May 19, 2025 • 71 mins
Apparently, talent runs in the family - and we’re not talking about the Matthews! Lynn McCracken served as stage manager AND director on Boy Meets World, alongside her brother Jeff, and now she’s ready to share all her behind-the-scenes stories.
Lynn takes us through her career from working in high fashion to shows like Ellen and 8 Simple Rules - plus a complex time on BMW.
Plus, Lynn reveals what she learned from another beloved former podcast guest, director David Trainer, and why Season 6’s “Santa’s Little Helpers” was both exciting…and nerve wracking!
Follow @podmeetsworldshow on Instagram and TikTok!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Keaton went to school today dressed as a vampire? Why
and well, you know he's a costume kid, right, Like,
he's just in costume all the time. There was a
short period for a few months where I thought we
had gone beyond it, where he kind of just stopped
asking to be in costumes and I was like, great,
we've outgrown this. And then no, it just started all
(00:43):
over again. And the other day he went dressed to
school in all full deadpool with gloves, hands and everything,
and when he came home he wasn't wearing it.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
And I said, well, what happened to your costume?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
And he said, my teacher said that my gloves, cleaning whale,
my gloves, but the gloves are attached to the costume,
so he couldn't just take the gloves off, so she
made him take it off. So to this morning, when
he was like, came downstairs with a vampire costume and
he said, I want to wear this to school and
I said, we're not allowed to wear costumes to school.
(01:18):
Remember last week you had to take it off. And
he say, vampyros don't wear gloves.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
So he's a Spanish And I said, okay, I mean
you're right, there's no gloves and the.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Vampire costume is a shirt and pants.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
And a cape, and so he can get himself undressed
because the other problem is with the full one piece
costumes for Spider Man or whatever, he can't unzip himself
and then he's having to ask the teachers to help
him go to the bathroom.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And like, we're beyond that.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
Well, Spider Man ask people, that's that happens in real
life too. That's a real, actual superhero problem that nobody addresses.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Real life problem.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Yeah, it's a real life superhero problem, which is like, hey,
I just saved the bank, but I have to peek
and somebody, I'm.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Telling you he's not going to outgrow this, like because
oh yeah, Indy's a costume kid. I was a costume kid.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Like when, but when does it become like now you're
the sixteen year old kid dressed like Batman in school?
Speaker 6 (02:14):
When does it become weird? Is the question? I think
it's fine.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Like I used to keep lists of what Halloween costumes
I would want, Like throughout the year, I would make
a list of and Indy does the same thing.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So do and and we talk about it all year long.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
There was one Halloween, Indy had three separate outfits.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yes, it's Halloween math class.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
When you're fourteen and you just happen to be dressed
like Deadpool, that's when people start to talk.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
I don't think it's coming from you, like the convention
superhero guys.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
I know, I was not thinking.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
First of all, superheroes in school are their regular human forms.
They're Peter Parker Wayne.
Speaker 6 (02:56):
But I noticed about.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Somebody would want to dress up and be whatever, let
their freak flag fly in costume in school should be
like great, Okay, I would.
Speaker 6 (03:05):
Say there's a time and a place. I would say
school wouldn't be the time.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Again, Keaton an Adler's age, fine, I would say even
Indie could probably.
Speaker 6 (03:13):
Get away with it.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
You're not eighth grade, ninth grade, and you're going to
school dressed in a superhero costume.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
People are gonna talk.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
He an adult man, but the adult man to talk.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
That's maybe you do.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
That's what I'm saying. It's like, it's totally fine.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
It is fine.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
I wouldn't want to do it.
Speaker 6 (03:31):
Yeah, you're gonna there's you're gonna get the rep as
the kid. Oh, that's that's the superhero kid. That's gonna
follow you around.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Great, Okay, you are a superhero kid, what are you
talking about?
Speaker 6 (03:42):
Do it?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
I never went to school dressed as a superhero.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
He had his cape.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
So he's got a cape with a big satin thing
that comes up here and it goes all the way around.
And so he walked into school today with the cape
over his shoulders and he walked in like hunching around,
and Jensen said he's a vampire. And all the teachers went, oh,
just thinking he had a cape on. And Jensen said, yeah,
he can turn you all into zombies and he can
(04:08):
fly away like a bat.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
And then Keaton went.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And like ripped open the cape and was wearing his
full costu.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Everyone's like, oh, well, first of all, it's great cape weather.
Oh totally, that's the first thing. Secondly, vampires don't turn
you into zombies.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I know, vampire chang.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
Yeah, that's not how that works. He's going to turn
you into a were wolf.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
And that's all he's gonna know.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, we have to do. We have to just do
whatever comes to mind.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Because when he's in these moods and he's then dressed
as a vampire, he like he just wants to keep
it going, and we all have to play along. And
we're also though, like trying to like make breakfast and
get him out the door for school, so we just
say whatever comes to our mind. Like he'll walk up
to us and like hit us on the arm and
we're like, oh no, I'm a.
Speaker 6 (05:01):
Like we totally inaccurate.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
We become a servants, which it's accurate.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
I mean that's why they lead to the Master of
the Masters, you know, Vampire, but not sounding that's a
whole different thing.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Sorry. This is the thing like you realize when you
have a kid, is like because you think, oh, playing
make believe with kids is so much fun, but the
reality is there's no rules, so it gets so boring.
Speaker 6 (05:23):
So cool, oh I'm a cloud.
Speaker 5 (05:24):
Now, my unicorn now, and you're just like, wait, hold on,
if it's consistency, can we roll some dice for whether
you actually can do that or not? Like it's like
without any boundaries, it's like the most boring thing to
play as Also, I have.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
To work in all the normal day to day things
into the playtime, so like vampire, your teeth need to
be sharpened.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Let me use your toothbrush to sharpen your.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Teeth, because if I just like your shoes, if I
say like, stop, it's enough playing. We have to go
brush your teeth now, oh good luck. You just rule
into the entire morning. So now it's about sharpening his teeth.
And I'm like, meanwhile, it's six point forty in the
morning and I've lost just tired. But listen, it's for
right now. It's very cute and it's it's not yet
(06:12):
a problem. I will see what happens when we're we're
still doing this podcast when he's twelve, I'll let you know.
Speaker 6 (06:20):
Trust me, we'll hear about it.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Welcome to Pod Meets World. I'm Danielle Fischel, I'm Right or.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
Strong, and I'm Wilfordell.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
We have called the Boy Meets World cast and Crewe
Family many times on this podcast. With the everyday grind,
both the good and the bad, the entertainment business can
create that kind of dynamic, a group of people all
striving for one common goal to make something magical or
in some cases.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Something that is good enough. Well.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
On our show, we were lucky to have actual family,
whether it was background actors husband and wife Kevin and
Tracy Thompson, directors and brothers Kevin Tracy and John Tracy,
or Ben Savage and Fred Savage. It was no shock
when we'd find out someone had a sibling, spouse, brother,
or cousin working on set, and this week's guest was
one half of our favorite duo. She started as a
(07:25):
first assistant slash stage manager for the show, then moved
her way up to direct her first episode of TV. Ever,
our recently rewatched season six Christmas special Santa's Little Helper,
and that was just the start. She'd go on to
direct not only two more Boy Meets World episodes in
season seven, but also still standing Fuller House eight, Simple
(07:45):
Rules and according to Jim, to just name a few,
and she'd spend time on Ellen, Veronica's Closet and two
movies I most certainly have to ask her about later.
She's a two time DGA Award nominee and tied for
first for coolt person with the last name McCracken. This
week on Pod Meets World, it's someone we've been looking
(08:06):
forward to talking.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
To for quite some time. It's director Lynn McCracken.
Speaker 7 (08:11):
Lynn, Lynn, Oh, it's so good to see you.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
Yeah, my gosh, happy.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
I know, but we're not children. Anymore?
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Where are the old, middle aged best and clinging?
Speaker 8 (08:45):
What a life you guys have, right?
Speaker 6 (08:49):
Who looks the same? You like the same?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
No, I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
It is so good to see you reuniting with people
we love thirty years.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
After the fact of the time that we met.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Is I think none of us would would argue is
that it's just the best part of the podcast. Yeah,
it's such an absolute joy and seeing you is just
right up at the top of that list.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So can we talk.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
About how your career started off in high fashion photography?
Speaker 2 (09:26):
That is a new one for us. I need to
know more about that.
Speaker 8 (09:32):
I was an assistant to a photographer. His name is
Adrian Buckmaster, and we did a couple of Lorel campaigns
and I learned everything about cameras from Adrian, And you know,
I had love for cameras ever since I was a
little kid and being behind the camera and it's so
(09:56):
safe being behind the camera. You guys are you are
the brain ones?
Speaker 7 (10:00):
Right?
Speaker 8 (10:00):
I mean you know this as being directors, it's like
you get responsibilities, but it's it's really a great place
to be and an Adrian and we did a whole
bunch of campaigns in New York. It's when I lived
in New York and I just graduated from the Neighborhood
Playhouse and I was, you know, his wife at the time,
(10:23):
his Karen Savelle, was a good friend of mine and
and that's how it all happened. So it was great.
It was a great exposure.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
Wow, did you want camera?
Speaker 6 (10:34):
That was a camera pun? That was a camera punt that.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
Did you Did you think maybe you would stay in
photography or were you immediately like no, get oh yeah, okay, yeah,
very different world in some ways, right.
Speaker 8 (10:49):
It is you know, it's interesting. It's it's uh, the
film scene in New York. I know, if you've experienced,
it's a very close and for a minute, it was
very unwelcoming. So and uh, someone by the name of
(11:09):
Michael Jacobs, who happened to be my brother's best friend, said,
you know, hey, I sold a show and I need
an assistant, So why do you come out to LA
and I'll get your side card and and you know,
and you can kind of see what it's like out here,
and you know, and I was like, yeah, okay, but
(11:30):
I was such a I was such a New York
snob at that point. I was just like, okay, So,
but what ended up happening was I ended up going
back and forth to LA and New York for a
couple of years.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
And but the show he brought you dinosaurs, what was
the first one?
Speaker 8 (11:47):
My two dads and Greg again. Yeah, and and so
I was, you know, this completely novice, like I do
nothing about television or anything, and you know, here I
am the executive producer's assistant, and I'm just like, thank
(12:09):
God for Arlene Grayson. Arlene Grayson was my was my
savior and mentor. So she came from New York too.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Okay, so many people have mentioned her.
Speaker 8 (12:20):
She was a great soul. Yeah, really she was. Just
I don't know that Michael would have the success that
he did if it wasn't for Arlene, because she covered
him on so many levels.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
So I've showed I've showed everybody this so when they
come in. So when I first came to LA, I
knew no nobody. I literally was here by myself. I
had no idea, and Arlene was one of the first
people that I met.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
And the first thing she did, of course, now I
just dropped it.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
The first thing she did was write down her name
and her phone number so I.
Speaker 6 (12:49):
Could always reach her. No. Always. It's one of the
first things I look at.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's right over my computer every time I'm doing my zooms,
and so I look at Arlene's signature and just how
nice she was every day when I sit down here.
Speaker 8 (13:02):
I have a sideboard that was hers. Really, am I dining?
I don't know if you know? Yes, over there? Yeah
that she was amazing, Yeah she's yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
So anyway, so going back, even before photography, did you
and Jeff grow up making movies together doing like did you?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Were you guys? Were you guys doing it from the
time you were kids?
Speaker 8 (13:30):
No, there was a there's a slight age gap between us. Okay,
he's the oldest and I'm the youngest, and I think
he got out of Dodge as soon as he could,
and when he did, I was still in single digits.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So, but how far apart are you? Guys?
Speaker 8 (13:50):
I don't think he wants me to sleep. There's a
couple of years. There's just a couple of years between them.
But you know, he he uh is the biggest inspiration though,
because he after he was in the Air Force and
uh he went to New York and he's the one
(14:11):
who said to me because I was at the University
of Illinois, and he's like, if you're serious about theater,
then you have to go to the playhouse, and and
that's what I did. And then and that was the
beginning of my journey with Sandy Meisner.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
So, now, did you always want to be behind the
camera or was there did you want to be an actor?
Speaker 6 (14:29):
At one point?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
No.
Speaker 8 (14:30):
In college, I was a playwright directing major, and so
a lot of directors actually came out of the playhouse
as well. And one of my favorites at the time
was Mark Rightell and he uh and he came out
of the playhouse with Diane Keaton and all those in
that crowd, and I think on Golden Pond was had
(14:52):
just come out, and so I was just a big
fan of his and so but working with I think
one of the last few years with Sandy Meisner, but
really an amazing experience. And so I thought, well, yeah,
I'll be an actor, okay, whatever. And I could not
do the business side. I don't know how you guys
do it. The rejection was just I could I don't
(15:13):
have the I didn't have the skin for it. And
and then of course Adrian was helping me with photography,
and so I was like, you know, I really want
to be a filmmaker. And that's when Michael said, oh,
come on, Ela and see what.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
So so you move out to LA You're working on
my two Dads, but you're just Michael's assistant. You're assistant
to the executive. Are you paying attention to every aspect
of the industry? Are you thinking about, like, oh, yeah,
when and where do you decide how you what you
want to do?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Did you know right away you eventually wanted to be
a director?
Speaker 8 (15:46):
Well I knew that, but I hit a point where
the executives at Columbia Television were, uh, took me, you know,
took a meeting with me, and they were just like,
you know, here you have two roads. You can come
up and be an executive with us, or you can go,
you know, stay in production. And I was like, I
(16:07):
want to be down there on the stage. I want
to be you know, because as you guys have mentioned
many times, Show Knight was it's it's it's it's a drug,
it is, and and Elvin Ivory was the first stage
manager and he was kind enough to take me under
his wing, and so I transitioned to being his assistant,
(16:30):
and then we did Fresh Prince of bel Air, and
we went on to do all sorts of other shows together,
and then a little show called Boy Meets and Me Back?
Speaker 5 (16:47):
Was that your first time being a stage manager?
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Then?
Speaker 5 (16:50):
Was on our show?
Speaker 8 (16:51):
No, no, no no. I've been on a few shows
with Elvin and and and he was a great guy.
He was a former ABA basketball player who cool like
seven feet tall. He was like, you know, he was
like six something, and he was the kindest man ever.
And and we did a couple of shows, and then
I did, uh, I followed a director, Matthew Diamond on
(17:11):
a few shows. We worked with Patty LaBelle on Out
All Night and that's where I brought Steven and Steve.
