Jef Kaminsky is an executive producer that has brought forth some incredible family shows to the airwaves, and of his most important ones, Eva the Owlet, is back for a second season on Apple TV+ and to properly celebrate we sat down with Jef to discuss season two of this dynamic show.
 
John Betancourt: I'd like to start by getting to know, what does it mean to be back for a second season.
 
Jef Kaminsky: It's awesome. It's the best. It's the dream come true. It's what you want.
 
John Betancourt: I couldn't help but notice this season that you and the team, not only brought back what you made season one so amazing, but you also expanded upon a lot of the messages this year regarding the world and life, and I’m curious what went into the decision to go bigger this year.
 
Jef Kaminsky: I think it's just, you know, letting the writers, you know, keep imagining what kind of stories they would tell. I think more of that… how characters are going to relate. You know, I think, like the one where Humphrey’s sad and playing his guitar is like a nice example of, you know, we're still doing the same thing. You're still recognizing your emotions. You're journaling about them, you're talking to yourself and figuring things out, but you are really trying to connect, trying to see things from someone else's angle and connect with them, which is what she does. She doesn’t try to fix him, she just joins him, which is a really different -- a lot of times we're, like, focused on, what's the fix, what's the you know, what's the zenith, the ultimate outcome, and that was like, “Well, you know, join somebody in an emotion that you're maybe not so comfortable with to help them feel better.”
 
John Betancourt: I very much appreciated that, because that is something I'm seeing more and more of now. Less about how can I fix it, and more, how can I support? And we’re definitely seeing deeper thoughts like that appear in this genre of TV. So, I thought that was a really nice touch to add that in there. And speaking of that second layer, was it hard to accomplish?
 
Jef Kaminsky: You know, there's… you work on certain shows and things are hard. I can't think of anything that was hard on this show. It was all like a pleasure, like everything about it was fun. It was this was truly a delight to work on. There's some lawyers and stuff, but oh well. (Laughs.)
 
John Betancourt: (Laughs) they're always there. That's for sure. Now I'm curious too, how do you as a producer then shepherd that structure and that messaging?
 
Jef Kaminsky: Well, the nice thing about this role, is that you really get a crazy overview. You're like, 50,000 feet up, and you're not, you know, there are days you come in and you're like, “Well, let me come up with a couple of story ideas to help us, you know, keep moving.” But you're not like, I'm not drawing anything. I'm not trying to figure out what the color styling is. I'm reviewing work that really great people have already done. And if you know what you're trying to achieve, you can give the kind of notes that are actionable, that keeps the core of it, you know, as a through line. And then, I mean, like, look… Apple TV Plus execs are top notch at helping us with this. They are remarkable people, super creative, super collaborative. And really, I mean, they're not going to let you go too far off the path, because that's what we all want to achieve. Is this a singular vision that makes sense.
 
John Betancourt: Back to the messaging for a moment, it's a question I asked last time we talked, and I want to ask it again, because the show goes to such unique places this year. What's the message that you hope people take away overall from season two this year.
 
Jef Kaminsky: I think it’s the same. It's really about, it's about knowing how you're feeling and being able to either, if you don't know how to, what to, call it, you learn how to put a name on it, if you don't know what to do with the feelings, you figure out what to do. Ideally, giving kids that toolkit to navigate life better. That's all, same season one, same season two.
 
John Betancourt: That’s a fine message and an honest answer, and it does lead me to my next question. Because you as a producer are in a very unique spot with this show. Because you can outright say you’ve helped put together a story that is helping children kind of process, that kind of stuff that we don't talk about enough. And I'm curious what it means to you to be a part of a television revolution in this genre, and a show, that is actually helping young minds grow.
 
Jef Kaminsky: Sometimes my friends make fun of me because I say that this is what gets me out of bed in the morning. This is what keeps me going, this is what keeps me happy. This is what I want to do with my time here. To be able to help kids through this medium, have, live in a better world. Be better, enjoy themselves, have fun, laugh and maybe be kinder. Be all the things that we want to ideally be. As a self-actualized little person.
 
