Jason Stuart TALKS ‘Redlining’, Stand-Up Comedy, & SAG-AFTRA LGBTQ Committee | JTWJE 437

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Hello, Hello everyone, and welcome back to the latest edition
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of the Jake's Take with Jacob Alushar podcast. I'm your
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host Jacob ali Shar, the chief content producer and writer
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of jakes Take dot com, a pop culture entertainment news website.
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If you're watching us on YouTube, please give us a
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thumbs up and please subscribe now are If you're listening
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to us on any of our audio platforms, please leave
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us a five star rating and consider downloading this episode
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and over four hundred and thirty episodes. I am thrilled
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to welcome my guest on my right. He is an actor, comedian,
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LGBTQ plus activist. He's the National coachure of the Sad
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After LGBTQ Committee, which he co founded back in two
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thousand and four. He has over one hundred and seventy
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one IMDb appearances and has performed over ten thousand stand
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up shows. And he has new film out that he
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acted and produced, director, and co wrote co wrote, called Redlining,
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which focuses on generational wealth. Please help me welcome Jason
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Seward to the podcast.
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God, it sounds like so many more people are here
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than just you and me.
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Jason is such an honor to have you here.
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Thank you. That's very sweet to you to say I
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don't have It's.
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Not often I have somebody of your caliber here. So
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I want to say thank you so much for taking
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time on your schedule to talk with me today.
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I really appreciate it. Well, tell me what made you
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want to interview me? What was the impudence? I'm always curious.
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When I saw your resume and saw the people you
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worked with and the stuff that you've done for the
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entertainment industry, I really wanted to speak with you about that.
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Oh gosh, when you say it in introducing me, I think, God,
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that guy sounds interesting. Who is he?
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You've done a lot of incredible work, Jason, So it
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would be I'm very blessed that you're here and very
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grateful to talk with you.
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Well, you're very sweet, and I know, I gotta know
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where are you? What's behind you? Is that a window
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or door? Where are you?
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That is a door that leads out to the leads
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up to my apartments at patio. Oh wow, Kansas.
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Oh oh you're in Kansas. Oh my god, Kansas, Missouri.
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Kansas City, Kansas. Actually, oh I worked there.
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Too, Yes, Kansas City, Camp I work the Funny Bones
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in the day.
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Yeah, it's they're really gread. I was actually over at
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the Funny at a Funny Bone earlier this year, twice
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this year to see Mody and Drew Lynch from America's
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Got Talent.
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Oh wonderful, wonderful, both very funny comedians.
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Absolutely Jason. So, Jason, when did you get interested in
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performing and how did that passion evolve into desire to
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pursue a career entertainment.
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I must have been a baby boy, eight or nine
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years old, and I started doing things in the Jewish temple,
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and I started doing community theater, and I just wanted
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to be on stage. I think I think it was
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a way to find myself, to be liked by other kids,
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and I was obsessed with I love Lucy and I
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remember her being so funny. And it seemed like my
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mom and Decks. My father was Polish seating an accent,
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and my mom was sort of KOOKI crazy. So it
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seemed like our lifestyle was being repeated on television. And
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what's funny is I had no idea it was in
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black and white because I watched the repeat. Certainly, I
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wasn't alive when it started, so I didn't even know
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that it was you know that she had red hair.
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It didn't make any sense to me when they started
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showing color photos of her. Oh my god. You know
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when I watched The Lucy Show and here's Lucy, and
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I was so obsessed with that. I thought, I loved
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the comedy. I love the character of the character. Comedy
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of it is what I really like. And then I
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fell in love with Dustin Hoffmann and I wanted to
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be like him, and I wanted to be and be
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able to do play you know, Rats o'rizzo and Midnight Cowboy,
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and then the next thing is to play Lenny Bruce
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and Lenny. And then he did Agatha and he played
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that guy, and then he played Kramer versus Kramer, and
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then Tutsie and then Wag the Dog and Meet the
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Fuckers and even the new one I just saw. He
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did a film called Tuner where he's so funny and
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charming and wonderful in it. He's like eighty eight or
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in eighty nine, and he's still doing stuff, which I love.
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That's right.
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I just wanted to play different characters, and I fell
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in love with the work. I just fell in love
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with it to my demise, I.
