Matt Connarton Unleashed 12-28-24 hour 1

0:33 Speaker 1: When I was a boy.

0:36 Speaker 2: All I think God found this was a stupid boy that I was. When I was a kid, I got my face up there not toilets with.

0:47 Speaker 3: The deeps out Damn.

0:50 Speaker 2: I wasn't always a stool pup, but when I.

0:55 Speaker 3: Was, I was a jump.

0:58 Speaker 2: I didn't always okay, So I used to have pimples filled man bus. I remember roll the man times and picks themba lo.

1:14 Speaker 4: It feels like someone.

1:16 Speaker 5: That shot me their tame fuck off of.

1:20 Speaker 2: My ard.

1:23 Speaker 3: Right done your ass side.

1:25 Speaker 2: Go where no scene down?

1:28 Speaker 6: Bob me rolla live.

1:30 Speaker 2: I rhyn you mass side go where no scene down? Now, boy, roll up live.

1:46 Speaker 5: Y.

1:54 Speaker 1: When I was in school did make us grades.

1:59 Speaker 2: I was yet still be numb fool. When I was still young, all I cared out round one girls, but they.

2:09 Speaker 1: Didn't like my pimples. I used to be.

2:12 Speaker 2: Sun just a wool before day.

2:15 Speaker 4: As nin crying on the floor.

2:19 Speaker 1: They used to wear.

2:20 Speaker 2: You fants be me of my milk money taken. When I was growing up, I remember all the van times and pick them along. It feels like someone is shoping the same my longs of my hog. I ride done you ness side call w no sa down.

2:49 Speaker 3: No bomb you roll the line, ride.

2:53 Speaker 2: Done mass side call win no sea down, no bomb rolled up.

3:16 Speaker 7: You know when I was.

3:17 Speaker 2: A boy and my father used to look down at me and say, what god hell is even?

3:24 Speaker 7: Then go outside and cut some grass.

3:28 Speaker 3: Why don't you go kids a girl? You stupid loser.

4:06 Speaker 3: Hys I call way no scene down, Bob.

4:11 Speaker 1: Roll up line.

4:13 Speaker 2: I hys I go way no scene down, Bobby road line.

4:43 Speaker 2: If you are listening to W M and h N.

4:50 Speaker 8: The Commander, don't get supreme Leada maxill Cobby.

5:28 Speaker 4: Good morning, here we go. It is that time again, our final Matt Connorton Unleashed of the Year twenty twenty four. Today is Saturday, December twenty eight, twenty twenty four, and we are live from the studios of WMNH ninety five point three FM, Inglorious, Manchester, New Hampshire, and I am not alone. I have a little bit of a surprise.

5:58 Speaker 9: Da Good morning, suntime return.

6:06 Speaker 4: Where have you been. I've been everywhere.

6:08 Speaker 10: No, I've had a few prior engagements to do a blast few weeks.

6:14 Speaker 4: Yes that is true. Yes, been very busy with events.

6:17 Speaker 10: Which has been fun for me to get to go out and work with a lot not work, but just be together with a lot of like small business people. I got to go to the Great North if you don't know the Great North here in the great city.

6:31 Speaker 4: Of Manchester, Great North. The Outworks is.

6:33 Speaker 9: An amazing place to go to.

6:36 Speaker 10: They are an amazing small business here in the Granite State that makes incredible beers and needs. And they had a big craft bear and there were all these amazing individual artists and there was one guy that had like they were like scary scary dolls almost, but I don't know, I don't have to ride.

6:55 Speaker 4: Yeah. No, A lot of great stuff there though.

6:57 Speaker 10: Yeah, but they kind of look like Crampis. It was like Crampis beats elf on the shelf. Yeah, it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed. I got to hang out with the Sister Witch Company and meet a lot of great people there and a lot more artisans. It was an amazing honey guy there for those who don't know, I love honey, which my son knows because he gifted me an amazing box of all kinds of different flavor.

7:20 Speaker 4: Yes.

7:21 Speaker 9: So, yes, I had a great holidays. You have a good, great holiday, did I?

7:25 Speaker 4: Yeah? You were there, well, you know, yes, it was very nice. It was very nice. But I'm always but I'm always, uh, I'm always relieved when the holidays are over. I think a lot of people are.

7:40 Speaker 9: We're in a food comber for like two days.

7:42 Speaker 1: I was.

7:42 Speaker 4: I was, well, we have a great show for you today, and right now for the first hour, someone who has not been with us for Yeah, it's been at least a year. I think over a year. Gracie Gatto is here. Welcome, Welcome. You gotta just pull that pull that up a little bit. Yeah, just so you're you're right.

8:01 Speaker 9: Right to your face.

8:05 Speaker 11: I feel like.

8:07 Speaker 9: It makes you feel weird. Then you got it in the right place.

8:11 Speaker 4: There you go, there you go. Oh, well, that reminds me. Today's show is audio only. So yeah, if you uh, if you are just tuning in, by the way, don't look for us on Facebook or YouTube or anywhere today. A little bit of an issue with the streaming software here, so uh, we are strictly audio. But if you go to Matt connorton dot com slash live, not only can you access the audio uh feed there, but you can also interact with us. You can send us in incent message, you can chat with us there. I will keep an eye on that.

8:41 Speaker 4: And uh, Gracie, what have you what have you been up to? It's it's kind of a general question, but it has been over a year since since we've seen you, and uh, and you do have a very interesting project we're going to talk about. But uh, what's been going on?

