Hollywood Heard: Air Force Veteran, Film Maker & Actor of The New TV Show, Office Joe

In this episode, Patti Katter interviews Hollywood Heard, an Air Force veteran and film producer, director and actor. They discuss the new TV show "Office Joe," which follows the story of a former Army sergeant, Joe, as he transitions to civilian life and works at a marketing firm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The show aims to provide a realistic portrayal of the challenges veterans face when transitioning to civilian work, moving away from the common stereotypes of veterans being either superheroes or completely damaged. Hollywood and the show's writer/director, Nick Palmisciano and the Diesel Jack Media Team worked to create a balanced and entertaining show that would resonate with both veteran and civilian audiences. They discuss the show's production, including the challenges of creating a high-quality, low-budget series, and Hollywood's own role in the show as a character.

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Glorious day to be alive, Sergeant.
My name is Staff Sergeant Hauserand I'm here to pick up my DD214
and become a civilian. OK, Staff Sergeant, I'll just
need a copy of your orders. I only have this one.
I can't give you your DD214 without a copy of your orders.
Can I use your copier? That copier is only for civilian

(00:25):
use. Well, the second you give me
that DD214, I am a civilian. Correct.
So then I could use it. Agreed.
So can I just use it now? I'm afraid until you have your
DD214, you're still a member of the armed forces and thus cannot
use that copier. OK, I just want to be super

(00:45):
clear here. You're not giving me my DD214,
allowing me to become a civilianbecause I don't have an extra
copy of my orders, but you're not going to let me make an
extra copy of my orders because I'm not a civilian?
And the fact that I've deployed 4 times and left blood, sweat,
tears, and literal chunks of my own flesh in the sand of Iraq

(01:05):
and the rocks of Afghanistan will not in any way sway you.
Just this once to break this nonsensical rule so I can leave
the Army with a tiny ounce of positivity after getting fucked
by the green we need for over a decade.
Is that what you're telling me? Copy of my orders.

(01:38):
Happy now? So I'm a civilian.
Yes. Hi everybody.

(02:21):
Welcome. You are listening to Wake Up
with Patty Katter and today I have my friend Hollywood heard
on the show. Hollywood is an Air Force
veteran and a film producer, director, guru of all things.
Welcome to the show, Hollywood. Hey, it's great to be here.
I really appreciate you having me on the show.
We just watched the Office show trailer and that's a new show

(02:45):
that Nick Palmashaw wrote and directed and I produced for him.
You know, most movies, TV shows about veterans.
Veterans are one of two things. They're either superheroes, they
carry, you know, 400 LB packs intheir back and they shoot 80
guns and they blow up everythingthrough the whole movie.
Or they're so damaged that he orshe can barely function in

(03:08):
civilian life. So this is a whole new take
about military transition. And the the TV show is about a
guy named Joe Hauser. He was a Sergeant in the Army.
He gets out of the Army and he goes to work at a boutique
marketing firm in Chapel Hill, NC And all of the things that
happened to him as he tries to integrate into the civilian life

(03:30):
after having been in the military for 10 years.
That's incredible. And I've seen the show, not
gonna lie. It's amazing, and it's spot on.
So those of you who know me knowthat I've been a veteran
advocate for 17 years. I've heard all sorts of stories.
All right, So I know these stories are true, but Hollywood,
how did you even come up with this?

(03:52):
Did you take your knowledge or somebody else's knowledge?
How did you put this together? It's amazing.
Well, what what what we did was Nick, myself, Dan and Teresa, we
kind of had a writer's room and we sit down and we outlined 6
episodes. The show is 6 episodes long.
You can get it on Amazon, GooglePlay, iTunes, and we even have

(04:16):
DVDs, Blu rays. If you go to officejoeshow.com
you can order a DVD and Blu-ray also.
But we sit down in kind of a writer's room and we outlined 6
episodes. OK, here's the first episode.
Joe gets out. Joe travels across the country
to this marketing firm. Episode 2, he starts integrating

(04:37):
with the people at the marketingfirm.
Episode 3, he is having trouble integrating because, you know,
he thinks different. He's on time.
They're always late. He's serious.
They're never serious. He's, you know, motivated to get
to do the best job he can. They're all kind of
lackadaisical. So then you know there's kind of
a rift between him and his Co workers.