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Gotta say this. I love Lucia Ball. She's one of
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my only time favorites. That however, also for me because
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I was growing up in the nineties, there's one incredible
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woman who made me laugh so hard. Brand Rusher and
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then Nanny.
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Oh I'm trash only once said an award thing where
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she was getting an award. Duncan Crab to Ireland, who's
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the CEO of sag Aftra, who also co created the
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LGBTQ Committee with me, and invited me to this dinner.
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I met her for two seconds, but I actually met
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her years and years ago through David Bow, an actor,
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and we all went to a movie in Westwood and
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I got to hang out with her before she was
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even famous. So I don't remember how that came down,
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but I remember thinking, God, this gal is really interesting
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and different and I love seeing her and Marty Supreme
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playing as mom recently. She was just terrific to see
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her doing something dramatic and we're all not one trick ponies,
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which I really.
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Love absolutely absolutely, and Balie and me, I've definitely done
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a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff. I've done
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a lot of the I was in theater from fifth
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grade to twelfth grade. Yeah, I was in Yeah, I
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was elementary school, elementary, middle, high school actor. I did
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everything from playing the Rabbi and Fiddler on the roof
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in middle school all the way to playing an officer
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in Hello Dolly in middle school to playing a slave
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and the funny thing happened on the way to the Forum,
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to playing a salesman that had a monologue in working
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my junior year.
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So you you sing also, then? How great? Yeah?
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Now I can sing karaoke. I I definite the performing
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arts has But another woman that has played a role
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in my life is just the same woman that actually
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you said saved your life, because for years you mentioned
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that the legendary Barbara Streis sense performance in the musical
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Funny Girls saved your life.
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On a beach.
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Oh my god, I am so sorry, miss Strisand I
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am so sorry, Sad. I remember, yeah, miss Streisand And
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what were some of the lessons that you learned from
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watching stress and that helped.
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You unapologetic about who you are? She was unapologetic, She
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never made an excuse. And I think that's you know,
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with that whole huha with Leah Michelle and Beanie Feldman
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playing Fanny Bryce, and what was so in fact the
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first Beanie Feldman is a wonderful actress. If you saw
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her play Monica Lewinsky, she was brilliant, and so many
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smart books and so many other things that she's done.
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She's just a brilliant actor. But in Funny Girl, playing
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Fanny Bryce, you have to play that part as if
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you're completely unapologetic about who you are, you can't be.
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It's not a sweet, nice gal. It's somebody who had
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to work hard for what she got. And when I
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remember reading her book, which I have on my shelf
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over there, what I thought, Oh, i'm reading the book.
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It's going to be everything I know everything about her.
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It's just going to be a rehash. But I still
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want to read it. And of course what I learned
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was it wasn't at all. It was all about anti
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semitism and a lot about sexism. Being one of the
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biggest movie stars and singers in the whole world in
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the seventies and eighties and early nineties, that and how
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she was treated. And then I really related to that
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as a gay man and as a Jew in my
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own business. Two of the I guess they always say
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that Jews and gays run the business, right, Well, we do,
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but we also you can't see us coming because we
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don't necessarily look. There isn't a trait that you're going
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to see physically to us. And also at the same time,
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there's a lot of self hate in a lot of
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our people. Not everybody, but there is a lot. So
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I was able to connect to that a lot because
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that's the way I grew up and through my journey
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of course letting that go and learning a lot of
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that through her. In a way, she just was genuinely
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herself and that's you know, being the son of a
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Holocaust survivor, being the son of a woman who was
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my mom, who was so dirt poor, and understanding what
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it was to not be naturally treated equally. And that's
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something that I've wrestled with my whole life and something
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that you think to yourself, why did I buy that
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so much? You know, because you don't realize it. You
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treat yourself as a second class citizen. People would say, no,
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you can't play a plantation on it. No, you can't
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play a detective. Now, you can't play a certain kind
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of a doctor. You can't do this, you can't do that,
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And I was told that all the time, Oh, you're
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not writer. We want people that are really more like this,
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you know of the TV version of those things. If
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you watch like some of these shows, like there's a
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certain kind of look for people that they like. And
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you know, my favorite actor is Dustin Hoffman, Paul Giamani, Phillips, Seymour, Hoffman,
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Morgan Freeman, will be Goldberg, Marean Stapleton, Geraldine Page, Lee Grant,
