Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile. How are you? I counted how many people I know personally that had or has COVID… 121. That’s how many people I know. Yes, that’s a big number. It's fucking ridiculous. A Tennessee dad went viral on Twitter for the speech he gave at a school board meeting defending a mask mandate. Justin Kanew is the founder of the Tennessee Holler, a former Congressional candidate, and the father to a 5-year-old daughter who just started kindergarten. Originally, he didn't have a speech planned for the August 15th school board meeting, but when the school's heated debate around mandating masks for kids came up once again, Kanew decided to speak his mind. People who wanted to give a public comment were given the floor for two minutes each, and the clip of Kanew's passionate plea resonated hard, accrewing over a million views online. He began, "I'm a dad of a new kindergartener, and her first day was right after the chaos last week. She went to school and was one of just a few kids in her class wearing a mask, which made her ask me why she had to." "My answer was 'because we want to take care of other people.' She's five-years-old, but she understood that concept and it's disappointing that more adults around here can't seem to grasp it," he continued. He then went on to challenge people who use Christianity as an excuse to curb masking. "I asked a pastor friend of mine and he was very clear there's no actual biblical justification for using the Bible to get out of a mask mandate passed by the majority of the selected board. But thousands are doing it anyway, calling it a religious exemption which is frankly just sad. Avoiding masks is not in the Bible, but taking care of other people is. And now, today we have governor Lee's executive order to allow opt outs, which is government overreach undercutting a local decision. He finished his speech with a bang, calling out the hypocrisy of only supporting democracy when it goes your way. "If you only like democracy when it goes your way, you don't actually like democracy," he finished. The speech received support from other parents who find themselves in similar positions. And people who were generally relieved to hear Kanew speak with calm precision. Some people pointed out that Kanew is far from alone in Tennessee, it's just harder to find voices like his. Hopefully, as more parents like Kanew speak up, measures will be taken to protect children from the virus, particularly since most kids can't get vaccinated yet, and the delta variant is more contagious.
This week, instead of releasing his highly anticipated new album, Kanye West posted shots at Drake, which included both a Joker meme and Drake's address.
On Saturday, Kanye Instagrammed a screenshot of a group chat which including Drake and rapper Pusha T, who also feuds with the Canadian. Late on Sunday night/Monday morning, West announced to his 7.4 million Instagram followers where Drake lives.
Drake posted a video of himself laughing, but he doth protest too much, methinks.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Dell and Sonia Curry were getting a divorce after 33 years of marriage.
On Monday, the divorce proceedings got a little dirty when court filings revealed that Dell Curry is accusing his, now, ex-wife of cheating on him with a former New England Patriots tight end.
The court documents were obtained by "TMZ," in which they state that Sonya is, and has been, dating Steven Johnson, a 6th round pick of the New England Patriots in 1988.
In the docs, Dell says Sonya “began her extramarital affair with Mr. Johnson during the marriage and prior to the date of separation, and she lied to [Dell] each time she cheated on him.”
Dell, in the docs, says Sonya is actually living with Johnson in Tennessee... and claims she should not be entitled because of it. Sonya Curry responded to Dell’s claims, saying she is not living with Johnson, claiming she’s currently living on her own because Dell will not allow her to live at their home. She did however disclose that she is currently in a dating relationship, but denied cheating on Dell, saying their relationship began “months after” she and Dell agreed to legally separate in March 2020.
Sonya also said Dell cheated on her during the marriage, claiming he hooked up with different women, and that family and close friends knew about it.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Star Letitia Wright who plays Shuri, the princess of the ancestral land of the Wakandans, was rushed to a hospital in Boston following a minor injury that she suffered during the production of the sequel after a stunt that had gone wrong, and thankfully, she could be back on her feet in no time as it would not halt the schedule of the filming of the movie. Wright sustained unspecified injuries on set while doing a stunt rig for the upcoming sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She was rushed for first aid and for checking up on the seriousness and extent of what happened. She is expected to be released soon as well.
According to a spokesperson of Marvel who broke the news in a statement, "Letitia Wright sustained minor injuries today while filming a stunt for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She is currently receiving care in a local hospital and is expected to be released soon."
In the previous shoot done for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Letitia was spotted with co-star Dominique Thorne, who is expected to be Ironheart in his upcoming own series, while they were shooting some scenes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever is expected to explore the homeland of the Wakandans and the incomparable world they built throughout the years with the rich and varied characters that were introduced in the first installment. With the demise of the King, Chadwick Boseman, it is expected that Shuri, being the next of kin to the throne, fits the hierarchy of who will be the next ruler of Wakanda to don the Black Panther suit.