(04:57):
Episode 4. A common enemy kind of arises
from a rival company. So Joe brings his team together
and they kind of stand up to this rival company.
Episode 5, they're really starting to come together and
then in episode 6, a guy that get got fired from the company
Joe works for earlier in the show, he comes back for some

(05:19):
vengeance and the show ends witha Christmas party.
So episode 6 is the Christmas party.
So it runs the entire gamut in six episodes of this guy coming
going to work at this company, having all kinds of shenanigans
and misunderstandings. And yet in the same manner,
there's some, there's some good information and good lessons

(05:40):
that are learned. So we sat down and we kind of
broke down all six episodes. Nick would go away and he'd
write for a week and a half, twoweeks, he'd write the episode.
Then he'd come back. We'd kind of look at it, you
know, we'd do some fine tuning and then we move on to the
second episode. So that's how it was written.
So it's pretty much Nick Drew from his experience as a Army

(06:03):
officer and an infantry officer.So it really hit, as you said,
it really hits home to people that have been in the military
that are trying to transition, because that's the most
difficult part of transitioning from the military.
You've lost your tribe, you've really lost your purpose.
You are dealing with people who are completely different than

(06:25):
you. And so it really, it really hits
home with veterans and 1st responders and people that have
transitioned from a very rigid form of lifestyle.
But the challenge for us was howdo we make a show that's still
enjoyable and attractive to the civilian community?

(06:47):
And we were really able to do that.
So the, the humor is we make funof everybody, but we don't pick
on anybody, you know what I mean?
It's like all of us, no matter where we're from, we all have
different things that other people think are funny or
interesting. So we kind of did that.
But in the end, we always show that everyone's different and we

(07:07):
have to be accepting of the differences.
And that's how Joe is able to integrate himself into the
civilian community. He has kind of a mentor who's
American Legion commander, his old commander from the military,
and Joe's always calling him andasking for advice.
And at one point in the in the episodes, you know, his
colonel's former Colonel, says Joe, you're in their world now.

(07:31):
You have to fit into their world.
They don't have to fit into yours.
So meet them halfway, Show them that you have some great ideas
and some things that'll make their life easier, but you also
have to take lessons and take ideas from them so that you can
make your life better. Which is so important I've

(07:51):
actually been helping with some veteran transition courses in
Tampa, FL and one of the things we talk about is military have a
hard time sometimes converting their resume from military to
civilian. And I love that you're talking
about this because it's so true.You know, you could you could
give a civilian all the acronymsin the world.

(08:12):
You could tell them all of thesecool things and training
exercises that you've done, but bottom line for them, a lot of
times is the dollar, right? So you have to know how to
convert that resume to civilian terminology, which you do a
fantastic job during the show explaining that.
So the show's not just for veterans, it's actually for
those who are friends with them,those who want to learn more

(08:34):
about them. And it is a funny show, but it's
also serious in some levels. Yeah, that was.
And like I said, that was the challenge was how to make it
entertaining and yet still show people what veterans are going
through when they get out, show veterans what civilians are
going through working with them,you know, when they go into the

(08:57):
workplace. So you know, that is that was
the key to really making interesting show.
And it went on sale on Veteran'sDay on the 11th.
And we, it, as it picks up and we're, we're, we're distributing
ourselves. So we don't have a Netflix or a
Hulu out there pumping the show up.
It's just us through our social media, through word of mouth,

(09:17):
you know, you had Nick and Dan on your own shows to help spread
the word. So that's how we're getting the
word out. And, you know, hopefully we know
we will sell enough episodes that we can come out with it
with a second, second season. And we already have kind of a
second season written out in a rough form.
And so we're looking forward to hopefully being popular enough

(09:40):
with folks. Folks watch it.
They they get the word of mouth out or they review it.
They tell us what they thought about it so we can continue the
show. Can you talk about your
character at all? And that was surprising to me.
Not only are you helping to direct the film, you're actually
in the film. Well, Nick was a it was the

(10:00):
director, I was the producer, you know, and then and the
producers role really is, you know, ATV show, a movie is kind
of like a bag full of rattlesnakes.
There's all, they're all, there's snakes going all
different directions. The producers always kind of try
it like grab them by the tail. So you got them all in one hand.
You know, you're in charge of making sure that the cast is

(10:23):
getting treated properly, that the equipment's there, that the
crews there, that lunch isn't late, that actors are getting
picked up at the hotel or wherever they are.
And but, you know, Nick came to me with this role that he wanted
me to play and I did not want todo it.
You know, I was already busy enough, you know, being his
producer. And I was like, you know, I I

(10:43):
don't want to do this. He's like, come on, come on.
So he beat me up for like a month.
And finally I'm like, I mean, I even give a lash dit Shepard.
I said, I can't do it. Use this other guy.
This other guy's a huge veteran influencer.
Everybody's going, everybody's going to relate to him better.
He goes, no, I'm going to use him for somebody, something
else. You do this.
So I'm like, OK, but I, so I kind of play myself, you know,