John Betancourt: I think that's a great thing to do, because we don't get enough folks to do that. Now you’ve also put together more incredible moments that parents can use as conversation starters, what are you most excited for families to discuss when they sit down to watch season two?
 
Jef Kaminsky: That's a great question. I haven't thought about it. I, you know, ideally, we'd have parents co-viewing with kids, but hopefully the shows are clear enough and we've got it like dialed into the demographic the right way, so that kids don't need a parent there to help them to explain things to them. But as even as a parent myself, that same, the same messages, the same, you know, desire to have kids be able to, in particular in this series, to regulate, to identify, and to be able to come back from certain kinds of emotions, like, you know, sometimes Eva has negative feelings, and to be able to process that and then have a good outcome from that processing. I think that's a tremendous thing to be able to do.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously, you’ve got one season under your belt. The response was tremendous. What does that response mean to you?
 
Jef Kaminsky: Well, yeah, it's why you do it, right? You want to, you want to reach as many kids as you can. I used to be a kindergarten teacher. I would teach 20 kids a year, and when you realize the power of this media, you're like, “Oh, I like that it can just expand out to millions of kids over the years.” That's… that's the dream, is to reach, to reach tons of people with the message and the humor and the fun of it.
 
John Betancourt: The last question I have for you today, what does it mean to you to be part of this grand expansion of both children’s entertainment and the messages they carry?
 
Jef Kaminsky: Well, I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do this. This is like a crazy dream job, to be able to have it. You know, you've talked a little bit about, like, what's contemporary, what's contemporary thought in children's television, or children's media, to be able to stay abreast of what's going on, in what kind of shows are being made. I mean, Apple TV Plus has an amazing – Dr. Alice Wilder is an incredible guide in this. And Apple TV Plus also has change makers. That's like a huge part of the of what they do. It's… it's amazing to be a part of that ecosystem and be able to craft stories, and of course, out of Scholastic Books. That's what I do is, you know, try to try to take the best of the Scholastic Books and adapt them, but to be able to do that in partnership with Apple TV Plus, to really be ahead of the curve on what's happening in the world is a delight. It's a pleasure. It's an honor.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

On Call debuts on Prime Video on January 9, 2025, and it truly is a sight to behold. For this latest offering from Wolf Entertainment, goes places that few police serials have ever gone before and it features some bold moments, and to further celebrate its release, we sat down with cast members Troian Bellisario, Brandon Larracuente, Lori Loughlin, and Eriq La Salle, and co-creators/producers Tim Walsh & Elliot Wolf to discuss this dynamic new series!

John Betancourt: This is a supremely ambitious and bold series, and I’m curious what it means to each of you to be part of it?
​
Brandon Larracuente: I mean, it's kind of, at least for me, it's what I've always dreamed of being a part of. A show that just allows you to expand on what you thought you were capable of. I mean, I remember reading the script, and every single day it's like, at first, fear. It was like, “Oh my gosh, I can't do this.” And then you read it again, you go, “Okay, maybe I can pull this off.” And then, of course, you know, there's still that fear stepping into set. But then when you're surrounded around people who are there to uplift you and just want you to succeed. I think that's what made it easy for me. But I think as an actor like you, always are looking for that next thing that that will help grow you as a person and as an actor. You know that'll expand your skill set.

Troian Bellisario: I think that that's a really wonderful way to describe it, reading the scripts, it was always fear first, and okay, “I'm gonna do this. So, how's it gonna happen?” And it was just really wonderful to be working with this incredible team of writers and directors and actors, and, you know, everybody behind the scenes. We had the most incredible prop department, and really wonderful people that were making sure that we were, you know, approaching a call in the right way, checking out that we were holding our weapon in the right way, or harnessing it in the right way. You know that we were responding on the radio in an authentic way. And so, for us, and for me, I'll speak for myself, like it was just so exciting to be put in this position, to get to be able to portray something so authentically that all we had to do was do our best, to get to the truth of it. You know, what does it really sound like when you're putting something out on the radio? Because if I were in that position, I would be screaming, and I would be terrified, and you wouldn't get a word of it. And it was really wonderful to have a tech on set with us, and he was like, “If you're that, you know, scared, and you project that on the radio, they're not going to be able to locate where you are. You need to be clear; you need to be calm.” And so, to have that kind of authenticity was just really incredible. And I agree with you, it's a very ambitious show, but I think first and foremost it our goal was to be authentic, and that allowed us to reach for something bigger, wonderful.