8:54 Speaker 11: Well, it's been grim the past year. So I've been I kind of disappeared. I was my mother's caregiver. Oh wow, so that kind of took me out of you know, project making. So you know, she passed away.

9:12 Speaker 4: We're gonna, uh, Gracie, We're gonna switch you to uh, let's why don't we put Gracie in the middle. We're gonna switch you to that middle microphone because I don't know if you can hear it in your headphones.

9:20 Speaker 11: But that's it's not you really lower to talk louder.

9:24 Speaker 4: It's you know what it is. It's like it's it's cutting in and out a little bit. Yeah, let's put you in the middle. And if you are just doing us, Gracie got to us here with us live in studio on this uh Saturday morning. But the joys of live broadcasting.

9:42 Speaker 4: But uh, usually if one of those mics isn't isn't working. The other one will, so we'll try the we'll try that. I think this is all I can already tell. This is gonna be much better.

9:52 Speaker 11: Okay, can you hear me now?

9:53 Speaker 4: Oh you sound much better? Do you sound better to you in your headphones?

9:56 Speaker 1: Yes?

9:57 Speaker 4: Excellent? Excellent. So yeah, so you mentioned so sorry hear about your mom.

10:00 Speaker 11: Yeah, she passed away and it was it was rough, but it took me out of you know, making whatever, you know, my projects.

10:08 Speaker 2: Yeah.

10:09 Speaker 11: So eventually I'm working on something called Adam's World and it is a television a child a children's television show celebrating your diversity. Okay, so did you know that one out of thirty six children in the United States has autism or a form of or on the spectrum.

10:30 Speaker 4: I didn't know. I didn't know it was that many. But I'm but I'm not surprised in a sense because I do know, uh and you know, I only know a little bit about the subject, but I do know that they've gotten much better at identifying autism than they used to be.

10:42 Speaker 11: Certainly right, and yeah, I'm definitely on a spectrum myself. So there's not really good representation out there. I've seen the television shows and uh, they all seem a little robotic, are just sort of like an android type character. They weren't really like charismatic. And you know, having to deal with you know, working with children who have autism, you got them all over the place. You got some really charismatic kids who are just obsessed with one thing, you know. So I made that a part of the show.

11:14 Speaker 4: Okay.

11:14 Speaker 11: So we have Adam, who's my son, and he is autistic, nonverbal, and there is absolutely zero representation. And I'm noticing that a lot of other mothers have come up to me saying, hey, my kid's autistic nonverbal. I thought I was the only one. Oh okay, and oh I thought I was the only one. And wait a minute, you're gonna make a TV show with a kid who can't.

11:34 Speaker 4: Talk, and just and just so, just so we're clear. So when you say nonverbal, no, no speech at all, no.

11:41 Speaker 11: Speech at all, okay, wow, But he understands everything and he uses a talking device.

11:46 Speaker 4: Okay, So I made that.

11:48 Speaker 2: What was that? Jen? Oh?

11:50 Speaker 11: Yeah, that face like, what's going on?

11:52 Speaker 1: Jen?

11:52 Speaker 10: Oh no, No, I'm doing other things. Oh well, you guys are, Yeah, don't look at my face.

11:59 Speaker 11: It looked like so some really bad news over there.

12:03 Speaker 11: So so yeah, it just I came up with three characters and it kind of sets up the whole show. And it's, uh, you know, Adam doesn't speak, but he can touch things and upload information directly to his brain and a lot of internal dialogue. Okay, so that's how I get around the whole not talking thing, because the audience and the kids are in on a secret, and that is they are super geniuses, only they got to play dumb for the adults. Interesting, so you know, everybody's in on it, but the teachers, you know.

12:34 Speaker 11: So it's it's really cute. And you know, we got one character who's Sam, who is obsessed with numbers, and I've seen that before where it's like everything is numerical. The girl Zoe and little blonde pigtails. You know, she runs really fast and she can run so fast she can travel through time. Okay, so it sets up the premise for many adventures.

12:58 Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, okay, so I pitched this.

13:01 Speaker 11: Already to your PBS kids. I'm waiting to hear back for somebody soon, and I'm doing the Kickstarter too. I'm getting a lot of the you know, people involved in the autism community as well. So I'm getting from both sides, you know, Like I'm from you know, LA, and I'm getting the LA side, and i got the East Coast side with the academics, and I'm just sort of marrying the two and it's becoming really interesting and really really exciting.

13:25 Speaker 4: That's great. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. I saw on your website the clip that you had posted, and how like, what is the process in terms of so basically you're pitching this to say to PBS and others?

13:40 Speaker 1: What is that?

13:41 Speaker 4: What is that process?

13:42 Speaker 1: Like?

13:42 Speaker 4: What is the process of pitching a series? Essentially?

13:47 Speaker 11: Basically, it's just what I'm doing right now. I'm this is sort of like a pitch, you know, you talk about who it's for, why it needs to exist, and and just kind of go from there.

14:00 Speaker 4: Yeah, it sounds like it's a lot to take on. I mean, I mean, I mean I would imagine just you know, just like going out into the marketplace and pitching it. That almost sounds like more challenging than making the actual contest. Yeah it is.

14:16 Speaker 11: Yeah, but luckily there's a hole in media that hasn't been filled yet. Yeah, So Hopefully I'll get a bunch of copycats and we can help autistic children feel more together and less uh, you know, ostracized.

