The Sport of Life: Chats w/ Comedians, Filmmakers, Sports Figures, Musicians, & Intellectuals

Comedian, writer, & filmmaker Neal Brennan chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his performances at the Moontower Just For Laughs Austin comedy festival. Topics include: Neal's unique style as a comedian & entertainer (1:45) His newfound love of the foreign film, The Worst Person In the World (4:31) Will Smith's assault of Chris Rock at the Oscars (6:42) If an audience member has ever approached him on stage (7:47) Any topics that he avoids with his standup in 2022 (8:36) People trying to 'cancel' Dave Chappelle (14:27) One of Neal's favorite arguments with Chappelle (18:04) Whether Half Baked was originally conceived as a dark comedy (19:22)

Comedian Mark Normand chats with Trey Elling, prior to his April 20th performance at the Moontower Just For Laughs Austin comedy festival. To purchase tickets, click HERE. Topics include: Austin becoming an epicenter for standup comedy (0:44) Mark growing up in New Orleans (3:48) An audience member going "Will Smith" once when Mark was performing (5:49) The state of comedy in 2022 (7:54) Laughing at our differences (10:42) Previewing the Moontower show, including a Q&A at the end (13:32)

Comedian and actor Donnell Rawlings chats with Trey Elling before his shows at Moontower Just For Laughs, Austin's premiere comedy festival. To purchase tickets or badges for Donnell's shows, click HERE. Topics include: Donnell's fearless mentality when telling jokes on-stage (2:44) Working with David Simon on HBO's The Wire (5:38) How serving in the military shaped him as a person (9:19) Starting standup in Washington DC when it was a hotbed for up-and-coming talent (10:45) That epiphanous moment when he realized comedy as a possible career (12:35) Whether crowd work is a part of his act (14:47) A possible special on the horizon (17:47) Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars (19:21) Donnell shares an update on his fortunes (23:11) 

New York Times bestselling author & Eisner-winning writer Ryan North chats with Trey Elling about HOW TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD: PRACTICAL SCHEMES AND SCIENTIFIC SOLUTIONS FOR THE ASPIRING SUPERVILLAIN. Topics include: The book's origin story (0:25) What a science experiment called Biosphere 2 that started in the 1990s tells us about what it takes to operate a secret lair (1:26) Why it wouldn't be wise for an aspiring supervillain to take land by soft force when trying to start his or her own country (5:48) Could bad guys clone dinosaurs like they did in Jurassic Park? (9:19) Why is sulfur dioxide a key in possibly controlling the weather? (14:20) Ryan's defiant opposition to putting political elections on computers (17:28) Why have we not gotten past the crust when attempting to drill to the Earth's core (24:06) The lack of importance in knowing why we age in achieving immortality (30:02) What Ryan wants to be remembered for (36:44)

Director Sam Jones chats with Trey Elling about the new HBO documentary, TONY HAWK: UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF. To hear Trey's chat with Sam and Tony Hawk on the red carpet at SXSW 2022, click HERE. Topics include: The first video Sam shot for the documentary (1:00) Exploring the lesser known aspects of Tony's private life (2:48) Sam's "unfair advantage" of being a part of the Southern California skateboarding scene in the 1980s (4:55) Stacy Peralta and George Powell providing a ton of archival skating footage (7:20) Getting to watch Tony figure something out (8:58) Making the conscious decision to not have Tony comment in modern times about pulling off his X Games 900 in 1999 (10:12) The most surprising thing Sam learned about Tony (11:47) The most difficult question he asked Tony (15:14) Whether Sam worries about Tony and his desire to keep pushing the limits of skateboarding, regardless of his age (18:53) Sam's skateboarding limits in 2022 (21:32) The key to taking good pictures (25:56)

Decentralized Pictures Foundation (DCP) co-founders Roman Coppola, Leo Matchett, and Michael Musante chat with Trey Elling during SXSW 2022 about blockchain philanthropy fueling the discovery of indie filmmakers and the financing of their films. Topics include: An explanation of Decentralized Pictures, or DCP (1:28) What inspires Roman to want to help others (1:52) Blockchain's role in what DCP is trying to do (3:34) Why they're so enthusiastic about DCP (5:00) Roman's experiences working with Wes Anderson (9:20) What is Roman's "Bill Murray story"? (10:06)

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and director Sam Jones chat with Trey Elling about the new HBO documentary, TONY HAWK: UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF. The film takes a wide-ranging, definitive look at Hawk’s life and iconic career. Topics include: Sam Jones interview (2:11) The genesis of this documentary (2:11) Approaching Tony’s biggest vulnerabilities (3:32) They to a good question (5:18) Tony Hawk interview (7:06) Tony’s middle name being changed to “Fucking” (7:10) The most vulnerable he felt during filming (7:59) Black Twitter sparing Tony in a hypothetical race war (8:36)

Writer/director Richard Linklater, actors Glen Powell and Lee Eddy, and producer Mike Blizzard chat with Trey Elling about APOLLO 10 & 1/2, available April 1st on Netflix. The film was made with rotoscoping, an animation style similar to Linklater's WAKING LIFE and A SCANNER DARKLY. But seeing as how Rick is prone to rewrite the rules of storytelling, he took this artistic process to an astoundingly detailed new level. Interviews: Mike Blizzard (1:37) Lee Eddy (5:12) Glen Powell (7:19) Richard Linklater (10:06)

Several cast & crew members from ATLANTA chatted with Trey Elling and other reporters on the red carpet, prior to the screening of the first two episodes of Season 3 at SXSW 2022. The interview participants included creator and star Donald Glover ("Earn"), Zazie Beetz (Van), Hiro Murai (director & EP), Stephen Glover ("writer & producer), and Stefani Robinson (writer). Topics included: What it was like coming back to the ATLANTA world and those characters after the long hiatus (1:34) Goals for the finality of the series (2:07) Experience in the writers' room as the series has evolved (3:03) Were there any 'ripped from the headlines' topics in Season 3 (4:07) Donald's next big prediction (4:56) Any surprises for the fans in seasons 3 & 4 (6:01)

Pablo Schreiber chats with Trey Elling about playing "Master Chief" in the new Paramount+ series HALO, based on the popular video game. Topics include: Pablo growing up without a TV (0:43) Ensuring the proper balance of restraint and humanity when playing Master Chief (1:12) Empathizing with fans who were upset that his character takes his helmet off (2:29)