Ep. #37 Princess & Pirate with Rachael MacFarlane

This is a special, stand alone episode with my friend, voice actor and new author Rachael MacFarlane. Not only do I think Rachael is one of the smartest people I know, I also really believe in the message of her new children’s book Eleanor Wyatt: Princess and Pirate.

You've probably heard Rachael MacFarlane speak at some point in her 20 year acting career. She's given voice to characters from Johnny Bravo, Tom & Jerry, Fancy Nancy, Family Guy, and she has played Hayley Smith on American Dad since 2005. 

Now Rachael has written a children's book titled Eleanor Wyatt, Princess and Pirate. In this episode of Smartest Person in the Room, Laura talks with Rachael about her career, her new book, parenting in L.A., and why the message of Eleanor Wyatt is so important. 

You can buy Eleanor Wyatt Princess and Pirate at any bookstore or at PrincessandPiratebook.com

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Seth MacFarlane

Gone Girl

I Am Jazz

Two books that have made great impressions on Rachael’s life:

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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Ep. #9 of the Hollywood series: A wrap up

The Hollywood series of Smartest Person in the Room has officially come to the end, but there's still a lot to discuss. In this wrap-up episode, host Laura and producer/editor Megan talk about the best and worst parts of creating the 8 parts of the inaugural topic for the show.

Laura and Megan talk about the most downloaded episode of the series and their personal favorites. They give a behind-the-scenes look at what was special and what was challenging about making the podcast.

They also address rumors and questions about the "lost" episode of the Hollywood series: Ep. #7, the interview with the high-powered talent agent that had to be removed 3 days after it debuted. 

This is a fun discussion for those who have already listened to most of the Hollywood series and want to hear more about the guests and the creative decisions behind the show. There's also a few hints about the next series topic, which will be hitting your earbuds soon.

You don't have to have listened to the entire Hollywood series to enjoy this wrap up, but those who have will get the most out of what Laura and Megan cover here. 

The new multi-part series will be starting up soon. If you want all the information first, including all the stuff you won't see anywhere else, make sure you're signed up for the email newsletter using the form below. We'd also love it if you'd follow Smartest Person in the Room on Facebook!

You can follow host Laura on twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

You can follow producer Megan on twitter and Instagram, and make sure to check out her show Sorta Awesome!

Ep. #8 of the Hollywood series: producer/director Jeff Tremaine

Jeff Tremaine is a producer and director. He is most well-known for co-creating the cultural phenomenon Jackass - the MTV show that spawned a thousand knockoffs and led to 4 #1 box office hits: Jackass the Movie, Jackass Number Two, Jackass 3D, and Bad Grandpa.

Jeff is also behind many popular tv series like Rob & Big, Fantasy Factory, Nitro Circus, Loiter Squad, and Ridiculousness. With friends Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze, Jeff co-owned the production company Dickhouse and now has his own production company, Gorilla Flicks. Jeff has directed or produced several documentaries, including The Birth of Big Air for ESPN, and The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia for Tribeca Film.

He has directed numerous national commercials, including the Super Bowl Bud Light spot titled “Up for Whatever.” One of his most recent projects - and the one he believes will be his most watched EVER - is the American Airlines safety video that plays at the beginning of every flight.

In this episode, Jeff mentions:

World Industries and Steve Rocco

Thrasher magazine

Transworld magazine

reestylin' magazine

Big Brother Magazine

Big Brother videos: Shit, Number Two, Boob

Spike Jonze's music videos and Being John Malkovich

Jeff's favorite show he ever made: Wildboyz

Travis Pastrana on Nitro Circus

The Magic Christian by Terry Southern

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Ep. #6 of the Hollywood series: tv writer/director Julie Hébert

Julie Hébert is an award-winning playwright and a television writer, director, and producer. She began her career in the San Francisco theater world, and her plays have been produced across the country and won many honors, including two PEN awards for drama.

In the late 1990’s, a meeting with producer John Wells led her to television, where she has written, directed, and produced episodes for such popular shows as ER, The West Wing, Third Watch, Nashville, and The Good Wife among others. Julie is currently an executive producer, writer, and director on ABC’s American Crime.

Julie shared stories of her early theater days, and how her very first directing experience - in a directing class - was an AHA! moment for the rest of her career. 

We talked about the break John Wells gave her (and other women and minorities) with a program he started that allowed her to shadow tv directors in order to learn the ropes. At the end of program, you got to direct one of Wells’ shows - at the time this was ER and Third Watch. It was a breakthrough experience. After much hesitation, Julie ended up in the writers’ room for Third Watch, despite not knowing much about first responders in New York City. But she found the process of character and storytelling to be the same as her days working in theater, and instantly felt at home in her new position.

I asked Julie a lot of questions about HOW and WHY episodic television has a different writer and different director for each episode. She does a great job explaining the process, the jobs, and who gets what credit. This is a quick education in behind-the-scenes scripted tv.

Naturally, we talked a bit about the lack of female directors working in Hollywood, and Julie shared a few stories about the treatment she has received as a woman in her role as a director. 