Steve was my second stage manager and and then and
then we came over to I think that's the order.
I could be missing a show in there, but you know,
and then where Steve and I came over to Boy
Meets World.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Where does Boy Meets World rank for sets for you
that you worked on?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
MMMM?
Speaker 6 (17:37):
And you can be honest, be honest, be honest.
Speaker 8 (17:40):
That has to be a really complicated answer, because, uh,
there are so many great moments in my career that
I've been able to experience and uh, life changing moments.
And with Boy Meets World, you know, Michael's complicated. You
(18:04):
guys have have discussed that ad nauseum and I don't
go into that. And our relationship was incredibly complicated and
so and it got more so. And but with David Trainor,
he turned out to be my mentor mentor, and and
(18:27):
I was really sad to leave Boy Meets World, but
I was really happy to continue and be an associate
director which was in the booth camera coordinator with him
on the next show with Betty White and Marie Osmond.
So you know I traveled with David at that point.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
That's where you left. That's where you went when you
left us, you went with David.
Speaker 8 (18:46):
I went with David because I got elevated to the
next life.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Did you do that seventy show?
Speaker 8 (18:53):
No?
Speaker 6 (18:54):
Okay?
Speaker 8 (18:55):
I did ellen after that?
Speaker 6 (18:56):
Gotcha?
Speaker 8 (18:58):
And that was one of the life Chaine moments for me,
was working on the coming out episode on that one.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
So did you meet David Trainer on Boy Meets World
set when he came to direct?
Speaker 8 (19:08):
Okay, is that where we met? I think that is
where we met, Yeah, because he had just come from
designing women and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
What was it about David that that like he?
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I mean, we remembered him, you know, also fondly, and
yet we also remember he was he had a very
distinct style.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
What was it for you that you think? Like, what
is it about David that just drew you to him?
What made him your mentor?
Speaker 8 (19:45):
He was a incredibly generous with his knowledge, and he
taught me so many different things about how to navigate
a set, you know, coming from the theater in New
York as well, so we had a lot in common.
One of the things he told me, and I don't
(20:06):
know that he would remember this today, but he said,
never become friends with the actors. You need them to
respect you. And I'm like, really, okay. I was like,
That's not how I operated so far in my life,
you know. But but it made sense to me because
he was, you know, he had to be the beyond
(20:29):
voice of everything, and so he had to garner all
that respect. And it was just really interesting. And you
guys were so young and so you.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Know, adorable, we were impossible not to be friend.
Speaker 8 (20:41):
Well, it really brought out a maternal instinct in me,
you know, and trying to take care of you guys
and protect you as much as I could from production
because as you know, child actors don't necessarily turn out
as well as you guys. So and I had I
can I can say that's because of your parents. I
(21:03):
have to say your parents were so involved on set
and and say hello to all of them please of course,
I just they're they're just yummy. And and you know,
Ben's folks were really kind of led the charge as
far as how to stick up for your advocate for
(21:24):
you guys. But you know, Lynn, and I mean everybody
was just so great and easy to work with and Arleene.
Between Arlene myself and and uh, your folks, I thought
we created a pretty good bubble around you. And then
(21:45):
Karen stepped in was an executive first, and then she
came on board as a producer and she filled uh
and then some Arlene shoes.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
So yeah, we we've mentioned many times that they're you
know there. We've heard stories and things that were going
on that we just go, oh, we didn't know any
of that was happening. We oh, yeah, no, we were
so well insulated. And we now have realized that you
guys were taking all the shrapnel, which is how we
(22:16):
were able to be so well insulated.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:18):
Well, but I think all of us think about that
first season. It's just such a warm and fuzzy tie,
you know, and it's been it's been interesting to hear
that it wasn't always that way for everybody, but for us.
I think that first season especially, I mean, you guys
really set the stage.
Speaker 8 (22:32):
You know, it was imperative. It was imperative too because
so much was going on behind the scenes and you know,
I know, too many bodies buried.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Yeah, but yeah, we just we It's you know, you're
finding out thirty years later that maybe your parents didn't
have the most magical marriage ever, and you kind of
as an adult going like, wait, what a storybook?
Speaker 6 (22:59):
It was a sor book, and kind of like, no,
it really was. It was a job.
Speaker 8 (23:04):
It was a job we wanted for me. The important
thing was trying to maintain childhood for you guys, and
and Arlene too, and and everybody else. I mean the
crew was exceptional from from Richard Brown this the DP
to two and then then it was uh, David Props.
(23:29):
I mean, everybody really really great and and Steve did
such a great job with you guys, and and then
consequently it's become such a wonderful director.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Did you know April Kelly?
Speaker 8 (23:43):
I met April early on. Yeah, she wasn't around much
so and I know there was a lot of uh
contention between Michael and April, so that was you kind
of had a pick kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Do you remember the first time you met all of us?
Speaker 8 (24:06):
I do, I do? That was like the most you know,
we were all so nervous, and you guys came in
and you were a little bit later. Yeah, And I
remember that so clearly, the day that you came on board.
And but with the with the rest of you guys,
(24:26):
you were all so just so adoorable. We were all
just like so nervous and how to get the rhythm
going and how to get you know, everything, you know,
and you guys were all so nervous, and and Ben
was just like a deer in the headlights because you know,
he was trying to fill shoes of legacy for himself,
(24:48):
and you know, and and that was just all. I
don't have any really specificific.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
I mean, looking back at the episodes now, man, I mean,
was in every everything and had pages and pages just
he's carrying the whole scene and kid never got a break.
I mean our experiences, especially that first season, we would
have like a scene here and there, we'd come in
and out, but he's carrying the whole show. So much
(25:16):
work it must have been just mind boggling.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
Yeah, and scheduling that and all that kind of stuff
was really interesting. And you know, the forboseness of Michael
and his note sessions was legendary, legendary and challenging.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Yeah, I know, I've thought about that so many times.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
How did you guys allow for that much time in
the day to be like, well, we've got to rehearse
all day, we have to do a run through it
this time, and then we still need the kids to
be on the clock for a minimum of an hour
to two hours two Yeah, for notes after.
Speaker 8 (25:54):
Well, we knew that the T shirt and they would
pull you guys, I mean we knew become the note
sessions and and you know, and Michael would try to
give the notes to the kids first, and God bless
Bill and and and yeah, just like he knew he
had to wait until the end. It was, you know,
(26:16):
really hard, and those note sessions were a bit abusive.
I think.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Was that? Now?
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Curiously, was that par for the course for for a
Michael Jacob show. I mean, all the shows that you
were on with him, they were all note sessions that
lasted that long.
Speaker 6 (26:31):
This we weren't special, Okay, I wasn't us Okay, gotcha? Okay?
Fair enough.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Did you think from season one when you saw boy
Meet's World, did you think the show is going to
be successful?
Speaker 8 (26:43):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (26:44):
Wow, so you're the.
Speaker 6 (26:45):
One who thought it.
Speaker 8 (26:58):
Yeah, No, we we knew. I mean, of course there
were no guarantees and so we all had to wait
for that pickup order and stuff like that. But but
you guys were were solid and so in the I think,
wasn't we were the tgi F lineup on?
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah, so it was.
Speaker 8 (27:16):
It was a tough spot to fill, but you know,
Michael's track record was good and yeah, and that kind
of stuff.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
You said, you remember you remember well when I joined
the show. What is your memory of when the character
of Tapanga was created? And and then I ended up
in the part.
Speaker 8 (27:36):
Well, the day that we recast was I think there's
some misinformation out there in that. I think I read
somewhere that the actress that was was replaced, said that
David said she wasn't pretty enough. Right, Yes, it's not true.
(27:59):
That is not uh, that is that that's not the
that's not the case. Not to say that she wasn't talented.
It just she wasn't right for where the part needed
to go. And Michael, really, I think David was concerned
and so and he was concerned because it's that not
because of looks.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
And she heard that, to be fair, she heard that
from her agent. That her agent is the one who
told her that the director had said that. Now this
is you know, a telephone and to have been you know,
a child and to have a rep pass that along
(28:42):
is just Yes.
Speaker 8 (28:43):
It's horrendous to have that information in your head. And
I just hope she knows that. But it's way too
late now, it's.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Never you know what I think to change change the narrative,
you tell yourself.
Speaker 6 (28:56):
Yeah, because we.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Also we said that too, where even at the time
we talked to Bonnie, it was just it was out
of character for David. David would never have walked up
to her and or any of that stuff. It just
that just wasn't David. So yeah, we we we we
also knew that there was Again, it's just hearing what
somebody said from somebody else, from somebody else on the phone.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
Thirty years later, it was it was.
Speaker 8 (29:17):
You know, because I was right there next to David
the whole day, the whole time, and and it was
pretty much just chemistry. It just wasn't it wasn't clicking.
And and when I think Sally was it, Sally Steiner
was that Yeah, yep, she brought you in and it
(29:39):
was like the clouds parted and everything was like, oh,
to hang up, that's the role, that's and that's you know,
and and it was right. And so it was the
right move that David you know, uh, and Michael did
and and and you know, and here we are thirty
(30:01):
years later about it.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:04):
Do you also remember Earthquake week.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Nineteen ninety four?
Speaker 8 (30:13):
You know, I mean I remember I remember getting a
call from Mike or calling the production offic thing, yeah,
we're gonna go, And I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Like, what, No, we're not.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
Yeah, you know, I said, my apartment building just shut
you know, yeah, pieces, I'm off the foundation.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
What do you mean we're going in?
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Yep? And it was right.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
It was the Fugitive episode wasn't it that that week
and so Ryder had this big thing and they put
us in the giant like huge cavernous stage where laughs
go to die. And yeah, we're trying to do a
table read while there's after shocks, and we we start
beforehand with a I think it was our lean something
you did. You give us a speech about if if
(30:59):
there's another after shock, everybody's got to run under here
you gotta say and action.
Speaker 9 (31:04):
Okay, let's be funny, so funny, go to the walls.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
I know it's funny because you think of now the
safety meetings that you have on sets, and you think
we all are kind of like, all right, thanks, if
there's anything wrong, we'll run out.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Okay, we got that day. You're like, what do we do?
Speaker 6 (31:24):
What do we do?
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And tell me where and who do I okay, great,
good to know safety.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
Yeah, you start remembering what the flight attendant said during
severe turbulence. You're like, okay, wait, what my seatbelt's done? Okay,
exits in front and back. Yeah, it was the same
kind of thing.
Speaker 8 (31:38):
The DGA makes. You have to say them, and you
know everyone's not listening, and it's like, you.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Know, you're like sorry, to be the buzzkill, but I
will be the person to save your life if.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Any there happened.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
You remember when the extra in the dance scene we
were working, really aren't she collapsed?
Speaker 6 (31:54):
No, which dancing was.
Speaker 8 (31:57):
It was a big dance and she was she she
just collapsed and Steve like radios me, and I'm like
and I run back behind the set and and all
the extras are I mean with a big a lot
of kids, and and I'm like sitting there going okay.
And we had to get paramedics and she had to
go to the hospital.
Speaker 5 (32:18):
You remember it was a kid.
Speaker 8 (32:19):
It was a kid. Yeah, collapse. She was dehydrated and
she thank she was.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Was it the episode when you guys are writer and
Ben are doing doing the band band.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
On the run because it's like a school dance. Yeah,
big school dance.
Speaker 6 (32:37):
Geez crazy.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
I don't remember that at all.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Disasters did the kids some days on the set without
someone collapsing?
Speaker 6 (32:47):
To erase Itz?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
What do you remember about the death chair? Do you
remember us joking about the death chair the the third
friend to Cory and Sean that in the that first
season bringing in new actors and then they get replaced
and we made. We started calling that third chair the
(33:12):
death chair, and I'll never forget the time win David
asked me to sit in that chair for something and
I didn't.
Speaker 6 (33:24):
Think anything of it.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I was like, yeah, I'll sit there.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
And literally Ben was like, don't, don't not yell, and I.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Was like what and he was like, doom, don't. If
you want to keep you your job, do not say.
Speaker 10 (33:36):
That a chair.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
And it really became like a thing, and then I
was then I was scared to sit in there.
Speaker 8 (33:42):
Geez, I don't remember that.
Speaker 10 (33:44):
Oh my gosh, it was so crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
So at this point, now you left? Did you leave
us after season two? You went with David Trainer after
season two? Okay, so did Jeff? Had Jeff directed any
episodes in those first two seasons? Were you and Jeff
ever on set together at the same time?
Speaker 8 (34:17):
Yes, I'm trying to think did he do one? I
know he traded he trailed.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
David exactly, and I think he did. I think he
did one episode in season two?
Speaker 4 (34:28):
And so do you do you remember what I just
have I have the vision of you saying he trailed David.
Speaker 6 (34:33):
Two of the tallest human.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
Beings together, they're thirteen feet tall.
Speaker 8 (34:39):
And there was trailing after the other and image such.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
A strange image as these two giant men one trailing
after the other.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Seriously, I remember both of them were able to like
take the length of the stage in what felt like
five strides.
Speaker 6 (34:55):
Exactly huge.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Rid, So do you remember what it was like to
work with your brother? Was that was awkward?
Speaker 4 (35:03):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (35:04):
Yeah, it was very awkward, but it was so great
because I was so proud of him and and he's
so capable and he and I forget who I think
it was. Kevin Tracy was the associate director.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Yeah, yes, yeah, yeah, we just talked about Kevin, tell
me about the very first episode you directed and what
you remember about that experience.
Speaker 6 (35:29):
Because we just watched it. We did.
Speaker 8 (35:36):
Santa's Little Helpert.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
Yes, that's so cute.
Speaker 8 (35:40):
It was great. I mean it was my first episode
to direct, and I've been uh, I had episodes on
other shows coming up, and Michael wanted to make sure
that Boy Mets World was my first episode. And I
couldn't have been happier because it was like coming home. Yeah,
Arlene had already past, so Karen was at the helm
(36:03):
and and that was and Russell and that was just
really great. And Michael Shay was there, and and you know,
it was just a really great, great group DDE, Michael, Steve,
everybody was. It was just really great. And and oh
my god, was I so nervous and and I just
you know, going through the week was was just you know,
(36:28):
it was an interesting episode. I mean it was a
very emotional episode, you know, with writer with you, with
with Trina.
Speaker 9 (36:34):
And and then Tommy and got alogt.
