Danielle Colby-Cushman appears on the popular History Channel series “American Pickers”. Media Mikes talked recently with Daniel about her work on the show and about her burlesque troupe Burlesque le’ Moustache.

Adam Lawton: How did you first connect with Mike and Frank?
Danielle Colby-Cushman: I met Mike about 13 or 14 years ago. We actually met at a yard sale. We became friends and hung out a lot after that. I ended up meeting Frank through Mike.

AL: How did they approach you about doing the show?
DCC: The guys were never approached to do a television shows. They had shot a bunch of footage and Mike was really the guy trying to get something going. He had tried for 4 years to get the show picked up. At one point it had looked as though Discovery Channel was going to pick the show up and Mike asked me if I would be able to help them run the shop as he was going to be on the road all the time. We used to do this out of his basement so there wasn’t really a shop or anything. Once we found out Discovery was not going to pick the show up I made plans to move back to Chicago. The month that I was set to move back Mike came to me and told me I couldn’t move because, we had gotten picked up by the History channel. I was very hungry to get back into make-up artistry which I had done for 14 years but I had this great opportunity that ended up working really well.

AL: How much are you involved with the business now outside of the show?
DCC: My word is still gold at Antique Archeology. I have more people helping out now which is really nice. I try as hard as I can to not be there during open hours because it is very difficult to work with so many people coming through. However at the same time I love having the people come through because it’s great meeting everyone who made us the success we are. It’s a double edged sword. I just try to do as much as I can before and after hours. It’s still my home sweet home.

AL: On the show recently we saw you experience your first pick. Was that actually your very first pick?
DCC: That was truly my first pick. It was a really awesome experience and something that I had wanted to do for some time. It was a little bit embarrassing to go through something for the first time on television. You want to look like a professional but sometimes you have to sit back and just watch and learn. I really liked being able to do that and have since gone on a couple other picks. I hope to do more in the future.

AL: Can you tell us what made you want to start performing burlesque?

DCC: Burlesque was something I got into because I wanted to stop hating myself. Since I was a teenager I hated everything about myself. I didn’t like the way I looked. I wanted to love myself but I didn’t understand how to do that. I spent a lot of years hating on my flaws rather than the story behind my flaws. I saw an amazing burlesque show years ago in Chicago and I just fell in love with the women on stage. I loved the strength they exuded on stage and wanted some of that. That’s what really got me into performing.

AL: Can you tell us about the burlesque troop you started?
DCC: I had started teaching burlesque classes in Iowa and Illinois about 3 and a half years ago. There was nothing like it in my area as the closes troupe was about 3 hours away. I started YouTubing the hell out of anything burlesque related and I bought a million DVD’s. I devoured burlesque every day of my life and I still do. I think that’s the only way to learn.

AL: Do you have any plans to tour outside of the Illinois area with the troupe?
DCC: I am not sure. My shooting schedule makes it difficult to be able to do something like that. We would love to do that. I will be in the very near future opening up a burlesque lounge. It’s going to be called “Diesel Lounge” and it will feature burlesque and cabaret music. There will be a lot of fun stuff going on there.

AL: Do you think it’s harder performing burlesque or working with Mike and Frank?
DCC: I have a lot of responsibility with both. I think it’s a little easier owning your own thing as you can tell people what you want. You are able to say it’s either my way or the highway. Getting up on stage is not difficult at all. It used to be but, after seeing all the people who were inspired by what we were doing I don’t really worry about if I ate too much before the show. (Laughs) Those people are there to see a story not necessarily a naked girl.

AL: Can you tell us about some of the other things you are involved with?
DCC: I have had a clothing line now for about 10 years called 4 Miles to Memphis. I have stopped making the clothing myself however I still do design it. I have gone with an American company based out of Los Angeles that is producing my designs. I just don’t have the time to make everything on my own now as people want it on a larger scale. It’s so wonderful I just don’t have the time. I have tried to keep everything local to help celebrate local economy but there just weren’t enough people here to keep up with the demand. We are however keeping it an American operation. All the money that comes in from the 4 Miles to Memphis stuff goes to my parents to help pay for my dad’s medical expenses. It’s really a wonderful cause while at the same time being a creative outlet for me.

If you are a fan of SyFy, they you must be a fan of their original movies. This summer, the month of June is packed with new great films. “Arachnoquake”, Syfy’s Saturday original movie, premiered on Saturday, June 23 and is one hell of a fun ride. It stars Tracey Gold (“Growing Pains”) and Bug Hall (“The Little Rascals”) and is directed by Griff Furst (“Swamp Shark”, “Lake Placid 3”). Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Tracey, Bug and Griff to discuss the film and their experience working on it.

Mike Gencarelli: First question is for Tracey and Bug. What did you guys like most about taking on a role in a movie like this?
Tracey Gold: I’ll start. Well, I would just have to say working with the cast and crew on the movie. I think it was just one of the better productions I’ve done. It was easy. It was fun. It was well organized. Everybody got along. It was a subject matter that was obviously, liked, I mean it has albino spiders…and it was just a lot of fun and a really great group of people.
Bug Hall: Yes, I think that was definitely perk number one for me as well, you know. The cast, crew and Griff and everyone at Syfy was great. And I liked that we were all on the same page going into it. My very first question to Griff was, how funny is this thing? He was right there with me saying “We’re going to hit every moment for comedy that we have”. This thing is comedy at heart and that was to me the most exciting part was really getting to be funny and getting to just sort of run with jokes and have a lot of fun with it.

MG: Can you talk about the scene that you had the most fun with while shooting?
TG: Yes, I think the scene I had the most fun with was when we got to jump off the big boat and into the water. Then we all had to scramble up onto the ground. There were also some funny moments with it and Ethan Phillips which were hysterical and made us laugh. I like doing stuff like that when they say okay we’re not going to use stunt doubles or something, you guys can do it and I think that’s always like, just kind of so fun. Brings out the kid in us.
BH: Yes. Exactly, I’m a big kid at heart and any moment that I have to fire guns or, you know, tuck and roll, I’m a kid in a candy store and, you know, to me that is – that was the biggest appeal. A lot of the comedy stuff was – felt so good when we were finished though, you know. Like, going through it I’m always nervous because I don’t feel like I’m funny most of the time. But then as soon as it’s done, you know, you feel so good about it. I had a moment with Luck Johnson in a grocery store. I know when we were finished with the scene me and him were just elated, you know, we really felt like we nailed it and we were really happy with it and I felt like it was a big payoff. So, the comedy was a big appeal.

MG: Bug, do you feel that your nickname was factor into being cast int this film?
BH: As far as it factoring into me being cast, yes, I like to think that, it definitely played a part, right. I mean, Bug’s doing a movie about bugs. It certainly can’t hurt.

MG: Griff, you’ve been working, quite a bit with these creature features, like “Lake Placid 3” and “Swamp Shark”. What do you enjoy most about this genre?
Griff Furst: Well, I’ve always been a fan of creature and horror and sci-fi. What I’m enjoying most about is that these movies don’t take themselves too seriously. So, as long as you have actors who are down to experiment and to play with the humor in it and to kind of almost be aware of the situations that they’re in but still playing it for keeps and playing it seriously. That’s always really fun because you still get to do what you love to do but it’s all about having a good time and making sure that the audience in turn has a good time watching it as well. There’s not millions and trillions of dollars at stake and but that’s part of the fun with it.

