NOLA Film Scene with Tj & Plaideau
A podcast about acting, filmmaking, and the improv scene in New Orleans.
NOLA Film Scene with Tj & Plaideau
Tj & Plaideau Livestream: Fan Expo New Orleans
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Tj & Plaideau recap their experiences with appearing on their first panel ever at Fan Expo New Orleans. Tj also discusses the Abita Springs International Film Festival and the films he experienced there. Come along for this livestream.
Follow us on IG @nolafilmscene, @kodaksbykojack, and @tjsebastianofficial. Check out our 48 Hour Film Project short film Waiting for Gateaux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5pFvn4cd1U . & check out our website: nolafilmscene.com
welcome back tj and plato and we are recovering from a busy weekend we are. Yeah, we're going to recap our weekend. We went to fan expo new orleans. Tj went to the abita springs international film festival.
Speaker 2:I slept a lot, as you said, it was a very busy but productive weekend. There's a lot. As you said, it was a very busy, but productive weekend.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of cold. There's a witch's here in New Orleans. I like the cold. I can deal with cold when I have some snow to make it happy.
Speaker 2:You know how much.
Speaker 1:I love snow and we didn't get it. And we're going to get colder next week. Yeah, so it's going to feel like it's 14 is the last thing I saw.
Speaker 2:My family will be traveling soon to a swim meet out of town and it's supposed to snow while they're there, how are you going to swim in the cold that pond going to be frozen over Indoor heated pool, oh nice.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about the weekend Fan Expo, new Orleans. Nola Film Scene got invited to do a panel at Fan Expo, and doing a panel at a convention is something we've been talking about since we started this podcast. Yeah, and it's definitely a step in the right direction. Maybe, maybe in the in the near future, we'll have our own table or even run our own panel. Yeah, and we both. We also ran into a bunch of friends while we were there. We'll talk about the panel first, though. Yeah, we were invited by Russ Stevens. He goes by CatBuzzRuss CatBuzzRuss, and his show is a mouthful, but let me read it. Okay, his show is I Did Crazy Flicks Presents 90 for Chill the podcast, so we did the panel and we talked about crazy films.
Speaker 1:His premise is films should be 70 to 90 to 100 minutes, should be short films. Cut out the fluff. There are films that expand and they're trying to make their time limit Get to the story, tell the point, entertain the people, keep them thrilled, keep them invigorated.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there are some films that I think need longer lengths. I couldn't imagine Gone with the Wind being shorter than what it is. You know, some of these classic movies I just couldn't. I couldn't imagine them telling the story shorter than that.
Speaker 2:That said, I think there is a lot of fluff in some movies and doing these film festival competitions that we've been doing where the films have to be between four and seven minutes, it's kind of opened my eyes up to the fact that you've got to be succinct when you're telling your story, and if you can tell a whole story in seven minutes, you can tell a whole story in an hour and a half.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's all about the writing.
Speaker 2:That's right. That's right. It comes down to the writing and, of course, the editing and the pacing of it.
Speaker 1:So this is like oh, I don't know, my 10th convention going. I've been going since like 2010. How, like? Oh, I don't know, my 10th convention going. I've been going since like 2010. Oh, maybe that's 14 now, Wow, but anyway, New Orleans has a convention every January and I got to meet Greta Lyle, the voice of Daphne, among so many other things, and that's a thrill for me, and I actually did a couple of interviews. But I think my mic was cutting out. I don't think I'll be able to use it and it's breaking my heart. But I did get a cool picture because I wore this Scooby-Doo shirt that's a mashup with Dungeons, Dragons, you know and I had a Scooby hat and I brought her Scooby snacks and she was thrilled. I met Scott Ennis, who's been the voice of Scooby-Doo for years. Right now I think it's Frank Welker, but still, it's awesome. A couple of Supermen Tim Daly and George Newbern, and who else have you seen my picture with Gollum himself.
Speaker 1:Yes, last year for the Lord of the Rings, three of the Hobbits came and I brought ring pops, just like we had when we were kids, although they don't fit on my finger anymore and so we all there was like three, three guests and then three of us and we're all holding ring pops. There was a fun picture. So when andy circus was coming to town, I did a little research and that's where I bought this. It's like a half a foot big ring pop, one ring pop to rule them all. He, he loved it, he was very thrilled. He even took the podcast card. So you never know.
