Paco and George talk to the director of For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close Heather Ross, and actor James Urbaniak. This doc is currently streaming on Amazon, Google Play and AppleTV and premieres on Hulu later this fall.For Madmen Only is an intimate look at the tremendously influential comedy and improv guru Del Close. This documentary is an eye-opener for anyone unfamiliar with this improv family tree that includes: Jon Glaser, Rachel Dratch, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Tina Fey, Vince Vaughn, Bob Odenkirk, Adam McKay, Amy Poehler, Elaine May, and Bill Murray. It's crazy how many comedy stars were his students! Check out a partial list here.We had a great conversation and that moves from comedy, mental illness, improv, drugs, seekers vs oracles, comic books, music and much more!Our guest Heather Ross is an Emmy winning director & producer. She directed the documentaries For Madmen Only and Girls on the Wall as well as directing and producing for HBO, NBC, Fox, Discovery, A&E and more.James Urbaniak has starred in a series of films by Hal Hartley starting with Henry Fool, plays Dr. Venture on The Venture Brothers, was Crumb in American Splendor, and was a regular on Difficult People and Review. He also hosts the podcast Getting On With James Urbaniak.Follow the film on:Twitter: @madmenonlymovieFollow Heather on:Twitter: @sincerelyhrFollow James on:Twitter: @JamesUrbaniakFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sup Doc: A Documentary Podcast

182 - FOR MADMEN ONLY director Heather Ross and James Urbaniak

We're discussing Fantastic Fungi (2019), directed by Louie Schwartzberg. We look at all the forms of fungi, the roles they play in recycling matter, communicating with the trees, and even their role in human evolution. You may never look at mold the same way again. Our guest for this episode is comedian Jessica Sele.Fantastic Fungi is a consciousness-shifting film about the mycelium network that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors like Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions that fungi kingdom offers in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges.Jessica Sele is a Los Angeles-based comedian whose teeth were cut sharply in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her material ranges from sexuality to substance abuse to living in the end times. Her performances leave audiences to feel that demons have just left their bodies to take the night off. She hosts the West LA comedy night at Giant Robot, as well as the podcast, “Hot Topic: Jessica Sele talks about climate change for some reason.” Jessica has performed on Viceland, is a regular feature at her home club the San Francisco Punch Line, and has performed at fancy comedy festivals, colleges, clubs, and alt shows across the nation. Follow Jessica on:Twitter: @jseleFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

181 - FANTASTIC FUNGI w Jessica Sele

We review the documentary Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 which you can catch on Vice TV on Sept. 8th, just a few days before the 20th anniversary of the 2001 attacks. The documentary features interviews with comedians including David Cross, Gilbert Godfried, Janeane Garofolo, and Marc Maron about the struggle to re-establish humor’s place in the aftermath of the attacks that day. The film explores how stand-up comedians, Broadway performers, late-night hosts, and Saturday Night Live helped audiences laugh even in the darkest of days. Our guest is Julie Seabaugh the director, executive producer, and story editor of Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11.Too Soon premieres on VICE TV September 8 at 9 p.m. and will be repeating numerous times thereafter. (VICE TV is available via all major satellite and cable providers and the VICE TV app via iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast.)Julie Seabaugh grew up on a farm in rural Missouri and discovered stand-up when Dave Attell performed during her senior year of college. Way back in 2003, she founded and edited the criminally ahead of its time print and online comedy magazine Two Drink Minimum. Now the only full-time freelance comedy journalist in the United States, she’s contributed to The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, GQ, Variety, The A.V. Club, The Village Voice, The Huffington Post, Spin, Playboy, Vulture, Paste, Time Out New York, Time Out Chicago, and numerous other alt-weeklies. Seabaugh’s coverage of modern roasting culminated in the 2018 book Ringside at Roast Battle: The First Five Years of L.A.'s Fight Club for Comedians, and her love of Mitch Hedberg led to producing/hosting 2020’s Hope on Top: A Mitch Hedberg Oral History for SiriusXM’s Comedy Central Channel (available to stream via the SiriusXM app). With Emmy-nominated director and editor Nick Scown, she is currently producing the documentary Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11. Participants include David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Gilbert Gottfried, Lewis Black, Darrell Hammond, Doug Stanhope, and Marc Maron; the film’s 2021 release will mark the twentieth anniversary of the attacks. Among her career highlights, simultaneous Bridget Everett Village Voice and Roast Battle L.A. Weekly cover stories ran on both sides of the country the week of September 8, 2014. Interviewees over the years include Carl Reiner, Christopher Guest, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Don Rickles, Eddie Izzard, Drew Carey, Howie Mandel, Jimmy Kimmel, Key & Peele, Judd Apatow, Lily Tomlin, Mitch Hedberg, Seth Meyers, Wanda Sykes, and Zach Galifianakis.  Having previously served as A&E staff writer at Las Vegas Weekly, Seabaugh won a 2015 Nevada Press Association Award for a cover profile tracing the downward health spiral of The Amazing Johnathan. “It’s obvious the author is a wordsmith,” judges wrote. “Every sentence is well thought out. It’s full of lively adjectives and truly paints a picture of what the Amazing Johnathan looks like, what he’s experiencing and how he got to his current state. I felt like he was sitting next to me, boisterously telling his story.”For nearly two decades Seabaugh has covered, judged, and moderated panels at festivals including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Just for Laughs Montreal, SXSW, San Francisco Sketchfest, New York Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs Toronto, Sasquatch, Grand Rapids' Gilda's LaughFest, Montana's Big Sky Comedy Festival, Austin's Moontower, Portland's Bridgetown, the Seattle International Comedy Competition, Riot L.A., Nashville's Wild West Comedy Festival, and Atlanta's Laughing Skull.Follow Julie on:Twitter: @julieseabaughFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