MG: Tracey and Bug, as your co-stars in the film are huge giant bugs, what would you say is your biggest challenge working on this film?
TG: Sure, for me I had never done anything like this. So I remember when I read the script I was like, okay this is like funny, right? So it was an adjustment for me, we’re really like reacting to something that’s not there. But then that’s true acting. You get to use your imagination and that’s what made it so fun. So we had an idea of what the spiders looked like and probably in all of our heads it was slightly different. So, it’ll be interesting to actually see the way it really is. But it was a challenge and it was fun.
BH: Yes, I think the challenge of not having them there was probably more difficult than I expected going into it and it was just a lot of talking, you know. There was a lot of talking from scene to scene about what we were seeing and where it was and how big it was and what it was doing. You know, just to really kind of have that placeholder locked down and make sure we were all on the same page.
TG: To make sure we’re looking at the same thing.
BH: Right, A lot of Xs on apple boxed. But again, that was part of the appeal. It was a lot of fun just kind of letting the imagination run and really having fun with it. I can’t stress the having fun with it aspect of it enough. I mean, that was goal number one and we accomplished that.

MG: You guys have any room for any improv during the production?
BH: The cast and Griff there was, you know, it was always, you know, always open to whatever, you know, we wanted to throw out, especially with comedy, you know, you kind of have to just go with what, you know, what you’re feeling and what feels funny at the moment. And a lot of times what’s funny on the page, you know, doesn’t quite read and so you tweak it and you, you know, you bend it a little bit and you make, you know, you make the funny happen. So there was a lot of great moments where we just kind of ran and just played off each other.
GF: And also the character types that were listed in screenplays were actually quite different than a lot of the folks we ended up casting on purpose because it’s just interesting to go opposite. So we found out that, you know, there was some differences between Bug’s character and Lucky Johnson’s character so then that allowed more of this improve and kind of experimenting with their personalities and it’s not in the script, which didn’t originally call for that kind of personality. So, definitely a lot of improv.

MG: It sounded like you have a lot of fun with this obviously. Were there any times when you just kind of couldn’t keep a straightface because it’s something so silly?
TG: Many…
BH: Absolutely. Yes, especially those late nights when you’re starting to get delirious and it just really occurs to you what you’re doing. We definitely had quite a few moments of the giggle fits that had to be subsided.
GF: There’s a great blooper reel…
TG: I think that’s always fun.

A graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in communications, Rich Eisen is probably best known to sport fans as the face of the NFL Network, which he joined after seven years at ESPN. He has also added his commentary to several of VH1’s various “I Love the….” decade shows and last year appeared in the very funny short “Field of Dreams 2” on Funny or Die. He can also currently be seen (actually heard) as the marathon announcer in the new film “That’s My Boy.” Eisen’s latest project is as host of the new action/reality show “The Great Escape,” which debuts this Sunday evening on TNT. Rich took some time recently to speak with Media Mikes about his love for football, his reality show skills and how he hopes to follow Dan Patrick to “Sandler Stardom!”

Mike Smith: How did you get involved with “The Great Escape?”
Rich Eisen: Charlie Ebersol, who is one of the producers, and his partner, Justin Hochberg…they created the show. They sat me down about a year ago and showed me on his iPhone a demo reel for “The Great Escape” that was constructed by Ron Howard, whose production company he runs with Brian Grazer, Imagine Entertainment, is one of the show’s producers, as well as the creators and producers of “The Amazing Race.” And I decided that if they wanted to bring to life what they just showed me on their iPhone…what was leaping off of that small screen and snapping my lapels back…well, I told them “tell me more!” (laughs) And now here we are, about to show it to the fickle beast that is the American viewing public. I don’t want to jinx it but it’s got everything that appears to appeal to the folks that like to watch this kind of programming. I mean it’s got EVERYTHING in it that will push their buttons. I’m really excited for it.

MS: With NFL training camps starting up next month with your duties on the show interfere in your NFL Network gig?
RE: No. We’ll be done shooting this season’s shows by the end of this month (June). I’m ready for the NFL season. I’ll tell you that. It’s a great thing, too. I’m really involved in two of the greatest reality projects around. “The Great Escape,” obviously. And the NFL. THAT’S 22-26 weeks of drama. Each and every week.

MS: Besides “The Great Escape,” is there a reality show you wouldn’t mind appearing on?
RE: You know I’d really like to try “The Great Escape.” I’d love to see how I’d handle it. I’d choose Warren Sapp (former Tampa Bay Buccaneer great) to do it with me because he’d be able to handle both the physical and the mental challenges. I’d love to do that. That would be a lot of fun. And when folks see this show that’s going to be their general sense…they’re going to want to do this. It’s going to call to them from the television.

MS: I caught your work in the new Adam Sandler film “That’s My Boy” earlier this week. Any plans of following your buddy Dan Patrick into bigger roles on the silver screen?
RS: (laughs) Dan always makes it seem like he’s the gatekeeper but it’s still really Adam Sandler and his producing partner, Jack Garraputo, who call the shots. I’m working my way into the rotation. “That’s My Boy” is a double edged sword because, though I’m involved in the funniest scene in the film, most people don’t hear me because they’re rolling in the aisles! But, that said, I can only aspire to be what Dan is in the Sandler oeuvre’!

This summer TNT is reinventing the classic TV series “Dallas” and bringing back to TV. It is bringing a mix of original and new characters. Linda Gray is returning to her role, along with new co-star Josh Henderson. “Dallas” premiers Wednesday, June 13th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT. Media Mikes had a chance to ask them a few questions about what we can expect from the new 2012 “Dallas”.

Mike Smith: How do you feel that the new series is different from the old one? And in what ways is it the same?
Linda Gray: It took a diamond and polished it. What can I say? It’s magic. It was magic in 1978 and it’s got a little 2012 fairy dust sprinkled on it. It’s just wonderful.

MS: Josh, were you familiar with the original show?
Josh Henderson: I was, yes. I’m originally from Dallas, Texas. I was born there, so with my family it was a very kind of popular thing. My me maw – my grandmother, “Dallas” was her favorite show and she kind of always said, being from Dallas, Texas you go to church and you watch “Dallas”. That’s kind of what you do out there. So it was definitely something that I knew of. I was a little too young to remember actual details of the show, but I definitely knew of how big of a deal it was as a child.

MS: Linda, what are some of the story lines that you can tease this season?
LG: Well, the original show took place when our children, Christopher and John Ross were very young. Now it is the perfect timing. I’m always about timing. I think “Dallas” originally started at perfect timing in history, and how its now perfect timing again when both Christopher and John Ross are grown-ups. They each have their own values and the focus is on where they want to go with their lives, and with whom. So it’s focuses on a rivalry, and this competition. And there’s all these wonderful things that one would expect from the show. There’s a love triangle, so it takes all of the things that were with the original show and it just kind of amps it up. There’s a little cayenne pepper thrown in here. So we’re just taking what it was and amping it up a little bit. A lot.

MS: Linda, what was it like coming back with this character for you personally?
LG: It gets better and better and better every year. You know, we started out, we all had families and on the show there were deaths and divorces, and births, and all kinds of wonderful things that happen in normal families, but this was our Dallas family. And now we’re grandparents, all of us, and we were about five years old, the three of us. So we hang out, we laugh and we love. I don’t know exactly what happens here to make this show absolutely magical, and I think it is. I use the word seamless, because it seemed as if we had shot this about a month ago. And nothing was different. Dallas, the city had changed, and grown and become more art conscious. They have a beautiful art section. And everything about it is enhanced. So, we’re just quite pleased about the way it all came about.