Speaker 2:You never know. It would be pretty cool if we could sit down and talk to him.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I asked Gray, I asked Scott, I was asking a few other people. My friend, jim Vess and I which you know, jim, he and I worked together and did the four-person Back to Future Cast photo and, like bringing the ring pop, I always bring a prop to plus the picture. So, jim, when he's on set he folds origami dollars and people love him. He saw Giancarlo Esposito again and Giancarlo remembered his name Because not only did he work on a show with him, he talked to him at another fan expo and the dude just loves him and Jim, of course, was thrilled by that.
Speaker 1:But we couldn't hand anything to the Back to the Future cast, which makes a lot of sense, you know, I was thinking one for speed. But also, if I have a germ on I hand to Michael J Fox and his system is, you know, compromised, I wouldn't want to be the guy to hurt him. I did get to just lean in. I did get to just lean in. I said my dad had Parkinson's. I appreciate everything you do, thank you. And he turned. He struggled a little bit to turn because we were standing behind him, they were all in chairs. He said, okay, thanks.
Speaker 2:So I had my tiny, tiny moment with Michael J Fox was my wife's first movie, star crush, you know, when she was a teenager.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it was exciting for her to walk by and see his booth. She saw him just briefly, so that was pretty cool Seeing the DeLorean. I don't think it was the actual DeLorean, but it was certainly set up just like it was really cool.
Speaker 1:Years ago I took a picture in the DeLorean P Beard. So you can pay, you get your photo with that. This was your first convention, wasn't it? I've been to comic book conventions before.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh, I lived in San Diego for a long time, but it's been a long time, nice, long, long time since I've been to one and I had a good time. I only went Friday, I had kind of a full weekend Before we did our panel. I got to walk around a good bit, ran into our good friend Josh Young, mc Popsicle, mc Popsicle Yep, Need to go check him out, check out his comic books. Who else did we run into?
Speaker 1:Well, we ran into another podcaster who we finally all met in person Jennifer, valerie and A-Ron the misadventures of Team AJ. Yeah, and while they were interviewing me, because we didn't see you come up, I pulled you in, so we both got on screen for a little bit.
Speaker 2:It was fun, but it was you dragging me into it. Yeah, can't wait to see that. I don't know, have they posted it yet?
Speaker 1:They have posted it. They have posted it. No-transcript. I'll make sure you get it. They said I could use a clip in our social medias, so I'll be releasing that soon.
Speaker 2:That's cool. We need to circle back with them and talk about doing a collaboration.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they can help us with the live events too.
Speaker 1:you know I think that's 2025, we've got to get out there. Yeah, there are two more conventions coming to New Orleans. Well, new Orleans area are adjacent Econ will be in July and that's the same place in New Orleans Convention Center, and then Scott Ennis is throwing Cajun Con in Gonzales in December, so we're going to have some more chances to get out there. Maybe we need to just make a NOLA film scene convention. That's what I want to do for a table. Not only NOLA film scene, us the podcast, but have other actors who don't go to cons and we can promote it there. How to get to these classes. How to work background you know what I mean. You're locally. How to work background. You know what I mean. You're locally. You like watching?
Speaker 2:Now start doing how many people have we heard say that they would like to get into acting, but they just they don't even know where to start. And I was in the same boat and if it wasn't for people like you and other friends that I've met along the way to show me the way, I don't know I don't know that I would have gotten here. You know exactly, exactly the panel. I'm trying to remember who else we ran into that night.
Speaker 1:You, of course, every five feet, somebody else knew you and stopped us and talking and neither one of us saw miss ooh la la, she was there saturday. I bailed early saturday. It was like 2 pm, the convention went to like 7 or 8, and there's after events and I was dog tired, skipped Sunday completely, was totally tired, but she was getting her costume inspected and then I never circled back. You know, gotcha, that would be another advantage of a table so people would know where to find you. Yeah, table, so people would know where to find you. Yeah, you know what I mean? I wouldn't mind if there's. I thought of an app. It would be weird. So you and I are friends, we're on this app. When we enter the convention it can tell us how far apart we are. So if you want to like you'd have a checklist. I want to see TJ. Hey, I saw TJ, you know, but it'd be like find your phone. But maybe a little bit too much.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll see, we'll talk about it offline.
Speaker 1:I got a couple ideas. We'll make it sell it just a few bucks, just enough so we can quit our day job.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:That's all I need. Yeah, and did you do anything else this weekend? I?
