Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Mind Press interview's Lew Marklin

This last week Mind Press caught up with Lew Marklin, former host of ADHDtv and host of the

new TV show Icon News, due out this fall 2011 on Dish Network and cable:













Mind Press: Good morning Mr. Marklin, good to have this opportunity to have you on the blog

Lew Marklin: Good morning, thank you for having me!

Mind Press: So, tell me about your new show Icon News

Lew Marklin: Well, it's a 30 minute celebrity Icon News show. Each week an Iconic figure

comes to our studio via Skype, and discusses issues that they have faced in the journey to

iconic status. It's a very fast and positive show and offers viewers an insight into the

celebrities lives, cultures, passions and offers answers to help people in today's world

find answers to overcome the challenges that our economy has put us all in.

Mind Press: Now when you say cultures, what exactly do you mean?

Lew Marklin: Icon News does not just cover Hollywood actors and actresses. The show covers

music, political figures, anything deemed Iconic in the grand scheme of things, but also, we

like to cover figures that maybe do not get the coverage from the other outlets. Our first

episode showcases, actor, Dominic Rains, who has two break out roles this year in The

Tacquadores and JINN. Dominic happens to live and work in Hollywood, but his amazing story

starts when he was born in Tehran Iran. The two movies are amazing films that will not get

mainstream credit because of their Middle Eastern roots and Muslim conotation, therefor we

set out to cover the films and bring this daytime TV star from General Hospital a coming out

party as a noteworthy film star.

Mind Press: Now religion, that's a tough subject to tackle, you have a strong Christian

base, how does that translate?

Lew Marklin: You know, it's funny that you ask that, and this episode was a great example,

because you have Dominic talking about two movies that are based in Islam, myself, the host,

who is a strong Christian believer, and then Dominic talks about his own faith as a Buddhist

and if that's not diverse enough for you, later in the show, we showcase Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad

who is a Hindu, born in Detroit MI. I love the diversity and believe that in this world,

nothing truly changes until people come to a place where they can just sit and listen to

each other. Walls of prejudice break down and the world becomes a more informed,

understanding and peaceful place, if not just a smarter place to raise our children!

Mind Press: So, this show is a much different show than ADHDtv, how did this all come

about?

Lew Marklin: Yes, this is very true. ADHDtv was a very fun project. I learned so much

from that opportunity, but in the end, we learn and grow and mature and grow up and that was

probably a lot of "ands." It was sort of a crazy show. News has always been in my heart,

but ADHDtv was sort of the craziness and humor working its way out of my system, and my

passion for journalism eventually surfaced in Icon News. A lot of eye brows raised with that

show because it was so edgy. It was really a man show that was billed as a late night news

spoof. We would literally laugh ourselves into hysteria at times, on set, and just had a

blast, but then there were some intense times and hard knock learning that took place and I

would do it all over again in a heart beat, but I like where I am at now.

Mind Press: Where does your fascination with news come from?

Lew Marklin: You know, It's sort of weird, when I was a kid, I had a brother in law that

worked network news for NBC. My dad always bragged about how great he was and how great NBC

was, so I sort of grew up fantasizing about it. He would pull out a tape recorder when I

was 2 years old and record me talking, all the way up through elementary school, then when I

was about ten or so, my friends and I would record these crazy news reports on cassette

tapes. God we must have had a hundred tapes piled everywhere with our crazy news skits.

Then we got a hold of a camcorder and started using that. I eventually went to school to

study Broadcast Journalism in Santa Barbara California and began interning at a local ABC TV

station, KEYT TV, running teleprompter and floor cams for live morning and evening news so

that I could see how everything works. 5 Years later I was a Producer and Senior Editor at

that station, but that is not where I wanted to stop on my journey and I knew that.

Mind Press: So you have a production background as well as an on air background?

Lew Marklin: Yes, that is correct. I have been a camera man, an Editor and now a producer.

Mind Press: How does that translate in what you are doing?

Lew Marklin: It has been a true God Send. I really wanted to take a pro active approach

into taking my future into my own hands. In the beginning, no one believed that I had what

it takes to be an on air talent. The opportunities were not opening up, so I decided to

take matters into my own hands and create the opportunities for myself. I also figured that

it would give me a fall back plan if things went wrong. I could still live a very

comfortable life as a Producer or even editor, if the bottom fell out on my on air dreams.

So I built my future on a rock, and now I play a very active role in the pre production,

Directing and post production phases of the project. So, to answer your question, it

translates very well!

Mind Press: Yes and I see that you produce several projects, besides the shows that you

star in, simultaneously. This must keep you very busy!

Lew Marklin: Absolutely, and yes, it keeps me busy and out of trouble!

Mind Press: What are some of the shows that you are working on now, and have worked on?

Lew Marklin: Well, hmmm, I almost have to check my own iMDB these days to remember, but

this year, I am producing a Christian TV show, entitled Arise & shine, that is slated to air

on Sky Angel Network, a new show called TwentySixMiles, starring John Schneider and Billy

Dee Williams is in the works and I have not received my paperwork, so I don't know what I

will be doing on that one yet, but we are looking forward to that. Then this last year or

two, I Co-Executive Produced on Ultimate Women Challenge, for LHP Productions and NBC

Universal. It is a Reality show that showcases 16 beautiful and talented female MMA

fighters who live and train together then duke it out to wear the crown. Then there is a

kids game show pilot, entitled That's Funny! starring Georgia Van Cuylenburg that we are

still working on. Going back a ways there are some talk shows, a hip hop music video show,

of course ADHDtv and a cooking show, Living Better with Steve Spitz, that should be airing

over on Ion this year.

Mind Press: Which do you like better, being the star or being the producer?

Lew Marklin: You know, on any given day, you might get a different answer. I have come to

like them both. Being a Producer is very challenging in a different way and I truly enjoy

taking a concept, branding it and watching it grow. I also like nurturing other on air

talents and watching them realize their dreams, but being on air is pretty cool. The

attention is fun and having the ultimate creative power is awesome!

Mind Press: What do you think is your most memorable moment thus far in your career?

Lew Marklin: You know, this may sound funny, but opening day 2004, of the Los Angeles

Dodgers. I was an intern at the time, working as a camera utility and editor. I worked at

the stadium 10 or more hours a day for almost 3 months before the actual baseball season

started, so the anticipation for opening day just grew and festered until I couldn't take it

anymore. I grew up a Dodgers fan, in Los Angeles, and this was like a dream come true for

the inner child in me. On opening day I met all of the announcers, then the players, some

other various celebs, then stood on the mound with a camera, next to 5 or 6 of the all time

great Dodgers Hall of Fame players while Fernando Valenzuela threw out the first pitch. I

tell ya, the hair on my neck stood on end at that moment and I almost got teary eyed. The

stadium was sold out and the crowd was absolutely nuts. I knew at that moment that I was

doing what I loved and was not even getting paid to do it!

Mind Press: There is so much more that we would love to ask you, but there just isn't

enough time or room on the blog. We can't wait to see the new show and wish you the best of

luck and hope to have you again soon!

Lew Marklin: Thank you, I really enjoyed the opportunity, and look forward to future chats!

Mind Press: Everyone, be watching for Icon News this fall on Dish Network and cable. You can sneak peek the show on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/IconNews

3 comments:

  1. I used to watch ADHDtv!! What the hell happened to his hair!! Didn't even think it was the same guy at first!!

    ReplyDelete
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  3. I was wondering if you ever considered changing the structure of your blog?

    Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it
    better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images.
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