14:29 Speaker 4: Yeah, is this an idea that you've had for a while.

14:32 Speaker 2: To do this.

14:33 Speaker 11: I've had it for a while. I just haven't really done anything with it.

14:36 Speaker 4: Yeah.

14:37 Speaker 11: So at first it was like, you know, something I did for my kid, only it was just me and him on his tablet, make little cartoons and stuff, and he would love it, loved it.

14:45 Speaker 1: And then.

14:47 Speaker 11: And then I got really, you know, just turned around with the whole like, you know, the political stuff, Like I just pulled the plug on that for now. I don't know if I want to go back to that. We'll see. Yeah, but I'm really I feel like they're a lost cause. And children, you know, you can help them question reality, question where they come from and why things are the way they are. There's still hope for the kids, so to speak.

15:13 Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I don't do that the political side. Yeah, they're gone, they're gone.

15:18 Speaker 11: Yeah, the children are great. I love working with children, and especially you know after a major death, you know, it really helps heal the hearts. Yeah.

15:28 Speaker 4: Absolutely, Have you done anything like that before involving a cartoon project or I know you've done you know you're from la and yeah, you've done a lot of things.

15:38 Speaker 11: Well, I dated a lot of animators. Did that helps? And I actually called in a few animator friends here in the you know, the New England area, and they seem really excited. So that's another thing I'm pitching too. The story takes place in New England, in you know, New Hampshire, and I want to use East Coast animators.

15:59 Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, that makes sense. Is the idea that every uh so, will every episode be a full length thirty minute episode or.

16:09 Speaker 11: Twenty two minutes and yeah, hopefully the pilot episode they want. They are so curious about dinosaurs they will see them for themselves.

16:19 Speaker 4: That's cool. Yeah yeah, yeah. You mentioned one of the characters can go so fast she time travels. Yeah, no, that's uh yeah, there is. I can't think of anything I've ever seen quite like what you're what you're doing, So you're right, I mean there is a hole in the market for that, right, there's a.

16:34 Speaker 11: Major hole in the market. They have something close excuse me, readjust myself here. Yeah, they have something close, and I think there's a show called Attorney Wu Okay, that's on Netflix. Yeah, I was doing my market research. I was watching it, and it's like, you know, she is basically unable to live her life normally, but she is a whiz when it comes to law, so that the law is kind of like her superhuman power. Yeah, you know, she can recite things really fast, and that's the way the autistmic world works.

17:08 Speaker 11: But it just wasn't as fun.

17:10 Speaker 4: Okay.

17:11 Speaker 11: You know, it's like a legal drama. But did us solve everything like Matt Locke right? And it just disconjoined?

17:20 Speaker 4: Okay, okay. Yeah. It's nice too though that we live in a time where you've got, if you think about it, and I'm sure you've thought about this, if you were doing this thirty years ago, or actually even twenty years ago, the possibilities in terms of where you could go with it, where you could take it and pitch it to Yeah, we're very limited. But now we live in a time because of streaming, you know, I mean Netflix has a million different shows, and you know, you've got all these streaming services.

17:48 Speaker 4: You could even you know, put it you could put it yourself on YouTube and you know, go with that strategy You've got so many different options, so it's kind of like from your perspective, I don't know if you're thinking about it this way, but I would imagine it's kind of like, well, you know, something will work out, you know what I mean, Eventually something will work out with this because you know there's so many different options.

18:11 Speaker 11: Yeah, with a big hole in the market, right, you know, I want to eventually bring in other characters based on real children, and that's something I want to do eventually where we could do sweepstakes to get written in to the show, like someone who did something awesome and neuro divergent, you know, we'll write you in the show.

18:30 Speaker 4: Can we define that term too, neurodivergent for people who don't know, because I think that means more than just autism, right or does it?

18:36 Speaker 11: Well, it's it just makes you fall into the spectrum, Okay, so yeah, it is autism. Just you know, you're just neuro diversion. You're you can't you have sensory overload. Okay, that happens, and you know I think I have that too, and you know I don't a lot of people do when they go into crowds all of a sudden, they just feel like overwhelmed, right, yeah, and you know I can relate to that.

18:59 Speaker 1: Yeah.

19:00 Speaker 4: Yeah, well, you know, as you mentioned earlier, there's a spectrum obviously, and you know the ways that autism, the ways that they're able to identify autism, they've gotten much better at it, which I I often will point out to people. You know, there's people with their weird conspiracy theories about it all.

19:18 Speaker 11: And vaccines cause autism.

19:20 Speaker 4: That's the big one.

19:21 Speaker 11: That's the big one.

19:21 Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, honestly, we don't know all that.

19:24 Speaker 2: We don't know.

19:25 Speaker 11: When when my son got diagnosed as a mother, I took it hard because I thought it was something I did. Oh really yeah wait, you know, maybe it was my diet. Maybe yeah, no, it's just something a mother does.

19:37 Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, no, that makes sense.

19:39 Speaker 1: But no.

19:40 Speaker 11: He is a brilliant, smart kid and he loves his song Adam's World. Yeah yeah, so he's like that's mine. Yeah, you know, but I want to bring it to other children who need that, you know, like I want to do kind of like a resurgence of like I'm actually talking to some of the old Hannah Barbara guys.

19:58 Speaker 4: Really oh wow, whoever's.

