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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the latest edition of
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the Jake's Take with Jacob Alisher podcast. I'm your host,
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Jacob Alisher, chief content producer and writer of Jake's Take.com,
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a pop culture entertainment news website. If you're watching us
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today on our audio platforms, please give us a thumbs
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up and please subscribe. Now, if you're listening to us
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on any of our audio downloads, please give a five-star
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rating and please consider downloading over 445 episodes. It's a
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privilege to welcome my next guest today. He is an actor, veteran,
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and host, and a veteran of the vertical film space.
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He has appeared on HGTV's House Detective, followed by NBC's
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Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, but he's the host of
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the Vertical Buzz. Please help me welcome Buzz Lear to
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the podcast.
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Thank you, Jake. What a wonderful intro. I love that. Nice.
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Thank you so much.
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You're so welcome, Buzz. What I've been doing for the
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past seven seasons is like, okay, let's get a little
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bit of the Arsenio Hall, a little bit of the
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Ed McMahon, and then also a little bit of some
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wrestling into it because let's give my guests a little thing.
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There you go. Great job. Thank you.
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You're so welcome. And by the way, your intros are
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really cool as well. I love how you have all
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the old-fashioned clapper.
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Oh, yeah.
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That is really cool because ever from now, it's like
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every time it's like, OK, there's a clapper on an iPad.
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And I'm like, come on, we got to get to
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the old. I know this is modern day, but like
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what happens to the magic?
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Yeah. What happens is the real stuff, you know, you
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do it. Yeah, exactly. All right.
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So let's get started. So when did you get interested
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in performing and how did that passion evolve and desire
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of being in the entertainment industry?
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Oh, well, I wasn't always in it.
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I mean, I was not one of these high school
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theater guys. I was an athlete growing up. I mainly,
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I had four brothers and we played all kinds of sports.
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I grew up in Minneapolis in Minnesota, but I went
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to school at the University of North Dakota. And when
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I went to school in Grand Forks, I had decided
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that I was going to be a speech teacher and
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I was going to be a coach. I wanted to
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coach baseball. That was what I wanted to do. But
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in one of my first year, my freshman year, I
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found myself in a psychology 101 class. And the guy
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that was actually running the psychology 101 class said, also
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was part of the theater department, surprisingly enough. And he
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offered us an option at the end of the first
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year was we could either write a paper for our final,
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or we could try out for his play So at
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the same time, if we got cast in the show,
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we didn't have to write the paper. So I thought, well,
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I'm going to just try out for this play. I
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have no idea what it is. So I tried out
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for the play. I got a role in the show
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and I didn't have to write the paper. And it
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also just sparked, it ignited something inside me that said,
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oh my.
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Gosh, I really love doing this.
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And I just continued to audition for plays. In my
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sophomore year, I shifted my degree to theater.
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And I never looked back. And that was how that
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all got started. And I just continued to do that.
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That's incredible. Because the thing is, I had theater from
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fifth grade to twelfth grade. So I've done a lot
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of that. And the thing is, the performing arts are
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so important. And I'm like, yeah, we can have 45
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minutes of PE, but we could also have 45 minutes
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of band, choir, and theater.
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That's right. That's right. And so I jumped into the
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theater world.
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I basically had abandoned my baseball dream, but it was
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great because I ended up graduating.
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I ended up shifting.
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At that time, the University of North Dakota adopted a
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Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program, a BFA degree, And
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I was in the actually the first graduating class of
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the Bachelor of Fine Arts program from the University of
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North Dakota, which was great because I got my Bachelor
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of Fine Arts degree from there. I went on to
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do every year while I was in college, I started
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doing summer theater. So I did the Colorado Shakespeare Festival,
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my between my sophomore, junior year.
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Yeah, I was in Boulder.
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I'm a CU Buff, so go Buffs.
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Oh, go Buffs. There you go. I love that. Yeah.
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So I went to Boulder and did the Colorado Shakespeare
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Festival there one summer. And then the next summer, I
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did the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Oregon.
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And I'm trying to remember where that was. What's the
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name of that? Ashland. No, yeah, Ashland. I think it's Ashland, Oregon.
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Something like that. I can't remember anymore. That's 100 years ago, Jake.
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So what can I tell you? So I did that.
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And then I graduated from college and I got my
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first job as an actor. A paying actor was in
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Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I got cast in a show called
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at Dirty Jack's Wild West Theater in Jackson Hole playing
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Buffalo Bill and Annie Get Your Gun. And I did
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that for, oh my gosh, I did that.
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For the whole summer.
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We did 110 shows in a row, eight shows a week,
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and it was phenomenal. And then I ended up actually
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going back to Jackson every year for like five years.
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In a row, I went back to Jackson every summer.
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And then in between that, I would go back to
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Minneapolis and there was a dinner theater. Dinner theater back
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then was really hot. If you remember dinner theater, that
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was a big deal. And so I did dinner theater
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at Chanhassen Dinner Theater in Minneapolis.
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And I would do that every winter.
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And then I would go back to Jackson Hole in
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the summer. And that's kind of became my routine for
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several years in there, just doing theater.
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That's incredible because theater always has the best thing. And
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I got to say this, any actor, I played Sir
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Andrew in Twelfth Night.
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There you go.
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And I got to see Dame Judy Jones reprise her
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role of Titania when I studied abroad in England. And
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all I got to say is I give so much
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credit to people who tackled Shakespeare because that test is
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a real acting level.
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Yep. Well, listen, those years at Colorado and at Oregon
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were just phenomenal. I got to play King Lear. I
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got to play, which was my actual last name, but
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it's spelled differently. King Lear is L-E-A, and I'm L-E-E,
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but there you go. And I did play Father Time
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in Winter's Tale. I've done different Shakespeare roles, but Shakespeare was.
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I actually loved doing Shakespeare. I loved the rhyming. I
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loved the.
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the verbal context of what Shakespeare is all about. And
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it would be fun, actually, when you think about it,
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it would be fun to go back and do.
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A Shakespeare at some point in time. It would be great.
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Absolutely, absolutely. It's always great to have Shakespeare. However, we
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got to move away from the Shakespeare of it all.
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And let's go talk about going and skiing on television sets.
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So we're on several different sets and two different projects.
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One in a non-fictional house detective's on HGTV. And then
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also you have MEC's Chicago franchise with Chicago PD and
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Chicago Fire. So I know those are two different animals
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on their own, but what were some of the lessons
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that you learned from both of those experiences that helped
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you grow as a performer?
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Well, particularly, I'll just start with the house detective, the
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HGTV show that I did.
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I actually got cast in that.
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I was the host of HGTV's House Detective for five seasons.
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We did 65 episodes.
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I actually fixed 65 houses.
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Oh, wow. On TV.
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It was a long run. It was a long run.
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And that was all based in the Bay Area. I
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raised my family living in the Bay Area.
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Yeah.
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San Francisco, and that show shot all the way up
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and down the entire Bay Area.
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So I started on that.
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The lessons that that gave me, because that was reality
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TV in the very, very beginning, basically, is what that was.
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When you look back at some of those shows between
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House Detective and Curb Appeal, Landscape Smarts, the different shows
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at that time, we were really pioneering HGTV.
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At that time.
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I was one of the very first shows on HGTV.
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To kind of get recognized.
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The only people that recognized me though, because the show
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was not watched by a lot of people yet, the
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only place that people would recognize me would be in
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Home Depot on a Saturday morning. If I would walk
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into Home Depot, they say, oh, that's the guy from
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House Detective. Because that was my consumer, which was really fun.
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It was really fun to at least get recognized on
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that level. But your question was how did that– what
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did I learn from that? What I learned was how
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to be an actual host of a show, but I
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really learned how to think on my feet because that
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was reality TV.
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And it was unscripted.
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So when you think– so when it was unscripted, it
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really just– whatever the flow was, I happened to have
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an incredible director, an incredible producer that really helped me
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through that entire process. And I learned to really, really,
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really think quickly on my feet to be able to just,
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you know, kind of fit into whatever was going on
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at the time.
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If I was fixing a deck, and tearing out a.
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Deck and putting in a new deck on somebody's house,
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if something went wrong, I.
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Had to be able to improvise that.
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I had to be able to understand what did I
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have to do next? How did I have to grab
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that wood and put that on there and grab the
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nails and all that? It was a pretty intense process.
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And we shot all that on one camera.
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And that was back, and you got to think, that
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was back.
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In 2005, I think we started that series. So it's
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before digital. This was still shot on tape.
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So they were running. Yeah, we were running tapes every
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single night.
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To the studio for these guys to sit and log
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all those tapes at night. So that show was shot
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on tape. We would shoot in the field three days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
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We shot on location. And then Thursday and Friday, I
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would go into the studio and do all the voiceover
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for anything that had.
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To be voiceovered on the show. Because we used a
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lot of graphics.
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So I learned so much about every phase of television
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in that show. It just helped propel me onto the
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next stage, which was going to be the Dick Wolf
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stuff when I moved to Chicago after that time. Because
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all the stuff that we did on HGTV was, again, reality, unscripted,
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and think on your feet. And then just the knowledge
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and the understanding of what I learned to do voiceover
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in the studio to match up to what was happening
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on the TV.
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I can't even begin to tell.
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You how golden that was and how I've used all
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of those things that I learned then still today on
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a lot of different sets.
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I got to say this. It's incredible because I remember
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going to back to Boulder and back to like tapes
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and everything. It was hard to log in digital tape,
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but to get on, but to get the tape that
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to be played on that, it's still crazy.
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It's crazy.
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Segmented, Final Cut Pro. I give a lot of kudos
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to all those editors, especially who work in reality TV field,
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especially reality TV.
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No kidding.
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When did that take the like, not a lot of
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actors can say they've worked on a Dick Wolf production.
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So having that, having being on the Chicago franchise, that
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must be a huge feather in your cap.
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Well, it was, it took me several, you know, it was,
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it's interesting. I, when I jumped back into theater after being,
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you know, I had done, I had done the house
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detective and then I went back into sales and marketing
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because the most of my career I spent in a
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lot of sales and marketing. And in between House Detective
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and jumping into Dick Wolf, I went back to sales
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and marketing. So, and it wasn't until I got to
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Chicago that I decided, no, I'd had enough with corporate
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America and I was going to do what I've always
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wanted to do, which.
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Was be a full-time actor.
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So once I jumped into that and I got cast
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on my very first Dick Wolf show, which actually was
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Chicago Med, that was my first foray back into Chicago,
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into the Chicago world. I went to audition after audition
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after audition because it seemed like it was a very
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closed group of people that got cast in those shows.
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But I got cast on my very first show, which
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was Chicago Med. I had like two lines in one
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of the episodes. And I just remember that I got
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complimented very highly by the director, by the producers that
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day and just said, oh my gosh, we're gonna definitely
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bring you back and put you on again.
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However, what would happen is is.
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That if you went on a Chicago Med or any
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of the Chicago franchise, didn't matter, Fire Med or PD,
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whatever show you went on, if you had lines in
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one of those shows, you couldn't be on another show
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until the following year.
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That's crazy. That's really crazy.
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You had to wait because they didn't want you to
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just show up in another show. And somebody, they figured
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that the audience was going to connect the dots and go,
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wait a minute.
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I just saw that guy in Chicago Med. Now he's
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on Chicago Fire. How does that all work? So they
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were very protective of that. So it was like, okay.
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And then the next year, I did get a role
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that allowed me to.
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Do two or three different episodes that season. with this
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one particular character being a dad in a neighborhood I
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can't even barely remember.
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But that was pretty good.
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And then the biggest thing that I got to do
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with them is that I then went on to become
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Jason Bay, his stand-in on Chicago PD for an entire season.
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So I did all the episodes that year, but I
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was never on camera.
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I was his stand-in.
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And stand-in work is really fun. I mean, the nice
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part about the stand-in work is that I got to
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basically read all of Jason Bay's lines, stand in for him,
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do the scenes as they're setting lighting in different environments
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for sound and everything. But I got to meet the cast,
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hang out with the cast. I worked five days a week,
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got paid pretty well to do that job. And it
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was just simply a lot of fun to be a stand-in.
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But what happened is it was like a full-time job.
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So I really couldn't do anything else because I was
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only doing that show five days a week. And then
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I was actually trying to do some theater at the
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same time, but it was really, it was killing me
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because I was, I would be working all day on Chicago.
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Fire, Chicago med.
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Sometimes we would have a seven o'clock in the morning
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or six o'clock in the morning call. And then I would,
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and then I was in a show at the same
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time at one of the small little theaters in Chicago
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and And so I'd be, I'd be going right from
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set that day, go to the theater, do my show
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that night, get home at midnight and have to be
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back up at four in the morning, starting all over again.
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But it was, but I listened, I loved every second
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of it. And I was so grateful to be able
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to be working.
