  the film’s wins and losses at other awards shows leading up to the Oscars, the actors age, if they are playing a real character, box office etc. His predictions have been published in The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.  Ben Zauzmer is the author of the new book ‘Oscarmetrics, The Math Behind the Biggest Night in Hollywood’.  Available on Amazon. Follow Ben Zauzmer on twitter: @BensOscarMath Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 Feb 202033min

It’s our 2020 Oscar predictions special!  We are thrilled to welcome Kyle Buchanan back to the show, for the 3rd year in a row. Mr Buchanan is the New York Times Carpetbagger columnist and reporter, covering every aspect of awards season. Join us as we predict the winners and discuss this years Academy Awards! Will 1917 or Parasite take Best Picture? Will there be upsets? So much to cover! Follow Mr. Buchanan on twitter @kylebuchanan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Feb 202031min

Episode 159: Oscar week special! 'Citizen Canine', author Wendy Mitchell by Pop Culture Confidential Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Feb 202029min

OSCAR WEEK on POP CULTURE CONFIDENTIAL Award-winning set decorator Regina Graves (‘Blue Jasmine’, ‘I am Legend’, ‘The Knick’, ‘Gotham’, ‘Vinyl)’ joins us this week to talk about her work on Martin Scorsese’s epic new picture 'The Irishman’, premiering on Netflix this week. Regina Graves shares some the most fascinating aspects of her teams work and the massive endeavor that was ‘The Irishman’, with nearly 300 sets dressed. We talk how she collaborates closely with production designer Bob Shaw, with whom Graves has worked on multiple productions. The amount of detail that goes into finding or building pieces for, for example, Jimmy Hoffa's (Al Pacino) office set or for Russel Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and Frank Sheeran's (Robert De Niro) homes. How Martin Scorsese’s own family influenced the set decoration, the style of the Italian American gangster genre and so much more. And Regina Graves also talks about her latest production, the upcoming movie 'The Many Saints of Newark', the prequel movie to the Sopranos TV series. ‘The Irishman’ is out in a limited theatrical release now and premieres on Netflix on November 27th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Feb 202030min

OSCAR WEEK on Pop Culture Confidential! Revisit our talk with the legendary production designer, and Oscar nominee Barbara Ling (The Doors, Batman & Robin, Falling Down, Less Than Zero). Barbara Ling talks to us about her incredible work on 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, turning back to clocks to 1969 and recreating some of LAs most iconic landmarks. From incredibly difficult face lifts on Hollywood Boulevard, to rebuilding Spahn Ranch, to how they used Tarantino’s massive memorabilia collection in their design work and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Feb 202025min

There is SO much great TV coming in 2020 so we took a pause from all the film award season coverage to dive into some of the upcoming TV news! TV and film critic Candice Frederick (The New York Times, The Guardian, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar) joins us to talk about some of the highlights: High Fidelity starring Zoë Kravitz, Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Netflix show about her often controversial wellness company GOOP, big stars like Al Pacino and Cate Blanchett coming to the small screen, new sitcoms by Awkwafina and The Rock and, of course, Ryan Murphy is back with two new shows! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Jan 202028min