20:01 Speaker 11: Left, you know, And it's great because they have that childlike spark still even though they're older, and they're like, oh my god, I could do something with this, I could do something with this, you know, and it's just, you know, it puts a smile on my face versus what I was doing before, which was turning me into a monster too un unsubscribe. Yeah, so this is so much more fun.

20:27 Speaker 4: I can I can somewhat relate to what you're saying. You know, we there was a time when we used to do politics on the show, and we stopped that and now we keep that separate from what we do here at w M and H. And from a mental health perspective, I do think it benefited me.

20:45 Speaker 11: Yeah, because these little prejudices start happening, and you know, it's it's not a good look, and I think that we need to get back to humanity and less of this. He did this, but he did this, but he did this enough of that?

20:58 Speaker 4: Yeah enough? Yeah, absolutely absolutely I agree. Do you find that in terms of well, how old is Adam?

21:06 Speaker 11: Adam is? He just turned nine on December twenty fourth, Okay, so happy birthday at him.

21:10 Speaker 4: Yeah, Happy birthday Atam. Over the course of these nine years, do you think that. I mean, what's your experience been in terms of uh, is there a lot of uh? Is there still a lot to learn? I assume there's still a lot to learn about autism? Is there still a lot that they don't know?

21:27 Speaker 11: Or I had to tell you the truth? We're learning with the kids.

21:31 Speaker 3: Yeah.

21:32 Speaker 11: Yeah, So luckily he goes to I'm going to do a shout out to Nottingham West Elementary School because they go above and beyond for my kid.

21:41 Speaker 12: That.

21:42 Speaker 11: I mean, it's the state pace ward. It's not a private school. So but they go above and beyond help children. So I've seen my my kids thrive like he's been. You know, he's a different kid really.

21:54 Speaker 4: Yeah.

21:54 Speaker 11: Like now he gets into trouble now, yeah, with his tablet look goose, you know, yeah, gets dirty, you know, gets into things.

22:02 Speaker 4: Oh that's fantastic though, that's that's that's good to hear, you know, because public schools get a bad rap.

22:07 Speaker 11: They do get a bad rap, they really do. But let's just say I was cautiously optimistic, Uh huh, but now totally blown away.

22:15 Speaker 4: Yeah. Oh that's great. That's great. And obviously for you it's you know, it's a challenge you know, having an autistic is thatam your only child?

22:25 Speaker 11: My only child? Oh okay, okay, so I wanted uh well it was really crazy. So I was missing for a year and a half and I was caregiving to my mother taking care of my autistic kid, so I had like zero time to myself. Yeah, and you know, when she was sick and he was at school or she was asleep, I would do these little animation things. Yeah, and it just sort of kind of grew from there.

22:46 Speaker 4: Okay, like you know I could do this, I could do this, and you done anything like that before on your you know, you mentioned you had dated some animators.

22:54 Speaker 11: Yeah, well we used to do like more adult versions of that.

22:57 Speaker 2: Yeah.

22:58 Speaker 11: This is my first time ever doing children's television, so I don't know, I mean I'm spiling a lot more.

23:06 Speaker 4: Yeah.

23:06 Speaker 11: So that goes to show you and doing something right.

23:08 Speaker 4: Yeah.

23:08 Speaker 11: Yeah, but I started a kickstarter. We need some cash, help help, so I need to do one polished pilot and that's gonna be our vehicle to you know, shoot to the top. I'm actually I got in touch with the CEO of New Balance because I was thinking about doing product tie ins and since Zoe's sneakers light Up, which she's about the time travel. I thought that might be something that we can kind of team up on. I haven't gotten response, but an official response yet, but yeah, it is, and it's you know, everybody knows someone with autism, so I just styled it could be a good tie in and for autism awareness months, you know, we'll have a special brand sneakers that happen to look just like Zoe's in.

23:54 Speaker 4: The show Excellent. When is When is Autism Awareness Month?

23:58 Speaker 11: June?

23:59 Speaker 4: June? Okay, okay, yeah, I didn't even know there was. Well, no, it makes sense that actually, I think I do remember hearing that there was an autism Awareness month.

24:08 Speaker 11: There's there's an awareness month for everything. I think there's a peanut butter holiday too.

24:12 Speaker 4: And well as as there should be. When was how soon was uh Adam diagnosed after he was born? Because obviously you.

24:24 Speaker 11: Don't you don't know right away, right he was three three okay, heat wasn't babbling.

24:29 Speaker 4: Okay, And that's what I've read is one of the one of the first indicators where you really kind of figure out that there's there's something here as if they're not, and he.

24:38 Speaker 11: Would have like these attacks like panic attacks. He's trying to talk, talk to me and tell me things. Yeah, and he started pulling his hair out.

24:46 Speaker 4: Oh wow.

24:47 Speaker 11: So that's when we got him help, okay, because it started, you know, he started just being aggressive toward him like he like almost like I hate myself. Oh yeah, you know, or I don't want to say I hate myself. That's horrible.

24:58 Speaker 4: But that frustrates that.

24:59 Speaker 11: He was frustrated. So when we got him help, yeah, they we got him diagnosed, and sure enough, he was a textbook So he's got ADHD and you know autism. Yeah, but he's shocked his attack though he could see the wheel spinning. He just can't talk or he'll just pull his tongue, you know, little things like that and it breaks your heart.