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Are you kidding me?
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To be able to be working as an actor in
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both television and theater, both at the same time.
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Those were wonderful moments, but it was great.
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And not a lot of actors can say they've done
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that at the same time.
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Yeah, right. Exactly. So it was a lot of fun.
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And one of the last shows I did in Chicago
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on stage is I did get to do Enemy of
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the People, which was directed by Robert Falls.
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And it was at the Goodman. And that was a
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big feather in my.
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Hat to be able to work with Robert Falls, one
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of the highly acclaimed directors in this country, on a
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show like Enemy of the People.
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It was fun.
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That's incredible. So you go from, for your career, you
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go from reality TV, then back to sales and marketing,
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and back to the world of Dick Wolf, and also
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the theater as well. But then you go into vertical entertainment.
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And for me, it's been taking me a while to
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hear about vertical entertainment. And for my audience, because sometimes
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they're so focused on the main networks, the cable, then.
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Then, of course, the streamers. Now, can you describe to
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me and my audience what vertical entertainment is?
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Sure.
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Well, here's the phenomenon is it's not really anything new.
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If you've had.
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I'm going to just talk to your audience here. If
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you have a phone and you watch things on your phone...
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Sorry about my... That's a picture of our cabin on
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our island there.
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If you watch.
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entertainment on your phone. This is called vertical entertainment. This
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is what that is. Anything that you're watching on your
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phone this way is vertical entertainment. So you're watching the news,
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you're watching sports.
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You have been for years.
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Well, where vertical filming, filmmaking got really popular, it started
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actually in China back in like 2015.
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So it's been going on.
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For over 10 years and it got extremely popular in
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China during the pandemic. Because as you know, even here
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in America, we weren't creating any new content during that time.
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So there were a lot of reruns that were showing
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up on TV. There were a lot of reruns that
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were showing up on the streaming networks because no new
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content could be shot.
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We just weren't able to go out and do it.
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So back in those days in China, these kids were
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actually running around the streets of Beijing and Shanghai, and
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they were shooting vertical content videos.
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Almost in gorilla-like fashion.
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So they're just running around shooting content and they would
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start putting this content out online. And people were loving
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it because it was something new.
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It was fun. It was different.
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And it was nothing that was a repeat. So everybody
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started watching these vertical films. Well, then they eventually worked
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their way over here to the U.S. And I don't
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know if you remember. Do you remember the brief moment
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of Quibi? There was a moment.
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Oh, absolutely.
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So Quibi was one of the first.
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They started to do vertical entertainment back in like 2018,
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17 and 18. is when Quibi launched and it became
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this huge phenomenon. The guy, Jeffrey Katzenberg.
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00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:00.579
Oh, yes, absolutely. The former Walt Disney executive that worked
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under Mike Leisner.
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00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:06.039
Right. And he raised a ton of money. And then
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00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:09.539
he put out all this vertical content. What he did, though,
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he started putting it out in 30-minute segments or 15
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and 30-minute segments, which we thought was revolutionary at the time.
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But in China... They.
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Were doing the format that's being done now, which was
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every episode is one or two or three minutes long.
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And that's how they're keeping you going. But Katzenberg did
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it in a different way. Then the pandemic literally crushed him.
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That's what happened.
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00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:37.200
I remember what that.
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00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.079
Yeah. He had a great idea.
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00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:42.829
He was one of the first to jump into Vertical.
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00:19:43.130 --> 00:19:46.250
But then the pandemic absolutely wiped it out. And he
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00:19:46.289 --> 00:19:49.910
lost millions and millions of dollars on that deal. So...
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00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:53.099
now comes the pandemic. China's going crazy.
401
00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.640
2021-22 is when Vertical Film started to come to America.
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00:20:00.950 --> 00:20:03.599
I moved out here to LA in early 22. I
403
00:20:03.619 --> 00:20:05.700
was going to come out in 21, but the pandemic
404
00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:08.559
held me back. So I come out here in 2022
405
00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:12.880
to pursue my career further and get more into film
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00:20:12.940 --> 00:20:15.500
because I love film. I loved being an actor in film.
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00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:18.980
I like TV, but I love film. So I came
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00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:20.759
out here to LA, start to pursue.
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00:20:20.529 --> 00:20:21.250
My film career.
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00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:25.329
One day in April of 23, I get cast in
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00:20:25.390 --> 00:20:28.430
what I thought was just a normal short film. Well,
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I show up on set. There's only four actors, and
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00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:37.700
these guys show up. There's basically very little equipment, and
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00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:41.230
they've got these rigs, and they've got iPhones attached to
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00:20:41.269 --> 00:20:46.849
these rigs. Three iPhones, and they shot this entire short
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00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:48.210
film on three iPhones.
417
00:20:48.890 --> 00:20:49.789
That's incredible.
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00:20:50.049 --> 00:20:52.529
We as actors are going, what are they doing here?
419
00:20:52.589 --> 00:20:55.349
Why is this happening? Then they explain, well, we're doing
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00:20:55.369 --> 00:20:57.099
these vertical shows.
421
00:20:57.640 --> 00:20:58.359
Oh, okay.
422
00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:00.970
So I do that first one. Then the next week
423
00:21:01.009 --> 00:21:03.069
I got cast in another one. Then I got cast
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00:21:03.130 --> 00:21:05.750
in another one. And this whole thing starts to explode.
425
00:21:06.309 --> 00:21:08.099
And the next thing you know, by the end of 23,
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00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:14.190
I had done like 20 films. Well, to do 20
427
00:21:14.190 --> 00:21:16.710
films as an actor, are you kidding me? It was like,
428
00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:19.859
I wouldn't do, I'd never done 20 films combined in
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my whole life.
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00:21:20.930 --> 00:21:21.579
So I've done.
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00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:24.000
20 films and they're all these vertical films and they
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00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:26.779
just got better and better and better. The sets got
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00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:29.259
bigger and bigger and bigger. The crew got bigger and bigger.
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00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:32.099
And then it just became this phenomenon that once 24
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00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:37.920
came around, this thing just went nuts. It literally went crazy.
436
00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:41.220
I was at one point, I was in three films
437
00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:42.440
at the same time.
438
00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:43.240
Wow.
439
00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:47.980
I would draw, I was literally driving to my called time,
440
00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.680
not really remembering what role I.
441
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.619
Was playing that day.
442
00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:54.039
Cause it was like, wait a minute, is this the
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00:21:54.099 --> 00:21:56.960
role of Richard or am I doing Henry today?
444
00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:57.720
Oh yeah.
445
00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:00.480
I had to really focus on what I was doing
446
00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:02.339
because I was in three films at the same time.
447
00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:05.440
So I, That's when it really was exploding. And it
448
00:22:05.500 --> 00:22:09.000
went even bigger in 24. Then it just went crazy
449
00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:14.400
in 2025. And as 2025 started to come around, by
450
00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:16.849
the end of all that, at this point, I've got
451
00:22:16.890 --> 00:22:20.710
more stories in between. But to date, I've done now
452
00:22:20.710 --> 00:22:22.609
42 vertical films.
453
00:22:22.910 --> 00:22:24.869
In three years. That's amazing.
454
00:22:25.109 --> 00:22:27.759
And I just got cast in three more that are
455
00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:29.019
coming up throughout the fall.
456
00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:32.759
Congratulations. Yeah, it's a pretty exciting moment.
457
00:22:34.390 --> 00:22:37.190
I definitely say there's a lot of stuff going on.
458
00:22:37.349 --> 00:22:40.609
And then you're also one of the most important people
459
00:22:40.789 --> 00:22:45.299
in the vertical podcast world because you started Vertical Buzz.
460
00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:49.859
So let's talk about it. And then also how, because
461
00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:53.240
you and I both know the podcasting world, everybody and
462
00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:57.640
their sibling has one. Everyone and their parent has one.
463
00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.240
So with me, Jake's Take with Jacob Elliott shares my
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00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:04.609
take with people and interviews with people from all across
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00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:10.599
the entertainment and lifestyle industries. So how does the Vertical
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00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:13.839
Buzz stand out in our podcasting communities?
467
00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:17.000
Okay, so I'll go back to the beginning of where
468
00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:17.759
we started this.
469
00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:22.180
The Vertical Buzz, we launched January 29th of this year,
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00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.480
of 2026. So I've really only been out there for
471
00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:28.700
almost a little over seven months we've been on the air.
472
00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:32.009
And I had this idea.
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00:23:31.730 --> 00:23:33.930
About a year and a half ago that as I'm
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00:23:33.970 --> 00:23:37.269
doing all these vertical films, I'm realizing there's nobody that's
475
00:23:37.329 --> 00:23:38.190
talking about this.
476
00:23:38.210 --> 00:23:39.670
There's nobody documenting this.
477
00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:44.619
There were no podcasts about vertical filmmaking or vertical entertainment
478
00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:47.460
for that matter. So I started poking around and then
479
00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.519
I had decided that I didn't want to do just
480
00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:54.900
a normal podcast or an audio podcast. I didn't want
481
00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:57.039
to do any of that, that I wanted to create
482
00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:01.480
a premium podcast almost network television type look and.
483
00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:04.599
Feel to what we were doing. And that's what I
484
00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:05.400
ultimately did.
485
00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:08.119
I went out and I knew that, but I also
486
00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:11.339
knew that I didn't have the resources.
487
00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:12.769
To do it the way I wanted to do it.
488
00:24:13.309 --> 00:24:16.470
So I got very fortunate and found a wonderful investor
489
00:24:16.970 --> 00:24:19.410
that is on board with me. And he's really, he
490
00:24:19.490 --> 00:24:22.250
believes in it. They believe in it. completely. And we
491
00:24:22.269 --> 00:24:25.950
just continue to ramp up and scale up because I, I,
492
00:24:26.230 --> 00:24:26.970
I do believe that.
493
00:24:27.289 --> 00:24:28.839
And I know, I mean, I know this, that the
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00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:32.359
vertical buzz is one of still the only true podcasts
495
00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:35.700
that are premium podcasts, because I'm more of a media
496
00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:39.619
platform than anything is what I've become. We shoot our
497
00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:44.529
show on three cameras, a full studio, full sound, full lighting.
498
00:24:45.529 --> 00:24:46.950
And if you go there and see.
499
00:24:46.809 --> 00:24:50.279
It at the vertical buzz.com, Just go at the vertical buzz,
500
00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:53.480
you go vertical buzz.com, wherever you want to find it. Um,
501
00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:56.740
we're on all platforms from a YouTube, go to the
502
00:24:56.779 --> 00:24:59.440
YouTube channel. All the episodes are up there. Uh, we
503
00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.079
have an episode that comes out every week, but what
504
00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:05.619
on Thursdays, by the way. Um, but what, what, but
505
00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:07.759
so I decided that I wanted to do this premium
506
00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.200
podcast and then it took me probably another eight months,
507
00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:13.519
nine months to find the money. And once I found
508
00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:17.119
the money, we shot a few episodes and, The investor said, yeah,
509
00:25:17.140 --> 00:25:17.900
let's give it a go.
510
00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:18.619
Let's do this.
511
00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:20.859
So the next thing you know, I shot my first
512
00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:25.970
season and now we're halfway through season three of this show.
513
00:25:25.970 --> 00:25:27.069
And we're just flying.
514
00:25:27.589 --> 00:25:30.490
But what's happened along the way is that, and I
515
00:25:30.529 --> 00:25:33.390
talked about this very early on, that I also didn't
516
00:25:33.430 --> 00:25:36.730
want to be a podcast that just talked about vertical
517
00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:41.289
filmmaking because vertical entertainment is is more what I really
518
00:25:41.329 --> 00:25:44.130
zero in on because there is more to vertical than
519
00:25:44.190 --> 00:25:48.750
just filmmaking. Filmmaking is definitely a lane for vertical film
520
00:25:48.769 --> 00:25:51.529
because you're watching a lot of films. There's over 300
521
00:25:51.529 --> 00:25:53.390
apps now that show these films.
522
00:25:54.829 --> 00:25:55.619
Of vertical films.
