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On The Table Read, the “Best Entertainment Celebrity Magazine in the UK” Dean Connelly, Michael Fraser, and Nathan Tasker from the Final Cut Podcast discuss their inspiration and the production process behind their work.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Dean Connelly, Michael Fraser, and Nathan Tasker about their lives and careers, the work that goes into the Final Cut podcast, and what they hope to achieve.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
Dean: I’m Dean, I live in Nottinghamshire, England and I am the creator of the Final Cut podcast and Final Cut Productions. and I am also the co creator of the Bodyslams And Dropkicks podcast.
Michael: I’m Micheal one of the co hosts of Bodyslams And Dropkicks and Final Cut. I am a huge comic book fan, anime fan, and working on my own comic book with friends. When I’m not podcasting, I’m a full time parent.
Nathan: According to my overlords at DeathPixie, I am a man trapped inside of a penguin’s body. In reality however my name is Nathan. I am a voiceover actor, podcaster, poutine connoisseur, steak sommelier, and taxi cab tipper.
How and why did you start podcasting?
Dean: I actually had a review segment on another series and it was a monthly movie review segment. when lockdown hit we did a movie podcast with myself, Fraser and 4 others. At the time it was called Final Cut, but then we and them went our separate ways and we set off on our own. The formula was 3 co-hosts, however this iteration we have is the second one we had and tbh it just works so well.
As to why, I ask myself that a lot, and the only answer I can ever come up with is this: People deserve to have their voice heard. It doesn’t matter what it is about or who it is about. From any point of view, I never really had that for a long time.
So now I get to voice my views and opinions, and no-one can go to me and says ‘you cant say that,’ because it is my platform and my voice is just as important as the next persons. The day I decided to do this podcast is the day I gave up movie reviewing, which I had struggled with the equivalent of writers block with for months.
Michael: Dean Connelly, who was a part of two other podcasts, approached me one day with an opportunity to join a podcast and it turned out to be lots of fun .
Nathan: Honestly I started because Fraser begged me. B&D and Final Cut recently lost a cohost and I was supposed to be on for a week long trial… then a 4 week long trial… then they changed their logo.
What is your current podcast called, and how did you come up with the name?
Dean: We have 2 actually, the first one the movie one is called Final Cut Presents The Directors Cut podcast. As for the name, I actually was looking at Blade Runner, the Ridley Scott Harrison Ford movie from 1982, and there was 3 editions; the normal cut, the directors cut, and I saw the Final Cut version, and it hit me; that is what my podcast should called. It’s easy and to the point. Bodyslams And Dropkicks, I’ll let mister Fraser explain.
Michael: Bodyslams And Dropkicks used to be Dropkicks And Bodyslams, but we thought it sounded better the other way and wanted something wrestling related sounding.
Nathan: Wow, really depends on the podcast. Right now the podcasts that are currently airing, or just finished had content completed for it, are:
Bodyslams and Dropkicks: I didn’t come up with the name….can definitely tell you it wasn’t Josh Matthews…. but you’ll have to ask Fraser.
Final Cut Presents the Directors Cut Podcast: A magical wizard named Dean came up with the name.
The Clamjammers Podcast: That would be for my overlords at Deathpixie to tell you.
Dr. J’s Self Help: Since Dr. J was a mix of celebrating one of our loves Batman and a lampooning of those self help shows. In the beginning, we decided let’s make the main host a homicidal maniac in an asylum with his social worker continually trying to coerce him into going to group therapy. Dr. J’s self help total accident.
Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Myself and my partners knew we wanted to do a loving homage to Star Wars Franchise by watching all 9 movies to see if its legacy held up. Hence, Star Wars Legacy of the Force.
What platforms can we find your podcast on?
Dean: Everything lol. For example, iTunes, Iheartradio, Spotify, Amazon, Google.
Michael: Itunes, I Heart Radio, Spotify, Amazon, Google Podcasts, Deezer, Castbox and Podcast Addicts.
Nathan: Spotify, Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Amazon Music, Google, just about everywhere really.
What is your podcast about?
Dean: Final Cut is primarily about movies, but every once in a while we have a gaming special. The 3 of us are gamers so it felt right to introduce a bit of variety into the podcast. Bodyslams And Dropkicks is about pro wrestling WWE, AEW, Impact to name but a few.
Michael: A wrestling podcast for fans, by fans, where we talk about what we love in wrestling, what we think could be better, and what we don’t like, on top of interviews.
Nathan: Final Cut Presents the Directors Cut Podcast: News or interviews about gaming, comics, MCU/DCU and anything geek shiq.
B&D: Wrestling, making Fraser question every facet of his life.
Dr.J’s self help: See Above.
