Before They Were Rockstars: Seth Kushner

K2 Creative Management, the agency that represents me for photo assignment work posted a nice feature on me where I talk about how I got into photography, my first job working at a photo lab while in high school, the embarrassing situation surrounding my Eric Bogosian and my first professional shoot for the NY Times Magazine, the people I’d most like to shoot, and more. Also, some of my work is displayed and look for a cringe-worthy old photo of me at the bottom.

Before they were rockstars: Seth Kushner

CITY POINT PROJECT

This past spring I was fortunate enough to have worked on one of the most creatively rewarding project of my professional career. I was contracted by the progressive and award-winning branding agency, Co-Op to work on the branding campaign for the soon-to-be developed City Point, a high-end mall in downtown Brooklyn. The concept of the campaign was to cast real Brooklynites to represent the future shopper at the mall, and to shoot them in real Brooklyn locations. The project was right up my alley.

I was very involved in the casting and in the location scouting. Having co-authored the book, The Brooklynites, where I photographed over 300 real, live Brookynites, and having worked on several Brooklyn-centric projects over the years, I can confidently refer to myself as an “expert” on the borough where I was born, raised and proudly reside.

I culled potential subjects from my virtual rolodex of fascinating peeps from Brooklyn, and threw them into the mix of potentials collected by the agency and my agents and the dozens were narrowed down to 24, including; singer/songwriter Maya Azucena, poets Caits Meissner and Tishon Woodcock, stylist Belinda Martin, DJ Jason Jinx and many, many great subjects including some old friends and even my god-daughter.

My approach for these photographic portraits were a bit different from my usual. The look was to be very “open and clean” so I went with a near shadow-less lighting approach and a very wide-open lens aperture to achieve a shallow depth of field, allowing the subject to stand out from their Brooklyn surroundings.

The photos were designed with real quotes from the subjects, as seen below. They were used for trade show displays and for the just launched City Point website, CityPointBrooklyn.com.

I Hated Star Trek

I have a confession to make. One I’ve never revealed to anyone ever. I am not a life-long Star Trek fan. My love goes back only twenty-five of my thirty-eight years. As a child I hated Star Trek.

I hated Star Trek.

The original Star Trek series, the one that ran for 79 episodes between 1966 and 1969, played in syndication throughout my childhood on WPIX Channel 11 here in New York. I remember watching it occasionally on weekend afternoons but as a child raised on Star Wars, fast paced and action packed, the slower Trek seemed boring and slow with antiquated special effects. I guess I had the same problem the network had when it originally aired—it was too “cerebral.”

Continue reading my personal essay (and viewing my TreK con photos) on my history with Star Trek and how it relates to my life-long friendship with my buddy, Martin at TRIP CITY.

Patrick Stewart and My Father

Part of the reason I co-created TRIP CITY with Dean Haspiel and Chris Miskiewicz was to have a venue to post the type of material I most wanted to work on, no matter how esoteric or personal. This past week, I posted a prose piece which is very personal. In PATRICK STEWART AND MY FATHER I write about the connection that exists [for me] between the great Shakespearian actor who portrayed Star Trek's Captain Picard, and my father.

This past September marked the fourteenth anniversary of my father's passing and it's taken me until now to be able to write about him, albeit in the form of a personal/pop-culture essay. I'm proud of the piece, so please have a look -
PATRICK STEWART AND MY FATHER

TRIP CITY Podcast: Michael Moore

One of the advantages of working on TRIP CITY out of HANG DAI Studios is the proximity to BookCourt, Brooklyn’s premiere independent bookstore. It’s right downstairs. Aside from being able to take a break from work to peruse the bestseller shelf, the store offers regular readings and signings with top authors. We brokered a deal with Zack Zook, the shop’s second-generation proprietor to occasionally cull subjects for the TRIP CITY Podcast from their visiting guest list. The idea for the first such team-up came when Zack excitedly informed us filmmaker Michael Moore would be appearing to promote his new book, HERE COMES TROUBLE.

We’re all fans of Mr. Moore’s films. I fondly remember seeing his first film, ROGER & ME back when I was in high school and watching his television series TV NATION when I was in college. More recently I’ve enjoyed and was challenged by his thoughtful, sardonic, in-your-face brand of social activism in such films as BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE and FARENHEIT 9/11.