523
00:25:56.410 --> 00:26:01.180
But vertical entertainment is really what has taken over. Everything
524
00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:06.700
from branding to to sports, to, I mean, I've even
525
00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:08.380
got a guy coming on my show in a week
526
00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:12.759
that's going to talk about where the political campaigns have
527
00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:18.049
gone in this year and moving forward. Going forward, political campaigns,
528
00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:20.869
all those campaigning dollars are going to come right here
529
00:26:21.509 --> 00:26:23.369
so that they're not going to be fighting for those
530
00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:26.109
30-second spots on TV anymore. They're going to be fighting
531
00:26:26.150 --> 00:26:30.380
for time and watchability on your phone. because all that
532
00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:33.089
campaign money is gonna go here. Because this is where
533
00:26:33.130 --> 00:26:37.109
people watch films. As I say all the time, I go,
534
00:26:37.410 --> 00:26:42.950
this screen, this is the biggest screen in entertainment today
535
00:26:42.990 --> 00:26:49.190
is right here. There's one screen, 450 billion people watching
536
00:26:49.390 --> 00:26:53.559
this screen every day, all day. And so this is
537
00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:56.779
where people watch everything. And this is where they will
538
00:26:56.819 --> 00:27:00.730
continue to watch everything. So that was kind of the
539
00:27:01.250 --> 00:27:04.309
start of the vertical buzz was just understand we started
540
00:27:04.349 --> 00:27:07.970
with vertical filmmaking, but I have actually, I still talk
541
00:27:07.990 --> 00:27:10.059
to actors. I still talk to a lot of vertical
542
00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:12.579
filmmakers and that is the bread and butter of what
543
00:27:12.619 --> 00:27:16.380
the vertical buzz is all about. But as the vertical
544
00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:19.920
format continues to get bigger and bigger and bigger, what
545
00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:23.950
is happening is that vertical entertainment is creating a.
546
00:27:24.069 --> 00:27:28.109
New language, literally a new language in media.
547
00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.779
That's what's happening and if you look at it that
548
00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:34.140
way it's what it's done it's not competing with.
549
00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:36.599
Anything to do with horizontal film and when.
550
00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:38.880
We talk about that you guys anybody out there listening
551
00:27:39.220 --> 00:27:41.339
this is what your horizontal film would look like if
552
00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:43.000
you're watching on your phone you know how you have
553
00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:45.140
to turn it like this and you don't turn it
554
00:27:45.180 --> 00:27:47.289
like this so this is that this is what it
555
00:27:47.309 --> 00:27:49.369
looks like if it's horizontal this is what it looks
556
00:27:49.410 --> 00:27:54.079
like if it's vertical So anybody that's watching anything on
557
00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:56.619
your phone is just going to get bigger and bigger
558
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:58.710
and bigger and stronger every single day.
559
00:27:59.029 --> 00:28:01.950
And that's the new language of what entertainment is all about.
560
00:28:02.950 --> 00:28:06.740
And that's incredible, too. The thing is, it's going to
561
00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:09.339
be interesting to see everybody fight for vertical space. It's
562
00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:10.640
going to be very interesting.
563
00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:13.940
Jake, let me tell you one that's right in your backyard.
564
00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:17.450
The Kansas City Chiefs. Okay? Are they not your favorite
565
00:28:17.470 --> 00:28:18.630
football team? Probably.
566
00:28:18.650 --> 00:28:19.339
Absolutely they are.
567
00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.359
Of course they are. So the Kansas City Chiefs just
568
00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:27.109
finished doing a microdrama series. And it's called Off Season.
569
00:28:27.910 --> 00:28:30.000
And they are about to do two or three more
570
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:32.720
where they did these little, and this is becoming very
571
00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:37.779
popular on the corporate level. Crocs did it. Maybelline did it.
572
00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:40.539
Chipotle did it. And they're all starting to do these
573
00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:44.460
little series that are more about telling stories than it
574
00:28:44.529 --> 00:28:48.910
is about pushing your product. So it's very subtle in
575
00:28:48.970 --> 00:28:52.109
talking about your product, but it's very prominent in being
576
00:28:52.150 --> 00:28:55.309
able to tell a story. so that it's capturing your imagination.
577
00:28:55.690 --> 00:28:59.019
So like on the Chipotle one, what they did was,
578
00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:01.779
it's about a bunch of guys laying around on a
579
00:29:01.819 --> 00:29:04.279
Friday night. They've all been out having a few drinks
580
00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:06.359
and they all decide to come home and they go, hey,
581
00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:09.859
we're hungry. Let's go get something to eat or let's
582
00:29:09.940 --> 00:29:12.549
order in some Chipotle. And they ordered that Chipotle in
583
00:29:12.589 --> 00:29:15.190
and they're just, it's basically, it's almost like a Seinfeld
584
00:29:15.230 --> 00:29:18.990
thing where they're just having a good time talking about nothing,
585
00:29:19.609 --> 00:29:23.079
but they're eating Chipotle and that's the ad, but it's
586
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:25.259
not looking like an ad. It's looking more like a
587
00:29:25.339 --> 00:29:29.059
fun story. So that's a lot of the transition that's
588
00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:32.680
starting to happen with vertical branding. So this is now
589
00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:36.109
being called vertical branding and that is becoming bigger and bigger.
590
00:29:36.549 --> 00:29:38.029
I just spoke to the.
591
00:29:37.990 --> 00:29:39.890
Guy and I'm knocking on wood that I'm going to
592
00:29:39.910 --> 00:29:42.250
get him on, General Mills, okay?
593
00:29:42.430 --> 00:29:43.529
Your favorite cereals.
594
00:29:44.230 --> 00:29:44.910
Absolutely.
595
00:29:44.990 --> 00:29:47.089
Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, the whole world.
596
00:29:48.309 --> 00:29:52.200
They just have brought on and created an entirely in-house
597
00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:55.599
production team that is going to be creating all their
598
00:29:55.660 --> 00:29:58.740
brand content in-house, and they're all going to be doing
599
00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.799
it vertically. So they're going to be just starting to
600
00:30:00.839 --> 00:30:05.680
tell stories about Cheerios. And because General Mills and Pillsbury
601
00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:08.240
are one company now. So they're going to do an
602
00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:13.640
entire micro-drama series using the Pillsbury Doughboy as their main character.
603
00:30:14.450 --> 00:30:17.789
So think about that. Think about what the branding content
604
00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:22.019
could be for basically any company. And that's what it is,
605
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:26.799
is that the companies in the corporate America is understanding
606
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:31.960
that that phone is in everybody's hand every day, all day.
607
00:30:32.339 --> 00:30:35.000
And that's where they need to communicate.
608
00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:38.849
So the communication through the vertical effort, and I know
609
00:30:38.869 --> 00:30:41.190
we just call it vertical, but it is the phone
610
00:30:41.230 --> 00:30:46.890
screen is that next language of communications. Wow.
611
00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:51.049
That's incredible. That's incredible. I didn't like the thing is
612
00:30:51.069 --> 00:30:53.549
I am picturing Seinfeld and Chipotle.
613
00:30:53.670 --> 00:30:57.430
I'm like, but think about that.
614
00:30:57.529 --> 00:31:00.329
I mean, it is, it's such a, it's a wonderful
615
00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:02.579
phenomenon to know that it's going.
616
00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:03.339
There and it is.
617
00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:05.740
And the other side of it is, is that Hollywood
618
00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:10.849
just back up here, Hollywood is, fights this every single
619
00:31:10.910 --> 00:31:13.829
day they are in they are still believing that they're
620
00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:15.950
in the old school and that they're going to do
621
00:31:15.970 --> 00:31:18.220
this and they're going to do that i just had
622
00:31:18.279 --> 00:31:19.019
on my show i had a.
623
00:31:19.019 --> 00:31:21.059
Guy on that by the name of larry namer do
624
00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:24.180
you know that name the name sounds familiar.
625
00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:27.319
Okay well larry namer started e entertainment and we're all
626
00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:30.369
familiar with the entertainment he's the guy that started that
627
00:31:30.849 --> 00:31:33.150
so we know what that is you know uh what
628
00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:35.369
did he what was that big show that he did
629
00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:38.369
with um What's that guy, that actor's name?
630
00:31:38.869 --> 00:31:39.289
Kinnear.
631
00:31:41.190 --> 00:31:42.690
Greg Kinnear? Oh, Soup. Yeah, Greg.
632
00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:45.279
Yeah, Greg. Soup. Yeah, that's Soup. Soup Talk.
633
00:31:45.299 --> 00:31:47.079
Because that was Joe Mahal's baby afterwards.
634
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:49.759
Yeah. So Talk Soup, and that went on for years.
635
00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:50.960
That's all Larry Namer.
636
00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:54.240
And Larry Namer, if you go back through his history,
637
00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:55.880
he's always been a leader.
638
00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:57.220
He's always been a visionary.
639
00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:00.930
He's always kind of been out in front of most things.
640
00:32:01.230 --> 00:32:03.769
I just had him on my show because he's also
641
00:32:03.829 --> 00:32:07.960
jumped into Vertical Entertainment. He's launched his own network called
642
00:32:08.059 --> 00:32:14.440
Verza TV, V-E-R-Z-A or something, Verza TV. Anyway, he came
643
00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:18.519
on and his comments were very, he's a very outspoken
644
00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:21.710
guy and doesn't hold back. And what he basically said was,
645
00:32:21.750 --> 00:32:24.309
he goes, look, the difference is the people that are
646
00:32:24.349 --> 00:32:30.069
creating vertical content and vertical entertainment today, they're listening to
647
00:32:30.089 --> 00:32:33.009
their audience. The audience is telling them what to do
648
00:32:33.529 --> 00:32:37.509
and they're doing it. The problem with Hollywood is that
649
00:32:37.549 --> 00:32:42.150
they continually have basically their head up their, you know what,
650
00:32:42.490 --> 00:32:44.170
head up their ass, and they.
651
00:32:44.049 --> 00:32:46.190
Don't listen to the audience. They think that they can
652
00:32:46.230 --> 00:32:49.349
tell the audience what they're going to watch. And that's
653
00:32:49.849 --> 00:32:50.849
a lot of the problem.
654
00:32:51.309 --> 00:32:54.710
Because if you're not listening to your audience today, you're
655
00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:57.480
not going to get ahead. Because it's one thing he said,
656
00:32:57.519 --> 00:32:59.839
it's one thing that I always did at E! Entertainment,
657
00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:03.940
is I listened to what my audience wanted. And I
658
00:33:04.299 --> 00:33:08.240
gave them what they wanted. Hence, they became my consumer
659
00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:10.309
and they became my listener.
660
00:33:10.849 --> 00:33:11.809
Because if you.
661
00:33:11.690 --> 00:33:16.549
Try to force something down a consumer's throat, they're not
662
00:33:16.569 --> 00:33:21.589
going to respond. Not anymore, because there's just too many options.
663
00:33:22.210 --> 00:33:24.470
There's so many more options that they can turn to.
664
00:33:25.180 --> 00:33:27.299
So you have to listen, listen to your audience. That
665
00:33:27.339 --> 00:33:28.339
was his basic message.
666
00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:31.710
That's incredible. That's incredible. And the thing is, you've also
667
00:33:31.730 --> 00:33:34.869
had some incredible guests for just a short while. Some
668
00:33:34.950 --> 00:33:38.690
of your long-form interviews have been really booming. And I
669
00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:40.299
picked out a four of them because we're going to
670
00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:41.920
be talking about all day, and I don't think 120,
671
00:33:41.900 --> 00:33:44.619
and I don't think two hours is, we're not ready
672
00:33:44.660 --> 00:33:46.220
for that conversation level just yet.
673
00:33:48.140 --> 00:33:50.420
No, but some of, I mean, I do know that
674
00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:52.359
my actor, I mean, when I have the actors on
675
00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:54.680
from the vertical world, that's when I get spikes on
676
00:33:54.700 --> 00:33:54.920
my episode.
677
00:33:55.019 --> 00:33:58.970
Absolutely. I'm like looking at Jackson Tiller, then Chase Madsen,
678
00:33:59.049 --> 00:34:05.210
Noah Fernley, seven, as of this recording, guys, 7.5, 7.5K, 7,500
679
00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:08.849
views on YouTube. And it was published August 13th, so
680
00:34:08.889 --> 00:34:11.469
almost a month ago. Then followed by Chase Madsen, 9,000
681
00:34:11.469 --> 00:34:18.250
in July, 9,000. And then Noah Fernley, had 19,000, your
682
00:34:18.289 --> 00:34:20.610
most viewed podcast.
683
00:34:20.710 --> 00:34:22.869
Right. And you know who Noah Fernley is.
684
00:34:22.989 --> 00:34:25.469
Noah Fernley is one of the highest, one of the
685
00:34:25.510 --> 00:34:31.349
bigger actors in Vertical. However, he's also crossed over into
686
00:34:31.369 --> 00:34:34.150
the horizontal world, because we call it now horizontal and vertical,
687
00:34:34.550 --> 00:34:37.949
but he became a big Ryan Murphy guy. And he
688
00:34:38.030 --> 00:34:39.690
was in that series called.
689
00:34:40.809 --> 00:34:43.719
JFK, the JFK.
690
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:47.599
Story with Carolyn Bessette, the JFK Carolyn Bessette story. He
691
00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:51.980
played Michael Bergen, the boyfriend of Carolyn Bessette before she
692
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:52.739
met JFK.
693
00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:54.360
And that series just ended.