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all these great character actors. That's why I want to
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be and that's why I made Redlining so I could
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play a character I wanted to play. People always say that,
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do you won't care about playing other gay parts? I
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said no, and I wanted to play a completely different
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gay man that I'd ever played before I played. I
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did a film, a little film called Hank, where I
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played a guy who was in a relationship with another man,
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but the other man wanted it to be open and
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he was a guy that didn't have a voice. And
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when I worked on the part, I realized, kind of,
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I'm talking too much. He has too much dialogue. So
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I asked the director if I could cut some things,
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and he said, you're the only actor I've ever asked
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me to cut lines. And I said, well, yeah, because
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I can act this, you don't have to see it
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or rather hear it. I can act it. You can
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see it rather than hear it. And then when I
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started writing Redlining, I wanted to create a character that
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didn't have a voice and somebody from it. And when
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I had made Birth of a Nation, shooting in Savannah,
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Georgia made such a big impression on me. Also I
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had worked there as a stand up and I remember
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once I went on stage in the early days of
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me coming out, and a whole group of debutantes were
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there celebrating, and the minute I came on stage and
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said my first joke, they all walked out, with like
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fifteen or twenty people walked out. And that was really
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left an impression upon me about how people are treated
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differently and not given a chance. And I create a
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character who didn't have a voice, And then I wanted
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to do something about the idea of where people get
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to live and this whole jerrymandering that's going on, and
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the idea of women who didn't have a choice, and
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I had to marry somebody who they really weren't attracted to.
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But it was thinking that I had to be married
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at a certain age, and also the idea of how
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black people are treated in this country. I was in
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one of my first loves. My second love was a
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black man that I lived with for a couple of
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number of years. And I remember once we were going
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to we were in my car, were driving and we
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were going to do I said, I want to do
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laundry today. I said, can you just jump out of
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the car and get some quarters from this liquor store
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which is down the block where I live. And he says,
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he said, honey, they're not going to let me. I said,
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what are you talking about. I go there all the time.
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That's my liquor store. They know me. He said, let
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me go in and then you go in. We'll see
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what happens. He walks in, they didn't give him the change.
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I walk in, They gave me the change. I said,
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that's my boyfriend. What's up with this? You know? And
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a lesson was learned by me and by the guy
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who ran the liquor store, who never did that again.
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And those micro aggressions that are done to black people
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in this country and how choices are made. And if
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you watch the film, you see how the film evolved
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from the black parents to the black son, and how
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the black parents one is a housekeeper and one is
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a gardener with a black son. And the black cousin,
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she's a lawyer and he runs his own florist shop.
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We see how the progression of people. It starts in
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nineteen seventy four and ends in twenty fourteen, and it's
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about a black couple, say, a black family and a
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white family who live on the same property in the seventies,
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and when all the parents pass away, who gets the
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house and why? And it's about generational wealth, which is
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something that I think is the biggest problem in the country,
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is that we're all not able to have that American
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dream in the same way. And that's what made me
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want to make the movie. And I wrote it and
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then I asked my friend Lee Garlington, who plays my
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sister in the movie, who's a wonderfully brilliant actress and
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if you sorry Phase, you'd know her from a million things,
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and she co wrote it with me. And then I
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asked my friends to help me produce, and I asked
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my friends to be in it, and I got the
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most incredible team behind the scenes. And hold on, stay
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right there, wait, don't move alrighty, we just got this
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award in the mail right here.
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Oh, congratulates.
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Performances. And that was sort of cool because as an
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actor you want to get a best performance, and as
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a director of the piece, you know, I was involved
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in helping mold these performances with the actors, So this
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is sort of wonderful. It came from the Wild Sound Awards,
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which is the LGBTQ Toronto and Los Angeles online festival,
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so that was sort of cool.
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Congratulations, well done, Jason, Well done. And I agree a lot.
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There's a lot that too that you've just mentioned. I
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connect with being both Jewish and part of the LGBT
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community as well, and doing with a lot of dealing
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with a lot of that as well, dealing with all
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the issues that comes with.
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Money to say, are there Jews in Kansas?
