Time to get jolly! Chef Mathew Wiltzius of Chicago's Palmer House gets us ready for Christmas. So grab some eggnog and settle in, as chef schools us on ramen, garnishes and bourbon maple syrup!
For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast/.
In a never before released interview, I speak with best-selling crime novelist and lawyer, Scott Turow, on writing tips, the death penalty and his hometown. Grab a drink and listen in! For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast or view the video here: http://youtu.be/DJGejL83oLE .
Looking for ideas for Thanksgiving? Top Chef Rebecca LaMalfa dishes with me on being a chef during Thanksgiving, some cooking tips, junk food and being married to Michelin-star chef.
For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast/ .
Film Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Chain Reaction, Holes, Under Siege, Steal Big, Steal Little) sits down with me at the Third Coast Cafe in Chicago to discuss his most personal and first movie, currently re-released, Stony Island, about his hometown, Chicago, in the 1970s. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast/.
Often regarded as one of the best in his field, graphic novelist Chris Ware, author of the Acme Novelty Library series, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth and Building Stories, is usually loath to give interviews. I was surprised when Chris, a bit of an insular recluse and not necessarily a people person, accepted my invitation for an interview and invited me into his home studio.
Warm and insightful about how he and other creatives move through the world, I feel that my interview with Chris Ware is one of the most important I have ever done. Enjoy this podcast and to view the video interview from his library-studio, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast.
In one of my most intimate interviews, Glen Hansard dishes on life, love, his music and writing process, playing with Bono on Christmas, when to see a shrink and his favorite breakfast at Chicago's Kitsch'n in Roscoe Village. This never before released full interview was recorded at the Hideout just before Hansard came out with "Rhythm and Repose".
For more information and to see the video interview, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
I head back to my roots as a gallery owner and sit down with one of Chicago's leading art dealers, Aron Packer of Aron Packer Projects (http://AronParckerProjects.com). From WGN Radio, Aron and I chat about what makes a successful gallery and the oddity of both artists and collectors. Plus, we bust the myths of gallery etiquette.
Aron opens a groundbreaking show on September 8th at the Chicago Gallery News offices of hyper realist painter, Cassie Marie Edwards. For more information, visit http://theDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
In an intimate corner of Chicago’s Third Coast Café, Grammy Award Winning Jazz Vocalist Kurt Elling shared his thoughts on jazz, spirituality, the creative work process and being in the moment. Grab a snack and belly up as Kurt has some powerful things to say about the life of an artist and life on the road. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
To know him is to love him...and I do! Grab a snack and listen up, as I dish on life, love and music with blues musician, Nicholas Barron. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
Actress, singer, beauty pageant queen and drag queen, Alexandra Billings takes us into her world on the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party. We dish on sexuality, gender, transitioning from Scott to Alexandra and how great it would be if none of it mattered. So grab a snack and settle in to hear about Alexandra's experience on the Emmy-award winning show, Transparent, what it means to be transgender and why we should care.
From the Baton Club, to Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre, to LA's dazzling studio set, Alexandra's got some stories to tell!
To watch the video, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast/ .
How do you get your start in music? If you are Grammy-winning Saxophonist Frank Catalano, a gun, a stolen car, Miles Davis, a little luck and gobs of talent comes to mind. Enjoy this intimate conversation with musician-entrepreneur Frank Catalano as he explains how he got his start playing Sax in some of the coolest clubs around, back in the day in Chicago, when he was just 16!
Grab your favorite snack and listen in to The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano with featured guest, Frank Catalano. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
PS Given the story-telling nature of this interview, this podcast has a bit of a different format. Enjoy!
Are truth and justice still the American Way? Documentary filmmaker, Steve James, joins me in LA to discuss his newest film. Best known for his Academy Award nominated film, Hoop Dreams, and other films such as The Interrupters and Life Itself, James’ newest film is called, Abacus, Small Enough to Jail. Over Steve’s surpise favorite snack, we dish on the movie which centers around The Sung Family’s David and Goliath tale in which they take on the District Attorney of NYC in hopes of saving face, their business, the New York Chinese community and their family name. So grab some good take out and listen in to my interview with director, Steve James.
For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
Energies were high as Academy Award winner (The Queen), Dame Helen Mirren and Academy Award winning director (Ray), Taylor Hackford, who is also her husband, graced the red carpet of Cinema Chicago’s Spring Gala. Mirren received the prestigious Gold Hugo Award for her Career Achievement in Acting and Hackford received the same for his Career Achievement in Directing. In a rare moment of “communal red carpeting”, Mirren and Hackford walked the carpet together, his arm tightly around her waist, and her holding his hand firmly there, never more than an inch from each other’s side. The two have been married for over 20 years and together for almost 35.
