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What do you get when you mix real improvised stories with Howard Stern show staff members playing themselves? You get Show in the Hallway. Every episode is based on real plot lines that actually happen on the radio show. See all new Season 2 episodes this June featuring special guest stars including Beth Stern, Robert Schimmel, Richard Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Robin Quivers and even Howard himself.
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Blog in the Hallway - Episode 3
February 13, 2009 - 2:45pm
Even though the Stern Show hallway is where Show in the Hallway is based, the story actually travels all over New York City. This particular episode was filmed on location at the world famous Caroline’s Comedy Club. As always, we had many scenes to shoot and a limited amount of time to shoot them, but there was another detail that made this shoot’s success even more important: Howard’s wife Beth Stern was scheduled to appear in three scenes.
Beth came in with a great attitude and no ego whatsoever. I suggested she stay in her own private dressing room, yet she declined and waited with all the extras. When on camera, she looked great and did an amazing job. She even got a little payback on Sal for all the jokes he’s made about her in the past, but again, not worth reading, it’s worth seeing.
The shoot at Caroline’s was complicated by a large number of extras. More people mean more mouths to feed and, more often than not, more problems as well. Luckily, the extras on this particular day were great and even though they didn’t get paid, they did a tremendous job. We later found out one extra was a total super fan because when he saw Sal he was star struck. “I can’t believe I’m standing next to THE Sal the Stockbroker”, he said. He was also impressed with Beth to say the least and said “Wow, Beth. That’s probably as close as I’m ever going to come to meeting Howard.”
Another fun scene worth mentioning takes place at Sirius and features actressMia Andersonand the tiny bodyguardRonnie Mund. In the scene, Mia had to act head over heels for Ronnie! Obviously, this proves that Mia is a phenomenal actress.
This was the last episode of season one, but don’t worry, season two is coming soon. I want to thank everyone involved in the project; from the cast, to the crew, to everyone at Howard TV.
See you next season!
Blog in the Hallway - Episode 2
February 13, 2009 - 2:43pm
The second episode centers on the feud between the Stern Show’s loveable nerd JD, and office stud, Jared. Our next celebrity guest appearance was by THE John Stamos. He was filmed just ten minutes before his appearance on Howard’s radio show and I should remind you, this was not scripted. The scene would rely entirely on the improvisational skills of Stamos and Sal after receiving a plot line. It was nerve racking - could Stamos improv? There was no time for a second take because, like I said, Stamos was only minutes away from appearing on air. (Side note: John Stamos is the most confident human being I ever met. Then again, if you take a look at some of the girls he’s been with, you completely understand where that confidence comes from.) Anyway, Stamos understood exactly what we wanted in the scene and we were ready to shoot.
Moral of the story: Stamos can improv. He absolutely nailed the scene on the first try. He riffed back and forth with Sal in a fashion you’d expect from a professional improve comedian. The topics included: Howard, Sal’s wife, John’s balls, and of course Full House,. As you can imagine, the scene turned out to be incredible.
The episode also includes the acting chops of Ronnie the Limo Driver. Ronnie, who should never be confused with John Stamos for acting ability (or for any other reason), generates plenty of laughs as a pint sized, tough guy bodyguard. I could try to tell you how funny it is to watch Ronnie try to rule the Stern Show hallway, but you really need to see it out for yourself.
Blog in the Hallway - Episode 1
February 12, 2009 - 6:26pm
Shooting this pilot posed some unique challenges for our team. The goal was to film our actor as a cab driver taking Sal to a porn shop, but we had no actual cab for him to drive. After much consideration, we decided it was best to simply hail a cab and offer the driver money to let us film -not the wisest tactic.
We hailed a willing cab outside of the Sirius offices in Midtown Manhattan, but of course, no parking! Because there were too many people to fit into one car, co-producer Jason Katz and I followed on foot as we chased the cab all over Manhattan looking for a place to park and film. Just as we thought the shoot would be a total bust our cab driver for hire found the last parking space in Manhattan. Sweating and out of breath, Jason and I finally caught up with Sal and the rest of the crew. Our cabbie stepped out, our actor stepped in, and shooting began. Unfortunately, things proved to get even more tricky.
In the cab scene, comedian Laura Nikifortchuk is knocked to the ground, resulting in a bloody nose. Screaming at the top of her lungs, with fake blood all over her face, Laura was upsetting passers by who had no idea we were filming. One visibly upset woman emphatically urged Laura to sue the cab company. We pulled her aside and explained she had just ruined a great take. In retrospect, I suppose we should have been more surprised by those that walked by without even flinching. A bloodied woman screaming for dear life probably wasn’t the most shocking thing they’d seen that day. This is, after all, New York.
The good news is we finished the scene and it turned out to be hysterical. Comedian Donnell Rawlings (better known as “Ashy Larry” from Chappelle’s Show) heard about Sal’s offensive black voice, the comments about Miss Howard Stern’s mixed race child, and the famous “Hi, this is Sal Governale” apology and signed up to appear in the show as a favor. The behind-the-scenes interaction between the two comedians played out almost exactly like it did later on screen. At some points I suspected Donnell was really upset. It was funny to watch, but pales in comparison to what was actually filmed. He and Sal have a few scenes together that will leave you in stitches.
Photos by Chris Gagliardi.
Bios
Sal governale - Show Creator
Sal Governale, aka “Sal the Stockbroker,” comedy writer for the Howard Stern Show best known for his pranks, song parodies and street interviews takes his talents in a new direction by creating the first ever Sitcom for Howard Stern On Demand Television. "Show In the Hallway" was an idea created by Sal after hearing Howard say "There's always another show going on in my hallways". His concept was to take real members of the show and create fictional stories based on their real life experiences. Sal also performs stand up comedy across the country and you can see his schedule at www.horsetoothjackass.com.
Jason Katz - Writer/Director
Jason Katz began his "career" in this business in 2001 with the hit public access/You Tube sketch comedy TV show: The Fatty Mclards Show. During this time he worked as an editor for a talent agency, a few videography companies, some local radio shows and a number of comedians. He did some short films, and recently with a writer from law and order. During this time he was also a pizza delivery guy. In 2006 he became a full time editor and occasional producer at Howard TV. He is really cool and handsome, and most importantly, he loves peanut butter.
Justin Ciccotelli - Writer/Director
Justin has been working at Howard TV since October 2006 and currently works as a producer/director/writer on Howard TV’s comedy series “Show In The Hallway”. He is a Rhode Island College graduate and focused in Film Studies. Before that, Justin played varsity basketball for East Rockaway High School where he is the 1,245th all time leading scorer with 6 career points.