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Yes? There are OI, It's incredible, This is incredible. This
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is the definite credble. I want to stay on redlining
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really quick, redlining really quickly. So how was this project
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similar or different to anything you've had in your career.
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It was much more involved. We had to we had
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three sets of actors playing the same role. We had
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three or four different years that we had to recreate.
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We had you know, through hair, makeup, clothes, set, and
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there's another festival. I can't mention it, but we got
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Best Production Design, Best Director, and Best Actress Alexander Paulk nominated.
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I can't say what the festival is or when it
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is or anything, but I'm not not to say anything
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where we found out we were nominated. But that was
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really very joyous to me because the idea that the
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aesthetics of the film told the story also is which
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is really important to me. I wanted the film to
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have the look of a Terrence McNally film. I don't
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think I succeeded totally, but it sort of veered to
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another to maybe a tender mercy isk or a little
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steel Magnolia's touch, you know, this kind of stuff, and
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I I've had some wonderful comments about the film, so
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that really touched my heart and people started. We're just
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starting our film festival run this summer, so it's taken
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a while to get everything going well.
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I definitely want to issue a love when it comes
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to redlining. And I really hope that this film. It
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sounds like this film is going to do a lot
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and from what from what I could see, well.
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Call someone, tell them.
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Absolutely, it's you guys have a lot to be proud of.
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And I think this is film is going to make
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a lot of noise.
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I'm in another film too that's playing on the twenty
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eighth of this month of the Dances with Film Festival
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called I Got Next, where I play a basketball coach
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to a kid with special needs as Williamson syndrome. You know,
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I play guy talks like that, Hey you kids, come on,
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you know I'm in this thing. And I play this
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sort of rough, rough kind of coach with a heart.
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I got that going on in another film called Blackwood,
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where I play that creepy guy that you think is
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the killer that's should say it's not. And I talk
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like this and I look at you, going to go, Jason,
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so you're Jewish? What's that? I never seen a jew before.
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I just want you to know though that you know
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we don't have any phone service. Oh boy, So I
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got to play this real cool part and that's going
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to be finished. That's the film is almost done too,
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and then I'm up for a couple of others and
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doing stand up and that kind of thing. That's end
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of it. Yeah. Is it nationally all over the country
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your show?
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Yeah, my podcast is various nationally internationally right now. You
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have over listeners from fifty five countries this year.
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Wow, Well just in this country. I'll be at the
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Laugh Factory in Long Beach on July second. I believe
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I think it's a second. Is it the second? Hold on, Matt,
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Maybe it's the third, No, July third, I'm sorry, on
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July third, and then on July July third, and then
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August twenty ninth, I'll be at the Ice House in Pasadena.
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And September I said, oh god, I can't remember, but
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I'm at my computer so I can just look.
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And while you're looking, while you're looking, I gotta say this.
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I what attracts me too.
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When oh, September, I'll go Colliente in Palm Springs. Anyway,
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go ahead, I'm.
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Sorry, I gotta say this. When I was looking at
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IMDb page, I was amazed of how many iconic shows
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you were On the Drew Carey show Murder, she wrote,
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everybody Hates Chris, George Lopez, House, My Biiting Kids, and
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Will and Race. So what were some of your favorite
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memories from the working on those shows.
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Well, I got to say the one that I love
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working on the most was The Closer with Cara Sedgwick.
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That show I loved because she was so into the
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work and it was a very It was a career
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turning point for me because I was no longer playing
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the fussy manager or the funny gay guy. I got
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to play guy talks like this and he's very somebody,
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very different. It was a guy that was sort of
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locked up behind this storage facility. He's the manager of it,
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and he's this guy that's you know, that guy that
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you see that's sort of excited that someone's actually talking
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to him. And it was a really great part. And
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I got to do that because of James Stuff and
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Adam bellin Off. Those two guys helped me get the part.
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The producers of the show, one of the show running
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the producers. So that was what And Kia Cedgric was
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just wonderful and she was so about the work and
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people say what was she like and I think, well,
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most of the time she had earplugs in because she
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was learning her lines constantly. And then I remember seeing
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her at an Emmy party and she I said, I
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don't know if you remember me. She said, of course
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I do. You're the guy that did your part, but
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but every time you did it, you were just a
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little different and it was fun to work with you.
