Storybeat With Steve Cuden

The legendary, highly influential Rock ‘n Roll superstar, Suzi Quatro. Suzi made her stage debut playing bongos in her father’s jazz band, the Art Quatro Trio. At 14, she co-founded the all-girl band, The Pleasure Seekers, with her elder sister, Patti, playing a bass guitar that was as tall as she was. Suzi quickly became the band’s lead singer and front person. They successfully toured for 7 years before changing their name to Cradle. The group was then seen by the successful music producer, Mickie Most. He offered Suzi a solo contract, which eventually led her to working with the hit-making songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, resulting in her first huge hit, Can the Can, which went to number one in Great Britain, Europe, Japan and Australia, and sold 2.5 million copies worldwide.Suzi has sold over 55 million records. Among her numerous worldwide hits are: 48 Crash, Devil Gate Drive, The Wild One, She’s In Love With You, If You Can’t Give Me Love, and Stumblin In, a duet with Chris Norman.From 1977-79

Holly and Kelvin Reed are an up-and-coming musical theatre writing team who also happen to be married to one another. Their most recent effort, True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical, is slated to open in Orlando, Florida for the holiday season in 2022. Holly writes book, lyrics, and music along with Kelvin, who is a composer.Aside from True North, Holly and Kelvin contributed music and lyrics for That’s What Friends Do for Girlhood, The Musical, and for the grade school musical, Camp McAuliffe.Holly is an award-winning designer and the Owner and Creative Director of Reed Creative Group. She’s also the CEO of the popular MusicalWriters.com. She’s a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild.Kelvin has served as a Music Pastor for over 25 years. He’s a choral director, pianist, composer and arranger and has produced several choral recording projects. His choirs have performed all over the United States, including in New Orleans with Lenny Kravitz. He’s also been music director and keyboardist for numerous hig

Writer-director-producer, Amanda Raymond, is a New York transplant living in Los Angeles. Amanda wrote, produced, and directed the feature films, You Are My Home with Alyssa Milano, which can currently be found on Netflix, and My Favorite Girlfriend, that Saban Films released in the summer of 2022 for a limited theatrical run. Amanda also wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning short film noir thriller From Emily, that was on the reduced list for Oscar consideration in 2020. Amanda’s first novel, Son of Sherlock, was published in 2017. She’s currently at work on the sequel to it.

Writer-director, Charlie Peters, was raised in New York City before spending his high school years at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England, where he was classmates with the director Charles Sturridge and actor Edward Duke.  Charlie then studied theater at the University of Connecticut and subsequently received a Schubert Fellowship to do graduate work in playwriting at Carnegie Mellon University here in Pittsburgh.  While at CMU, his plays were acted by fellow students including Holly Hunter and Cherry Jones.  After graduating, he returned to New York to work as a playwright. His plays have been produced at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, The Actors Theater of Louisville and The Edinburgh Festival.  In 1978, Charlie was brought to Los Angeles by Columbia Pictures as part of a program looking for new writers, a program that turned out to be little more than a publicity stunt to distract from the bad PR Columbia had received as a result of its head, David Begelman,

Justin Fenton was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun for 17 years. A graduate of the University of Maryland College Park, Justin worked as a reporter and editor for the student newspaper, The Diamondback, and then started at The Sun as an intern. In 2010, Justin’s reporting led to an overhaul in how Baltimore police officers investigate sexual assaults. He was part of the Pulitzer Prize finalist staff recognized for their coverage of the Baltimore riots that followed the death of Freddie Gray. He was also one of the lead reporters who reported on Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force Scandal. Justin subsequently wrote a book depicting the entire case called We Own This City, which was later produced by HBO into a mini-series of the same name. Justin himself appears in two episodes of We Own This City, playing a press conference reporter. Along with several state awards, Justin is also a two-time finalist for the national Livingston Award for Young Journalists. The Maryland Daily Record, the local legal and business

Candi Milo is the busiest actress in voiceovers today. Among her numerous accomplishments, she was honored to take the mantle of the voice of Granny in all Warner Brothers Animation projects after the passing of the legendary voice talent, June Foray. For example, you heard Candi as Granny in Space Jam 2: A New Legacy with LeBron James, and also in various Looney Tunes cartoons.  She’s well-known for voicing Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory, The Flea in Mucha Lucha, Coco and Cheese in Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and literally thousands of other well-known characters. She may well be the voice of your childhood. She also happens to be an Annie Award nominee. Not only has Candi performed voiceover work in countless film and TV projects, you may have seen in her any number of on-camera commercials. On stage, she starred with Jennifer Holliday in the first touring production of Dreamgirls, directed by none other than the renowned, Michael Bennett.             Candi has published a dark comedy memoir, Surviv

The brilliant actress, Kandis Chappell, has appeared on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim's Getting Away with Murder and Neil Simon's Rumors, and in many of the most prestigious regional theaters across the country.She is an Associate Artist of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where she has appeared in more than 30 productions.She’s also worked extensively at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, California.Kandis has 3 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle awards, and is a 4-time winner of the best performance award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. 