Sony Pictures' marketing team has been extremely busy over the last couple of days trying to take down the leaked Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer which surfaced all over social media ahead of its supposed debut at CinemaCon 2021. Turns out, that's not the only problem the studio had to face because after the leaked trailer circulated online, alleged set images from the highly-anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe flick would follow suit.
A rumored set image of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield quickly spread like wildfire all over social media and it sees them donning their iconic Spidey costumes. From the photos that surfaced, Maguire's face is hard to make out but the one featuring Garfield seems to be the real deal.
You can try your luck scouring all social media platforms to see the said images but in case you're unsuccessful, it's because Sony Pictures have also taken them down. Well, according to the latest reports, at least. Discord user JaredEx#2015 claims on the r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers' channel (via The Direct) that the said photo was removed from social media following a copyright notice. The copyright strike was allegedly filed by Elliot Ingram from Entura International, an anti-piracy enforcement agency on behalf of Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony. Sony going out of its way to remove the said images pretty much proves their authenticity but you know, even if they take those down, more and more fans are already starting to get convinced that Maguire and Garfield are actually part of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Obviously, Sony and Marvel are trying to generate as much hype as they could so I guess we'll have to wait a little longer before they make it official.
Did you know that if you just add some dots, Trump's signature looks like a Klan rally.
Just saying... So, today's guest Stuart Pankin was on the 90s TV show "Dinosaurs," which was an almost realistic looking show.
Haha. If you fear that you are not living up to your intellectual potential, or simply aren't the most knowledgable person around...fear no more. As long as you know what the delta variant is, basic spelling, and that it's physically possible (and indeed quite common!) for a woman to know more about something than a man, you are an absolute genius compared to this person...
5. Guest once told me to babysit their 2-year-old. Without even answering they left the baby at the front desk and just left. Came back 4 hours later to pick it up.
4. Two guests got into the basement and emptied the icemaker on to the floor. Then they had sex on the ice. Then I showed up. I went back upstairs and let them finish. The guests are always right.
3. Broke into the managers apartment through the back door at 11 p.m. to ask for more towels. Probably would have been faster to ring at the front desk.
2. One of our room service runners was clearing a tray and he went to grab a champagne bottle it slipped out of hit hand and shattered... Because it was covered in lube.
And the number one hotel worker horror story about a strange guest is...
1. The year we had British soldiers was the worst. They wanted to do nothing more than drink, fight with locals, party, destroy stuff and finish off with hookers. Every damn night.
If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, let's take a live look at Pot Jeff, shall we?
Looks like a nice sunny day. Well, it's Thursday. You know what that means...
Charlie Watts
June 2nd, 1941 — August 24th, 2021
After the Stones, his next band was The A,B,C and D of Boogie Woogie. Really sorry I'm going to miss that.
Don Everly
February 1st, 1937 — August 21st, 2021
Bye bye, love.
Today's guest is an American actor, who is known for his role as anchor Bob Charles in "Not Necessarily the News" and as the voice of Earl Sinclair in "Dinosaurs." Please welcome to the Phile... Stuart Pankin.
Me: Hello, Stuart, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Stuart: I'm fine, thank you. How are you doing, kid?
Me: I'm doing good. So, how did you get involved with "Dinosaurs"?
Stuart: In an audition. But beyond that I was called in by Michael Jacobs. Michael and I met years ago in 1977 when we both auditioned for a show called "The San Pedro Beach Bums" which was Aaron Spelling's first hour long comedy. He didn't get the part, I did, but he remembered me enough to call me and do a show he produced called "No Soap, Radio" which lasted about five shows but he was sweet and called me. I worked with him on that for a while. Then I guess he remembered me again for "Dinosaurs" and called me in and I auditioned. He told me every actor in California auditioned for that part.
Me: Really? That's surprising to me. Was it surprising to you?
Stuart: No, it was a great show. And a great job. Of course voice-over jobs are always great for acting.
Me: Why do you think so?
Stuart: Because you can show up in your underwear. I did that, auditioned for it and I got the part.
Me: I read that James Belushi was offered the part, is that true?
Stuart: That I don't know.
Me: I read that he wanted to keep doing acting in movies and stuff, so he turned it down.
Stuart: Well, I'm so glad he wanted to act in movies. I run into Jim occasionally so I'll ask him about that.
Me: So, how did you come up with Earl's voice?
Stuart: There's a guy who was a funny character actor who was in It's Always Fair Weather and he had a voice that wasn't quite what Earl ended up to be but I remember him singing the song, "The Time For Parting." He was from New York. When it came to the audition I had him in mind and I tried to approximate that voice.