John Betancourt: You both turned in some amazing work in this show, and I’m curious what you’re both most proud of when it comes to your work here?
​
Lori Loughlin: Oh, my goodness, I'm proud that I… like the role is so different. And I think the moment that was impactful for me was when Eric screened a rough cut of the first episode for me, and I came on screen, and I was sitting in the screening room, and I stopped, and I was like, “Oh, wait, that's me again.” To not recognize myself for a moment. I don't know how to describe it. It was just, I don't know, just gave me such a sense of satisfaction that I had taken on a role and done it, you know, in a way that I was unrecognizable to myself.

Eriq La Salle: There’s so many cool experiences… I'm, you know, it's funny when you talk about being proud of a show, it hits you in different stages. There are moments that are quick. Right away. You as a director, you give a note, you see an actor flourish from that note. You see them grow. You're proud. You do a scene, a challenging scene, you get finished with it, while it came together, you get into the editing room -- so, there are these stages of pride, but we are now collectively going through another level of pride, because as many times as you guys, the press, do these things, what we have gotten today, overwhelmingly, is your enthusiasm for the show, your appreciation for the show. Like so many of the people that have interviewed us, they've already binged the show. And, you know, some people, they watch one, one show, they show up, they ask a couple of, you know, ready-made questions, but just knowing, even now, there's a sense of pride -- a different kind of pride today that we didn't have yesterday, because we haven't had these interviews, and we didn't know how engaged that you guys would be, that you and your colleagues would be, and so, so we're experiencing all kinds of pride. The trailer dropped yesterday. We're proud of the trailer. We’re proud of the artwork drop. You know, so it's, it's the gift that keeps giving.

John Betancourt: What kind of challenges went into creating a show that is this ambitious?

Elliot Wolf: I appreciate that.
​
Tim Walsh: That’s a big question. There's challenges in the development of it, trying to tell this show in this climate, that's a challenge in and of itself, and then technical challenges with the body cams, the lens captured everything. We found that out in the editing afterwards. You know, you get you get in the editing bay, and you see that characters that are, you know supposed to be looking this way, but you can see everything that's not supposed to be in the shot. So that was trial and error. The weather down in Long Beach, very challenging, you know, um, but really, outside of that it was a pretty great time, pretty great shoot.

Elliot Wolf: I think that we are our own toughest critics. Yeah, so in writing and so forth, we hold ourselves to a quality standard that is challenging, but ultimately, we hope it shows in the final product.

John Betancourt: This is a labor of love, that took years to finish, and it shows in the final product. But I am curious, what it means to each of you to have this labor of love released?

Tim Walsh: So much. Quite honestly, you know, for me, personally, it's taken me 23 years to get here, and I'm incredibly grateful for that journey. And so, to be working with Elliot and to have it be this show, here in Long Beach, super exciting.

Elliot Wolf: I mean, this has been four plus years, five now in the making, and… I was telling Tim when we were walking to the room, seeing the printed key art for the first time. It still feels a little surreal, and it feels surreal, and I think we're so excited, because we're proud of it. We're really proud of the product, and that is, by far and away, the most gratifying part, being excited for the world to see what we've done.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Operation Taco Gary’s was one of the finest comedies to grace the 2024 Austin Film Festival. Courtesy of its ability to harken back to the era in film where zany comedies ruled the day, and to further celebrate this amazing film we sat down with Writer/Director Michael Kvamme, Star Simon Rex, and Producer Matthew Vaughn to further break down this refreshing film.
 
John Betancourt: So, a bit of a multi-part question to start. For Michael, what inspired you to write this and for Simon and Matthew, what inspired you to be part of this?
 