180 - TOO SOON: COMEDY AFTER 9/11 director Julie Seabaugh

We review the controversial Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (directed by Garrett Price) out now on HBOMax.Boomer nostalgia meets nu metal in a fight where no one wins. The ceremonies took place in Rome, New York in 1999, three decades after the initial Woodstock festival. Seemingly small logistics issues roll into a massive (and literal) shitshow, sprinkled with arson, sexual assaults, and at least one fatality.Do Bill Simmons’ and HBO lay the blame where it belongs, or are they re-exploiting these events for a quick payday two decades later?  Our returning guest is Cory Sklar aka Chaki. Chaki is a funky alien wizard from Outer Space. With his unique take on electro funk, he has brought his weird ass stage show to festivals like Noise Pop and The Offbeat Fest. Chaki has shared the stage with like minded weirdos Peelander Z, El Vez, Bob Log III, Metalachi, Captured By Robots and The Oingo Boingo Dance Party.We also have first-time guest Adam Papagan, a comedian, public access producer, and candidate for California Governor.Follow Chaki on:Twitter: @chakifunkwizardFollow Adam on:Twitter: @adampapaganFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

179 - WOODSTOCK 99: PEACE, LOVE, AND RAGE w Chaki and Adam Papagan

George talks to musician Sam Mickens about one of his favorite docs LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY'S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (2014, David Gregory)It's the mid-'90s. British/South African horror director Stanley pitches a version of the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr. Moreau and New Line Cinema picks it up. Some huge movie stars get attached and the set becomes a war of egos, bad weather, worse attitudes, and inevitable chaos. Stanley is sent packing, but this is not the last we see of him.Sam Mickens is a native Angeleno, musician, writer, multidisciplinary artist, and now President/head of programming for Another World is Possible, a new politics and culture streaming service and news network.*Abuse accusations leveled against Stanley came to light in 2021.Follow Sam on:Twitter: @SamMickensInstagram: @SamMickensFollow Another World Is Possible on:Twitter: @AWIPTVInstagram: @AWIPTVFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

178 - LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY'S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU w Sam Mickens

Paco and George talk about some recent docsTHE SPARKS BROTHERS - (Edgar Wright, 2021) In Theaters / PurchaseTHE DONUT KING (Alice Gu, 2020) HuluSUMMER OF SOUL (Questlove, 2021) Hulu THE COCKETTES (Bill Weber & David Weissman, 2002) Documentary Plus Controversy around Summer of Soul footage We are also super excited about the upcoming Val Kilmer doc! George found footage of him at Pehrspace.Follow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

