New Moon Talk on Behind the Mike
Listen in to a discussion with Chris McElvogue of TWILIGHTERS.org (and some very excited fans) following the world premiere of the movie.

Gil Birmingham Interview of Neyom Friday
Interviewed on Neyom Friday, the actor who plays Billy Black—whose son is werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner)—offers his take on why Twilight is so captivating and addictive to audiences the world over.

New Moon on Film Festival Radio
Actor Michael Welch shares his views on The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

March 2009 Interview with Twilight Star Taylor Lautner
Taylor dropped by Stardish Radio to talk about Twilight and the just released New Moon.

There is sure to be a lot of great coverage in the weeks to come, so stay tuned. And if see The Twilight Saga: New Moon, we would love to know what you think. Leave us a comment below, or better yet, maybe you could start your own online radio show to talk about it.

And determination is what led her to direct her first feature film,  Serious Moonlight, starring Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton.  In an interview this week with Jamey and Jerry of Movie Geeks United, Cheryl spoke about her first-time experience behind the camera.

Asked what she learned from the experience, Cheryl said she “learned that [she's] tough on the inside…tougher than [she] thought [she] was,” adding that Seinfeld co-writer and frequent Curb director Larry Charles “was a spiritual guide” for her during the learning process.

Jamey of Movie Geeks couldn’t help but gush over his love for Curb, dubbing the show “the funniest show ever on TV” and asking Cheryl whether she watches it on Sunday nights like the rest of us.  Her answer might surprise you:

“I do watch it every Sunday night…I could get copies ahead of time, but I don’t. I like to watch it with my friends…because the show is improvised, I have a story outline, but its only…6 to 7 pages long.  I don’t know exactly what they’ve shot, and I don’t know until I watch the show.  I have such a good time watching Larry on Sunday nights, I’m telling you. It’s surreal…I’ll be watching it, then I come on the screen and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that’s right, I’m in the show!’”

Check out Cheryl’s directorial debut, Serious Moonlight.

Listen to the complete interview with Cheryl Hines here.

In our continuing effort to spotlight more members of the BlogTalkRadio community, we will be posting more frequent interviews with hosts along with tips and techniques from members of our community and the BTR Team.  We look forward to communicating more with our community in the days to come.

In each edition of our Host E-newsletter, I spotlight a BlogTalkRadio “Host of the Month” and interview this host on my show “In the Limelight.”  This month, we spotlight Alfred McComber, host of the “Code Red! Radio Show.”  Code Red! features in-depth, top quality interviews with the most knowledgeable and experienced high level government officials from homeland security, law enforcement, fire & rescue, and emergency preparedness as well as private sector safety and security professionals.

Alfred has hosted Code Red! since September 2004.  Before joining theBlogTalkRadio Host community in 2008, Code Red! was available on Fox News Radio’s local affiliate station in Washington, DC as well as on Federal News Radio in the nation’s capital.  I had a great conversation with Alfred and enjoyed learning more about his show and the unique perspective and extensive experience he brings to the BlogTalkRadio platform.  Since 1983, Alfred has been heavily involved in law enforcement, high-level dignitary protection, search & rescue and emergency preparedness response operations.  Past featured guests of the Code Red! radio show have included W. Craig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Dennis Rubin, Fire Chief of the Washington,DC Fire & EMS Department and coming up this week, Judge Glenda Hatchett from the syndicated television show series, “Judge Hatchett.”

Click here to listen to my interview with Alfred to learn how he started with BlogTalkRadio, how he prepares for and markets his shows, and why Alfred believes that preparation is so important for your show’s success.

You can also listen to the interview here:

In this hyper-connected world we live in, we increasingly turn online to do research and make decisions on products and services. With the advent of social media, the online search has gone well beyond just searching and finding product listings on a company’s website. We can now read what other people think about products in a wide range of online forums and easily reach out to our networks with tools like Twitter or Facebook to get suggestions. Positive (and negative) feedback now spreads much more quickly. And according to Qualman, the influence of an individual’s social graph is continuing to grow in importance with the release of services such Google Wave, Google Sidewiki and others.

