Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Jay Duplass is a busy guy. Often alongside his younger brother Mark, Jay has left his distinct signature on dozens of projects over the past two decades, proving through his prolific yet singular work that the indie film spirit is still alive and well in America. Whether he’s acting, directing, writing, or producing, Jay is always creating art that’s imbued with a sense of unvarnished honesty. Movie fans since childhood, the Duplass brothers created a handful of short films before breaking onto the festival scene with The Puffy Chair in 2005. Since then, Jay has brought us films like Cyrus, Jeff Who Lives at Home, and the upcoming Outside In, as well the short-lived HBO series Togetherness. This week, he and Sam cover everything from how it felt to love movies pre-internet to the myths surrounding the Duplass brothers, as well as the spontaneity necessary for good filmmaking, and of course, the particular strangeness of being known to the public. http://talkeasypod.com/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Unless you've lived without a TV for the past decade or so, you probably recognize Josh Radnor. The actor--who is also a skilled writer, director, and musician--has been immortalized in the eyes of the public as Ted Mosby, the goofy and hyper-romantic protagonist of the hit series How I Met Your Mother, which ran on CBS from 2005 to 2014. In real life, though, Josh will be the first to tell you that in many ways, he and his fictional counterpart are worlds apart. When Josh sits down with Sam to track his life and career--from realizing in high school that performance was his solution to insecurity, to bringing two feature films to Sundance, to his new series Rise and his musical career with Ben Lee--the impression we're left with is one of determination and deliberation. Josh is brimming with insights from friends, artists, and his own experiences as he and Sam discuss periods of his life during which his dreams were tested, his success complicated, and his interests ever-changing. http://talkeasypod.com/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Talk Easy returns! Actress Alia Shawkat is on the show this week. We talk growing up on the television, the success of Search Party, and how the #MeToo movement is getting increasingly complex. http://talkeasypod.com/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the year coming to a close, Sam (literally) calls on past guests of the show to deliver some hope. Including: Janicza Bravo talking Kahlil Joseph’s Shadow Play at the New Museum; Jon Daly wishing to be friends with the Obamas; Lena Waithe getting engaged; Anna Sale adoring Search Party; Martin Starr being proud of his “Big Sick” friends; Noel Wells falling in love with Lady Bird; AO Scott delivering a Paul Thomas Anderson symposium; Jelani Cobb unable to get Jordan Peele out of his mind. Oh, and Mom makes a reappearance. Happy holidays everyone.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sean Baker is a writer/director known primarily for the Prince of Broadway, Tangerine, and, most recently, The Florida Project. In this week’s episode, Sam and Sean dive into his upbringing in New Jersey, the difficulty of making movies on a low-budget, and why he stands by the heavily debated ending of his latest project. http://talkeasypod.com/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The inimitable Lois Smith has lived a full and exciting life, beginning in Kansas in 1930 and leading her to where she is today, acting in films like Marjorie Prime and Lady Bird at the age of 87. Lois studied theater at the University of Washington, got married at the age of 18, moved to New York with her husband, and has acted on stage and screen ever since. In this episode, she and Sam spend a peaceful hour discussing all of these milestones, along with Lois' first job in the Broadway play Time Out With Ginger, her LIFE magazine cover in 1955, her mindset when it comes to promoting films, and some wisdom from her character in Minority Report. http://talkeasypod.com/artist/lois-smith/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Sam sits down with comedian, actor, and TV writer Paul F. Tompkins. Paul is a longtime standup comic who has appeared in everything from Mr. Show with Bob and David to two Paul Thomas Anderson films--more on both of those in the episode. Besides his prolific standup career, Paul's current projects include roles on Bob's Burgers and Bojack Horseman and a podcast hosting gig of his own. Here, he and Sam talk about his early dream of being a household name, the ways he's changed since his first stand-up special, the all-encompassing weight of his parents' unhealthy marriage, and everyone's odd habit of reading into the way he dresses. http://talkeasypod.com/ \ Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rory Scovel has been on the stand-up scene for more than ten years, from his early days spent doubling as a “desktop support specialist” in Washington D.C., to this year’s Netflix special, Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up for the First Time. When he’s not on an endless Kerouac-esque comedy tour across America, Rory is guesting on shows and podcasts with comedians like Pete Holmes and Chris Hardwicke, and acting on hilarious, under-the-radar shows like Those Who Can’t and Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous. Here, he and Sam talk about the importance of getting justice for victims of sexual misconduct, Rory’s most absurd and unplanned comedy bits, the evolving end goals for stand-up comedians, and losing his mom at a very young age. http://www.talkeasypod.com/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joachim Trier is a Norweigan filmmaker who has so far directed four feature films, including the English language family drama Louder than Bombs and his newest project, Thelma, an intense thriller that was selected to represent Norway in this year's competition for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. As Sam points out, each of these films is incredibly different than one another, a deliberate creative choice on Joachim's part. Through the course of this conversation, Joachim's attention to and care for the craft of filmmaking become abundantly clear. Listen as he and Sam discuss his life and career at length, including Joachim's childhood spent illegally skateboarding (9:45), his feelings of both pride and disappointment in his work (14:05), his love for the surprising films of Wong Kar-wai (23:31), the tricky balance of maintaining relationships as a filmmaker (29:18), and the importance of adding new voices to the film industry (37:35). http://talkeasypod.com/artist/joachim-trier/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Early this year, Sam and actress Noël Wells recorded an episode of Talk Easy at Sundance. Days after the presidential inauguration and in the midst of festival chaos, it was a strange time for both of them, but the resulting conversation was thought-provoking and lovely. Now Noël’s back at a different moment of her life–debuting Mr. Roosevelt, her first feature as director, writer, and lead actress–for another round of thoughtful conversation. Here, she and Sam talk about parallels between Mr. Roosevelt and Noël’s past (6:30), her years spent as a self-proclaimed try-hard (13:15), the online-comment-obsessed culture of SNL (26:20), the nuance of discussing sexual misconduct in Hollywood (30:50), and more. http://talkeasypod.com/artist/noel-wells-returns/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.