177 - WATCH OR NOT DOCS

We are talking about This Is Pop, the music documentary series currently streaming on Netflix. This is Pop uncover’s the real stories behind your favorite pop songs and charts the impact of the festival scene, Auto-Tune, boy bands and more. Our guest is Eric Scwartz who is almost featured prominently — in Episode 2 — simply named Auto-Tune. In this episode the producers examine how Auto-Tune is embraced and mocked, and shifts the pitch of the pop charts and changed the game for artists such as Cher, T-Pain and Kanye West.One of the most creative and original comedians working today, Eric has earned the description, “everything there is to love about entertainment” (First Order Historians). GQ India names him one of “5 International Comics You Must Catch.” E! News Daily host Ryan Seacrest said Schwartz is “rocking the web” with “video that’s got everyone Googling” and Forbes.com applauds him for having “a minor industry in pop music parodies.”A product of America’s melting pot, Eric was raised on the outskirts of Los Angeles in a Jewish and Mexican family during the golden age of hip hop. His entertainment career began when he spent his Bar Mitzvah money on DJ gear and began entertaining at parties and school dances, and eventually became one of the most popular DJs at entertainment-industry events. Not content to only speak with his hands, Eric never hesitated at an opportunity to get on the mic and make the audience laugh.These would be the seeds to grow Eric’s style of musical comedy, leading him to television appearances on Showtime, The Tonight Show, Comics Unleashed, BET and his one-hour special, “Surrender to the Blender,” on Hulu. A pioneer of viral video, Eric has racked up over 100 million views on his stand-up clips, music videos and sketches. He has created content for and with with Grammy-winner Jason Mraz, Jo Koy, Tiffany Haddish, Craig Robinson, Anjelah Johnson, Disney, Yahoo, and more.Eric is heard regularly as host and creator of Podcast: The Musical, where he conducts an interview and creates songs based on the conversation. He headlines across the country, in addition to opening for Jo Koy on his Just Kidding World Tour.Follow Eric on:Twitter:@ericschwartz Instagram: @eeeericschwartzFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.

176 - 176 THIS IS POP: AUTO-TUNE w Eric Schwartz

George talks to the filmmaker Rodney Ascher, whose latest doc is A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX.We’ve had Ascher on the show before to discuss his inventive genre-bending docs Room 237 and The Nightmare.A Glitch in the Matrix is a look at the increasingly popular simulation theory using Ascher's hyper-referential editing style, CGI animated first-person accounts, Philip K. Dick lectures, and the Matrix trilogy. Other interviews include Chris Ware, Nick Bostrom, Erik Davis, and Emily Pothast.The soundtrack score by composer Jonathan Snipes just came out on vinyl from Deathbomb Arc.You can rent the film or watch it on Hulu.Follow Rodney on:Twitter: @rodney_ascherFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

175 - A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX director Rodney Ascher

We cover Animal Passions, a 2004 BBC Channel 4 documentary by Christopher Spencer about zoophiles, people who have sex with animals. Trigger warning! The conversation is longer than the doc itself, but we saved you from watching it yourself.Butch Escobar's furious rants have become his trademark at such clubs as the San Jose Improv, Cobb's and the SF and Sacramento Punchline. Butch has toured all over the country with legendary performers including Tom Green, Joey Diaz and HBO's Felipe Esparza. He frequents southern California and is a regular fixture at the Hollywood Improv and the world famous Comedy Store on Sunset. A humanitarian at heart, Butch has also travelled the world performing for the troops. Actor/performer/writer Butch is a triple threat that you will immediately become a fan of. Follow Butch on:Twitter: @ButchEscobarInstagram @ButchEscobarFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

174 - ANIMAL PASSIONS w Butch Escobar

Paco and George meet up with Jordan Brady, who was a stand up comedian before turning into a feature/documentary/commercial director. His trilogy of "I Am Comic" comedian documentaries shows what it takes to perform and live as a comic.Jordan Brady was a stand-up comedian touring nightclubs across America. A self-taught filmmaker, he directed four narrative feature films, three full documentaries and over 1200 commercials, as well as Maria Bamford’s acclaimed Netflix Special. In 2016, Jordan completed his passion project; a feature documentary trilogy on what it takes to be a stand-up comedian. “I AM COMIC” stars Sarah Silverman, Leslie Jones and more. 2014’s aptly titled “I AM ROAD COMIC” stars Wayne Federman and Marc Maron. The most personal film of his career is “I AM BATTLE COMIC”. Filming took Brady to Afghanistan, Kuwait and undisclosed parts of the Middle East where a group of USO comedians provide laughter for the troops Jordan hosts the popular filmmaking podcast RESPECT THE PROCESS, described as “The Rosetta Stone of filmmaking” and teaches a Commercial Directing Bootcamp.Follow Jordan on:Twitter: @ThatJordanBradyInstagram @thatjordanbradyFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

173 - Director Jordan Brady (I AM COMIC, I AM ROAD COMIC, I AM BATTLE COMIC)

Special bonus episode!Former guest Kevin Seal runs this weekly music trivia game show on facebook, Paco and George competed against each other for bragging rights, so we only thought it fitting to share the audio in our feed.You can watch the archived episode here:Follow Lo Fidelity here:buy the Body Double album here.

