Episode 2 — “The Cutting Room, Part 1”

The Straight Dope

Willie Topaz and Maury Stillman plunge from pulp fantasy to real danger: A midnight summons to the Louis B. Mayer estate introduces the ice-cold power broker Lady Lazarus. Her message is simple—and terrifying: deliver a mysterious package and make room for a “family” favorite in the Brock Gatling film… or else.

What follows is a chaos sprint through Hollywood’s underbelly: a flaming toupee, a covert late-night raid on the studio for an emergency makeover (hello, mullet), a drunk director who sobers up the second he hears “Lazarus,” and Willie’s beloved Trans Am getting towed at the worst possible moment. As the clock barrels toward a midnight deadline, the stakes sharpen, loyalties wobble, and the cutting room isn’t just for film anymore.

The Bill

Starring:

• Terry Briscoe as Willie Topaz (Brock Gatling)
• Jim Fronk as Maury Stillman
• Rebecca Lee as Lady Lazarus
• Damon Alums as Rhythm Mercy (Narrator)
• Diamandi Devereaux as Lyric Dorsey
• Leslie Grant as Abellonia Suni
• Brendan Wreay as Trenton Drake
• Mitch Leschinski as Audio Engineer
• Mike Pelletier as Kiff Maxon

Also Starring:

• Mike Cunningham as Announcer/Lickety Split Employee
• Shaun Scott as Bulky Guard
• Katie Jostock as Club Ellipses Employee
• Larry Oblander as Gerard

The Company

• Executive Producers: Terry Briscoe & Jim Fronk
• Associate Producer: Andy Parkin

The Theme

"The Willie Strut" performed by Possum Bobby

• Producers: Robert Lloyd, John Pennington, Bob Harvey
• Composer/All Guitars, Bass Guitar: Robert Lloyd
• Drums: Marcus Graham
• Post Production, Keyboards: John Pennington
• Recorded and Mixed at Fahrenheit Studio by Bob Harvey and John J.P. Pennington

The Hub

• https://www.patreon.com/c/ShoestringTV
• https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shoestringtv/topaz-and-stillman-an-80s-adventure-podcast
• https://youtube.com/@shoestringtv7048?si=js5A-O

Maury jolts awake with a wild vision of the future — one involving millions of listeners, Patreon, and a mysterious bald puppet master named Jason Beard. Willie’s not buying it, until Maury drops the kicker: a Kickstarter campaign for Topaz & Stillman: An 80s Adventure. It’s weird, funny, and maybe… just a little too real.

Written, edited and directed by Jason Beard