MS: Josh, your character seems to have a lot of his daddy in him, as it were. On kind of a cross, back-stabbing, and plans on top of plans, and comes with a lot of layers, can you reflect?
JH: Well, John Ross is really trying. I think he’s at a pivotal moment in his life where he’s trying to really make his presence known as a businessman. He only knows one way to do business, and that’s kind of how he’s seen his father do business. And it might not be in everyone’s mind the best way, but in his mind it’s the only way, and he knows that it gets stuff done. So he kind of learned from, in his mind, the best and at the end of the day he doesn’t have a great relationship at this point with either of his parents. So he kind of feels like he’s on his own, and I know that he at some point would love to be able to confide with his mother, but he just doesn’t really – he’s not comfortable with that as of right now where he’s at. He’s really kind of trying to do things on his own and put his foot down and kind of put his footprint in, I guess, in this whole Ewing legacy. And so it’s – he definitely is somewhat like his father and, you know, I know his mother is now at the point where she’s kind of trying to give him some advice and hoping that he’ll listen, I guess.

MS: Can you tell us how has Southfork changed over the years?
LG: Well, I think it’s become a big business in how – I mean, every tourist who’s ever come to Texas wants to go to Southfork. I think it’s their number two tourist attraction. So it’s very interesting to drive down that driveway at Southfork, because it brought back so many memories — so many years spent there. And it’s still small. People are always surprised at how small it is. But then on film, they made it look so big and expansive. And it’s just, you play the theme song and that’s a character. You look at Southfork — that’s another character. So those were all the characters that embraced the whole series. So they give you what you had before and it’s just a bit enhanced.

MS: Josh, did you get any tips from Larry on how to play more of the dastardly side of John Ross?
JH: You know, the first thing he ever said to me when we were on set was, “Enjoy the ride.” He literally just said, “Have fun. Enjoy the ride.” I mean, I think with this show, “Dallas” does bring a whole new ride to your life and I think what made the original so special was that they, you know, Larry, Linda, Patrick — the original cast — they truly had fun and they really like each other. I think that when that happens, you can trust your coworker or the actor that you’re with in the scene more, meaning that you can go deeper with the characters to make a better TV show. So he really just said, “Enjoy the ride,” and they have embraced the new generation unbelievably. Like, they just made us feel so comfortable from day one. I guess they had a lot of trust and faith in us as kind of the new generation. And us being so comfortable really, I think, helped the entire dynamic of the show and the character relationships and everything else.

MS: This show really has the potential of hitting both audiences of the original and brand new people who have never seen it before. What would you say that this show has to offer for both sets of people?
LG: I think that it will bring our global audience to the new show. There’ll be kind of a lock that one. And then what will bring them to the new part is that they’ll see the extended family. They’ll see our children grown up, they’ll see their focus in life, they’ll see which business they have decided to go into, they’ll see a love triangle. So it’s the expansion of the original show. It still has the same family, but the family’s grown and it’s expanded. And there’s still the same rivalry and greed and all this craziness that went on in the first series. It will continue, so I think that you’re in for a great ride.
JH: Yes. I think like Linda said, it’s everything about the original that made the original so great and so kind of, you know, magnetizing that people had to run back to the TV every week. They really kind of did well of transcending that into the new generation of Dallas. And I think for me and the cast, our main goal is to satisfy the original fans of the show, give them what they want, give them what they’ve been missing for 21 years. The show, I believe, speaks for itself. So the new audience, hopefully some of the younger generation can bring in some the new kind of younger people. I think as long as they give us a shot, they’ll truly, really enjoy the show. What’s great about this one is that you don’t even have to have ever seen the original to really be able to hop on board with these storylines. That’s how good the show is.

MS: What do you think it is about Dallas that really resonates with fans?
LG: That’s a question that’s really hard to answer. I don’t really know. I think that when it first began, there were a lot of people that didn’t know quite what it was — was it a nighttime soap opera? — what was it? And I think that it was all about timing. I’ve always go back to that. In television historically, there’s always been shows that were perfectly timed. “I Love Lucy” was at a perfect time, there were a lot of doctor shows, now there’s a lot of reality shows. And I think that in 1978 it was a perfect time for something bigger than life. People wanted to see something big, like oil like the movie “Giant”. They wanted to see something big. They wanted to see people with money, they wanted oil and big shoulder pads and cars and all that stuff. And they wanted to see family dynamics. So I think that the original fans were connected to what happens when you have all that money and you have all these problems. It’s dysfunction at its’ finest, so I think people were initially drawn to all of that. And they saw it in maybe themselves or a boss or somebody in business. They saw the business dealings of J.R. Ewing, which attracted a lot of the men to the show, so they thought, “Wow, look at this guy. He’s a bad guy and we like him,” right? So that was sort of confusing at first to people. It’s like, “Wow, we really like that guy. He’s really doing all these ridiculous things.” And then they loved the way that he treated his wife, because then they could feel sorry for Sue Ellen and then be beating up on him. It was quite, then the intrigue started and then it’s the whole water cooler thing was, you know, it was all – it was all about the water cooler and people were talking about it the next day. There was a ground swell that happened and it just built and built and built so that it was then it just a magnet so it attracted everybody. This is just a continuation of all the people that had all of those things fulfilled. Again, to me it’s all about timing. It’s another perfect time.

The one and only Dallas is back with more delicious drama. JR, Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing return to the ranch with secrets, schemes and betrayals. This time, they’re joined by the next generation of Ewings, who take ambition and deception to a wicked new level. The battle for power, love and Southfork erupts in the new Dallas premiering Wednesday, June 13 at 9/8c on TNT.

The new Dallas stars Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalfe, Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo and Brenda Strong, and they will be joined by iconic stars Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray and Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing.

Media Mikes had a chance to interview the shows iconic stars Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray and newcomers Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe. Click below to see what they had to say about the reboot of “Dallas” and what we can expect.

This summer TNT is reinventing the classic TV series “Dallas” and bringing back to TV. It is bringing a mix of original and new characters. Patrick Duffy is returning to his role, along with new co-star Jesse Metcalf. “Dallas” premiers Wednesday, June 13th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT. Media Mikes had a chance to ask the guys a few questions about what we can expect from the new 2012 “Dallas”.

Mike Smith: How do you feel that the new version of “Dallas” differs and how is it similar?
Jesse Metcalf: Okay. Well, I don’t think we’ve changed what made the original series great.I mean the show still centers around the major themes of family dynamics, greed, loyalty, love, and betrayal. But we’ve just updated it. We made it modern and definitely socially relevant to the times. And in addition to that we added some new characters. Obviously, Christopher and John Ross were established in the original series. But, now you now get to see the type of man that these two children have grown up to be. We also introduced the character of Elena Ramos, who is the one side of the love triangle between, Josh Henderson and Jordana. She’s the daughter of our…
Patrick Duffy: The Ewing housekeeper…
JM: Yeah, the Ewing housekeeper. She definitely wasn’t a part of the original series. Then we also have my fiancé, Rebecca Sutter played by Julie Gonzalo. It’s a great marriage of the original show and the original cast and some new cast members.
PD: Yeah. The difference also is just technologically speaking television is done so differently now that if we tried to duplicate the old school “Dallas” I think it would be slow in appearance and in substance for a modern audience. So with the technology that we have with high def cameras and the new way of directing television, which is so dynamic and so intense in terms of the pacing. And the scripts reflect that also. They’re much more condensed. We get maybe four or five episodes of an old “Dallas” in one episode of the new “Dallas”. So all of these things I think contemporize the old show. But we maintain the honor that Cynthia Cidre and Mike Robin feel towards the show. So that hasn’t changed. And I think that’s what will impress old viewers as they look at the new Dallas is it’s so much similar to what they were used to. But it’s done for a contemporary audience. So we think we got the best of both worlds. And we’re hoping that everybody out there is going to agree with us.