Me: What was the recording process like? Were you together or were you by yourself?
Stuart: That was interesting. We did about three weeks, we showed up at ABC and sat around the table and read the script. That didn't last long. Then we went in and read alone. It was a lovely feeling for me because Earl had the lions share of stuff, it was a lot of five to eight hours. We never did it together, the tracks were all separate, even if we had scenes together which we always did, it was never together. We always had to reload the puppeteers because the guy that did Earl out the voice track in, and he was an English guy.
Me: So, they did the puppets first and then you guys with the voices next?
Stuart: That's exactly right. They did it on set. If you knew anything about it it was a great set. They did that, then we came later when it was all edited and put together and replaced the voices.
Me: Were you able to see the set at all?
Stuart: Oh, yes. We did it for fun because it was so wonderful and elaborate and realistic. I went to the set many of times, matter of fact when my son was in school and we had fund raisers they were kind enough to let me put a visit to the set as a fund raiser. So at least two times we took families from the school to see the set.
Me: What was the set like? It was big, right?
Stuart: It was built on a platform so the puppeteers could go underneath the platform and stick their hands up through the puppets. There was the oversized furniture and the oversized refrigerator, and I loved occasionally going in there and putting my head on to see what it was like. It was a great, great set.
Me: Was the show cancelled, Stuart? Why did it end?
Stuart: One of the reasons I was told the show didn't go on any longer, it was a swell show, it was the most expensive half hour show at least at that point maybe in the history of television. It was so expensive to maintain those animatronic costumes and heads and the set. It cost a lot of money. I wish it could've went on longer but it was a fun three or four years.
Me: So, who wore the Earl suit?
Stuart: Bill Barretta, who is now a big producer and director and writer at the Henson Company was inside the suit.
Me: I can't imagine wearing a suit like that, can you?
Stuart: Bill said he actually lost height. It's like a dancer, dancers constantly work through their pains and go see chiropractors. It took a toll, all those suits were heavy and hot. They used to put on hair dryers and when the take was over they just tried to cool them off because it was so uncomfortable.
Me: How long did it take to shoot one episode?
Stuart: It was a long and elaborate shoot, but I don't know how long it took to shoot one episode on camera. But it had to be at least five days of shorting.
Me: Some of the episodes dealt with some "heavy" stuff if I remember... drug abuse, killing off your mother-in-law. What other kinda episodes did you have?
Stuart: Yes, drug abuse, I can't think of the other episodes. I still say the last episodes of "Dinosaurs" where they all were going to die, to this day people still talk to me about it, it's one of the most moving things for a half hour of television when the meteorite was coming. They did a terrific job, Michael and Brian and the writers.
Me: Were you a fan of Jim Henson before this?
Stuart: Yes, I was. I enjoyed... what the hell did I enjoy? What else have they done?
Me: "The Muppet Show," Fraggle Rock."...
Stuart: "Fraggle Rock" I never got into the but "The Muppet Show," yeah. "The Muppet Show" was terrific. They were extremely clever and sophisticated.
Me: Did you and the cast ever meet at all?
Stuart: Yes, and we still stayed friends. I play golf with Sam McMurray who played Roy on the show. Jessica Walter before she moved to New York we used to hang out. As far as the show is concerned, the times we went to ABC and read the script, that was as far as the show. Do you know what I'm saying?
Me: Yeah. So, do you have a favorite moment about being on that show?
Stuart: The pilot took two eight hour days to do I remember that, but that was not a favorite moment. That was a long, hard day. But when it got to be much less, when we got better at it and it became a four to five or six to seven hour day that was a lot of fun.
Me: What about your favorite moment of recording?
Stuart: You're talking about a long time ago. I think if you're talking about shoes, like I said, the last episode was a spectacular and particularly good episode in my memory. It's so long ago the I think about it I don't think about doing it, I think about as I see it. I remember sitting in the booth and doing stuff, particularly moments about that was we all got along and we actually printed up t-shirts for me and Kim and the guys in the booth that says "I Synch There For I Am." We had good time in the booths and we had nice lunch breaks.
Me: Ha! That's great. Thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope this was fun.
Stuart: I will, thanks for having me on, Jason. Good questions.
"Dinosaurs" is available to watch on Disney+. That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Stuart for a fun little interview. The Phile will be back tomorrow with the great Eddie Izzard. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
Give me some rope, tie me to dream, give me the hope to run out of steam, somebody said it could be here. We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year. I can't count the reasons I should stay. One by one they all just fade away...
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