Speaker 8 (36:47):
I was like, I got a really emotional episode. That's
I couldn't remember. When I watched it a couple of
days ago, I was like, oh.
Speaker 4 (36:54):
My god, yeah, all right, all we were also to
the time, I mean season six now they're throwing up
new sets all the time.
Speaker 6 (37:00):
So we're in sets we've never been in before. There's
new extras, there's kids. I mean, you had a lot
to do in that episode.
Speaker 8 (37:06):
Yeah, And you know, and Matthew was so funny. He
was the Elf. I mean he was so unhappy elf custom.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I remember him being so miserable and that, Yeah, he
was like pissed.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
Yeah he got him Gucci ears.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
I don't see what.
Speaker 5 (37:29):
We talked about with matt and a lot, Like I've
talked to him a lot but he really really cared
about his clothing back now he doesn't at all like
he is now is he's a T shirt and jean
guy completely now, But back then he was like really
into how you know, presenting this. We used to tease
him about it all the time back then. But yeah,
so that's funny that he actually really hated me. Oh,
(37:51):
I totally believe it.
Speaker 8 (37:55):
So you know, of course, Maitland and her Santa Santata
fantasy costume can't be.
Speaker 6 (38:04):
Can't just be a Santa Claus. You gotta be a
sexy Santa Claus.
Speaker 8 (38:10):
But the thing that stuck out to me is like
I got a little PTSD because that first scene where
Ben is talking to you, Danielle, and he's talking exactly
like Michael, and I remember in the note session Michael
giving him line readings on how to do that Meg
and I was just like I remember.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Yes, especially season six and season seven, it is he
just surrendered.
Speaker 8 (38:41):
He surrendered, totally dead.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
He was just like, you know what I am, I'm
supposed to be Michael Jacobs.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
I'm just that's it. I'm going for it.
Speaker 6 (38:52):
I'm doing it.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
Yep. And actually the thing is it works for Corey
it does unfortunately, I mean, it works and that is
great at it.
Speaker 6 (39:01):
Yeah, but it is.
Speaker 4 (39:02):
I mean there's times we're watching where it's like, oh, yeah,
that's just that's a straight up Michael line just coming
out of Ben's mouth.
Speaker 6 (39:08):
That's just Michael Wright.
Speaker 8 (39:09):
You had such a hard, hard arc to to in
that episode. I mean it was it was really delicate
in a heartbreaking when you tell her you know, no,
not ready in there. I was like, oh, pull on
my heart a little bit at the end there. It
was so well done.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Do you remember one of the things that came up
for me in the episode was like all of a sudden,
you know, we kept saying like, okay, let's not think
too much about reality, let's just go it was a
Christmas it's a Christmas story, let's embrace it.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
Whatever.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
But it did strike me as interesting. Why do you
remember this being a topic of discussion.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Why do Sean and Angela leave the house.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Go it apparently in a car ride or travel, don't
talk about their relationship at all on the way, wait
till they arrive at the school to talk about it,
and then when they leave they go back to the house.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Do you remember there?
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Do you remember why it needed to be in the
student union, that they needed to have this conversation.
Speaker 8 (40:09):
Because that was the set that they wanted to set. Okay,
just one of those things where it was like, didn't
make any sense at.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
All, and it's just like, you know what, we don't care,
people aren't going to care.
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Let's just have it here.
Speaker 5 (40:22):
I'll take the letters because we probably didn't have the backyard.
It would have made perfect sense for us to just
walk out of the backyard, leave the house, go have
but we didn't have that set anymore, and so they
were just like, oh, let's just use the student.
Speaker 8 (40:35):
I think Phoenie's house was gone not in that episode.
Speaker 4 (40:39):
So can I ask, as somebody who's the only person
on the Zoom who is not a director, what is
the most difficult part of transitioning from being a stage
manager to actually directing an episode.
Speaker 8 (40:55):
I think the hardest thing is having the executives see
you as a director mm hmm, and seeing you be creative,
that you're a creative and you're not just a you know,
brick and mortar kind of person. I think that's the
hardest thing in that transition. Had I known that, I
always thought it was the natural transition. You know, you
(41:17):
go down to the stage, your stage management and you
become a director. No, you go to stage management and
then you're going to uh producing. And so it was
the one left turn that I didn't anticipate, what's going
to take a long time to make that transition. And
then I remember on a show there's a producer Susie
(41:41):
Greenberg who told me use your.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Big voice, really use your big voice.
Speaker 8 (41:50):
Okay, for you to use your big voice as the
director because he is an ad too.
Speaker 6 (41:54):
So I was like, oh right, I love that advice.
Speaker 8 (42:00):
So it was like, oh, yeah, I don't have to
be the one who just sits in the back and
listens in it and does everything. I actually get to
use my voice.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
Susie Greenberg was she did she do Seinfeld as well?
I thought, so, okay, yeah, she's doing that. The Susie
is based after. Yes, there's an episode called.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
So when you watched the episode Santa's Little Helpers, were
you able to enjoy your work?
Speaker 8 (42:26):
No?
Speaker 6 (42:27):
No, you said you never wanted to be an actor.
She just answered, like an actor.
Speaker 8 (42:35):
I really knew. I go back and watch any of them,
but I watched it and I was just like oh,
I could have done that better. I could have, you know,
And and I might have. I might have stood up
a little bit more and just like, can we lay
off the music a little bit more?
Speaker 2 (42:51):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (42:52):
No?
Speaker 8 (42:52):
And and it's a little heavy and and but you know,
I think, you know, when I joked about having PTSD.
Part of it too, is, you know, between the dress
show and the air show, that note session that comes
after at dinner or whatever. Michael tore me. I mean,
(43:12):
I had a great I had a great week, great
week with you guys, great month, threws. We did the
dress show, we were jamming, we finished early that day.
I mean, I had it blocked, I had everything. It
was great. Blah blah blah. So I'm like at dinner
feeling really pumped and great, and he comes and he
just rips me to shreds in front of everybody.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
And you say about what, oh.
Speaker 8 (43:37):
Just you know, criticizing everything that I all my shots,
all my this, all my you know, how I could
do this? You know, typical Michael, you know, just you
know whatever. And so I was sitting on the steps
of my my trailer and just.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Defeated, defeated.
Speaker 8 (43:57):
Who comes walking up to me but.
Speaker 6 (43:59):
My brother, Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 8 (44:02):
And he just lifted me up and he.
Speaker 9 (44:06):
Was like yeah, yeah, but he was just like, you know, okay,
and he just brought me back to center.
Speaker 8 (44:16):
So you talk about the synergy between my brother and
me and our careers and whatnot. He showed up at
just the absolute right time and just you know.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
General way of doing that for all of us.
Speaker 5 (44:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (44:28):
Really, yeah he really did. Yeah he would. Yeah, both
of you did. Both of you did, truly. No, It's true.
Speaker 4 (44:35):
We talk about the how you were. You were kind
of our first well I'll talk about myself. My first
kind of conduit onto the set was you. I mean
it was you were the one I would go to
and talk to and we go to you if we
had any problems, or go to you if we had
any questions or go I mean, it was you were
the one we would talk to. So you very much
did for us what Jeff did for you that night,
So that was very special to us.
Speaker 6 (44:57):
You both were. We talk about it quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
You both have such a comforting command of every situation.
There's no you know, when we talk about Michael being
in charge, there's.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Like that kind of commanding.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
Nope, there's not a there's not an inch of that
in you where you're like.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
Oh, I'm a little afraid.
Speaker 1 (45:20):
But clearly this person is demanding, demanding that I respect
them and that I listen to them. And so I think,
I think I'm going to you. But you, guys, you're
you're so you're both so capable, so in charge, and
yet so comforting. There is an absolute safety of knowing
foreign correct, with these people in charge, and we've got it,
(45:45):
whatever it is, we've got it.
Speaker 6 (45:47):
Follow you anywhere kind of people. Yeah, correct, it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Right off a cliff, right off a cliff, exactly. Another
thing I wanted to ask about is early on in
your career you were a second a d and a
production assistant on two wildly different movies, Baps with Callie
Berry and Curtis Hansen's Hand that Rocks the Cradle.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Wow, this is the weirdest double feature ever. Oh did
this happen?
Speaker 1 (46:20):
And what stories do you have from either of them?
Speaker 8 (46:24):
The hand of Roxic Cradle was Annie Manascalco.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
Yes, the makeup artist, our makeup artist.
Speaker 8 (46:31):
It's Rebecca, the morning's makeup artist, and she and I
were friends and she I went up to visit her
on set and the first ad, oh, no, they were
they needed a PA. So they asked me if I
would stay and be a PA, and I said yeah, sure.
(46:53):
I didn't know what I was doing, but I was
like okay. And the first the second ad, the first
AD was old grizzled, first a D and he had
a mental breakdown during the shooting set. So the second
AD moved up to first a D and then I
moved up.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
To Wow, from PA to second eight having never done
it before.
Speaker 8 (47:17):
Well, I was already stage managing, so I had okay.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
You know when that first ad got eaten by a lion,
I was then made first a D.
Speaker 8 (47:27):
In charge of the of the babies. They were and
uh and.
Speaker 6 (47:33):
You were literally the hand that rocked the cradle.
Speaker 8 (47:38):
You brought the little babies to set and and you
know I was a baby wrangler.
Speaker 6 (47:44):
Wow.
Speaker 8 (47:45):
Wow, it was great. I had such a great time
on that movie. And and it's all because of Annie.
So the hand the rocks the Cradle was directed by
Curtis Hansen and the cinematographers Bob Elswitz. I think Curtis,
they hadn't he did l a confidential just.
Speaker 6 (48:01):
Half after such a good movie.
Speaker 8 (48:04):
Uh, but there were some really great stories, I mean
almost dying on the set. And I was I was
one of the stunt drivers and.
Speaker 4 (48:12):
I what.
Speaker 5 (48:14):
Baby wrangler, stunt driver.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Wranglers second a d stunt driver.
Speaker 6 (48:19):
Please were taking advantage of you. They were making to
do everything.
Speaker 8 (48:22):
They're like, we're working in Seattle, so it was like
anything goes you know, wait.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
So tell me the story about how you almost died.
Speaker 8 (48:34):
We were in downtown Seattle and we were running and
gunning it with a camera inside the car, and Curtis
and Bob had away of doing things without talking to
the ad department a sound safe. I was in the
back of the car and we had no traffic stops,
(48:58):
no cops, no nothing, and we I mean the cars
it was almost all died.
Speaker 6 (49:08):
That's old school film.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
And then so you almost get into a car crash,
but you don't you make it?
Speaker 2 (49:13):
Are you then like that's it, We're done that. We
have to use that or did you do it again?
Speaker 8 (49:19):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (49:19):
No, that was it?
Speaker 2 (49:20):
That was that was it? Okay, you got what you needed.
Speaker 8 (49:23):
And it was you know, it was great. It was
great filmmaking. It was. And then Rebecca was she was
so focused in her character and Ernie who played the handyman.
They were all and they were It was really great.
It was really fun. It was a really great first
film experience because I got exposed to like everything.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
And Boy meets World's crossover here the dad in the
hand that rocks the cradle was the man who played
the first Alan Matthews.
Speaker 2 (49:55):
Matt McCoy.
Speaker 6 (49:56):
Okay, it was Matt McCoy.
Speaker 8 (49:58):
Who was actually good friends with Yeah, and so uh
it was worked out. It was really funny. It's a
small world, small world. You see my hand drop like
ear rings in it, and you see my.
Speaker 6 (50:13):
Like I said, acting is very important.
Speaker 8 (50:16):
She pulls out and it was like fun. I'm driving
was really fun.
Speaker 6 (50:20):
It's amazing stunt driving.
Speaker 4 (50:22):
I'm just like, all right, Lynn, you're the stunt driver.
Now get behind the wheel of that semi crashing into
the building.
Speaker 8 (50:27):
Who's your stunt person? I'll do it all right.
Speaker 1 (50:45):
Well, despite having a you know, a stern talking to
on tape night of your first episode, everybody obviously very
much like your liked your work because you came back
to direct two more episodes of Boy Mean's World in
season seven.
Speaker 2 (51:03):
Is there anything you look.
Speaker 1 (51:04):
Back on like Boy Meets World being your first job,
was there anything you very specifically point to and say,
I learned X on directing Boy Meets World.
Speaker 8 (51:17):
That's a good question. Yes, I learned how important it
is to be prepared. I can do that before, but
I really I got to see it in action, and
David really taught me how to do all my camera work.
I'm a camera shots and stuff in a way that
(51:38):
it's been hard to transition to how things are done today.
You're on the floor and you mark up your script
in a different way now than we did then because
back then we marked the scripts for the booth, for
the camera coordinator to be able to have meetings with
(51:58):
the cameras, for camera operators, and they would assign shots
to everybody, and so it was all done before you
hit the floor, whereas now it's all done on the
right and so that transition has been was a little
difficult for me to kind of figure out what my
new system was going to be. It was so ingrained
the other way. But uh, you know, being able to
(52:23):
have that split focus of four screens of four cameras, yeah,
something some people can do, some people can't, and single
camera people coming into multi camera can't seem to do it,
but multi camera people can do both. So yeah, I
find that's on that too.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
But well, you would go on to have an incredible
career in directing. You have two DGA Award nominations, and
one very big job that you mentioned was first a
d on Ellen, a show that got a ton of
media attention when she became the first openly gay character
on network TV. What was your experience of working on
(53:02):
that show and working with Ellen?
Speaker 8 (53:06):
It was great.
Speaker 4 (53:07):
It was.
Speaker 8 (53:10):
Being a gay woman myself.
Speaker 4 (53:12):
It was.
Speaker 8 (53:14):
You know, not having to like use pronouns to talk about,
which is what I had to be very careful of them.
Boy meets World with you guys, I was very careful
with all of that.
Speaker 2 (53:27):
And what do you mean, explain, explain, expand on that
more with us.
Speaker 8 (53:33):
In that day and age and that time, you just
didn't you weren't out, You weren't you know, you just
don't ask, don't tell kind of thing. And I never
bought anyone to rap parties or anything else like that.
It was the beards as it were. But that's just
(53:58):
the time. That was just the time, you know, And
I was so closeted too. It was just kind of crazy,
but on Ellen, I didn't have to be anymore, and
so it was pretty great. And but working with Ellen
herself was a whole different experience because she comes she
(54:18):
came from the stand up world. Obviously, you got two
takes and that's it, and you moved on and you
were lucky. And it had to be something really specific
to make a third take. Everybody had to come to
the set frosty right and ready to go and be prepared.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
And.