Lo Fidelity Music Trivia Gameshow

Today we’re talking about Q: Into the Storm, the six-part HBO docuseries where filmmaker Cullen Hoback goes down several rabbit holes and follows red herrings to track down the roots of the Qanon movement. Is it a movement, is it a conspiracy theory? Hoback investigates this question, and the bizarre father-son duo at its center. We also celebrate 6 years of Sup Doc, our distrust of institutions, and the beginnings of our dystopia.Kevin Seal's Lo Fidelity show (Paco and George will be on May 19th)Rabbit Hole podcast from NY TimesThe InstituteFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

172 - Q: INTO THE STORM

Paco and George look at the new Chris Farley doc, Last Chance U, the Billie Eilish doc The World's A Little Blurry, A Glitch In The Matrix, and more backstory about how they ended up here.Our old interview with Rodney Ascher.Follow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

171 - Watch or Not: Just Say No

George and Aviva dig into the infamous 2019 college admissions scandal, where over 50 people faced criminal charges for racketeering and conspiracy. Mastermind Rick Singer funneled money from wealthy families to bribe coaches and admissions officers at major universities throughout the US, including actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. OPERATION VARSITY BLUES is the first doc to tackle the story head on, made by one of our favorite directors, Chris Smith, for Netflix. It features reenactments of phone calls in a very narrative fashion, even casting name actors like Matthew Modine.Our guest to discuss this film is comedian and writer Aviva Siegel. Aviva's comedy has been featured in SF Sketchfest, The All Jane Comedy Festival, The Asheville Comedy Festival, and Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. She has also written for The Hard Times and Reductress, and hosts the zoom comedy show Talkies. She also just launched her podcast about advertising, Ad Wizards.Follow Aviva on:Twitter: @livinlavivalocaFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

170 - OPERATION VARSITY BLUES w Aviva Siegel

George and Paco talk to the filmmaking team behind the HBO docuseries - Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults. Director and Producer Clay Tweel and Producer Shannon Riggs chronicled the three-decade long saga of Marshall Appelwhite and Bonnie Nettles (AKA “Do and Ti”) who recruited scores of people to their alien-worshipping religious cult starting in the mid -'70s. Interviewing former group members, cult experts, and family left behind, the four-part series goes beyond the headlines of this little-understood group that ended in a mass suicide in Southern California in 1997.Clay Tweel is a documentary director/producer/editor whos works include Make Believe, Print the Legend, personal Sup Doc favorite Finders Keepers, Out of Omaha,The Innocent Man, and Gleason. His features have been distributed by Showtime, Netflix, and Amazon Studios. Producer Shannon Riggs is the co-founder of Parkside Films. With Clay Tweel, she produced Gleason and The Innocent Man series. Shannon was an independent producer working across narrative feature films, branded content, and music videos. A participant in the Sundance Female Filmmaker Initiative, Shannon is honored to be a member of Women in Film and actively mentors emerging filmmakers. Follow Clay on:Twitter: @claytweel Follow Shannon on:Twitter: @shannoneriggsFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

169 - HEAVEN'S GATE: THE CULT OF CULTS director Clay Tweel and producer Shannon Riggs

Comedians Paco Romane and George Chen host Sup Doc the #1 Podcast about Documentaries! Launched in 2015 this lively documentary podcast features comedy, commentary & recaps with classic and not-so-classic documentaries (and sometimes biopics)! Sup Doc has been described as "a fun way to pore over docs" by Vulture, a "great idea" by Boing Boing and the The A.V. club gushed Sup Doc podcast is "enlightening". On each episode the hosts give actual analysis while hilariously discussing the documentary with their wide array of amazing guests, plus games and film clips as Sup Doc hits the right tone of funny and thoughtful. Join the conversation even if you haven’t seen the documentary as we go beyond the conventional podcast recap format. Documentaries, games, comedy and analysis!We are taking donations on Patreon http://patreon.com/supdocpodcast and paypal.me/supdocpodcast

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Sup Doc: A Documentary Podcast

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