In The Mood For California Masha Korpacheva

Today we’ll feel and experience Beverly Hills featuring an interview with incredible Alex Rotaru!

Alex Rotaru is an internationally known, multi-award winning filmmaker. A polymath born in Romania, he moved to the US after a successful career in film acting which led to the highest distinction available to Romanian young actors, to pursue a degree in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology - where he graduated at the top of his class with a 5.0 GPA and a degree in Theoretical Physics. Inspired by studying cinema at the Sorbonne in Paris, Alex then switched gears and earned a Film Production MFA from University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Rotaru's directorial prowess shines in acclaimed documentaries like "They Came to Play" and "Shakespeare High." As a US Department of State cultural ambassador, he has traversed the globe, sharing his expertise and fostering international exchange.

Known for eliciting profound emotions from subjects, his work includes collaborations with luminaries like Mona Golabek, Carol Connors, and Valerie Plame.

Recipient of the Christopher Award, Rotaru is celebrated for his ability to unearth compelling narratives, as evidenced by his insightful interviews with late literary giants like 2020 Literature Prize-winner, Louise Glück and Poet Laureate of Congress, John Ashbury.

Alongside his filmmaking, he remains active in theater; the study of the philosophical intersection of blockchain, AI, communication and entertainment; comparative religion; and writing prose - memorialistic and beyond.

He resides in Beverly Hills with his son Max.



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Today we’ll feel and experience Whitley Heights featuring an interview with amazing Gaby Santinelli!

Gaby Santinelli, born in Manhattan, trained in acting and singing at Interlochen Arts Academy, Northwestern University, and Mannes School of Music. She also trained at the Atlantic Theatre Company in NYC and in the Meisner Technique in London. Living in England for 15 years, she became a dual US-UK Citizen. Notably, she won a Best Supporting Performance Olivier Award for Jerry Springer The Opera and has extensive stage experience including roles in The Phantom Of The Opera and The Black Rider. She has appeared in various operas, including at Covent Garden and Highclere Castle. Her theatre roles encompass Lady Chiltern in An Ideal Husband, Masha in Three Sisters, and Jenny in Company. Film credits include A Summer In Genoa with Colin Firth and Losing Isaiah (Aizeya) with Jessica Lange and Halle Berry. As a studio session singer since 2001, she contributed to Oscar-Winning Soundtracks such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and La La Land. Currently, she is a Performance Faculty member at USC’s School of Dramatic Arts, teaching VoiceOver and On Camera Acting. Additionally, she has coached actors on projects including Skin, The Crown, and The Morning Show.
Please check out her website: gabysantinelli.com

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Today we’ll feel and experience Bronson Canyon featuring an interview with wonderful Russell Brown!

Filmmaker Russell Brown’s body of work includes five narrative features, two full-length documentaries, and a number of well-regarded narrative and documentary shorts. His feature films have opened theatrically in select cities to favorable reviews after playing at more than 270 festivals around the world. His diverse filmography includes Loren & Rose, Mama Laura’s Boys, The 44 Scarves of Liza Minnelli and The Kaleidoscope Guy at the Market. He is known in particular for directing actresses to award-winning and critically acclaimed performances, and has worked with Jacqueline Bisset, Cybil Shepherd, Karen Black, Connie Stevens, Daphne Zuniga, Amber Benson, Joely Fisher, Natasha Wagner and more. Russell is a member of the Writer’s Guild of America and is a Film Independent Producing Fellow. His films are held as part of the collection at the UCLA Film and Television archive.

Brown also dedicates a significant amount of time to philanthropic work, and has spearheaded initiatives with the LA Philharmonic, the USC School of Poetry, Harvard-Westlake High School and the Da Camera Society. He is the founder of Friends Of Residential Treasures: Los Angeles — a nonprofit dedicated to bringing people together by celebrating the history and influence of residential architecture. Please check out the website https://www.fortla.org/

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Today we’ll feel and experience Richard Neutra’s architecture featuring an interview with esteemed Dr Raymond Neutra!