Speaker 2:did, yeah, yeah. So I wasn't able to make it back to Fan Expo on Saturday, sunday. The whole weekend Friday, saturday, sunday the Abita Springs International Film Festival was going on, of course, over in Abita and they put on a great, great festival. I didn't make it to the other days. It just too much packed into the weekend. I went to the afternoon block on Sunday and the film that we were in that you won Best Actor for A man from Bandera by Matt Carroll was shown in that block. It was really cool to have a film that I was in in that festival. In that block there were some really really good films. There was a documentary about the French Quarter and I'm going to read this, so I don't booker up the title.
Speaker 2:It was called Wasted Over Tourism in the French Quarter and it was by local actor, laura Caillouette Very, very incredible film. It talked about all the tourism, how tourists come in and don't respect the French Quarter. They leave trash. And one of the things they said if you're a local and you fall down drunk and lay there, that's one thing, but if you're an out-of-towner, don't come and puke on our sidewalks and pass out in the street or use it as a bathroom.
Speaker 2:But they talked about the infrastructure and all of those buildings are incredibly old and they're not made to support modern infrastructure and all the traffic that goes through there is literally shaking the mortar loose from the bricks of some of these buildings, shaking the mortar loose from the bricks of some of these buildings. And they touched on the collapse of the Hard Rock Cafe or Hard Rock Casino Hotel that was being built and it was too big of a building for the small space that they were trying to build it in. They, I guess they got an abeyance and they were trying to go up and out and it it just wasn't stable. But that was a very, very good film.
Speaker 2:And then another local film was a touch of magic, by Shane LeCocq, our friend, and we had a lot of friends, a lot of friends that were in that film, and Lance Nichols, of course, one best actor for the festival, our friend and Mahoney, one best actress, and and a touch of magic, that was the first time I've seen it. It was really really good, very well done, very well written, very well directed, very well acted. I really enjoyed that film.
Speaker 1:Shane's been touring the circuit. He's been getting a lot of awards.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a good film, Really good film. I got to see him briefly on Sunday and talk to him.
Speaker 1:Let me pause you. It might even be our second chat, but our first for today. Hey, Andrew, how you doing? Thanks for joining us. We got a chat person. We got a panel. We got a chat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there it is. Hey, Andrew, I forgot what I was saying.
Speaker 1:You were talking about how Touch of Magic was.
Speaker 2:It won an award. That was the weekend.
Speaker 1:It doesn't sound like much, but it was a lot going on Like I said, I bailed about 2.30 in the afternoon, got home at 3, and I slept for like 12 hours. Yeah, I think it was, and I didn't really do a lot. I did walk around and take a selfie, took a ton of selfies.
Speaker 2:But the whole thing didn't sell.
Speaker 1:Huh, I said no.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Say it isn't. So I was taking one, like I paid for, with the Superman, tim Daly, george Newbern, separately, and somebody goes, you want me to hold the camera and I was like, okay, other people are like that's something you pay for, the full body shot, but mostly it's like I do selfies. What are you talking about? You know, and the cold air, I think because of my asthma it wasn't bad, but it saps your strength and I was just. I was laid out. You know what I mean. Also, if my cosplay had come in, I had ordered some pieces to bring back dr huda. I have well, instead of going for one of the new ones, because I had a fez with a lighted fleur de lis, thelis, the Tom Baker hat, a Saint scarf, a new jacket, and then I bought these tights that look like the solar system, but in my shape I'm not going to just wear those. So I bought these shorts that look like the TARDIS.
Speaker 1:It's so cool and it's probably going to arrive sometime later this week. Oh yeah, well, maybe for Galaxy Quest, then Maybe Galaxy Con. Maybe for Galaxy Quest, then Maybe Galaxy Con.
Speaker 2:Yeah, galaxy.
Speaker 1:Quest I'm there.
Speaker 2:What'd I say?
Speaker 1:So I had come up, you told me you didn't watch the newer stuff, but I had an episode with adiposes. So you would take this pill and your fat would become creature. That's how you lost weight. And I found a it was a little squeeze one, so I called him Tuesday the Adipose, tuesday the Fat Fat, tuesday the Companion to Dr Huda. Okay, so for this one.
Speaker 1:I found a plush version of an Adipose. I lightly decorated them. I haven't sewn this into it. So this is the new Tuesday, yeah, and the smaller one will be Monday Fat Tuesday and Fat Monday, lundie-graw and Mardi-Graw, yeah, you know. So they should make their appearance at GalaxyCon, but stay tuned and find out.
