Nerd For A Living

This bonus episode from our sister podcast, Animation Invasion, features composer Dominic Lewis. Dom has worked with Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman. His animated work includes Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph, and How to Train Your Dragon. He scored 3 seasons of Amazon’s Man in the High Castle, and contributed music to Captain America: Winter Soldier, and X-Men: First Class. He’s currently composing for Disney’s XD’s DuckTales, and working on the upcoming feature film Peter Rabbit.

This episode is a rebroadcast of our August 2016 conversation with Stranger Things star, David Harbour. Netflix’s massive breakout hit returns this week with Stranger Things season 2. David reprises his role as Sheriff Jim Hopper, the reluctant, brash, mess of a hero who mandates that mornings are for “coffee and contemplation”, and that difficult situations call for punching. His performance in season one earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Our guest this episode is Parry Gripp, frontman for nerd-rock band Nerf Herder, and an Emmy winning songwriter with numerous credits in animation. Nerf Herder performed the theme song to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, cementing their immortality with nerd fandom. Many of Parry’s humorous solo songs have gone insanely viral, including "Raining Tacos". He won the 2017 Daytime Creative Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song for "I’m Not Very Nice", from the Disney animated series The 7D.

We're joined by Eli Craig, writer/director of Tucker & Dale Versus Evil, and Netflix’s Little Evil, an offbeat comedy about love, family, and The Antichrist. Little Evil stars Adam Scott as Gary, a newlywed struggling to acclimate to the role of stepfather to his disturbingly bizarre step-son, Lucas. Even as his therapy sessions with other step-dads assure him that all children are a little evil, increasingly odd situations drive Gary to believe Lucas might actually be the spawn of Satan.

We chat with Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, about his new crowdfunded comic project, Drawing Blood. It follows a down-on-his-luck cartoonist whose life is in a tailspin after early mega success, exploring dark corners of a mad world only talked about in the hotel bars of Comic Con. Kevin discusses how this new project came together, the continued joys of working on the TMNT franchise, and how he is just as big a fan of toys and collectibles as the fans he creates them for.

"Preacher" / "Glow" Editor Tyler L. Cook

Matthew Jensen - Wonder Woman Director of Photography

Flora Lichtman – host of "Every Little Thing" from Gimlet Media

Lucifer Co-Showrunner Ildy Modrovich

Ernie Hudson, Actor - "APB", "Grace & Frankie", "Ghostbusters"

Jessie Graff - American Ninja Warrior, "Supergirl" Stuntwoman

"Legion" (Marvel/FX) Production Designer Michael Wylie

Rachael Stott, Doctor Who Comics Artist

Karen Berger, Vertigo Comics founder & Surgeon X editor

NaNoWriMo Executive Director Grant Faulkner