With the elegance and sophistication that we have come to know from Mirren, she discusses how she chooses roles and why she decided to get married after so many years. Iin a light hearted and off-the-cuff response from Hackford, we learn if directing means being a best friend or being a bastard. To watch the video that accompanies this audio interview, go to http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast
Cinema/Chicago, the parent organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, is a year-round non-profit arts and education organization dedicated to fostering better communication between people of diverse cultures through the art of film and the moving image.
For more information, visit chicagofilmfestival.com and http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
Despite the glitz of the red carpet, Emmy and Golden Globe Winner, Jeremy Piven, stopped for a funny chat with host of The Celebrity Dinner Party, Elysabeth Alfano to discuss tips for actors, the trickiness of relationships and his French Bulldog, Bubba. Piven was back in Chicago leading a discussion with Gene Siskel Film Center Renaissance Award Winner, Kevin Spacey.
The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago celebrates the art of cinema with multiple annual festivals international in scope, independent and classic films, premieres, and retrospectives. Internationally recognized for its original film programming, the Film Center is a vibrant cultural destination in Chicago that attracts a diverse and creative annual audience of over 80,000. www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
For more information, visit http:thedinnerparty.tv .
In the dizzying spin of the red carpet, Academy Award winner, Kevin Spacey, stopped for an intimate chat. From Frank Underwood to his mom to Mike Nichols to the importance of the Gene Siskel Film Center’s impact on young artists, Spacey shared his thoughts about the highs and lows of being an artist and an actor. Spacey is the recipient of the School of the Art Institute's Gene Siskel Film Center's Renaissance Award.
The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago celebrates the art of cinema with multiple annual festivals international in scope, independent and classic films, premieres, and retrospectives. Internationally recognized for its original film programming, the Film Center is a vibrant cultural destination in Chicago that attracts a diverse and creative annual audience of over 80,000. www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
So you have an idea for a movie which basically revolves around you and your friends drinking beer and making pranks...or should I say shenanigans? If you are one of the gazillions of fans of the cult classic, Super Troopers, you know what I mean. On this episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano, actor, writer, author, stand-up comedian, and Super Troopers director, Jay Chandrasekhar, joins me at my kitchen table. As Super Troopers celebrates its 15th year, Jay has come out with a new book, Mustache Shenanigans, Making Super Troopers and Other Adventures in Comedy.
In addition to Super Troopers, Jay has directed The Dukes of Hazzard, starring Burt Reynolds and Jessica Simpson, episodes of Psych and Arrested Development, and several movies, such as Beerfest and Club Dread, which he created with members of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, an improv group he started in college.
So grab a beer and listen in. Jay and I dish on his creative process, the stories behind Super Troopers and his unexpected, blow-up fights with his all-time hero, Burt Reynolds. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
Dining out as entertainment? The chef as the main attraction? Eating local and an emphasis on distinctly American cuisine? Who is responsible for all of this? A name you may not even know: Chef Jeremiah Tower. At the Four Seasons in Los Angeles, I dish with Chef Tower, who is the subject of the film, Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent which was released on April 21 2017. If you aren’t familiar with Chef Tower, his story plays like a modern drama. In the late 70s and early 80s, Tower was a revolutionary and regaled chef at Chez Panisse. In 1985, he left to launch his legendary Stars restaurant in San Francisco.
Stars was the birthplace of the chef as celebrity and the excitement of the kitchen as an evening on the town's main event, not to mention the invention of distinctly American ‘nouvelle cuisine.’ Years later, Tower abruptly closed Stars and left the culinary scene all together for an extended self-imposed exile. No one knew where he was until he popped up 15 years later in NYC at the seemingly obviously mismatched establishment of the very rocky Tavern on the Green.
The just released movie of Tower's life, executive produced by Anthony Bourdain and directed by Lydia Tenaglia, might as well have been called, 'The Rise and Fall of Jeremiah Tower: Will a Third Act Prevail?' Drama to say the least!
So, sit tight. Grab a glass of champagne and listen in to my interview with the one and only, the man who started it all and put America on the map for culinary excellence, Chef Jeremiah Tower. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
Imagine: you are a street busker, playing your original songs, hoping people throw some loose change into your guitar case, and then, one day, one of your tunes sells millions!
On the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano, songwriter/musician Mike Rosenberg, better known as Passenger, joins me to from the green room of The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Mike’s song “Let Her Go”, which was released in 2012, has recently gone six times platinum, and his current album, "Young as the Morning, Old as the Sea", with its hit single, "Anywhere", debuted in England, New Zealand and Australia at number one. Not too bad for a street busker!
Mike was born in England, and I figured I should bring along my very favorite beer to help welcome him to Los Angeles for yet another sold out show. So grab your own favorite drink and listen in to my intimate chat with Mike Rosenberg of Passenger.
