Aisling Brouwer is a wondrous sonic stringsmith and a truly enjoyable guest to chat with. Her compositions on Pompeii: Out of Time walk the line between documentary, true crime and dramatization yet the wand she weaves puts all the pieces together brilliantly. “Scoring Pompeii: Out of Time meant finding music for a moment we all think we already know and then discovering how much of it we didn’t. I wanted the score to hold space for both the seismic force and scale of Vesuvius, and the intimate, human choices of the people living through it. The Pompeiian Cornu sits at the heart of that search – an instrument reborn from…
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Interview…Rapper ‘Berner’ On Dedication and Work Ethic From Albums/Art to Cookies to the Big Screen
Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr., also known by his musical moniker Berner, is an American rapper and cannabis entrepreneur. He’s a Bay Area pillar and someone who is about as self-made as they come. From a young age, he had his sights set high as he literally burned his first joint to Cypress Hill. From there, Berner knew this was the life he wanted. From the streets of San Fran to collaborating with his idols on plenty of tracks across plenty of albums, Berner is a creative who is always itching to do something. So as the years went on, this would-be California king became a multi-hyphenate as an artist and…
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Interview…Reed Shannon on Creative Opportunities, Voice Work and ‘Splash City’
In Splash City, survival isn’t a theme. It’s a daily requirement. Set in the raw, unforgiving corners of San Francisco, the film dives headfirst into a city that doesn’t slow down and doesn’t forgive. This is a world where brotherhood collides with violence, ambition battles loyalty, and every choice carries a price. Against a backdrop shaped by racial injustice, economic disparity, and limited opportunity, Splash City pulses with urgency and truth. At the heart of the story are the Johnson brothers: Elijah “Slim” Johnson (Zach Sowers) and Julian “Juju” Johnson (Reed Shannon), two African-American siblings raised by a relentless single mother in a low-income apartment where simply getting through the…
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Interview…Composer Michael Wandmacher’s Unique Sound Palette and Working with Amy Lee on ‘The Seventh Turn’
It’s gotta be exciting and daunting being a composer. Many times they are asked to make a project better or give it life with some acoustic accompaniment. And it’s not often that there is a rule book or one singular path forward. Many of the brilliant people we’ve spoken with over the years have admitted to odd bouts of inspiration, dialogue with the filmmakers and many just kind of feel their way through the project. Art should evoke a desired emotion, and the best artists really hit us in the heart. Today we spoke with Michael Wandmacher about his revolutionary score to Eric D. Howell‘s supernatural short film. His work…
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[Tribeca FF Interview]…Rob Arthur’s ‘Frampton’ Is A Crowd-Pleasing Tribute To A Rare Rock Legend
Ahead of its premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, we had a rocking good time with director Rob Arthur about Frampton. This insightful and crowd-pleasing doc about the one-and-only UK rock legend shows us the fun, fame, friendship, frailty and legacy of being Peter Frampton. The exceptional doc will screen on June 4 next month. It’s fitting that the film comes out in the same year as the 50th anniversary of Rocky. Following Peter’s ascendancy to golden god of rock in 1976 with the unparalleled live album, Peter is less an underdog but he was certainly up against the ropes following the massive success of ‘Frampton Comes Alive‘. The…
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Interview…Kirk Fox Talks Literature and Life Lessons In His Debut Novel ‘Palmdale’
It’s great when a story grabs your attention. In the case of Palmdale, Kirk Fox‘s fast-paced detective yarn, things start in a fury and never let off the gas. His novel is sharp, exciting, deep, and will surely win a lot of fans. They say that truth is stranger than fiction, so it might be hard to classify this as fiction, per se. Fox’s highly entertaining novel is a fantastic edition to the Meridia Books lineup. Also, the strength of the characters – powered by their uncommon-yet-relatable family dynamic – make this a story you didn’t know you needed in your life. And that’s worth noting because it’s written by…
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Interview…’Metropolis’ Redux Jam Session with Jazzy Jeff Beal
Five-time EMMY winner Jeff Beal’s improvisatory method, sense of timing, and sophistication have made him a favorite of directors including Ed Harris, David Fincher, Oliver Stone, and Rob Reiner, and his contributions to powerful documentaries and dramatic scores for TV shows have shown him to be one of the most distinctive and recognizable composers working today. In addition to his distinguished scoring career, Beal is a prolific composer of concert music. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Beal’s grandmother was a pianist and accompanist for silent movies. An avid jazz fan, she gave him Miles Davis’/Gil Evans’ Sketches of Spain album that would influence his development as…
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Interview…The Life and Times of Gedde Watanabe
Gedde Watanabe (or “Gary” if you know him personally) is cinema’s secret weapon. Having worked with all-time great filmmakers, names like Ron Howard, John Hughes, Michael Bay, and Joe Dante are just the short list of directors who were able to use Watanabe’s brilliance. Comedy is a universal language and Gedde is extraordinarily fluent. It’s important to note that Gedde made it into entertainment on his own steam as a quintessential struggling artist. He also made a name for himself at a time when there was no path, no guideposts, and no precedent for Asian actors. He simply took jobs that brought him joy and, little by little, that led…
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Interview…Kevin Dunn Makes A Big Splash in ‘Mermaid’
There’s something almost mythical about Florida. Whether that ties to the history of the unmistakable peninsula, the myriad of demographics who call it home or, like Huey Lewis says about New York, “Where else can you do a half a million things, all at a quarter to three?” Well, you can probably do a lot more in Florida which is why it has such an odd draw. So, if you’re going to tell a story about a man who finds and falls in love with a mermaid, where better to set this unconventional tail, er, tale? As you might expect from the outrageous premise, Mermaid is weird, wild, funny and…
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Interview…Doug Jones and Derek Maki on the Documentary Celebrating Jones’ Iconic Career
Actor Doug Jones has often been referred to as the Boris Karloff of our time. This in-depth feature length documentary seeks to find how this actor/mime went on to become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors when it comes to creating fantastic creatures in full body make-up/costumes. From his early start in projects like Buffy The Vampire Slayer to major motion pictures like Hellboy and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer to Oscar winning and nominated films like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape Of Water. His performances, mannerisms and physicality is so well-known, you could spot Doug a mile away. We’ve taken to calling him Lean Chaney. Directed by William Conlin, the doc gives us a reverent look…
