The latest bills to be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown; Budget standoff turns off the tap on craft brewers; Friday Flashback: Paul Ryan, John Boehner's approval rating and more; 'Escape From Tomorrow' director on filming under Disney's nose; Richard Buckner on his new album 'Surrounded', plus much more.
The latest bills to be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown
California Governor Jerry Brown recently broke a new record as the longest serving governor of California. Lately he's been a pretty busy governor, too. For more on what he's up to, we're joined by John Myers.
DC budget battle turns off the tap on craft brewers
While the politics behind the government shutdown are playing out in Washington, DC, the effects are very real for all kinds of folks across Southern California.
Not only are federal workers being affected by furloughs, but beer brewers are also feeling the pinch. A small federal agency which approves the labels on beer bottles and kegs is shut down, and that means dozens of craft breweries are in limbo, unable to legally distribute their product.
To talk more about this we've called Byron Fisher, president of the Alosta Brewery in Covina, which is hoping to open its doors for the first time later this month.
Friday Flashback: Paul Ryan, John Boehner's approval rating and more
It's time for our Friday Flashback, a look back and analysis of the week's biggest news stories. Today, we've got our "A-team" in today. Joining us in the studio, is James Rainey of the LA Times and Nancy Cook of National Journal in Washington, DC.
After what seems like forever, finally some sense that our political leaders might be inching toward a deal, if not to reopen the government, than to at least avoid the prospect of the nation defaulting on its debt. What's the latest there?
Last week, we asked if there might be someone who could step forward and get things moving. That someone was Paul Ryan, the former vice-presidential candidate and budget wonk has been very quiet lately. Earlier this week, he offered a plan that looks an awful lot like what everybody is talking about now. Ryan is well-liked by both conservative and moderate Republicans. Is he the one who might be able to broker a deal?
Even if these negotiations succeed, what's the best we can hope for, really? A short delay until the next display of brinksmanship in November?
All politicians like to talk about what the people want, but the House Speaker, John Boehner, seems to never make a statement without talking about what the American people want.
If you believe the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, John Boehner might not be all that in touch with the American people. More than half of those surveyed blame the GOP for the shutdown, and only a third say its President Obama's fault. The approval rating for the Republican party is at an all time low.
A lot of bad news in there for the GOP. Are numbers like these going to have any effect on the leadership of the party, or on the right wing?
'Escape From Tomorrow' director talks filming under Disney's nose
The new film "Escape From Tomorrow" was one of the most talked-about projects at this year's Sundance Festival this year, but not for the reasons you might think.
Spurred from director Randy Moore's childhood memories of Disneyworld, the film takes a dark and sinister look at the Happiest Place On Earth.
Filmed completely under the radar of Disney officials at both the Orlando and Anaheim parks, the film follows Jim, a middle-aged father of two, as he traverses the parks' crags and crevices with his two adorable kids and a nagging wife.
Everything seems bright and sunny until he receives a phone call from his boss telling him that he's been fired, without reason. He keeps the secret from his wife and kids, but then strange and terrible things start to happen. The park and the people in it end up taking on a much more pernicious persona.
No one — including Moore — thought the film would get distribution, but so far Disney has remained mum. Starting Oct. 11, theatergoers throughout the country will be able to check it out.
Director Randy Moore joins the show to talk about how he managed to film a feature-length horror film right under Disney's nose.
Interview Highlights:
On his experience at Disneyworld as a kid:
"My father relocated to Orlando after my parents separated, so I would go visit him during the summer and pretty religiously we would make our way to the parks. This just became our ritual and we did it so much that eventually we just associated him completely with the parks.
"When I went back with my own kids, then all of a sudden I had this rush of emotions. We were going around the park on the same rides, and they're almost like time machines in a way because some of them haven't changed too much. It was like he was there haunting me."
On why his film takes such a dark view of Disney parks:
"I was more interested in the experience of going to Disney, because I feel like its such a rite of passage and its such a universal shared experience for so many Americans. It's so much a part of our culture that I was commenting as much if not more on American culture as in Disney culture."
On whether he was concerned about getting caught:
"When I started making it, I said this is an experimental film. I didn't mean that in a cool, arty way, it really was an experiment to see if we could get through it. Every day we knew there was a possibility we could be discovered and shut down. It's hard enough being a first-time director bringing everyone on board and trying to impart your vision on them, but then when its a unique project like this one it's ten times as hard.
On the film's physical impact on his body:
"I shed tons of weight making this movie. I was 215 when it began and I ended up being 168 at the end."
On the filming process:
"We brought Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras, which are pretty standard that lots of tourists and people use. They weren't modified and we didn't have special equipment...We had two camera operators usually shooting the scenes, we tried to limit our takes to about four if we were in a heavily populated area. We had shotlists on our phones, we has scripts on our phones, and everything was planned to the minute because we were also chasing the sun...It was sort of like a vacation on steroids. At one point the kids got so tired from walking that we rented them wheelchairs."
On a time he thought they were going to get caught:
"Towards the very end of our Anaheim shoot there was a moment where we were shooting this scene...where the family enters through the turnstiles. Security personnel came over and started talking to them and asked them why they kept exiting and returning, because we had to get multiple shots of them. Then they asked if they were a celebrity couple. They didn't understand why they had paparazzi following them.
"Security started to get a little more suspicious so they pulled them aside and said, 'Wait here,' but at that moment the kids said they needed to go to the bathroom. When they came back, luckily, as happens quite often in Disneyland, a parade was coming by. My lead actress likes to say they just paraded on out of there."
Finding humor in Supreme Court oral arguments
Trial consultant Ryan Malphurs reviews Supreme Court oral arguments and parses them for instances of humor.
In his most recent study he found conservatives are more jocular than liberals on the court, and Justice Scalia is the class clown. Mulphurs tells host A Martinez that humor plays an important role in the Court's interactions, and it's generally not mean-spirited.
Users of 'Silk Road' online drug market targeted after arrest of site founder
As some of you may remember last week, the anonymous online drug marketplace known as the Silk Road was shutdown. After years of investigation, authorities were able to arrest the site's alleged founder Ross Ulbricht, known online as Dread Pirate Roberts.
Now all over the world buyers and sellers who were using Silk Road are now being arrested. Joining the show to talk about the aftermath of this bust is Jose Pagliery from CNN Money.
Jose has been covering this issue and recently published a report on the world wide prices of drugs that were sold on Silk Road.
Dinner Party Download: iSlouch, digital war crimes and slow TV in Norway
Every week we get your weekend conversation starters with Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam, the hosts of the Dinner Party Download podcast and radio show.
On tap this week:
Doctors Warn of iSlouch and iGrind
Red Cross Wants Retribution for Digital War Violations
Norway Tries Slow TV on For Size
Musician Richard Buckner on his new album 'Surrounded'
We like to think of rock musicians as living a glamorous life: sleeping in until three in the afternoon, rolling into a club, and playing to huge crowds of adoring fans.
But the reality is, in today's world, it's really hard to make it as a musician and many have to take on day jobs. That's the case with musician Richard Buckner.
He's been making incredible, critically-acclaimed albums for more than a decade now, but you can still find him working odd jobs during the day. Richard Buckner took some time off today to talk about his new album, "Surrounded."