Speaker 2:I mean, you could always test-fire them at Mardi-Graw, like Mardi-Graw proper, where you know when you're out on the street.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when you're out on the street, you would have to get me out of the house for money, carlos. I tell you what? Because I clean bars and one of them, wrong Island, on the Greenway, is right near the Endemion route. So cleaning up that Sunday is like a 12-hour job if I'm by myself. Yeah, and like last year, I just took a picture of the trash. Hey, it's my job, and I clicked it, I posted it. I said man, people can be disgusted. And somebody jumped on my feed. He was like well, at least you got a job, you shouldn't you know? I'm like I'm doing my job, I'm just having kind of fun with it and it's like click, block, go away. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:You can't even make a little stupid joke.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, it is what it is. So basically, by the time mardi gras comes around, I have to be motivated to go, otherwise I'm like I'm probably gonna stay in. I'm getting a little old for shunning, hey. But if I have a place and there's a bathroom, close that's a plus. You know? I mean, ain't no place to pee on mardi gras, that's a fact that's a fact, wait.
Speaker 2:So I think I've told you. Before parade, you know downtown New Orleans and then have to rush to the West Bank for one, or from the West Bank over to Metairie, yeah, slidell to New Orleans. We were all over the place, but not on Mardi Gras Day, and that's hours, because you have to get there a couple of hours before the parade starts and of course they never start on time because the one before it got delayed and some of those routes. There's no bathroom, there's no porta potties along the routes. In New Orleans they may do it now At least.
Speaker 2:Back then there wasn't Right. So if you had to go, we'd just ride up ahead of the parade and find people partying. Hey, can I use your bathroom? Yeah, of the parade and find people partying? Hey, you should bathroom. Yeah, man, come on in. You want. You want a beer? You want to? What's the drink at pat o'brien's hurricane? Yeah, you want a hurricane, you want a daiquiri, like? Uh, riding motorcycle not the best idea, but thank you. Oh, you got popeyes. I'm staying, because then I'd have to stop 16 more times if I've had a beer, but metairie parades, metairie parades.
Speaker 1:They have porta potties out so you could ride up and stop and run in well, when I was in high school I was in the archbishop remote band in my first parade. We were the first band. So we stepped out of clear view parking lot for a seven mile parade and the urge to use the bathroom hit me, and not the easy one. And we had the full suits. So I'm marching, I'm okay, and I kind of know the parade route. And I said, okay, the port-a-potty's here, when we stop I'll jump out and I'll turn here. We never stopped because we were the first parade, first band, excuse me. And then we had to do parade rest where you kick your leg out. That's a test of your strength and I'm going to leave it at that to your imagination. And when we got to one near Burger King on, it was right past Causeway, which a lot of people don't live. You know they don't care about that. But anyway, I saw it, I knew it and they were kicking off and I was like I got five minutes, I can go in there, but I'd have to unrobe in a porta potty with the tails. Try, nothing Wasn't worth it.
Speaker 1:So, boom, got through the whole parade. I was fine. Well, I wasn't fine, but I was in control. We get back there we got a bathroom and all the girls were in line to change to go out that night, son of a. And then my dad was there for the ride home. I'm pleased to say I made it in control all the way home. Photo finish that might've been when everything broke after that. The the other thing you're talking about not having to ride on Mardi Gras day. We didn't March on Mardi Gras Day. We didn't march on Mardi Gras Day, and you could tell the out-of-town bands because their tubers aren't covered with sheets to keep the beats from going in.
Speaker 1:Everybody's throwing.
Speaker 2:You see, them turning.
Speaker 1:they're shaking it out, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:So I'd be lying if I said I never tried as a kid. I never did that. So I would.
Speaker 1:I'd be lying if I said I never tried as a kid. I never did that. Oh, we had a great time this weekend. Folks, you know we look to do it forward. I can speak for a living right. Look forward to doing more events like that and bringing you special talks like this. And I guess I'm out of speak. I can't talk no more. Take us out.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks for joining us. This episode will be up tomorrow and then next week we'll I think next week we're going to post the panel that we did at Fan Expo New Orleans and then after that we'll be back to our regular guests that we've recorded with. So thanks for joining us and we'll see you next time. Thanks, folks.
