Thu, Oct 1, 2020
The Lightning Hour hosts, Rico E. Anderson, Sasha Kerbel and Rachelle Henry were thrilled to interview Dot-Marie Jones, Coach Beiste of GLEE. She takes us behind the scenes of shooting one of the most popular teen series of all time, regaling us with stories of eating tons of rotisserie chicken, singing Dolly Parton's song "Jolene" and first time working with Jane Lynch. She talked about her story lines about domestic violence, how she still loves watching the scene with "the girls", including her friend Naya Rivera, singing "Shake It Out" that still moves her to tears. Dot captivates us with sharing how Ryan Murphy wanted Glee to be inclusive and representative of people's experiences and how playing Sheldon had such an impact on so many lives and getting to be a part of that. She shared how being in sports and being a 15 time World Champion arm wrestler actually led her to opportunities to get into the film and TV industry with her start on "Knights and Warriors" eventually led to Married with Children, Chicago Hope, Lizzie McGuire, Nip/Tuck, a fun episode of Roseanne named Roseanne-Feld, and the list goes on. She shared that she is the first female to play Dennis Dupree in the Off-Broadway revival of Rock of Ages.
Thu, Oct 8, 2020
The Lightning Hour hosts, Rico E. Anderson, Sasha Kerbel and Rachelle Henry spark up a conversation with Actress, Model and Influencer Lilimar dishes about her years as a Nickelodeon alum in her roles as Sophie in "Bella and the Bulldogs," and Sage in "Knight Squad." Lilimar shares about growing up in the spotlight and how she's grown into the woman she is now. She captivates us with behind the scenes stories of filming "Mad World" and Adam Sandler's Netflix comedy, "Hubie Halloween." The hosts asked her about her experiences with DreamWork animated series "Spirit: Riding Free" and most recently as the title role in "Cleopatra In Space" and asked if her success is written in the stars.
Thu, Oct 15, 2020
The Lightning Hour hosts, Rico E. Anderson, Sasha Kerbel and Rachelle Henry discuss the Cobra Kai motto,, "Strike first. Strike hard. Show No Mercy," with Cobra Kai's Homeless Lynn, also known as Susan Gallagher. The sassy spitfire Homeless Lynn talks of getting to watch the star of the 80's classic "Karate Kid" Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka, deliver his first kick to kick off the new era of the Cobra Kai dojo. Susan tells us about how one improvised moment became a fandom favorite and waxes eloquent about the Karate Kid/Cobra Kai legacy and the shows popularity which has even led to her receiving fan art and Homeless Lynn has her own bobblehead doll. Ms. Gallagher shares about being in pre-production for the upcoming war drama feature film "22- The Unforgotten Soldier" and about playing Mary alongside Sam Medina. Susan transports us to her time working on hit TV series such as Netflix's Bloodline, OWN Network's Queen Sugar and CBS's NCIS: New Orleans and working the popular YouTube series, Queering. She talks about having founded her own production company, Her Little Red Productions and producing multiple award-winning films such as "Portrait of a Woman at Dawn."
Fri, Oct 16, 2020
The Lightning Hour hosts, Rico E. Anderson, Sasha Kerbel and Rachelle Henry jump into action with Bo Mitchell who plays Brucks the bully and Griffin Santopietro, who plays Daniel La Russo's son, Anthony, to talk about their roles in Netflix's hit show, Cobra Kai and what it's like to become a part of The Karate Kid franchise. Griffin and Bo gush about working with the original Karate Kid actors, Ralph Macchio and William Zabka and captivate us with their stories of seeing the fight scenes come to life. Griffin shares about what video games he plays during his scenes and Bo talks about his fight scene against William Zabka. Bo Mitchell and Griffin Santopiertro take us back in time to the 80s as we regale on the best nostalgic moments and Easter Eggs to the original franchise. Mitchell and Santopietro discuss which dojo they would choose between Cobra Kai or Miyagi-Do.
