Conversations with Maria Menounos

Conversations with Maria Menounos is an interview series featuring Maria Menounos. The series is produced by Menounos and Undergaro's Underman/Omegagirl Productions. Long form interviews are available on iTunes, extraTV.com, conversationswithmaria.com, and on all mobile platforms.

Background

Following the success of AfterBuzz TV, Maria Menounos' online broadcast network that produces post-game “wrap-up” shows for TV shows, Menounos and producing partner Keven Undergaro noticed the overwhelming demand for fans to connect with their favorite celebrities. “One of the reasons why AfterBuzz TV has been so successful is because of all the guests that appear on the shows. And the reason they've stated they love coming to the network is because of the fan-friendly environment created there,” Menounos states.

Menounos and Undergaro wanted to expand upon this sentiment by creating a one on one interview series that focuses exclusively on the celebrity subject and their life journeys.

Undergaro states, “I listened to an interview with Dick Cavett on Alec Baldwin's podcast, and in the interview Dick stated that there was a time when the networks needed tapes to record on so they would reuse a lot of his tapes which had interviews with major celebrities of the time. All those great interviews are now lost. Maria and I felt with so many celebrities in today's era, their stories needed to be captured and preserved for decades to come.”

Programming

Episodes of Conversations with Maria Menounos are pre-recorded and then released through the show's website, iTunes and YouTube. Each episode features a guest from any facet of the entertainment industry with a strong following or social influence.

Each interview lasts typically between 45 minutes to an hour and half where host Menounos engages guests to discuss their journeys, passions, inspirations and future ambitions in a relaxed setting.

Additional content for the web series includes behind the scenes moments with Menounos and her guests.

Segments from the episodes are often featured on both Extra and ExtraTV.com.

Reception

The show has received overwhelming positive reviews from fans. Its first episode, featuring Zoe Saldana, became the #1 podcast on iTunes. The episode featuring celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was so popular that it crashed the ConversationsWithMaria.com website.

Infrastructure

Conversations with Maria Menounos is produced by Menounos’ own production company Underman/ Omegagirl Productions along with partner Keven Undergaro and AfterBuzz TV Executive Producer Phil Svitek.

Special guests

Full list of special guests and episodes can be found at ConversationsWithMaria.com

Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana made an appearance on Monday, May 13, 2013. In her appearance, Saldana spoke for the first time candidly about the devastating loss of her father, starting her own family, freezing her eggs and the controversy surrounding her Nina Simone biopic.

Perez Hilton

Perez Hilton made an appearance Tuesday, July 9, 2013 in which he spoke about fatherhood, looking for love, thoughts of suicide, his parent’s trying to “cure” his homosexuality and this generation’s future Hollywood legends. In the interview he reflected on his early career while working for STAR magazine, saying “I became depressed, like severely depressed, and that was the first time I’d ever experienced depression in my life to the point of having suicidal thoughts, daily. Like today I’m going to slit my wrists, today I’m going to jump off my building.”

Barbara Eden

I Dream of Jeannie star Barbara Eden opened up about the notorious on set drama caused by her talented but erratic co-star Larry Hagman, the leading ladies who gave her the cold shoulder from Ann Sothern to Katharine Hepburn to Lauren Bacall and the sexual advances she received from many of her co-stars and Hollywood's leading men, from Elvis Presley, Warren Beatty, Desi Arnaz and others. She spoke openly about her longtime stand in Evie Moriarty (also a stand in for Marilyn Monroe) and what Evie told her about Marilyn's troubles and her last days.

Vin Diesel

Action star Vin Diesel spoke about a wide spectrum of topics during his conversation with Maria, such as the deal that almost prevented him from making "Riddick" and the powerful influence Facebook and social media has had on his career.

Avril Lavigne

In a conversation recorded September 24, 2013, Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne discussed her new self-titled album, her marriage to Chad Kroeger, a potential acting career, her peers and rivals in the music industry, as well as many other topics.

Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe's appearance was recorded on November 1, 2013, and he spoke about his portrayal of presidential icon JFK in National Geographic's "Killing Kennedy", a role in which earned him a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. He also discussed his role of Dr. Jack Startz in "Behind The Candelabra", which landed him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie. Other ventures discussed included Lowe running a movie studio and writing books, as well as him mentioning his desire to portray Elvis.

Connectivity

Website: ConversationsWithMaria.com

Maria Menounos' Twitter: Twitter.com/MariaMenounos

Show Twitter: Twitter.com/ConversationsMM

Facebook Page: Facebook.com/MariaMenounos

References

• http://conversationswithmaria.com/
• http://www.extratv.com/2013/07/16/video-maria-menounos-has-conversations-with-perez-hilton/
• http://www.extratv.com/2013/05/15/maria-menounos-talks-with-zoe-saldana-in-conversations-premiere/
• http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2422131,00.asp
• www.afterbuzztv.com
• www.twitter.com/perezhilton
• www.twitter.com/mariamenounos
• http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/7/prweb10934173.htm