Happy Thanksgiving From the World's Most Unstable Conductor.

Bring your laptop or iPad to the dinner table & make the family laugh today -- just plain freak them out -- with this new version of a Fan Favorite from all of us at Titled Sketch Project:




http://titledsketchproject.com/post/1673010064/americas-most-unstable-conductor-starring-will




See all the TSP videos at http://TitledSketchProject.com, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

--

See Will join the TSP crew LIVE, On Stage, at "Jerk Circus" in Los Angeles this Wednesday, December 2nd: Details at http://www.TitledSketchProject.com/jerkcircus

Promo I Did For The San Francisco Irish Film Festival

Let's put it this way . . . I did not play the dog.

http://sfirishfilm.com/sf-irish-film-festival-promo

Produced & Directed by Niall McKay / MediaFactory TV

"Media Factory is an Emmy-winning production company. Its customers include PBS, RTE (Ireland) and Canal Cl@se (latin america). The company has produced programming..." http://mediafactory.tv/

San Francisco Irish Film Festival from Media Factory on Vimeo.

Interview with Niall McKay about San Francisco Irish Film Fest

Werner Herzog live: The Fate Of A Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

After reading a passage from the book "Conquest For The Useless", Herzog answers a fan's question about the fate of the grilled-cheese sandwich made at the end of his cooking program, "Cooking With Werner":

The Fate of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich from Falsch Herzog on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/15942236

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r90a2H1rxVc

OEDIPUS REBORN: 12 - 13 October 2010

[Edit: final performance of night 2 is now online(!)]

Did I mention this show is FREE?

Tues-Weds., October 12-13
5:00 pm & 7:30 pm

St Mary's College (Soda Center)

1928 Saint Mary's Road

Moraga, CA

Edit: Direct Map to the play's venue, a.k.a. the Soda Center, on St. Mary's College: Direct Map to Soda Center: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=37.840411,-122.107458&geocode=&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=17&sll=37.840275,-122.107522&sspn=0.007685,0.016469&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=17

From St. Mary's / Quixotic Players Press Release:

"The UNDO IT! Playwriting Contest does it again. Jenny Nicholson (SMC ’13) gives new life to Oedipus in a suburban parody that makes us look for the Rex family next door. The King is mean, the plagues are relentless and now he has the Home Owners Association to answer to. In “Oedipus Re-Born,” you will see Jocasta, Teiresias, and the Sphinx trying to reason with a testosterone-driven Oedipus.

The Quixotic Players, directed by Alex Moggridge, perform Jenny’s prize-winning script, combining Sophocles with Desperate Housewives. Bay Area theater artists collaborate to turn tragedy into comedy for us. "

The Onion A.V. Club Review of "Cooking With Werner" At NYTVF

(Note: Seeing this pop up on the web after I got home was so awesome: I can seriously almost retire now... almost.)

[From http://www.avclub.com/articles/new-york-television-festival-day-3-everybody-hates,45515/ ]

Cooking With Werner
Creators/Point of origin/Running time: John Webb, William Maier, and Garth Mueller/Los Angeles/seven minutes
Cast: William Maier, Scott Rodgers, Gian Molina
Program: Comedy
Headline: Finally, a show Scott Tobias will laugh at!
Todd's take: Cooking With Werner has a one-joke premise. Fortunately, it's a very funny joke. In it, acclaimed director Werner Herzog (Maier) decides to host a cooking show, wherein he tries to bring his dish closer to the truths of eternity by finding just the right honey. His special guest? Well, that would be Jim Jarmusch (Rodgers). Cooking With Werner sends Herzog on a quest to Peru to get just the right honey, and while I have no idea how this would be a series (Maier suggests Herzog can and will host several different types of TV shows every week), I like how incredibly, incredibly weird it is. Maier's impression is spot-on, the jokes are all surreal, an advertisement for beer crowds the screen at inopportune moments, and a laugh track punctuates essentially dramatic moments. This is TV made for a very specific audience, but I'm pretty sure I'm in that audience. The only reason I didn't laugh as hard as I did at some other things was because it was so short. (But I'm definitely tuning in for a future episode Maier pitched wherein Klaus Kinski returns from the dead to terrify and host an automotive repair program with Herzog.) Grade: B+
Network this is perfect for: I honestly don't know. It may be too out there even for Adult Swim. I just want someone to pick this up and put it on at 3 in the morning, so everyone up at that point will wonder what the hell is going on.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY REVIEW: San Francisco Bay Times