Michael Kvamme: I wrote it during lockdown, like I've been telling people, you know, I had that completely unique idea to write a screenplay during lockdown, and I can't believe no one else thought about it. I was literally the only one. (Laughter) So, I had this brother relationship that I always wanted to do based on a text message that my little brother sent me a long time ago, before he joined the military, he was like, “Let's go on a road trip to Mexico.” And I think I said this in the Q and A, but I was convinced he was trying to leave the country, like steal my passport, maybe because that's… I was projecting. That's what I would do for him. And I just love conspiracy theories, so I just had fun during the pandemic, trying to, trying to write conspiracy theories and put them into a grounded quadrant.
 
Matthew Vaughn: Well, first, it's all in the writing. When Michael sent me a very early draft of the script, I was immediately hooked, and I knew this was something that we had to go and make it wasn't just one, you know, he's been very successful in selling scripts and things, but this was one for us to go out and actually make.
 
Simon Rex:  Well, Matt and I go way back, and I knew him before he really kind of started working in Hollywood, producing a lot of, you know, big comedy specials. He's the Emmy winning producer, and he started to do film, starting with this one, and he said, “Hey, I got a really funny script. You want to read it?” And my first reaction, which I'm learning is not always right, is when a friend comes at you with a script… it's usually not the best, unfortunately, not just friends. Most scripts are bad, but it gets funny when it's a friend, because you have to say no to a friend, and it gets weird. I was pleasantly surprised when I read the script. To say the least. I laughed out loud the whole time. My agents and managers agreed. They're like, “Ihis is the funniest thing we've read in awhile, and we see a lot of scripts come in,” and I knew I just wanted to do it based off the script. And Mike and I had a meeting, and I just went with my gut, and I said, “Let's do it.” And we executed what I saw on the page. And I'm just so happy that we made a fun throwback movie to a bygone era when movies like this were made for the under 90 minutes that are insane and silly. And you know, we need these more than ever right now and they’re not being made. So, I slapped myself on as a producer, because I wanted to be involved more in the creative process, help cast it. You know, have ideas. They were open to letting me chime in, and it was awesome.
 
John Betancourt: That leads me to my next question for Michael, because I’m curious what inspired you to bring this type of comedy back to life.
 
Michael Kvamme: If you're not being commissioned or paid to write a project, you're writing for yourself, right? I mean, as everyone probably at this conference knows, you're just writing to entertain yourself, something that you want to see. And clearly, I wanted to throw back to that those comedies with a capital C, and just be as goofy and stupid and weird as possible with a nice, cohesive story, and try to have a unique take and the unique look. But again, at the end of the day you start these kind of projects for yourself.
 
John Betancourt: Now from a production standpoint, for Matthew and Simon, were there any restrictions that you ran into, in getting Matthew what he needed to make this feature?
 
Matthew Vaughn: I mean, early drafts of this would blow your mind, but what I will say, I think that's one of the harder jobs of a hands-on producer is, is having to find creative ways around certain limitations when it comes to budget. Because, of course, that's -- I don't care if you have $3 million or you have $25 million, you're still gonna be having those same like, “We need more, we want this. We want that or more days.” So, I think we're always going to have those conversations from smaller films like this all the way up to the to the big ones. But on this one, what was great is that a lot of the choices Michael made -- it massaged Michael's muscle to make fun comedic creative choices to offset certain things that maybe weren't possible at this budget level. That’s how the script evolved. And then we started backing into a, you know, a version of that.
 
I think that's why I love doing what I'm doing, because it’s always seemed like production is the bad guy, and it’s always production and creatives going head to head, and production’s always saying “No, no, no, we can't afford this, blah, blah,” yeah, so to come in and try and bridge that gap and be a creative, you know, that can help steer… that is, is what makes it so much fun. But it's tough. I mean, I mean, Simon was a part of those conversations too, with certain things of like, what we could do, what we couldn't do. What was great is we had Simon and Dustin Milligan who were willing to, like… we got to go out and rehearse months beforehand and do things like that. That really helped so that we could shoot this film in a truncated timeline, because the amount of dialogue this guy had, yeah, was insane. I mean, that's why I'm curious. You haven't really talked much about when you first read it. We're like, “Oof, that's a lot of lines.”
 
