Former Altoonan trying to make it in Second City
Chicago native begins to cultivate budding entertainment career
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Former Altoona resident Matt Plowman, who's cultivating a budding entertainment career, wants to become the next Charlie Rose.
Or a cross between late-night host Conan O'Brien and TV chef Anthony Bourdain.
Plowman, a 2007 Altoona Area High School graduate who studied film for two years at Columbia College in Chicago, hosts a regular YouTube interview program he calls "Dishin'."
He's conducted 17 interviews so far -- many of them friends or acquaintances who are beginning to make a name for themselves in music, film, comedy, writing, competitive games or politics.
"I choose my subjects based off of who will provide compelling conversation -- but I also want to give voice to people who haven't yet received the attention I feel they deserve," Plowman said, after a recent visit to Altoona, where his parents still live.
Plowman admires Rose's "blend of entertainment and journalism" -- how he can "intellectually stack up" with his guests and how he "knows the right tone to take" to get his guests to open up, Plowman said.
He recalled Rose's interview with late novelist David Foster Wallace, who was uncomfortable speaking about himself and his accomplishments, but whom Rose put at ease, using a mix of humor and tactical prodding, so that Wallace finally opened up.
Plowman admires O'Brien's ability to use self-deprecation and lack of familiarity with other cultures to show the humanity of people in those other cultures -- especially those whose humanity isn't fully recognized in the U.S.
He recalled an episode in which O'Brien played the "buffoon" in a pickup soccer game in Mexico, which led to people there laughing at him, but also encouraging him, giving viewers the sense that people everywhere are essentially the same, and that cultural differences of food and dress are trivial.
Plowman admires Bourdain for similar, but more "stylized" efforts, also designed to humanize interview subjects living in other parts of the world.
Plowman has been trying to steadily increase the relevance and prominence of his own interview subjects.
He wants to land a broad variety of people, including politicians, entertainers, sports figures -- people who intrigue him, he said.
He recently interviewed Dan Ott, the Altoona man who finished second in this year's World Series of Poker tournament.
He also interviewed Altoona Mayor Matt Pacifico.
Previously, he interviewed Martin Morrow, a contestant on NBC's "Last Comic Standing."
There's an art to asking the right questions -- when to press, when to stay mum and when to speak at length, he said.
He tries to put his guests at ease, in a frame of mind that will lead them to reveal information they wouldn't ordinarily reveal or to reveal information in a way that's different from the norm, he said.
He strives to be genuine and to achieve a personal connection.
There's no call for fakery or showiness, he said.
While his interviews aren't designed to highlight himself, he sometimes will tell an anecdote from his own life or say how an issue has affected him, in order to elicit a particular response, he said.
When he talks to musicians, for example, he sometimes talks about his own playing and recording and how certain music makes him feel to provide context for questions.
When he interviewed Chicago filmmaker Giancarlo Iannotta about Iannotta's movie "My Country," he framed questions using his own experience in writing, directing and acting in short films.
That enabled Iannotta to answer "from a more understanding place," he said.
In an interview with Nick Allen, who writes for roger
ebert.com, Plowman uses his own introduction to the movie "Goodfellas" at age 10 to prompt Allen to talk about movies that have made a strong impression on him. The recollection leads Allen to speak about seeing "Goodfellas" and "Citizen Kane" on the same day -- the latter movie accompanied by critical commentary that revealed to him the virtues of that iconic film.
Finding common ground is an integral part of having a conversation, and having a conversation is what his interview show is about, Plowman said.
He avoids the practice of producing "clickbait headlines," he said.
"I want to do the opposite," he said.
In the interview with Allen, Plowman asked why Allen chose to focus on criticism, rather than making movies, and Allen explained that it enables him to go "deep."
Plowman then asked about the value of criticism in society, and Allen spoke of "holding art accountable."
Allen then proceeded to lose his train of thought.
He laughed, hung his head, and explained that the risk of such lapses are why he writes -- rather than delivering his insights via live broadcasting.
It was a revelatory moment.
In interviewing Allen, Plowman strived to get his subject, "to trust what he was saying was interesting and worthwhile." That required "giving him space" to collect his thoughts when necessary, Plowman said.
The idea of becoming a star himself doesn't interest Plowman. The guests should be the stars, he said.
Still, he wants the show to be successful, which ultimately will require marketing himself, an effort that he will need to become comfortable with, he said.
A major benefit of the interview show is getting to know people he would otherwise not have an opportunity to meet, he said.
It actually works both ways.
Within the past six months, multiple strangers -- typically friends of friends or people who attend comedy or music shows in Chicago -- who recognize him from the videos will approach him and introduce themselves, he said.
He's not making money on the interview show yet, he said.
That could happen eventually if a sponsor approaches, he said.
It could also happen if the show reaches a minimum threshold of views to qualify for Google advertising, he said.
His interest in show business as a career started with "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Daily Show."
When he bought his own camera equipment, he realized he had the power to do the same sort of thing -- interviews, comedy and music -- without having to wait for a major company to provide the platform.
"The democratization of the internet," he said.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.