Interview: Pancake for the Table – serving up cool horror animation
All in the Family
1428 Elm: You also have a podcast called Friday Night Movie. Who originated it? Tell us some of the topics you discuss.
Shai: Fright Night Movie is pure joy for me on so many levels – a total labor of love. I co-host FMN with my two sisters – Lily and Becky – who live in the Canary Islands (Spain) and Berkeley, CA, respectively. We are extremely close and talk non-stop about movies, TV and pop culture.
I had always wanted to start a pop culture podcast and I could think of no better partners than my sisters. As teenagers we went to the movies with our parents every Friday night (even when I was in college). On the drive home, we’d break down the movie, make fun of each other and talk about all sorts of other life and family things.
FNM channels that experience. So even if no one listens, we have this awesome audio archive to keep as a love letter / time capsule for our kids.
Friday Night Movie
Shai (Cont.): Every week we get together (as if we were hanging out), tell stories about our lives and childhood, review the movies we’ve been watching, make recommendations and relentlessly make fun of each other. One of the most fun “games” we play is Buy/Rent/Meh – it’s our rating system for movies and TV.
So, for example, Ash Vs. Evil Dead would be BUY for me. Another fun game we play is “Tradesies.” It’s when one of us bargains with the other to watch a particular show. Right now, I’m watching Outlander in exchange for my sisters watching Chuck.
If you convince the other person to like the show you proposed, you get an “I Told You Show” and the other person has to call you a “genius” on the podcast. Really mature.
What you’d expect from siblings. We also have awesome guests, ranging from friends we grew up with to people we’ve met through the social media world (including people working in the TV and film industry).
Future Talk
1428 Elm: Do you have plans to do anything with your animation and artwork?
Shai: I have just gotten the guts up to start making (and sometimes selling) limited edition prints of my work. My musical partner of 20+ years, Howie, and I are about to release (in a few weeks) a new EP from our band What Does It Eat and I created original artwork for each of the songs that I hope to offer as prints.
So, stay tuned for news on that. I also have some special gift ideas cooking for the Ghostweeters to celebrate the end of Ash Vs. Evil Dead in style! And one day, I hope to animate (or create a web comic) of two different sets of original characters / stories that I created with friends.
Here is Pancake for the Table’s brand-new Ash vs Evil Dead animation honoring Brandy.
We here at 1428 Elm wish Shai all the success in the world with his future endeavors. Catch the epic finale of Ash vs Evil Dead tonight on STARZ at 9 p.m.
Have you seen Pancake for the Table animation on Twitter? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.
Next: Ash vs Evil Dead: Every end has a start- Ash has left the building
Susan Leighton can be found on Twitter and Facebook @SusanontheLedge. She can also be heard talking up Ash vs Evil Dead every Monday night on the Nerdrotics Podcast at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT as well as their Pop Culture Wrap Ups every Friday night at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. You can catch her coverage on IFC’s Brockmire at TV Series Hub.