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And I thought, wow, thank you. That was sort of cool.
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And I met her husband. He was there that day
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and he was showing the military guys around the set.
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Was so interesting because I think he was directing one
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of them the next week. And and I'm walking back
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from lunch to the set and I turn around. I go, oh,
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Kevin Bacon. He said yes, And I said, oh, oh
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my god, who are all those guys? I said, just
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just let you know I'm single.
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That's incredible. I gotta say this. Besides, besides, Kira said,
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but you've had a lot of super you said, shavored
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his screen, which several superstar in films as well, including JK.
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Simmons and Goliath and Athrone, Molina and John Livgow in
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Love is Strange. So what were some lessons that you
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learned from them?
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Well, you know, JK, we had just gotten back from COVID.
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It was like in twenty twenty two, I Think or something,
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and he was very nervous, as we all were. And
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it was supposed to take place, I think, at a
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big table in some sort of a big company in
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a conference room, and then they changed it to the
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character's house. It was we were like, it felt like
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we were a mile apart. It was just nerve wracking,
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and I forget I did my little part and I
400
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forgot the line and went, oh, forgive me, and he said, Jay,
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he's adjacent. You're there for one day. You're only here
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one day. Don't worry about it. Everyone forgets a line.
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And of course he was so sweet, but he was
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also very intimidating. And I played a character who was
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it was on the board of a company that makes
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all sorts of pills and stuff like Gillia or something,
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you know that kind of So when he and I
408
00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:06.200
was supposed to give this terribly bad information to him,
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and I knew that he was not going to like it.
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And I and Bruce dern Oscar nominee Bruce from Durn.
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He he plays my boss, and he comes over to
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me and calls me Charles, and then by his third
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take it was Charlie, you know, and he was he
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was like touching me and we were so friendly and
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he was very sweet. Guy told me all these great
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stories and we were doing the scene. He was very, uh,
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just so loose about everything. And that was something I
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had had learned in a long time, because I had
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not been on a set for two years because it
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was COVID and JK was sort of intimidating, So it
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was easy to play someone who was intimidate dated by
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someone who I knew was going to, you know, bite
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my head off, and which he did in the scene
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if you want, and you can see that on you
425
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can see all this stuff on my website. Jason Stewart
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dot Come s t U A. R. T.
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Alth Malina and John Lithgow are definitely be two actors. IV.
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God, God, oh God. I got to tell you I
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was so nervous because I played their friend who marries them.
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The officient it's about these two guys in New York.
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Irish Sacks, the brilliant filmmaker who I wanted to work
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with for years, directed the film and it was not
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just Fred Molina and not just John Lithgow. Marissaitomee, Harriet
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Harris Cheyenne Jackson. They were all there. So I have
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two pages of dialogue, our page and a half or whatever,
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and they have I do I do, Yes, Yes, that's it.
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They have one word to say, and I'm a nervous wreck,
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you know, in front of them. And you know, Tony Oscar, Oscar, Emmy, Tony,
439
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Tony nominee, Oscar, nominee, you know everything, Grammy everything. And
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I'm sitting here doing my little part. And I kept
441
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in touch. I've emailed on a couple of times, and
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he's written back. And I went to see him on
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Broadway and he had left afterwards, and I saw him
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in separate tables with Glenn Close and then he had
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left right after really quickly, and I said him a note.
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I said, you know, what a great job, and he
447
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was brilliant, and he said, thank you for so much
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for company. And we talked a couple of times. And
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then Fred Molina was doing The Father, the one that
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Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for. He was doing the
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play version of that at the Pasady in a playhouse,
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and I went to go see him in it, and
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I asked the what do you call the stage manager
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or the gal who gives out the programs I gave her.
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I asked her, I said, where can I find the
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stage door? And he goes, you know who you're looking for?
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I said, Fred Molina And she said, oh, okay, I
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know you know him. And she said, yeah, well I
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work with him on a film. Because she said I
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know you know him. I said, well why, she said,
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because you called him Fred, not Alfred. And he said
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to me when I met him, he said, whenever you
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talk about me, please, you know, use say Fred because
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that's what I like to be called. And he said,
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and that's why that's sort of been I shouldn't be
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saying this on a show because but he you know,
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and he was just lovely, just lovely. They were both lovely.
