Talk Easy With Sam Fragoso

After making the rounds on the festival circuit for nearly a year, director Chloé Zhao's sophomore feature, The Rider, is finally in theaters. Shot on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the film follows a cowboy who, after a serious injury, is forced to reconcile with a future that might not involve horseback riding. According to Chloé, a Chinese filmmaker who attended NYU before debuting with Songs My Brother Taught Me, the film is a meditation during a time when audiences have trouble sitting still. This is one of the dozens of fascinating points she casually drops on Sam during this week's episode, during which the two talk about everything from working with Spike Lee to Chloé's fanfic-writing secret identity to the surprisingly freeing feeling of hitting rock bottom. http://talkeasypod.com/

So look: I lost an interview. This doesn't normally happen. In fact, in my nine years of recording conversations...it never has. The talk in question with the wonderful Heather Christian, a musician and composer based out of New York. But it's vanished. So instead of having no show, we're doing this show: an entire program dedicated to losing things with Heather, my father, and my best friend. It's unusual, but then again what isn't on this show?

According to Michael Imperioli, acting is all about showing up prepared and positive. Lucky for us, that's something he's been doing on-screen for close to thirty years. Raised in New York by supportive, hardworking parents who also doubled as local actors, Michael broke out on the film scene in 1990 with a role in Martin Scorsese's classic, GoodFellas. He appeared in many memorable films of the '90s, but would ultimately become most known for his career-making role as Christopher Moltisanti on another crime saga--The Sopranos. Good-natured and open, Michael sits down with Sam this week to discuss his enduring marriage, his relationship with his father, the nerves that plagued him early in his career, and his time on the sets of Malcolm X, The Basketball Diaries, and of course, The Sopranos. http://talkeasypod.com/

Jay Duplass is a busy guy. Often alongside his younger brother Mark, Jay has left his distinct signature on dozens of projects over the past two decades, proving through his prolific yet singular work that the indie film spirit is still alive and well in America. Whether he’s acting, directing, writing, or producing, Jay is always creating art that’s imbued with a sense of unvarnished honesty. Movie fans since childhood, the Duplass brothers created a handful of short films before breaking onto the festival scene with The Puffy Chair in 2005. Since then, Jay has brought us films like Cyrus, Jeff Who Lives at Home, and the upcoming Outside In, as well the short-lived HBO series Togetherness. This week, he and Sam cover everything from how it felt to love movies pre-internet to the myths surrounding the Duplass brothers, as well as the spontaneity necessary for good filmmaking, and of course, the particular strangeness of being known to the public. http://talkeasypod.com/

Unless you've lived without a TV for the past decade or so, you probably recognize Josh Radnor. The actor--who is also a skilled writer, director, and musician--has been immortalized in the eyes of the public as Ted Mosby, the goofy and hyper-romantic protagonist of the hit series How I Met Your Mother, which ran on CBS from 2005 to 2014. In real life, though, Josh will be the first to tell you that in many ways, he and his fictional counterpart are worlds apart. When Josh sits down with Sam to track his life and career--from realizing in high school that performance was his solution to insecurity, to bringing two feature films to Sundance, to his new series Rise and his musical career with Ben Lee--the impression we're left with is one of determination and deliberation. Josh is brimming with insights from friends, artists, and his own experiences as he and Sam discuss periods of his life during which his dreams were tested, his success complicated, and his interests ever-changing. http://talkeasypod.com/

Talk Easy returns! Actress Alia Shawkat is on the show this week. We talk growing up on the television, the success of Search Party, and how the #MeToo movement is getting increasingly complex. http://talkeasypod.com/

With the year coming to a close, Sam (literally) calls on past guests of the show to deliver some hope. Including: Janicza Bravo talking Kahlil Joseph’s Shadow Play at the New Museum; Jon Daly wishing to be friends with the Obamas; Lena Waithe getting engaged; Anna Sale adoring Search Party; Martin Starr being proud of his “Big Sick” friends; Noel Wells falling in love with Lady Bird; AO Scott delivering a Paul Thomas Anderson symposium; Jelani Cobb unable to get Jordan Peele out of his mind. Oh, and Mom makes a reappearance. Happy holidays everyone.

Sean Baker is a writer/director known primarily for the Prince of Broadway, Tangerine, and, most recently, The Florida Project. In this week’s episode, Sam and Sean dive into his upbringing in New Jersey, the difficulty of making movies on a low-budget, and why he stands by the heavily debated ending of his latest project. http://talkeasypod.com/

The inimitable Lois Smith has lived a full and exciting life, beginning in Kansas in 1930 and leading her to where she is today, acting in films like Marjorie Prime and Lady Bird at the age of 87. Lois studied theater at the University of Washington, got married at the age of 18, moved to New York with her husband, and has acted on stage and screen ever since. In this episode, she and Sam spend a peaceful hour discussing all of these milestones, along with Lois' first job in the Broadway play Time Out With Ginger, her LIFE magazine cover in 1955, her mindset when it comes to promoting films, and some wisdom from her character in Minority Report. http://talkeasypod.com/artist/lois-smith/

This week, Sam sits down with comedian, actor, and TV writer Paul F. Tompkins. Paul is a longtime standup comic who has appeared in everything from Mr. Show with Bob and David to two Paul Thomas Anderson films--more on both of those in the episode. Besides his prolific standup career, Paul's current projects include roles on Bob's Burgers and Bojack Horseman and a podcast hosting gig of his own. Here, he and Sam talk about his early dream of being a household name, the ways he's changed since his first stand-up special, the all-encompassing weight of his parents' unhealthy marriage, and everyone's odd habit of reading into the way he dresses. http://talkeasypod.com/

