KUCI: Get the Funk Out

6/18/18 9:30am - PLANET FUNNY How Comedy Took Over Our Culture by JEOPARDY! champion and NYT bestselling author Ken Jennings

Ken's latest book, PLANET FUNNY: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture --explains how we are living in a golden age of comedy and funniness is paramount. PLANET FUNNY explores our brave new comedic world and what it means—or doesn’t—to be funny in it now.

6/18/18 9:15am pst Jet Widick , the author and poet behind the popular Gluten Free Sage blog, wellness expert and advocate for Celiac disease

WELLNESS EXPERT BRINGS JOY TO POETRY
A beautifully illustrated, uplifting collection of poems for adults and children encourages readers of all ages to unplug and appreciate the present.
NASHVILLE, TN – Author Jet Widick challenges the generations-old notion that well-written and powerful poetry is poetry saturated with melancholy themes and bleak perspectives in her latest illustrated collection, White Wild Indigo
After living with silent Celiac disease for 15 years, Jet’s diagnosis presented an opportunity for her to seize control of her life from a once unknown assailant. As she fought to improve her physical health, she realized that her story could serve to help others on their journeys to wellness, and in doing so discovered the deep healing power of writing.

6/18/18 9:00am pst - JUST WHEN YOU GET COMFORTABLE IN YOUR SKIN IT STARTS TO SAGE by Amy Nobile

With the voice of a close friend, this clever and witty guide from bestselling duo Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile takes women through the new and sometimes challenging midlife phase, with chapters including:
- Redefining what beauty means after age 40... and that there is beauty after age 40!
- How to care for yourself when you're also caring for growing children and aging parents
- Navigating midlife relationships and dating (did someone say dating apps??)
- Discovering new career paths and new meaning in your life

6/4 KUCI 88.9fm - Director Adam Sobel joins Janeane to talk about The Workers Cup

With the recent news on FIFA’s plan to expand the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, I would like to bring to your attention THE WORKERS CUP, a captivating documentary that provides an inside look at this country’s labor camps where millions of migrant workers are tasked with building the facilities for the biggest sporting event in the world.
With unprecedented access, the film follows a team of migrant workers who are laboring to build sport’s grandest stage while competing in a soccer tournament on their own known as the Workers Cup. But more than a film about a game, THE WORKER'S CUP is an examination of the poorest residents in the world’s richest country as they endure backbreaking work for low pay and agree to strict contracts under false pretenses. With the illusion they might play (real) soccer dangled in front of them, their hope and the love of the game keeps them going, despite their desperate and heartbreaking circumstances.

6/4/18 Producer Jennifer Tung called in to KUCI 88.9fm to talk about her film Dirty Bomb, showing at the 2018 Dances with Films film festival

DIRTY BOMB, set against the Battle of the Bulge, depicts the true story of how Jewish concentration camp inmates sabotaged the development of Hitler's V2 Bomb at the cost of their lives.
Signing his own death wish, a concentration camp prisoner sabotages the construction of the V-2 bomb against the Nazis, while American soldiers struggle to advance against the Germans.
The film was produced by Jennifer Tung, Stefan Simon and Brian Kelly Jones. Executive producers include Peymaneh Rothstein, Emad Asfoury, and Robert Shaye. Mikael Sharafyan was the costume designer. The film's score was composed by Alan Derian (MADAME SECRETARY).
DIRTY BOMB
NORTH AMERICAN Premiere
SCREENING: FUSION SHORTS 1 – TUE., JUNE 12 @ 5PM
WRITERS: Valerie McCaffrey
DIR: Valerie McCaffrey
PRODS: Jennifer Tung, Brian Kelly Jones, Stefan Simon, Bob Shaye, Scott Kim, Natalya Yonathan, Susan Printz
CAST: Ido Samuel, J. Michael Trautmann, Stefan Simon, Dallas Hart, Hunter Doohan, James Babson, Robert Arce, Connor Linnerooth, Matt Otstot, WIndy Hamilton, Tara Soojian
ABOUT JENNIFERActress//Producer Jennifer Tung has worked in the film and television industry for more than 20 years and is best known for her roles in successful J.J Abrams Television series, "Alias" (2001-2006), working opposite Director Quentin Tarantino, and "Kung Pow, Enter the Fist" with Steve Oedekerk (2002). Jennifer has also appeared in episodes of many popular T.V. shows such as "Beverly Hills: 90210", "The Pretender", "E.R.", "NYPD Blue", "Charmed," among others. In addition, she has had roles in the feature films,"What Lies Beneath", and Star Trek: Insurrection".
She was Executive Producer of the multi- award winning short film, "Shadows and Light", as well as Producer, Social Media and Crowdfunding Organizer on such ambitious projects as "Harbinger Down" By Alec Gillis/Studio ADI and "The Yellow Feather", which have been, to date, the highest funded films in their categories in Kickstarter history. Her recent projects include producing three independent films, "The Black Gloves", "Remember the Sun", and "Dirty Bomb".
Ms. Tung is the youngest woman to be crowned Miss Chinatown USA at the age of 17 in 1991. She also served as Goodwill Ambassador, representing The Chinese Americans of the USA traveling throughout China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and abroad with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Jennifer will talk about:
Her background as actress and producer
What made her decide to join DB production team? What spoke you about this story?
As an activist in daily life, what is important to her?
The Porter Ranch Gas Leak and the impact on Jennifer's life
In October of 2015, Southern California saw the biggest gas leak in U.S. history, which drastically effected the thousands of residents of Porter Ranch and the surrounding areas. SoCal Gas claims there are no long term effects, but the people have continued to struggle daily. This is Jennifer Tung's story, a prominent member of the entertainment industry, and there are thousands of stories like hers. Watch the video, spread the word, call for ACTION. #PorterRanchGasLeakWATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKNFpjCOCKg

6/4 at 9:30am pst - From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Brendan Kiely, a stunning new novel that explores the insidious nature of...

Prestigious. Powerful. Privileged. This is Fullbrook Academy, an elite prep school where history looms in the leafy branches over its brick walkways. But some traditions upheld in its hallowed halls are profoundly dangerous.
Jules Devereux just wants to keep her head down, avoid distractions, and get into the right college, so she can leave Fullbrook and its old-boy social codes behind. She wants freedom, but ex-boyfriends and ex-best friends are determined to keep her in place.
Jamie Baxter feels like an imposter at Fullbrook, but the hockey scholarship that got him in has given him a chance to escape his past and fulfill the dreams of his parents and coaches, whose mantra rings in his ears: Don’t disappoint us.

6/4/18 9:15am pst - lead actress Jessica Lee Keller and writer-director Chris Wright call in to KUCI 88.9fm to talk about their romantic short, The Wa...

HOLLYWOOD, May 21, 2018 - In the style of such romantic musicals as “La La Land” and “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, writer-director Chris Wright will screen “The Way It Begins” at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, on Friday, June 8, 2018 at 2:45PM.
“The Way It Begins” stars Robert Roldan (So You Think You Can Dance, La La Land) and Jessica Lee Keller (Adjustment Bureau, Now You See Me 2), as two strangers who cross paths on a train, and they end up spending the day together, dancing through the beautiful city of New York and moving one step closer to finding love. There is no dialogue in the film. The emotional journey of the two characters is conveyed through music and dance. The charming and whimsical film is part of the Downbeat: A Celebration of Music and Dance program.
Chris Wright is a respected Visual Effects Supervisor on several television series, including “Luke Cage”, “The Punisher”, “Person of Interest” and the award-winning sci-fi series “Fringe.”
“This movie came out of my love of old Hollywood musicals and was directly inspired by the holiday classic, “White Christmas.” I wanted to tell a story about two people finding each other and explore what the range of emotions would look like if expressed only through movement and music. I wanted to show their journey of emotional exploration set in one of the most exciting and beautiful cities in the world, New York City. This movie is not only a story about two people falling in love but also a love letter to New York itself,” says Wright.
“The Way It Begins” was produced by Jeremy Horn, Carlee Briglia, Steven Carbajal, and Chris Wright. The original score was composed by Alan Koshiyama and was lovingly filmed by Cinematographer Rachael Levine.

Matt Letten and Phil Letten, The Vegan Bros, Monday, June 4th 9:00am on KUCI 88.9fm!

Think you could never go vegan? Think again. Meet Matt and Phil Letten, also known as The Vegan Bros, the brothers who are making vegan cool (and making eating animals weird). The Vegan Bros have made it their mission to prove that eating vegan doesn’t have to be difficult, restrictive, or joyless. In fact, they like to point out, most people are already 90% vegan without even thinking about it. VODKA IS VEGAN: A Vegan Bros Manifesto for Better Living and Not Being an A**hole is all about exploring that last 10% between your current way of eating and “going whole hog,” and showing you how to close the gap.

5/28/18 9:45am pst - Janeane speaks with the star of Diwa, Aina Dumlao, who also co-produced, co-wrote, co-directed and co-edited the film with her pa...

ABOUT THE FILM
“Diwa”, winner of the First Laurel Award of Chimaera Project’s 2018 “TO.GET.HER Program”, (written and directed by Aina Dumlao & Bru Muller), will screen at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 5PM.
The narrative short film takes an unforgiving look at the real plight of immigrants victimized by violent crimes, and the obstacles they face, all told through the eyes of one female victim: Diwa, an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines who risked everything to come to America to help support her family back home.
Like countless others, Diwa is exploited and assaulted by her employer, then victimized a second time by a broken immigration system. Sadly, this is a true story many times over…

5/28/18 9:30am pst - Filmmaker R. H. Norman talks about his most recent narrative short film HAJJI at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chi...

Filmmaker R. H. Norman will show his most recent narrative short film HAJJI at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, Saturday, June 9th at 2:45PM.
Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead) plays a soldier in a reality-based conflict zone in HAJJI, an inspired-by-true-events short which explores the cycle of violence caused by modern warfare in the Middle East.