MS: So Patrick, what was it like to hear the news that they were recreating the show? And did you ever see it coming back as a series?
PD: No, because I didn’t think that anybody knew how to do it as a series again. The real brains and heart behind the show is our executive producer, Leonard Cassman. And he died. All of these other attempts to write scripts and to promote a movie or a television show that fell so far short of what the original concept was. I didn’t think anybody had the ability anymore. Then Cynthia Cidre wrote a script and it was submitted to Larry and Linda and myself. And it was phenomenal. The pilot script for the show had everything even better than I would say half of the original “Dallas” scripts that we got. So from the moment, the three of us read it we were onboard. And it was the first time I ever thought it was a possibility of returning as a series. And we filmed the pilot. I was sure that we were going to series. I was sure we were going to do this show. I’m still as optimistic that it’s going to go for years and years, because the quality of it is so satisfying having done the show for 13 years to see how well it can be redone again in 2012. I would be more than happy if this were my swan song.

MS: Do each of you have a favorite scene that you’ve done or favorite moment from the first few episodes that you could each talk about?
JM: I probably have a favorite moment from every episode. It’s really difficult for me to pick just one scene. I mean the fun thing about this show is that it’s a magnificent ensemble. Every single day you get to work with a different actor. I love working with all these different actors on the show for different reasons. But I’d say from the pilot episode my favorite scene would have to be the scene where Christopher confronts Elena about possibly betraying him and about the email. Patrick and I have had a number of really strong scenes
PD: Yeah.
JM: What do you think, Patrick?
PD: Well it’s interesting to me, because several of my favorite scenes didn’t make it to the show. That’s what’s interesting is that these scripts are so compact and so intense every scene is so brilliantly done. You finish filming and you think I can’t wait to see that. And then it’s edited out. Well because, you just can’t put everything in each episode. I am sure it still exists somewhere; especially when it comes out on a DVD there will be, additional scenes as an ancillary side to the DVD. You have to as an actor let that go. But I had a scene with Jesse in a barn, which they only kept the lead in scene for that. And they eliminated it. And it was one of my favorite ones of that episode. But over the years I’ve learned to let those feelings go and just enjoy what I see. Most of my new scenes that I have with my wife, with Brenda Strong, are really satisfying, that to me is the big test to find someone who would be the new Mrs. Bobby Ewing is a tough decision that casting had to make. It was a tough role for somebody to accept and Brenda is so good and I feel like when I watch us on camera anymore that we’ve been married for 20 years. There’s just an ease that we have with each other that makes those particular scenes very enjoyable for me. And I like being a father. So every time I work with Jesse it’s another level of satisfaction.

MS: Jesse, what really made you want to be apart of this show?
JM: It was the writing. The pilot episode was the initial script that I read. To be honest, I think this probably speaks to our critics a bit.
I was a bit hesitant to even audition for the new “Dallas”, because I wasn’t sure of remaking such an iconic show was a good idea. With the wave of remakes and reboots of various different shows over the past five years, it’s really been a trend. Most of which weren’t very successful, I was definitely hesitant. But after reading that pilot episode I was like, wow, this is really good story telling. The characters are really well defined and complex. I was like, wow, I think I want to throw my hat in the ring. Initially I auditioned for the role of John Ross. There was some interest there. But they ended up going with Josh Henderson, who I think is perfect casting for the role. And they came back for Christopher and I was even more excited for that role. Then I think the thing that really pushed it over the top for me was that Larry, Patrick, and Linda were going to be a part of the new series, which I think is completely necessary.

MS: Patrick, what do you think it is about the show that really captures so many viewers?
PD: Well, Jesse nailed it because we’ve been approached over the years both to be in a show or how do we feel about, you know, redoing “Dallas” or movie versions that didn’t even involve the original cast members and they all fell so far short…even approaching the original show that I didn’t think it was possible to do. And as Jesse said, once I saw the script and Larry and Linda saw the script and read it we realized not only was it possible but it could end up being better than the original because of the timely nature of how the scripts were written and what we could do with technology now. So the three of us got onboard, and I’ve not been disappointed in a page, a paragraph, or anything since the original pilot episode. So I’m onboard as long as they can squeeze another year out of this old horse.

Jaleel White recently competed on season 14 “Dancing with the Stars”. He also hosted Syfy’s new reality game show “Total Blackout”. Media Mikes had a chance to catch up with Jaleel again in order to reflect on his experiences with “Dancing with the Stars” & Syfy’s “Total Blackout”.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you reflect back on your work on “Dancing with the Stars”?
Jaleel White: The last eleven weeks have been unlike anything I have ever experienced in my career. It’s been hard on the body and very chaotic. People also ask me “Was it fun?” and I tell them “If you ran two marathon’s back-to-back, would you consider that fun” [laughs]. That is how I feel about “Dancing with the Stars”, I have survived some pretty awesome shit. I didn’t fall on my ass out there. Everywhere I go people said they were happy to see my dances and that makes me proud. The training was a lot but it was all necessary. My highlight was the cha-cha week, I knew it wasn’t going to get much better than that.

MG: Do you think that the judges where too hard on you throughout the show?
JW: Look, I am so proud of what I survived. I don’t want to be negative, especially because of how proud I am. Also nobody has ever met the five secret men that handle the fans votes. Since no one has ever met them I will not let it get to me [laughs]. After about week three, I stopped caring about the score to be honest.

MG: Any chance of you coming back for season 15 this Fall for the All-Stars season?
JW: I haven’t been approached or anything. I know the competition was tough enough. I do not know how being elimated in the seventh week makes me an all-star but I learned never to say never.

MG: Are you excited with the success of “Total Blackout”?
JW: I am very happy with that way that “Total Blackout” came out. It is very rare that I can say that about something I had so little to do with in the post-production phases. We have been able to build on the ratings week-to-week, so its been great for us.

MG: I got to tell you my sister ordered Syfy just so that she could watch your show.
JW: [laughs]. You gotta write that in your article. I can’t say anything as cool as that.

MG: Any word about a second season for “Total Blackout”?
JW: No word just yet. I have not been in the game show business for too long but I pick up on things quickly. My only concern about the show is that I know contestants get smarter. Even though the lights are off, we will have contestants that will have seen the show and once they know what game they are playing will go back to a mental picture. So they are really going to have to work hard to stay away from contestants looking to outsmart the show and also to keep the show fresh and moving forward.

James Lesure appears in TBS’s new comedy series “Men at Work”.  The series was created by Breckin Meyer and James co-stars along with Danny Masterson, Michael Cassidy and Adam Busch.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with James about what we can expect from this new show.

Mike Gencarelli: What drew you to the TBS’ new series “Men at Work”?
James Lesure: The script, written by Breckin Meyer. Once I got the pilot, I responded and said I wanted to be apart of it. I have known Breckin for years but really only athletically. We played basketball together for years. I had know idea he could write so well. I am a big fan of his work as an actor and now also as a writer.

JL: What do you like most about it, Mike?
MG: Honestly, I like the dynamic between the guys. You guys all play off each other. This show really works well with that.

MG: You’ve worked on many TV series like “Las Vegas” and “Mr. Sunshine”, how does a show like this compare?
JL: Right now, I would have to say the speed we do it. Currently we are filming in front of a live audience, so its like we are putting on a play each week. We get the script and then get about three days to put it down. So that is a bit of an adjustment for me.

MG: You seem to have natural comedic timing, how do you prepare for the role?
JL: Mike, listen keep the compliments coming because I appreciate them [laughs]. I have to give a lot of credit to the writers. When I get the scripts, they just make me laugh and that is a good sign. It is up to us then to just take the words make it deeper and better. So, that is my goal.

MG: Any room for improv throughout shooting?
JL: They let us fly off, here and there, with an ad lib and I appreciate that. The producers are open for us to be collaberative. It is a special kind of work environment we have. I just hope we can do some great things with it and do it for a while.

MG: What has been your highlight on the show so far this season?
JL:  It’s been working with this cast, Adam Busch, Danny Masterson and Michael Cassidy. They make me laugh on and off the set. It’s kind of nice to have that geniue chemistry and respect. I respect them and really enjoy what they are doing. I also have to give a shout out to TBS and Sony because they have been treating us very well. Thus far the whole experience has been very great.

