Monica Bushman
Producer, How To LA
(she/her)
I'm one of the producers on the LAist Studios podcast How To LA.
Before joining the How To LA team, I worked on other LAist Studios podcasts including The Academy Museum Podcast, Retake and Hollywood the Sequel. I got my start at LAist on the broadcast side, as a producer on Take Two, The Frame, and our local broadcasts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
Prior to coming to LAist, I worked on NPR shows like Talk of the Nation and Morning Edition.
When I moved back to Southern California after living away for several years, I had to overcome my fear of driving on the freeway (think Dionne in "Clueless"). I've mostly mastered the driving part, but am still working on the ability to give out directions like "The Californians" on SNL.
What questions do you have about film, TV, music, or arts and entertainment?
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Robin Williams’ casting as the Genie in Aladdin is often talked about as a turning point when the focus on casting big name actors for animated films began. But is that true? The animator behind the character says: not quite. -
“Usually [when casting a film] we have a start date,” says casting director Kerry Barden, “and with this, we didn't have a start date until we found Brandon, because we couldn't make the movie without that.”
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Sarah Ramos says she actually likes self-taped auditions, but without regulations: “This is a strain on our resources, a strain on our community and it's untenable.”
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Reuben Cannon came to L.A. with a one-way ticket, $500, and no connections. When he was down to $28, he got an entry-level job that was a foot in the door to work on films like The Color Purple, What’s Love Got to Do With It, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
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A visit to L.A.’s Academy Museum wouldn’t be complete without checking out the hand-written notes on casting director Marion Dougherty’s index cards — noting everything from Ice-T’s “kind, poetic quality” to the observation that a 20-something Sandra Bullock was “very well-adjusted.”
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If removed, some observers worry what comes next for Black political power in this city
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Noble Johnson was the first famous Black actor under the classic Hollywood studio system, but he reached his success playing characters of every race but his own. In order to play Black roles, he created a groundbreaking film company in L.A. that made some of the earliest Black produced films for Black audiences.
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A final report is in the works but we hear from participants in the city's first guaranteed income program about how it impacted them
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Look at the credits of almost any visual effects-heavy film, or at the Academy Award nominees, and it's clear that visual effects teams are dominated by men.
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The union's contract expired at the end of September.