Denise Gossett has been an actress in television and feature films for over 20 years. Denise can be seen in the feature films I Saw the Light, starring Tom Hiddleston, Get the Gringo, starring Mel Gibson, and the Morris Chestnut feature, When the Bough Breaks. Most recently, Denise worked on the romance feature, Gabriel’s Rapture, the thriller, 9 Windows, and a Hallmark movie, Baked with a Kiss.In addition to her acting career, in 2001, Denise founded the extremely popular Shriekfest Film Festival in Los Angeles.  Shriekfest is now in its 22nd year. For the record, a movie that Steve directed and co-produced, Lucky, won the awards for Best Feature and Fan Favorite at the 2003 edition of Shriekfest. 

Naomi Beaty is a screenwriting teacher and consultant who works with writers, producers, and directors at all levels to develop their film and TV projects. Naomi has read thousands of scripts and worked with hundreds of writers, first in development at Madonna and Guy Oseary’s Maverick Films, and currently through group workshops and one-on-one coaching. She also worked alongside Blake Snyder on his book, "Save the Cat Goes to the Movies." And most recently, Naomi has published two books of her own, "The Screenplay Outline Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Brainstorm Ideas, Structure Your Story, and Prepare to Write Your Best Screenplay," and "Logline Shortcuts: Unlock Your Story and Pitch Your Screenplay in One Simple Sentence."

Joel Drucker writes literary non-fiction and journalism.  He jokes that he’s “too sensitive to be a hard-boiled journalist – not sensitive enough to be a suicidal poet.”  Joel’s work has appeared in a variety of print and broadcast outlets, ranging from HBO, CBS and Tennis Channel to Racquet Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and the New York Times.  He’s the author of two books – Jimmy Connors Saved My Life and Don’t Bet on It.  He’s also worked as story editor-researcher on four documentaries.  Tennis is the topic Joel writes about most, in large part a lens through which he sees the world.  Joel is one of the world’s most prominent tennis writers, having authored stories on dozens of notable players and events.  He’s also the historian-at-large for the International Tennis Hall of Fame and one of the co-hosts on a podcast titled “Three – A Show About Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.”  Joel graduated with high honors from UC Berkeley, earning a degree in history – a discipline that greatly informs his work as a writer

Cara Friez is an experienced video producer, editor, and educator. She’s currently the Director of Education for the EdTech company, EditMentor, which teaches the art of video storytelling and the technical skills of video creation within a self-paced, interactive curriculum through a cutting-edge web-based platform.Before working for EditMentor, Cara taught editing in Point Park University’s Cinema Arts department, where she held the roles of Assistant Professor, head of the editing concentration, and ultimately Department Chair.  For the record, Cara and I are longtime friends having worked together for many years in the Cinema Department.Cara’s production credits include working with VEX Robotics, WPXI-TV, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and CBS’s As the World Turns.She’s served on the boards of The Steeltown Entertainment Project, Women in Film and Media Pittsburgh, and was a section manager for SMPTE Pittsburgh. She’s also an Adobe Premiere Pro Certified Expert and an Avid Media Composer Certifie

Actor and Director, Apollo Dukakis, is a member and longtime resident artist of the Pasadena, CA based theater company, A Noise Within.  As a professional actor for over fifty years, Apollo has worked off-Broadway and in many prestigious regional theatres across the country, including: The American Conservatory Theatre of San Francisco, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Mark Taper Forum, The Actors’ Theater of Louisville, The Trinity Repertory Theater of Rhode Island, and many others. Along with his sister, the late Olympia Dukakis, he co-founded the Tony nominated Whole Theatre Company of Montclair, New Jersey, where he was Associate Artistic Director, actor, director, and teacher for fifteen years. In Los Angeles, Apollo was a company member of the acclaimed Antaeus Theatre Company. He’s the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, the Dramalogue Critics Award, and the Ovation Award. His film work includes: American Heart with Jeff Bridges and The Last Action Hero with Arnold Schwarzenegger. TV ap

Dobie Maxwell has made a successful living in standup comedy since 1985. Starting in 1990, he’s had several stints in morning radio. Dobie has appeared numerous times on national and regional television. And from 1995 to 2020, Dobie taught his "Maxwell Method of Standup Comedy" at Zanies Comedy Clubs in Chicago to more than 3000 students. Dobie’s a published author of a true crime story about his life called "Monkey in the Middle.'' And he currently co-hosts a critically acclaimed podcast about all things diabetes called "Just My Type." Originally from Milwaukee, Dobie currently makes his home in Bristol, Wisconsin, where he continues to tweak and improve his craft for a post pandemic new normal.