For the full video interview, visit, http://thedinnerparty.tv/mike-rosenberg-of-the-one-man-band-passenger/ .
Gideon Raff (Writer, Producer of Homeland) and Ariel Vromen (Director of The Iceman) join for a quick conversation at the gala event supporting the Let the Animals Live-Israel Organization. For more information, visit http://LetLive.org.il/eng and http://TheDinnerParty.tv . We ask the question, "What do you stand for?" Gideon and Ariel discuss why the support animal welfare and being vegan.
Is a designer a storyteller? If you are international hospitality designer Jordan Mozer, then you are that and more! One the premier designers for hotels and restaurants- and private residences, too- Jordan Mozer architecture and design firm has created unique spaces all over the US, Europe and Asia with clients like Klimpton Hotels, the award winning East Hotel in Germany, George Lucas and Skywalker Development, Steve Wynn and the Bellagio Resort Hotel, and The Walt Disney Company, just to name a few.
If you have ever walked into any of the spaces that Jordan has brought to life, you know what I mean when say you experience Jordan Mozer “the ride.” Grab and snack and listen in to the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano with designer Jordan Mozer!
For more information, visit http://JordanMozer.com and http://TheDinnerParty.tv .
I dish with actress, model (um, Sexiest Swimsuit Model in the WORLD, according to Maxim) and animal activist, Joanna Krupa on the red carpet of her newest movie, You Can't Have It, scheduled for release Friday, March 17, 2017. (Producer Lyle Howry.)
Joanna reveals the early difficulties of coming to America from Poland as a little girl with her mother. With no money, she's worked her way to the top, all while keeping a big heart. We also chat about You Can't Have It, breaking into acting from modeling, her work with animals and favorite snacks. Listen in! For more information, visit http:TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
The most celebrated party of the year is The Governor's Ball; the after-party of the Oscars, the 89th Annual Academy Awards. The theme of the night is Magical Transformation, and nothing makes a night more magical than food from celeb Chef Wolfgang Puck, drinks created by Mixologist Charles Joly with director Brett Ratner's The Hilhaven Lodge Whisky, wine from The Coppola Family and Champagne from Piper Heidsieck.
Listen in to The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano as I dish with Wolfgang Puck and Charles Joly about how you can create your own magic at home while watching the Oscars and just what makes The Governor's Ball Oscars after-party a night to remember!
For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv .
What does it mean to be a movie producer? More specifically, what exactly does a movie producer do?
Movie producer and CEO of Oddlot Entertainment, Gigi Pritzker, joins me in the WGN Studios. Over Beet Bruschetta with black kale, smoked pecans, red onions, and whipped goat cheese, and a Spinach and Endive Salad with apple, pecorino, hempseed and buttermilk dressing from Lula Cafe, we discuss just how the heck movies actually get made.
Gigi Pritzker has been producing films for most of her adult life. In 2001 she began OddLot Entertainment, a film production and financing company. Based in Los Angeles and Chicago, OddLot’s past releases include Jon Stewart’s directorial debut, Rosewater; Ivan Reitman’s Draft Day, starring Kevin Costner; the highly-anticipated adaptation of the sci-fi novel, Ender’s Game with Harrison Ford; the directorial debut of Academy Award® winning writers, Jim Rash and Nat Faxon’s, The Way, Way Back; the critically acclaimed Drive, starring Ryan Gosling; and Rabbit Hole, the 2010 Academy Award®-nominated film starring Nicole Kidman. Now, Hell or High Water, with Jeff Bridges, is up for an Academy Award® for Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Bridges for Best Supporting Actor.
Pull up a chair and your favorite snack, and enjoy the latest podcast of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano on WGN Radio, featuring movie producer, Gigi Pritzker. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv
As we gear up for the Academy Awards, Nocturnal Animals nominee, actor Michael Shannon sits down with me for food and drink as we dish on cooking, his creative process, working with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Leonardo di Caprio and Martin Scorsese, being nominated for an Academy Award...and bourbon! Want some insight into the elusive artist and no-bs actor? Listen in! For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
Ever have a great melody in your head and you wonder how to turn it into a song? Singer-songwriter Steve Dawson of Dolly Varden joins me on the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano. Steve and I dish on everything from the power of a good teacher and the musicality of language to how some of the best songs might just flow to you on your way to work! Demystifying the process and conveying that anyone can do it, Steve makes songwriting accessible even to those who haven't taken music lessons.
It is no wonder that Steve's classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago sell out continually. For those who can't get into his classes, his book, Take It To The Bridge: Unlocking the Great Songs Inside You, written with Mark Caro, is out now on Amazon.
So grab a beer, listen in and get ready to take some notes as Steve Dawson takes the fear out of songwriting!