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And they're so tall, both of them. If you see
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a picture of me, said on the internet with them,
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it's all over the place. You see that. I'm like,
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I look tiny. I'm five to eleven. They're both like
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six something.
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Well, I'm five foot six, so I'm definitely tiny.
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Well, I'm sure there's are you have a boyfriend?
475
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No single right now?
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Well, I'm sure there's someone that would love a little
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ball of joy.
478
00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:46.640
Absolutely, Thank you so much, Chase, and I appreciate. I
479
00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:48.839
want to talk to you about I know you mentioned
480
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.559
earlier about the entertainment industry, but how have you overcome
481
00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:57.000
those obstacles, because having that kind of career, you must
482
00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:01.240
have overcame so many roadblocks and made your own doors.
483
00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:03.559
Still, now, it's age, you know, it's age. I'm a
484
00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:06.119
man of a certain age where and I keep looking
485
00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:07.960
at other people and going, oh my god, I could.
486
00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:12.720
Oh I'm no longer in my forties. Oh yeah, I'm
487
00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:19.920
not even forty nine, you know. So it's strange to
488
00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:22.759
get older and realize, oh, I'm not I Oh they're
489
00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:25.319
doing Streetcar. I've always wanted to play Mitch. Oh god,
490
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:30.759
it says twenty five or thirty. I'm not twenty five
491
00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:36.319
or thirty. So it's constantly reinventing yourself. It's constantly having
492
00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:39.480
the tools, it's constantly working on your craft. I mean,
493
00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:42.720
the last five years have been strictly independent films other
494
00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:46.839
than Goliath, and I did a commercial recently for AT
495
00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:50.240
and T with my mom called doom Scrolling, so that
496
00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:54.000
was sort of cool. I just keep showing up, just
497
00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:54.920
keep showing up.
498
00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:59.640
Absolutely. So one thing I want to talk to you
499
00:26:59.640 --> 00:27:03.559
about is how you co founded? Is that after LGBT
500
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:06.680
Committee and certain your time as the national coachure, So
501
00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:10.319
can you share any origin of the community's formation with
502
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:10.960
my audience.
503
00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:15.240
Well, Screen Actors Guild is where after American Federation and
504
00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:19.680
Television and Radio Artists are our union. And around twenty
505
00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:23.400
two years ago, around probably twenty five years ago, I
506
00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:29.240
started sending faxes to Melissa Gilbert and this guy Angel
507
00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:31.920
who was the head of the Diversity Committee, and nobody
508
00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:35.799
returned anything ever at all. And then I was in
509
00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:37.799
this movie called The Day Without a Mexican that was
510
00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:41.559
quite popular independent film where all the Mexicans disappear one
511
00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:44.279
day and what happens to Los Angeles. And it was
512
00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:48.440
a satirical comedy that did incredibly well, and they had
513
00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:51.119
sold it to another company which didn't pay residuals. So
514
00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:56.240
I kept calling the lawyer at SAG who was covering
515
00:27:56.279 --> 00:27:58.640
that film and trying to get us our residuals. And
516
00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:00.599
I said, Hey, let's go on. And then I get
517
00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.880
a call from Duncan Crabture, Ireland and he says, Jason,
518
00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:06.279
I'm the head legal counsel. He was, He wasn't the
519
00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.920
CEO at that time, and I'd liked I said, yeah, listen,
520
00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:10.839
we've been trying to get our residuals for that for
521
00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:12.559
like a year. What's going. He's a Jason. That's not
522
00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:14.920
why I'm calling, I know, but I wanted to he's
523
00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:17.680
a Jason. I want to make your committee into a committee.
524
00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:21.799
And I said what committee? Totally because I couldn't believe
525
00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:23.680
someone was calling me back and no one had called
526
00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:27.000
me back, and it was Four people were in the
527
00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:30.359
room at that time. Duncan Crabtree Island, a gay man
528
00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:35.839
who has five black children and he's married to another man. Sumihru,
529
00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:39.480
an Asian woman who is who was she's passed since
530
00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:46.880
God bless er. She was a host, journalist, Alan Rosenberg
531
00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:52.839
who was the president, Jewish man, and Anna Marie Johnson
532
00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:54.759
who is a actress who used to be on the
533
00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:56.640
Heat of the Night black woman. It took all those
534
00:28:56.680 --> 00:28:59.640
people of color, and all those people of gay and
535
00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:07.960
Bob and Asian and every benaton ad of people to
536
00:29:08.119 --> 00:29:11.160
get our committee going, And I thought, there's no mistake
537
00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:14.799
in this. They understand the plight of the LGBTQ people.
