Guenther Steiner Interview
GateCrashers
One of my favorite aspects of doing all this is stepping out of my comfort zone. GateCrashers' mission has always been to help people find new things and engage with them without the fear of embarrassment. So I would not be living by my own mission if I didn't push myself to do new things! The topic for this interview was Formula 1 racing! I got the chance to interview one of the biggest names in the industry, Guenther Steiner. What I learned about Mr. Steiner in my research was that he was, as the title of his book suggests, Unfiltered. I watched many interviews where censors barely caught...
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Solar Opposites (For Now) Special
GateCrashers
The day has finally come. The final season (for now) of Solar Opposites is now on Hulu. When the show started in 2020, I was instantly hooked and have been a Solar ever since. The show is the best Hulu original and will live on. This very special episode is jam-packed with Solar Opposites energy. Chach and Adam join me to talk about the show, the final season, and The Duke's biggest secret at length. I also share my recent interviews with Sean Giambrone, Mary Mack, Josh Bycel, and Mike "The Big Hog" McMahan to talk about the series as a whole. This is a big one, so get your novelty motto...
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Yvette Nicole Brown, Scott Adsit, and Creators Talk Shape Island
GateCrashers
On this interview special, Dan chats with Yvette Nicole Brown, Scott Adsit, Mac Barnett, and Jon Klassen about their show Shape Island on Apple TV+! They discuss how they carry the life lessons of childhood TV into their own lives, the important elements of storytelling, and much more. Yvette and Scott discuss their approach to voice acting while the show's creators talk about what it was like to let others become involved with something they created. Each interview brings a unique light to the show and what everyone brings to the project. Dan was excited to have such insightful conversations...
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Spirited Away
GateCrashers
It’s the final day of Anime August Week and Amanda and Patrick have saved the best for last: today, they’re treating you all to Hayao Miyazaki’s award-winning, record-breaking 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film, Spirited Away! Often considered Ghibli Studios’s breakout project—and a usual suspect on “best of” lists throughout the industry—Spirited Away is the company’s (and Miyazaki’s) first Academy Award-winning film, having been only the second movie to win Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards (following Shrek, the award’s inaugural winner, lol). As with...
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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
GateCrashers
Amanda and Patrick are back for day 3 of Anime August Week, and this time they’re diving into the world of revered director Hayao Miyazaki, starting with his 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind! Believe it or not this is the first episode in GateCrashers history talking about Studio Ghibli or Miyazaki! Amanda and Patrick are huge fans of Miyazaki’s films, so they are very excited to talk about this movie. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is often considered the beginning of the Studio Ghibli era, even though Miyazaki made it before founding the studio. As such, Amanda and...
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Delicious in Dungeon
GateCrashers
It’s another Anime August episode with Patrick and Amanda! This time, we are discussing the anime Delicious in Dungeon (or as it is known in Japanese and on some corners of the internet Dungeon Meshi). This episode covers the first season of the anime series on Netflix (and in theory the corresponding manga - we didn’t read it, sorry!), so be sure to watch the whole season to avoid spoilers. (Although Patrick definitely spoiled something he saw online that happens after the first season’s story! He’s really sorry he promises!) Amanda and Patrick talk about some of their favorite...
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Dandadan
GateCrashers
ANIME AUGUST IS BACK BABY! We're kicking off with a bang, featuring demons, aliens, and GILFs. This is the big time now because we are talking Dandadan. Amanda and Pat are the hosts of this year's Anime August! This episode, they are joined by Dan because no way he was missing a chance to talk about this wild show. So kick back, get your conspiracy theories or demonology books ready, and hit play. Because if you know it, the theme song is already playing in your head. Dandadan is a manga and anime series about two high schoolers, Momo Ayase, a girl from a family of spirit mediums, and...
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Ben Folds Talks Music and Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical
GateCrashers
Ben Folds has been an influential artist on me for as long as I have had my own musical identity. I have been able to follow his work to see his growth as a musician, changing and evolving over time. There was never a moment when I thought I would be sitting in a virtual room with him, having a conversation about his current lane of music and how he doesn't really have anyone else like him. We discussed how he approached another outing with Snoopy and the gang with Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical. Listen below or anywhere you get your podcasts! About Snoopy Presents: A Summer...
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Chip Zdarsky on Captain America & White House Robot Romance
GateCrashers
Before Chip Zdarsky, Valerio Schiti and Frank Martin’s Captain America shield slashes into stores this Wednesday, I had a chance to converse with Chip about the title, as well as his (and Rachael Stott, Tamra Bonvillain and Ariana Maher’s) White House Robot Romance from DSTLRY – going into how it feels to write books with these storylines during this political climate, as well as a wealth of other stuff primarily about Captain America and how he views the character and the mythos. I’ve been a big fan of Chip Zdarsky since his Spectacular Spider-Man book way back in 2017, and he was...
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Cassandra Khaw Interview
GateCrashers
With The Library at Hellbore's release right around the corner (July 22), I got the chance to sit down and have a conversation with Cassandra Khaw about the upcoming book. This conversation was much more than that, though. It was a conversation with a creator whose work made me fall in love with prose as an adult. Cassandra's style of writing is enthralling to the point of outright consumption (which... is a topic in this episode in a more meaty sense). Our conversation digs into the themes of the title in a non-spoiler fashion. Still, it is an overall conversation about horror and the...
info_outlineAfter recovering from a life-threatening sickness, JH Williams III embarked on an art journey that ended up with the creation of something familiar but almost entirely new, Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio. The book is 50 individual art pieces drawn to illustrate the novel Dracula in a way that only JH could deliver. We had the chance to sit down and discuss the project at length which you can listen to here.
Dracula and vampires as a whole were never my cup of tea until the past few years when I finally committed to prying open the coffin to get into the monster that so many people adore. This version of Dracula is what I think I needed to solidify my love of the monster. JH Williams careful craftsmanship of the story with full-page art mirrored by condensed text pages deliver one of the best ways to celebrate the vampire so many adore. There are so many pages in this book that I lingered on because the scene was so captivating as the powers that vampires themselves possess.
There is a level of mastery in this book that is handcrafted by one person that is unlike anything else. Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio feels like a showcase for Williams to show off what he can do beyond just his art. The lettering in this book is done by him as well, with a few small uses of breaking the form that is so effective for a small tweak of placement. This is one book you need to pick up to have on your shelf because it uses the format of the graphic novel to experiment with more of a storybook-type retelling of the story. It's simply one of my newest favorite books. Getting to see a master at play with full-page spreads with each flip is worth every penny.