That is why it is so important for businesses of any size to understand and leverage social media as they build relationships with their customers and prospects. In Coach Tim’s show, Qualman referenced that businesses are having to shift their sales and marketing strategies and take a more Dale Carnegie-like approach, “Listen first, sell later.” And social media provides an excellent way to listen.

Qualman shared a simple four step plan for small businesses looking to get started with social media marketing.

1) Listen to what people are saying about your company (and your competitors.) Qualman suggested that this is the best place to start. He also provided some great suggestions on FREE listening tools: Twitter Search, Google Blog Search, and Yahoo Site Explorer. You can also find a great list of other social media listening tools in this Marketing Profs article. 

2) Interact and join the conversation. Find a way to participate in the conversation in a way that makes sense for your business. This is an area where BlogTalkRadio helps a large number of small businesses by empowering them to join the social media conversation with a live, interactive radio show. We also have a cool new service called Cinch that helps business join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook with engaging audio, text and photo updates.

3) React to the conversation. One of the best ways to build relationships with your customers is to show them you value their feedback. Make sure that you are taking action on and acknowledging the feedback you receive.

4) Soft selling. If you take care of the first three steps, Qualman suggested the process of selling will be much easier, because you have been listening to what they want and have showed them that you value the relationship.

If you run a small business and are looking to find out how you can start to experiment with social media, this is a great show to listen to. You can listen to the full episode below.

Interviewed on Neyom Friday, the actor who plays Billy Black—whose son is werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner)—offers his take on why Twilight is so captivating and addictive to audiences the world over.

“It’s the story of Romeo and Juliet. I think people tap into the heart more than anything. And that’s what they feel, even if it is a fantasy story,” Gil tells host Neyom Friday.

“It’s been spoken of before, but nobody has ever witnessed it or experienced it,” Gil (above with Taylor) tells us of Jacob’s transformation into a werewolf in “New Moon."

“It speaks to the longing that I think we all have, to love and to wanna be loved—and higher aspirations of ourselves.

“That’s why I feel proud to be part of it: It’s not filled with graphic violence or gratuitous sex. It makes you feel good.”

Gil also chats about the hit flick’s forthcoming sequels, New Moon and Eclipse.

“I’m so happy that the storyline’s gonna follow more of ‘the puppy pack,’ as I call them, and the wolves and the development of the story with my son, Jacob,” he says.

“We just finished filming Eclipse and it’s very, very rare to do two films so close together like we did. Sometimes you forget your scenes— when you did what and in which movie.”

And when it comes to comparing himself to his signature character, Gil gets downright weepy.

“There’s a lot of parts of Billy that are like myself,” he says.

“But Billy carries a secret of his people, of his tribe. And I think that’s why I relate to Sitting Bull and people that have—where did they find the courage to be able to see themselves and guide their people in a way that they know they can survive and be healthy and happy, given the circumstances that they encounter?

“That’s Billy’s challenge. And it’s a very personal thing because he loves his son so much. And he knows what his son’s gonna go through.

“But the beauty of Stephenie Meyers and her writing and the way she’s integrated the Native Americans into this plot is that the only reason they even transform [into werewolves] is to protect the people and to protect the land, which is one of the major values of the Native culture in general, and always has been.”

To hear Gil’s full interview, click here.

Funnyman Steve Guttenberg’s plea for more screen time came a bit too late.

But Movie Addict Headquarters listeners loved it all the same.

"I know that Ravi and I are going to make more movies together," Steve (above) tells us.

Earlier today on the show, host Betty Jo Tucker was chatting with indy writer-director-actor Dr. Ravi Godse—who’s also a real-life physician—about his new comedy, If It Ain’t Broke, Break It, when a surprise guest called in with some criticism.

