MICHAEL NAKAN | Strengthening the China-UK Creative Connection
Michael Nakan is the founder of Clipper Media Capital, a London-based production and packaging company. He cut his Hollywood teeth on the US version of “House of Cards” and then in NYC at HBO before returning home to the UK to work in development for DARKEST HOUR director Joe Wright. He's also established a China office of his UK firm and is successfully bridging the gap between the two markets. A great talk!
MICHAEL NAKAN / Clipper Media Capital: https://www.clippermedia.co.uk
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more here:
APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319
WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website
LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
WEIKO LIN | Screenwriting Between Hollywood & China
Weiko Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, & he continues to work throughout Asia, but it’s in Hollywood that he’s really made his name. His upcoming book, Crazy Screenwriting Secrets (Michael Weise Productions, avail July 1) is both a solid art & craft writing manual, AND a knowledgable how-to on navigating the often-treacherous waters between China and the global cinema industry, as epitomized by Hollywood. If you follow the world entertainment business with any degree of seriousness, YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS SHOW. Just sayin’. Enjoy!
WEIKO LIN book:
Crazy Screenwriting Secrets - Pre-Order now on AMAZON:
https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Screenwriting-Secrets-Capture-Audience/dp/1615933018
BRENDAN DAVIS on “The Carl King Podcast”:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-carl-king-podcast/id1202709564?i=1000440895085
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/carlkingdom/brendan-davis-interview-carl-king-podcast-15-060619
or SEARCH “The Carl King Podcast” in your favorite podcatcher
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more here:
APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
KEVIN GEIGER | Fretful Laowai Summer Vacation Show
Today Kevin Geiger & I bring you a special “Fretful Laowai: Summer Vacation" edition of Big Fish! In it we discuss our new alliance on the movie I’m developing in France, film festivals, some recent guests on my new podcast “If I Knew You Better”, my appearance on “The Carl King Podcast”, and what the changing tides (personal, professional, international) mean for us both. We aim for fun, informative, & thoughtful too; hope you enjoy it!
KEVIN GEIGER links:
Peewee Frog books http://peeweefrog.com/news.html
Magic Dumpling Entertainment www.magicdumpling.com
BRENDAN DAVIS on “The Carl King Podcast”:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-carl-king-podcast/id1202709564?i=1000440895085
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/carlkingdom/brendan-davis-interview-carl-king-podcast-15-060619
or SEARCH it in your favorite podcatcher
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below:
APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
JAMES GOODNIGHT | Photography, China Car Culture, & Expat Life Hacks
James Goodnight is an Arts Center graduate who adventured around the US after school, but that was just the start. He moved to Beijing 10 years ago and built a career as a commercial photographer, specializing in car ads. He’s also a big fan of indoor watersports, and tells us all about that. James’ story involves a lot of synchronicities and I just had one of those days myself yesterday, so I share my own weirdly funny tale in the intro.
JAMES GOODNIGHT links:
Web: http://james-goodnight.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flywave_official/
Flywave WeChat: flywave_china
LISTEN -
“If I Knew You Better”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
“How China Works”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / WEB PLAYER: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 / SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/brendan-davis-2 / STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brendan-davis/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom / WEB PLAYER: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
LEE CHEN | Acting, Education, & The Benefits of Emigration
Lee Chen is a familiar face on US TV, but her own story is more impressive & incredible than the many shows she’s appeared in. For starters, she’s probably the only successful Hollywood actor who got their start in a "Chairman Mao Thought" propaganda performance troupe towards the end of the Cultural Revolution in China. She was born in Inner Mongolia, was a founding-class member of the Johns Hopkins Chinese Program at Nanjing University, then moved to the US for grad school - earning two Master’s degrees - and began a dual professional life as an academic and an actor. She landed in Chicago after grad school, and fell into studying acting at the famous Piven Theater Workshop. Lee worked and studied for years, moved to Hawaii for a second Masters, did every theater production she could, and finally moved to Hollywood. Today, Lee has built an eclectic film, TV, & theater career with roles ranging from the dramatic to the absurdly funny. She also worked diligently over a 20 year period to move her ENTIRE family - one by one - over to the US from China. I was lucky to meet Lee when she accepted a role in a small film I produced, and when I heard her incredible story I knew I had to get her on the mic to share it with you, too. I am cross-posting this show "If I Knew You Better" and my original China-focused podcast “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” too, but no matter where you hear it, I hope you enjoy it. DO NOT MISS this one!
LEE CHEN on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2011738/
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers or LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
“How China Works”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / WEB PLAYER: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 / SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/brendan-davis-2 / STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brendan-davis/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom / WEB PLAYER: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
KEVIN GEIGER | Revenge of the Fretful Laowai Radio Hour!
Returning champion Kevin Geiger (Magic Dumpling, Peewee Frog; ex-Disney) is back for another freewheeling China chat! We start with an outline and let it rip from there. Big fun, and a big reason I rebooted the podcast. We talk about returning home & expat ennui (hence the “Fretful Laowai” show handle), our new projects, how to (and how NOT to) package and produce a feature film (note: it really helps if you hire a rockstar cinematographer, and then he brings on partners who’ve worked on Green Book, the latest Star Wars, Interstellar, etc) and lastly: how to tell if you’ve been in China for too damn long. Enjoy!
