The Staffa Corner
Greg Staffa created The Staffa Corner Podcast to provide listeners with a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life. Focusing on honest conversation, Staffa’s podcast is an appreciation of those he finds interesting in and out of television and film.The journey taken by Staffa in the industry started more than 8 years ago writing for Your Entertainment Corner. Motivated by the desire to become more knowledgeable in his field, he leveraged his learned and acquired knowledge and skills and earned himself the opportunity to interview celebrities such as Pierce Brosnan, Ethan Hawke, Martin Freeman and Seth Rogan among others. Setting up his own in home studio, Staffa is branching out into podcasting while continuing to write for YEC. An unsung hero recognized by The St. Cloud Times in 2013, and a Staffatarian to the core, Staffa spent several months in 2010 on a 48-state road trip transforming the perception of homelessness. During this time, he handed out over 1,000 pairs of socks and hundreds of cups of coffee to the homeless, before he finally settling down in St Cloud Minnesota. By July 2020 Staffa’s journey came full circle having bought a home. To his credit, he still finds time to help others. Staffa is able to build and maintain incredible working relationships, an attribute that has contributed greatly to his success. Consequently, actors, writers and directors among other TV/film stars are always open to guest. He has covered red carpet premieres for films like Stuber and Booksmart among other star studded TV premieres.
The Staffa Corner
A Conversation with Writer/Director Marti King Young
In this episode of The Staffa Corner Podcast, I spoke with Marti King Young. Marti is an award-winning writer, producer, and director. She has directed shorts, including Stolen and the upcoming western White Talon City about a female gunslinger who frees abused women. Marti’s screenwriting credits include the shorts Bound and Bagged, Draw, So Far Gone, and more.
With the release of the Wonder Woman sequel the discussion of pay for female versus male directors in this episode of The Staffa Corner seems timely. It’s interesting listening to Marti share her opinion of why you see so many female directors of indy films at film festivals but not so many when it comes to big-budget studio films.
I love hearing stories about things that happen on the set of shows I love. I especially got a kick when listening to her tell the story about Jason Ritter and India de Beaufort’s encounter with an unexpected guest on the set of Kevin (Probably) Saves the World. On a side note, I believe the short lived series should have gotten more love than it did. Ritter gave an amazing performance tailor made to showcase his comedic talents.
As enjoyable as these stories are, they pale in comparison to the passion Marti has when it comes to directing The Adventures of Wonderboy. The pride in her voice as she talks about bringing her autistic son’s creation to life is inspiring to hear. While Hollywood focuses on awards and dollar signs, Wonderboy is at the heart of filmmaking. It’s stories like these that inspire others to pick up a camera or notebook and tell stories.
Having followed Marti for over two years on social media, one of the things I’ve admired is how she props up the people around her and brings out the best of them. She’s always looking to help make other writers better. In such a cutthroat industry it’s refreshing to see people be civil and encourage others to succeed. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for such a talented person.