MG: What else can we expect from season one?
JL: I know we got an episode about a special toliet [laughs]. They are blending together right now. But let me just tell you that everytime I read a new script, I’ve been laughing so hopefully that will carry over to the viewers.

Based on characters created by best-selling crime novelist Tess Gerritsen, RIZZOLI & ISLES stars Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles, a smart, impeccably dressed medical examiner from a privileged background. Despite being complete opposites, the two women share an offbeat chemistry and strong working relationship that has helped them bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals.

RIZZOLI & ISLES returns to TNT for its third season starting on June 5th, 2012.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with its stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander to discuss this new season and what we can expect.  Check out the interviews below:

Sasha Alexander is known best for starring as Chief Medical Examiner Maura Isles on the Turner Network Television series “Rizzoli & Isles”. The show enters its third season on June 5th. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Sasha about this upcoming season and what we can expect.

Mike Smith: What fears did you encounter when you thought of filming season three, as opposed to the other seasons? Was there something different you felt going in?
Sasha Alexander: I was really excited because I feel like season two ended with such a strong emotional and intense kind of moment between Maura and Jane. So I was curious to see where we would begin season three, and we started just kind of moments after. So Maura is reeling from the shock and, obviously, the anger she’s feeling that Jane shot her father. It’s really great. It’s really fun to play that side of Maura and to have it be that kind of that intensity was exciting to see where it was going to go.

MS: What characteristics of Maura is closest to what you have for yourself?
SA: Kindness. I think Maura’s kind. I think she’s generous and polite. I would definitely say those are some of my better qualities. I’m not as much of a brainiac as she is. I certainly don’t have as big of a vocabulary. Those are the similar qualities, and I like the fashion.

MS: The dynamics between you and Angie is unbelievably phenomenal. What do you attribute that to personally as opposed to on screen?
SA: Personally, a sense of humor. We both share a similar sense of humor. We have a lot in common in real-life interms of our families and being mothers and all that. So I think that we bring those things. And having heart. Having a respectfulrelationship as women bring that to the screen. Wanting that to be to the screen. Wanting it to be a positive relationship between these women. I think that attributes to sort of the way we play the characters.

Are the ramifications from your best friend shooting your father going to be explored throughout the entire season, or do you think that they’ll be able to put it behind them?
Sasha Alexander: No, they wrap up pretty quickly. At the end of the first episode, they get to the bottom of what the crime was, and what actually happened. So I think that that clarifies a lot for both Jane and Maura. But they’re not completely ready to say they’re sorry because there’s a lot of miscommunication between them. So that leads into the second episode and, you know, Korsak, and Forth, and Angela all sort of get involved in kind of getting them back together. And they end up in a kind of life or death situation. And so their friendship will kind of come back by the end of the second episode. And they really earn their way back. I like the way that it all comes together. It’s not wrapped up immediately, they’re back together very quickly. Quickly enough.

MS: What was it like to work with Jackie Bithide?
SA: Oh she’s a wonderful woman. She’s has a really enormous sense of humor. She’s so beautiful. And she’s not like at all, fake and done up for a woman. She’s just lived, and she’s gorgeous and a really funny, funny lady. I like her a lot and I had a good time working with her.

MS: I was reading in an earlier interview that you’d done before the first season, that you hadn’t read Tess Gerritsen’s books before getting the job. Have you caught up with the seriessince you’ve starting playing Isles?
SA: I have. I have a few more books left to read, but yes, I’ve read a lot of them and I love her writing. I’m a big fan of the books and what she’s created and of her personally. She’s really an amazing lady. So, yes.

MS: Judging by the way last season ended, the dynamics between you and Jane are going to be completely different. How did you approach playing the character going into the new season?
SA: Well, Maura’s going to get much tougher this season. I think all this stuff with her family has really – it’s changing her in a different way and its toughing her up. She’s in a moment of self-discovery; of figuring out who she is; where she came from; and finding her biological mother is a big part of the first part of this season. And I think all that brings on a lot of emotional stuff for Maura that is very new. But she’s going to toughen up. I think that Maura’s been, sort of compartmentalizing certain parts of her life. And now ever since Patty Doyle sort of entered the picture it’s opened up this whole new part of who she is. And so we’re going to see a tougher Maura. I still think a really funny Maura, and none of the comedy is going to go away. But I think a tougher Maura.

Angie Harmon is known best for starring as Detective Jane Rizzoli on the TNT television series “Rizzoli & Isles”. The show enters its third season on June 5th. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Angie about this upcoming season and what we can expect.

Mike Smith: How have the events this season two finale change Rizzoli & Isles’ friendship this season?
Angie Harmon: I think, if anything, we all know how it ended last season. If all of us have had friends with people that we love or people that we care about. I just think that it’s a really, really great thing to watch as these two character sort of work around their difference and work around the horrible situation that has happened, and come back together. What I also love is the way that the other characters in the show recognize the love that these two girls have for each other and, you know, help in their own different ways getting them back together. You know what I mean?

MS: “Law and Order” was marked as one of the great shows because of the great writing. And, the first two seasons of Rizzoli & Isles also has that kind of great writing. Do you see the show continuing, probably not as long as Law and Order, but having a long run? And is that something you would – you would see out and continue in the series?
AH: Gosh, I mean, I think as an actor, we all want to work and we all enjoy, you know, the projects that we set on to do. I think my strongest feeling in that – in answering that question is that and I don’t mean this arrogantly, I mean this, you know, as a parent of three girls, I think our show is on sort of the “right side of the line,” if you will. And I feel that way because, you know, I have young girls come up and tell me how much, they want to be a criminologist; they want to be a homicide detective; they want to get out there and help people and things like that. And I take that to heart. I think that’s an accomplishment for our show. So yes, I absolutely would love that, outside of the fact that, yes, I’d be working for a long amount of time. But I think that we’d be putting something that’s very positive out there. You know what I mean? For girls, yes I would love that. Absolutely. But not just for the selfish reason. We’ve got a great show. There’s more to it than that. We have something here that is a very positive role model and something that, personally I think we need. When they did that survey and all the girls were like, there were kindergartners, and like, “I just want to be famous.” But none of them said how. That, to me, is alarming. Young girls come out of college and high school to walk up and say the things that they say, like I just said. That means a lot to me. Yes, of course I would love to keep doing that.

MS: Did you always know from the moment you started reading with Sasha Alexander that this was the person that you were going to work with that and that would work best with? Or did you have to develop it?
AH: You know what I think? I think, both. We brought in a few people for Isles. I think Sasha just kind of hit it out of the part because she got the fact that, Maura was just kind of quirky scientist, sort of socially awkward. But she also got the fact that, Maura had friends and had girlfriends and things like that. You know what I mean? That’s why she got the job. Sasha and I have worked together over the past three seasons now, obviously our friendship is going to grow and mature and all of those things. I mean, it’s certainly wonderful to go to work and like everybody that you work with as opposed to walking on the set and dreading it because everybody’s a nightmare. Which I think we’ve all been in those situations, whether you’re an actor, or whether you work in front of a computer. So, yes, I think it’s both. I think there was sort of an instantaneous recognition. And then I think there’s a friendship and a relationship that has grown and matured over the years.