694
00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:57.320
And now Noah has just gone on to do two
695
00:34:57.380 --> 00:35:01.280
more series with Ryan Murphy. So he's, he, that guy
696
00:35:01.320 --> 00:35:02.900
is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.
697
00:35:02.980 --> 00:35:03.960
He will explode.
698
00:35:04.619 --> 00:35:08.239
And Ryan Murphy has done wonders with people.
699
00:35:08.280 --> 00:35:08.539
Yes.
700
00:35:09.260 --> 00:35:13.250
Leah Michelle, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley are some of the big,
701
00:35:13.550 --> 00:35:15.929
I remember them from Glee. And then of course you
702
00:35:15.949 --> 00:35:19.789
have Emma Roberts and, and oh my God, I blanked
703
00:35:19.849 --> 00:35:22.429
on her name. She was part of, she's part of
704
00:35:22.449 --> 00:35:26.929
the coven. She is, she's really good. She plays one
705
00:35:26.989 --> 00:35:28.780
of the head witches. I can't remember her name.
706
00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:32.260
Can't remember. But yes, it's a real honor to work
707
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:33.420
with Ryan Murphy on his shows.
708
00:35:33.460 --> 00:35:35.119
Absolutely, yes, absolutely.
709
00:35:35.260 --> 00:35:38.679
And once you're, it's like being part of Taylor Sheridan's library.
710
00:35:38.699 --> 00:35:40.000
You know, once you get into that.
711
00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:41.380
Or Shondaland.
712
00:35:41.860 --> 00:35:43.739
Or Shondaland. I mean, that too.
713
00:35:43.820 --> 00:35:46.250
So there's, once you get in with somebody like that,
714
00:35:46.309 --> 00:35:48.510
you really, you're really going to explode.
715
00:35:48.570 --> 00:35:50.889
Your career is going to do just fine. Alrighty.
716
00:35:50.929 --> 00:35:52.730
Have you thought about any of your dream guests?
717
00:35:53.650 --> 00:35:56.369
Oh my gosh. My dream guests. Yeah.
718
00:35:56.469 --> 00:35:56.690
Yeah.
719
00:35:57.590 --> 00:35:59.500
I want to have Mark Cuban on. That would be
720
00:35:59.579 --> 00:36:00.380
one of my main guests.
721
00:36:00.739 --> 00:36:05.360
Because he's just launched an entire micro sports group that's
722
00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:09.340
going to do vertical sports on your phone. So I'd
723
00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:12.309
love to have Mark Cuban on. Who did I write
724
00:36:12.329 --> 00:36:13.510
down here to be one of my other ones?
725
00:36:14.190 --> 00:36:18.730
Oh, Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow just launched.
726
00:36:18.750 --> 00:36:22.940
He's part of a group that launched an entire faith-based
727
00:36:23.699 --> 00:36:26.550
vertical network. So you can imagine, I mean, that's almost
728
00:36:26.590 --> 00:36:29.250
like Hallmark. So that's going to be unbelievable what he
729
00:36:29.269 --> 00:36:31.070
does with that one. That one is supposed.
730
00:36:30.829 --> 00:36:34.230
To be really big. We've all seen what Hallmark has done.
731
00:36:34.269 --> 00:36:37.719
And by the way, Hallmark is the Kansas City project.
732
00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:39.500
Yes, they are. Yes, they are.
733
00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:40.079
For Hallmark.
734
00:36:40.599 --> 00:36:41.199
Yes.
735
00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:44.179
Listen, I used to, back in my sales and marketing days,
736
00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:44.820
I used to.
737
00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:47.320
Call on, do you remember Hall's department store?
738
00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:50.010
Oh, yes, absolutely. Hall's is still standing crown center.
739
00:36:50.610 --> 00:36:50.809
Yep.
740
00:36:50.969 --> 00:36:52.960
Well, I used to call on halls when I would
741
00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:54.920
come to Kansas City. That's what I used to do
742
00:36:55.780 --> 00:36:59.079
back in the day. But Hallmark, I mean, Tim Tebow,
743
00:37:00.349 --> 00:37:04.030
my biggest dreams are to interview these guys that are
744
00:37:04.070 --> 00:37:08.860
at the forefront of this entire vertical entertainment world. So
745
00:37:08.980 --> 00:37:11.440
anybody that's in that genre, I want to meet with
746
00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:13.500
the Kansas City Chiefs. I want to meet with the
747
00:37:13.539 --> 00:37:16.010
person that put that whole thing together. And I finally
748
00:37:16.070 --> 00:37:19.030
tracked the guy down. So I'm working on making that happen.
749
00:37:19.469 --> 00:37:21.469
So we'll get there.
750
00:37:22.050 --> 00:37:24.789
Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed for you, Buzz. All right. So
751
00:37:24.829 --> 00:37:29.130
we got to wind down our conversation. So, Buzz. Where
752
00:37:29.170 --> 00:37:32.710
can my audience connect with you on social media? And also,
753
00:37:32.969 --> 00:37:36.309
more importantly, where can they find The Vertical Buzz?
754
00:37:36.769 --> 00:37:39.579
All right. Well, they can find me personally on social media.
755
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:47.179
My Instagram is at buzz, B-U-Z-Z underscore leer, L-E-E-R. That's
756
00:37:47.340 --> 00:37:51.969
at buzz, B-U-Z-Z underscore L-E-E-R. The Vertical Buzz is simply
757
00:37:52.210 --> 00:37:55.590
at The Vertical Buzz. And that's on all social media platforms,
758
00:37:55.630 --> 00:37:59.949
whether you're on Instagram, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, anywhere. It's at
759
00:38:00.269 --> 00:38:03.329
The Vertical Buzz. You can find us there. So check
760
00:38:03.369 --> 00:38:07.010
us out. Brand new show every Thursday. This Thursday we've
761
00:38:07.050 --> 00:38:09.130
got– well, I don't know when your show is.
762
00:38:09.090 --> 00:38:09.489
Going to air.
763
00:38:10.909 --> 00:38:13.849
But every Thursday there's a brand new episode of The
764
00:38:13.889 --> 00:38:17.489
Vertical Buzz. We're about halfway through season three. The things
765
00:38:17.510 --> 00:38:19.489
that are coming up for season four are going to
766
00:38:19.530 --> 00:38:20.780
be absolutely.
767
00:38:20.429 --> 00:38:24.599
Over the top. Incredible. I'm very excited about where we're going.
768
00:38:25.019 --> 00:38:28.320
And in addition to this, I've also where we've also
769
00:38:28.420 --> 00:38:29.579
expanded the vertical buzz.
770
00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:31.900
I've been doing many, many, many red carpets.
771
00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:34.239
I'm now going on to the red carpets and interviewing
772
00:38:34.280 --> 00:38:37.179
people as the vertical buzz. Just finished doing my very
773
00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:38.280
first verticon.
774
00:38:38.699 --> 00:38:39.300
How do you like that?
775
00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:42.340
There's a new vertical.
776
00:38:42.889 --> 00:38:46.050
Verticon just happened in LA. Uh, we've got a big, uh,
777
00:38:46.090 --> 00:38:50.150
the first ever vertical film festival is happening in New
778
00:38:50.190 --> 00:38:54.280
York city in October. It's called all the film festival.
779
00:38:54.579 --> 00:38:58.079
And the guy that launched that festival, um, was the
780
00:38:58.119 --> 00:39:01.460
former COO of the Tribeca Film Festival.
781
00:39:01.019 --> 00:39:01.960
For 18 years.
782
00:39:02.409 --> 00:39:05.710
And now he's launched his own vertical film festival and
783
00:39:05.769 --> 00:39:08.650
it is going to be spectacular. And the Vertical Buzz
784
00:39:09.210 --> 00:39:12.349
is the official media sponsor for that event.
785
00:39:12.670 --> 00:39:14.010
And we're really excited about that.
786
00:39:14.329 --> 00:39:18.269
And then there's an international micro drama market happening in India.
787
00:39:18.789 --> 00:39:23.119
in January of 27. So, Jake, stay on top of
788
00:39:23.159 --> 00:39:26.050
this because this is going to get bigger and bigger
789
00:39:26.139 --> 00:39:29.150
and bigger as we grow. The actual estimate for vertical,
790
00:39:29.289 --> 00:39:32.280
just vertical 3%, this year, is that the vertical film
791
00:39:32.300 --> 00:39:35.360
world will generate close to $ 150 billion.
792
00:39:35.429 --> 00:39:40.030
Wow. This year. That's how big that industry is getting.
793
00:39:40.429 --> 00:39:44.929
And still, nobody in Hollywood is really grasping it and going, oh, yeah.
794
00:39:44.949 --> 00:39:51.980
Let's do this. Absolutely, absolutely. It's going to get interesting. Absolutely.
795
00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:56.239
And I cannot wait to see how you evolve over this.
796
00:39:56.260 --> 00:39:59.559
So please come back. However, guys, before we go, I
797
00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:02.000
want to say this. If you missed an episode of
798
00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:04.550
the Jake's Take with Jacob Ellington podcast, visit our channels
799
00:40:04.590 --> 00:40:09.250
on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and Spreaker. Jake's
800
00:40:09.269 --> 00:40:14.380
Take with Jacob Ellington, J-A-K-E-L-L-Y-A-C-H-A-R. Now, are you on social media?
801
00:40:14.500 --> 00:40:16.900
I'm on social media too. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter
802
00:40:16.940 --> 00:40:22.659
and YouTube. Jacob Elishar, J-A-C-O-B-E-L-Y-A-C-H-A-R. Now, but head to the
803
00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:27.440
reason why we're celebrating 15 years in the entertainment industry. jakes-chick.com.
804
00:40:27.500 --> 00:40:31.159
Once again, jakes-chick.com. And I want to say a huge
805
00:40:31.219 --> 00:40:33.300
shout out to my friends at the Greater Kansas City
806
00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:36.119
Chamber of Commerce for naming me and Jake's Take with
807
00:40:36.139 --> 00:40:39.909
Jacob Elishar a small business superstar for 2026. It means
808
00:40:39.949 --> 00:40:44.000
the world to me to be recognized by my hometown. Buzz,
809
00:40:44.179 --> 00:40:47.360
this was a pleasure meeting you. You are going to
810
00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:50.820
be our important person when it comes to the vertical,
811
00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:53.219
keeping an eye on the vertical world. So I cannot
812
00:40:53.260 --> 00:40:56.449
wait as the vertical world evolves and how you guys,
813
00:40:56.690 --> 00:40:58.429
you grow as a content creator.
814
00:40:59.449 --> 00:41:02.110
Great, Jake. Anytime you need anything, give me a shout, man.
815
00:41:03.250 --> 00:41:06.969
Happy to talk. I love talking this world. It's great. Absolutely.
816
00:41:07.010 --> 00:41:09.719
And guys, thank you so much for watching. Thank you
817
00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:18.530
so much for listening. Until next time. Have a great one, everybody. Goodbye.
1
00:00:23.850 --> 00:00:26.570
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the latest edition of
2
00:00:26.589 --> 00:00:28.989
the Jake's Take with Jacob Alisher podcast. I'm your host,
3
00:00:29.010 --> 00:00:32.450
Jacob Alisher, chief content producer and writer of Jake's Take.com,
4
00:00:32.570 --> 00:00:34.990
a pop culture entertainment news website. If you're watching us
5
00:00:35.009 --> 00:00:37.409
today on our audio platforms, please give us a thumbs
6
00:00:37.509 --> 00:00:40.170
up and please subscribe. Now, if you're listening to us
7
00:00:40.369 --> 00:00:43.659
on any of our audio downloads, please give a five-star
8
00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:51.189
rating and please consider downloading over 445 episodes. It's a
9
00:00:51.210 --> 00:00:54.350
privilege to welcome my next guest today. He is an actor, veteran,
10
00:00:54.469 --> 00:00:57.469
and host, and a veteran of the vertical film space.
11
00:00:57.969 --> 00:01:02.890
He has appeared on HGTV's House Detective, followed by NBC's
12
00:01:02.929 --> 00:01:06.920
Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, but he's the host of
13
00:01:06.950 --> 00:01:10.980
the Vertical Buzz. Please help me welcome Buzz Lear to
14
00:01:11.019 --> 00:01:12.019
the podcast.
15
00:01:12.780 --> 00:01:16.180
Thank you, Jake. What a wonderful intro. I love that. Nice.
16
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Thank you so much.
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00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:20.540
You're so welcome, Buzz. What I've been doing for the
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00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:23.900
past seven seasons is like, okay, let's get a little
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00:01:23.939 --> 00:01:27.200
bit of the Arsenio Hall, a little bit of the
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00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:31.900
Ed McMahon, and then also a little bit of some
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00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.109
wrestling into it because let's give my guests a little thing.
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There you go. Great job. Thank you.