Tue, Oct 20, 2020
The Lightning Hour hosts, Rico E. Anderson, Rachelle Henry and Sasha Kerbel take a trip to the 1886 Wild West with Lockdown Theatre's cast and crew of "Tough Trip Through Hell". Rico and Rachelle share the inspirations for their characters, Ezekiel Pompeii and Calamity Jane, respectively. Tommy Hestmark shares about his character, Sheriff Henry Plummer, being such a departure from his last role with Lockdown Theatre playing the role of Angel in "The Bridge." Rick Walters not only shares about his role as Sam Willson, he divulges it's a challenge to direct a western production during the pandemic lockdown. Writer Bruce Solheim, PhD gives us background information about adapting his friend, David A. Willson's unpublished novel. David is in last stages of cancer, and Bruce told us he's happy to be bringing his vision to life. Technical director, Jordan Martin, painted a picture of the technical challenges of creating a virtual western world for the Tough Trip Through Hell world. Actors Jeff Harada, Jaki Harada, Toby Guebert, StaggerLee Cole, Ryan J. Lyle, Nicole Lockett and Rose Ellis share some of their characters' personalities and tell us what makes this five-part mini-series so special.
Thu, Oct 22, 2020
The Lightning Hour hosts, Rico E. Anderson, Sasha Kerbel and Rachelle Henry get in the spooky season mood with the iconic scream queen Lin Shaye of the "Insidious" franchise. She shares about memories of her father's bedtime stories and how her mother provided materials for her to bring her imagination to life. She regaled us with stories of studying with Uta Hagen, Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and about auditioning for a role in Jack Nicholson's film, Goin' South. She mesmerized us with stories of her multiple collaborations with the Farrelly Brothers and how she created her characters for "There's Something About Mary," "Dumb and Dumber, " and "Kingpin, " as well other memorable characters. Ms. Shaye reveals how big of an impact her brother, Robert Shaye, creator of New Line Cinema, has made on her career and life. Shaye captivates us with her love of comedy and horror, and talks about her iconic leading role as Elise Rainier in the Insidious franchise.
Thu, Oct 29, 2020
Welcome to The Lightning Hour. Our hosts Rico E Anderson, Rachelle Henry and Sasha Kerbel grab their weapons, pack the essentials and prepare for the Zombie apocalypse. Luckily, they have help from 3 zombie experts: Patricia Tallman who played Barbara on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990), Vincent M. Ward who played Oscar on THE WALKING DEAD and Lisa Coronado who played Dr. Merch on Z NATION. In response to our question of the goriest scenes to film on their respective shows, Patricia Tallman regaled us with what the zombies ate in the 1968 version vs. what the zombies ate during the 1990 version of "Night of the Living Dead." Viincent M. Ward reveals why he didn't eat pulled pork after filming "The Walking Dead." Lisa Coronado dishes about the strange combination her co-star, Keith Allan, had to "eat" in her demise in "Z Nation." Vincent M. Ward's recommendation is that we be fit and prepared to run, or carry a big ax or a grenade, if possible. Lisa Coronado suggested that a syringe and clipboard are not effective weapons in surviving a zombie apocalypse. Patricia Tallman advised that a shotgun is a powerful weapon against zombies and she is the only survivor of the zombie apocalypse on our panel. Get your machetes and hold onto your brains everyone because this Halloween themed episode is sure to get you in the spooky season mood.
Thu, Nov 5, 2020
The Lightning Hour hosts, Rico E. Anderson, Sasha Kerbel and Rachelle Henry go in-depth with Emmy-Award winning SFX / Special Effects Makeup artist Thomas Surprenant. Surprenant shares about being in the business for over 30 years, about having worked on such projects as Batman Returns, Batman Forever, The Crow: City of Angels, X-Men: The Last Stand, Charlie's Angels, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Donnie Darko, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He talks about the different makeup styles on projects such as How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Showgirls and Space Rangers. He discusses his makeup line and how it has been featured in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Scorpion King, and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy among other projects. We asked about Surprenant being nominated for three Emmys, and how he felt about winning twice. He was a part of two Academy Award winning makeup crews, and has received a Make-up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Award. He proudly shares memorable moments of doing SFX makeup on the hit 50 + year franchise, "Star Trek". We talk about Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Star Trek Voyager; Star Trek: Enterprise; Star Trek Continues; feature films Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact.