25:20 Speaker 4: Does does he learn very fast? Yeah? Yeah, I don't know. If you know doctor Kevin. He's a Nashua doctor, Kevin ross Emory. He's been on the show and he he's done a lot of work in add and ADHD and he's written some books about it. And actually one of the books he's written it's called Managing the Gift, and it's about how he calls it a gift because you know, add or ADHD. It's like, uh, there are ways that you can use at your advantage. For example, a lot of very successful entrepreneurs you know, have that or they're on the spectrum.

25:54 Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, so there are ways to.

25:56 Speaker 11: Talking to the to the experts. So yeah, leave me his name, that'll be great a lot of I talked to someone who's his name is Ellen Armie and he is the head of an organization for autistic children. He put me in touch with someone named Elaine Hall who was a a list acting coach and she eventually had a kid with autism and she started using those methods acting methods. Yeah, and it started to work and he got out of his shell using you know, the ad L stuff, and you know, it really worked out. So now she's kind of like a big deal now in the autism community.

26:35 Speaker 11: And you know, she just happened to have an autistic kid and who knew, right, you know. So I am been emailing back and forth and a lot of people are you know, just they're excited about the project because we need something positive in this world. Yes, So like at least I do as a creator, you know, like you want to you know, go home and say, you know, what I did my job, and I actually went as far as contacting someone named head A Nasty who was one of the head animators of the of Ductails.

27:07 Speaker 4: Yeah.

27:08 Speaker 11: However, I was like googling him like a weird fan, you know, like who the hell looks for old animators from back in the day, right right, And I was like, Okay, I got his name, I got his number. Cool and the link next to him right after on Google it was a goalfund me and I click on it and he's in hospice and I'm like, ah, it's terrible. So uh yeah, but I've been talking to the old guys though.

27:36 Speaker 3: Yeah.

27:36 Speaker 11: It makes it more fun because once I get them excited, I could see their wheels turning, like oh, I've done this and that and this and that. So it's just really great.

27:44 Speaker 4: Yeah. Sometimes you know, all it takes is one person to give you just a little bit of information or an idea and you just never know.

27:51 Speaker 11: Yeah, And it really is like being a showrunner really is like being in a band. You need your guitar player, you need your drummer, you need your bassis, do you need your lead singer? Get together and make music and if one of you guys is off. The whole band is off, right, So I am putting together a band right now.

28:07 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, excellent, excellent. What have you been doing anything else in terms of creative stuff or or have you been solely focused on on the series.

28:17 Speaker 11: Well, I was doing another kind of puppet show, but we can't talk about that. Oh, that was just for fun though, I was testing.

28:24 Speaker 4: The Yeah, that's for Matt Connor to unsheathed. That's a very different show.

28:30 Speaker 11: That's a very different show.

28:31 Speaker 4: Yes, and it's it's not available on FM radio.

28:35 Speaker 11: But but yes, let's stick to the kids.

28:38 Speaker 4: Yeah. No, I was curious because you've done a lot, you know, a lot of radio, a lot of radio back in La especially, and right, and and what else it seems like you've done You've done a lot of voiceover work too, right.

28:50 Speaker 11: Yes, so I turn them out, just turn them out, like whenever comes my way.

28:56 Speaker 4: I need this, you know. Yeah.

28:58 Speaker 11: Yeah, so I've been surviving on that.

29:00 Speaker 4: Yeah. Well you've got a lot of experience. And uh, how how long have you been in New Hamphire?

29:07 Speaker 1: Now?

29:07 Speaker 4: Has it been ten years? No, it's been six, it's been six.

29:11 Speaker 11: I'm acclimated, you know, like, no before I used to be such a wuss, and like now it's like I'm walking around with T shirt and shorts and checking my mail and snowing outside, you know, like I'll come a long way.

29:24 Speaker 4: Yeah. John Hopwood is who introduced.

29:27 Speaker 11: Us, right, yes, all right, whatever happened to Hoppy?

29:30 Speaker 4: I think he's around, Uh, Jenny, didn't the Hammers say that John? They recently had had he was with him, he was back in Manchester. I thought so. I thought I heard that.

29:41 Speaker 9: But he hasn't reached out to us yet.

29:44 Speaker 4: He's very mysterious, that John Hopway. He's a mysterious character. But that's right, that's how we met, Yeah, John, Okay, okay, Yeah, so you've you've grown too, You've grown to like it here?

29:57 Speaker 11: Yes, And I enjoy driving again thanks to New Hampshire because in La, stopping stop literally I had like these these big thighs of muscle in my abs because it will stop it, stop it.

30:09 Speaker 4: Yeah oh yeah, and here you could just.

30:11 Speaker 11: Kind of like put put it and you're cool.

30:14 Speaker 1: Yeah.

30:14 Speaker 11: Yeah, I don't think I'm spoiled. I don't want to drive in California.

30:18 Speaker 4: Right right now, that's understandable. Well, you know the winters here too, have gotten easier, so that probably helps change because I grew up here, and uh, the winters are definitely easier than when I was a kid.

30:29 Speaker 11: I keep hearing that.

30:30 Speaker 4: Yeah, oh yeah, Oh it's yeah, there's no getting it's not subtle. No, it's not as subtle as some people pretend it is. It's it's very obvious. And and I remember my dad's telling me that the winters are easier here than when he was a kid, like he noticed in the in the eighties. Yeah, he said, oh, the winter's here seemed to be easier than when I was a kid.

30:49 Speaker 11: So no, but there's still a real possibility if you don't have the right gear, you could freeze to death.