Our concept for the TRIP CITY Podcast interviews is to have each subject interviewed by a different TRIP CITY contributor, in an artist-to-artist situation where the interviewer would be someone with the right pedigree to spark an interesting conversation. In thinking who might be the best choice to interview Michael Moore, the answer came to us in the form of a visiting friend: Comics author Dan Goldman, whose works include SHOOTING WAR, the nonfiction graphic novel 08: A GRAPHIC DIARY OF THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL and his current haunted real-estate series RED LIGHT PROPERTIES.

We were granted fifteen minutes for Dan to conduct the interview and for me to do a quick photoshoot. It all happened in the back of BookCourt. It was a team effort. Dean Haspiel and I recorded the interview as Dan asked the questions, touching on Moore’s new book HERE COMES TROUBLE, unchecked capitalism and the #Occupy movement. All the while, our pal Josh Frankel snapped behind-the-scenes photos with my camera.

Mr. Moore graciously gave us more time than we expected, answering all of Dan’s questions thoughtfully and honestly, and even found time to ask Dan about his chest hair!

Produced by Chris Miskiewicz this this first installment of the TRIP CITY Podcast also features:

A round table discussion with TRIP CITY founders Dean Haspiel, Chris Miskiewicz and Seth Kushner, conducted by Jef UK. We talk about how TRIP CITY came about, our current work appearing on the site, and our plans for future contributions.

Chris’s New York Comic-Con 2011 report, wherein he asks top cartoonists about the cuisine at the con.

Ron Scalzo’s first installment of “Ronnie’s Story,” a regular 60-second bit.

For the outro, Americans UK’s single “You Can’t Kill The Americans UK.”

We have big plans for the podcast, so please come back to hear future installments featuring guests; Henry Rollins, Ben Katchor and more.

Listen to the first TRIP CITY Podcast.

CulturePOP Photocomix: Jonathan Ames

I first met author Jonathan Ames about 5 or 6 years ago when I took his portrait for my book, The Brooklynites. I've photographed him twice since then, and material all three shoots are utilized in this latest CulturePOP Photocomix profile. The text/quotes are culled from several places and have been edited to tell the story of Jonathan's fascination with Brooklyn's Williamsburg Bank Building and how he believes it to be the most phallic building on earth.

The piece ties in nicely, I believe, with the current season of Jonathan's HBO series, Bored To Death, in which his alter-ego played by Jason Schwartzman now resides in the building and in the premiere hangs from the clock facade Harold Lloyd style.

See my Photocomix profile on Jonathan Ames and all future episodes exclusively on TripCity.net.

CulturePOP now on TRIP City

WELCOME TO TRIP CITY

WELCOME TO TRIP CITY

Press Release for November 1st, 2011
Contact: tripcityinfo@gmail.com
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/tripcitynews



TRIP CITY is a Brooklyn-filtered literary arts salon launching November 1st, 2011 at WelcomeToTripCity.com. The multimedia website features free content curated by a host of creative heavyweights. "TRIP CITY reinvents the online arts collective with a virtual playground for a diverse set of accomplished and highly individualistic creators,” says Emmy Award winning cartoonist and TRIP CITY founder, Dean Haspiel, “spanning every borough of artistic endeavor from the visual arts to literature, music, video and beyond."

TRIP CITY is the exclusive home of united individuals exploring new media to achieve a modern salon. Brooklyners Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma, Bored to Death), Seth Kushner (The Brooklynites, CulturePOP Photocomix), Chris Miskiewicz (Everywhere), and Jeffrey Burandt aka Jef UK (Americans UK), will release exclusive content at TRIP CITY, combining avenues of expression such as podcasts and profiles, including upcoming portraits and exclusive interviews with Jonathan Ames, Marc Maron, Ben Katchor, Michael Moore, Henry Rollins, Dan Goldman, and Moby. Additionally, a fellowship of regular contributors will provide their original voices to TRIP CITY, including, Joe Infurnari (MUSH! Sled Dogs with Issues, Marathon), Nick Bertozzi (The Salon, Lewis & Clark), Jennifer Hayden (Underwire), Nick Abadzis (Laika), Jen Ferguson (Art in Chaos), Ron Scalzo (Bald Freak Music), Amy Finkel (Furever), Kevin Colden [Fishtown], and The Perv Whisperer (The Perv Whisperer).