Thu, Nov 12, 2020
Welcome to The Lightning Hour. Our hosts Rico E Anderson, Rachelle Henry and Sasha Kerbel go to the dark side and have a delightful chat with the team behind the award-winning film MY SUMMER AS A GOTH. Co-writer/Director Tara Johnson-Medinger divulges that she and her high school best friend, Brandon Lee Roberts, co-wrote My Summer as a Goth loosely based on their own teen goth adventures and shared that it took approximately twelve years from the first draft to currently having it streaming on DirecTV and other streaming channels across the world. Tara explains why the movie was filmed over the course of two summers and how the MeToo movement caused a few changes in the story. The leading cast, including Natalie Shershow (Joey), Eduardo Reyes (Antonio), Jenny White (Pen), Carter Allen (Cob) and The Lightning Hour's own Rachelle Henry who plays Joey's BFF (Molly) engage us with stories about how they had to bring realistic chemistry to their onscreen relationships and some of the funniest moments each actor had on set.
Thu, Nov 19, 2020
Welcome to The Lightning Hour. Hosts Rico E Anderson, Rachelle Henry and Sasha Kerbel talk all things cinema with writer, animator and actor Frank Dietz. Dietz shared that as a writer, he's written the scripts for many independent features, including NAKED SOULS, COLD HARVEST and the MAGIC IN THE MIRROR series for Paramount and that he co-wrote the 2019 comedy, I HATE KIDS starring Tom Everett Scott, Titus Burgess, Marisa Tomei and more including The Lightning Hour host, Rico E. Anderson. Frank captivates us with stories of working as an animation artist at Walt Disney Studios on such films as HERCULES, MULAN, TARZAN, ATLANTIS - THE LOST EMPIRE and most recently, Mary Poppins Returns. Dietz reveals that he acted in a series of horror films now considered cult classics like ZOMBIE NIGHTMARE with Adam West and shares that this film had an unusual resurgence when Mystery Science Theatre 3000 got a hold of it and started "riffing" it into even more cult status. Dietz discusses his journey as one of the writers of the reboot of CREEPSHOW.
Thu, Nov 26, 2020
Welcome to The Lightning Hour. Hosts Rico E Anderson, Rachelle Henry and Sasha Kerbel settle in for a chat with the powerhouse mother/son duo, Brittany Perry-Russell and Isaiah Russell-Bailey. They inspire us with stories about getting to work together on various projects such as playing 'Shaka" on the Netflix series "Family Reunion" and the upcoming Robert Rodriguez film "We Can Be Heroes." Isaiah Russell-Bailey and host Rico E. Anderson discuss his role as young 'Dee' in the CBS crime drama "S.W.A.T." where Rico plays his dad. Isaiah amuses us with stories of working with his co-stars and their real-life dynamics on set on of "Family Reunion." Brittany Perry-Russell inspires us with her connection to her characters in her roles in the Universal film Honey 2, roles on Grey's Anatomy, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, playing Tracy Porter, a wife of a high school counselor Kevin Porter, on the Netflix hit series, 13 Reasons Why, and other roles. Brittany shares that her career began as a professional dancer appearing alongside top artists such as Beyonce, Rhianna, Nick Jonas, Meghan Trainor, Chris Brown, Katy Perry, and recently dancing with Cardi B, Janelle Monet, and Kanye West.
Thu, Dec 3, 2020
Welcome to The Lightning Hour. Join hosts Rico E Anderson, Rachelle Henry and Sasha Kerbel for our Gen Z Spotlight featuring singer-songwriter, Presley Tennant. She gushes about being on Team Kelly for Season 16 of The Voice and talks about how life changing that opportunity has been. She shares about her transition from pop to country, and what inspired her to make that transition and talks about the inspiration behind her just released newest single "Temporary." Presley got us in the holiday spirit with beautiful Christmas songs and inspired us with the story of her musical journey and what we can expect from her in the future.
Fri, Dec 4, 2020
Welcome to The Lightning Hour. Join hosts Rico E Anderson, Rachelle Henry and Sasha Kerbel for our Gen Z Spotlight featuring actor/singer/ musician Erich Schuett. We spark up a conversation about Erich's upcoming feature films "18 to Party" and "Song of the Tree Frogs." Erich shares his journey that led to singing at Carnegie Hall and about a 2017 Grammy consideration for his first professional recording "A Christmas Presence." Erich shared about his thrilling experienced being featured on The Harry Connick Jr TV Show and singing "Ave Maria." Erich took us behind the scenes for his training at Julliard and shared how that training and experience shaped him as an artist and performer.