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

Joachim Trier is a Norweigan filmmaker who has so far directed four feature films, including the English language family drama Louder than Bombs and his newest project, Thelma, an intense thriller that was selected to represent Norway in this year's competition for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. As Sam points out, each of these films is incredibly different than one another, a deliberate creative choice on Joachim's part. Through the course of this conversation, Joachim's attention to and care for the craft of filmmaking become abundantly clear. Listen as he and Sam discuss his life and career at length, including Joachim's childhood spent illegally skateboarding (9:45), his feelings of both pride and disappointment in his work (14:05), his love for the surprising films of Wong Kar-wai (23:31), the tricky balance of maintaining relationships as a filmmaker (29:18), and the importance of adding new voices to the film industry (37:35). http://talkeasypod.com/artist/joachim-trier/

Early this year, Sam and actress Noël Wells recorded an episode of Talk Easy at Sundance. Days after the presidential inauguration and in the midst of festival chaos, it was a strange time for both of them, but the resulting conversation was thought-provoking and lovely. Now Noël’s back at a different moment of her life–debuting Mr. Roosevelt, her first feature as director, writer, and lead actress–for another round of thoughtful conversation. Here, she and Sam talk about parallels between Mr. Roosevelt and Noël’s past (6:30), her years spent as a self-proclaimed try-hard (13:15), the online-comment-obsessed culture of SNL (26:20), the nuance of discussing sexual misconduct in Hollywood (30:50), and more. http://talkeasypod.com/artist/noel-wells-returns/

Since the late '90s, director Miguel Arteta has worked in film and television to bring us multilayered comedic movies like Chuck & Buck and Youth in Revolt, as well as episodes of acclaimed shows like Six Feet Under, Freaks & Geeks, and Enlightened. This year saw the release of his latest feature, Beatriz at Dinner, a topical story of a tense dinner party between an earthy, socially conscious woman and a group of privileged corporate bigwigs. Over the course of the hour, Miguel speaks with Sam about making these and other films, focusing on physical and emotional health, righteous generational anger, and his memories of some favorite collaborators, including the late friend and filmmaker Jonathan Demme. http://www.talkeasypod.com/

His whole adult life, Shea Serrano's worked hard. Not just at one thing, but at everything he's done, from chronic pool-playing and highly-calculated games of Texas hold 'em in college, to teaching middle school for eight years at an underserved school in Houston. Here, he talks to Sam about all of this, as well as how the work he did to pay the bills ultimately led him to writing. Shea has written for Grantland and The Ringer, and has authored three multimedia books, including a New York Times bestseller. With a no-bullshit attitude and plenty of motivating stories to share, Shea walks Sam through his major life events so far, including the first time he realized he was at a disadvantage, the complications he and his wife faced with the birth their twins, and the moment he finally figured out what makes a good dad. More info: www.talkeasypod.com

Jen Yamato is an internet-era journalist working at one of the last print news institutions in America, The LA Times. That in itself is interesting, but it's only the latest step in a career that's also included time spent working at Rotten Tomatoes, Deadline, Movieline, and The Daily Beast. This week, after warning us that she's a Gemini, Jen talks with Sam about the best year of her life (age 17), changes she's witnessed to the journalism landscape, and the recent spate of sexual misconduct accusations shaking the film industry. http://www.talkeasypod.com/

This week, Sam sits down with friend, comedian, and writer Jon Daly. Along with appearing as a regular at the improv institution Upright Citizens Brigade, Jon's taken on comedic roles in dozens of shows and movies over the past fifteen years. Jon's had roles in feature films like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Janicza Bravo's Lemon, and can be seen in episodes of Kroll Show, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and basically anything on TV that's equal parts funny and bizarre. Here, he and Sam talk about everything from celebrity AA to Martin Lawrence's hype man, before getting real about the lifelong struggle for openness and self-knowledge. Wesbite: http://talkeasypod.com/

For over thirty years, Willem Dafoe has been putting in hard work on stage and screen, and it’s paid off. Starting in 1980 with Heaven’s Gate, a movie that he was mostly cut from during editing, he went on to take memorable roles in a wide range of films that include Platoon, The English Patient, Shadow of a Vampire, and Spider-Man. Most recently, he’s starring in The Florida Project, a film by Sean Baker that premiered to acclaim at last month’s Toronto Film Festival. Willem sits down this week to talk to Sam about his career, his appreciation for outsiders, and the tricky balancing act of maintaining privacy as a public figure. Website: http://talkeasypod.com/

This week, CEO, author, and nationally recognized doula Erica Chidi Cohen joins Sam on the show. Erica is known for taking a whole-self, support-based approach to pregnancy and parenting, first through her solo doula practice and soon through her upcoming LA-based reproductive wellness center, LOOM. She's knowledgeable, upbeat, and always open to discuss the nuances of her profession. Here she talks to Sam about her unique upbringing in South Africa, her career spent helping families, and keeping it real about the childbirth experience. Website: http://talkeasypod.com/

Giancarlo Esposito started performing at age 8. Now nearing 60, the signature character actor is reflecting on a lifetime of work. From his collaborations with Spike Lee (“School Daze”, “Do the Right Thing”) to playing the terrifying Gustavo “Gus” Fring on “Breaking Bad”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music for the show is by Dylan Peck. www.dylanpeck.com Original illustrations by Krishna Shenoi: www.krishnabalashenoi.com.