Speaker 8 (54:37):
It just she was very conscious of the audience and
the live audience, and that was bomitter and man, it
just flew. And she was brilliant, brilliant comedian and and
so I learned a lot, a lot a lot about
(54:58):
comedy from her. One of my favorite moments is when
Emma Thompson came on the show and they were just
improving with each other in front of the camera, and
you know, it's a thing of don't ask where you
can't speak, and I'm behind the camera and I'm laughing
so hard and crying because I'm laughing. So I'm like
double over, about to hit the floor because it was
(55:20):
just so funny. So that was really great. But you know,
the highlight obviously was when the coming out episode. That
was like a huge moment, you know, and reflective of
the time too, because it was all in secret. We
(55:40):
knew it was going to happen months ahead of time,
Like it's like being in the closet. You can't really
talk about it, right And and suddenly you know it's
getting closer and closer, and she's getting impatient, and Michael
Eisner is like saying, no, I don't think we should
do this, and you know, all the politics are at
play and all this kind of stuff, and you know,
we had amazing musical acts and you know, big, big
(56:06):
things happening, and you know, we had a rock and
roll episode where she got so tired of not being
able to come out that she says on stage with
like Bonnie Rait and and David Crosby and Sheryl Crow
and all that goes, I'm gay and oh my god.
You never saw people move so fast as to confiscate
the tapes in the film and.
Speaker 2 (56:27):
The oh geez, it was crazy.
Speaker 8 (56:31):
But it was it was really it was really something else.
That moment with Laura Dern in the airport when she said,
I mean it just I still get chills today.
Speaker 6 (56:41):
The microphone for great moment.
Speaker 8 (56:44):
And it's just like one of those historic moments I
was so proud to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (56:49):
Yeah, it must have really, like you said, it was
such a moment of the times, but also for you,
like hearing that you were so closeted that you felt
you had to keep that a secret from everybody on
Boy Meets World. It was it must have been, but yeah, yes, yes,
(57:09):
but it must have felt very much like I don't know,
just like it must have felt so like so special
and well it's like.
Speaker 5 (57:18):
E merging of the personal and the professional. Yeah, you know,
it's like you're creatively a part of something that's changing
the culture. But it's also so reflective of what you
had already gone through or were going through. That's amazing.
Speaker 8 (57:29):
Absolutely. And you know, we sat there in a production
meeting and there's a little Fredo's Cafe scene where Katie
Lang was going to be playing guitar and Melissa Edwards
or whatever, and it's a coffee house and there was
one in West Hollywood and Ellen looks to me and
she goes, we'll fill it with your friends.
Speaker 9 (57:50):
Everybody in that scene to be gay, And I was like, okay, Okay,
that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (57:57):
That is so great.
Speaker 8 (57:58):
It's time to have that in like a production meeting.
Speaker 4 (58:00):
I was just like, what, yeah, slightly different world than
Boys World.
Speaker 1 (58:06):
Maybe yeah another another boy Meets World tie in. Lesia
Hayley is a background actor in that scene.
Speaker 6 (58:16):
She really Oh that's awesome. I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (58:19):
At the airport.
Speaker 6 (58:20):
That's great. Yeah, cool, cool like that.
Speaker 1 (58:24):
So you have gone on to have an incredible career
also especially in family TV. Done The Thunderman's a show
we have in common, Raven's Home, Nikky, Ricky, Dicky, and
Don Fuller House.
Speaker 2 (58:37):
What do you love about.
Speaker 1 (58:38):
Working in family TV and maybe even specifically with kid actors.
Speaker 8 (58:44):
I think there's a kindness in the television shows. But
you know, I I someone asked me this a while ago,
and I said, why did you work with so many kids? Book?
And I just feel like it was it was my
(59:05):
job to protect kids. I couldn't protect myself, so I
wanted to protect kids. You know. It's like really interesting
and and you know, one job, he gets, another gets another,
and then you get kind of pigeonholed into a certain
type of genre.
Speaker 1 (59:19):
I think you're right with the kid with the kid
aspect the protective nature of kids. I also feel very
similarly when I'm on set. I mean, my first directing
job was on Girl Meets World, and I continued to
do a bunch of family TV, and I think the
overwhelming feeling I have every time I'm on one of
those sets is I am so happy to be able
(59:42):
to create the kind of comforting family environment we had
people like you creating for us in that first and
second season, and there is there's such a nice feeling
of knowing that, like for a lot of these kids,
this is their very first job or one of their
very first jobs. They're going to go on to hopefully
(01:00:03):
have careers in this industry. And no matter what, they're
not all going to have incredible experiences. Some of them
are going to be really bad. But at the very
least I know, if I'm there, it's going to be
a good experience. And that's a that's a nice feeling.
Speaker 8 (01:00:19):
It is it is, and it's a it's a huge
compliment because you bring what you're bringing you to this
and and and as you as you know, we go
from show to show to show to show, and we're
always reinventing ourselves. We're always re re establishing ourselves with
this new crew, this new direct this new staff, this
(01:00:41):
new cap and the only constant is is is you
and you can only do what you can to make
it a safe environment for the actors to be able
to create. And that's that's me is the whole job
is to create a safe environment for the actors to
do what they're trained to do. Because when the kids
(01:01:04):
don't know what they're doing, they're too young to inexperience whatever.
It's your job to help foster them. And I watch
David do that with you guys, and that just taught
me so much. And it all goes back to to
you know, the basics of you know, just listen, just
just you know, listen to your fellow actors, listen to me.
(01:01:30):
Let me be the buffer between you and the executives
who are trying to give you a thousand notes. And
sometimes shows work that way, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes,
you know, the writers still go into the set to
talk to the actors and it gets confusing. You know that,
That to me was always the hard part of directing too.
(01:01:51):
On sitcoms, especially not so much single camera. Single camera,
you're kind of more respected camera you know, it's your
job to help keep this noise over here at the
monitors and let the actors be.
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Well.
Speaker 1 (01:02:12):
Finally, with all of the TV shows you have worked on,
did you ever think Boy Meets World would be the
one we are still talking about thirty years later.
Speaker 8 (01:02:24):
No, Finally, but amazing. I'm so proud of you, guys.
I mean, it's really wonderful what you're doing and to give,
you know, all these different people who've been associated with
the show a voice and to speak their experience and
(01:02:46):
to have that common denominator through it all of there's
just so much love, you know, respect and aside from
the you know who shall not be mentioned. But if
it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here today.
Speaker 4 (01:03:10):
You said it right, it's a complex relationship. I think
it's a very complex relationship.
Speaker 6 (01:03:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:03:14):
And uh, I'm just you know, seeing you guys right now,
I'm seeing you when you're little. I mean I still
think you know, like I know, you're adults and you
have kids, married and whatnot. Thrilled for you and your journey,
Danielle has been amazing. I mean, your strength right now
is tremendous and I'm so impressed by you.
Speaker 2 (01:03:36):
Thank you so much all.
Speaker 8 (01:03:39):
The good health for you in the coming journey with
what you're doing you.
Speaker 1 (01:03:43):
I'm so thankfully it is it is mostly in my
rear view. I'm just on a I'm on a daily
medication now that I have to take for five years,
and so you know, it's a matter of finding out
what the side effects are, managing those when they pop up.
But you know, treat active treatment is behind me. I
have my first post cancer mammogram in June, so there's
(01:04:05):
a little bit of, you know, anxiety wrapped up in that.
Just sure you know, odds are there's not going to
be anything. But I think every time there'll be another mammogram,
there's always going to be some anxiety around it. But
you know, I mean, truly, I don't ever want to
say I'm like grateful for cancer because it just feels
(01:04:28):
a little silly. But there have been some tremendous changes
in me because of it that I am very grateful for.
And one of them has just been recognizing that pre cancer,
I spent a lot of time doing very perfunctory checking
(01:04:49):
off boxes and making sure I was getting all of
the things done and and really not making any time
for fun or just truly just enjoying life. And I'm
in what I'm calling my season of Yes. I'm saying
yes to everything I'm going, I'm making. I'm having lunches
(01:05:10):
with everyone I've I've ever wanted to have lunch with.
Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
I'm going to dinners, I'm seeing plays.
Speaker 1 (01:05:15):
I'm like doing things that maybe I won't get to
bed until like eleven or twelve, Like yeah, pre cancer,
Danielle was like, Nope, you gotta be asleep by eight thirty.
And so it's just it's made me realize that life
is really short and you never know when it's going
to be over. And so I'm just having as many
incredible experiences with the people that I love as possible.
Speaker 4 (01:05:36):
Yes to everything else to self ask Danielle for money, Yeah, yes,
do it?
Speaker 2 (01:05:43):
Do you never know?
Speaker 8 (01:05:44):
I stepped back a little bit to be home with
raising my two boys. Yeah, and there's there's I wouldn't
do it differently.
Speaker 5 (01:05:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:05:56):
Now, the I paid for it because I tried. When
I was ready to come back to work, more people were.
Speaker 1 (01:06:03):
Like, yeah, how old were you? How old were your
boys when you when you took a step back.
Speaker 5 (01:06:10):
Mmmm.
Speaker 8 (01:06:11):
Well Chris was too, and Nick was born, so I
took a step back when they were little, little little.
I ended up being like the photographer for the preschool
for you know, I'm in the elementary school and all
I kind of I just like was like immersed in
all of that. But you know, it's it's it's interesting.
(01:06:34):
The balance is really really interesting. It's it's hard, right,
I mean, yeah, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (01:06:40):
Writer does it do? Writer?
Speaker 1 (01:06:41):
And writer's son is also in voiceover and and is
a real performative kid. Uh so, yeah, that's a nightmare.
Speaker 6 (01:06:53):
You all make it sound so wonderful.
Speaker 8 (01:06:55):
I'm sorry, we don't.
Speaker 6 (01:06:57):
Mean are you kidding?
Speaker 4 (01:06:59):
No, I I'm sorry for y'allirls.
Speaker 2 (01:07:02):
About to be a grandfather.
Speaker 6 (01:07:04):
I'm about to be a grandpa.
Speaker 4 (01:07:05):
Actually what Yeah, my stepdaughter is about to have our
first grandchild, so I'm very happy.
Speaker 6 (01:07:11):
Yeah, about to be a poppy.
Speaker 2 (01:07:13):
Oh my god, it's gonna be so fun. I can't wait.
Speaker 6 (01:07:17):
Great, Yeah, I can't either.
Speaker 1 (01:07:20):
Well, then, truly, we cannot thank you enough for being
here with us. You are, as we mentioned earlier, you
are just one of those people whose names, whose faces,
whose voice brings back a flood of positive memories of endorphins.
Speaker 2 (01:07:42):
Where can we see you. Can we see you face
to face? Can we give you a hug where.
Speaker 8 (01:07:47):
I'm in studio city?
Speaker 6 (01:07:49):
Oh god, okay, let's go.
Speaker 5 (01:07:50):
Letch touch much time.
Speaker 2 (01:07:52):
Let's let's lunch in my season of Yes, let's lunch.
Speaker 6 (01:07:55):
Oh yes that, oh yes, lunch, yes that anytime.
Speaker 8 (01:08:00):
He'll be so jealous. Jeff has a show, his first
art show. I know, is it this week weekend? Yeah?
I think I got.
Speaker 4 (01:08:12):
Yeah, we got to send him something because we've been
I've been wanting a piece forever and finally there's a
chance of getting one.
Speaker 6 (01:08:16):
So I'm very excited.
Speaker 1 (01:08:18):
Anybody I know, I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
Are they selling pieces at the show?
Speaker 4 (01:08:26):
He's starting to sell so good because I want one.
Speaker 8 (01:08:29):
I want to.
Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
Come to the show.
Speaker 8 (01:08:34):
And he's like, no, no, no, but it's your first show,
and he goes, it's two hours in the gallery here
in Connecticut, don't know when I haven't show in New York.
That's when you come. I'm like, all right, You're.
Speaker 2 (01:08:47):
Not all right, I mean, will be there too, We'll
be there.
Speaker 6 (01:08:52):
Excellent, absolutely, yes, I would love to do it.
Speaker 2 (01:08:55):
When we adore you.
Speaker 1 (01:08:57):
Thank you so much for all of your contributions to
Boy Meets world, and for the protective shield you placed
over all of us and have continued. It's a warm, warm,
fuzzy shield that I still feel to this day. And
I hope to see you soon so I can wrap
you in my arms with a big old hug.
Speaker 8 (01:09:13):
I would love to.
Speaker 2 (01:09:13):
Good to see you, Okay, good to see you.
Speaker 8 (01:09:15):
Thank you. Hi guys. Wow.
Speaker 5 (01:09:19):
Yes, you know, like I think about how different Boy
Meets World would have been without her. Yeah, yeah, I
mean not just in terms of the experience. I actually
genuinely believe creatively it would have reflected on the show too,
you know what I mean? Like, I think that us
feeling comfortable, feeling safe is what allows allowed us to
(01:09:42):
do the performances and allowed us to keep showing up
and to care about it, and allowed our parents to
feel comfortable about yes, a green day, this job and
every aspect of it, and like, yeah, that it's rare.
Unfortunately stage was rare, and then you know, you think
about it. She left our show and brother came in, right,
and it's like, so we're between the mccrackens. We are okay,
(01:10:05):
and that it's like so crazy to think that, like, yes,
it's actually comes from really these two people. So much
of what we think of as like the positive time
and Boys World came from their their actual influence and
decisions that they made. And yeah, just great, amazing.
Speaker 4 (01:10:22):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (01:10:23):
Just hearing her voice and seeing her face that hasn't
changed much and I was like, I'm twelve again. Yeah, yeah,
I'm a little kid again. Thank you all for joining
us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always,
you can follow us on Instagram pod Meets World Show.
You can send us your emails Podmeets World Show at
gmail dot com. And we've got merch.
Speaker 6 (01:10:43):
Okay, we're buying merch in five four three.
Speaker 2 (01:10:50):
Podmeets World Show dot com will send us out.
Speaker 6 (01:10:54):
We love you all, pod dismissed.
Speaker 4 (01:10:57):
Podmeets World is nheart podcast producing hosted by Danielle Fischel,
Wilfredell and Ryder Strong. Executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman.
Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer and editor,
Tara Sudbaksch, producer, Maddy Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World
superfan Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton
of Typhoon, and you can follow us on Instagram at
(01:11:18):
Podmeats World Show, or email us at Podmets Worldshow at
gmail dot com.
Keaton went to school today dressed as a vampire? Why
and well, you know he's a costume kid, right, Like,
he's just in costume all the time. There was a
short period for a few months where I thought we
had gone beyond it, where he kind of just stopped
asking to be in costumes and I was like, great,
we've outgrown this. And then no, it just started all
(00:43):
over again. And the other day he went dressed to
school in all full deadpool with gloves, hands and everything,
and when he came home he wasn't wearing it.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
And I said, well, what happened to your costume?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
And he said, my teacher said that my gloves, cleaning whale,
my gloves, but the gloves are attached to the costume,
so he couldn't just take the gloves off, so she
made him take it off. So to this morning, when
he was like, came downstairs with a vampire costume and
he said, I want to wear this to school and
I said, we're not allowed to wear costumes to school.
(01:18):
Remember last week you had to take it off. And
he say, vampyros don't wear gloves.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
So he's a Spanish And I said, okay, I mean
you're right, there's no gloves and the.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Vampire costume is a shirt and pants.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
And a cape, and so he can get himself undressed
because the other problem is with the full one piece
costumes for Spider Man or whatever, he can't unzip himself
and then he's having to ask the teachers to help
him go to the bathroom.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And like, we're beyond that.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
Well, Spider Man ask people, that's that happens in real
life too. That's a real, actual superhero problem that nobody addresses.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Real life problem.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Yeah, it's a real life superhero problem, which is like, hey,
I just saved the bank, but I have to peek
and somebody, I'm.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Telling you he's not going to outgrow this, like because
oh yeah, Indy's a costume kid. I was a costume kid.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Like when, but when does it become like now you're
the sixteen year old kid dressed like Batman in school?
Speaker 6 (02:14):
When does it become weird? Is the question? I think
it's fine.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Like I used to keep lists of what Halloween costumes
I would want, Like throughout the year, I would make
a list of and Indy does the same thing.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So do and and we talk about it all year long.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
There was one Halloween, Indy had three separate outfits.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yes, it's Halloween math class.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
When you're fourteen and you just happen to be dressed
like Deadpool, that's when people start to talk.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
I don't think it's coming from you, like the convention
superhero guys.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
I know, I was not thinking.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
First of all, superheroes in school are their regular human forms.
They're Peter Parker Wayne.
Speaker 6 (02:56):
But I noticed about.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Somebody would want to dress up and be whatever, let
their freak flag fly in costume in school should be
like great, Okay, I would.
Speaker 6 (03:05):
Say there's a time and a place. I would say
school wouldn't be the time.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Again, Keaton an Adler's age, fine, I would say even
Indie could probably.
Speaker 6 (03:13):
Get away with it.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
You're not eighth grade, ninth grade, and you're going to
school dressed in a superhero costume.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
People are gonna talk.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
He an adult man, but the adult man to talk.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
That's maybe you do.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
That's what I'm saying. It's like, it's totally fine.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
It is fine.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
I wouldn't want to do it.
Speaker 6 (03:31):
Yeah, you're gonna there's you're gonna get the rep as
the kid. Oh, that's that's the superhero kid. That's gonna
follow you around.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Great, Okay, you are a superhero kid, what are you
talking about?
Speaker 6 (03:42):
Do it?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
I never went to school dressed as a superhero.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
He had his cape.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
So he's got a cape with a big satin thing
that comes up here and it goes all the way around.
And so he walked into school today with the cape
over his shoulders and he walked in like hunching around,
and Jensen said he's a vampire. And all the teachers went, oh,
just thinking he had a cape on. And Jensen said, yeah,
he can turn you all into zombies and he can
(04:08):
fly away like a bat.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
And then Keaton went.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And like ripped open the cape and was wearing his
full costu.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Everyone's like, oh, well, first of all, it's great cape weather.
Oh totally, that's the first thing. Secondly, vampires don't turn
you into zombies.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I know, vampire chang.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
Yeah, that's not how that works. He's going to turn
you into a were wolf.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
And that's all he's gonna know.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, we have to do. We have to just do
whatever comes to mind.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Because when he's in these moods and he's then dressed
as a vampire, he like he just wants to keep
it going, and we all have to play along. And
we're also though, like trying to like make breakfast and
get him out the door for school, so we just
say whatever comes to our mind. Like he'll walk up
to us and like hit us on the arm and
we're like, oh no, I'm a.
Speaker 6 (05:01):
Like we totally inaccurate.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
We become a servants, which it's accurate.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
I mean that's why they lead to the Master of
the Masters, you know, Vampire, but not sounding that's a
whole different thing.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Sorry. This is the thing like you realize when you
have a kid, is like because you think, oh, playing
make believe with kids is so much fun, but the
reality is there's no rules, so it gets so boring.
Speaker 6 (05:23):
So cool, oh I'm a cloud.
Speaker 5 (05:24):
Now, my unicorn now, and you're just like, wait, hold on,
if it's consistency, can we roll some dice for whether
you actually can do that or not? Like it's like
without any boundaries, it's like the most boring thing to
play as Also, I have.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
To work in all the normal day to day things
into the playtime, so like vampire, your teeth need to
be sharpened.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Let me use your toothbrush to sharpen your.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Teeth, because if I just like your shoes, if I
say like, stop, it's enough playing. We have to go
brush your teeth now, oh good luck. You just rule
into the entire morning. So now it's about sharpening his teeth.
And I'm like, meanwhile, it's six point forty in the
morning and I've lost just tired. But listen, it's for
right now. It's very cute and it's it's not yet
(06:12):
a problem. I will see what happens when we're we're
still doing this podcast when he's twelve, I'll let you know.
Speaker 6 (06:20):
Trust me, we'll hear about it.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Welcome to Pod Meets World. I'm Danielle Fischel, I'm Right or.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
Strong, and I'm Wilfordell.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
We have called the Boy Meets World cast and Crewe
Family many times on this podcast. With the everyday grind,
both the good and the bad, the entertainment business can
create that kind of dynamic, a group of people all
striving for one common goal to make something magical or
in some cases.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Something that is good enough. Well.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
On our show, we were lucky to have actual family,
whether it was background actors husband and wife Kevin and
Tracy Thompson, directors and brothers Kevin Tracy and John Tracy,
or Ben Savage and Fred Savage. It was no shock
when we'd find out someone had a sibling, spouse, brother,
or cousin working on set, and this week's guest was
one half of our favorite duo. She started as a
(07:25):
first assistant slash stage manager for the show, then moved
her way up to direct her first episode of TV. Ever,
our recently rewatched season six Christmas special Santa's Little Helper,
and that was just the start. She'd go on to
direct not only two more Boy Meets World episodes in
season seven, but also still standing Fuller House eight, Simple
(07:45):
Rules and according to Jim, to just name a few,
and she'd spend time on Ellen, Veronica's Closet and two
movies I most certainly have to ask her about later.
She's a two time DGA Award nominee and tied for
first for coolt person with the last name McCracken. This
week on Pod Meets World, it's someone we've been looking
(08:06):
forward to talking.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
To for quite some time. It's director Lynn McCracken.
Speaker 7 (08:11):
Lynn, Lynn, Oh, it's so good to see you.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
Yeah, my gosh, happy.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
I know, but we're not children. Anymore?
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Where are the old, middle aged best and clinging?
Speaker 8 (08:45):
What a life you guys have, right?
Speaker 6 (08:49):
Who looks the same? You like the same?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
No, I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
It is so good to see you reuniting with people
we love thirty years.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
After the fact of the time that we met.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Is I think none of us would would argue is
that it's just the best part of the podcast. Yeah,
it's such an absolute joy and seeing you is just
right up at the top of that list.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So can we talk.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
About how your career started off in high fashion photography?
Speaker 2 (09:26):
That is a new one for us. I need to
know more about that.
Speaker 8 (09:32):
I was an assistant to a photographer. His name is
Adrian Buckmaster, and we did a couple of Lorel campaigns
and I learned everything about cameras from Adrian, And you know,
I had love for cameras ever since I was a
little kid and being behind the camera and it's so
(09:56):
safe being behind the camera. You guys are you are
the brain ones?
Speaker 7 (10:00):
Right?
Speaker 8 (10:00):
I mean you know this as being directors, it's like
you get responsibilities, but it's it's really a great place
to be and an Adrian and we did a whole
bunch of campaigns in New York. It's when I lived
in New York and I just graduated from the Neighborhood
Playhouse and I was, you know, his wife at the time,
(10:23):
his Karen Savelle, was a good friend of mine and
and that's how it all happened. So it was great.
It was a great exposure.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
Wow, did you want camera?
Speaker 6 (10:34):
That was a camera pun? That was a camera punt that.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
Did you Did you think maybe you would stay in
photography or were you immediately like no, get oh yeah, okay, yeah,
very different world in some ways, right.
Speaker 8 (10:49):
It is you know, it's interesting. It's it's uh, the
film scene in New York. I know, if you've experienced,
it's a very close and for a minute, it was
very unwelcoming. So and uh, someone by the name of
(11:09):
Michael Jacobs, who happened to be my brother's best friend, said,
you know, hey, I sold a show and I need
an assistant, So why do you come out to LA
and I'll get your side card and and you know,
and you can kind of see what it's like out here,
and you know, and I was like, yeah, okay, but
(11:30):
I was such a I was such a New York
snob at that point. I was just like, okay, So,
but what ended up happening was I ended up going
back and forth to LA and New York for a
couple of years.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
And but the show he brought you dinosaurs, what was
the first one?
Speaker 8 (11:47):
My two dads and Greg again. Yeah, and and so
I was, you know, this completely novice, like I do
nothing about television or anything, and you know, here I
am the executive producer's assistant, and I'm just like, thank
(12:09):
God for Arlene Grayson. Arlene Grayson was my was my
savior and mentor. So she came from New York too.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Okay, so many people have mentioned her.
Speaker 8 (12:20):
She was a great soul. Yeah, really she was. Just
I don't know that Michael would have the success that
he did if it wasn't for Arlene, because she covered
him on so many levels.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
So I've showed I've showed everybody this so when they
come in. So when I first came to LA, I
knew no nobody. I literally was here by myself. I
had no idea, and Arlene was one of the first
people that I met.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
And the first thing she did, of course, now I
just dropped it.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
The first thing she did was write down her name
and her phone number so I.
Speaker 6 (12:49):
Could always reach her. No. Always. It's one of the
first things I look at.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's right over my computer every time I'm doing my zooms,
and so I look at Arlene's signature and just how
nice she was every day when I sit down here.
Speaker 8 (13:02):
I have a sideboard that was hers. Really, am I dining?
I don't know if you know? Yes, over there? Yeah
that she was amazing, Yeah she's yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
So anyway, so going back, even before photography, did you
and Jeff grow up making movies together doing like did you?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Were you guys? Were you guys doing it from the
time you were kids?
Speaker 8 (13:30):
No, there was a there's a slight age gap between us. Okay,
he's the oldest and I'm the youngest, and I think
he got out of Dodge as soon as he could,
and when he did, I was still in single digits.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So, but how far apart are you? Guys?
Speaker 8 (13:50):
I don't think he wants me to sleep. There's a
couple of years. There's just a couple of years between them.
But you know, he he uh is the biggest inspiration though,
because he after he was in the Air Force and
uh he went to New York and he's the one
(14:11):
who said to me because I was at the University
of Illinois, and he's like, if you're serious about theater,
then you have to go to the playhouse, and and
that's what I did. And then and that was the
beginning of my journey with Sandy Meisner.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
So, now, did you always want to be behind the
camera or was there did you want to be an actor?
Speaker 6 (14:29):
At one point?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
No.
Speaker 8 (14:30):
In college, I was a playwright directing major, and so
a lot of directors actually came out of the playhouse
as well. And one of my favorites at the time
was Mark Rightell and he uh and he came out
of the playhouse with Diane Keaton and all those in
that crowd, and I think on Golden Pond was had
(14:52):
just come out, and so I was just a big
fan of his and so but working with I think
one of the last few years with Sandy Meisner, but
really an amazing experience. And so I thought, well, yeah,
I'll be an actor, okay, whatever. And I could not
do the business side. I don't know how you guys
do it. The rejection was just I could I don't
(15:13):
have the I didn't have the skin for it. And
and then of course Adrian was helping me with photography,
and so I was like, you know, I really want
to be a filmmaker. And that's when Michael said, oh,
come on, Ela and see what.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
So so you move out to LA You're working on
my two Dads, but you're just Michael's assistant. You're assistant
to the executive. Are you paying attention to every aspect
of the industry? Are you thinking about, like, oh, yeah,
when and where do you decide how you what you
want to do?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Did you know right away you eventually wanted to be
a director?
Speaker 8 (15:46):
Well I knew that, but I hit a point where
the executives at Columbia Television were, uh, took me, you know,
took a meeting with me, and they were just like,
you know, here you have two roads. You can come
up and be an executive with us, or you can go,
you know, stay in production. And I was like, I
(16:07):
want to be down there on the stage. I want
to be you know, because as you guys have mentioned
many times, Show Knight was it's it's it's it's a drug,
it is, and and Elvin Ivory was the first stage
manager and he was kind enough to take me under
his wing, and so I transitioned to being his assistant,
(16:30):
and then we did Fresh Prince of bel Air, and
we went on to do all sorts of other shows together,
and then a little show called Boy Meets and Me Back?
Speaker 5 (16:47):
Was that your first time being a stage manager?
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Then?
Speaker 5 (16:50):
Was on our show?
Speaker 8 (16:51):
No, no, no no. I've been on a few shows
with Elvin and and and he was a great guy.
He was a former ABA basketball player who cool like
seven feet tall. He was like, you know, he was
like six something, and he was the kindest man ever.
And and we did a couple of shows, and then
I did, uh, I followed a director, Matthew Diamond on
(17:11):
a few shows. We worked with Patty LaBelle on Out
All Night and that's where I brought Steven and Steve.
Steve was my second stage manager and and then and
then we came over to I think that's the order.
I could be missing a show in there, but you know,
and then where Steve and I came over to Boy
Meets World.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Where does Boy Meets World rank for sets for you
that you worked on?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
MMMM?
