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Derek Garrison – Public Educator / Filmmaker (Van Damned)

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Derek Garrison

Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Derek Garrison. Derek is the principal at a public high school in Oregon. He is also a filmmaker. In this episode, we get to know Derek and what made him decide to be a public school educator, and more specifically a principal. We also find out if he is the cool principal or not! We take a small detour and discuss one of the most important topics of our generation: Bar-B-Que on a cross-country road trip. Then we get into Derek’s filmmaking. He has made several short films and other projects; and we cover a fair bit of them. We do discuss his recent short film called ‘A Hint of Menace’; which is available for free on YouTube. Then we talk about his new feature film called ‘Van Damned’. The behind the scenes of the making of this film is very fascinating to me. The reason that Derek decided to make this film, makes him one of the coolest dad’s I have ever come across. I won’t spoil the reasons here, but trust me, there aren’t a ton of fathers who would do this for this reason. Derek shares some of the journey and obstacles that were in the way, and how he maneuvered around and through them to get this feature made. ‘Van Damned’ is doing great things on the festival circuit, and at the time of this episode’s release; SHOULD be available to stream on most platforms. Check your favorite streamers & VOD platforms. I can’t wait to see what else Derek has up his sleeve for future projects. 

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Chris Maher – Actor (Boardwalk Winter / Canyon of the Dead

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Chris Maher
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street, as I get to know Chris Maher. Chris is an actor who currently has 8 projects in either pre or post production. In this episode, we chat about his growing up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and the long and winding path he took to find acting. After spending some post graduate time in China to study finance, and a stint in law school, Chris gets a call to become a runway model. This led to some work in commercials, and eventually roles in short & feature films. We cover his entire journey from traveling the world with his school choir, to his time in China, Chicago, and Miami. Coincidently, we each share a story about Power Rangers and Iowa. Finally, we discuss each of his 8 forthcoming projects. I ask him about all of them, which takes us on several detours. Some of his friends and co stars are previous guests of the show. This episode was recorded about a week before the premier of his new film Boardwalk Winter. Keep your eyes peeled for this fella! Many of these projects are coming out soon, and some are out now. Find him in film & TV, just about everywhere! I hope I didn’t make it too weird for him in his FIRST podcast interview!
Look for Chris in:
Rescue: Hawaii Surf (TV)
Canyon of the Dead (film)
Desert Dawn (film)
FTX: Descent into Madness
Division (a short film)
Boardwalk Winter (film)
No Dogs Die
Vindicator
The Lost Keys
Lover, Stalker, Killer
Bleeding Heart
Nova

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A.J. Lambert -Singer / Songwriter / Filmmaker (The Junction)

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A.J. Lambert
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know A.J Lambert. AJ is a singer, a songwriter, and now a filmmaker. In this episode, we chat about her new short film THE JUNCTION. We discuss why she wrote it, why she made it, and why she decided to make it a short film. She also shares where it can be seen, and what she hopes to gain from this project. AJ is also the daughter of Hugh Lambert and Nancy Sinatra, as well as the grand daighter of Frank Sinatra. We talk about her Siruis XM show caleld Seriously Sinatra, and how that came about, plus, i ask her if there are “gate keepers” in the music business. Naturally we talk about her family; but she also discusses losing her father at a very young age, and some of the things she missed out on; as well as some of the ways that affected her. I ask AJ about her music, and she even lets me play one of her songs! Look for AJ everywhere that you listen to music, and wherever you see short films.