538
00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:18.119
And we were not connected to anything in our contract
539
00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:22.720
we didn't exist twenty two years ago. So we have
540
00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:28.799
been I guess, trudging the journey of trying to make
541
00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:35.079
ourselves equal in this world. And Williams Institute did a big,
542
00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:41.240
a big what would you call a survey on us,
543
00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:43.599
and that was really wonderful and that really gave us
544
00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:47.319
a lot of information of how LGBTQ people feel and live.
545
00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.559
And then we also have had this thing called the
546
00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:52.799
Schmooze Fence, which we had an outfits for years. We
547
00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:55.240
went to film festivals, We've gone to Gay Pride. We
548
00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:58.640
just did Gay Pride in New York and LA. We've
549
00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:01.000
done that for years. We've gone to film festivals and
550
00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:05.799
had different speakers, and we've been on panels, we've done workshops,
551
00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:09.400
and we've tried to show up making sure that our
552
00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:12.079
members get the same equality in terms of their health
553
00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:15.359
insurance for them and their families and their partners and children.
554
00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:18.200
So we've been doing that for twenty two.
555
00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:24.240
Years and that's incredible. And like as they and how
556
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:27.160
as you've seen it grow, how has it helped the
557
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:31.000
LGBTQ community in the entertainment industry, Well.
558
00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:34.039
It's normalized us and I co chhare with Tracy Godford,
559
00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:38.839
who's a wonderful voice, actress and playwright. And I think
560
00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:42.880
it's created a place so if something is going wrong,
561
00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:45.799
they have someone they can call. Whereas all the other
562
00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:49.440
minority groups had groups that they could call, we didn't
563
00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:52.400
have one. So it's created a safe place. Still people
564
00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:54.839
don't know about it, so there's still it's amazing how
565
00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:56.839
many people don't know what's going on in their own union.
566
00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:02.079
I take every call and it's always sent to me,
567
00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:04.839
and if somebody wants to speak, always speak with them
568
00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:07.839
or email or set them to the right place where
569
00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:09.440
they're supposed to go. I've helped a lot of people
570
00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:11.319
also because I was on the Low Budget committee for
571
00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:14.839
a while, learn how to make their film a SAG film,
572
00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:17.720
which there's so much non union work going on right now,
573
00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:22.680
especially through the verticals and different opportunities for actors. And
574
00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:25.000
we have all these low budget contracts, we have several
575
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:27.519
of them. We have the verticals contract, we have a
576
00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:29.680
new Media, we have the micro budget, we have the
577
00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:34.200
Ultra low budget, we have the regular low budget, and
578
00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:39.279
we have certainly a studio film contract, network television and streaming.
579
00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:43.000
So there's tons and tons of contracts to use and
580
00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:47.279
I'm a big proponent of unions existing, being able to
581
00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:50.160
get your health insurance hopefully, which we're having a lot
582
00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:54.240
of trouble with now through our union as the world
583
00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:58.279
is just in general, and making sure that we are
584
00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:00.480
protected in the same way when we're on the said,
585
00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:04.799
because there's still problems, all right.
586
00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:08.480
So if I've had several actors visit this podcast and
587
00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:11.960
also watch the podcast, So if they are sacked after
588
00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:14.559
members and want to be a part of this committee,
589
00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:18.319
what advice would you have for them about if they
590
00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:19.519
want to join this committee?
591
00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:24.319
I would just go online and go to go look
592
00:32:24.359 --> 00:32:28.759
at a sag after dot org and contact the Diversity
593
00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:31.680
Department which their email is there, and say you'd like
594
00:32:31.720 --> 00:32:34.240
to be a part of it. And if not to
595
00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:38.119
go online read watch their videos. There's tons of things
596
00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:40.519
that I've been talking about for years and see if
597
00:32:40.519 --> 00:32:42.839
this would be something that you would want to be
598
00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:43.319
a part of.