30:53 Speaker 4: Oh sure, Oh yeah.

30:54 Speaker 11: We don't want to give off like we're like the New Florida, right.

30:58 Speaker 4: No, No, we're a long way from that. And I don't want to get to that because I know what that means, because I am concerned, But in the moment, I enjoy it.

31:06 Speaker 13: Geez.

31:07 Speaker 4: We had one winter here was it, I think twenty seventeen where winter just didn't show up at all, Like it barely snowed and it never got cold. It was incredible.

31:14 Speaker 11: Yeah, but it created a lot of sleet. I need to appreciate that.

31:18 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, Sleet's not good. Sleet's not good.

31:21 Speaker 11: I found a new use for kitty litter because it's sleep. Oh yeah, yeah, what to just put the floor? Yeah, to get traction with your wheels? Okay, yeah, yeah, no, I didn't know that until I moved here.

31:33 Speaker 4: Yeah. Now, does anyone from the West Coast come out to visit you?

31:36 Speaker 11: Yes? I recently had my both my sisters come.

31:39 Speaker 4: Oh excellent, excellent. Do they do when they get here? Are they like? It's cold here? What do you do?

31:44 Speaker 11: The first thing my sister said was where are all the homeless people?

31:47 Speaker 2: Oh?

31:47 Speaker 11: Really, Well they're in LA from LA, and it's like Mad Max over there by comparison. Oh yeah, they were like, where are the homeless people? I'm like Manchester?

31:56 Speaker 4: Uh yeah, I mean it's definitely a problem here, but probably nothing like l A.

32:00 Speaker 1: Right.

32:01 Speaker 4: I mean you see the picture it looks.

32:02 Speaker 11: Like posts apocalyptic now. Yeah, it's it's pretty sad.

32:06 Speaker 14: Yeah.

32:06 Speaker 4: Do you get back out there to visit?

32:09 Speaker 1: Not really? No.

32:10 Speaker 11: Yeah, the mom's thing was pretty rough, and I don't think I'm going to be going.

32:14 Speaker 4: Back for what Yeah, no, that makes sense. That makes sense.

32:20 Speaker 4: Have you been uh, so you've been working on the U on the cartoon. Are you doing that by yourself? And I mean obviously you're you know, you're trying to get other people involved, but so far as anyone like fully involved in the animation or anything, or are you literally doing this all?

32:36 Speaker 11: I'm doing this all on my own as of now. But they tell me be patient because after the holidays, Yeah, we're gonna work.

32:45 Speaker 4: Yeah, we'll work, We'll work it out. Yeah.

32:47 Speaker 11: So, I I mean, the the stuff I have on my website, you know, on grasigotto dot com is basically just like what I would give to the networks is basically it's kind of like a tasting a visual thing that it's not the solid end product.

33:02 Speaker 4: Okay, so no, it looks really good though, And you know, as someone who so I have no I've always been fascinated by animation in the sense that I'm kind of fascinated by anything that I know that I can't do, Like, I have no visual artistic ability whatsoever. I can't draw, Like if you ask me to draw a person, I could draw you a stick figure. That's the best I could do. I look at Jenny's artwork and I'm amazed or the macromea that she does, because it's amazing to me because my brain, I always say this, my brain can't do the math.

33:30 Speaker 4: Like with the macroma that's geometry. My brain can't do the geometry. So I'm always, you know, really interested when I look at things that I can't do, like animation. Like like I look at you know, I watched the clip on your website and it's like, how do you even how do you even draw that? Like because my brain wouldn't be able to figure it out, you know what I mean?

33:49 Speaker 11: Well, the kids. I used my son's face as a model, Okay, so I got a picture of him when he was seven, Okay, and you know, but I didn't mock up there, kind of change it up a bit and yeah, and then I got uh, I'd lost so much time playing with animation tools, you know, like the actual like drawing, because I used to doodle a lot. I'm an oil painter. Okay, So that was just like the natural progression. And there's some magic that happens when you get the lip sync going, and then you get the voice, and then you get the background music, and when that you get that that trifecta.

34:27 Speaker 11: They're alive, they're ave.

34:30 Speaker 4: Yeah. Do you I mean, do you do you use software to forgive my ignorance? But no, just very curious, like do you use software to help you create the scenes or are you Are you doing it like old school? Like are you actually hand drawing everything?

34:47 Speaker 11: No, I'm not hand drawing anything. I actually I've been using AI kind of help out and you know, people go boo, but it's it's the cats out of the bag. It's here, yes, and they're snow avoiding it right right. I think a friend I pointed out a car commercial was like blatantly easing AI. Sure, So basically AI has enabled me become ten people instead of one.

35:08 Speaker 15: Yeah.

35:09 Speaker 11: Yeah, So the scripts are mine though, the ideas are mine, but they're simply it's like having an assistant that's on speed. Right, So like the second I want something, Bam, I got it. Okay, cool, and I'll just incorporate that. So it's like mixing. It's like mixing a stew. You get all the ingredients from you know, television shows. I can say Ducktails where they time travel and they teach kids how to think, you know, get it, get a little bit of that, you get a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

35:37 Speaker 11: Yeah, and you just kind of make a stew and it's something completely brand new. Yeah, that's something that's really awesome. I even wrote the theme song.

35:45 Speaker 4: Oh did okay? Okay, very cool. That's awesome. That's awesome. The other characters, because there's there's two other characters that I saw on the website. Yes, are those based on on real kids or are those just completely yeah, made up? They are?