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Vinnie Tortorich #6 – Documentary Filmmaker (Dirty Keto) / Podcaster (Fitness Confidential)

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Vinnie Tortorich #6
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know even more about SIX TIME guest; Vinnie Tortorich. Known in some circles as “The Angriest Trainer”; Cinnie is: a podcaster, an author, fitness guru, a celebrity trainer, a multiple business owner, and a documentary filmmaker. In this episode, we chat a little about why he wrote his best-selling book “Fitness Confidential”, we touch a bit on his podcast “Fitness Confidential”, and then get into some of his previous documentaries. Vinnie’s first documentary is called “Fat: A Documentary”; and was the best-selling film in the history of Gravitas Ventures. His follow up to that was “Fat 2” two years later. In 2022 Vinnie released his third documentary titled “Beyond Impossible”; where he did a deep dive into the meat substitute industry. We talk a bit more about this one, as it had some odd effects on his social media accounts. Finally, we get to the goods. Vinnie’s FOURTH documentary, in his words, “Goes right at the Keto community”. This new film “Dirty Keto” expounds on the latest Keto fad, and what the term ‘keto’ actually means. He also does some digging to find out what official governing body authorizes the term “Certified Keto” and allows it to be placed on packaging. I give him a neat suggestion for this newer film, and I think he likes it! At one point he explains the glycemic index to me and why I should care. We also touch on the newest trend of freezing bread and pasta before reheating and eating it, and why this changes the glycemic scale of these foods. Finally, Vinnie shares the details of his most recent health concerns and what his plans are going forward with it. Vinie is rad as hell. He is a great guy, and has the record for the most appearances on Fascination Street Podcast! Check out his newest film “Dirty Keto” available ONLY on Amazon; beginning June 1, 2024.

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Charles Agron – Writer / Actor/ Producer (Altered Reality)

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Charles Agron
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Charles Agron. Charles is a writer, actor, director, and producer of independent films. In this episode, we discuss his previous career as a Washington Lobbyist, and what made him get out of that business. Then we talk about why he decided to not only be an actor; but also a writer, and producer. He shares stories about working with some of the greats; like Ed Asner, Tobin Bell, and Lance Henriksen in his newest film Altered Reality. Along the way, we touch on a couple of his previous films like Dark Horse & Monday At 11:01 A.M. Finally, we get into why it is important to be a distributer with his company K Street Pictures, and where that name comes from. I ask him why he decided to distribute films like Alex and Eve, and Last Call; and at what point he got involved with those projects. Charles also explains what the Covid pandemic did to the box office numbers of one of these films. He does explain some paintings and artists at the beginning to satisfy my nosey questions about the wall art at his home! Thanks for that Charles!

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Rudy Pavich – Comedian / Podcaster / Video & Graphics Producer

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Rudy Pavich
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Rudy Pavich. Born and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota, Rudy SHOULD have been a roofer; as his family owns a roofing company. Rudy decided to go another route. Spending 23 years in the radio business, he had a life changing event in his immediate family; then took a break. That break afforded Rudy the opportunity to focus his passion in another direction……. stand up comedy. In this episode, we chat about how and why he decided to become a comic, we discuss his time in radio a bit, and then we discuss some of the big breaks that have come his way. Rudy is also a film maker with a couple of short films under his belt; one of them having won the prestigious ‘Louis Anderson Award’ at the Minnesota Film Festival. This was the final film selected by Louis before his passing. Of course I take this chance to pitch my short film idea to Rudy, which he graciously plays along with. Rudy gives most of the credit for his growing fan base and various opportunities to fellow comedian Adam Ray, for inspiring and lending a helping hand. I ask Rudy to tell me more about his video editing & graphic production with Adam Ray, Adam Carolla, Meghan Trainor, and others. Some big opportunities have come his way, and Rudy was ready and eager to meet those head on. We touch a bit on his podcast ‘A Long Walk to Cleveland’; which is currently on hiatus.
Rudy is currently touring his stand up with various other well known comedians, so be sure to check RudyPavichComedy.com for tour dates near you, and tell him you heard him on Fascination Street Podcast!
Special thanks to Lori Fetrick (Ice, from American Gladiators) for helping make this happen.