TRIP CITY is a digital experience with future plans to take some of the content and perform it live on the road. “Working with so many Brooklyn locals, we have this great sense of community right out of the gate,” says Jef UK. “Then, when we take the next step and turn TRIP CITY into a live event—which is in the works—our tribe is already gathered, so to speak.”

The TRIP CITY launch will feature Dean Haspiel's “Bring Me The Heart Of Billy Dogma,” Seth Kushner's CulturePOP Photocomix profile of Bored To Death's Jonathan Ames, Chris Miskiewicz & Kate McElroy's “Adrift,” Jef Uk's “The Better Head,” Joe Infurnari's “Memoirs of the Kid Immortal,” Nick Bertozzi's “Lad Zeppelin,” Jennifer Hayden's “S'Crapbook,” Nick Abadzis' “Subterranean Stories,” Jen Ferguson's “Metrollpolis,” Kevin Colden's “Baby With A Mohawk,” Ron Scalzo's "A Dozen Movies That Scared The Shit Out Of Me, Revisited” featuring PSYCHO with an illustration by Rick Parker, and the inaugural TRIP CITY Podcast highlighting a round table interview with the TRIP CITY founders, Chris Miskiewicz' New York Comicon 2011 report, Ron Scalzo's “Ronnie's Story,” graphic novelist, Dan Goldman's exclusive interview with filmmaker, Michael Moore, and the Americans UK’s single “You Can’t Kill The Americans UK.”

http://welcometotripcity.com/

BRIAN AZZARELLO - LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS

Continuing to catch up on these last group of subjects. The most recent profiled on the site is writer Brian Azzarello, best know for his work on 100 Bullets, Joker, Batman: Knight of Vengeance and the new Vertogo series, Spacemen.

The portrait was taken during a trip to Chicago last spring and is meant to invoke Brian's noirish writing style.

Read the GRAPHIC NYC Profile on Brian Azzarello-
Brian Azzarello on Crime and Superheroes

DAN DIDIO - LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS

My shoot with DC Comics Co-Publisher (with Jim Lee) Dan Didio was a classic situation of making something happen in spite of having almost no time. This past spring, Chris Irving and I were finalizing subjects for and it occurred to us we had too many subjects telling the Marvel Comics side of the equation and not enough representing DC Comics. A bunch of calls and emails later and we were granted a short window of 30-minutes with Dan to do the shoot and interview.

When we arrived, we were informed that our time needed to be cut to just 20-minutes, since Dan had an important meeting. There seemed to be something top secret brewing at DC's offices and we almost saw something on the wall of Dan's office before we were quickly ushered out. I now believe it was all about DC's New 52 publishing plan, which had yet to be announced at that time.

We sat in the reception area, under a life-sized statue of Superman, as Dan answered Chris's questions at light speed. I knew my only options for the shoot would be to do something with the statue and/or the Metropolis mural by the elevator bank.

As the interview was winding down, the publicist asked me if I was getting what I needed. I told him the interview seemed to be going great. No, he meant the photos. Photos? I hadn't taken any yet! He had assumed I would shoot while the interview was being conducted, but I don't work that way--I needed a posed photo. Well, we were out of time, I was told.

Please, just give me three minutes. I can make it happen in three minutes.

I shot 17 frames in those three minutes utilizing the two spots in the reception area. A version of the one with Superman will be used in the book. I like how The Man of Steel becomes a design element to frame Dan and perhaps comment.

It was definitely one of my faster shoots, but thankfully my career shooting celebrity-types has prepared me well for situations such as these.

See the Dan Didio featuring my photos, Chris's interview-based essay and art from his comics work here.

