It’s here! DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Fourth Season on Blu-ray ($29.98) and DVD ($24.98) comes out today, Sept. 24. I happily accepted an offer from Warner Bros. to receive and review the video. (more…)
Archive for the ‘TV and Movies’ Category
DC Legends of Tomorrow Season Four
Tuesday, September 24th, 2019Introducing ‘Open Seating’
Sunday, September 22nd, 2013I’m pleased to announce that I’m the host of a new restaurant TV show on the CW 57 called “Open Seating.” It’ll be aired several times this week, with times and days listed below. Guests will be from restaurants, bars and specialty stores all over southwestern Wisconsin.
While I’ve been on TV before as a guest, it was interesting to be on the production side. My first meeting with the staff at CW 57 took place in March, when we discussed informally my experience, potential show formats and possible guests. We both decided not too long afterward to move forward with the concept.
In early May, I came into the studio to shoot a promo for potential advertisers. The CW 57 staff then went out to secure sponsorships and begin booking guests, with a target date for the first episode around August or September. In the meantime, I told everyone I could about the show.
By the end of the summer, we booked a few guests, and I returned to the studio in mid-August to shoot a pair of commercials. I decided to wear a suit and tie in those spots, because I thought, what the hell, I’m on TV now, so I’d better look good.
Last week, on a Tuesday afternoon, we filmed our first episode, with guests from Wonder Bar, Koffee Kup, Firehouse Subs and VOM FASS. With some unexpected down times in between guests, it took about four hours to shoot a half-hour episode. We’re hoping to get that down to two hours for four guests.
I had a lot of stuff running through my mind during the interview portion. I obviously had to pay attention to my guests and come up with follow-up questions as needed, I had to remember to try to sit up straight and I had to be cognizant of the time (1 minute left, 30 seconds left, 10 seconds left …). Also, eating and talking is not as easy as it looks on TV, plus it’s challenging to say something other than “this tastes good” after each bite or sip.
There wasn’t a monitor in the studio, so I didn’t actually see what I looked like on camera. Thus, I’m a bit nervous, and I’ll be watching it for the first time like everyone else when it airs this week.
I’m not sure when we’ll actually shoot the second show, as we were happy to get the first episode under our belts. I’ll be posting each episode to EatDrinkMadison.com, and you can see behind-the-scenes photos on our Facebook page and chat with us on Twitter.
Hope you like the show!
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Airing times (CT):
- Sept. 23 – 6:30 a.m., 7 a.m., Noon
- Sept. 24 – 4 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
- Sept. 25 – 8 a.m.
- Sept. 26 – 4 a.m, 1:30 p.m.
- Sept. 27 – 3:30 am., Noon
- Sept. 28 – 4 a.m.
Movie Review: SOMM
Sunday, July 14th, 2013
Photo courtesy of Forgotten Man Films / Samuel Goldwyn Films
UPDATE, July 16: A spokesperson for Samuel Goldwyn Films informed me that both the tasting and the screening have been canceled. All ticket holders will receive refunds. A copy of the film can be found on iTunes.
Wine geeks unite!
It’s a line from the movie “SOMM,” which follows four men as they prepare for the Master Sommelier Exam. You only need to have a passing familiarity with wine to enjoy the documentary, which will be screened at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. For the $50 admission (buy tickets online), you also get to participate in a wine tasting from 7-8:30 p.m. run by local sommelier Caitlin Suemnicht of Food Fight Restaurant Group.
I was invited to preview the 93-minute movie, which I thought was a fascinating look at a unique discipline–really, really knowing wines. Director/writer Jason Wise shows the extraordinary amount of time and effort these “MS” candidates spend to earn a designation that, in my opinion, is simply a nice title to put on your business card. That’s because the average restaurant patron only needs help from a sommelier in “betting” on a wine that will taste good, as the movie explains in one interview. That patron doesn’t care about wine theory or that Italy has thousands of varietals.
But I digress. Viewers should get a kick out of seeing how much you can actually learn about wine. I loved it when the main subjects could figure out the exact region and vintage of a wine in just a few minutes. In fact, that was the inspiration for the film.
“My inspiration for making ‘SOMM’ came from watching one of my subjects blind taste a flight of wines,” Wise said in an interview with EatDrinkMadison.com. “I had never seen anything like it before, and I needed to set it to music. As we filmed more, I realized this was a real chance to show a side of an industry never seen in a film, and, if we did it right, help give credit to a profession that deserves a lot of respect for what they do.”
At times, the movie does run a bit slowly, but it all works well in building up suspense for the end. I did agree with the synopsis of “SOMM” that was sent to me–humorous, emotional and illuminating–but I would add that you’ll also crave some wine. Hopefully they’ll let you sip your wine from the tasting as you watch the film, which also gives you a whole new appreciation of the beverage that has such a rich history.
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