Speaker 6 (17:37):
And you can be honest, be honest, be honest.
Speaker 8 (17:40):
That has to be a really complicated answer, because, uh,
there are so many great moments in my career that
I've been able to experience and uh, life changing moments.
And with Boy Meets World, you know, Michael's complicated. You
(18:04):
guys have have discussed that ad nauseum and I don't
go into that. And our relationship was incredibly complicated and
so and it got more so. And but with David Trainor,
he turned out to be my mentor mentor, and and
(18:27):
I was really sad to leave Boy Meets World, but
I was really happy to continue and be an associate
director which was in the booth camera coordinator with him
on the next show with Betty White and Marie Osmond.
So you know I traveled with David at that point.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
That's where you left. That's where you went when you
left us, you went with David.
Speaker 8 (18:46):
I went with David because I got elevated to the
next life.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Did you do that seventy show?
Speaker 8 (18:53):
No?
Speaker 6 (18:54):
Okay?
Speaker 8 (18:55):
I did ellen after that?
Speaker 6 (18:56):
Gotcha?
Speaker 8 (18:58):
And that was one of the life Chaine moments for me,
was working on the coming out episode on that one.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
So did you meet David Trainer on Boy Meets World
set when he came to direct?
Speaker 8 (19:08):
Okay, is that where we met? I think that is
where we met, Yeah, because he had just come from
designing women and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
What was it about David that that like he?
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I mean, we remembered him, you know, also fondly, and
yet we also remember he was he had a very
distinct style.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
What was it for you that you think? Like, what
is it about David that just drew you to him?
What made him your mentor?
Speaker 8 (19:45):
He was a incredibly generous with his knowledge, and he
taught me so many different things about how to navigate
a set, you know, coming from the theater in New
York as well, so we had a lot in common.
One of the things he told me, and I don't
(20:06):
know that he would remember this today, but he said,
never become friends with the actors. You need them to
respect you. And I'm like, really, okay. I was like,
That's not how I operated so far in my life,
you know. But but it made sense to me because
he was, you know, he had to be the beyond
(20:29):
voice of everything, and so he had to garner all
that respect. And it was just really interesting. And you
guys were so young and so you.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Know, adorable, we were impossible not to be friend.
Speaker 8 (20:41):
Well, it really brought out a maternal instinct in me,
you know, and trying to take care of you guys
and protect you as much as I could from production
because as you know, child actors don't necessarily turn out
as well as you guys. So and I had I
can I can say that's because of your parents. I
(21:03):
have to say your parents were so involved on set
and and say hello to all of them please of course,
I just they're they're just yummy. And and you know,
Ben's folks were really kind of led the charge as
far as how to stick up for your advocate for
(21:24):
you guys. But you know, Lynn, and I mean everybody
was just so great and easy to work with and Arleene.
Between Arlene myself and and uh, your folks, I thought
we created a pretty good bubble around you. And then
(21:45):
Karen stepped in was an executive first, and then she
came on board as a producer and she filled uh
and then some Arlene shoes.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
So yeah, we we've mentioned many times that they're you
know there. We've heard stories and things that were going
on that we just go, oh, we didn't know any
of that was happening. We oh, yeah, no, we were
so well insulated. And we now have realized that you
guys were taking all the shrapnel, which is how we
(22:16):
were able to be so well insulated.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:18):
Well, but I think all of us think about that
first season. It's just such a warm and fuzzy tie,
you know, and it's been it's been interesting to hear
that it wasn't always that way for everybody, but for us.
I think that first season especially, I mean, you guys
really set the stage.
Speaker 8 (22:32):
You know, it was imperative. It was imperative too because
so much was going on behind the scenes and you know,
I know, too many bodies buried.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Yeah, but yeah, we just we It's you know, you're
finding out thirty years later that maybe your parents didn't
have the most magical marriage ever, and you kind of
as an adult going like, wait, what a storybook?
Speaker 6 (22:59):
It was a sor book, and kind of like, no,
it really was. It was a job.
Speaker 8 (23:04):
It was a job we wanted for me. The important
thing was trying to maintain childhood for you guys, and
and Arlene too, and and everybody else. I mean the
crew was exceptional from from Richard Brown this the DP
to two and then then it was uh, David Props.
(23:29):
I mean, everybody really really great and and Steve did
such a great job with you guys, and and then
consequently it's become such a wonderful director.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Did you know April Kelly?
Speaker 8 (23:43):
I met April early on. Yeah, she wasn't around much
so and I know there was a lot of uh
contention between Michael and April, so that was you kind
of had a pick kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Do you remember the first time you met all of us?
Speaker 8 (24:06):
I do, I do? That was like the most you know,
we were all so nervous, and you guys came in
and you were a little bit later. Yeah, And I
remember that so clearly, the day that you came on board.
And but with the with the rest of you guys,
(24:26):
you were all so just so adoorable. We were all
just like so nervous and how to get the rhythm
going and how to get you know, everything, you know,
and you guys were all so nervous, and and Ben
was just like a deer in the headlights because you know,
he was trying to fill shoes of legacy for himself,
(24:48):
and you know, and and that was just all. I
don't have any really specificific.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
I mean, looking back at the episodes now, man, I mean,
was in every everything and had pages and pages just
he's carrying the whole scene and kid never got a break.
I mean our experiences, especially that first season, we would
have like a scene here and there, we'd come in
and out, but he's carrying the whole show. So much
(25:16):
work it must have been just mind boggling.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
Yeah, and scheduling that and all that kind of stuff
was really interesting. And you know, the forboseness of Michael
and his note sessions was legendary, legendary and challenging.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Yeah, I know, I've thought about that so many times.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
How did you guys allow for that much time in
the day to be like, well, we've got to rehearse
all day, we have to do a run through it
this time, and then we still need the kids to
be on the clock for a minimum of an hour
to two hours two Yeah, for notes after.
Speaker 8 (25:54):
Well, we knew that the T shirt and they would
pull you guys, I mean we knew become the note
sessions and and you know, and Michael would try to
give the notes to the kids first, and God bless
Bill and and and yeah, just like he knew he
had to wait until the end. It was, you know,
(26:16):
really hard, and those note sessions were a bit abusive.
I think.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Was that? Now?
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Curiously, was that par for the course for for a
Michael Jacob show. I mean, all the shows that you
were on with him, they were all note sessions that
lasted that long.
Speaker 6 (26:31):
This we weren't special, Okay, I wasn't us Okay, gotcha? Okay?
Fair enough.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Did you think from season one when you saw boy
Meet's World, did you think the show is going to
be successful?
Speaker 8 (26:43):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (26:44):
Wow, so you're the.
Speaker 6 (26:45):
One who thought it.
Speaker 8 (26:58):
Yeah, No, we we knew. I mean, of course there
were no guarantees and so we all had to wait
for that pickup order and stuff like that. But but
you guys were were solid and so in the I think,
wasn't we were the tgi F lineup on?
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah, so it was.
Speaker 8 (27:16):
It was a tough spot to fill, but you know,
Michael's track record was good and yeah, and that kind
of stuff.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
You said, you remember you remember well when I joined
the show. What is your memory of when the character
of Tapanga was created? And and then I ended up
in the part.
Speaker 8 (27:36):
Well, the day that we recast was I think there's
some misinformation out there in that. I think I read
somewhere that the actress that was was replaced, said that
David said she wasn't pretty enough. Right, Yes, it's not true.
(27:59):
That is not uh, that is that that's not the
that's not the case. Not to say that she wasn't talented.
It just she wasn't right for where the part needed
to go. And Michael, really, I think David was concerned
and so and he was concerned because it's that not
because of looks.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
And she heard that, to be fair, she heard that
from her agent. That her agent is the one who
told her that the director had said that. Now this
is you know, a telephone and to have been you know,
a child and to have a rep pass that along
(28:42):
is just Yes.
Speaker 8 (28:43):
It's horrendous to have that information in your head. And
I just hope she knows that. But it's way too
late now, it's.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Never you know what I think to change change the narrative,
you tell yourself.
Speaker 6 (28:56):
Yeah, because we.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Also we said that too, where even at the time
we talked to Bonnie, it was just it was out
of character for David. David would never have walked up
to her and or any of that stuff. It just
that just wasn't David. So yeah, we we we we
also knew that there was Again, it's just hearing what
somebody said from somebody else, from somebody else on the phone.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
Thirty years later, it was it was.
Speaker 8 (29:17):
You know, because I was right there next to David
the whole day, the whole time, and and it was
pretty much just chemistry. It just wasn't it wasn't clicking.
And and when I think Sally was it, Sally Steiner
was that Yeah, yep, she brought you in and it
(29:39):
was like the clouds parted and everything was like, oh,
to hang up, that's the role, that's and that's you know,
and and it was right. And so it was the
right move that David you know, uh, and Michael did
and and and you know, and here we are thirty
(30:01):
years later about it.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:04):
Do you also remember Earthquake week.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Nineteen ninety four?
Speaker 8 (30:13):
You know, I mean I remember I remember getting a
call from Mike or calling the production offic thing, yeah,
we're gonna go, And I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Like, what, No, we're not.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
Yeah, you know, I said, my apartment building just shut
you know, yeah, pieces, I'm off the foundation.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
What do you mean we're going in?
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Yep? And it was right.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
It was the Fugitive episode wasn't it that that week
and so Ryder had this big thing and they put
us in the giant like huge cavernous stage where laughs
go to die. And yeah, we're trying to do a
table read while there's after shocks, and we we start
beforehand with a I think it was our lean something
you did. You give us a speech about if if
(30:59):
there's another after shock, everybody's got to run under here
you gotta say and action.
Speaker 9 (31:04):
Okay, let's be funny, so funny, go to the walls.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
I know it's funny because you think of now the
safety meetings that you have on sets, and you think
we all are kind of like, all right, thanks, if
there's anything wrong, we'll run out.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Okay, we got that day. You're like, what do we do?
Speaker 6 (31:24):
What do we do?
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And tell me where and who do I okay, great,
good to know safety.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
Yeah, you start remembering what the flight attendant said during
severe turbulence. You're like, okay, wait, what my seatbelt's done? Okay,
exits in front and back. Yeah, it was the same
kind of thing.
Speaker 8 (31:38):
The DGA makes. You have to say them, and you
know everyone's not listening, and it's like, you.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Know, you're like sorry, to be the buzzkill, but I
will be the person to save your life if.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Any there happened.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
You remember when the extra in the dance scene we
were working, really aren't she collapsed?
Speaker 6 (31:54):
No, which dancing was.
Speaker 8 (31:57):
It was a big dance and she was she she
just collapsed and Steve like radios me, and I'm like
and I run back behind the set and and all
the extras are I mean with a big a lot
of kids, and and I'm like sitting there going okay.
And we had to get paramedics and she had to
go to the hospital.
Speaker 5 (32:18):
You remember it was a kid.
Speaker 8 (32:19):
It was a kid. Yeah, collapse. She was dehydrated and
she thank she was.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Was it the episode when you guys are writer and
Ben are doing doing the band band.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
On the run because it's like a school dance. Yeah,
big school dance.
Speaker 6 (32:37):
Geez crazy.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
I don't remember that at all.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Disasters did the kids some days on the set without
someone collapsing?
Speaker 6 (32:47):
To erase Itz?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
What do you remember about the death chair? Do you
remember us joking about the death chair the the third
friend to Cory and Sean that in the that first
season bringing in new actors and then they get replaced
and we made. We started calling that third chair the
(33:12):
death chair, and I'll never forget the time win David
asked me to sit in that chair for something and
I didn't.
Speaker 6 (33:24):
Think anything of it.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I was like, yeah, I'll sit there.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
And literally Ben was like, don't, don't not yell, and I.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Was like what and he was like, doom, don't. If
you want to keep you your job, do not say.
Speaker 10 (33:36):
That a chair.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
And it really became like a thing, and then I
was then I was scared to sit in there.
Speaker 8 (33:42):
Geez, I don't remember that.
Speaker 10 (33:44):
Oh my gosh, it was so crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
So at this point, now you left? Did you leave
us after season two? You went with David Trainer after
season two? Okay, so did Jeff? Had Jeff directed any
episodes in those first two seasons? Were you and Jeff
ever on set together at the same time?
Speaker 8 (34:17):
Yes, I'm trying to think did he do one? I
know he traded he trailed.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
David exactly, and I think he did. I think he
did one episode in season two?
Speaker 4 (34:28):
And so do you do you remember what I just
have I have the vision of you saying he trailed David.
Speaker 6 (34:33):
Two of the tallest human.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
Beings together, they're thirteen feet tall.
Speaker 8 (34:39):
And there was trailing after the other and image such.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
A strange image as these two giant men one trailing
after the other.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Seriously, I remember both of them were able to like
take the length of the stage in what felt like
five strides.
Speaker 6 (34:55):
Exactly huge.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Rid, So do you remember what it was like to
work with your brother? Was that was awkward?
Speaker 4 (35:03):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (35:04):
Yeah, it was very awkward, but it was so great
because I was so proud of him and and he's
so capable and he and I forget who I think
it was. Kevin Tracy was the associate director.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Yeah, yes, yeah, yeah, we just talked about Kevin, tell
me about the very first episode you directed and what
you remember about that experience.
Speaker 6 (35:29):
Because we just watched it. We did.
Speaker 8 (35:36):
Santa's Little Helpert.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
Yes, that's so cute.
Speaker 8 (35:40):
It was great. I mean it was my first episode
to direct, and I've been uh, I had episodes on
other shows coming up, and Michael wanted to make sure
that Boy Mets World was my first episode. And I
couldn't have been happier because it was like coming home. Yeah,
Arlene had already past, so Karen was at the helm
(36:03):
and and that was and Russell and that was just
really great. And Michael Shay was there, and and you know,
it was just a really great, great group DDE, Michael, Steve,
everybody was. It was just really great. And and oh
my god, was I so nervous and and I just
you know, going through the week was was just you know,
(36:28):
it was an interesting episode. I mean it was a
very emotional episode, you know, with writer with you, with
with Trina.
Speaker 9 (36:34):
And and then Tommy and got alogt.
Speaker 8 (36:47):
I was like, I got a really emotional episode. That's
I couldn't remember. When I watched it a couple of
days ago, I was like, oh.
Speaker 4 (36:54):
My god, yeah, all right, all we were also to
the time, I mean season six now they're throwing up
new sets all the time.
