117 episodes

The most captivating, informative and revealing stories from professionals in the arts and beyond.

The Quidditas Factor Michael J. Arbouet

    • TV & Film
    • 5.0 • 14 Ratings

The most captivating, informative and revealing stories from professionals in the arts and beyond.

    If You Make Your Internal Life a Priority, Then Everything Else You Need On The Outside Will Be Given To You with Jeff Oppenheim

    If You Make Your Internal Life a Priority, Then Everything Else You Need On The Outside Will Be Given To You with Jeff Oppenheim

    Jeff Oppenheim (Writer/Director/Producer) is a veteran of theater and film production. His live-theater credits include productions for Lincoln Center, the Film Society, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, and he has worked in partnership with The Acting Company, Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theater, Bay Street Theater and others. Jeff also founded the non-profit literary organization Other Voices and served as the artistic director creating over 100 events, readings and performances throughout NYC. He produced numerous concerts, week-long festivals and international tours including an inaugural party in Washington, DC to commemorate the first-term inaugural of President Obama. He also produced STAT! For New York City's Public Hospitals!, a week-long, five-borough series of concerts to help raise public awareness and funds for NYC's public hospitals. Highlights of the series include: an all-star Tribute to the 'Godfather of Funk' George Clinton at the Apollo Theater, a night of Gospel and R&B with the Temptations, and a of Old School Hip Hop featuring Marley Marl, DJ Kool Herc, Doug E. Fresh, Roxanne Shante, Kangol Kid, and more. In 2012, Jeff produced OsKuduristas.com--an international tour that brought the African music and dance movement known as "Kuduro" to Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris, New York and DC. As an added featured of the tour, he envisioned a pilot for an international music-focused exchange program between a public high school in Angola, Africa and a public high school in Brooklyn and Queens. Jeff is also a vetted filmmaker. His credits include: the feature film "Funny Valentine" with Anthony Michael Hall, Marlo Marron, and Lord Jamar distributed by Universal Pictures; and the documentary film "A Passion For Giving" that aired nationally on PBS. He served as a Producer for the live stream of Lincoln Center's Out of Door Festival and the Mostly Mozart: A Little Night Music Series. He recently completed a feature-length documentary titled "Real Fake--The Life, Art & Crimes of Elmyr de Hory".
    Support the show

    • 46 min
    Do Not Wait Until The Conditions Are Perfect To Begin. Beginning Makes The Conditions Perfect with Brad Jones

    Do Not Wait Until The Conditions Are Perfect To Begin. Beginning Makes The Conditions Perfect with Brad Jones

    Brad Jones is the creator of the The Cinema Snob and The Bruno Mattei shows, which are popular on You Tube. His love for exploitation films led him to produce several exploitation films: "Midnight Heat", "Cheap", "Freak Out" and "Game Boys". The last three can be found on his website and the trailers for the rest of the movies can be also found there.

    The Cinema Snob is a show inspired by the 1980s review of "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" by Siskel and Ebert. In it, Siskel seemed to get on a soapbox and saw the movie for more than what it really was by calling it the be all, end all for teenage entertainment. And that " it does nothing but teach young people that life is not worth living because you'll just die in the end." In the end, Brad simply said it was just a slasher flick and decided to write and edit his own videos.
    Brad also thought that just the very idea of very pretentious film snobs attempting to review any form of exploitation cinema was always very funny to him. So, being an exploitation fan, that's what he based the character on. Even though some films that are exploited, he likes.
    Brad also produces a podcast called "Radiodrome" where he and his friend Jerrid Foiles talk about diverse exploitation-related subjects in an informal way.
    Support the show

    • 39 min
    How to Be Successful in Reaching Your Goals with past guests on The Quidditas Factor!

    How to Be Successful in Reaching Your Goals with past guests on The Quidditas Factor!

    The last couple of years has been exciting for The Quidditas Factor! Some episodes enriched our lives while others helped us mentally recover from the traumatic pandemic years we’re all still trying to forget. Several episodes gave great advice on how to make it in the entertainment industry while other episodes helped us improve our relationships with those around us. We learned together from others’ experiences and we  overcame the weaknesses and imperfections that hold us back. 
    Support the show

    • 33 min
    You Can Have Whatever You Want If You Believe In Yourself and Keep Your Feet Firmly Planted In The Ground with John D. Hancock

    You Can Have Whatever You Want If You Believe In Yourself and Keep Your Feet Firmly Planted In The Ground with John D. Hancock

    John D. Hancock is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his work on Bang the Drum Slowly, Weeds and Prancer.  Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contemporary plays, from Shakespeare to Saul Bellow.  He also directed several films with his wife actress and screenwriter Dorothy Tristan.  Hancock worked closely with Tristan on a number of projects including the aborted first version of Jaws 2 in 1977 (which Tristan co-wrote with Howard Sackler) as well as California Dreaming, Weeds, A Piece of Eden, Suspended Animation and The Looking Glass. Dorothy Tristan passed away on  January 8th 2023.
    Support the show