599
00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:47.160
Awesome, So I want we want to start weighting down
600
00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:51.359
our conversation. Why should my audience check out Redline?
601
00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:57.000
I think because we have such a it's it's great storytelling,
602
00:32:57.559 --> 00:33:00.839
It's about a very big subject matter. Redlining, for those
603
00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:02.839
who don't know, is when you would see a map
604
00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:05.359
and you put they would put a red line around
605
00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:08.279
and say Blacks of here, Jews live here, Gays live here,
606
00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:12.680
Asians live here, and they jerryminder where people can live.
607
00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:16.000
So you don't have the same opportunities, the same schools
608
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:22.079
for your kids, the same feeling safe as our white
609
00:33:22.160 --> 00:33:25.799
Christian counterparts. And it's a it's a big subject matter,
610
00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:29.319
but it's also a very small story about two families.
611
00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:31.839
And I think it's I'm really proud of the film,
612
00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:34.839
and I'm proud of the performances. And Alexander Paul from
613
00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:39.559
Baywatch does a performance that shows you there is life
614
00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:43.240
after baar Watch, that she's not just a popcorn actress,
615
00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:47.440
as Demi Moore says, and she's able to do it.
616
00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:56.960
Incredibly beautiful performance of aging almost forty years in a
617
00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:00.519
film playing a mother of a son.
618
00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:06.240
Wonderful And the last quession are you ready?
619
00:34:07.400 --> 00:34:10.360
Say that again? I'm sorry the last question?
620
00:34:10.519 --> 00:34:11.199
Are you ready?
621
00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:15.280
Am I ready? Oh? Yeah? Are you honey? I've been
622
00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:18.840
ready since the seventies, since I start when I was
623
00:34:18.880 --> 00:34:19.599
a baby boy.
624
00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:24.880
Alrighty, Jason, where can my audience find out your work
625
00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:26.280
and where can I connect with.
626
00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:29.280
You on social media, All of it is on Jasonstewart
627
00:34:29.320 --> 00:34:32.760
dot com. Last name is Stu Art, Stuart Art like
628
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:35.719
Stuart Little, and my social media is all there. I'm
629
00:34:35.719 --> 00:34:38.760
on like five or ten different things and everything from
630
00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:43.079
Facebook to substack to X. I even stay on X
631
00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:46.360
just in case somebody wants to get me. I'm on
632
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:50.480
Instagram and so forth. And if you email me, there's
633
00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:54.000
an email for my company, Modern Artists, which is my
634
00:34:54.039 --> 00:34:56.599
production company, and I usually email back.
635
00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:01.440
Awesome. So, guys, if you missed the episode an episode
636
00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:04.000
of the Jake's Stake with Jacob Eliashar podcast, this is
637
00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:08.559
our channles on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify and Spreaker.
638
00:35:08.960 --> 00:35:11.039
Jake's Take with Jacob Ali show j A c O
639
00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:13.719
b E l y A c h a R. Now
640
00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:18.559
are you on social media? Because I'm on social media too, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,
641
00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:21.840
Twitter and YouTube Jacob el Shark j A c O
642
00:35:21.960 --> 00:35:25.119
b E l y A c h a R. And
643
00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:28.079
guys want to find out some of my legendary interviews.
644
00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:30.480
Find out for what's going on with America's Got Talent,
645
00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:33.920
We'll head over to Jake snash Take dot com the
646
00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.639
blog that started all the reason why I'm celebrating fifteen
647
00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:41.559
years in media Jakes dash take dot com. Wow, Jason,
648
00:35:41.639 --> 00:35:43.519
it was such an honor having you here.
649
00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:46.440
Stop saying that, my God, my head's gonna get so big,
650
00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:47.199
I'm not gonna fit.
651
00:35:51.400 --> 00:35:53.679
You are more than welcome to come back anytime.
652
00:35:54.280 --> 00:35:56.239
I'll be back tomorrow because I have nothing going on.
653
00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:00.840
Alrighty, guys, thank you so much for watching, Thank you
654
00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:04.679
so much for listening. Until next time, have her quick one. Everybody,
655
00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:09.440
good Bye,