CulturePOP Photocomix preview: Jonathan Ames

Grant Morrison - Leaping Tall Buildings

Much of my time this past summer has been spent finishing up my part on the book, LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS: The Origins of American Comics. While Chris Irving has been editing the text and our designer Eric Skillman has been creating layouts, I've been a) making final, hi-res version of all of my photographic portraits and b), with the help of my intern, India, collecting art from all of the subjects to go along with their profile and portrait. It's been a massive amount of work for everyone involved.

We thought we had all the material together for the approximately 60 subjects whose stories and art would tell the narrative of comics history in the book. We were out of space, and in fact, we were way over the 240-page count our publisher powerHouse books had granted us. 60 pages over! But, there was one particular subject who had eluded us and it always bugged me that he wasn't in the book, so I figured I'd try Grant Morrison one more time. He lives between Scotland and LA, so it was mostly proximity which kept him from us, but he was scheduled to be in NYC to promote his new book Supergods, and he graciously found some time to meet with us.



Grant Morrison is a rockstar comics creator, who even in his superhero work manages to challenge the reader with his use of thought-provoking trippy futurism which looks back as it looks forward, and his big IDEAS. His work on Batman these past few years forces the reader to pay attention or get lost forever and his All Star Superman brings 50s era comic tropes to the 21st century in a story of epic beauty. Anyway, yeah, I'm a fan.

The shoot happened over 20 minutes in his midtown hotel room. Grant was gracious and patient and willing to experiment. I showed up with no concept whatsoever except I knew experimentation would be needed. Grant is a striking looking fella' and clearly a great subject and the interesting patterned wallpaper and mirrors in the room provided me with the rest. The photo at the top is the one that will be in the book. I think the viewer can interpret it several ways and I like that. I have my own interpretation, based upon his work and the often meta qualities, but I think it best to leave it vague.

See the Graphic NYC profile of Grant Morrison, featuring my photos, Chris's interview-based essay and art from his comics work here.

Marc Maron

I first met comedian Marc Maron about 6 or 7 years ago when I was assigned by Heeb Magazine to shoot him for their Heeb 100 issue. At the time, Maron hosted a show on the Air America radio network and I wasn't at all familiar with him.

Last year, I became addicted with Maron's WTF podcast, an interview-based show recoded in his LA garage, where he chats in-depth with comedians. His brutally honest humor and frank discussions have me and many, many others checking back every Monday and Thursday, when new episodes are posted.

Recently, I saw Maron had a live broadacast scheduled at the Bell House, here in Brooklyn, and I thought he'd make a great CulturePOP Photocomix subject, so I emailed him at the old address I had from years ago to my great excitement, he quickly responded and plans were made through his publicist.

Maron had a full schedule planned for his visit to Brooklyn, so I was only given 30 minutes before his show to make it happen. Myself and my friend/studio-mate/CP editor and fellow WTF fan, Dean Haspiel worked up a series of questions which would lead Maron to give us the quotes we'd need for the text and we worked as a tag team (like Iron Sheik and Nicolai Volkoff) to get 15 minutes of solid talk out of him. He gave us the goods, being his usual caustic, honest and self-deprecating self.

For the shoot, I walked Maron through several locations at the Bell House, very quickly in order to be sure to get the variety of visuals need in order to make a proper photocomix profile. He was a great subject for me giving me a range of poses and reactions and also being spontaneous, as seen in the preview photos here.

Maron was a great 'get' for project and I look forward to showing the full piece in a couple of months. For now, I'll post a few of the more straight "portraits" from the session. More soon.

CulturePOP Photocomix Tribute to "Our Man" Harvey Pekar (RIP)

CulturePOP Photocomix Tribute to "Our Man" Harvey Pekar (RIP)
by Seth Kushner
Edited by Jeff Newelt & Dean Haspiel
Interview by Christopher Irving
See it--http://activatecomix.com/104-25-1.comic

Seth Kushner's CulturePOP: Photocomix Profiles of Real-Life Characters returns (see info below for previous 24 episodes) to ActivateComix.com on Tuesday, July 12 2011 with a special tribute to Harvey Pekar, on the one-year anniversary of his death.

The 25-page piece, the 25th CulturePOP profile, features photos of the autobio comix pioneer, taken by Kushner just a few months prior to his untimely death, fused with quotes by an interview conducted by Christopher Irving the day of the shoot, to make a "fumetti" / photocomix equivalent to an American Splendor comic.