Star Wars Legacy of the Force: We go through the 9 star wars movies and critique or praise a bunch of elements, trying to answer the question do they hold up, if we can stomach them etc… don’t watch Rise of Skywalker.
Do you host your podcast alone, or have guest hosts/partners?
Dean: There’s 3 of us. There is me, ‘The Visionary’, Nathan is the voiceover artist who I have lovingly given the nickname of ‘a discount Mark Hamill’ because he can do Mark Hamill’s joker voice from the Batman animated series of the 1990s, and Michael Fraser, I call ‘a poor mans Adam Driver’ cause he looks like Adam Driver.
Michael: We are a 3 person hosting team myself Micheal, Dean Connelly and Nathan Tasker
Nathan: Depends on the podcast. For B&D and Final Cut I host with Dean and Fraser, where often times we’ll have guests from the world of Movies, TV, directors, talent agents, actresses turned best selling authors etc. For Dr J’s Final Cut, I cohost with Deathpixie’s Myry, and between the two of us we’ll bring in guest hosts that fit the mold of the characters.
Do you edit your podcast yourself or have someone who does it for you?
Dean: We have a producer called Mel, she does all our behind the scenes stuff. She’s the one actually responsible for making this podcast happen so she deserves more credit then us. The amount of time she spends sorting everything out, we don’t know what we’d do if we didn’t have her.
Michael: We have an amazing producer who has brought magic to this podcast.
Nathan: Depends on the podcast, as I hate editing.
Final Cut and B&D is done by our wonderful producer Mel. We love Mel, you should also love Mel, if you don’t then we can’t be friends. Star Wars Legacy of the Force is done by Myry of Deathpixie, hosted by Final Cut Productions and Deathpixie productions, because crosspromotion is fun.
Dr. J’s self help is done by myself and Deathpixie Productions. Note; if your voice sounds off you will hear it in the editing process and it will drive you insane.
Do you script your podcast, or just chat as you go?
Dean: We just chat as we go. I feel it is more natural and its what we do so well, we just bounce off each other which you cant do with a script.
Michael: We chat as we go, making it feel like a natural discussion between friends with jokes and grilling each other.
Nathan: B&D and F/C is mainly just a chat as you go based on news or topics. In the case of B&D, the news is often 12 hours long… at least that’s how it feels when I inevitably sleep through all the Kenny Omega BS.
Dr. J and Star Wars Legacy of the Force are semi-scripted. We have a skeleton story, or skeleton categories; messages, pre podcast, about the beats we’re going to hit, but they’re largely improv.
How has your podcast changed or developed since you began?
Dean: I cant speak for Nathan or Fraser, but for me, compared to when it started, this iteration is more comedic, more settled, more organised and it just feels more fun. My very first podcast, I was so nervous you could hear the nerves in my voice much like you can do a singer.
Now though, whereas I still get nervous for an interview, I don’t get that for podcasts. We know each other and we know we can have a good time, which is what I try to make Final Cut feel like; a place where you don’t get judged and you can just relax.
I do the news, but instead of quoting articles I’ll just screenshot something and put it in the news. The news isn’t as long as it used to be because of that change. Interviews wise, I do a quiz, but I like to make the quiz to make it more of a challenge, but not to the point where the guest doesn’t like it.
We are in the process of doing WWE 2k22 my gm series, which we never did before. I myself am waiting for f1 manager before I do a YouTube style my manager series, which when we eventually get a date cause F1 and Frontier games who designed it are not giving us a concrete date, but I know it’ll be summer 22. I’ll be pre ordering.
We’re thinking about going onto YouTube with our podcast too, but nothing concrete yet.
Michael: We have taken off pretty quickly, our pal Nathan with his amazing impressions and humour has really brought a lot of fun .
Nathan: All Podcasts change and develop, as all podcasts should, but what’s interesting is my role in B&D/FC has not; attempt to derail the podcast however possible for my own selfish, selfish amusement.
For Dr J’s Self Help, it was interesting to start to embed a narrative in there as we found some rotating actors who loved what we did and wanted to be a part of it on a more semi permanent basis. We had fun with these actors so we embedded them in.
For Star Wars Legacy of the Force, we listened to Phantom Menace back and we felt the need to tweak the format.
What are your biggest challenges with your podcast?
Dean: My biggest challenges… the things I worry about the most is making sure my podcast doesn’t sound repetitive, and trying to keep it as fresh as we can, while making sure the humour we have doesn’t make it sound a bit too much. The main challenge for me is not to lose it when Nathan does his voiceover characters, which not gonna lie, I do a lot lol.
Michael: Getting carried away with the laughs and fun.
Nathan: Be funny. I figure if I can get Dean, Myry or Fraser to break at least once, at least one other person will be laughing as well. As a podcaster your audience is job 1, sewing discourse and having fun is job 2.
What are your favourite podcasts to listen to?