23
00:01:39.689 --> 00:01:41.689
You're so welcome. And by the way, your intros are
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really cool as well. I love how you have all
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the old-fashioned clapper.
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Oh, yeah.
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00:01:48.769 --> 00:01:52.109
That is really cool because ever from now, it's like
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every time it's like, OK, there's a clapper on an iPad.
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00:01:55.090 --> 00:01:56.569
And I'm like, come on, we got to get to
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00:01:56.590 --> 00:01:58.469
the old. I know this is modern day, but like
31
00:01:58.870 --> 00:01:59.790
what happens to the magic?
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00:02:00.290 --> 00:02:02.829
Yeah. What happens is the real stuff, you know, you
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00:02:02.870 --> 00:02:06.049
do it. Yeah, exactly. All right.
34
00:02:06.090 --> 00:02:08.150
So let's get started. So when did you get interested
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in performing and how did that passion evolve and desire
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of being in the entertainment industry?
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00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:17.080
Oh, well, I wasn't always in it.
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00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:20.189
I mean, I was not one of these high school
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00:02:20.909 --> 00:02:23.770
theater guys. I was an athlete growing up. I mainly,
40
00:02:23.789 --> 00:02:28.069
I had four brothers and we played all kinds of sports.
41
00:02:28.550 --> 00:02:32.550
I grew up in Minneapolis in Minnesota, but I went
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00:02:32.569 --> 00:02:35.629
to school at the University of North Dakota. And when
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00:02:35.650 --> 00:02:39.150
I went to school in Grand Forks, I had decided
44
00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:42.389
that I was going to be a speech teacher and
45
00:02:42.449 --> 00:02:44.969
I was going to be a coach. I wanted to
46
00:02:45.009 --> 00:02:48.460
coach baseball. That was what I wanted to do. But
47
00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:51.539
in one of my first year, my freshman year, I
48
00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:56.340
found myself in a psychology 101 class. And the guy
49
00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:59.810
that was actually running the psychology 101 class said, also
50
00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:03.289
was part of the theater department, surprisingly enough. And he
51
00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:05.569
offered us an option at the end of the first
52
00:03:05.610 --> 00:03:08.669
year was we could either write a paper for our final,
53
00:03:09.229 --> 00:03:12.689
or we could try out for his play So at
54
00:03:12.729 --> 00:03:15.009
the same time, if we got cast in the show,
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00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:17.960
we didn't have to write the paper. So I thought, well,
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I'm going to just try out for this play. I
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00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:21.740
have no idea what it is. So I tried out
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for the play. I got a role in the show
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and I didn't have to write the paper. And it
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also just sparked, it ignited something inside me that said,
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oh my.
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Gosh, I really love doing this.
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And I just continued to audition for plays. In my
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00:03:37.449 --> 00:03:41.770
sophomore year, I shifted my degree to theater.
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And I never looked back. And that was how that
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all got started. And I just continued to do that.
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00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:51.370
That's incredible. Because the thing is, I had theater from
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fifth grade to twelfth grade. So I've done a lot
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of that. And the thing is, the performing arts are
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so important. And I'm like, yeah, we can have 45
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minutes of PE, but we could also have 45 minutes
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of band, choir, and theater.
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That's right. That's right. And so I jumped into the
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theater world.
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I basically had abandoned my baseball dream, but it was
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great because I ended up graduating.
77
00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:17.810
I ended up shifting.
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At that time, the University of North Dakota adopted a
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Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program, a BFA degree, And
80
00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:28.819
I was in the actually the first graduating class of
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the Bachelor of Fine Arts program from the University of
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North Dakota, which was great because I got my Bachelor
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00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:36.860
of Fine Arts degree from there. I went on to
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00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.399
do every year while I was in college, I started
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doing summer theater. So I did the Colorado Shakespeare Festival,
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00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.699
my between my sophomore, junior year.
87
00:04:46.529 --> 00:04:47.470
Yeah, I was in Boulder.
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I'm a CU Buff, so go Buffs.
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00:04:49.250 --> 00:04:51.540
Oh, go Buffs. There you go. I love that. Yeah.
90
00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:54.660
So I went to Boulder and did the Colorado Shakespeare
91
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Festival there one summer. And then the next summer, I
92
00:04:56.819 --> 00:05:01.060
did the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Oregon.
93
00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:04.300
And I'm trying to remember where that was. What's the
94
00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:08.709
name of that? Ashland. No, yeah, Ashland. I think it's Ashland, Oregon.
95
00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:12.439
Something like that. I can't remember anymore. That's 100 years ago, Jake.
96
00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:15.199
So what can I tell you? So I did that.
97
00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:17.439
And then I graduated from college and I got my
98
00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:20.899
first job as an actor. A paying actor was in
99
00:05:20.990 --> 00:05:23.990
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I got cast in a show called
100
00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:28.350
at Dirty Jack's Wild West Theater in Jackson Hole playing
101
00:05:28.430 --> 00:05:30.889
Buffalo Bill and Annie Get Your Gun. And I did
102
00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:32.790
that for, oh my gosh, I did that.
103
00:05:32.689 --> 00:05:33.649
For the whole summer.
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00:05:34.290 --> 00:05:38.310
We did 110 shows in a row, eight shows a week,
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00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:40.660
and it was phenomenal. And then I ended up actually
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00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:43.220
going back to Jackson every year for like five years.
107
00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.110
In a row, I went back to Jackson every summer.
108
00:05:47.009 --> 00:05:49.509
And then in between that, I would go back to
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00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:52.509
Minneapolis and there was a dinner theater. Dinner theater back
110
00:05:52.550 --> 00:05:55.810
then was really hot. If you remember dinner theater, that
111
00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:58.980
was a big deal. And so I did dinner theater
112
00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:01.759
at Chanhassen Dinner Theater in Minneapolis.
113
00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:04.360
And I would do that every winter.
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00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:06.740
And then I would go back to Jackson Hole in
115
00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:09.519
the summer. And that's kind of became my routine for
116
00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:11.610
several years in there, just doing theater.
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00:06:13.269 --> 00:06:16.899
That's incredible because theater always has the best thing. And
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00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:21.600
I got to say this, any actor, I played Sir
119
00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:23.000
Andrew in Twelfth Night.
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00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:24.319
There you go.
121
00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.579
And I got to see Dame Judy Jones reprise her
122
00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.740
role of Titania when I studied abroad in England. And
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00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:33.120
all I got to say is I give so much
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00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:39.000
credit to people who tackled Shakespeare because that test is
125
00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:40.259
a real acting level.
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00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:46.100
Yep. Well, listen, those years at Colorado and at Oregon
127
00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:49.600
were just phenomenal. I got to play King Lear. I
128
00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:52.660
got to play, which was my actual last name, but
129
00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.379
it's spelled differently. King Lear is L-E-A, and I'm L-E-E,
130
00:06:56.459 --> 00:07:00.529
but there you go. And I did play Father Time
131
00:07:00.589 --> 00:07:05.370
in Winter's Tale. I've done different Shakespeare roles, but Shakespeare was.
132
00:07:06.709 --> 00:07:09.629
I actually loved doing Shakespeare. I loved the rhyming. I
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00:07:09.670 --> 00:07:10.129
loved the.
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00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:15.420
the verbal context of what Shakespeare is all about. And
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00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:17.579
it would be fun, actually, when you think about it,
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00:07:17.579 --> 00:07:18.860
it would be fun to go back and do.
137
00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.279
A Shakespeare at some point in time. It would be great.
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00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:26.579
Absolutely, absolutely. It's always great to have Shakespeare. However, we
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00:07:26.610 --> 00:07:29.009
got to move away from the Shakespeare of it all.
140
00:07:29.430 --> 00:07:33.910
And let's go talk about going and skiing on television sets.
141
00:07:33.949 --> 00:07:37.269
So we're on several different sets and two different projects.
142
00:07:37.709 --> 00:07:42.189
One in a non-fictional house detective's on HGTV. And then
143
00:07:42.410 --> 00:07:48.839
also you have MEC's Chicago franchise with Chicago PD and
144
00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:53.110
Chicago Fire. So I know those are two different animals
145
00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:54.730
on their own, but what were some of the lessons
146
00:07:54.750 --> 00:07:57.209
that you learned from both of those experiences that helped
147
00:07:57.250 --> 00:07:58.730
you grow as a performer?
148
00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:04.670
Well, particularly, I'll just start with the house detective, the
149
00:08:04.870 --> 00:08:06.990
HGTV show that I did.
150
00:08:07.089 --> 00:08:08.629
I actually got cast in that.
151
00:08:08.990 --> 00:08:13.180
I was the host of HGTV's House Detective for five seasons.
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00:08:13.660 --> 00:08:15.019
We did 65 episodes.
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00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:17.360
I actually fixed 65 houses.
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00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:19.519
Oh, wow. On TV.
155
00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:21.420
It was a long run. It was a long run.
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00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:24.430
And that was all based in the Bay Area. I
157
00:08:24.490 --> 00:08:26.370
raised my family living in the Bay Area.
158
00:08:26.389 --> 00:08:26.470
Yeah.
159
00:08:27.100 --> 00:08:30.120
San Francisco, and that show shot all the way up
160
00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:31.899
and down the entire Bay Area.
161
00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:34.879
So I started on that.
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The lessons that that gave me, because that was reality
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TV in the very, very beginning, basically, is what that was.
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When you look back at some of those shows between
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House Detective and Curb Appeal, Landscape Smarts, the different shows
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at that time, we were really pioneering HGTV.
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At that time.
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I was one of the very first shows on HGTV.
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To kind of get recognized.
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The only people that recognized me though, because the show
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was not watched by a lot of people yet, the
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only place that people would recognize me would be in
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Home Depot on a Saturday morning. If I would walk
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into Home Depot, they say, oh, that's the guy from
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House Detective. Because that was my consumer, which was really fun.
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It was really fun to at least get recognized on
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that level. But your question was how did that– what
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did I learn from that? What I learned was how
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to be an actual host of a show, but I
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really learned how to think on my feet because that
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was reality TV.
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And it was unscripted.
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So when you think– so when it was unscripted, it
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really just– whatever the flow was, I happened to have
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an incredible director, an incredible producer that really helped me
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through that entire process. And I learned to really, really,
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really think quickly on my feet to be able to just,
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you know, kind of fit into whatever was going on
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at the time.
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If I was fixing a deck, and tearing out a.
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Deck and putting in a new deck on somebody's house,
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if something went wrong, I.
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Had to be able to improvise that.
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I had to be able to understand what did I
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have to do next? How did I have to grab
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that wood and put that on there and grab the
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nails and all that? It was a pretty intense process.
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And we shot all that on one camera.
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And that was back, and you got to think, that
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was back.
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In 2005, I think we started that series. So it's
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before digital. This was still shot on tape.
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So they were running. Yeah, we were running tapes every
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single night.
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To the studio for these guys to sit and log
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all those tapes at night. So that show was shot
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on tape. We would shoot in the field three days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
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We shot on location. And then Thursday and Friday, I
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would go into the studio and do all the voiceover
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for anything that had.
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To be voiceovered on the show. Because we used a
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lot of graphics.
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So I learned so much about every phase of television
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in that show. It just helped propel me onto the
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next stage, which was going to be the Dick Wolf
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stuff when I moved to Chicago after that time. Because
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all the stuff that we did on HGTV was, again, reality, unscripted,
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and think on your feet. And then just the knowledge
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and the understanding of what I learned to do voiceover
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in the studio to match up to what was happening
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on the TV.
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I can't even begin to tell.
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You how golden that was and how I've used all
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of those things that I learned then still today on
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a lot of different sets.
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I got to say this. It's incredible because I remember
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going to back to Boulder and back to like tapes
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and everything. It was hard to log in digital tape,
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but to get on, but to get the tape that
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to be played on that, it's still crazy.
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It's crazy.
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Segmented, Final Cut Pro. I give a lot of kudos
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to all those editors, especially who work in reality TV field,
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especially reality TV.
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No kidding.
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When did that take the like, not a lot of
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actors can say they've worked on a Dick Wolf production.
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So having that, having being on the Chicago franchise, that
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must be a huge feather in your cap.
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Well, it was, it took me several, you know, it was,
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it's interesting. I, when I jumped back into theater after being,
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you know, I had done, I had done the house
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detective and then I went back into sales and marketing
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because the most of my career I spent in a
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lot of sales and marketing. And in between House Detective
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and jumping into Dick Wolf, I went back to sales
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and marketing. So, and it wasn't until I got to
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Chicago that I decided, no, I'd had enough with corporate
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America and I was going to do what I've always
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wanted to do, which.
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Was be a full-time actor.
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So once I jumped into that and I got cast
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on my very first Dick Wolf show, which actually was
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Chicago Med, that was my first foray back into Chicago,
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into the Chicago world. I went to audition after audition
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after audition because it seemed like it was a very
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closed group of people that got cast in those shows.
