Jesse V. Johnson — Action, Authenticity & Watching the Actor's Face Jesse V. Johnson — action director, former stuntman and PA, and the man behind *Savage Dog*, *Avengement*, *Accident Man*, and *Thieves Highway* — sits down with James and BJ for a deep, craft-first conversation about what three decades in the trenches of low-budget action filmmaking actually teaches you. Jesse traces his path from running cables as a teenage PA on Helena Bonham Carter's second film to doing second unit for Spielberg on *Lincoln*, Branagh on *Thor*, and P.T. Anderson on *The Master* — and why those years of enforced unemployment beside the masters were worth more than all his early directing credits combined. Key topics - **The actor roster:** Scott Adkins, Aaron Eckhart, Stephen Bauer (Scarface stories, Ray Donovan, and the heartbreak of scheduling killing the perfect casting), John Malkovich refusing to eat, Ray Park demanding one-take scenes, and Christopher Lee on the set of *Young Indiana Jones* - **Working beside the greats:** Spielberg shooting the Battle of Spotsylvania Ferry with 1,000+ extras and moving on after one take regardless; Kenneth Branagh's notebook method and treating a Thor script like Shakespeare; P.T. Anderson keeping Joaquin Phoenix on a stool facing a corner between takes and the real 1930s museum toilet that got destroyed - **Practical effects philosophy:** why real blanks change an actor's eyes, what Isaac Florentine learned from Sergio Leone's close-ups, and the Gene Kelly trick Jesse stole for *Accident Man* (light shoes = the audience follows the feet) - **The road to *Savage Dog*:** three years unemployable after a black-and-white passion project, the 1942 Jeep with no cup holder, and the roadside moment that reset his entire relationship to the work - **Thieves Highway hitting #1 on Hulu** with zero publicity spend — and *Above and Below* (Antonio Banderas, sharks, a boat) coming next - **Mentoring Luke LaFontaine** on his first feature (*Mexicali*), Jesse's son Aster as script supervisor, and the value of building a set around people you trust - **Advice for directors:** read the masters (Raoul Walsh, William Wyler, Howard Hawks), stop calling it content, and understand that movies are an extension of 2,000-year-old Greek theatre

Nicolas Wendl shot a horror feature in his co-director's apartment for $7,000 and it ended up on the CW.

Nicolas (director of STUPID GAMES, Chapman grad, half French / half German) sits down with James and BJ to break down how he and co-director Danny turned a no-budget apartment shoot into a movie that trended in Tubi's top five horror titles, out-marketed studio campaigns with nothing but their own TikToks, and became the calling card that got him his next feature.

Also: why every effect in the movie is in-camera, the magnets hidden under a board game, the real reason for the green M&Ms, Shannon Doherty's first-ever on-screen death, practical effects vs. aging CGI, a shark-movie bucket list, the dolphin HGTV pitch nobody asked for — and five straight minutes of Jim Carrey being personally responsible for the Mandela Effect.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

— WATCH STUPID GAMES —
Streaming on Tubi and the CW · rent or buy on Prime · also
Or just Google "stupid games" — the marketing worked that well.

— FOLLOW NICOLAS —
@nicolaswendl on all socials

— THE TRACKSUIT PODCAST —
Hosted by James Cullen Bressack & BJ Hendricks
Produced by Bent Wrist Productions

## Jeremy O'Keefe — Casting, Directing & the Bold Choice

Jeremy O'Keefe — casting director, producer, director, acting coach, and tracksuit convert — sits down with James and BJ to pull back the curtain on how the indie film casting machine really works. From assembling the stacked ensemble on *Boris is Dead* to landing Anthony Hopkins for his feature casting debut *Eyes in the Trees*, Jeremy breaks down the philosophy behind great auditions, why actors sabotage themselves by over-planning, and what it feels like to finally step back into the director's chair after 15 years for his passion project *The Avoidant*.

**Key topics:**
- Casting *Boris is Dead*: targeting 90s names, writing personal letters to actors, and why almost every role was a recognizable face
- The Mindy Sterling "sadly passed" email incident that convinced everyone she was dead
- Jimmy Duvall — 12 years of friendship finally landing in the right role
- Jeremy's Meisner-adjacent acting technique: getting out of your brain, into your gut, and making your scene partner matter
- Why over-rehearsed auditions tank on set — and how James spots it by throwing adjustments mid-read
- BJ's Glee audition: nailed the choreography, lost the role to his own tattoos
- Jeremy's shirtless Rallies Burger commercial audition dancing to Nelly — his most humiliating moment
- In-person vs. self-tape: why bringing actors back into the room had them crying with gratitude
- Landing Anthony Hopkins for *Eyes in the Trees* and learning the producing side of star attachments
- *The Avoidant* — Adam Goldberg leads; shooting in Delaware; Jeremy directing for the first time since 2011
- The Dregs (dir. Connor Martin) and chasing Freddie Prinze Jr. across two sitcoms
- James's 100+ tracksuit collection, COVID origin story, and the Emmy tux incident
- LA Metro life, Waymo shoutouts, and how Silver Lake is starting to feel like Astoria
- Networking events, giving vs. getting, and why being useful is the real career strategy