MS: I was wondering what you thought of the (Hoyt Art). Do you feel that it was explored within a good amount of timeframe? Or do you feel like he was – he still had a little bit more he could have gone?
AH: No, I was completely comfortable with where Janet took that and how much time we spent with it. If anything that was a really, really fun day that I actually also learned a lot from as an actor. I mean, in that moment after she kills Hoyt, you know, Bruce was there and him coming up and hugging me and crying and all that. That was all ad lib. It just sort of happened, because that’s what would happen. And when you’re living a character and living that life, you just keep going until somebody says “cut.” Bruce coming in and doing that and nurturing Jane in that kind of way. I had to break from him and walking to my trailer like I literally, my left knee gave out as I was about to go down. And I got into my trailer and just threw up. I mean, it was a very emotional moment. And as an actor, I’ve never had that happen before. I’ve always been able to draw the line and known the difference between reality and what we’re doing. It was just a very, very emotional closing for me. But no, I feel that we gave him his time. We gave him his due. You know the last thing you want is for people to be like, “okay, seriously, you can’t catch this guy? You can’t get in front of him?” You know, so, no, I was very fine with it. And if anything, I was very, very thankful for that experience because it just sort up upped the ante on acting challenge.

Chris Prynoski is the co-founder Titmouse, Inc.  The animation studio is responsible for a lot of shows on Adult Swim like “Metalocalypse”, “The Venture Bros” and “Superjail”.  Chris also works on the TV series on  Disney XD called “Motorcity”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Chris about Titmouse, “Metalocalypse” and Disney XD’s “Motorcity”.

Mike Gencarelli: Give us some background on how you started animation studio Titmouse, Inc.?
Chris Prynoski: I never really had a plan. I got my start in the mid 90’s at MTV in New York right after I graduated from SVA. I cut my teeth on Beavis and Butt-Head as a storyboard artist – and after directing on the B&B movie and Daria and creating a short lived show called Downtown, I felt like it was time to move out to LA. While I was directing at the studios out here, I had the idea to start an internet t-shirt company on the side. It was the early 2000’s and it seemed like a good time to try starting a business. I called the t-shirt company Titmouse. Anyways, I didn’t make a ton of t-shirts, but I kept getting freelance animation work. I had to hire a bunch of friends to help out. Before I knew it, we had a ton of employees and because I had filed the business paperwork for Titmouse, that became the name of the animation studio. I don’t think I could have started it on purpose. It just kind of happened.

MG: What is the biggest challenge co-owning and working with your wife?
CP: It’s great because I get to see her a lot, but sometimes we have to shut off the “work talk” when we get home. Just maintaining a certain amount of separation between our business stuff and the personal stuff is sometimes challenging. We are expecting our first son in about a month and a half, so she’s going to be at home for a while. I’ll shoulder more of the studio stuff during that time and I’m sure that we’ll be too busy cleaning up turds to talk very much about work.

MG: With “Metalocalypse”, you not only have produced but also directed some episodes, what is your biggest challenge with this show?
CP: There’s tons of challenges on every show I’ve ever worked on. With Metal (I directed on the first 2 seasons) it was trying to fit everything in the 11 minute format. Brendon and Tommy are both genius improv comedians. We would end up with hours of material. It’s a real challenge in the edit room to get these episodes down to time and still keep them funny and interesting and satisfying. We tried going to 22 minutes in the third season, but we are back to 11’s for the fourth season because we all agreed that’s the format that works the best for the show.

MG: How do you feel that the show differs now entering its fourth season?
CP: Well, one thing is going back to the 11 minute format. I dig it. Also, as Schnepp and I have involved ourselves in other projects, there’s more room for additional directors. Mark Brooks, who ran the writers room with Brendon, directed a bunch. Felipe Salazar, our editor, is also directing this season. Brendon is directing again as well. We are also working on new videos for the upcoming tour with Lamb of God.

MG: How does it feel going from a show like “Metalocalypse” to a complete 360 like Disney XD’s “Motorcity”?
It’s very different doing a kids show. Hopefully Motorcity is a show that adults can enjoy too. There are definitely more story restrictions – you’re not going to see any booger sugar addicted clowns, or bloody dismemberments in a show like Motorcity. But we are really trying to push it to a new level visually. The action stuff is fun to direct and we can go crazy in a different kind of way.

MG: Tell us about how you got involved directing the amazing hallucination sequence in “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America”?
CP: Basically I was a pretty new kid on the scene at that point. I came on at the tail end of the 4th season of Beavis and worked on season 5 and 6 as a storyboard revisionist, then a storyboard artist. I was storyboarding and doing layout on the movie when Yvette Kaplan approached me about directing the hallucination sequence. All the episode directors were busy on sequences that had to look like the show. They didn’t want this sequence to look like the show. I had done some crazy station IDs and weirdos promos recently, so they picked me. I was psyched. It was my first credited, professional directing gig!

MG: So what’s up with you 4-wheeling with my favorites Mike Judge and Zac Brown!!??
CP: It was pretty crazy. It was a very drunken evening involving swamps, 4-wheelers, bonfires and throwing axes. At some point soon you’ll hear about what we are working on together.

MG: How do you feel that animation has differed today from when you first started?
CP: Technology has really changed everything. When I started, you drew on pieces of paper and everything was painted on clear animation cells and shot frame by frame under a giant camera. Then it changed so the drawings were scanned and painted in the computer. Now we draw right in the computer on digital tablets called Cintiqs. That makes it possibly to operate the way we do now. It’s insane. Hooray for computers!

MG: “Superjail” has a real 90’s MTV feel to it and is so unique, can we expect a third season?
CP: We are working on a third season right now! I’m not sure when they will announce air dates, but I’m super excited about it. Christy is doing an amazing job of bringing the show back to it’s roots. He is storyboarding a lot more of the show and it is over the top bananas! It’s kind of a meld of the first two seasons – taking the most badass aspects of both and mashing them together.

Breckin Meyer & Mark-Paul Gosselaar are the stars of TNT’s hit law drama “Franklin & Bash”. The show returns June 5th for its second second. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with the guys about working on the show and what we can expect from season two.

Mike Gencarelli: What should we expect from your characters in the second season?
Breckin Meyer: I think with the second season, when we jump off, we start with Franklin & Bash becoming equity partners in the firm which, for them, is a great thing because, I mean, it’s more money for toys. But on the bad side, it is a lot more responsibility and also a lot more repercussions for their actions. It’s no longer just the chance of them getting thrown in jail for contempt or getting fired. Now they got 500 employees behind them and they can really cause some damage, and also them representing – if they have to make rain. They have to sign corporate companies and these are guys that are used to fighting against. So how do you stay true to your values when you’re working for them instead of fighting them.

MG: Were you surprised at how well people received Franklin & Bash that first season?
Mark-Paul Goselaar: Oh, see, I have to go really quickly because Breckin took up so much time [laughs]. Yes, we were actually pretty surprised that we had such a big audience.
BM: I’m sorry, Mark-Paul, that’s all the time we have.
MPG: But, you know, I think Breckin and I are huge fans of our own show and so it was just a pleasurable surprise to find that people liked it as much as we did.

MG: So let’s talk about relationships, though. I mean, you guys got any love interests coming in the cards this season? Mark-Paul?
MPG: Yes, there are about two episodes worth of a relationship for Bash. One of the things that we try to do is not have anything come in between the two boys. So – because relationships don’t last all that long. They just sort of give you a glimpse of a different side of the two characters.  I think for me -I don’t know about how Breckin feels about it, but I like when the guys are together so it’s hard for us to bring in another relationship that isn’t Franklin or Bash. But we did do a bit of it over the course of the season. I had a girlfriend and Breckin’s character had a girlfriend as well.

MG: This show kind of stands out from other law shows out there.  Can you describe why you thought the show is so unique?
BM: I think from the get-go what Mark-Paul and I can both respond to is the fact that even though there is a case of a (weak atmosphere) that you have in normal procedurals, with this show, we go home with the characters. It really is – the cases are more of a backdrop. What the show’s really about is the relationship between the two lifelong friends and their kind of dysfunctional family of a law firm.