Speaker 6 (37:00):
So we're in sets we've never been in before. There's
new extras, there's kids. I mean, you had a lot
to do in that episode.
Speaker 8 (37:06):
Yeah, And you know, and Matthew was so funny. He
was the Elf. I mean he was so unhappy elf custom.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I remember him being so miserable and that, Yeah, he
was like pissed.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
Yeah he got him Gucci ears.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
I don't see what.
Speaker 5 (37:29):
We talked about with matt and a lot, Like I've
talked to him a lot but he really really cared
about his clothing back now he doesn't at all like
he is now is he's a T shirt and jean
guy completely now, But back then he was like really
into how you know, presenting this. We used to tease
him about it all the time back then. But yeah,
so that's funny that he actually really hated me. Oh,
(37:51):
I totally believe it.
Speaker 8 (37:55):
So you know, of course, Maitland and her Santa Santata
fantasy costume can't be.
Speaker 6 (38:04):
Can't just be a Santa Claus. You gotta be a
sexy Santa Claus.
Speaker 8 (38:10):
But the thing that stuck out to me is like
I got a little PTSD because that first scene where
Ben is talking to you, Danielle, and he's talking exactly
like Michael, and I remember in the note session Michael
giving him line readings on how to do that Meg
and I was just like I remember.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Yes, especially season six and season seven, it is he
just surrendered.
Speaker 8 (38:41):
He surrendered, totally dead.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
He was just like, you know what I am, I'm
supposed to be Michael Jacobs.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
I'm just that's it. I'm going for it.
Speaker 6 (38:52):
I'm doing it.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
Yep. And actually the thing is it works for Corey
it does unfortunately, I mean, it works and that is
great at it.
Speaker 6 (39:01):
Yeah, but it is.
Speaker 4 (39:02):
I mean there's times we're watching where it's like, oh, yeah,
that's just that's a straight up Michael line just coming
out of Ben's mouth.
Speaker 6 (39:08):
That's just Michael Wright.
Speaker 8 (39:09):
You had such a hard, hard arc to to in
that episode. I mean it was it was really delicate
in a heartbreaking when you tell her you know, no,
not ready in there. I was like, oh, pull on
my heart a little bit at the end there. It
was so well done.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Do you remember one of the things that came up
for me in the episode was like all of a sudden,
you know, we kept saying like, okay, let's not think
too much about reality, let's just go it was a
Christmas it's a Christmas story, let's embrace it.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
Whatever.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
But it did strike me as interesting. Why do you
remember this being a topic of discussion.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Why do Sean and Angela leave the house.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Go it apparently in a car ride or travel, don't
talk about their relationship at all on the way, wait
till they arrive at the school to talk about it,
and then when they leave they go back to the house.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Do you remember there?
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Do you remember why it needed to be in the
student union, that they needed to have this conversation.
Speaker 8 (40:09):
Because that was the set that they wanted to set. Okay,
just one of those things where it was like, didn't
make any sense at.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
All, and it's just like, you know what, we don't care,
people aren't going to care.
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Let's just have it here.
Speaker 5 (40:22):
I'll take the letters because we probably didn't have the backyard.
It would have made perfect sense for us to just
walk out of the backyard, leave the house, go have
but we didn't have that set anymore, and so they
were just like, oh, let's just use the student.
Speaker 8 (40:35):
I think Phoenie's house was gone not in that episode.
Speaker 4 (40:39):
So can I ask, as somebody who's the only person
on the Zoom who is not a director, what is
the most difficult part of transitioning from being a stage
manager to actually directing an episode.
Speaker 8 (40:55):
I think the hardest thing is having the executives see
you as a director mm hmm, and seeing you be creative,
that you're a creative and you're not just a you know,
brick and mortar kind of person. I think that's the
hardest thing in that transition. Had I known that, I
always thought it was the natural transition. You know, you
(41:17):
go down to the stage, your stage management and you
become a director. No, you go to stage management and
then you're going to uh producing. And so it was
the one left turn that I didn't anticipate, what's going
to take a long time to make that transition. And
then I remember on a show there's a producer Susie
(41:41):
Greenberg who told me use your.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Big voice, really use your big voice.
Speaker 8 (41:50):
Okay, for you to use your big voice as the
director because he is an ad too.
Speaker 6 (41:54):
So I was like, oh right, I love that advice.
Speaker 8 (42:00):
So it was like, oh, yeah, I don't have to
be the one who just sits in the back and
listens in it and does everything. I actually get to
use my voice.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
Susie Greenberg was she did she do Seinfeld as well?
I thought, so, okay, yeah, she's doing that. The Susie
is based after. Yes, there's an episode called.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
So when you watched the episode Santa's Little Helpers, were
you able to enjoy your work?
Speaker 8 (42:26):
No?
Speaker 6 (42:27):
No, you said you never wanted to be an actor.
She just answered, like an actor.
Speaker 8 (42:35):
I really knew. I go back and watch any of them,
but I watched it and I was just like oh,
I could have done that better. I could have, you know,
And and I might have. I might have stood up
a little bit more and just like, can we lay
off the music a little bit more?
Speaker 2 (42:51):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (42:52):
No?
Speaker 8 (42:52):
And and it's a little heavy and and but you know,
I think, you know, when I joked about having PTSD.
Part of it too, is, you know, between the dress
show and the air show, that note session that comes
after at dinner or whatever. Michael tore me. I mean,
(43:12):
I had a great I had a great week, great
week with you guys, great month, threws. We did the
dress show, we were jamming, we finished early that day.
I mean, I had it blocked, I had everything. It
was great. Blah blah blah. So I'm like at dinner
feeling really pumped and great, and he comes and he
just rips me to shreds in front of everybody.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
And you say about what, oh.
Speaker 8 (43:37):
Just you know, criticizing everything that I all my shots,
all my this, all my you know, how I could
do this? You know, typical Michael, you know, just you
know whatever. And so I was sitting on the steps
of my my trailer and just.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Defeated, defeated.
Speaker 8 (43:57):
Who comes walking up to me but.
Speaker 6 (43:59):
My brother, Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 8 (44:02):
And he just lifted me up and he.
Speaker 9 (44:06):
Was like yeah, yeah, but he was just like, you know, okay,
and he just brought me back to center.
Speaker 8 (44:16):
So you talk about the synergy between my brother and
me and our careers and whatnot. He showed up at
just the absolute right time and just you know.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
General way of doing that for all of us.
Speaker 5 (44:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (44:28):
Really, yeah he really did. Yeah he would. Yeah, both
of you did. Both of you did, truly. No, It's true.
Speaker 4 (44:35):
We talk about the how you were. You were kind
of our first well I'll talk about myself. My first
kind of conduit onto the set was you. I mean
it was you were the one I would go to
and talk to and we go to you if we
had any problems, or go to you if we had
any questions or go I mean, it was you were
the one we would talk to. So you very much
did for us what Jeff did for you that night,
So that was very special to us.
Speaker 6 (44:57):
You both were. We talk about it quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
You both have such a comforting command of every situation.
There's no you know, when we talk about Michael being
in charge, there's.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Like that kind of commanding.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
Nope, there's not a there's not an inch of that
in you where you're like.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
Oh, I'm a little afraid.
Speaker 1 (45:20):
But clearly this person is demanding, demanding that I respect
them and that I listen to them. And so I think,
I think I'm going to you. But you, guys, you're
you're so you're both so capable, so in charge, and
yet so comforting. There is an absolute safety of knowing
foreign correct, with these people in charge, and we've got it,
(45:45):
whatever it is, we've got it.
Speaker 6 (45:47):
Follow you anywhere kind of people. Yeah, correct, it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Right off a cliff, right off a cliff, exactly. Another
thing I wanted to ask about is early on in
your career you were a second a d and a
production assistant on two wildly different movies, Baps with Callie
Berry and Curtis Hansen's Hand that Rocks the Cradle.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Wow, this is the weirdest double feature ever. Oh did
this happen?
Speaker 1 (46:20):
And what stories do you have from either of them?
Speaker 8 (46:24):
The hand of Roxic Cradle was Annie Manascalco.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
Yes, the makeup artist, our makeup artist.
Speaker 8 (46:31):
It's Rebecca, the morning's makeup artist, and she and I
were friends and she I went up to visit her
on set and the first ad, oh, no, they were
they needed a PA. So they asked me if I
would stay and be a PA, and I said yeah, sure.
(46:53):
I didn't know what I was doing, but I was
like okay. And the first the second ad, the first
AD was old grizzled, first a D and he had
a mental breakdown during the shooting set. So the second
AD moved up to first a D and then I
moved up.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
To Wow, from PA to second eight having never done
it before.
Speaker 8 (47:17):
Well, I was already stage managing, so I had okay.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
You know when that first ad got eaten by a lion,
I was then made first a D.
Speaker 8 (47:27):
In charge of the of the babies. They were and
uh and.
Speaker 6 (47:33):
You were literally the hand that rocked the cradle.
Speaker 8 (47:38):
You brought the little babies to set and and you
know I was a baby wrangler.
Speaker 6 (47:44):
Wow.
Speaker 8 (47:45):
Wow, it was great. I had such a great time
on that movie. And and it's all because of Annie.
So the hand the rocks the Cradle was directed by
Curtis Hansen and the cinematographers Bob Elswitz. I think Curtis,
they hadn't he did l a confidential just.
Speaker 6 (48:01):
Half after such a good movie.
Speaker 8 (48:04):
Uh, but there were some really great stories, I mean
almost dying on the set. And I was I was
one of the stunt drivers and.
Speaker 4 (48:12):
I what.
Speaker 5 (48:14):
Baby wrangler, stunt driver.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Wranglers second a d stunt driver.
Speaker 6 (48:19):
Please were taking advantage of you. They were making to
do everything.
Speaker 8 (48:22):
They're like, we're working in Seattle, so it was like
anything goes you know, wait.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
So tell me the story about how you almost died.
Speaker 8 (48:34):
We were in downtown Seattle and we were running and
gunning it with a camera inside the car, and Curtis
and Bob had away of doing things without talking to
the ad department a sound safe. I was in the
back of the car and we had no traffic stops,
(48:58):
no cops, no nothing, and we I mean the cars
it was almost all died.
Speaker 6 (49:08):
That's old school film.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
And then so you almost get into a car crash,
but you don't you make it?
Speaker 2 (49:13):
Are you then like that's it, We're done that. We
have to use that or did you do it again?
Speaker 8 (49:19):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (49:19):
No, that was it?
Speaker 2 (49:20):
That was that was it? Okay, you got what you needed.
Speaker 8 (49:23):
And it was you know, it was great. It was
great filmmaking. It was. And then Rebecca was she was
so focused in her character and Ernie who played the handyman.
They were all and they were It was really great.
It was really fun. It was a really great first
film experience because I got exposed to like everything.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
And Boy meets World's crossover here the dad in the
hand that rocks the cradle was the man who played
the first Alan Matthews.
Speaker 2 (49:55):
Matt McCoy.
Speaker 6 (49:56):
Okay, it was Matt McCoy.
Speaker 8 (49:58):
Who was actually good friends with Yeah, and so uh
it was worked out. It was really funny. It's a
small world, small world. You see my hand drop like
ear rings in it, and you see my.
Speaker 6 (50:13):
Like I said, acting is very important.
Speaker 8 (50:16):
She pulls out and it was like fun. I'm driving
was really fun.
Speaker 6 (50:20):
It's amazing stunt driving.
Speaker 4 (50:22):
I'm just like, all right, Lynn, you're the stunt driver.
Now get behind the wheel of that semi crashing into
the building.
Speaker 8 (50:27):
Who's your stunt person? I'll do it all right.
Speaker 1 (50:45):
Well, despite having a you know, a stern talking to
on tape night of your first episode, everybody obviously very
much like your liked your work because you came back
to direct two more episodes of Boy Mean's World in
season seven.
Speaker 2 (51:03):
Is there anything you look.
Speaker 1 (51:04):
Back on like Boy Meets World being your first job,
was there anything you very specifically point to and say,
I learned X on directing Boy Meets World.
Speaker 8 (51:17):
That's a good question. Yes, I learned how important it
is to be prepared. I can do that before, but
I really I got to see it in action, and
David really taught me how to do all my camera work.
I'm a camera shots and stuff in a way that
(51:38):
it's been hard to transition to how things are done today.
You're on the floor and you mark up your script
in a different way now than we did then because
back then we marked the scripts for the booth, for
the camera coordinator to be able to have meetings with
(51:58):
the cameras, for camera operators, and they would assign shots
to everybody, and so it was all done before you
hit the floor, whereas now it's all done on the
right and so that transition has been was a little
difficult for me to kind of figure out what my
new system was going to be. It was so ingrained
the other way. But uh, you know, being able to
(52:23):
have that split focus of four screens of four cameras, yeah,
something some people can do, some people can't, and single
camera people coming into multi camera can't seem to do it,
but multi camera people can do both. So yeah, I
find that's on that too.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
But well, you would go on to have an incredible
career in directing. You have two DGA Award nominations, and
one very big job that you mentioned was first a
d on Ellen, a show that got a ton of
media attention when she became the first openly gay character
on network TV. What was your experience of working on
(53:02):
that show and working with Ellen?
Speaker 8 (53:06):
It was great.
Speaker 4 (53:07):
It was.
Speaker 8 (53:10):
Being a gay woman myself.
Speaker 4 (53:12):
It was.
Speaker 8 (53:14):
You know, not having to like use pronouns to talk about,
which is what I had to be very careful of them.
Boy meets World with you guys, I was very careful
with all of that.
Speaker 2 (53:27):
And what do you mean, explain, explain, expand on that
more with us.
Speaker 8 (53:33):
In that day and age and that time, you just
didn't you weren't out, You weren't you know, you just
don't ask, don't tell kind of thing. And I never
bought anyone to rap parties or anything else like that.
It was the beards as it were. But that's just
(53:58):
the time. That was just the time, you know, And
I was so closeted too. It was just kind of crazy,
but on Ellen, I didn't have to be anymore, and
so it was pretty great. And but working with Ellen
herself was a whole different experience because she comes she
(54:18):
came from the stand up world. Obviously, you got two
takes and that's it, and you moved on and you
were lucky. And it had to be something really specific
to make a third take. Everybody had to come to
the set frosty right and ready to go and be prepared.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
And.