[ From http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=13701 ]

The Name of the Game is Money

By Flora Lynn Isaacson Published: September 23, 2010

Will Maier and Bonnie Antonini in Other People’s Money. Jerry Sterner’s Other People’s Money, currently playing at the Masquers Playhouse in Richmond, is about greed, money and passion. Corporate raider Lawrence Garfinkle aka “Larry the Liquidator” is always looking for the next big score and puts his sights on New England Wire and Cable, a publicly-traded company run by an old codger, Andrew “Jorgy” Jorgenson who is a major employer in a small Rhode Island town. Trying to stave off the hostile takeover, Jorgy hires his stepdaughter Kate, who is a lawyer. Before long, Larry becomes involved in a complicated game of cat and mouse in which he and Kate each struggle to maintain the upper hand. Jorgy’s right-hand man, Bill Coles decides to betray the company for his own self interest, and Larry also is offered a million dollars by Kate’s mother to call off his bid. An exchange of speeches between Garfinkle and Jorgenson at the company’s shareholders meeting precedes the stockholders’ decisive vote. But as he closes in on taking over New England Wire and Cable, which he intends to shut down operations and sell off in parts, Larry must decide which is more important — money or Kate. Even though it’s dark, it’s a very funny and human play. Most of this comes through director Robert Estes’ staging. The tightness of the timing and the easy blending of drama and comedy are accomplished with craft. Estes pays much attention to the play’s set-up (the misguided management of the venerable New England Wire and Cable company) and the characters. Affection is necessary for this comedy to work. Garfinkle and Kate Sullivan, the lawyer who fights him, are not the nicest people. And the director and actors share the immense job of making audiences like Larry and Kate. The humor is in their hands, as is the unlikely love interest. Will Maier’s calm, measured and calculatedly casual approach to the role of Larry works without a flaw. And Maier’s sense of humor informs Larry’s every move. Equally well cast is Bonnie Antonini as hard-edged Kate, who fights desperately to succeed in a man’s world. And Antonini’s sense of laid-back humor softens the sharpness of a difficult role. Keith Jefferds has a refreshing reserve as the company’s self-effacing CEO, gentleman Andrew Jorgenson. And Jefferds makes logical the long-standing affection between Jorgenson and Kate’s mother, Bea. As Bea, RoyAnne Florence’s matter of fact-ness also anchors a good performance. And Frederick Lein sympathetically plays William Coles, the story’s narrator and manager of the company. Other People’s Money continues (Friday/ Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm) until Oct. 2 at Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets ($18) call (510) 232-4031 or at masquers.org.

NY / Tribeca Screening Is Today for our Finalist Entry in the IFC Independent Pilot Competition @ 2010 New York Television Festival (NYTVF)

Your ticket stub also gets you free Stella Artois at the lounge of the theater following the screening....I was just told!

I'll be there tonight to do the screening and the Q&A afterwards. I leave tomorrow morning back to the West Coast: director John Webb will take over our NY duties from there, including our 2nd screening tomorrow night at 6:30.

Tickets & Info here: tickets still still available!

(http://www.thefestguide.com/nytvf2010/Cooking_With_Werner.html)

(Facebook Event Page)

(NYTVF Website & Facebook)

Hope to see you.

-W.M.

/w.h.

http://www.WernerHerzogEatsTheWorld.com

"Greed, power played on stage. . . " - OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY Review, Accent Advocate of Contra Costa College Scene

A very solid review of the play I'm currently doing in the Bay Area. Closes October 2.