MG: Now I hear you didn’t really know each other that well before Franklin & Bash started. Have you developed a real-life friendship? And does that translate to having even more fun on screen do you think?
MPG: Well, I knew Breckin. I just wasn’t a fan of his work.
BM: Yes, that’s accurate.
MPG: Yes, that’s pretty accurate. But go ahead, Breckin.
BM: I was hoping that they would get literally anybody but Mark-Paul Goselaar. And then once they got him, it really was just – the money was green so what am I supposed to do, you know, at that point. But no, I think I can honestly it’s by far my favorite day job I’ve ever had. And I think it shows up on screen. The show lives or dies by whether or not you believe these guys are lifelong friends.
MPG: And by daytime job he means by post hole digging and drawing cars as his – car lot, so. This ranks right up there with one of his favorite jobs.
BM: It ranks right up there will pulling weeds.

MG: You guys have a really great list of guest stars for season two. Is there anyone that you are particularly excited about working with?
BM: I was really happy to have Seth Green come on because he’s a buddy and Mark Paul has been on Robot Chicken and we kind of thought he owed us. He has to return the favor. Who else? We have – Shawn Aston was a lot of fun. Rick Fox. Kevin Nealon was great. Chris Klein came on. We’ve had a lot of fun with our guys because, I mean, what you’re offering as actor is basically a week to come and play, you know, to come and have a really good time and our set is a fun set. It’s a fun time. It’s not super serious with no egos. And you get to come play for a week so we had Beau Bridges come back. Jane Seymour comes on as Peter’s mom so we meet Mama Bash.
MPG: I just echo what Breckin just said, but we had Sherry Appleby come on and play your girlfriend and Kat Foster came on and played my girlfriend and, boy, we just had a lot of fun, it just is a testament to our show and the word around sort of the industry is that it’s a great set to be a part of and come have fun and enjoy yourself.

MG: Do you have a lot of room available for improv?
BM: They give us the script. We always make sure we get a take completely on book. And then once we’ve got it definitely in the can, we kind of take our leash off and they say we can – we riff a little bit just as kind of the (buttons), the ins and outs of scenes, we may riff a little bit and it’s more for us. It’s more just to help us kind of solidify these guy’s friendships in our mind, that these guys are real friends who riff and goof off. So luckily enough we all kind of get these characters enough. Sometimes some of that stuff ends up in the show. But I mean, it’s fun to be able to riff like that. It just keeps us alive while we’re having long days.

MG: The first season kind of pushed the envelope when they portrayed Franklin and Bash’s private lives. Is season two going to be pushing the envelope even further?
MPG: I hope so.
BM: We start off full frontal this year.
MPG: We not only go to their private lives but we go to their private parts.
BM: Yes.

MG: Well, besides your private parts, it is different for a legal drama to see their private lives? I mean you guys are party animals.
BM: Yes, I like that we go home with the guys. I mean, I like that we follow their relationship. It’s not just about what happens behind the doors of the courtroom. It’s about what happened in these guy’s lives and how it leads over into the courtroom. But really, it’s about these characters.
MPG: But I also think that they’re less party animals and they really just enjoy the fruits of their labor. I don’t think that they’re the guys that like to sip out of red cups and, you know, and throw a party just to throw a party. They really enjoy having people around them and using their money and having a good time. But they’re not fraternal in that way, right. I don’t think it’s like they’re a party – I mean, we’ve always fought that. We’ve always said you can’t make these guys just party animals because that’s not fun for everyone. You’ve got to have an element – these guys have to have a level of maturity and I think there’s a fine balance to that I think that we’ve created on this show. And, again, with this year, giving them more responsibilities, making them equity partners and (Intel Daniels), having them take on harder cases with bigger clients. And representing people that in the past that they fought against will create for the audience as well as for the characters, the maturity of that that I think you need to have to make this show work. It can’t just all be fun and, you know, parties.
BM: It’s just that’s their approach. There’s more drama – and I think that’s why this season is better than last season, is because there’s more drama and the way that these guys deal with drama is by being more liked and being fun and that allows the audience to not even realize that they’re watching a legal drama in that sense.

Joe Maddalena, who is owner of Profiles in History, the world’s largest auctioneer of original movie, television, science fiction, fantasy, and pop culture collectibles, returned Tuesday May 22nd at 10:00pm for season two of “Hollywood Treasure” on Syfy. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Joe about season two of “Hollywood Treasure” and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: In season one and you dealt with a lot of like collectible items and whatnot. I was reading that this season you’re going to be working with the house from “American Horror Story”. Can you tell us a little bit about that and how it differs for you?
Joe Maddalena: What’s interesting is that as a company, we’re trying to expand our reach into all areas of things that have to do with television and motion pictures, and this opportunity came along. We got a phone call from a guy, and he said, hey, I have some things from “American Horror Story”. It’d be cool to get some props, and lo and behold, we met this man, and we ended up at the “American Horror Story” house. The actual house is here in Los Angeles, and it was kind of surreal, because I had no idea. And I’m walking up to it, and it was really eerie, because you’re in the house. I mean, you’re in the rooms. I mean, you’re in the basement. You’re thinking of people hanging themselves, and all this crazy stuff going on. And it’s really cool because this was like a 17,000 square foot mansion, and it’s just another side of our business that we’re pursuing, is we’re going after these properties now, because they have such a value besides being a house. So being an “American Horror Story” fan, it was the coolest thing I’ve ever walked through in my entire life, to go through that house. And it was scary. I mean, being in the basement – they turned the lights off; you wanted to run out of there!

MG: What would you say is your biggest challenge both juggling, running your business, Profiles in History, and also filming a reality show?
JM: I really want people to understand that I’m trying to paint a picture on the show that’s real, I mean, that it’s like that this is kind of like really what we do so they get an idea, because people are always like, well, where do you get this stuff? How do you find it? How do you authenticate it? So we’re trying to answer those questions and give you slivers of like, a business and obviously in a sense for television, but that’s the biggest challenge is to accurately depict what we do in a way that the viewers are going to, enjoy it, and that’s my biggest, task, is to make sure we put something out there that they’re going to really like.

MG: Can you talk a bit about how you were finally able to get access to the ruby slippers?
JM: I’m writing a book and my son asked me a question a couple years ago, and he goes, so, is there anything, in the book that is kind of like your weak spot? And I said, well, I’ll probably never have a pair of ruby slippers. And I didn’t think in my career I’d ever be able to sell a pair. I just thought it would just never happen. I didn’t think another pair would ever change hands. I was lucky that within six months I sold Debbie Reynolds’ Arabians for $700,000, then the, obviously the Samuels pair, six months after that. And it’s kind of surreal now looking back that two pairs have gone through my hands. It’s – they’re kind of like – it’s surreal because it’s hard to believe that these things A, came up for sale, and that you can own them. I mean it’s I personally think the most iconic prop in the world.

MG: With an item like the ruby slippers, at what point do they become too hard of a sell, despite their legacy?
JM: I just think its all timing. I mean, the other day somebody paid $100 million for Munch’s scream. I mean, I just think day to day, it’s what’s happening in the world. Buyers are in one mode then they’re in another mode. I just think a lot of it’s timing. I mean, I don’t think – there’s no value. When you buy $100 million painting, it’s like you can’t take it tomorrow and trade it for some building in Manhattan. You’re going to have to go through a whole process to sell it, right? I just think a lot of its timing, and a lot of people understanding the slippers I think because there are multiple pairs might have confused people. A lot of things go into it.

MG: So now that you’ve found your holy grail being, the ruby slippers, have you moved on to a new holy grail? Is there something new that you’re dying to find?
JM: Well, the ultimate thing, yes, there’s always another one. The ultimate thing would be Maria the robot from Metropolis. Now there’s all these legends behind that. In Metropolis, Maria burns, but there’s got to be more than one, so that would be like the next one. If you could surface that, it’d be pretty big.