That guest, as you may have guessed, was none other than Steve himself, who plays the lead in the flick.

“Ravi, what aren’t I in more close-ups? I should have more close-ups. I don’t know why there aren’t more close-ups of me?” the Police Academy staple raged.

Ravi’s response?

“OK, I’ll fire the editor! Anything for you, buddy.”

From there, it was nothing but love, as Steve gushed about the good doctor, whose previous silver-screen titles include I Am a Schizophrenic and So Am I (2008) and Dr. Ravi & Mr. Hyde (2007).

“I gotta tell you how talented a director Ravi is, how much he reminds me of the guys working today, like Judd Apatow and Peter Segal, who are great comedy directors, and also put inside their movies lots of touching moments and heart.

“He reminds me of when Rob Reiner used to do When Harry Met Sally, and those type of movies.”

Co-starring Richard Kind, If It Ain’t Broke, Break It, tells the story of a who doctor discovers that he has just six months to live, so he sets about trying to improve the lives of six pals in the match-making, career and personality departments.

To hear Ravi and Steve’s full interview, click here.

To read more about If It Ain’t Broke, Break It, which opens November 6, click here.

This new feature allows you to:

Download Skype.

—Easily dial into your show with a Skype-to-Skype call directly from the switchboard.

—Enhance the quality of your audio broadcast.

—Avoid domestic and international phone charges.

It’s easy to get started. If you already have a Skype account, you’ll just need to click on the Skype logo on the switchboard to initiate your Skype-to-Skype call.

If you don’t have a Skype account, you’ll just need to download the Skype software and go through a brief registration process.

To get more details about this new feature, visit our online FAQ, or contact us at service@blogtalkradio.com.

"I've been blessed to have that kind of mother," Rhonda says of Diana (above). "A mother who wanted the best for me."

You can’t hurry grandkids, as Diana Ross learned this year.

But now that the pop legend has finally got one, she’s tickled pink.

So reports her daughter, Rhonda Ross Kendrick, whose dad is Motown Records founder Berry Gordy.

Interviewed tonight on Timothy Hodge, Rhonda chats about giving birth to her son, Raif-Henok Emmanuel Kendrick, on Aug. 7, and how her mom has reacted to the bundle of joy.

“This is the first grandchild. It took us a long time—I mean, you know—but what are you gonna do?” Rhonda, who has been married to jazz pianist Rodney Kendrick since 1996, tells host Timothy Hodge.

“So my mom is thrilled. She is beyond thrilled. And it’s been so amazing because my mother—some people know, some people don’t—my mother is and was a very, very hands-on mother.

“From my birth, it didn’t matter what performances she had at night, she was always up for breakfast in the morning, she got us ready for school, she was there if we were sick.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for this little person to have what he needs to achieve in his life," Rhonda (above, with Rodney) tells us of three-month-old Raif.

“And that continued with my two younger brothers [Evan Ross and Ross Arne Naess], who are now just 21 and 22. I got to witness her really be hands-on with them,” Rhonda, 38, adds of Diana, 65.

“Now she gets a chance to be that kind of a hands- on grandmother. She’s so good with my son, it’s amazing.

“Throughout my pregnancy, she was able to be here on the East Coast with me. She came to every doctor’s appointment with me. She really was so hands-on and so supportive and so encouraging of me,” adds Rhonda, who played Toni Burrell on Another World.

“And because I have that relationship with her, and I’m doing my best to emulate that relationship with my son, I feel so excited.”

On Nov. 12, Rhonda will host It’s A Love Thing! an annual fundraising gala that benefits Hearts of Gold, a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the lives of New York City’s homeless mothers and their children. Also scheduled to appear at the NYC event will be Hearts of Gold board members Vanessa Williams, Marcia Gay Harden and Soledad O’Brien.

To learn more about It’s A Love Thing! click here.

To hear Rhonda’s full interview tonight at 9 p.m. ET, click here.