"Actor Will Maier personified the detestable and scheming businessman so perfectly he made the whole audience hate him."

"Though it may not be the typical happy ending theatergoers often wish for, it comes off as refreshing and authentic."

"Greed, power played on stage" - Accent Advocate - Scene

Tickets can be purchased at www.masquers.org. For more information, call 510-232-3888.

Single Ticket Reservations Available Today For NY Television Festival Screening of "Herzog"

See our 7-minute show "Cooking With Werner" in the
Independent Pilot Competition sponsored by the
Independent Film Channel.

http://www.thefestguide.com/nytvf2010/Cooking_With_Werner.html
...
Screening as part of Comedy 8 Block:
1. A Okay
2. Cooking With Werner
3. Octane Pistols of Fury

1st screening: Wednesday, Sep 22, 5:00PM
Tribeca Cinemas Theater 1

2nd screening: Thursday, Sep 23, 6:30PM
Tribeca Cinemas Theater 2

Tickets Free With Service Charge. Reserve Now:
http://www.nytvf.com/2010_boxoffice.htm

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYZHH3D8VMc


If you use Facebook, this event page also has the information.

Tribeca Cinemas Address:

54 Varick Street

New York, NY

Other's People Money opens in Bay Area, Werner Herzog Web Series is Finalist at 2010 New York Television Festival (NYTVF)

Will plays the lead role of Lawrence Garfinkle in the Masquers Playhouse production of Jerry Sterner's "OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY", directed by Robert Estes. Here is the first review sent out, pretty nice piece: Other People's Money at the Masquers Reviewed by Theresa de Valence.

Show runs weekends until October 2. Tickets available through theater's website: http://masquers.org .

Also exciting, The Adventures of Werner Herzog webseries ("Cooking With Werner") is one of 30 finalist for a $25,000 TV development deal with the Independent Film Channel (IFC) at the 2010 New York Television Festival, 20 - 25 Septermber 2010. Will Maier & director John Webb will be there for the screenings & Q & A.

Festival Website:
http://www.nytvf.com/2010_ipc_selections.htm

2010 NYTVF Herzog Trailer for IFC Competion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYZHH3D8VMc

We'll re-post the festival screening information when it's released early next week.

[ link to the show's Facebook]

Screening our IFC Nominated Herzog Short Tomorrow Night In L.A.

Our "Werner Herzog" TV series competes in IFC's NYTV Festival in September: We are screening the latest episode tomorrow Friday, 8/13, 8pm, @ The Strange--4316 Melrose: Art+music by Cotillionaires, Interiors & Yellow Alex; Curated by GhostGhostTeeth (http://ghostghostteeth.com/).

See it before it's won. Details on fest below:

http://www.nytvf.com/2010_ipc_selections.htm

http://www.WernerHerzogEatsTheWorld.com/

Upcoming: A Play & A Sketch Show in the Bay and a Live Music / Art / Film Screening Event in Los Angeles

Happy to say that my schedule for the next 8 weeks is suddenly pretty solidly booked.

Note: The Killing My Lobster sketch show listed below was just postponed until November due to scheduling issues with the theater; the director & cast are meeting soon to refine the sketches--maybe through some improv (exciting since that's most certainly my bag, baby--yes, I just went there), as well as editing, to better suit the novel format that the show is embracing.


AUGUST 6 - 8 [rescheduled for November] 2010
Killing My Lobster's "KML has A.D.D."

"Less is more. Comedy made from concentrate. Twice the show in half the time. It's a night of manic non-stop sketches that won't let you catch your breath." (link)
Directed by: Sang Kim
August 6-8, 2010 (one weekend only)
The Jewish Theatre San Francisco
470 Florida St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 522-0786

AUGUST 13
"Bellows From Freak Island"
Group Art Show with Music + Film Screening
Will Maier hosting, screening latest biZARRO Werner Herzog short film.