Dean: I listen to a variety, I don’t have a favourite. If anyone has any ideas about podcasts to listen to, I’m always open to suggestions.
Michael: Critical Role, Fatman Beyond, Mister Creepypasta, the No Sleep Podcast.
Nathan: Right now it’s Batman Unburied, in the same vain as Dr. J except professionally done and licensed by the WB, focusing on Bruce Wayne? Beautiful. Talk Is Jericho is always fun, and in the same vain the Grilling with J.R. Podcast, to look into some of the greatest minds in the wrestling business.
How and where do you promote your podcast?
Dean: Facebook and Instagram mostly. We’re now only getting into TikTok. can you tell we’re old? lol.
Michael: Twitter, Facebook.
Nathan: Thankfully I don’t do aalot of promotion, but when I do it focuses on Instagram and Facebook. I know Mel, Dean and Fraser focus on many different avenues to promote the podcast. Mel especially goes ballistic in our promotion… as I’ve said before. DO NOT bash Mel.
Do you earn money from podcasting, or is it a hobby?
Dean: We don’t earn money yet, but it’s gone from being something we do for the hell of it to something we’re passionate about and would one day like to do for a living. We’re hoping on that day, or maybe even 1 more day Elon Musk buys us lol.
Michael: Hobby. I think the passion is rewarding enough spending time with friends.
Nathan: Hey, I’d always be open to be making money from podcasts. I love doing it. Making money and having fun would be a dream. As of right now, it’s all a hobby that I get to do with my friends and family.
What’s something you never expected about podcasting? What have you learned that surprised you?
Dean: A lot of people seem to have a rash view about someone who is in the entertainment world, but aside from 1 person who I wont name, every person I, Nathan and Michael have interviewed have been wholesome, down to earth and just glad that they have a platform to promote their work or the film they’re promoting.
We all have a list of all the people we want to interview. I have interviewed Bill Sadler (Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey) and Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black.) They were on my dream list and I remember Bill just regailed me with tales from his career. I was also surprised a trip down memory lane from a Bill Sadler or Mackenzie Grey would keep you hooked longer then some tv series.
I never expected to enjoy it, love it as much as I have, and the smile on my face from podcasting just keeps getting bigger and bigger by the interview.
Michael: The amount of freedom you have and the positive experiences the creative people you meet.
Nathan: How many of my childhood dreams could be fulfilled by doing it. To, in some small part, be associated with Power Rangers, Impact Wrestling, the Batman Franchise, etc, is absolutely insane.
Anything can be done with hard work and dedication, or in my case being in the right place at the right time.
What is the first piece of advice you would give to anyone inspired to start podcasting?
Dean: I know it says 1 piece, but I have a few lol.
Don’t expect your podcast to be big overnight; it takes time to create a winning formula. As long as you have an audience, you have a reason to carry on podcasting. F**K what other people think, if you enjoy making your podcast as I do, that is all that matters.
Be respectful to your guests, your co-hosts and your audience. Don’t go for personal questions, a lot of people don’t like it, so just avoid asking them. If you have co-hosts, make sure the chemistry is there or it’ll fall flat. Every guest is a blessing, don’t take them for granted.
The 2 biggest pieces of advice would be this.
1. Whatever podcast you decide to do, your podcasts reputation will be the hear all, end all. You have a good reputation, you’ll go far. You have a bad reputation, you’ll go nowhere.
2. Have fun
Michael: Just go for it. You will have a lot of fun, especially with the right people.
Nathan: The first piece of advice is simple… Do you have something you’re passionate about? If so, do some research, find some friends, and take a jump into the deep end. You’ll never know what happens ’til you try.
And, finally, are your proud of what you’re accomplishing with your podcast
Dean: I couldn’t be more proud of my podcast, my co hosts and our producer. If someone said to me in 30 years, what is the one thing you’re proud of more then anything?, it would be the Directors Cut Podcast.
Michael: Yes. I honestly couldn’t be happier with how the podcast is doing. The people we have gotten to interview and time together with friends has been amazing.
Nathan: I don’t consider what I do with podcasting as accomplishing something. I prefer to look at it as “Do I still have fun doing this week to week?” And in that sense yes I can say it’s worth my time and effort, because I get to do this stuff with close personal friends/family and Fraser.
I’ve done stuff I could’ve only dreamt of doing 3-4 years ago, and in that sense you could say I’m proud of what I’m accomplishing. However, at the end of the day for me this is just plain fun.
Pop all your work, website, and social media links here so the readers can find you:
https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/c54b29b5-3137-4a8d-835a-f2a90e171202/finalcutpodcasts’s-show
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finalcutpodcastss-show/id14777
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-finalcutpodcastss-show-49215141/https://instagram.com/finalcutofficial?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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