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But I got cast on my very first show, which
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was Chicago Med. I had like two lines in one
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of the episodes. And I just remember that I got
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complimented very highly by the director, by the producers that
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day and just said, oh my gosh, we're gonna definitely
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bring you back and put you on again.
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However, what would happen is is.
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That if you went on a Chicago Med or any
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of the Chicago franchise, didn't matter, Fire Med or PD,
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whatever show you went on, if you had lines in
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one of those shows, you couldn't be on another show
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until the following year.
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That's crazy. That's really crazy.
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You had to wait because they didn't want you to
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just show up in another show. And somebody, they figured
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that the audience was going to connect the dots and go,
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wait a minute.
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I just saw that guy in Chicago Med. Now he's
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on Chicago Fire. How does that all work? So they
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were very protective of that. So it was like, okay.
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And then the next year, I did get a role
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that allowed me to.
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Do two or three different episodes that season. with this
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one particular character being a dad in a neighborhood I
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can't even barely remember.
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But that was pretty good.
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And then the biggest thing that I got to do
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with them is that I then went on to become
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Jason Bay, his stand-in on Chicago PD for an entire season.
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So I did all the episodes that year, but I
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was never on camera.
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I was his stand-in.
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And stand-in work is really fun. I mean, the nice
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part about the stand-in work is that I got to
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basically read all of Jason Bay's lines, stand in for him,
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do the scenes as they're setting lighting in different environments
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for sound and everything. But I got to meet the cast,
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hang out with the cast. I worked five days a week,
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got paid pretty well to do that job. And it
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was just simply a lot of fun to be a stand-in.
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But what happened is it was like a full-time job.
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So I really couldn't do anything else because I was
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only doing that show five days a week. And then
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I was actually trying to do some theater at the
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same time, but it was really, it was killing me
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because I was, I would be working all day on Chicago.
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Fire, Chicago med.
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Sometimes we would have a seven o'clock in the morning
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or six o'clock in the morning call. And then I would,
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and then I was in a show at the same
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time at one of the small little theaters in Chicago
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and And so I'd be, I'd be going right from
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set that day, go to the theater, do my show
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that night, get home at midnight and have to be
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back up at four in the morning, starting all over again.
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But it was, but I listened, I loved every second
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of it. And I was so grateful to be able
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to be working.
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Are you kidding me?
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To be able to be working as an actor in
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both television and theater, both at the same time.
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Those were wonderful moments, but it was great.
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And not a lot of actors can say they've done
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that at the same time.
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Yeah, right. Exactly. So it was a lot of fun.
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And one of the last shows I did in Chicago
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on stage is I did get to do Enemy of
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the People, which was directed by Robert Falls.
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And it was at the Goodman. And that was a
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big feather in my.
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Hat to be able to work with Robert Falls, one
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of the highly acclaimed directors in this country, on a
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show like Enemy of the People.
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It was fun.
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That's incredible. So you go from, for your career, you
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go from reality TV, then back to sales and marketing,
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and back to the world of Dick Wolf, and also
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the theater as well. But then you go into vertical entertainment.
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And for me, it's been taking me a while to
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hear about vertical entertainment. And for my audience, because sometimes
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they're so focused on the main networks, the cable, then.
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Then, of course, the streamers. Now, can you describe to
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me and my audience what vertical entertainment is?
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Sure.
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Well, here's the phenomenon is it's not really anything new.
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If you've had.
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I'm going to just talk to your audience here. If
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you have a phone and you watch things on your phone...
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Sorry about my... That's a picture of our cabin on
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our island there.
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If you watch.
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entertainment on your phone. This is called vertical entertainment. This
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is what that is. Anything that you're watching on your
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phone this way is vertical entertainment. So you're watching the news,
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you're watching sports.
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You have been for years.
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Well, where vertical filming, filmmaking got really popular, it started
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actually in China back in like 2015.
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So it's been going on.
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For over 10 years and it got extremely popular in
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China during the pandemic. Because as you know, even here
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in America, we weren't creating any new content during that time.
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So there were a lot of reruns that were showing
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up on TV. There were a lot of reruns that
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were showing up on the streaming networks because no new
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content could be shot.
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We just weren't able to go out and do it.
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So back in those days in China, these kids were
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actually running around the streets of Beijing and Shanghai, and
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they were shooting vertical content videos.
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Almost in gorilla-like fashion.
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So they're just running around shooting content and they would
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start putting this content out online. And people were loving
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it because it was something new.
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It was fun. It was different.
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And it was nothing that was a repeat. So everybody
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started watching these vertical films. Well, then they eventually worked
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their way over here to the U.S. And I don't
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know if you remember. Do you remember the brief moment
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of Quibi? There was a moment.
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Oh, absolutely.
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So Quibi was one of the first.
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They started to do vertical entertainment back in like 2018,
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17 and 18. is when Quibi launched and it became
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this huge phenomenon. The guy, Jeffrey Katzenberg.
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Oh, yes, absolutely. The former Walt Disney executive that worked
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under Mike Leisner.
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Right. And he raised a ton of money. And then
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he put out all this vertical content. What he did, though,
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he started putting it out in 30-minute segments or 15
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and 30-minute segments, which we thought was revolutionary at the time.
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But in China... They.
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Were doing the format that's being done now, which was
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every episode is one or two or three minutes long.
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And that's how they're keeping you going. But Katzenberg did
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it in a different way. Then the pandemic literally crushed him.
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That's what happened.
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I remember what that.
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00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.079
Yeah. He had a great idea.
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He was one of the first to jump into Vertical.
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But then the pandemic absolutely wiped it out. And he
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lost millions and millions of dollars on that deal. So...
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now comes the pandemic. China's going crazy.
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2021-22 is when Vertical Film started to come to America.
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I moved out here to LA in early 22. I
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was going to come out in 21, but the pandemic
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held me back. So I come out here in 2022
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to pursue my career further and get more into film
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because I love film. I loved being an actor in film.
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I like TV, but I love film. So I came
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out here to LA, start to pursue.
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My film career.
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One day in April of 23, I get cast in
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what I thought was just a normal short film. Well,
412
00:20:28.490 --> 00:20:32.200
I show up on set. There's only four actors, and
413
00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:37.700
these guys show up. There's basically very little equipment, and
414
00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:41.230
they've got these rigs, and they've got iPhones attached to
415
00:20:41.269 --> 00:20:46.849
these rigs. Three iPhones, and they shot this entire short
416
00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:48.210
film on three iPhones.
417
00:20:48.890 --> 00:20:49.789
That's incredible.
418
00:20:50.049 --> 00:20:52.529
We as actors are going, what are they doing here?
419
00:20:52.589 --> 00:20:55.349
Why is this happening? Then they explain, well, we're doing
420
00:20:55.369 --> 00:20:57.099
these vertical shows.
421
00:20:57.640 --> 00:20:58.359
Oh, okay.
422
00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:00.970
So I do that first one. Then the next week
423
00:21:01.009 --> 00:21:03.069
I got cast in another one. Then I got cast
424
00:21:03.130 --> 00:21:05.750
in another one. And this whole thing starts to explode.
425
00:21:06.309 --> 00:21:08.099
And the next thing you know, by the end of 23,
426
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:14.190
I had done like 20 films. Well, to do 20
427
00:21:14.190 --> 00:21:16.710
films as an actor, are you kidding me? It was like,
428
00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:19.859
I wouldn't do, I'd never done 20 films combined in
429
00:21:19.910 --> 00:21:20.490
my whole life.
430
00:21:20.930 --> 00:21:21.579
So I've done.
431
00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:24.000
20 films and they're all these vertical films and they
432
00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:26.779
just got better and better and better. The sets got
433
00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:29.259
bigger and bigger and bigger. The crew got bigger and bigger.
434
00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:32.099
And then it just became this phenomenon that once 24
435
00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:37.920
came around, this thing just went nuts. It literally went crazy.
436
00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:41.220
I was at one point, I was in three films
437
00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:42.440
at the same time.
438
00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:43.240
Wow.
439
00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:47.980
I would draw, I was literally driving to my called time,
440
00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.680
not really remembering what role I.
441
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.619
Was playing that day.
442
00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:54.039
Cause it was like, wait a minute, is this the
443
00:21:54.099 --> 00:21:56.960
role of Richard or am I doing Henry today?
444
00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:57.720
Oh yeah.
445
00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:00.480
I had to really focus on what I was doing
446
00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:02.339
because I was in three films at the same time.
447
00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:05.440
So I, That's when it really was exploding. And it
448
00:22:05.500 --> 00:22:09.000
went even bigger in 24. Then it just went crazy
449
00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:14.400
in 2025. And as 2025 started to come around, by
450
00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:16.849
the end of all that, at this point, I've got
451
00:22:16.890 --> 00:22:20.710
more stories in between. But to date, I've done now
452
00:22:20.710 --> 00:22:22.609
42 vertical films.
453
00:22:22.910 --> 00:22:24.869
In three years. That's amazing.
454
00:22:25.109 --> 00:22:27.759
And I just got cast in three more that are
455
00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:29.019
coming up throughout the fall.
456
00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:32.759
Congratulations. Yeah, it's a pretty exciting moment.
457
00:22:34.390 --> 00:22:37.190
I definitely say there's a lot of stuff going on.
458
00:22:37.349 --> 00:22:40.609
And then you're also one of the most important people
459
00:22:40.789 --> 00:22:45.299
in the vertical podcast world because you started Vertical Buzz.
460
00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:49.859
So let's talk about it. And then also how, because
461
00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:53.240
you and I both know the podcasting world, everybody and
462
00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:57.640
their sibling has one. Everyone and their parent has one.
463
00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.240
So with me, Jake's Take with Jacob Elliott shares my
464
00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:04.609
take with people and interviews with people from all across
465
00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:10.599
the entertainment and lifestyle industries. So how does the Vertical
466
00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:13.839
Buzz stand out in our podcasting communities?
467
00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:17.000
Okay, so I'll go back to the beginning of where
468
00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:17.759
we started this.
469
00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:22.180
The Vertical Buzz, we launched January 29th of this year,
470
00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.480
of 2026. So I've really only been out there for
471
00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:28.700
almost a little over seven months we've been on the air.
472
00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:32.009
And I had this idea.
473
00:23:31.730 --> 00:23:33.930
About a year and a half ago that as I'm
474
00:23:33.970 --> 00:23:37.269
doing all these vertical films, I'm realizing there's nobody that's
475
00:23:37.329 --> 00:23:38.190
talking about this.
476
00:23:38.210 --> 00:23:39.670
There's nobody documenting this.
477
00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:44.619
There were no podcasts about vertical filmmaking or vertical entertainment
478
00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:47.460
for that matter. So I started poking around and then
479
00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.519
I had decided that I didn't want to do just
480
00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:54.900
a normal podcast or an audio podcast. I didn't want
481
00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:57.039
to do any of that, that I wanted to create
482
00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:01.480
a premium podcast almost network television type look and.
483
00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:04.599
Feel to what we were doing. And that's what I
484
00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:05.400
ultimately did.
485
00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:08.119
I went out and I knew that, but I also
486
00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:11.339
knew that I didn't have the resources.
487
00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:12.769
To do it the way I wanted to do it.
488
00:24:13.309 --> 00:24:16.470
So I got very fortunate and found a wonderful investor
489
00:24:16.970 --> 00:24:19.410
that is on board with me. And he's really, he
490
00:24:19.490 --> 00:24:22.250
believes in it. They believe in it. completely. And we
491
00:24:22.269 --> 00:24:25.950
just continue to ramp up and scale up because I, I,
492
00:24:26.230 --> 00:24:26.970
I do believe that.
493
00:24:27.289 --> 00:24:28.839
And I know, I mean, I know this, that the
494
00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:32.359
vertical buzz is one of still the only true podcasts
495
00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:35.700
that are premium podcasts, because I'm more of a media
496
00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:39.619
platform than anything is what I've become. We shoot our
497
00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:44.529
show on three cameras, a full studio, full sound, full lighting.
498
00:24:45.529 --> 00:24:46.950
And if you go there and see.
499
00:24:46.809 --> 00:24:50.279
It at the vertical buzz.com, Just go at the vertical buzz,
500
00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:53.480
you go vertical buzz.com, wherever you want to find it. Um,
501
00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:56.740
we're on all platforms from a YouTube, go to the
502
00:24:56.779 --> 00:24:59.440
YouTube channel. All the episodes are up there. Uh, we
503
00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.079
have an episode that comes out every week, but what
504
00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:05.619
on Thursdays, by the way. Um, but what, what, but
505
00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:07.759
so I decided that I wanted to do this premium
506
00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.200
podcast and then it took me probably another eight months,
507
00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:13.519
nine months to find the money. And once I found
508
00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:17.119
the money, we shot a few episodes and, The investor said, yeah,
509
00:25:17.140 --> 00:25:17.900
let's give it a go.