KEVIN GEIGER links:
Peewee Frog books http://peeweefrog.com/news.html
Magic Dumpling Entertainment www.magicdumpling.com
Huhu Studios http://huhustudios.com
《神隐桃花源》“Shen Yin Tao Hua Yuan” / “Hidden in the Peach Blossom Garden” https://www.awn.com/blog/breaking-boundaries-beijing
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below:
LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
“How China Works”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / WEB PLAYER: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 / SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/brendan-davis-2 / STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brendan-davis/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom / WEB PLAYER: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
TOM McGREGOR | Pro-Trump AND Pro-China
Tom McGregor is a widely-read China journalist from Dallas, Texas living in Beijing. His upcoming book US vs. China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal (being published under his given last name Pauken) draws on his experiences being both very pro-Trump AND pro-China. Our views diverge at the expected point, but we have the kind of respectful chat which we both agree we’d like to hear more of, so I hope you’ll check it out.
Tom McGregor LINKS:
Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Tom-McGregor-6
CNI: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/author/10599982
Book: https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/11380
CGTN appearance: http://english.cctv.com/special/ChinaBreakthroughs/index.shtml?spm=C43394269523.P90608644738.EmWTQeQvIljW.1
https://twitter.com/tmcgregorchina
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tom.mcgregor.965
WeChat: 86 13439758718
Email: tmcgregorchina@yahoo.com
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below:
LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
“How China Works”:
LISTEN - APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / WEB PLAYER: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”:
APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 / SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/brendan-davis-2 / STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brendan-davis/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom / WEB PLAYER: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
BFMK Reboot! | BRENDAN DAVIS
This week I talk about rebooting “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”, my other show (w/Yingying Li) “How China Works”, my NEW show “If I Knew You Better”, & I tell a pretty incredible “moving to China / crazy synchronicity" story which I’ve never told on the mic before.
Why?
Because right now is a special moment in history - for China, for everyone who deals with China on the world stage, and for all of us who are affected - whether as casual observers or as active participants with skin in the game. So since there’s so much at stake and so much to talk about, I'm rebooting “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” while I am back IN China for the time being, and will continue to feed it as I travel and meet China-related guests who best fit here.
One such guest is Raymond Ma, an actor in Los Angeles who was born and raised in Hong King. He’s an old friend and he’s last week’s guest on my other solo podcast, “If I Knew You Better”. His interview is one that I think listeners of this show would especially enjoy, so I wanted to mention it here and make you aware of it.
Raymond Ma
I also talk about “How China Works”, the show I co-host and produce with Yingying Li, and some of the great guests we have coming up. Last week’s guest was entrepreneur Chris “Lu Yi” Oniya, this week’s guest is world-renowned monetary policy advisor and consultant Dr. Frank-Jürgen Richter (a former Director of the World Economic Forum, which organizes and hosts the annual conference @ Davos), and we have many more great guests in our archives and coming up as well.
In terms of what’s changing here specifically, my goal for version 2.0 of “BFMK” is to go deeper with a wider range of guests, including those with contrary opinions to my own, such as this week’s upcoming interview with journalist Tom McGregor (a writer who is both pro-China AND pro-Trump, amazingly), in an effort to have more meaningful discussions about things that matter.
In a sentence: for version 2.0, I want “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” to have less of a “my China story” vibe, and to be more of a lasting record of this time we are all living through, regardless of where we call home.
This is a short episode, but it packs a lot of info. I hope you’ll check it out, and that you enjoy it if you do. Thanks!
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below:
LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website / LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
Raymond Ma on IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0530882/
“How China Works”:
LISTEN - APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / WEB PLAYER: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”:
APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 / SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/brendan-davis-2 / STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brendan-davis/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom / WEB PLAYER: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
YINGYING LI & BRENDAN DAVIS on “How China Works”, Change, & Growth on “Big Fish Side Dish”
#084: YINGYING LI & BRENDAN DAVIS on “How China Works”, Change, & Growth on “Big Fish Side Dish”
On this week’s Side Dish, Yingying Li and I talk about lessons learned from doing “How China Works”, which is at the halfway point of Season 1 as of today - but this isn’t a promo. It’s a jumping-off point for some real talk about how the crazy and ever-changing US-China dynamic is affecting us, our friends, our plans, and how we are changing our trajectories as a result.
FIND the “How China Works” podcast with Yingying Li & Brendan Davis at APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / WEB: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
SHOW NOTES:
What’s been the biggest surprise in doing a daily podcast, so far?
What are the biggest CHALLENGES about the same?
Your thoughts on listener feedback so far, and how has it shaped your approach to preparing the show?
How has it changed your thinking about / approach to understanding the US-China dynamic?
Are you more or less optimistic about the future than you were 4 weeks ago?
How have recent events changed your plans for the future?
What are you most looking forward to in 2019?
How will Season 2 be different? What do you hope “HCW” can do for it’s listeners, and what do YOU want out of it?
Closing thoughts...