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Michael Lukk Litwak – Writer / Director (Molli and Max in the Future)

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Michael Lukk Litwak
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Michael Lukk Litwak. Michael is the writer & director of the new science fiction romantic comedy (sci-fi-rom-com); Molli and Max in the Future. This film stars Zosia Mamet and Aristotle Athari, and debuted at the SXSW film festival. In this episode, we chat about shat made Michael want to become a filmmaker, and why he chose to study at NYU Tisch. Then we get into his film making career. He started with several short films before his first feature film, Molli and Max in the Future. Michael shares some of his behind the scenes process with regard to some of the practical effects used in this fantasy space love story. Michael also lets us in on a little secret about putting the final touches on the film just days before its SXSW debut. Of course I ask him how Zosia and Aristotle came to be in the picture, and what he hopes this inventive film will do for his career going forward.
Be sure to check out Molli and Max in the Future, streaming everywhere!

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Shawn’s Picks #11 Carolyn Jones

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Shawn’s Picks: Carolyn Jones.

Hey Streetwalkers. THANK YOU SO MUCH for inspiring me to get to 400 episodes!
As you may have guessed; lm taking March “off” from releasing new episodes.
HOWEVER; all month long, l will be releasing some of my wife’s very favorite episodes, in a “Best Of” style.

So expect a re-release of an older favorite every weekday; with an all new intro from my wife, explaining why she chose each specific episode.

Keep in mind that these are in no particular order, and l’ll be back in April with all new episodes.

Like, follow, subscribe and tell a friend!

-Steve Owens
Fascination Street Podcast

Carolyn Jones
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know author & filmmaker Carolyn Jones. In this episode, we chat about how growing up surrounded by the Amish inspired her to become a storyteller. Then we get into a small tangent about her being a rally car co-driver in the Paris to Dakar Rally! We get back on track and talk about some of her books, and then dive headfirst into her films. Carolyn is a documentary filmmaker who has a passion for telling stories of hope, inspiration, and heroism. We discuss her films: Defining Hope, The American Nurse, In Case of Emergency, and her upcoming documentary Catalysts. We go all over the place here folks; from sharing stories of those affected by HIV/AIDS, to hospice care, and the role that nurses play in all of our lives. This episode is at once touching and sorrowful, and I hope you enjoy every single bit of it as much as I did.

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Raffaello Degruttola Returns! – Filmmaker (To Love A Narcissist)

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Take a walk with me down Fascination Street, as l get to know even more about Raffaello Degruttola, in this RETURN visit! Raffaello was last on the show in June of 2019. This time, we don’t do the ‘get to know you’ thing; so go back and check that out.
In this episode, we catch up on how Raff spent his Covid lockdown, and how well his previous film performed. It’s called Transference, and it did gangbusters on YouTube.
I ask him about one of his early projects called “The Other Side of My Sleep, as well as a television series he is working on.
We also discuss his new film project called ‘To Love a Narcissist’, and stars Lindsay Marshall alongside him, and others. Toward the end, we chat about the disposable nature of the current culture, and how we can learn to focus on the things that are important to us.
Of course, we touch on an upcoming film he is acting in, where he got to work with the great David Bautista called ‘The Killer’s Game’s and a Netflix movie called ‘Scoop’ that when worked on too!
Stay tuned for ‘To Love a Narcissist’ to come out midway through the year, and check out Controvento Films for other great independent projects!

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J. Logan Austin – President & COO (Crazy Ant Media)

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J. Logan Austin
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know J. Logan Austin. In this episode, we chat about why Logan, and his partner Dustin created Crazy Ant Farm Media, and what they hope to accomplish with this production company. We also talk about film & television, being a storyteller, and his two podcasts. His first podcast is called ‘Inside The Crazy Ant Farm’, and it deals with entertainment news, rumors, stories, and general fun in and around show business. The second podcast is called ‘Everything’s Okay’, and it deals with anxiety, depression, loneliness, and overall mental health. We briefly touch on Logan’s upcoming wedding, and a bizarre and petty feud between Martin Scorsese and the rest of Hollywood. Logan tells me more about Crazy Ant Farm Media’s pending projects, including: an hour-long comedy, a short film, a feature film, and even a half hour animated comedy. This guy is BUSY! For some reason, Logan starts to interview me about halfway through; but what matters is that you should check out his two podcasts, and the cool stuff on their You Tube channel.

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