510
00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:18.619
Let's do this.
511
00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:20.859
So the next thing you know, I shot my first
512
00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:25.970
season and now we're halfway through season three of this show.
513
00:25:25.970 --> 00:25:27.069
And we're just flying.
514
00:25:27.589 --> 00:25:30.490
But what's happened along the way is that, and I
515
00:25:30.529 --> 00:25:33.390
talked about this very early on, that I also didn't
516
00:25:33.430 --> 00:25:36.730
want to be a podcast that just talked about vertical
517
00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:41.289
filmmaking because vertical entertainment is is more what I really
518
00:25:41.329 --> 00:25:44.130
zero in on because there is more to vertical than
519
00:25:44.190 --> 00:25:48.750
just filmmaking. Filmmaking is definitely a lane for vertical film
520
00:25:48.769 --> 00:25:51.529
because you're watching a lot of films. There's over 300
521
00:25:51.529 --> 00:25:53.390
apps now that show these films.
522
00:25:54.829 --> 00:25:55.619
Of vertical films.
523
00:25:56.410 --> 00:26:01.180
But vertical entertainment is really what has taken over. Everything
524
00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:06.700
from branding to to sports, to, I mean, I've even
525
00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:08.380
got a guy coming on my show in a week
526
00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:12.759
that's going to talk about where the political campaigns have
527
00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:18.049
gone in this year and moving forward. Going forward, political campaigns,
528
00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:20.869
all those campaigning dollars are going to come right here
529
00:26:21.509 --> 00:26:23.369
so that they're not going to be fighting for those
530
00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:26.109
30-second spots on TV anymore. They're going to be fighting
531
00:26:26.150 --> 00:26:30.380
for time and watchability on your phone. because all that
532
00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:33.089
campaign money is gonna go here. Because this is where
533
00:26:33.130 --> 00:26:37.109
people watch films. As I say all the time, I go,
534
00:26:37.410 --> 00:26:42.950
this screen, this is the biggest screen in entertainment today
535
00:26:42.990 --> 00:26:49.190
is right here. There's one screen, 450 billion people watching
536
00:26:49.390 --> 00:26:53.559
this screen every day, all day. And so this is
537
00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:56.779
where people watch everything. And this is where they will
538
00:26:56.819 --> 00:27:00.730
continue to watch everything. So that was kind of the
539
00:27:01.250 --> 00:27:04.309
start of the vertical buzz was just understand we started
540
00:27:04.349 --> 00:27:07.970
with vertical filmmaking, but I have actually, I still talk
541
00:27:07.990 --> 00:27:10.059
to actors. I still talk to a lot of vertical
542
00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:12.579
filmmakers and that is the bread and butter of what
543
00:27:12.619 --> 00:27:16.380
the vertical buzz is all about. But as the vertical
544
00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:19.920
format continues to get bigger and bigger and bigger, what
545
00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:23.950
is happening is that vertical entertainment is creating a.
546
00:27:24.069 --> 00:27:28.109
New language, literally a new language in media.
547
00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.779
That's what's happening and if you look at it that
548
00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:34.140
way it's what it's done it's not competing with.
549
00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:36.599
Anything to do with horizontal film and when.
550
00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:38.880
We talk about that you guys anybody out there listening
551
00:27:39.220 --> 00:27:41.339
this is what your horizontal film would look like if
552
00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:43.000
you're watching on your phone you know how you have
553
00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:45.140
to turn it like this and you don't turn it
554
00:27:45.180 --> 00:27:47.289
like this so this is that this is what it
555
00:27:47.309 --> 00:27:49.369
looks like if it's horizontal this is what it looks
556
00:27:49.410 --> 00:27:54.079
like if it's vertical So anybody that's watching anything on
557
00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:56.619
your phone is just going to get bigger and bigger
558
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:58.710
and bigger and stronger every single day.
559
00:27:59.029 --> 00:28:01.950
And that's the new language of what entertainment is all about.
560
00:28:02.950 --> 00:28:06.740
And that's incredible, too. The thing is, it's going to
561
00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:09.339
be interesting to see everybody fight for vertical space. It's
562
00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:10.640
going to be very interesting.
563
00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:13.940
Jake, let me tell you one that's right in your backyard.
564
00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:17.450
The Kansas City Chiefs. Okay? Are they not your favorite
565
00:28:17.470 --> 00:28:18.630
football team? Probably.
566
00:28:18.650 --> 00:28:19.339
Absolutely they are.
567
00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.359
Of course they are. So the Kansas City Chiefs just
568
00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:27.109
finished doing a microdrama series. And it's called Off Season.
569
00:28:27.910 --> 00:28:30.000
And they are about to do two or three more
570
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:32.720
where they did these little, and this is becoming very
571
00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:37.779
popular on the corporate level. Crocs did it. Maybelline did it.
572
00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:40.539
Chipotle did it. And they're all starting to do these
573
00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:44.460
little series that are more about telling stories than it
574
00:28:44.529 --> 00:28:48.910
is about pushing your product. So it's very subtle in
575
00:28:48.970 --> 00:28:52.109
talking about your product, but it's very prominent in being
576
00:28:52.150 --> 00:28:55.309
able to tell a story. so that it's capturing your imagination.
577
00:28:55.690 --> 00:28:59.019
So like on the Chipotle one, what they did was,
578
00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:01.779
it's about a bunch of guys laying around on a
579
00:29:01.819 --> 00:29:04.279
Friday night. They've all been out having a few drinks
580
00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:06.359
and they all decide to come home and they go, hey,
581
00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:09.859
we're hungry. Let's go get something to eat or let's
582
00:29:09.940 --> 00:29:12.549
order in some Chipotle. And they ordered that Chipotle in
583
00:29:12.589 --> 00:29:15.190
and they're just, it's basically, it's almost like a Seinfeld
584
00:29:15.230 --> 00:29:18.990
thing where they're just having a good time talking about nothing,
585
00:29:19.609 --> 00:29:23.079
but they're eating Chipotle and that's the ad, but it's
586
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:25.259
not looking like an ad. It's looking more like a
587
00:29:25.339 --> 00:29:29.059
fun story. So that's a lot of the transition that's
588
00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:32.680
starting to happen with vertical branding. So this is now
589
00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:36.109
being called vertical branding and that is becoming bigger and bigger.
590
00:29:36.549 --> 00:29:38.029
I just spoke to the.
591
00:29:37.990 --> 00:29:39.890
Guy and I'm knocking on wood that I'm going to
592
00:29:39.910 --> 00:29:42.250
get him on, General Mills, okay?
593
00:29:42.430 --> 00:29:43.529
Your favorite cereals.
594
00:29:44.230 --> 00:29:44.910
Absolutely.
595
00:29:44.990 --> 00:29:47.089
Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, the whole world.
596
00:29:48.309 --> 00:29:52.200
They just have brought on and created an entirely in-house
597
00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:55.599
production team that is going to be creating all their
598
00:29:55.660 --> 00:29:58.740
brand content in-house, and they're all going to be doing
599
00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.799
it vertically. So they're going to be just starting to
600
00:30:00.839 --> 00:30:05.680
tell stories about Cheerios. And because General Mills and Pillsbury
601
00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:08.240
are one company now. So they're going to do an
602
00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:13.640
entire micro-drama series using the Pillsbury Doughboy as their main character.
603
00:30:14.450 --> 00:30:17.789
So think about that. Think about what the branding content
604
00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:22.019
could be for basically any company. And that's what it is,
605
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:26.799
is that the companies in the corporate America is understanding
606
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:31.960
that that phone is in everybody's hand every day, all day.
607
00:30:32.339 --> 00:30:35.000
And that's where they need to communicate.
608
00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:38.849
So the communication through the vertical effort, and I know
609
00:30:38.869 --> 00:30:41.190
we just call it vertical, but it is the phone
610
00:30:41.230 --> 00:30:46.890
screen is that next language of communications. Wow.
611
00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:51.049
That's incredible. That's incredible. I didn't like the thing is
612
00:30:51.069 --> 00:30:53.549
I am picturing Seinfeld and Chipotle.
613
00:30:53.670 --> 00:30:57.430
I'm like, but think about that.
614
00:30:57.529 --> 00:31:00.329
I mean, it is, it's such a, it's a wonderful
615
00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:02.579
phenomenon to know that it's going.
616
00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:03.339
There and it is.
617
00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:05.740
And the other side of it is, is that Hollywood
618
00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:10.849
just back up here, Hollywood is, fights this every single
619
00:31:10.910 --> 00:31:13.829
day they are in they are still believing that they're
620
00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:15.950
in the old school and that they're going to do
621
00:31:15.970 --> 00:31:18.220
this and they're going to do that i just had
622
00:31:18.279 --> 00:31:19.019
on my show i had a.
623
00:31:19.019 --> 00:31:21.059
Guy on that by the name of larry namer do
624
00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:24.180
you know that name the name sounds familiar.
625
00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:27.319
Okay well larry namer started e entertainment and we're all
626
00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:30.369
familiar with the entertainment he's the guy that started that
627
00:31:30.849 --> 00:31:33.150
so we know what that is you know uh what
628
00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:35.369
did he what was that big show that he did
629
00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:38.369
with um What's that guy, that actor's name?
630
00:31:38.869 --> 00:31:39.289
Kinnear.
631
00:31:41.190 --> 00:31:42.690
Greg Kinnear? Oh, Soup. Yeah, Greg.
632
00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:45.279
Yeah, Greg. Soup. Yeah, that's Soup. Soup Talk.
633
00:31:45.299 --> 00:31:47.079
Because that was Joe Mahal's baby afterwards.
634
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:49.759
Yeah. So Talk Soup, and that went on for years.
635
00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:50.960
That's all Larry Namer.
636
00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:54.240
And Larry Namer, if you go back through his history,
637
00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:55.880
he's always been a leader.
638
00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:57.220
He's always been a visionary.
639
00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:00.930
He's always kind of been out in front of most things.
640
00:32:01.230 --> 00:32:03.769
I just had him on my show because he's also
641
00:32:03.829 --> 00:32:07.960
jumped into Vertical Entertainment. He's launched his own network called
642
00:32:08.059 --> 00:32:14.440
Verza TV, V-E-R-Z-A or something, Verza TV. Anyway, he came
643
00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:18.519
on and his comments were very, he's a very outspoken
644
00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:21.710
guy and doesn't hold back. And what he basically said was,
645
00:32:21.750 --> 00:32:24.309
he goes, look, the difference is the people that are
646
00:32:24.349 --> 00:32:30.069
creating vertical content and vertical entertainment today, they're listening to
647
00:32:30.089 --> 00:32:33.009
their audience. The audience is telling them what to do
648
00:32:33.529 --> 00:32:37.509
and they're doing it. The problem with Hollywood is that
649
00:32:37.549 --> 00:32:42.150
they continually have basically their head up their, you know what,
650
00:32:42.490 --> 00:32:44.170
head up their ass, and they.
651
00:32:44.049 --> 00:32:46.190
Don't listen to the audience. They think that they can
652
00:32:46.230 --> 00:32:49.349
tell the audience what they're going to watch. And that's
653
00:32:49.849 --> 00:32:50.849
a lot of the problem.
654
00:32:51.309 --> 00:32:54.710
Because if you're not listening to your audience today, you're
655
00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:57.480
not going to get ahead. Because it's one thing he said,
656
00:32:57.519 --> 00:32:59.839
it's one thing that I always did at E! Entertainment,
657
00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:03.940
is I listened to what my audience wanted. And I
658
00:33:04.299 --> 00:33:08.240
gave them what they wanted. Hence, they became my consumer
659
00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:10.309
and they became my listener.
660
00:33:10.849 --> 00:33:11.809
Because if you.
661
00:33:11.690 --> 00:33:16.549
Try to force something down a consumer's throat, they're not
662
00:33:16.569 --> 00:33:21.589
going to respond. Not anymore, because there's just too many options.
663
00:33:22.210 --> 00:33:24.470
There's so many more options that they can turn to.
664
00:33:25.180 --> 00:33:27.299
So you have to listen, listen to your audience. That
665
00:33:27.339 --> 00:33:28.339
was his basic message.
666
00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:31.710
That's incredible. That's incredible. And the thing is, you've also
667
00:33:31.730 --> 00:33:34.869
had some incredible guests for just a short while. Some
668
00:33:34.950 --> 00:33:38.690
of your long-form interviews have been really booming. And I
669
00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:40.299
picked out a four of them because we're going to
670
00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:41.920
be talking about all day, and I don't think 120,
671
00:33:41.900 --> 00:33:44.619
and I don't think two hours is, we're not ready
672
00:33:44.660 --> 00:33:46.220
for that conversation level just yet.
