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Interview: Leo Zahn

Leo Zahn, like many of the people I’ve been lucky enough to interview, has a very cool job. Leo directs commercials. Specifically, Leo, through his California based company Picture Palace, directed a commercial for Trendmasters. The product was Trendmasters line of Extreme Ghostbusters toys.

Busy as he is, Leo took a moment to answer a few questions for Proton Charging.

PC: First some background. When was the commercial shot and about how long did it take?

SH: The Ghostbusters spot was shot in May/June 1997 in St. Louis. Trendmasters holds the license for the toy line of Extreme Ghostbusters. I shoot quite a bit for them. They are one of the largest toy companies in the U.S. (“Independence Day” ” Godzilla” etc). Usually, a 30 sec spot is shot in 2 days.

PC: I’ve always wondered; what are commercials shot on? I’m guessing they’re not all on film.

LZ: All [my] spots are shot on 35mm film.

PC: How did you get involved with doing the Extreme Ghostbusters ad? What did you know about Ghostbusters going into the shoot?

LZ: I knew a lot about Ghostbusters, having been a fan of both movies. I was not aware of the animated TV show. I feel in love with the design of the toy figures, and especially the design and look of the car.

PC: What’s the trick to selling Extreme Ghostbusters to kids? Was there a particular angle that Trendmasters was trying to get across? Suits on the set trying to explain their vision for the product?

LZ: The beauty of working for Trendmasters is the fact that they welcome a director’s input, and there are no “suits” on the set. Their product managers are very creative people with good ideas, who act as creative directors on the set. [There was] no ad agency involved.

PC: When you were shooting the EGB commercial were you using production toys or prototypes? Did you have any trouble with the product?

LZ: We shot mostly with production product. There were problems.

PC: Ah ha. Your company site separates the commercials for girl toys from the commercials for toys for boys. What’s the trick to selling toys to boys using a commercial spot on TV?

LZ: Boys to spots are usually aggressive, battle oriented spots. There is constant attack and destruction. As a director, you need to be sble to maximize the impact, while staying within the Federal guidelines for toy advertising.

PC: How do you think the commercial turned out? If you could have done anything different,would you? Or would you leave it as is?

LZ: I’m very pleased with it, and it’s on my boys toy reel.

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Ernie Hudson Big Star chat transcript

If you missed out on the Yahoo Chat with Ernie Hudson, BigStar.com (a co-sponsor of the chat) has posted a transcript.

Hudson had some interesting things to say about his role as the fourth Ghostbuster.

CoolLennyJ1 asks: Ernie how was it working on Ghostbusters?

BigStar_Celeb: It was … the first one was really difficult because I was sort of an outsider .. not part of the group. The guys had worked together for a long time, it took a while to get comfortable with them and feel part of the team. But, it was a lot of fun .. and the second one was a lot of fun as well. I’m glad I did them and glad to have been a part of them.

I had a feeling they’d be special movies, but I had no idea that it’d become the huge hit that it was.

Other revelations included;
– He felt like an outsider when he first joined the cast.
– He had a feeling that the two movies would be special.
– To this day people still stop him on the street and say “Who Ya Gonna Call?”.
Most everyone was interested about a possible third Ghostbusters to which Hudson revealed that he’s heard all of the same rumours we have, but he has not been approached yet.
Hudson commented that as early as his work with Harold Ramis on Airheads (1994) there was discussion about making a third Ghostbusters.
“It was a big franchise and it’s hard to believe that the studios won’t try and take advantage of it”
Best Tidbits: Hudson’s wife collected a lot of the GB toys.
Startling Revelation: Ghostbusters actually hindered Hudson’s career. He says he didn’t work for three years after making it.

The chat transcript’s original home is now dead, but you can read the whole chat after the jump.
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J. Michael Straczynski on RGB

Ever heard of J. Michael Straczynski? Well, if you haven’t you should have. Straczynski, (JMS to his fans) has a long history as a writer for print and TV. His CV includes work on the Twilight Zone (syndicated TV series), Captain Power (that toy oriented Saturday morning show), Jake and the Fatman (a little beyond some of the younger PC readers I’d imagine), and Murder, She Wrote. Somewhere in there he found time to create some show called Babylon 5. His many short stories, one anthology, and two fantasy/horror novels have garnered him nominations for Writers Guild, Bram Stoker, Ace and Gemini Awards, the Inkpot Achievement Award from the San Diego Comic Convention and an Emmy for Best Animated Series.

That series (and this is why you should have recognized the name) was The Real Ghostbusters. JMS worked as writer and story editor for RGB during the first network season and some of the subsequent syndicated seasons, before quiting the show after the suits “knocked all the edges off the show”.
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