Simon Rex: Yeah, no, it was intimidating, for sure, the amount of dialogue, knowing that it had to be said so fast. I mean, we kept leaning into while on set, you know, speed is our friend. You know, I think when you're in comedy, if you plow through, if it's good writing, it makes it funnier. You almost don't give an audience a chance to really, like, digest what was said. So, I knew that it had to be machine gun fire delivery. So, I really had to memorize some of those diatribes, that was, for me, that was really the challenging part. And I just did an impression of a friend of mine who's a conspiracy theorist, who's basically, you know, calls me and is going 100 miles an hour, and, you know, sharing these conspiracy theories. And it's very entertaining. And I just did an impression of him.
 
John Betancourt: So, to follow up on that a bit. This kind of movie is obviously in your wheelhouse, and you are a comedy legend. But what did this do for you as an actor freedom wise? Since you had more input here and a chance to really build up the character.
 
Simon Rex: Well, there was some improv, but honestly, for the most part, the script was so well written, and it flowed so naturally that I really just stuck to the script. I'd say 90% I mean, there wasn't too much improv as far as dialogue goes. It didn't really need it. And so, if anything, it was more on the producer side that was the new experience for me, and that gave me confidence. Normally, as an actor, you stand here, say this, wear this, say it like this, and maybe you'll have a director that’s cool to let you chime in with ideas. But, that's fine, that that's the case normally, but in this case, you know, it was nice to have my ideas explored, or if I had, you know… he was very open minded to best idea wins, which I think is often a good way to shoot a movie, especially a comedy. And so, for me, it was just kind of, this is my default setting, like, I'm more comfortable doing comedy than drama, like I don't take myself that serious, so I like to have fun and be the clown and the court jester. So that comes natural to me. So, if I was to have to be very dramatic and serious, that's actually the challenge. So, this is, to me, kind of like my thing. So, that's also why I was attracted to it, not out of laziness, but out of, like, I love doing comedy so much, and it's so dry out there for these types of types of movies.
 
John Betancourt: Now, I do want to expand on something a little further, since you talked about that impression of your conspiracy theorist friend. I’d love to know more about how you built that up and made it so realistic.
 
Simon Rex: I remember Sean Penn -- so this is the best, one of the best acting tips, not directly from him, but something I learned is to do an impression of somebody, you know, because it that's an easy thing to pull from. And like Sean Penn said, when he did Spicoli, he was just doing an impression of this dude in Venice that he surfed with. That was always like, “No way.”  He's like, “That was a real guy.” And he's like, “I just did an impression of him.” So, I always remembered that. And in several projects, I've done, I have so many colorful friends in my life. I'll just do impressions of my friends that I know their rhythm and their timing and how they talk. So I kind of just did a hybrid of me and this buddy of mine who is one of the funniest people I know, and is 100 miles an hour and is very passionate about his conspiracy theories, very convincing and coming from a good place, like that was something I wanted to, you know, put into this is that, you know, I don't want to give anything away, but Danny's actually doing what's right. And I think that it all comes down to intention. And if somebody's trying to do the right thing, you root for them more. So as much as Danny seems like he's like, like some… not the villain, but you know, he's doing some fucked up shit to his brother, but it is all for a reason, and he's a hero, yeah, so I wanted to make them likable, funny.
 
John Betancourt: Now for Michael, this is a movie that takes some big swings with the story. Now, we won’t spoil anything here, but I am curious what motivated you to put together a bold story.
 
Michael Kvamme: Well one of the, one of the goals I had... I knew what the last page of the script was, right? So, how do I get there? You have to take risks basically every 15 pages. And that's I was trying to do, like, alright, so every 10 to 15 pages, we gotta have big progression. And it's basically every 10 to 15 pages, Danny will say, “I haven't been completely honest with you.” To move it along. But also, you know, again, I wrote it first for me. I like to be entertained. I like to constantly -- I don't like to know where the story is going.
 