36:01 Speaker 11: So I did, I did know. I do know some a kid who's obsessed with numbers, obsessed, you know, like how many like things that you wouldn't even think about, like how many teeth are in a mouth or you know, just Okay, that's kind of quirky, but that could work for the show because they need to calculate speed time to get and you know, how to get from point A to point B, you know, so they're going to need math to learn numbers. Adam's internal dialogue is he upsolds everything, but you know he has a super dome that kind of teaches you what everything means.

36:40 Speaker 11: Yeah, so it's like a superdome kind of like a third eye kind of situation. Happening where he's projecting you know what he's getting and you know, so it's great. So I got the trio so far, and you know they're going to get into adventures and you know, we're even talking about like possibly having them grow up eventually. Well, they're in the fourth grade now, my powers are getting stronger, you know, and maybe it could lead up to something different.

37:05 Speaker 4: Like e That's a cool concept too, because I'm trying to think. I'm trying to think, is there another cartoon or another animated show where where the characters actually do grow up? And I feel like there must be something.

37:18 Speaker 11: Self Park did it?

37:20 Speaker 1: Oh?

37:21 Speaker 4: Did they?

37:21 Speaker 11: And The Simpsons?

37:23 Speaker 4: Did they? I haven't watched either of those in so long.

37:26 Speaker 11: Yeah, there's a couple of episodes where you know, they're all grown up.

37:30 Speaker 4: Oh okay, yeah, but not but not over a span of time where they got older.

37:34 Speaker 11: And right, yeah yeah, or maybe I mean things are open. I mean, maybe they can get out of their animation bodies and become full right, you know, action motion, you know characters right, right, But I like that.

37:48 Speaker 4: I like that idea though. Yeah, you know, they go from one grade to the next, and and what to.

37:54 Speaker 11: Expect and you know, teachers are new. Teachers are scary, selftitute teachers are kind of but I don't really know, right, you know, yeah, you know, or we get into that and all those little things matter when you're autistic. Yeah, any little change is like, you know, detrimentally.

38:10 Speaker 4: Oh, I mean even for you know, for anybody. Yeah, those things matter. So yeah, so I would imagine for an autistic child, I can see where that would really be some heavy stuff to deal with.

38:18 Speaker 11: Yeah, And it was an honest question to myself, like, you know, am I gonna continue one with the division of people? Or am I going to make something that's going to help? Of course?

38:29 Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I think that's Uh, I think that's fantastic. Yeah, so in the new year, you expect things will really start moving with it. Yeah, what's kind of your what's what's kind of your dream? Uh Like, where would you most like to see it? Like Netflix? Or where would you most like to see this, lamb.

38:47 Speaker 11: I would love to see it anywhere. Really, it's just long as uh you know, it gives children and identity.

38:52 Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean you mentioned PBS, which seems like a perfect fit.

38:55 Speaker 11: It is a perfect fit. There's always Netflix or is Hulu. I have an agent working on it. So basically we're trying to create like some kind of a bidding situation January to where it lands. It's as soon as January.

39:11 Speaker 4: Oh that's exciting.

39:12 Speaker 11: Yeah, it is exciting, except for Hanka got in the way. So so my Jewish animaters are down for the count and you know, my Christian friends are like, we're not working until January second. Yeah, so it's like, okay, I lost you both. Great, So it's just me for now.

39:34 Speaker 11: There are the holidays. I get it, and you know, I'm a showrunner, so I'm just constantly working, working, working through the holidays.

39:40 Speaker 4: By the way, for people who don't know what's a showrunner.

39:42 Speaker 11: A show runner is someone who is creating a show and the person who has the actual vision, the overall vision. So it's basically like being the CEO of a company.

39:55 Speaker 2: You know.

39:55 Speaker 11: So, but we're all moving working vital parts to the show.

40:00 Speaker 4: It's a very it's it's kind of a literal term show runner. You literally are running a show. I feel like, and you would know, having with with your experience and having been in LA I feel like I didn't always hear that term. I feel like I started hearing the term showrunner like twenty years ago and then and then before that, it was always producer or something. But I feel like the Am I right about that? Or is that just my weird perception?

40:25 Speaker 11: No, I don't know. I think because you know, everybody's I don't know, I honestly can't answer that.

40:31 Speaker 4: I feel like it's a newer term.

40:32 Speaker 11: It's I've always heard showrunner because it was kind of like going back to the circus, you know, like you're the showrunner of the circus.

40:40 Speaker 1: Yeah.

40:40 Speaker 11: I think I think it was kind of being facetious and it just kind of stuck.

40:44 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

40:45 Speaker 11: Or I'm the you know, the I'm the person in charge of this, you know, show.

40:51 Speaker 4: What Uh so you've got? Do you have other projects that you're thinking about doing in addition to this? Or you're completely focused.

40:57 Speaker 11: On I'm completely hyper focused on this one. Yeah, that's the way it has to be for each project. Otherwise you're spread on teeth in and people see right through it, especially the audience when you're half asking anything, you know, like, you know, they're pretty intelligent enough.

41:10 Speaker 4: To pick that up, right of course, of course, Well, very cool, very cool. Now we should mention too though, Like you said, you know, you take things that come your way. So you are available for voiceover work and things like oh absolutely, yeah yeah, and how how can people find you for that?