The Strange - 4316 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 8pm
A Group Art Show curated by ghostghostteeth.com featuring artwork, music, and film.
Opening reception @ The Strange in Los Angeles , 13 August 2010 Friday 8 pm, 4316 Melrose, Los Angeles, 90029
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/The-Strange/247473900492
...
http://ghostghostteeth.com/2010/06/28/bellows-from-freak-island
http://www.thestrange-la.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=110422552343638&ref=ts


AUGUST 27 - OCTOBER 2
William Maier as Lawrence Garfinkle in Jerry Sterner's "Other People
s Money" at The Masquer's Playhouse in Pt Richmond

(Taken from the American Thater Guide): "Other People's Money (1989), a play by Jerry Sterner. [Minetta Lane Theatre, 990 perf.] Lawrence Garfinkle (Kevin Conway) is a smug, uncouth corporate raider, who has set out to take over the conservatively managed, somewhat decrepit New England Wire and Cable Company. The company's chairman, Andrew Jorgenson (Arch Johnson), determines to resist. But the cunning, persistent Garfinkle slowly wins over many stockholders, and, far more surprisingly, he gains the affection of Kate Sullivan (Mercedes Ruehl), who is not only the daughter of Jorgenson's longtime assistant (Scotty Bloch) but also a sharp Wall Street lawyer brought in to fend off Garfinkle. While this incisively written drama succeeded handsomely Off Broadway, a highly praised road company quickly folded. But the play has met further success in regional theatres. It is virtually the only drama to deal with a major economic problem of the decade. Jerry STERNER (1938–2001) was a Bronx native and college dropout. He spent many years in the real estate business and as a Wall Street broker before abandoning it to work full time at playwriting. His first produced play, Be Happy for Me (1986), was a quick failure. The success of Other People's Money promised further hits, but Sterner's premature death intervened."

A Couple Things I've Been Up To Since Relocating To The East Bay

Hello, loyal readers. Shall I call you Willmaiericans? Okay.

A few things I've been a part of since I've been living in Jack London Square, Oakland, as of April (we're right off the Bay Bridge from San Francisco, in the east part of the Bay Area, known as "East Bay"):

I was introduced to local filmmaker Niall McKay shortly after I arrived. I've already worked with him and fellow documentary filmmaker Marissa Aroy--they are partners in the production company Media Factory-- on 3 of their projects, both behind and in front of the camera.

You can see one of them online now-- the rest are still nearing the end of post-production.

Check out the comedic short video "Secret Diner": I was the production assistant for Niall during the shoot and appear in a cameo at the end. Production was a 1-day shoot, small crew, all around the city. The video premiered during the run of "KML Goes Undercover" and markedmy debut appearance with the Killing My Lobster sketch company. I'll appear onstage with them later this summer in the show currently titled "KML Has A.D.D.".

Also shot a promo for the San Francisco Irish Film Festival which will appear online soon. Check http://sfirishfilm.com for more information.

Lastly, just wrapped an exhibition piece for Bill Nye's Climate Lab, which will be installed and available to the public this fall. Check the science center's website at http://www.chabotspace.org to find out when it opens.

And now I'm off to do something else!

*Very Professional* Online Guitar Instructional Video

I taped this last fall in L.A. for fun: Musician friends might especially appreciate it:

[Photo links to Youtube:]



Description from the blog of CarlKingCreative, who produced the video & debuted it online yesterday:

You know those scenes in movies where they cut to the actor’s hands and he can suddenly shred? More often than not, those are this guy’s hands — and now you can learn directly from the man behind the magic.

Will Maier from The Whatevs is the special guest host / instructor today on this free video excerpt from ShredTips.edu — the world’s first online guitar instructional website for Hand Actors. He appears in his first ever wide-shot and demonstrates a few “conceptual” licks that are unlike anything C.C. DeVille could play (watch out for that killer vibrato intonation) — showing the student how to find his own voice on the guitar and make it his own. You’d think it can’t get any better than that “exotic” scale… but from there, Will launches straight into teaching you How To Play A Song For 30 Seconds.