Scott McGee is a Senior Director of Original Programming at Turner Classic Movies.  He’s also a programmer for the TCM Classic Film Festival and the TCM Cruise. Scott frequently presents at TCM events and other film festivals.Recently, Scott authored one of the most enjoyable books about the movies that I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. It’s called, Danger on the Silver Screen: 50 Films Celebrating Cinema’s Greatest Stunts. If you like behind-the-scenes stories of how movies are made, and especially about spectacular stunts and the extraordinary people who pull them off, then I cannot recommend Danger on the Silver Screen enough.

Comedy writer and novelist, John Vorhaus, is best known for his comedy-writing classic, “The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not.” His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and numerous books on comedy, writing, creativity and poker. John has taught and trained writers in 37 countries on five continents, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His latest book, “the little book of STANDUP,” explores his late-blooming interest in standup comedy. John’s a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. 

Entertainment attorney, Robert M. (“Bobby”) Schwartz ,is a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office and co-chair of the Media & Entertainment Industry Practice. Over the last 30 years, Bobby has become a nationally recognized leader in large-stakes and often precedent-setting cases, particularly in the entertainment and media fields. He’s represented every major motion picture studio and broadcast network, as well as film production companies, pay TV services, video game developers, record companies, recording artists, producers, writers, directors, and actors. Bobby has had extensive experience and success in copyright, trademark, unfair competition, royalties and participations, First Amendment, defamation, employment, and complex business disputes. He has handled more than 100 class action cases around the country. He’s also handled substantial disputes for companies well outside the media industry.

Alan K. Rode is a noted biographer and film scholar. He is the executive producer and host of the long-running Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival. Alan is also the co-programmer and co-host of the Noir City Hollywood and Chicago film festivals. He’s a charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation, which is dedicated to resurrecting lost films from the classic noir era.  He’s also a frequent presenter at the TCM Classic Film Festival and other events.Alan’s book, Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film, was published in 2017 to rave reviews.  In April 2018, Alan co-hosted an in-depth Michael Curtiz spotlight series on Turner Classic Movies with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. He also authored Charles McGraw: Film Noir Tough Guy. And he’s published essays and profiles for a variety of publications including his blog, One Way Street. Alan writes and narrates track commentaries while producing and appearing in documentaries on numerous Blu ray releases of classic films, including the Michael Curtiz documentary featuret

This is a StoryBeat Encore episode!You’re likely already a fan of the actor and bestselling author, Cary Elwes, who you surely know from his many starring roles in memorable, popular films, including: The Princess Bride, Lady Jane, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Saw, Kiss The Girls, The Cradle Will Rock, Justice League, and the Billionaire Boys Club among dozens of others. Cary recently starred alongside Michael Sheen and Natalie Emmanuel in The Last Train to Christmas. He’s slated to star alongside Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 7 for director Christopher McQuarrie. And he’s starring opposite Jason Statham in Guy Ritchie’s next film, Five Eyes. Other recent films include the Netflix feature A Castle for Christmas, as well as the The Unholy, which was produced by Sam Raimi, and the indie film, Best Sellers, opposite Michael Caine.You also know Cary from his numerous appearances on such popular TV shows including: Psych, Stranger Things, Family Guy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and The Art o

Karen Leigh Hopkins became a writer, director, and producer because she repeatedly got cut out of films like The Breakfast Club and Three Amigos, and didn’t want to go back to Sandusky, Ohio, and work on a factory line like her mother. With twenty-one bucks to her name, out of desperation, she wrote a screenplay in 12 days and sold it “overnight” which launched her writing career. Karen’s writing credits include Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, Stepmom, Because I Said So, and Miss Meadows, which she also directed. Karen also wrote and directed A Woman’s a Helluva Thing. She received an Emmy nomination for Showtime’s What Girls Learn, and she won the Humanitas Award for ABC Family’s Searching For David’s Heart. She also sold and produced a branded series for the Web with Sony/Crackle. Karen co-wrote a series of films with Eleanor Coppola called Love is Love is Love, and she was a writer-associate producer on the Apple series Little Voice.Recently, she sold a series called Aqua Tofana to Netflix, for which she is

Author and educator, Stephen Galloway, joined Chapman University in 2020 as the Twyla Reed Martin Dean of Film and Media Arts at Dodge College.  He’s best known for his role as executive editor and producer at The Hollywood Reporter, where he served for almost 30 years. Stephen created and produced series such as “The Hollywood Masters“ and “Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter.” Over the past decade, Stephen has worked to bring in and support diversity in the entertainment industry. Through a partnership between The Hollywood Reporter and Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, he created the award-winning Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, pairing high school juniors from South Central L.A. with top-level women in film and TV. More than 250 teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds have participated and gone on to college.Stephen spearheaded The Hollywood Reporter’s new Empowerment in Entertainment event. Oprah Winfrey and Stephen joined forces to launch` a leadership program for young men a