Industry Standard w/ Barry Katz

Michael Mendehlson studied business at the University of Pennsylvania. He started his career in the entertainment industry from the mail room of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and working himself all the way up to becoming a major producer and CEO of Patriot Pictures. He has produced hit major motion pictures such as The Matrix directed by the Wachowski sisters, What Women Want from director Nancy Meyers, Quentin Tarantino’s directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, and served as financier for David Fincher’s Fight Club.

Steph Tolev is a comedian and actress. She was the winner of the Best Female Comedian award at the 2015 Canadian Comedy Awards. Her 2019 album I'm Not Well was nominated the Juno Award for Comedy Album of the year. In 2022 she was hand-picked by Bill Burr to open for his tour. She can also bee seen in the feature films Drugstore June and Old Dads.

Earlier this month, the entertainment world suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Norman Lear. At 101 years old, he never stopped working and creating. Known for creating popular series such as All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Norman Lear has been one of my biggest inspirations in this business. I am so tremendously honored to have known him and been able to interview him on Industry Standard. I hope his words and stories inspire you the way they did for me.

Earlier this month, the entertainment world suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Norman Lear. At 101 years old, he never stopped working and creating. Known for creating popular series such as All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Norman Lear has been one of my biggest inspirations in this business. I am so tremendously honored to have known him and been able to interview him on Industry Standard. I hope his words and stories inspire you the way they did for me.

Judy Gold has had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and appeared on Netflix’s Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, a book all about free speech and cancel culture. She has also made numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and News Nation as a free speech advocate. The book was turned into a solo show directed by B.D. Wong in March of 2023 and has received rave reviews and will begin touring in 2024. Judy also is the host of her own podcast Kill Me Now with Judy Gold. She has numerous guest appearances and recurring roles on countless series. She has also won two Emmy awards for her work writing on The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

Judy Gold has had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and appeared on Netflix’s Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, a book all about free speech and cancel culture. She has also made numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and News Nation as a free speech advocate. The book was turned into a solo show directed by B.D. Wong in March of 2023 and has received rave reviews and will begin touring in 2024. Judy also is the host of her own podcast Kill Me Now with Judy Gold. She has numerous guest appearances and recurring roles on countless series. She has also won two Emmy awards for her work writing on The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

Nimesh Patel was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents. When he are up he moved to New York City and attended NYU where he got his degree in finance before pursuing comedy. He started his comedy career performing stand-up at the Stress Factory. In 2015 he was discovered by Chris Rock while performing inBrooklyn and was a part of Rock’s writing team for the 88th Academy Awards which earned him a Writers Guild Award nomination. He also wrote material for Hasan Minaj’s White House Correspondents dinner. In 2016 he became a finalist in Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Network Pitch Panel at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. In 2017 he received his biggest break at that point when he became a full-time writer for Saturday Night Live, primarily contributing to the Weekend Update segments, work which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Nimesh Patel was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents. When he are up he moved to New York City and attended NYU where he got his degree in finance before pursuing comedy. He started his comedy career performing stand-up at the Stress Factory. In 2015 he was discovered by Chris Rock while performing inBrooklyn and was a part of Rock’s writing team for the 88th Academy Awards which earned him a Writers Guild Award nomination. He also wrote material for Hasan Minaj’s White House Correspondents dinner. In 2016 he became a finalist in Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Network Pitch Panel at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. In 2017 he received his biggest break at that point when he became a full-time writer for Saturday Night Live, primarily contributing to the Weekend Update segments, work which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Dave Sirus is a writer, comedian, and actor who has worked on Saturday Night Live, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, co-wrote The King of Staten Island, and co-created Peacock’s original series Bupkis which released earlier this year to rave reviews. He started as a stand-up comedian in high school and eventually found success with the YouTube channel Brick Stone.  Dave is a frequent collaborator with Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson. He has worked with even more legendary names in the business such as Ron Bennington, Jon Stewart, and George Carlin. One of the most respected and hardest working artists I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with in this business.

Dave Sirus is a writer, comedian, and actor who has worked on Saturday Night Live, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, co-wrote The King of Staten Island, and co-created Peacock’s original series Bupkis which released earlier this year to rave reviews. He started as a stand-up comedian in high school and eventually found success with the YouTube channel Brick Stone.  Dave is a frequent collaborator with Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson. He has worked with even more legendary names in the business such as Ron Bennington, Jon Stewart, and George Carlin. One of the most respected and hardest working artists I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with in this business.