It was announced last week that Michael Bay flew Will in as a consultant for his upcoming remake of Crossroads, in which Megan Fox teams up with herself to play a pair of renegade, lesbian, train-robbing demolition experts… and in this video, you’ll see why.

Play along, if you can!

Will also played the role of Zac Efron’s hands in the upcoming feature called The Sailor’s Predicament, written and directed by Dan Oster. This talented young artist can be contacted through William Morris.
–

:D

Public Screening Of Sketch Comedy TV Pilot "TSP: Titled Sketch Project" This Weekend in Los Angeles

An independently-produced sketch comedy TV pilot I filmed last year is screening this Saturday, May 22 at 10 PM in Westwood [Los Angeles]. I was part of the ensemble that wrote , directed & acted all parts. My fellow tri-athletes (as well as the guests we invited to direct a sketch here & there) included former MAD TV & current GROUNDLINGS Sunday Company castmembers, as well as alumni of Amsterdam's BOOM CHICAGO. I'm very grateful to have been a part of the group and excited to finally be able to share all the hard work with the public.



Screening information below: this is the last public screening that is scheduled, but we hope to at the very least release the sketches online over the next year.

TSP: Titled Sketch Project
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010
Time: 10:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: The Improv Space
Street: 954 Gayley Ave.
City/Town: Westwood, CA 90024

Watch the trailer online at http://www.TitledSketchProject.com

Facebook Event Invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117852324916821
Show Trailer on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=442554444477&ref=mf

"Cooking With Werner" To Screen At Toronto's WORLD OF COMEDY International Film Festival (March 6, 2010)

“Cooking With Werner”,
- The Werner Herzog cooking show -
Screens Saturday, March 6th
(7:00 pm), in Toronto Canada,
as part of the WORLD OF COMEDY
International Film Festival:

http://www.worldcomedyfilmfest.com/full_schedule.htm#004

(We are very glad to be a part of this festival, however we will be unable to attend due to prior commitments).

To see more of the Werner Herzog series, visit http://wernerherzogeatstheworld.com or see previous entries in this blog tagged "Herzog" or "Cooking With Werner".

-W

New Film In The Werner Herzog Series Currently On Front Page Of FunnyOrDie.com

The 3rd installment of our "Werner Herzog Eats-The-World" short film series, in which I portray the slightly eccentric and perhaps utterly bizarre German film director Werner Herzog (GRIZZLY MAN, ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD), has premiered on the front page of FunnyOrDie.COM.

"Speed Dating With Werner Herzog (And Special Guest, Björk)" was filmed last November in Los Angeles on a small budget, and like its two predecessors concerns the adventures of a fictionalized younger incarnation of the award winning filmmaker, based on events and quotations taken from his real life. We follow Werner once again on a search for epic discovery, this time toinvestigate the current manifestation of man's quest for love". Fitting that the short had it's FOD featured debut on Valentine's Day.

Also available on YOUTUBE as of yesterday.

Thanks go to Josh Simpson and the FunnyOrDie staff, director/co-writer John Webb, producer Garth Mueller, and the entire cast & crew, without whom this film would not have been possible.

Please click on / vote "Funny" if you liked it.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b40462761f/speed-dating-with-werner


http://wernerherzogeatstheworld.com

http://www.sandwichfilms.net

-W.


Additional Note:
An extended cut of the episode is now up at director John Webb's Youtube account. It's about three minutes longer than the version that debuted on FunnyOrDie & shows off more of the excellent improvisational talents of the actors who portrayed Werner's ill-matched speed dating companions, as well as Heather Anne Campbell's inspired take as Bjork--a vivid portrayal that she recreates here, having originally brought it to life quite memorably as a member of the Groundlings Sunday Company. To all the actors who made room in their schedules in order to lend their talents to the film (and on short notice), I owe a considerable amount of gratitude. Their names and those of the whole cast & crew can be found just below the video player on this FunnyOrDie page.