Episode 5 - Revenge!

FADE IN:

The Hollywood adventures of one Griffith Stein continue!  Thanks for sticking with Wunderkind! for 5 episodes. We're about halfway through the story at this point, and as you can see, Wunderkind! is a movie, within a movie... within a movie.  I hope you are having fun keeping up with the twists and visualizing how a talented director would make the layers of Wunderkind! cleverly intertwine on the silver screen.  I do welcome your feedback and invite you to leave a comment here or on iTunes and let me know what you think of Wunderkind!  Does the screenplay format work for you?  Is it helping you get into the story or is it a distraction?  So far the feedback I have received has been positive, but I would love to specifically hear from you!  If you have been enjoying the podcast, please tweet about it, post on Facebook and tell your friends.  There are still some seats left in this theater!  And now, let's get on with the show...

THE STORY SO FAR...

Previously on Wunderkind!...  After a harrowing bike ride home, Griffith pulls an all-nighter poring over the notes he took at O'REILLY's and hacking away at his computer keyboard to write his first screenplay, aptly called, WUNDERKIND, and the same story he overheard Robbie Rosenberg secretly telling to his agent, Izzy Cohen.  The next morning, Griffith goes all out and places copies of his script on the studio screening room seats for the production staff and even studio topper Ted Murdoch to find.  Murdoch loves the script and takes Griffith under his wing, dubbing him a Wunderkind, and stepping up to sign Griffith and personally produce the movie. Meanwhile Robbie Rosenberg is furious, but even Izzy Cohen is skeptical when Rosenberg claims Griffith stole his idea...about an idea getting stolen...  As we begin episode 5, production is about to commence on Wunderkind, the movie... 

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Photo Credit: © Antonio Nunes - Fotolia.com

Episode 4 - The Write Stuff

FADE IN:

Hooray for Hollywood!  In the midst of my recording this episode of Wunderkind! I had the opportunity to travel to LA for a speaking engagement.  While flying above the Hollywood Hills, I was thinking about the story... the dreams of Griffith Stein... my own dreams... and the dreams of everyone who sits in the dark and lights up inside when the story begins on the screen before them.  Movies truly are magical, and nothing evokes the magic more than Hollywood.  As my flight descended toward LAX I looked out the window and noticed some white against the hills in the distance. I grabbed my camera and zoomed in as far as my lens would allow... to capture a shot of the eponymous Hollywood sign.  It is quite appropriate for this podcast, so I'll share the picture with you here (the original, and then when I digitally zoom in).

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

THE STORY SO FAR...

Previously on Wunderkind!... As fate would have it, Hollywood Wunderkind Robbie Rosenberg and his wonder agent Izzy Cohen choose to hold a secret meeting about Robbie's new project at an obscure restaurant where they are confident they can speak freely without the risk of running into any producers or paparazzi.  Little did they know that O'REILLY'S SUSHI BAR & GRILL does have one regular Hollywood diner, the lowly projectionist Griffith Stein...  Our movie within a movie is starting to move faster as Griffith recognizes Rosenberg, and overhears him tell Izzy the plot of his new sure-to-be-a-hit idea, called WUNDERKIND...  As we wrapped up Episode 3, Robbie Rosenberg catches Griffith writing what he hears on an order pad.  Appalled, Rosenberg accuses Griffith of stealing his idea, which is perhaps not so far from the truth.  A guilt ridden Griffith grabs his notes and runs.  A high-speed Hollywood chase ensues as Robbie's limo is pit against the peddling projectionist...  Griffith on his bike manages to evade and avoid the rage filled Rosenberg, but not without a few bruises and a mangled bike... As Griffith makes it back to his apartment we begin Episode 4 - The Write Stuff.

CLICK HERE OR BELOW TO LISTEN TO WUNDERKIND! EPISODE 4

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Photo Credit: © Antonio Nunes - Fotolia.com

Episode 3 - Eavesdropping

FADE IN:

I'm back.... with another episode of Wunderkind! the podcast.  I am having a blast recording this for you and I can only hope you are having fun listening as well.  Please let me know by leaving me some feedback.  If you are enjoying Wunderkind! please don't be shy about it.  Tell your friends to listen and leave a review on iTunes.  I am relying on the kindness of strangers (and you) to help me spread the word about Wunderkind!   

As you may or may not know, earlier in my career I spent 14 years in the film and television industry and was very much in the thick of it when I wrote Wunderkind!  As someone who loves the movies, I wanted to tell a story of Hollywood dreams, perhaps an expression of my own dreams... After all, everyone who loves the movies, at one time or another has dreamed of being a Wunderkind!  Haven't you?

In this episode we re-join our projectionist protagonist, Griffith Stein, as his path crosses once again with the real Wunderkind, Robbie Rosenberg.  As you'll soon find out, Griffith's humble life is beginning to take on the look and feel of... well, a movie...

THE STORY SO FAR...