    • 32 min
    Success Only Comes To Those Who Dare To Attempt with Lynda Reiss

    Success Only Comes To Those Who Dare To Attempt with Lynda Reiss

    Lynda Riess entire career has been a 25 year master class in prep, production, finding rapid solutions to last minute requests and most importantly how to remain calm when the crap hits the fan. As a Property Master she was on set behind the camera for years, working with every department, developing character with actors, back story with directors, and adding texture and layering with Costume and Production design. She know who does what and what is possible.  

    She  took this expereince and made two award winning short films. The first one, technically, was an exploration into visual detail, cinematography and timing.  Story wise it was exciting to be able to delve into the darker themes and find a way to make a story about death, age and loneliness entertaining. She made  audiences laugh cry and jump all in nine minutes. This short got her into the Sony Pictures Diverse Directors Program, and was also Oscar eligible in 2019. The second short was made to show she could direct television drama. More characters, larger in scope. 

    Lynda would be bringing her years of experience working on shows like True Detective, Stranger Things.  She has done stuff, been places and seen things…..all this means she has a unique rich deep pool of life knowledge that she will bring to projects she will direct. 

    Born in New York, raised in the UK she have the accent of one and the attitude of the other.  If you need a director with a lifetime of production experience, or just someone fun to be on set with in the rain at 3am, then please reach out to her.
    Support the show

    • 46 min
    Inspiration Comes From Within Yourself. One Has To Be Positive. When You’re Positive, Good Things Happen with Claudia Myers

    Inspiration Comes From Within Yourself. One Has To Be Positive. When You’re Positive, Good Things Happen with Claudia Myers

    Claudia Myers was named one of "10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2015." by Independent Magazine. Most recently Claudia wrote and directed Above the Shadows, a supernatural drama starring Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson, Jim Gaffigan and Megan Fox. The film opened the 2019 Brooklyn Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Above the Shadows was released theatrically by Gravitas Ventures. Prior to this, Claudia wrote, directed and produced the dramatic feature Fort Blissstarring Michelle Monaghan and Ron Livingston. The film won several festival awards and top critics for The Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer both cited Fort Bliss among the best films of 2014. Claudia also wrote and directed Kettle of Fish starring Mathew Modine and Gina Gershon. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released theatrically in 2007. She has directed two award-winning short films, including the Sundance short Buddy & Grace.
    Outside of narrative fiction, Claudia has worked with veterans and active duty soldiers to make a number of films about the military community. She produced and directed the documentary The Long Road Back, about soldiers who were severely injured in Iraq. The film won two Telly Awards, an Aurora Award, and was nominated for a regional Emmy. In 2010, Claudia produced and directed Women At War, a documentary about the evolution of women’s roles in the military. She also wrote and directed the interactive role-playing feature, Outside the Wire for use by the U.S. Army, which won a Codie Award and a Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award. The film pushes the boundaries of traditional narrative by melding fiction film, gaming, and educational training. Claudia subsequently wrote The War Inside another large-scale interactive, role-playing feature that deals with the psychological impact of war and aims to build resilience in soldiers.
    As a screenwriter, Claudia has won numerous awards, was twice a finalist for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and is an alumna of the Hamptons Screenwriters Lab. Andy Tennant directed her script Wild Oats, starring Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Lange and Demi Moore, which was released in 2016. Claudia is currently in development on a drama series about women in Special Operations.
    Claudia studied literature at Yale then received her MFA in film at Columbia University. She is an associate professor in the Film & Media Arts division of American University’s School of Communication in Washington DC.
    Support the show

    • 1 hr 1 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
14 Ratings

14 Ratings

Tdixon508 ,

Great podcast!

I highly recommend making this podcast a part of your routine if you enjoy listening to awesome content from some true professionals!!

LJS_NYC ,

Inspiring Artists!

It's very comforting in these difficult times to hear words of inspiration from my fellow artists. Making a living in the entertainment industry can be next to impossible. However, hearing these folks tell their stories reinforces the notion that persistence is EVERYTHING. Great podcast!

Hfhfjfnrbfj ,

Gabe

Really great podcast!!

Top Podcasts In TV & Film

Who Killed the Video Star: The Story of MTV
Audacy Studios
Just B Divorced with Bethenny Frankel
iHeartPodcasts
Watch What Crappens
Ben Mandelker & Ronnie Karam | Wondery
When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany
PodcastOne
FX’s Shōgun: The Official Podcast
FX
Pop Culture Happy Hour
NPR