MG: What’s the most valuable item you’ve ever sold?
The dress from The Seven Year Itch that we sold for Debbie Reynolds, which was $5 ½ million. So Debbie’s collection definitely was the highlight of anything we’ve ever sold. I mean, her material was the best that’s ever been put out in the market, and the prices – her first sale grossed $23 million, so for 500 items, pretty substantial.

MG: Can you tell us about your journey to Middle Earth featuring Sean Astin?
JM: Sean Astin is a neighbor. He lives close by, and a friend. We’re selling a large collection belonging to the Dryer family, and in that collection was this amazing map of Middle Earth. And I thought Sean, knowing his interest obviously in that part of the world, would enjoy seeing the map. So it was actually Tolkein’s copy, so he came by and we kind of had a little trip down memory lane and we learned interesting things. He went from the Shire to Mordor on what happened, and it was an interesting response, because he said well, we’re making this movie, Elijah and I figuring we’re going to have all this time together, a year and a half, and at the end we’re going to do this epic climax, throwing the ring in, in the mountain, and by the time we get there, we’ll be ready. And what happened was we were filming and there was a giant flood, and the set got wiped away, and they came in and said well, we’re going to film the climax instead, and this is very early in the process, and Sean’s like, I – we can’t do that. We’re not ready. And they’re like, you’re ready. So – and they literally – it was just like amazing insight into his world, his character. It was fascinating to meet him and kind of learn about that world.

MG: Is there anything that you own personally from a movie that you would never be willing to give up?
JM: Yes. I mean, I have a lot of things. Ihe thing I would never give up that’s from a television show, when my son was about six I had an auction and I had one of – Buck Rogers’ sidekick was Tweaky. He had a little robot, and I had a Tweaky in my auction and my son was about the same size. He was a little bit smaller, and (Felix Hiller) showed up, who wore the costume in the TV show, and we met (Felix), and my son thought this was the coolest thing in the world, you know? And we became friends with (Felix) and then (Felix) later sold my son – well, me for my son, his Tweaky costume with Theopolis around his neck. I’m looking at it. It’s six feet from my desk. It’s the holy grail of our family. It’s like the only thing – it’ll go to – he’ll take it to his grave. It’s like, it’s just such a sentimental thing among us, it’s like we’d never sell it. I collect things that are sentimentally important to me. It’s more about like I was lucky. I worked for ABC all of season six for “Lost”. I was in Hawaii during the entire shooting of the final season. I have such amazing memories of that production, but what I kept were things that were like, important to me, I mean, nothing of any value to anybody else, but to me it’s just all about the memory of being involved. That’s what I enjoy the most.

MG: It seems the horror genre is filled with some of the most hardcore collectors.
JM: Absolutely. I think horror is probably consistently always been number one with starting in 19 – the 20s, 1930, ’31, Frankenstein, Dracula. I think we’re infatuated with vampires, and I think obviously, look how popular they are now. I think the supernatural, ghosts and vampires and ghouls, just fascinates us. I think that the macabre – people just, like the dark side. They want to be a vampire, so I think that that’s just – it’s just – and because the material is dark in its creation, I think that it’s just kind of gravitates toward that world.

MG: I know you mentioned in the new episodes that – you said something about people are more after props than costume pieces. Why is that?
JM: Let’s see. Okay. Costumes are big and they’re a challenge to display, okay? So textiles are fragile, by nature, so they have to be – they can’t be in the sunlight. They have lots of things that will affect them over time if they’re not properly preserved or displayed. Props, pretty rugged. I mean they’re more manageable in size. They’re three dimensional. They’d kind of cooler looking. It’s just, people just want props. I mean, they’re just – there’s always a challenge with a costume, but when you get like the Maltese falcon and you hold it in your hands, it’s an object. the ruby slippers are an object. So those are the kinds of things – I just did the Captain America auction for Marvel, in April in Chicago. We had like the shields. They’re really cool because they’re objects. The costumes are nice, but when you get into like Thor’s hammer, Captain America’s shield or Iron Man’s helmet, they’re really cool.

MG: What other highlights can we expect from this upcoming season?
JM: This season’s going to be really fun. It’s the biggest things that I’m excited about is we used to be two back-to-back half hours. Now we’re one one-hour, so we’re able to tell much better stories, where in the past, we’d have to get in and out of a scene in three minutes. Now we’re able to invest like 10 or 12 minutes in a story, where you’re going to get a lot more information, a lot more access, learn a lot more about my world. I think it’s much better television, but American Horror Story – we have a great segment on The Hunger Games. I mean, The Hunger Games is going to be – we’ve got a great 12 minutes of Hunger Games. Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard – I mean, there’s going to be a lot of surprises, I mean, a lot of contemporary things, and we’re going to take you to places, Planet of the Apes, I mean, things that are just – there’s something for everybody. It is a really good diverse group. Vampires, Greg Cannon, who’s one of the judges of Face-Off, he did a Gary Oldman’s Bram Stoker Dracula. We sold his Dracula collection. Ve Neill is on the show. We sold her makeup collection, and she did some of the most important make-up appliances in Hollywood history, so a lot of cool things.

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Maurice Benard is known best for playing Sonny Corinthos on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital”. He also appears in the new documentary “OC87” about bipolar disorder. Maurice took out time to chat with Media Mikes about the film, dealing with the disorder day-to-day and, of course, working on “General Hospital”.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you tell us how you became involved with the film “OC87”?
Maurice Benard: I am bi-polar so I have done a lot of work for the cause as it is personal. Bud Clayman did some stuff on “General Hospital” and it was phenomenal. We just clicked right away. We went to a boxing gym and did some stuff that was great.

MG: You have said before that boxing is your release. Can you tell us about that?
MB: I think anytime you exercise it helps you. With boxing I can punch so it eliminates the rage. I have been boxing for 11 years now.

MG: How do you feel this film will inform people about the disorder?
MB: The bottom line is that this disorder is a very tough one to have. However you can still lead a productive life. I have been on “General Hospital” for 20 years and it’s been that long since I have had a manic episode or a breakdown. As long as you stay on yourmedication and you get help you can lead a great life.

MG: What do you think has been the hardest part of opening up about being bi-polar?
MB: I got a letter about 12 years ago from a kid whose brother was bi-polar and committed suicide. What got him through that was by reading something that I had written. Now it is not hard for me to talk about. There was one time though when we did a story line on “General Hospital” where my character Sonny has a breakdown. It kind of dragged on for a long time and towards the end it was starting to get difficult for me. I have done a number of shows where I talk about the disorder. You get nervous but I think this is my calling.

MG: Do you find playing a bi-polar character makes it easier for you to perform day to day?
MB: I am doing a story right now where Sonny’s girlfriend has dual personality disorder. I just saw the show and when I was watching her I played it as though Sonny was watching himself. It was interesting and the show is doing a really wonderful job showcasing this illness.

MG: Can you tell us what you think the future of Soap’s will be?
MB: We got picked up because the show is doing so well right now.  I think we will keep going because the people we have producing and writing for the show are kicking butt. Yes soaps are going off the air but it doesn’t mean ours is. All soaps go through highs and lows.

MG: What do you enjoy most about theshow after almost 20 years?
MB: I love this character! The people I work with really push me. If I wasn’t working with such great actors I would probably be doing something else. There are good stories on top of that so I love going to work.

MG: Do you have any other new projects you can tell us about?
MB: I have a film coming out called “Duke”. I have 1 scene in the film that is about 5 or 6 pages. I play a cop killer. This film is really cool. I don’t know exactly when it will be released but it’s going to be good.

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