Previously in Wunderkind.... In Episode 2 we took a peek inside the apartment of studio projectionist Griffith Stein, to learn he is truly a cinemaniac.  Everything he owns is movie related, from his refrigerator filled with popcorn and bon-bons, to his vast CD collection of showtunes and soundtracks.  We learned that Griffith writes a newsletter called "Celluloid Cellibates" and that his mom, back in Florida, thinks her son is a bigshot Hollywood mogul...  Meanwhile, we met Robbie Rosenberg's hotshot agent, Izzy Cohen, and learn that he is pressuring Robbie Rosenberg for details about his next movie project, which is top secret while Izzy Cohen is re-negotiating Robbie's deal with the studio.  Cohen agrees to meet Robbie to discuss his new idea, and to avoid running into any industry insiders they meet at an obscure Irish and Japanese joint, O'Reilly's Sushi Bar & Grill... which just happens to be where Griffith has gone to get some dinner.  As we end episode two, Izzy Cohen's limo driver gets lucky, and soon Griffith will too!

CLICK HERE OR BELOW TO LISTEN TO WUNDERKIND! EPISODE 3

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Photo Credit: © Antonio Nunes - Fotolia.com

Episode 2 - Corned Beef Tempura

FADE IN:

Welcome back to Wunderkind! The Podcast.  In this week's episode we meet Robbie Rosenberg's "WunderAgent" Izzy Cohen, and we learn a bit more about the behind-the-scenes life of film nerd buff Griffith Stein and his faithful pup, Sprocket.  As a reminder, Wunderkind! is the podcast version of an original comedy screenplay, and in reading it I generally retain the protocols of a screenplay format, with INT. and EXT. scene settings, camera angles, dialogue directions, etc.  It may be a little unusual at first, but hopefully you'll get into the flow of it and enjoy the pace, and how the screenplay instructions help you visualize the story.

I crave your feedback, so please let me know what you think of Wunderkind!  You can subscribe via iTunes and if you are enjoying the podcast, please help me spread the word by telling your friends, and leaving a review on iTunes.

THE STORY SO FAR...

Previously in WUNDERKIND, we met film nerd Griffith (named after Andy, not D.W.) Stein. A true Cinemaniac, Griffith is a master of movie trivia, and works as a lowly projectionist at a major Hollywood studio. Always accompanied by his popcorn eating Schnauzer, Sprocket, Griffith spends his days, in the dark, and in the background, serving private screenings to the real movers and shakers, including studio owner Ted Murdock, and rising mogul of the moment, Robbie Rosenberg. Rosenberg's latest about to be a blockbuster is HYPERSPACE -- THE MOVIE, and all indications are it will be his biggest boffo hit yet. As we wrapped episode one, we watched Robbie Rosenberg in his stretch Limo, and Griffith Stein on his bicycle, wind their way back to their respective Hollywood homes. Rosenberg lives in a magnificent mansion... and as we are about to see... Griffith lives in a film infested dump...

CLICK HERE OR BELOW TO LISTEN TO WUNDERKIND! EPISODE 2.

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Photo Credit © Antonio Nunes - Fotolia.com

Episode 1 - HYPERSPACE

FADE IN:

Grab your popcorn and settle down.  The show is about to begin!  I am thrilled to be turning my original screenplay, "wunderkind!" into a serialized podcast.  My love affair with podcasting is a long one. As an early adopter, I was quickly enthralled by the notion of podcasting back in 2004/2005.  I started listening to the early podcasts like Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, The Dawn and Drew Show and Geek News Central.  Then I read an article about Scott Sigler and was introduced to what remains one of my favorite pastimes to this day, podcast fiction.  I was practically addicted to podcasts, and even as a listener I immersed myself in the podcasting community.  I was a guest on show 100 of Rob Walch's seminal PodCast411.  I reached out to Scott Sigler by email and we became good friends.

Fortunately, my business path gave me the opportunity to meet, befriend and even work with many great podcasters, all of whom have been an inspiration to me and all of whom are bright beacons of indepenence and creativity.  J.C. Hutchins, C.C. Chapman, Seth Harwood, Tee Morris, Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, and so many more talented storytellers have provided thousands of hours of free entertainment to tens of thousands of fans, and I am a grateful fan of them all.  J.C. and I have had the chance to work together.  C.C. and I are two of the five co-hosts of the Cast of Dads podcast, my first foray as a regular podcaster.

Enough backstory, let's go ahead and get into the story...  I do want to give Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff one last call out, however, because he was the first (as far as I know) to ever podcast a screenplay, in screenplay format.  When I listened to his fantastic podcast reading of his screenplay "Number One with a Bullet" (affiliate link) it dawned on me that I, too, had some potential podcast fodder in the form of "wunderkind!"  Thanks Mark!

Note: "wunderkind!" is a screenplay, and in reading it I generally retain the protocols of a screenplay format, with INT. and EXT. scene settings, camera angles, dialogue directions, etc.  It may feel a little wonky at first, but hopefully you'll get into the flow of it and enjoy the pace.  Please let me know.

CLICK HERE OR BELOW TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 1 - HYPERSPACE

Please SUBSCRIBE via iTunes!





Photo Credit: © Antonio Nunes - Fotolia.com