In addition to the words of Pekar himself, the piece includes photos of, quotes from, and illustrations by some of Pekar's collaborators; Josh Neufeld (artist, American Splendor), Dean Haspiel, (artist, The Quitter + American Splendor), Jeff Newelt (editor, Pekar Project & upcoming Harvey Pekar's Cleveland), Ted Hope (American Splendor film producer), Joseph Remnant (artist, Harvey Pekar's CLEVELAND) Shari Springer-Berman & Robert Pulcini (directors, American Splendor film) and Michael Taylor (script supervisor). Plus, Joyce Brabner, Harvey's widow and collaborator talks about her plan to have a monument erected to Harvey in Cleveland.

"I didn't know Harvey very well at all, not personally at least." Kushner says. "I knew him as many did, through his comics, and the great film, American Splendor. I've worked with Dean & Jeff on this tribute for months and I hope it will stand as a fitting one to a man whose seemingly ordinary, but unique voice, influenced and uplifted so many. Harvey Pekar, a seemingly ordinary guy from Cleveland, a former file clerk, made an indelible mark on comics, influenced several generations of comics creators, and died too soon."

See it--http://activatecomix.com/104-25-1.comic

LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS - Chris Claremont

As Christopher and I and designer Eric Skillman work on finishing LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS to meet our publisher's deadline we'll be occasionally posting profiles from the last batch of sessions, like the recent two-part profile on legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont.

When I was 9-years old and I first started collecting monthly comics, Claremont's name, along with Frank Miller's, was among the first I knew in comics. His X-Men was instrumental in the early days of my obsession. I remember issue 181, the post Secret Wars issue in Japan, was the first I bought, followed by a several-year long back-issue hunt to fill the gaps. I eventually collected back as far as issue 125, and earlier sporadic issues. All that said, it was a thrill to sit in the living room of his Brooklyn house and hear all the behind-the-scenes stories of those classic issues. Have a look a the profiles and see for yourself.

Chris Claremont on Evolving the X-Men, Part One

Chris Claremont on Evolving the X-Men, Part Two

ICONS OF FANDOM

Richard Roundtree is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973).


Peter Mayhew is best known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. His peak height was 7 feet 3 inches.


Michael Biehn is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror.


Brian O'Halloran is best known for his roles in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse films, notably as Dante Hicks in Smith's debut film Clerks and its 2006 sequel, Clerks II.


Adam Baldwin is known for his roles as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Ricky Linderman in My Bodyguard, Knowle Rohrer in The X-Files, and Marcus Hamilton in Joss Whedon's Angel. He also established a cult following as Jayne Cobb in the series Firefly and its film sequel Serenity, and for starring as Chad Shelten in Day Break. He currently stars as John Casey on the NBC comedy-spy series Chuck.

The TRANSMETROPOLITAN ART BOOK

Several months back, I heard from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, asking if I'd like to contribute an original piece of art for a book they were producing for charity based upon the Vertigo Comics series, TRANSMETROPOLITAN, by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. I quickly jumped at the chance, even though I was ashamed to say I had never read the book. Yes, I was a huge fan of the creators from their other projects, but somehow the long running Vertigo series slipped by me. Hey, I read a ton of comics and I can't read everything, right? Right? True, but sometimes the really good stuff slips by, like TRANSMET.

I saw the list of contributors, (see list of heavy-hitters below) and knew I'd have to do something special to earn my place among them. I'm not a "comics artist" per se, I'm a photographer, so I needed to play to my strengths. I decided I'd do a Photocomic, like what I do with my CulturePOP series. But, what would be the narrative? Step one, was read at least one of the books and get a feel for the characters and story.

I quickly devoured the first collection of 6 issues and found myself hooked. How did I miss this series initially? Reminder: One can't read everything. Right. Within two weeks I read 6 volumes and decided my homage to this brilliant series shouldn't be a recreation but some sort of commentary.

The lead character, Spider Jerusalem is a Hunter S. Thompson-esq journalist in a future world rank with corruption. Ellis's commentary felt as fresh to me now as I'm sure it was when the books were first released. Spider, a champion of the truth, could be a prophet for the disenfranchised. People would want to be like Spider. I would do a piece on a guy becoming Spider.