41:26 Speaker 11: Go to graciegotto dot com, send me an email and we will talk consultation.

41:32 Speaker 4: Hum what you want?

41:34 Speaker 11: You know, pretty affordable.

41:36 Speaker 4: What's the strangest one you've had?

41:37 Speaker 5: Oh?

41:38 Speaker 11: God, the first one is the one that traumatized me. Was, uh, moan my IP?

41:49 Speaker 4: Is that something we can I'm very curious now is that something we can explain on a Saturday morning?

41:55 Speaker 5: No?

41:56 Speaker 4: Okay, but it was something some sort.

41:58 Speaker 11: Of moan my IP.

42:00 Speaker 4: Okay.

42:01 Speaker 11: I did some voiceover for that. I haven't admitted to that.

42:05 Speaker 4: Oh wow, ever does that? Does that still exist?

42:09 Speaker 11: I don't know. I haven't checked. It's been years.

42:11 Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna check. Here at the station's computer.

42:16 Speaker 11: And I did the voiceover of this clown killer thriller.

42:22 Speaker 4: Yeah.

42:23 Speaker 11: Yeah, so basically I am uh screaming for my life yeah, as this clown is undressing me. Okay, so that was probably the grossest voiceover.

42:35 Speaker 4: Wow.

42:36 Speaker 11: Yeah, I don't even know if that was used. Yeah, but I got paid for it.

42:41 Speaker 4: Oh that's cool. Yeah, yeah, but.

42:43 Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean voiceovers can go from anything from like jingles to you know, radio stations like point three, you know, fl So it really depends. And I noticed that when a cast, they like people who have broadcasting experience because actors can't fake that. Yeah, so it's like that's why they go with the newscasters in film, you know, the newscasters whoever's available.

43:07 Speaker 4: Right, right, No, it makes sense, that makes sense. Have you done any that I would have heard, like any that are like really like like mainstream commercials or anything.

43:19 Speaker 11: That I can think of that's still around.

43:21 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just funny to think about it. I may have heard your voice somewhere before.

43:26 Speaker 11: I probably before we met you, probably, I don't know. There is a lot.

43:32 Speaker 4: There's a lot if you ever had to say no to something like somebody comes to you with a voiceover project and it's just too weird.

43:39 Speaker 11: No, it's all about making copy work. But the only time I've said no is when they're too demanding and they want me to charge less. So it's like practically like you know, fifty cents an hour kind of thing. Oh yeah, it's like no, dude, you're like, well, we're going to go somewhere else, like bye, yeah, get you pay for right exactly?

44:01 Speaker 4: Yeah? Yeah, yeah, wow that's wild.

44:05 Speaker 11: So please, please, please, whoever's listening, go to Graciecotto dot com or please donate some money to Kickstarter so we can get that episode going. So we now is g R A c I E g.

44:19 Speaker 9: A t O dot com?

44:22 Speaker 4: You got it?

44:22 Speaker 9: I want to make sure people know how to spell it. G A c I E g A t O dot com?

44:29 Speaker 4: Got it? Yeah?

44:31 Speaker 10: Well, and Merriam actually was just asking about spelling it. One of our listeners who's actually a paraprofessional herself and very active in the autism community.

44:40 Speaker 11: Oh, send me an email. Let's talk.

44:43 Speaker 9: Absolutely, you hear that, Miriam, she'd like to talk. We'll make sure that. I will make sure.

44:47 Speaker 11: Actually, I'm just trying to get everybody involved, parents to educators, entertainment industry. It's amazing how many high ranking entertainment industry executives have children with autism.

45:01 Speaker 9: True, so it touches many families. Yeah, many, many families.

45:06 Speaker 4: And it's interesting too to think about how many people don't realize.

45:08 Speaker 11: It, right, you know, and you know, why not make a Saturday Morning cartoon to make them feel better.

45:13 Speaker 9: Yeah, I think that's awesome.

45:15 Speaker 11: I really do.

45:17 Speaker 4: I think that's No, I think that's fantastic. Well, Gracie, I'm really glad you came in today. It's wonderful to see you.

45:22 Speaker 11: Good to see you, and Jen, good to see you.

45:25 Speaker 4: We might won't hold you to it.

45:27 Speaker 9: I don't have to wait for over a year the next time to come back.

45:29 Speaker 11: No, that was a crazy circumstance.

45:31 Speaker 4: Yeah, no, that's understandable.

45:34 Speaker 9: But we love to have you. We love to see you, and I know our listeners love you.

45:37 Speaker 11: Hopefully, next month, I'm going to get the I'm gonna get the call and I'm gonna say, guess what, guys, I got green lit. I got green lit.

45:43 Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, we definitely have to have you back and then definitely, and you know, I.

45:46 Speaker 11: Do want to promote New Hampshire in New England. And I mean the whole story takes place there, they go to school, and the backdrop. I made sure that it was like typical New England.

45:55 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, it look it looks like that.

45:58 Speaker 11: And what I watched, yeah, that's kind of what I'm presenting to is a little bit of a New Hampshire Pride, so to speak.

46:04 Speaker 4: Yeah, yep, no, I think that's I think that's awesome. And Gracie Gato, thank you so much, thank you for having me absolutely And if you're listening live on Saturday morning, coming up, coming up in the second hour, we have our friend Isaac Sierra a k A True rhymes a k A truth. I'm never sure what to call him because he has so many different names, but he'll be joining us so sick around plenty more to come.

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