Speaker 8 (54:37):
It just she was very conscious of the audience and
the live audience, and that was bomitter and man, it
just flew. And she was brilliant, brilliant comedian and and
so I learned a lot, a lot a lot about
(54:58):
comedy from her. One of my favorite moments is when
Emma Thompson came on the show and they were just
improving with each other in front of the camera, and
you know, it's a thing of don't ask where you
can't speak, and I'm behind the camera and I'm laughing
so hard and crying because I'm laughing. So I'm like
double over, about to hit the floor because it was
(55:20):
just so funny. So that was really great. But you know,
the highlight obviously was when the coming out episode. That
was like a huge moment, you know, and reflective of
the time too, because it was all in secret. We
(55:40):
knew it was going to happen months ahead of time,
Like it's like being in the closet. You can't really
talk about it, right And and suddenly you know it's
getting closer and closer, and she's getting impatient, and Michael
Eisner is like saying, no, I don't think we should
do this, and you know, all the politics are at
play and all this kind of stuff, and you know,
we had amazing musical acts and you know, big, big
(56:06):
things happening, and you know, we had a rock and
roll episode where she got so tired of not being
able to come out that she says on stage with
like Bonnie Rait and and David Crosby and Sheryl Crow
and all that goes, I'm gay and oh my god.
You never saw people move so fast as to confiscate
the tapes in the film and.
Speaker 2 (56:27):
The oh geez, it was crazy.
Speaker 8 (56:31):
But it was it was really it was really something else.
That moment with Laura Dern in the airport when she said,
I mean it just I still get chills today.
Speaker 6 (56:41):
The microphone for great moment.
Speaker 8 (56:44):
And it's just like one of those historic moments I
was so proud to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (56:49):
Yeah, it must have really, like you said, it was
such a moment of the times, but also for you,
like hearing that you were so closeted that you felt
you had to keep that a secret from everybody on
Boy Meets World. It was it must have been, but yeah, yes, yes,
(57:09):
but it must have felt very much like I don't know,
just like it must have felt so like so special
and well it's like.
Speaker 5 (57:18):
E merging of the personal and the professional. Yeah, you know,
it's like you're creatively a part of something that's changing
the culture. But it's also so reflective of what you
had already gone through or were going through. That's amazing.
Speaker 8 (57:29):
Absolutely. And you know, we sat there in a production
meeting and there's a little Fredo's Cafe scene where Katie
Lang was going to be playing guitar and Melissa Edwards
or whatever, and it's a coffee house and there was
one in West Hollywood and Ellen looks to me and
she goes, we'll fill it with your friends.
Speaker 9 (57:50):
Everybody in that scene to be gay, And I was like, okay, Okay,
that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (57:57):
That is so great.
Speaker 8 (57:58):
It's time to have that in like a production meeting.
Speaker 4 (58:00):
I was just like, what, yeah, slightly different world than
Boys World.
Speaker 1 (58:06):
Maybe yeah another another boy Meets World tie in. Lesia
Hayley is a background actor in that scene.
Speaker 6 (58:16):
She really Oh that's awesome. I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (58:19):
At the airport.
Speaker 6 (58:20):
That's great. Yeah, cool, cool like that.
Speaker 1 (58:24):
So you have gone on to have an incredible career
also especially in family TV. Done The Thunderman's a show
we have in common, Raven's Home, Nikky, Ricky, Dicky, and
Don Fuller House.
Speaker 2 (58:37):
What do you love about.
Speaker 1 (58:38):
Working in family TV and maybe even specifically with kid actors.
Speaker 8 (58:44):
I think there's a kindness in the television shows. But
you know, I I someone asked me this a while ago,
and I said, why did you work with so many kids? Book?
And I just feel like it was it was my
(59:05):
job to protect kids. I couldn't protect myself, so I
wanted to protect kids. You know. It's like really interesting
and and you know, one job, he gets, another gets another,
and then you get kind of pigeonholed into a certain
type of genre.
Speaker 1 (59:19):
I think you're right with the kid with the kid
aspect the protective nature of kids. I also feel very
similarly when I'm on set. I mean, my first directing
job was on Girl Meets World, and I continued to
do a bunch of family TV, and I think the
overwhelming feeling I have every time I'm on one of
those sets is I am so happy to be able
(59:42):
to create the kind of comforting family environment we had
people like you creating for us in that first and
second season, and there is there's such a nice feeling
of knowing that, like for a lot of these kids,
this is their very first job or one of their
very first jobs. They're going to go on to hopefully
(01:00:03):
have careers in this industry. And no matter what, they're
not all going to have incredible experiences. Some of them
are going to be really bad. But at the very
least I know, if I'm there, it's going to be
a good experience. And that's a that's a nice feeling.
Speaker 8 (01:00:19):
It is it is, and it's a it's a huge
compliment because you bring what you're bringing you to this
and and and as you as you know, we go
from show to show to show to show, and we're
always reinventing ourselves. We're always re re establishing ourselves with
this new crew, this new direct this new staff, this
(01:00:41):
new cap and the only constant is is is you
and you can only do what you can to make
it a safe environment for the actors to be able
to create. And that's that's me is the whole job
is to create a safe environment for the actors to
do what they're trained to do. Because when the kids
(01:01:04):
don't know what they're doing, they're too young to inexperience whatever.
It's your job to help foster them. And I watch
David do that with you guys, and that just taught
me so much. And it all goes back to to
you know, the basics of you know, just listen, just
just you know, listen to your fellow actors, listen to me.
(01:01:30):
Let me be the buffer between you and the executives
who are trying to give you a thousand notes. And
sometimes shows work that way, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes,
you know, the writers still go into the set to
talk to the actors and it gets confusing. You know that,
That to me was always the hard part of directing too.
(01:01:51):
On sitcoms, especially not so much single camera. Single camera,
you're kind of more respected camera you know, it's your
job to help keep this noise over here at the
monitors and let the actors be.
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Well.
Speaker 1 (01:02:12):
Finally, with all of the TV shows you have worked on,
did you ever think Boy Meets World would be the
one we are still talking about thirty years later.
Speaker 8 (01:02:24):
No, Finally, but amazing. I'm so proud of you, guys.
I mean, it's really wonderful what you're doing and to give,
you know, all these different people who've been associated with
the show a voice and to speak their experience and
(01:02:46):
to have that common denominator through it all of there's
just so much love, you know, respect and aside from
the you know who shall not be mentioned. But if
it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here today.
Speaker 4 (01:03:10):
You said it right, it's a complex relationship. I think
it's a very complex relationship.
Speaker 6 (01:03:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:03:14):
And uh, I'm just you know, seeing you guys right now,
I'm seeing you when you're little. I mean I still
think you know, like I know, you're adults and you
have kids, married and whatnot. Thrilled for you and your journey,
Danielle has been amazing. I mean, your strength right now
is tremendous and I'm so impressed by you.
Speaker 2 (01:03:36):
Thank you so much all.
Speaker 8 (01:03:39):
The good health for you in the coming journey with
what you're doing you.
Speaker 1 (01:03:43):
I'm so thankfully it is it is mostly in my
rear view. I'm just on a I'm on a daily
medication now that I have to take for five years,
and so you know, it's a matter of finding out
what the side effects are, managing those when they pop up.
But you know, treat active treatment is behind me. I
have my first post cancer mammogram in June, so there's
(01:04:05):
a little bit of, you know, anxiety wrapped up in that.
Just sure you know, odds are there's not going to
be anything. But I think every time there'll be another mammogram,
there's always going to be some anxiety around it. But
you know, I mean, truly, I don't ever want to
say I'm like grateful for cancer because it just feels
(01:04:28):
a little silly. But there have been some tremendous changes
in me because of it that I am very grateful for.
And one of them has just been recognizing that pre cancer,
I spent a lot of time doing very perfunctory checking
(01:04:49):
off boxes and making sure I was getting all of
the things done and and really not making any time
for fun or just truly just enjoying life. And I'm
in what I'm calling my season of Yes. I'm saying
yes to everything I'm going, I'm making. I'm having lunches
(01:05:10):
with everyone I've I've ever wanted to have lunch with.
Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
I'm going to dinners, I'm seeing plays.
Speaker 1 (01:05:15):
I'm like doing things that maybe I won't get to
bed until like eleven or twelve, Like yeah, pre cancer,
Danielle was like, Nope, you gotta be asleep by eight thirty.
And so it's just it's made me realize that life
is really short and you never know when it's going
to be over. And so I'm just having as many
incredible experiences with the people that I love as possible.
Speaker 4 (01:05:36):
Yes to everything else to self ask Danielle for money, Yeah, yes,
do it?
Speaker 2 (01:05:43):
Do you never know?
Speaker 8 (01:05:44):
I stepped back a little bit to be home with
raising my two boys. Yeah, and there's there's I wouldn't
do it differently.
Speaker 5 (01:05:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:05:56):
Now, the I paid for it because I tried. When
I was ready to come back to work, more people were.
Speaker 1 (01:06:03):
Like, yeah, how old were you? How old were your
boys when you when you took a step back.
Speaker 5 (01:06:10):
Mmmm.
Speaker 8 (01:06:11):
Well Chris was too, and Nick was born, so I
took a step back when they were little, little little.
I ended up being like the photographer for the preschool
for you know, I'm in the elementary school and all
I kind of I just like was like immersed in
all of that. But you know, it's it's it's interesting.
(01:06:34):
The balance is really really interesting. It's it's hard, right,
I mean, yeah, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (01:06:40):
Writer does it do? Writer?
Speaker 1 (01:06:41):
And writer's son is also in voiceover and and is
a real performative kid. Uh so, yeah, that's a nightmare.
Speaker 6 (01:06:53):
You all make it sound so wonderful.
Speaker 8 (01:06:55):
I'm sorry, we don't.
Speaker 6 (01:06:57):
Mean are you kidding?
Speaker 4 (01:06:59):
No, I I'm sorry for y'allirls.
Speaker 2 (01:07:02):
About to be a grandfather.
Speaker 6 (01:07:04):
I'm about to be a grandpa.
Speaker 4 (01:07:05):
Actually what Yeah, my stepdaughter is about to have our
first grandchild, so I'm very happy.
Speaker 6 (01:07:11):
Yeah, about to be a poppy.
Speaker 2 (01:07:13):
Oh my god, it's gonna be so fun. I can't wait.
Speaker 6 (01:07:17):
Great, Yeah, I can't either.
Speaker 1 (01:07:20):
Well, then, truly, we cannot thank you enough for being
here with us. You are, as we mentioned earlier, you
are just one of those people whose names, whose faces,
whose voice brings back a flood of positive memories of endorphins.
Speaker 2 (01:07:42):
Where can we see you. Can we see you face
to face? Can we give you a hug where.
Speaker 8 (01:07:47):
I'm in studio city?
Speaker 6 (01:07:49):
Oh god, okay, let's go.
Speaker 5 (01:07:50):
Letch touch much time.
Speaker 2 (01:07:52):
Let's let's lunch in my season of Yes, let's lunch.
Speaker 6 (01:07:55):
Oh yes that, oh yes, lunch, yes that anytime.
Speaker 8 (01:08:00):
He'll be so jealous. Jeff has a show, his first
art show. I know, is it this week weekend? Yeah?
I think I got.
Speaker 4 (01:08:12):
Yeah, we got to send him something because we've been
I've been wanting a piece forever and finally there's a
chance of getting one.
Speaker 6 (01:08:16):
So I'm very excited.
Speaker 1 (01:08:18):
Anybody I know, I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
Are they selling pieces at the show?
Speaker 4 (01:08:26):
He's starting to sell so good because I want one.
Speaker 8 (01:08:29):
I want to.
Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
Come to the show.
Speaker 8 (01:08:34):
And he's like, no, no, no, but it's your first show,
and he goes, it's two hours in the gallery here
in Connecticut, don't know when I haven't show in New York.
That's when you come. I'm like, all right, You're.
Speaker 2 (01:08:47):
Not all right, I mean, will be there too, We'll
be there.
Speaker 6 (01:08:52):
Excellent, absolutely, yes, I would love to do it.
Speaker 2 (01:08:55):
When we adore you.
Speaker 1 (01:08:57):
Thank you so much for all of your contributions to
Boy Meets world, and for the protective shield you placed
over all of us and have continued. It's a warm, warm,
fuzzy shield that I still feel to this day. And
I hope to see you soon so I can wrap
you in my arms with a big old hug.
Speaker 8 (01:09:13):
I would love to.
Speaker 2 (01:09:13):
Good to see you, Okay, good to see you.
Speaker 8 (01:09:15):
Thank you. Hi guys. Wow.
Speaker 5 (01:09:19):
Yes, you know, like I think about how different Boy
Meets World would have been without her. Yeah, yeah, I
mean not just in terms of the experience. I actually
genuinely believe creatively it would have reflected on the show too,
you know what I mean? Like, I think that us
feeling comfortable, feeling safe is what allows allowed us to
(01:09:42):
do the performances and allowed us to keep showing up
and to care about it, and allowed our parents to
feel comfortable about yes, a green day, this job and
every aspect of it, and like, yeah, that it's rare.
Unfortunately stage was rare, and then you know, you think
about it. She left our show and brother came in, right,
and it's like, so we're between the mccrackens. We are okay,
(01:10:05):
and that it's like so crazy to think that, like, yes,
it's actually comes from really these two people. So much
of what we think of as like the positive time
and Boys World came from their their actual influence and
decisions that they made. And yeah, just great, amazing.
Speaker 4 (01:10:22):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (01:10:23):
Just hearing her voice and seeing her face that hasn't
changed much and I was like, I'm twelve again. Yeah, yeah,
I'm a little kid again. Thank you all for joining
us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always,
you can follow us on Instagram pod Meets World Show.
You can send us your emails Podmeets World Show at
gmail dot com. And we've got merch.
Speaker 6 (01:10:43):
Okay, we're buying merch in five four three.
Speaker 2 (01:10:50):
Podmeets World Show dot com will send us out.
Speaker 6 (01:10:54):
We love you all, pod dismissed.
Speaker 4 (01:10:57):
Podmeets World is nheart podcast producing hosted by Danielle Fischel,
Wilfredell and Ryder Strong. Executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman.
Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer and editor,
Tara Sudbaksch, producer, Maddy Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World
superfan Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton
of Typhoon, and you can follow us on Instagram at
(01:11:18):
Podmeats World Show, or email us at Podmets Worldshow at
gmail dot com.
Hosts And Creators
Will Friedle
Danielle Fishel
Rider Strong
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