(11:07):
in an interesting kind of way. You know, I am very gregarious
and outgoing when it comes to work.
But really I'm, I'm not a, it's not that I'm not a people
person, you know, I'm just old and cranky and I just want to be
by myself. So I kind of play a character
that's kind of old and cranky and he doesn't say anything

(11:29):
unless it's absolutely necessary.
You know, he runs the video department and, and is in charge
of the camera crews and editing.And he only comes out, you know,
like when someone's being a Jackass or when someone's being
mean or rude or things are really about to fall apart.
And he comes out and gives theseridiculous quotes, you know,
like the the Italians had consigliaries, you know, like,

(11:54):
it doesn't make any sense at all.
It's a fact. But, you know, so my character
is very interesting and mysterious.
And then and I think it's episode 4 or five, you really
find out who I am and what I am.And so that's very funny.
And Joe and Joe, you know, is trying so hard to fit in.

(12:14):
And as it goes on, he starts to realize things about me that
make him wonder if we have a different, deeper connection,
that I'm just some guy that works there.
And again in Episode 5, it's revealed why Joe and I kind of
get along so well. So it was a lot of fun for me.
I kind of like me and that character, you know, who's

(12:35):
doesn't doesn't say a lot, but when I do, it's either
outrageous or ridiculous, you know?
Yeah, I mean, really, When I first met you, I wasn't sure
what to think of you. I was like, wow, this is a
really nice guy. But you do seem like a little
bit more introverted than maybe me or Nick or.
Which is weird now that you knowme, right?
Right it is. That's so true.

(12:56):
Because you are. You're out of your shell now
around me. That's.
True. Yeah, Yeah.
So I have one question. I always ask all of my guests on
the show and I'm going to put you on the spot.
So on the spot, what is one trial you have had in your life

(13:17):
and how did you overcome that trial with triumph?
And it doesn't have to be about Office Joe.
We're going to continue to talk about it, but I got to ask this
question. I I think the biggest trial, I'm
going to put it in into the filmrealm.
It's hard to do good quality lowbudget filmmaking you either

(13:45):
don't have because this we finance this show all in
ourselves. The the show cost about $120,000
to do 6 episodes. That's like it was a little less
than $20,000 an episode. Most TV shows started 150,000
and go to like you know friends was 1,000,000 per episode.

(14:06):
The biggest thing is to to be able to do something that's
that's affordable, that's good. And the way that you can do that
is you can't be extravagant. You have to have a plan.
Like we shot this show in 1819 days, which is unheard of.
Again, you know, So working withNick, I was like, Nick, these

(14:28):
are the things that we need to do.
We need to keep the locations down because moving takes time
and having many multiple locations take money.
We need to keep our actors to like 10 actors at the most.
We need to have a great scheduleand keep that schedule.
The locations that we have, we have to be able to light them

(14:52):
and just shoot, not bring in five lights every time we're
going to do another scene. So we shot in our office, we put
lights overhead in the ceiling and soften them up and that's
how we shot. It looks like daylight all the
time. So that really worked out well
for us. We had three or four locations
for the whole 1819 days. I'm, I'm going to say 80% of it

(15:16):
takes place in the office. So that saved us, that saved US
time. It saved US money.
Eight to 10 actors. Nick completely ignored me and
we had about 40. He makes a big joke about that
all the time, You know, so I'm pulling, I was pulling my hair
out. But I think I think you can

(15:36):
honestly say it's a great looking show.
It doesn't look low budget, it doesn't look cheap.
And you know, that is something that that's a challenge that we
face all the time in our small little company.
Diesel Jack Media is working with what we have to make
something look great. We just shot an Army Navy

(15:57):
commercial for the Army Navy game because the American Legion
is, is a Co sponsor of the Army Navy game.
I had, I had two football teams.You know, we had actors in the
press box. It was, it was a big deal and we
did it with about 20 people. Any other production would have
had 50 people out there. It would have cost 350, five,

(16:19):
$100,000 and we did it for about100 grand, you know.
So that's the challenge. The challenge is being able to
do bigger things, great quality with the small team that we
have. And you're a phenomenal.
Oh my goodness. Just phenomenal.
Well, thanks, you know, it's just, I love it so much, you
know, and that and that's, and that's why.

(16:41):
And I can tell it's always thosewho are most, most passionate
about their job or whatever it is that they're doing and that
they go way above and beyond, which you do.
And I've seen you go above and beyond for many causes.
So one question I have for you is at the beginning of the show,
we mentioned that you were Air Force veteran, you got out in
the 90s. Is that right?

