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The Hollywood Chai
by The Hollywood Chai
Ahlan wa sahlan and welcome to the Hollywood Chai! A podcast that spills the real chai on Hollywood with interviews with artists and storytellers on their craft and their individual and independent ways of breaking into Hollywood, some heavily researched educational episodes on Hollywood-related topics & groundbreaking pioneers and your occasional pop cultural zeitgeist episodes about what’s hot in the industry both on and off screen. A production of Bougie Arabs Entertainment.
Episodes
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Arabish, Englic or Englabic: Bilinguality in Music with Zaina Berri
For today’s episode, I have a very special guest and our first singer-songwriter on the podcast, my musically talented friend, ZAINA BERRI. Zaina is a Lebanese-American artist, raised by a single, first-generation immigrant Lebanese mother, has been writing songs since she was nine years old. It...
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Oscars Breakdown on the 2022 Front (Oscar Special - Pt 2)
As promised, we are finally delivering our Part 2 Oscar Special – Oscars Breakdown on the 2022 Front. Yes a pun for a film that was nominated heavily and sweeped some of the technical categories and name dropped quite a bit in today’s episode. We bring back ELIA NINO, aka the Hollywood Chai’s…
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Breaking the Hollywood Stereotypes with Dina Najjar
Another week, another special guest! The wonderfully talented DINA NAJJAR joins us to talk about Breaking Hollywood Stereotypes of Arab and Middle Eastern characters and stories. Dina is a first generation Palestinian-Jordanian award-winning actor and filmmaker whose mission is to bring diversity...
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Ye Plays & Ye Off-Broadway Debut with Steven Conroy
Just in time for this week's Tony Award nominations announcement, we have a very special guest, the iconic STEVEN CONROY. He is an award-winning Brooklyn-based actor, writer and producer. He portrayed Elias Appleby in a recurring guest star role on the third season of AMC’s TURN: Washington’s...
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The JOYs of Short Filmmaking with Salim Laham
Continuing with Arab-American Heritage Month, we have another special Arab guest today. Today's special guest is SALIM LAHAM, a filmmaker andmusician from Lebanon that calls Dearborn home now. A storyteller by his own right, he fell in love with movies from a young age when his father used to…
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Every Oscar Everywhere All at Once with Elia Nino (Oscar Special - Pt 1)
We're breaking from our interview episodes for Arab American Heritage Month and bringing you a special conversation with none other than the Arab Godfather of Cinema, writer-director ELIA NINO, about all things Oscars and the 95th Academy Awards. In part one of this talk, we discuss everything…
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The Wormhole(s) of Hollywood with Gamal ElSawah
Continuing with Arab-American Heritage Month, we have another special Arab guest today. Today's special guest is GAMAL ELSAWAH, a queer Arab-American writer, actor, and comedian, born and based in New York City. He is the co-founder of Showdogs, a New York based independent film and theatre...
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MENASA Artists Breaking Hollywood with Walid Chaya
We are back with Season 3! A new look, new sound, new style! All in the name of Independent Artists Breaking Hollywood in their own right! Today's special guest is WALID CHAYA, a Middle Eastern actor, director and writer based in Los Angeles. He is known for his breakout film “Driving Ms. Saudi”...
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The Hollywood Chai - New Season Trailer
Ahlan wa sahlan and welcome to the Hollywood Chai! A podcast that spills the real chai on Hollywood with interviews with artists and storytellers on their craft and their individual and independent ways of breaking into Hollywood, some heavily researched educational episodes on Hollywood-related...
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133 | The Script Doctors Special Preview Episode
On this week’s episode, we give you a special preview episode of the new screenwriting podcast, The Script Doctors! It is a co-production between JAKKAWI Studios and Cooper Home Entertainment and is co-hosted, co-edited and co-created by myself and by one of my closest and best friends, Jonathan...
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132 | The 2022 AFF Hollywood Chai Roundtable
On this week’s episode we have our very first Hollywood Chai Roundtable with the topic of the 2022 Austin Film Festival and Writer’s Conference that just took place a few weeks ago. Joining me on this episode are previous Chai Spillers, Melissa Graves, who you may remember from Season 1’s epic...
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131 | The Art of Acting with Isaac Ramsey
We are doing things differently this week and taking a look at the industry from an Actor's Perspective. And for that, I’ve brought on a very special friend of mine to talk about the art of acting – Isaac Ramsey! Born in Southern California, he hails from the Mojave Desert. He developed a love…
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130 | The Evolution of Horror with Elia Nino
This week, we are celebrating Halloween with a Horror-filled Chai Spill! To help us, we have my cousin, the Godfather of Cinema in our Family and horror film aficionado, Elia Nino. Elia is an Arab-American screenwriter, director and a graduate of the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting and...
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129 | Gaming in Hollywood with Leyla Lacombe
This week, we are back after a lengthy mid-season hiatus with a special guest. We are blessed to have the iconic, the hilarious, my bestie from another testie, Leyla Lacombe. Leyla is a French Tunisian multi-hyphenate: an actress, streamer, content creator, podcaster and associate producer for...
