Surviving Hollywood

Friend, actor and host, Luis Mercado, stopped by the podcast today and talked about how he grew his Youtube channel "To Catch a Cheater" from nothing to 2.8 million subscribers. We chat about Hollywood Latino stereotypes, the evolution of creating YouTube content, TV licensing and distribution deals and how Johnny was there the moment he came up with the idea for the show. 

We like to have fun on this podcast and its always a joy when you get to bring in a guy like Dan De Lorenzo. He's a comedy writer/director who has created some of the most viral videos you have ever seen on Buzzfeed and CollegeHumor. We talk about the evolution of comedy, creating a viral hit and directing "puppy" commercials. The twins geek out with this cool dude. 

Our guest today is casting director Michael Testa. He has casted everything from Hallmark movies to network TV shows such as Cold Case and Stitchers. We chatted about how he became a casting director, current projects he's working on and audition advice for actors trying to get on his radar. 

ABC's newest TV series, "Grand Hotel" premieres on June 17th and we sat down with friend and series regular Justina Adorno who plays "Yoli" on the show. We talk about how she became a series regular, working with Eva Longoria and how to take it to the next level. 

Today it's a round robin! We decide to pitch each other our next big movie idea and see if the other two will come in as a producer, ticket buyer, stream it illegally or hard pass. Give it a listen and see if one of our brilliant ideas can be the next Hollywood blockbuster. 

Bob Saget is Abraham Lincoln. Jon Lovitz is Franklin D. Roosevelt. Gilbert Gottfried is Adolf Hitler. Sound hilarious and crazy? Well this is the concept for the new TV show on Netflix, Historical Roasts, where actors and comedians portray different historical figures and get roasted. And of course it wouldn't be a roast unless its hosted by Jeff Ross. Today we sat down with co-executive producer and co-creator of the show Ryan Pigg. He tells us how the show evolved from a monthly comedy event to a full series picked up by Netflix. 

When Johnny moved to LA several years ago, he met stand up comedian Griff Pippin through a comedy sketch and they've stayed in touch ever since. Griff talks about his story moving from Oklahoma to Hollywood, discovering when he wanted to be a comedian and some great advice for anyone looking to get into the comedy world. You can see him perform a monthly show at The Hollywood Improv (the lab). 

Actress and improv extraordinaire, Alex Rose Weisel, joins us today to discuss how to succeed as a woman in Hollywood. You might recognize her from Two and a Half Men, Jimmy Kimmel and House of Lies just to name a few. We talk about acting, dating, comedy and most importantly what it was like working with Aaron and Austin in Hotel Du Loone.

Today we are joined by the amazingly talented writer and director Mischa Marcus. She wrote, directed and produced the multiple award-winning indie feature film, "I Am Still Here," currently available on Amazon. She talks about her inspiration to be a filmmaker, her passion for social issues and where she thinks the future of women in filmmaking is headed.

Today we sat down with my buddy and director of photography Rafael Leyva. You no doubt have seen his work on the Amazon series "The Oath," the Dwight Little directed film "The Last Rampage," and many new things in the works. He shares his story about working with Adam Sandler, being homeless in New York and how he went from being a kid with a dream in Puerto Rico to shooting movies and TV shows in Hollywood.