John Betancourt: With this being a labor of love, what did it mean to each of you to have this screened in front of a live audience?
 
Michael Kvamme: Yeah, especially when you write it, say, four years ago, all these jokes are so old, and you're still hoping, like, “I hope they still work. I hope they're still funny. I hope people laugh,” and when they did, it was just such a relief. I've just been relieved this whole time.
 
Matthew Vaughn: You also have to remember, we've seen the film so many times, in so many different iterations. Some of those hits lose their effect, after a while, that's the way it is, those surprises. I think what was so great about last night is that we got to experience that through a large group of people, and they hit right where they were supposed to hit. And that's what made it like… that was the relief of like, “Oh my gosh,” and the joy because then you're laughing again too, because you're like, “Yeah, that is fucking funny.” Oh, they picked up on that, you know, Easter egg. I mean, this is a movie that you go, and you can just turn off from the world for a little bit and laugh from the beginning to the end. And that's what I think we accomplished with this and with an amazing cast.
 
Simon Rex: I mean, the cast is amazing. Everybody crushed it. I can't even imagine anyone else doing these roles. We're so lucky to get everyone we had in it. And I remember David Zucker when I did Scary Movie. He said, “I'm making a movie so people could put their brain under their seat for 90 minutes and like, escape from their lives and have a good time.” And I feel like while this does that. It still does have a story that you're invested in, and it has stakes, and it's not mindless, but it's silly and fun, and having fun making -- it's like a “Wink, wink, we're in on the joke.” You know what I mean? Which to me, again, I just think we need these movies more than ever, and that's what makes me so excited about it is, I think making people laugh is the most magical thing you could do. I'm a huge fan of comics. I just showed you the book I'm reading, it’s from a comic. I love comedy so much. It's like I grew up watching what molded my brain as an only child. My best friend was the television. I remember when the VCR came out, I would just record movies off HBO like Mel Brooks movies and David Zucker movies and memorize them and watch them over and over. So, to me, going, being able to do this kind of comedy is just ingrained into me since my childhood, and it's just fun to, you know, to do that.
 
Matthew Vaughn: I'm hearing rumors. It's the conspiracy comedy of the decade. (Laughter from everyone.)
 
John Betancourt: That needs to be on the theatrical release poster. The last question I have you gentlemen today is… what are you each most proud of when it comes to what you’ve accomplished here?
 
Michael Kvamme: The most proud of I mean, there were so many different accomplishments throughout. Just getting to the first day of shooting, and then getting to the second day of shooting. (Laughter) You know, getting to the edit, we ran out of money so many different times. It was just, there's a million different accomplishments. If I could just pick one thing… just that we made this script, you know, we didn't compromise. We made the movie we wanted to make. And it worked. I don't regret anything.
 
Matthew Vaughn: Honestly, I'm piggybacking off what Michael said, because I think that was, that was the perfect answer and I'm also proud that I got to do this with my friends. It's not always that you get to work with your friends, you're always going to make new friends and stuff, but I've known Simon for 15 plus years, Michael, 15 plus years, Bill Dawes, who's also a piece of talent. And so getting to do this with people that you've known that long, and, and to do something fun like this, that's the hope is that we continue doing these types of movies, because I really do think there's a hole right now for those throwbacks, as Simon said, the late 90s, early 2000s comedies, when they were low budget, so yeah, we'll see.
 
Simon Rex: Yeah. I'm most proud… my ego is the proud to see my name with executive producer. (Laughter) So I'm gonna say surreal to see my name there as a producer, I never would have thought in a million years I would see that. And piggybacking off what Matt said, I actually have had a lot of bad experiences working with friends. You know, it could often jeopardize friendships. So, I have an aversion at times, to working with friends, which was, at first, I didn't want to affect my friendship with him, so I was a little on the fence, because in the past, that has backfired on me, not always. So, I'm proud of the fact that I got to work with my friends. It came out great, and it didn't sabotage friendships, and I built new ones. So that was a good learning experience for me, that I'm wrong a lot, and I shouldn't have that aversion. Maybe I should, sometimes. It worked out.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
​