673
00:33:48.140 --> 00:33:50.420
No, but some of, I mean, I do know that
674
00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:52.359
my actor, I mean, when I have the actors on
675
00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:54.680
from the vertical world, that's when I get spikes on
676
00:33:54.700 --> 00:33:54.920
my episode.
677
00:33:55.019 --> 00:33:58.970
Absolutely. I'm like looking at Jackson Tiller, then Chase Madsen,
678
00:33:59.049 --> 00:34:05.210
Noah Fernley, seven, as of this recording, guys, 7.5, 7.5K, 7,500
679
00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:08.849
views on YouTube. And it was published August 13th, so
680
00:34:08.889 --> 00:34:11.469
almost a month ago. Then followed by Chase Madsen, 9,000
681
00:34:11.469 --> 00:34:18.250
in July, 9,000. And then Noah Fernley, had 19,000, your
682
00:34:18.289 --> 00:34:20.610
most viewed podcast.
683
00:34:20.710 --> 00:34:22.869
Right. And you know who Noah Fernley is.
684
00:34:22.989 --> 00:34:25.469
Noah Fernley is one of the highest, one of the
685
00:34:25.510 --> 00:34:31.349
bigger actors in Vertical. However, he's also crossed over into
686
00:34:31.369 --> 00:34:34.150
the horizontal world, because we call it now horizontal and vertical,
687
00:34:34.550 --> 00:34:37.949
but he became a big Ryan Murphy guy. And he
688
00:34:38.030 --> 00:34:39.690
was in that series called.
689
00:34:40.809 --> 00:34:43.719
JFK, the JFK.
690
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:47.599
Story with Carolyn Bessette, the JFK Carolyn Bessette story. He
691
00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:51.980
played Michael Bergen, the boyfriend of Carolyn Bessette before she
692
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:52.739
met JFK.
693
00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:54.360
And that series just ended.
694
00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:57.320
And now Noah has just gone on to do two
695
00:34:57.380 --> 00:35:01.280
more series with Ryan Murphy. So he's, he, that guy
696
00:35:01.320 --> 00:35:02.900
is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.
697
00:35:02.980 --> 00:35:03.960
He will explode.
698
00:35:04.619 --> 00:35:08.239
And Ryan Murphy has done wonders with people.
699
00:35:08.280 --> 00:35:08.539
Yes.
700
00:35:09.260 --> 00:35:13.250
Leah Michelle, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley are some of the big,
701
00:35:13.550 --> 00:35:15.929
I remember them from Glee. And then of course you
702
00:35:15.949 --> 00:35:19.789
have Emma Roberts and, and oh my God, I blanked
703
00:35:19.849 --> 00:35:22.429
on her name. She was part of, she's part of
704
00:35:22.449 --> 00:35:26.929
the coven. She is, she's really good. She plays one
705
00:35:26.989 --> 00:35:28.780
of the head witches. I can't remember her name.
706
00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:32.260
Can't remember. But yes, it's a real honor to work
707
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:33.420
with Ryan Murphy on his shows.
708
00:35:33.460 --> 00:35:35.119
Absolutely, yes, absolutely.
709
00:35:35.260 --> 00:35:38.679
And once you're, it's like being part of Taylor Sheridan's library.
710
00:35:38.699 --> 00:35:40.000
You know, once you get into that.
711
00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:41.380
Or Shondaland.
712
00:35:41.860 --> 00:35:43.739
Or Shondaland. I mean, that too.
713
00:35:43.820 --> 00:35:46.250
So there's, once you get in with somebody like that,
714
00:35:46.309 --> 00:35:48.510
you really, you're really going to explode.
715
00:35:48.570 --> 00:35:50.889
Your career is going to do just fine. Alrighty.
716
00:35:50.929 --> 00:35:52.730
Have you thought about any of your dream guests?
717
00:35:53.650 --> 00:35:56.369
Oh my gosh. My dream guests. Yeah.
718
00:35:56.469 --> 00:35:56.690
Yeah.
719
00:35:57.590 --> 00:35:59.500
I want to have Mark Cuban on. That would be
720
00:35:59.579 --> 00:36:00.380
one of my main guests.
721
00:36:00.739 --> 00:36:05.360
Because he's just launched an entire micro sports group that's
722
00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:09.340
going to do vertical sports on your phone. So I'd
723
00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:12.309
love to have Mark Cuban on. Who did I write
724
00:36:12.329 --> 00:36:13.510
down here to be one of my other ones?
725
00:36:14.190 --> 00:36:18.730
Oh, Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow just launched.
726
00:36:18.750 --> 00:36:22.940
He's part of a group that launched an entire faith-based
727
00:36:23.699 --> 00:36:26.550
vertical network. So you can imagine, I mean, that's almost
728
00:36:26.590 --> 00:36:29.250
like Hallmark. So that's going to be unbelievable what he
729
00:36:29.269 --> 00:36:31.070
does with that one. That one is supposed.
730
00:36:30.829 --> 00:36:34.230
To be really big. We've all seen what Hallmark has done.
731
00:36:34.269 --> 00:36:37.719
And by the way, Hallmark is the Kansas City project.
732
00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:39.500
Yes, they are. Yes, they are.
733
00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:40.079
For Hallmark.
734
00:36:40.599 --> 00:36:41.199
Yes.
735
00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:44.179
Listen, I used to, back in my sales and marketing days,
736
00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:44.820
I used to.
737
00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:47.320
Call on, do you remember Hall's department store?
738
00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:50.010
Oh, yes, absolutely. Hall's is still standing crown center.
739
00:36:50.610 --> 00:36:50.809
Yep.
740
00:36:50.969 --> 00:36:52.960
Well, I used to call on halls when I would
741
00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:54.920
come to Kansas City. That's what I used to do
742
00:36:55.780 --> 00:36:59.079
back in the day. But Hallmark, I mean, Tim Tebow,
743
00:37:00.349 --> 00:37:04.030
my biggest dreams are to interview these guys that are
744
00:37:04.070 --> 00:37:08.860
at the forefront of this entire vertical entertainment world. So
745
00:37:08.980 --> 00:37:11.440
anybody that's in that genre, I want to meet with
746
00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:13.500
the Kansas City Chiefs. I want to meet with the
747
00:37:13.539 --> 00:37:16.010
person that put that whole thing together. And I finally
748
00:37:16.070 --> 00:37:19.030
tracked the guy down. So I'm working on making that happen.
749
00:37:19.469 --> 00:37:21.469
So we'll get there.
750
00:37:22.050 --> 00:37:24.789
Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed for you, Buzz. All right. So
751
00:37:24.829 --> 00:37:29.130
we got to wind down our conversation. So, Buzz. Where
752
00:37:29.170 --> 00:37:32.710
can my audience connect with you on social media? And also,
753
00:37:32.969 --> 00:37:36.309
more importantly, where can they find The Vertical Buzz?
754
00:37:36.769 --> 00:37:39.579
All right. Well, they can find me personally on social media.
755
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:47.179
My Instagram is at buzz, B-U-Z-Z underscore leer, L-E-E-R. That's
756
00:37:47.340 --> 00:37:51.969
at buzz, B-U-Z-Z underscore L-E-E-R. The Vertical Buzz is simply
757
00:37:52.210 --> 00:37:55.590
at The Vertical Buzz. And that's on all social media platforms,
758
00:37:55.630 --> 00:37:59.949
whether you're on Instagram, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, anywhere. It's at
759
00:38:00.269 --> 00:38:03.329
The Vertical Buzz. You can find us there. So check
760
00:38:03.369 --> 00:38:07.010
us out. Brand new show every Thursday. This Thursday we've
761
00:38:07.050 --> 00:38:09.130
got– well, I don't know when your show is.
762
00:38:09.090 --> 00:38:09.489
Going to air.
763
00:38:10.909 --> 00:38:13.849
But every Thursday there's a brand new episode of The
764
00:38:13.889 --> 00:38:17.489
Vertical Buzz. We're about halfway through season three. The things
765
00:38:17.510 --> 00:38:19.489
that are coming up for season four are going to
766
00:38:19.530 --> 00:38:20.780
be absolutely.
767
00:38:20.429 --> 00:38:24.599
Over the top. Incredible. I'm very excited about where we're going.
768
00:38:25.019 --> 00:38:28.320
And in addition to this, I've also where we've also
769
00:38:28.420 --> 00:38:29.579
expanded the vertical buzz.
770
00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:31.900
I've been doing many, many, many red carpets.
771
00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:34.239
I'm now going on to the red carpets and interviewing
772
00:38:34.280 --> 00:38:37.179
people as the vertical buzz. Just finished doing my very
773
00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:38.280
first verticon.
774
00:38:38.699 --> 00:38:39.300
How do you like that?
775
00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:42.340
There's a new vertical.
776
00:38:42.889 --> 00:38:46.050
Verticon just happened in LA. Uh, we've got a big, uh,
777
00:38:46.090 --> 00:38:50.150
the first ever vertical film festival is happening in New
778
00:38:50.190 --> 00:38:54.280
York city in October. It's called all the film festival.
779
00:38:54.579 --> 00:38:58.079
And the guy that launched that festival, um, was the
780
00:38:58.119 --> 00:39:01.460
former COO of the Tribeca Film Festival.
781
00:39:01.019 --> 00:39:01.960
For 18 years.
782
00:39:02.409 --> 00:39:05.710
And now he's launched his own vertical film festival and
783
00:39:05.769 --> 00:39:08.650
it is going to be spectacular. And the Vertical Buzz
784
00:39:09.210 --> 00:39:12.349
is the official media sponsor for that event.
785
00:39:12.670 --> 00:39:14.010
And we're really excited about that.
786
00:39:14.329 --> 00:39:18.269
And then there's an international micro drama market happening in India.
787
00:39:18.789 --> 00:39:23.119
in January of 27. So, Jake, stay on top of
788
00:39:23.159 --> 00:39:26.050
this because this is going to get bigger and bigger
789
00:39:26.139 --> 00:39:29.150
and bigger as we grow. The actual estimate for vertical,
790
00:39:29.289 --> 00:39:32.280
just vertical 3%, this year, is that the vertical film
791
00:39:32.300 --> 00:39:35.360
world will generate close to $ 150 billion.
792
00:39:35.429 --> 00:39:40.030
Wow. This year. That's how big that industry is getting.
793
00:39:40.429 --> 00:39:44.929
And still, nobody in Hollywood is really grasping it and going, oh, yeah.
794
00:39:44.949 --> 00:39:51.980
Let's do this. Absolutely, absolutely. It's going to get interesting. Absolutely.
795
00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:56.239
And I cannot wait to see how you evolve over this.
796
00:39:56.260 --> 00:39:59.559
So please come back. However, guys, before we go, I
797
00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:02.000
want to say this. If you missed an episode of
798
00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:04.550
the Jake's Take with Jacob Ellington podcast, visit our channels
799
00:40:04.590 --> 00:40:09.250
on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and Spreaker. Jake's
800
00:40:09.269 --> 00:40:14.380
Take with Jacob Ellington, J-A-K-E-L-L-Y-A-C-H-A-R. Now, are you on social media?
801
00:40:14.500 --> 00:40:16.900
I'm on social media too. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter
802
00:40:16.940 --> 00:40:22.659
and YouTube. Jacob Elishar, J-A-C-O-B-E-L-Y-A-C-H-A-R. Now, but head to the
803
00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:27.440
reason why we're celebrating 15 years in the entertainment industry. jakes-chick.com.
804
00:40:27.500 --> 00:40:31.159
Once again, jakes-chick.com. And I want to say a huge
805
00:40:31.219 --> 00:40:33.300
shout out to my friends at the Greater Kansas City
806
00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:36.119
Chamber of Commerce for naming me and Jake's Take with
807
00:40:36.139 --> 00:40:39.909
Jacob Elishar a small business superstar for 2026. It means
808
00:40:39.949 --> 00:40:44.000
the world to me to be recognized by my hometown. Buzz,
809
00:40:44.179 --> 00:40:47.360
this was a pleasure meeting you. You are going to
810
00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:50.820
be our important person when it comes to the vertical,
811
00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:53.219
keeping an eye on the vertical world. So I cannot
812
00:40:53.260 --> 00:40:56.449
wait as the vertical world evolves and how you guys,
813
00:40:56.690 --> 00:40:58.429
you grow as a content creator.
814
00:40:59.449 --> 00:41:02.110
Great, Jake. Anytime you need anything, give me a shout, man.
815
00:41:03.250 --> 00:41:06.969
Happy to talk. I love talking this world. It's great. Absolutely.
816
00:41:07.010 --> 00:41:09.719
And guys, thank you so much for watching. Thank you
817
00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:18.530
so much for listening. Until next time. Have a great one, everybody. Goodbye.