Cut from the final audio, Julie told me about this site if you want to read more (funny/depressing) stories about discrimination against female directors. And here's an article from Vanity Fair about that site and why it matters. 

One of my favorite stories Julie tells is about Dr. Green from ER. The scene she describes is nearly 20 years old, but I still remembered it. This is what it like to make such compelling tv: you are influencing the thoughts and actions of those who are invested in these shows. Julie holds the responsibility well.

Another responsibility that Julie has taken on is the Look What She Did! project, which she created to highlight stellar women both past and present. It’s a simple idea: amazing women talking about amazing women, but it has caught on with universities and online, and their dreams are big for where the Look What She Did! videos might go. You can browse and share them here. 

Julie’s choice for a book that has made an impact on her life marks the first time that I have cried making this podcast. She reads a passage from No Author Better Served that brought us both to tears.

I loved this conversation with Julie Hebert, not just for the interesting things I learned about writing/producing/directing television, but because of the heart and spirit that she brings to the work. This is an episode I’ll be thinking about for months. 

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Ep. #5 of the Hollywood series: documentary producer Katie Doering

Katie Doering was born and raised in Los Angeles, right in the heart of Hollywood. After college in the midwestern United States, she spent years teaching in South America and working as a labor organizer in the south Bronx before finding herself back in LA working in documentary film and reality television. 

Her first production job was for the groundbreaking documentary series POV for PBS. Since it's premiere in 1988, "POV" has won 34 Emmys, 19 Peabody awards, and 3 Oscars. 

Katie specifically mentions the POV documentary Two Towns of Jasper.

After leaving POV, Katie went on to work on such popular shows as LA Ink and Intervention, as well as producing on the documentaries The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia and ESPN's Angry Sky.

After leaving her work in reality TV production, Katie was hired by the Sundance Institute, the entity that hosts the world-famous Sundance film festival. Working as a producer for the Women at Sundance Initiative has allowed her to play an active role in tackling one of the entertainment industry’s biggest ongoing problems: inequality in both opportunity and wages for women.

For the last 13 years, 25% of the American directors at the Sundance Film Festival have been female, a figure vastly higher than the typical American box office, where only 4% of the top 100 films were helmed by women. The Women at Sundance initiative organizes a summit of Hollywood decision makers seeking systemic change, and also provides a year-long fellowship program for talented female directors and producers.

Two books that have made an impact on Katie's life are Working by Studs Terkel and Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans.

Ep. #4 of the Hollywood series: celebrity bodyguard Wayne Newton

In twenty-five years of protecting some of the world's most high profile celebrities, bodyguard Wayne Newton has never spoken publicly about his job. This conversation is a fascinating look at the logistics and emotions behind celebrity bodyguards.

What exactly are handlers protecting celebrities from? And how do they go about it?

Wayne tells us how he went from a working class neighborhood in London to the world of private security, and why he turned away from the traditional path of law enforcement that first drew him into service. 

He's been on tour, on the red carpet, and in cities around the world looking after such public figures such as Mariah Carey, Madonna, Pele, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Hudson, and many more. What Wayne says in this interview will make you rethink any assumptions you have about who is REALLY the smartest person in the room.

The book that has had the greatest impact on Wayne is The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 

Listening to Wayne's perspective on his job as protector for the rich, famous, and talented, will be something you'll want to discuss with others. 

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Ep. #2 of the Hollywood series: production designer Ethan Tobman

Ethan Tobman is one of the most sought after production designers in Hollywood. 

He designed the intricate and innovative set for the Academy award winning movie Room (based on this book by Emma Donoghue), and his artistic vision has graced everything from national commercial campaigns for Target and Cadillac, to culture-shaking music videos like Beyonce’s Formation.

In this episode, Ethan explains what exactly a production designer does from start to finish, weaving in his own tales about working with famous directors, actors, and music superstars. 

This is one of the most fun conversations I have ever had with someone in the entertainment industry, and I think you’ll enjoy listening in. 

See more of Ethan Tobman's work on his website.

Ethan talks about just a handful of his credits, including Rob Reiner's 2014 movie And So It Goes starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton. 

We also discuss Beyonce's video of the year: Formation

Grammy nominated best video of the year "Formation" from LEMONADE the Visual Album Available Now! iTunes: http://smarturl.it/LEMONADEitunes Amazon.com: http://smarturl.it/LEMONADEcd TIDAL: https://lemonade.tidal.com

And OK Go's The Writing's on the Wall:

Buy Hungry Ghosts on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/HungryGhostsiTunes For dozens of exclusive behind-the-scenes video clips from the set, visit http://okgo.net/wotw/ Buy the EP now on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/OKGOEP LYRICS: Listen, I know it's been hard, you know it's no different for me. We're less than a zero-sum game now, and baby we both know that's not how it's supposed to be.

Two books that made an impact on Ethan:

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and Another Country by James Baldwin

Thanks for listening to Ep. 2 of Smartest Person in the Room with Laura Tremaine!

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