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128 | A Star Wars Special with Dr. Nicholas Akkawi
FAIR WARNING: This episode is another nerdy one...because we invited on, none other than cinephile and Doctor of Film and now Chemistry himself, Dr. Nicholas Akkawi, for another genre masterclass of sorts but this time about a niche in the sci-fi genre that is the Star Wars Universe. In this...
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127 | Essential Tips & Advice for Artists & Storytellers
It's a GREATEST HITS Episode!!! We've had such amazing guests on that we wanted to curate some of the advice and tips that they've given us and package them for you in a mini-episode! Enjoy! 1:49 - Tara Abboud: A Conversation with "Amira" Star (Ep 117) 2:46 - Rana Sobh: An Arab-American Girl,...
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126 | The Art of Self-Producing with Amanda Dieli
I am joined this week by a special friend of mine, the Queen herself, Amanda Dieli. Amanda is an award-winning Brooklyn-based actor, writer, and comedian. She holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Southern California, and a Graduate Certification in Television Writing from the University…
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125 | Screenwriting& The "T-Word" with Diana Abousaleh
I am joined this week by a special friend of mine, the iconic Diana Abousaleh. Diana is a Syrian-Venezuelan independent writer/filmmaker, mental health advocate, and educator based in Texas. She insists that writing is a journey, and not a destination. That being said, she loves to encourage...
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124 | What Hollywood Dreams Are Made Of with Sabine Kahwaji
I am joined this week by a special friend of mine, the iconic Sabine Kahwaji. Sabine is a Lebanese Canadian director, writer and music videographer. Her narrative-focused directorial style has led her to work actively in the music industry with prominent labels and artists with a combined total…
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123 | An Arab-American Girl, UN-Interrupted with Rana Sobh
This week we have another very special and unique guest. I am joined this week by a special friend of mine, the iconic Rana Sobh. Rana is an Arab American actress and model. Her passion for storytelling, interest in psychology and understanding emotion and motivation is heavily influenced by the...
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122 | How to Succeed in Hollywood By Being Independent with Stephenie Cooper
We have another very special and unique guest this week that harkens back to our mission statement of having special guests on that are trying to break their own way into the industry. I am joined this week by an icon of a woman, and soon-to-be momager, the amazing Stephenie Cooper. Stephenie has...
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121 | Mini-Ep - Jon Akkawi Featured on "Catalyst: A Creative Industries Podcast"
We’ve been busy with some professional projects and some personal matters that have forced to take a mini-hiatus at the start of this season, but we promise we’ll be back very soon with feature-length episodes and amazing special guests. But for now, we bring you our very first mini episode! This...
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120 | Coping with Screenwriting with Jon Cooper
Going back to our mission statement of having special guests on that are trying to break their own way into the industry, we have a very special and unique guest who is forging his own path that we are lucky to be apart of. I am joined this week by a very good friend of mine, my co-worker and…
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119 | The Sundance Special with Nicole Nino
It's January, so you know what that means! The Sundance Film Festival is upon us! Over the past four years, I’ve been attending the prestigious film festival in an effort to network, review and support independent and marginalized voices in Hollywood. And for this chai-spilling episode, we've...
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118 | MCU Phase 4: Superhero Fatigue or Not? with Dr. Nicholas Akkawi
FAIR WARNING: This episode is probably as nerdy as it will get...because we invited on, none other than cinephile and Doctor of film himself, Dr. Nicholas Akkawi, for another genre masterclass of sorts but this time about a niche in the superhero genre that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In…
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117 | A Conversation with "Amira" Star Tara Abboud
Going back to our mission statement of amplifying the many talented artists and voices of MENA/SWANA/Arab descent, we are so excited to have today’s special guest on the podcast, the wonderfully talented and amazing emerging actress, Tara Abboud. Tara has been acting ever since she was young and...
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116 | The Phenomenon of Squid Game with Liane Young
Do you hear that? Oh shoot, we just got placed in game one of SQUID GAME! Good luck! Oh, phew, we're glad to hear you survived the Red Light, Green Light game and so sad to see half the audience die. Okay, so clearly, we cannot emulate the thrill ride that has become Netflix’s biggest hit in its...
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115 | DUNE: Through the lens of Arab-Americans with Desirae Bitar
Dune. The classic sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert that has spawned an entire multi-media franchise and is considered to be one of the most iconic sci-fi tales to ever exist. But with the most recent adaptation by Warner Bros. (starring Timothée Chalamet in the lead role), there have been multiple...