For those of you who think the BlogTalkRadio guest roster is populated by nothing but Oscar winners, Emmy winners, Grammy winners, Tony winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel Prize winners, Olympic gold medalists and so on, think again. Because, thanks to Larry Suttles, we’ve also got names like Nick Mutton, who’s a prominent python breeder; Dave Kaufman, who directed Herpers, the first feature-length documentary on reptile culture; and Will Bird and Phil Peak, who penned the new book, A Snake Hunting Guide II. Since launching Reptile Radio two years ago, Larry and his sidekick, Brian “BT” Taylor, have become the go-to guys for news and info on the pet-reptile industry. And though Larry knew little about pythons when he began collecting the creatures in 2004, today he’s the proud owner of Bluegrass Reptiles, a Louisville, Ky.-based company that breeds and sells snakes and rodents. Now do us proud and put your tails claws hands together for Mr. Larry Suttles…

Larry: Lookin' sssssslick at the 2009 National Reptile Breeders Expo.

Give us a 15-second pitch for your show - why should listeners tune in?

Reptile Radio covers everything reptile hobbyists need to know. If you’re interested in reptiles on any level, you’ll find the show to be a wealth of information. Guests include the top herpetologists, breeders and keepers the world has to offer. [Editor's Note: Herpetology is the branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians, which we know because we just Googled it  We also Googled "breeders," but we'll refrain from repeating what that search turned up.]

Tell us two things listeners would be surprised to learn about you?

I’m a full-time police officer. That has never been revealed on the program before. [Editor's Note: Thanks for the scoop!]

Who’s your broadcasting hero?

Alex Jones! Ha-ha. [Editor's Note: Alex Jones is nationally-syndicated talk-radio host based in Austin, Texas, who is known to espouse right-wing ideologies. As for his views on snakes, we haven't the foggiest, though we suspect there's a joke in there whose punch line contains the word "Democrat."]

If you could book any person on earth as a guest on your show, who would it be and why?

The ultimate guest would have been Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Erwin, may he rest in peace. Steve did huge things for the reptile industry, and we’re all so grateful to him for that. In fact, without Steve, Reptile Radio most likely wouldn’t have had the success it’s had. He was a great, down-to-earth man, and his passion and enthusiasm would’ve no doubt made for the all-time greatest interview.

As we speak, what are you wearing?

Spider-Man boxers with a coffee stain on the right leg. [Editor's Note: No comment.]

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever done while in the middle of hosting your show.

I’ve cut open snake eggs a couple of times now. Then again, that’s pretty normal to us weirdoes. [Editor's Note: Still, we'd like to think there was no bacon or cheese involved.]

To sample Reptile Radio, click here.

To check out the Bluegrass Reptiles website, click here.

To read all our SoundBits profiles, click here.

Equally as often, big names take the time to address issues of a social nature. And so, for your listening pleasure and edification alike, we’ve woven together a socially-conscious edition of The Daily Mix.

On tonight’s show you will learn:

"Our foremothers and forefathers always kept the heat on the system, even if they were not armed with guns or baseball bats," says Bill (above).

—What comic Bill Cosby is referring to when he says, “You do not participate as a parent when you think the school system is going to do it for you.”

—When former E! News anchor Steve Kmetko—who now works for a website that connects the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to local events—says, “She’s just there to do a good job. She’s not there because of her sexual orientation,” who he’s talking about.

—Who Beauty Shop star LisaRaye is chastising when she tells us, “They think our stories are ‘ghetto’ or ‘in the hood’ or only depicted to be in the black population. And that’s not true.”

—Why acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni tells us, “The election of Barack Obama does not say there is no more racism, but it does say that black people have made changes, and the changes have been for the better.”

—How Good Hair star Chris Rock helped Nia Long come to the conclusion that “Women have a choice about how they want to look.”

So don’t miss The Mix, hosted by everyone’s favorite pod jockey, Shaun Daily, tonight—and every Monday—at 9 p.m. ET!

To tune in, click here.