A quick call to my bald buddy, musician and Bald Freak Music label owner Ron "Q*Ball" Scalzo, and a plan was in motion.

I ordered a pair of Spider's signature glasses from etsy.com and seeing Ron in them, it was amazing how much he resembled Spider. A wig was used for panel 1, since Ron's already bald, and thanks to Kenny at Kings County Tattoo for standing in on panel 4. The background in the final two panels come from some photos I had from last years New York Comic-Con at the Jacob Javits Center.

I should be getting my copy in the mail any day now, so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's contribution and seeing how mine fits.

From the CBLDF site - It has been nearly ten years since the release of the final issue of TRANSMETROPOLITAN, the Eisner-nominated comics series from writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson. This art book features all new illustrations from the top talents in Comics, with the original co-creators participating, donating a brand new cover and a foreword for the book!

TRANSMETROPOLITAN combines black humor, political scandal, and moral ambiguity to look into the gonzo mind of an outlaw journalist and The City he inhabits. Aided by his embattled Editor and his two Assistants, the protagonist blazes a path through a futuristic world of skyscrapers and technological wonders, dark alleys and unspeakable depravity.

The TRANSMETROPOLITAN Art Book is a lovingly crafted and designed tribute to a seminal work. Contributors include:

Aaron Alexovich, Stephanie Buscema, Jim Calafiore, Stefano Caselli, Cliff Chiang, Richard C. Clark, Kevin Colden,Katie Cooke, Molly Crabapple, Farel Dalrmple, Camilla d'Errico, Gary Erskine, Richard Friend, Dan Goldman, Cully Hamner, Lea Hernandez, Phil Hester, Rantz Hoseley, Matt Howarth, Seth Kushner, Jonathan Luna, Milo Manara, John McCrea, Moritat, Dean Motter, Eduardo Risso, Darick Robertson, Jimmie Robinson, Stuart Sayger, Tim Seeley, Fiona Staples, Bryan Talbot, and many, many others.

The book is available for order now.

The Head Set

A couple of months back I spent a Saturday night bouncing around the LES with my old buddy, Ron "Q*Ball" Scalzo, of the aptly named Bald Freak Music, taking shots of his newly signed band, The Head Set.

The concept for the photos was simply to follow the guys on a night out and capture the vibe of the city and avoid a stiff "band shot". I did a lot of blurred motion type night shots, with the one above being the most successful.

The band's energetic new album is out now and you can get it at their online shop.

LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS - Jeffrey Brown

As can be seen from the photos above, I didn't go very conceptual with Jeffrey, and didn't need to. His work is mainly personal autobio, so it made the most sense to simply photograph him in his life, at work, in his home.

For more about Jeffrey and his work, check out the GRAPHIC NYC profile on him we just posted-
Jeffrey Brown: The Incredible Changing Artist!

I'll post the other Chicago subjects and more soon.

ICONS OF FANDOM

Concluding my latest additions to this series, here's a varied collection of "Icons."

Gary Busey has appeared in over 120 films, including; Lethal Weapon (1987), Point Break (1991), The Firm (1993) and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1978 for his role inThe Buddy Holly Story. He has also made regular television appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage.

Michael Gross is an actor whose most notable roles are father Steven Keaton from Family Ties and the Graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors franchise.

Robert Knepper is an actor best known for starring as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox network's drama series, Prison Break, for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award. He has also appeared in the films Hitman (2007) and Transporter 3 (2008), and joined the cast of Heroes for its fourth season and recently Stargate Universe.

Peter Ostrum is a former child actor whose only film role was Charlie Bucket in the 1971 motion picture Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Michael Bollner is a German former child actor who played Augustus Gloop in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Lloyd Kaufman is a film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet.

Dean Stockwell is an actor of film and television, active for over 60 years. He played Rear Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci in the NBC television series Quantum Leap and in the Sci Fi Channel revival of Battlestar Galactica as Brother Cavil. He is also known for To Live and Die in L.A., Blue Velvet and Married to the Mob.