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114 | The Hollywood Chai Halloween Special with Andriana Malhi
It's the spookiest time of year! And The Hollywood Chai is coming to you with a special Halloween episode! If you're any sort of cinephile or TVphile, then you know that Hollywood does not mess around when it comes to Halloween and Spooky season. We have a whole genre dedicated to spooky season…
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113 | TV Specs Galore, Part Two with Melissa Graves
Continuing on from last week's TV Spec Writing episode in which my special guest and I discussed the theory and practical uses of TV Specs and why they're important, this week we will focus on how one writes a TV Spec and goes about deciding and crafting a plot that has never been done by the…
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112 | TV Specs Galore, Part One with Melissa Graves
One of the greatest mysteries and elements of Hollywood Writers is the Mythology of Specs. Yes, you read that right...mythology! Some people have different ideas on the significance of TV spec writing while others are creatively against it. But to us, it's one of the most important types of…
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111 | A Declassified LA Survival Guide with Ryan Day
The first step in pursuing a career in the Entertainment Industry is to move to LA...right? Well, listen up, because on today's episode, I invited a guest that moved down to LA to pursue his dreams of being an actor to talk about his time and his discoveries on the classic tale of "LA Dream...
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110 | Genre Masterclass Part One: The Psyche of Film with Nick Akkawi (Thriller)
Genres are one of the most important elements of storytelling! A film genre is defined as the stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Screenwriter and scholar Eric R....
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109 | A Dummies Guide to Film School with Perla Nino
Ah the time old question of, should I go to film school? Or should I not waste my money? If you're a junior or senior in High School who loves film or acting, I know you've asked yourself that question. And with the emergence of many filmmakers and artists that don't necessarily study film in...
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108 | 10 Things We Hate About the Emmys with Lexie Albuquerque, Part Two
Our favorite time of year is here! Television Awards Season! With the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmys just around the corner (September 19th), Jon takes it upon himself to watch EVERY nominated show no matter the category it's nominated in...whether a Primetime Category (like Acting, Directing…
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107 | 10 Things We Hate About the Emmys with Lexie Albuquerque, Part One
Our favorite time of year is here! Television Awards Season! With the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmys just around the corner (September 19th), Jon takes it upon himself to watch EVERY nominated show no matter the category it's nominated in...whether a Primetime Category (like Acting, Directing…
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106 | Diversity in Hollywood
Diversity is an issue that Hollywood still doesn't seem to have a handle on. Every year, more and more stories and films and television programs get made with more diverse stories yet they are helmed or created by people that are not representative of those diverse stories. With each passing day,...
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105 | The 3B Syndrome (featuring the work of Mera Nino)
Hollywood (and Western media) has a consistent record of Arab stereotyping and bashing. Some film academics, particularly of Arab descent (i.e., Laila Lalami & Dr. Jack Shaheen, whose work will be mentioned in this post), call this the “3 B Syndrome” which is frequently used to describe Arabs in...
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104 | The 3 F's of Hollywood: Film, Feminism, & Festivals with Desirae Bitar, Part Two
There are three prominent elements of Hollywood that happen to begin with the letter F. The first is FILM...I mean that is Hollywood's backbone and main export besides movie stars. The second is FEMINISM...in the 21st century and the emergence of the #MeToo and #TimesUp Movements, studios, casts...
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103 | The 3 F's of Hollywood: Film, Feminism, & Festivals with Desirae Bitar, Part One
There are three prominent elements of Hollywood that happen to begin with the letter F. The first is FILM...I mean that is Hollywood's backbone and main export besides movie stars. The second is FEMINISM...in the 21st century and the emergence of the #MeToo and #TimesUp Movements, studios, casts...
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102 | Arabs Break Hollywood with Sabine Kahwaji, Part Two
Join up-and-coming artist, Jon Akkawi, who has worked on various projects over the course of his burgeoning entertainment career from feature length scripts to TV pilots and episodic web series and TV Bible consulting and all the work in between in making sure that Arabs, Middle Easterners and...
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101 | Arabs Break Hollywood with Sabine Kahwaji, Part One
Welcome to The Hollywood Chai! Join up-and-coming artist, Jon Akkawi, who has worked on various projects over the course of his burgeoning entertainment career from feature length scripts to TV pilots and episodic web series and TV Bible consulting and all the work in between in making sure that...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Ahlan wa sahlan and welcome to the Hollywood Chai! A podcast that spills the real chai on Hollywood with interviews with artists and storytellers on their craft and their individual and independent ways of breaking into Hollywood, some heavily researched educational episodes on Hollywood-related topics & groundbreaking pioneers and your occasional pop cultural zeitgeist episodes about what’s hot in the industry both on and off screen. A production of Bougie Arabs Entertainment.
HOSTED BY
The Hollywood Chai
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Hollywood Chai have?
The Hollywood Chai currently has 42 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Hollywood Chai about?
Ahlan wa sahlan and welcome to the Hollywood Chai! A podcast that spills the real chai on Hollywood with interviews with artists and storytellers on their craft and their individual and independent ways of breaking into Hollywood, some heavily researched educational episodes on Hollywood-related...
How often does The Hollywood Chai release new episodes?
The Hollywood Chai has 42 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Hollywood Chai?
You can listen to The Hollywood Chai on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Hollywood Chai?
The Hollywood Chai is created and hosted by The Hollywood Chai.
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