Dr. Raymond Neutra is the youngest son of Richard Neutra. After a public health career in environmental medicine and epidemiology at several universities and the California Department of Public Health he has been drawn back to the legacy of his father and brother. He has been active in the preservation of the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences and several other Neutra projects. He is an “ambassador” for the Iconic House Network and has written scholarly articles on his father’s career. In addition to preservation, he endorses the Neutra commitment to socially and ecologically responsible design inspired by evidence.

Please check out the website for The Neutra Institute for Survival through Design at www.neutra.org

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Today we’ll feel and experience Palm Springs and will get an overview of Los Angeles Landmark restaurants in the interview with inspiring George Geary!

George Geary is passionate about history, cooking and conversancy. He loves to share that passion with others. He brings humor, energy and experience to every personal appearance across the country and on luxury cruises. His lectures, classes and culinary tours are sold-out months in advance. His wit and humor make understanding culinary concepts and preservation fun and interesting.

A former pastry chef for the Walt Disney Company, George is a Certified Culinary Professional and best-selling cookbook author. His latest book, L.A.s Landmark Restaurants ~ Where Angelinos Ate Drank and Played was released in January of 2023. His other historical book L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants reflects the historical locals visited by the Hollywood set was released in 2017. George’s previous titles include: Made in California; 125 Best Cheesecake Recipes; The Cheesecake Bible; The Complete Baking Cookbook; 125 Best Food Processor Recipes; 650 Food Process Recipes, 500 Sauces, Salad Dressings and More.., 150 Best Donut Recipes and 125 Best Biscuit Mix Recipes. Just recently George’s book The Cheesecake Bible was translated into Italian.

For over 30 years George has been involved with the judging of culinary contests for major food manufacturers such as Canola Producers, Veg-all, Hormel Products, Hershey Foods, Knott’s Berry Farm Foods, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Fleischmann’s Yeast, San Diego Union Tribune, ABC News Contests and many more. The past 4 years George has been called on to work with many major casting companies to help in finding talent for new “reality” food shows such as The Taste with the late Anthony Bourdain and Americans Great Bake-Off with Jeff Foxworthy. For 24 seasons, George was the Culinary Coordinator of the world’s Largest County Fair in Los Angeles where his duties were to implement food contests daily with the coordination of the judges and competitors. George’s teaching/lecturing schedule regularly takes him around the world, teaching at over 200 schools, spas, wineries and food festivals a year. For eight years George, had been a featured speaker and lecturer aboard the Holland America Line ships visiting over 118 countries and every continent, including seven World Cruises and 17 Grand Voyages.

When not in a kitchen he leads mouth-watering culinary tours of major cities of America and Europe. George has shared some of his favorite recipes with television viewers on ABC, The Food Network, NBC, CBS, and PBS. He has been featured in the pages of every food section newspaper in America and many food magazines, travel magazines and blogs. Currently George can be seen weekly on FOX5 San Diego doing food segments, WGN-TV Chicago, and Daytime on the NBC Tampa Station. When not traveling to teach, George lives in sunny California. George has over 1 million in his social media reach.
www.georgegeary.com #chefgeary ggeary@aol.com

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Today we’ll feel and experience Woodland Hills featuring an interview with incredible Alan K Rode!
Alan K. Rode is an American film scholar and preservationist, cinema host, producer, charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation and a co-host of the NOIR CITY, Hollywood and Chicago film festivals. He has been the producer and host of the annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, California since 2008 and has hosted numerous other cinema events. In addition to his many filmed interviews of Hollywood artists, he has produced numerous classic film Blu-ray commentaries and special features and appeared as a Spotlight co-host on Turner Classic Movies in 2018. Alan is also known for his books, Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film, Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy and Blood on the Moon.

Alan’s video interviews with numerous Golden Age of Hollywood ‘personages can be found on his web site www.alankrode.com and the Film Noir Foundation’s video archive. His blog ONE WAY BLOG and writing and interviews for a variety of publications have been supplemented by his commentaries and featurettes on numerous Blu-Ray®/DVD classic film releases.

Alan’s IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5023636/

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