(17:03):
Yep, 94. Yeah.
So after that you started film, but how did that transition for
you happen? I just, I ran it when I moved
back home, I ran into some guys I'd gone to college with and
they had a bunch of video equipment and they were doing
these commercials. And I, I don't, I don't know how
it came about, but we were hanging out one time one night

(17:24):
and we were just talking. I'm like, you know what we
should do? A third of San Angelo, TX, where
I'm from is Hispanic. And one of the guys was a local
DJ for the Tejano radio station.And I said we should do a
Spanish Hispanic television show.
We make you the host. We shoot Quinceaneros, Tejano
band competitions, and we put iton the air and, you know, and

(17:48):
the guy's like, of course, because, you know, he was a
entertain entertainer in the celebrity, local celebrity.
He was like, all for it. So that's what we did and we
bought some time on the on the local cable station.
We showed the same show for seven nights and then every week
we changed it to the what we'd shot for the next week.
And it became really popular. And through that, I met some

(18:10):
other cameraman and I met a director and he was doing a show
in Dallas. He brought me to Dallas to shoot
it. I shot his deal and there was a
movie in Dallas. I went to work on the movie.
They were all from LA. They brought me back to LA and
that's how I got into the movie business.
And here I am, 30 years later. Wow.
And I don't think that you're going to stop anytime soon,

(18:30):
right? Do you have any plans to try to
retire ever? You know, I want to, I want to,
I want to go live on a beach andsmoke cigars, but I don't.
I'm hoping maybe 3-4 years from now.
And you know, Nick's got a I'm kind of, it's kind of like a
work release program from prison.
You know, I work for Nick and you know, Nick has to sign my
parole papers and I don't know if Nick's going to do that

(18:51):
anytime soon. No, you're never, ever, never.
So you are now the CEO of what? It's the Black Feather
Foundation. So tell me about the Black
Feather Foundation. I've interviewed you and and Joe
and we we, we shut, we covered aa sports day.
Tell me about that and tell me what's going on with that.

(19:14):
Yeah, the Black Feather Foundation.
Oh my gosh, it's amazing. So those of you who don't know,
you can go to our website, theblackfeatherfoundation.org.
And thank you for bringing this up.
But our founder, Joseph Robert the Third, along with some other
great military veterans, foundedthe Black Feather Foundation,
and they did that during the collapse of Afghanistan.

(19:35):
I like to say that Joe was kind of like the linchpin.
That's kind of my nickname for him.
I think a few of. US.
A bunch of vets went to UAE during the evacuation.
Joe had a relationship with the King or the Prince of UAE, is
that correct? It is the royal family over
there, yes. And he was like, OK, here's an

(19:55):
airplane, go to Afghanistan, bring back some SIV holders and
their families, and if you can do it safely, then I'll give you
another airplane. And that's kind of how it
happened, right? Yes, yes.
And what are we, over 18,000 later?
I think you know, the the Afghanrefugee community is really

(20:15):
special too. But Joe had some friends over in
Afghanistan, and they called himup and they were like, hey, we
heard that you might be able to help us, you know, get some
interpreters out, is how I understood it.
And, you know, if, you know Joe,he has a huge heart and he has a

(20:35):
lot of great connections. And his timeline just ended up
to be pretty perfect to be able to assist with that.
And he's one of the most generous people that I've known
and has a huge heart to help people.
His father has an organization or had one called Fight for
Children. It's still in existence today.
It's 30 years later, Fight for Children.

(20:57):
They help kids through sports, health and education in the DC
area. So Joe thought about it and he's
like, you know, we could do thisfor the refugee community.
And that's what we're doing. We're helping kids through
sports, health and education. So my understanding is Joe and
his team brought approximately 1718 thousand refugees from

(21:21):
Afghanistan, they to UAE. And then over the next two or
three years, Joe stayed in UAE to make sure they all found
homes in, in different countries, correct.
And in the US. And now the ones that have been
brought to the US, Black FeatherFoundation is still helping

(21:42):
them. And how?
How does that happen? Mm hmm.
While we have an amazing programdirector here, he's Afghan
refugee as well, and he's able to help us streamline connecting
with the families who are here in the DMV area, specifically in
the DC area. And basically we have these

(22:03):
youth sports days, or we call them now the Black Feather day
to play. We set these little areas up
around the DMV area that are close to where the refugee
communities are living. There's several different
pockets around the area. We have, I believe last I heard,
there's about 40,000 Afghan refugees in the DMV area.

(22:24):
And so there's quite a few. So we set up lunch, we set up
sports programs. We have all sorts of activities
for the kids. We actually have art workshops
as well and some other things that we have going on.
We're starting some sponsors censorship program so people can
sponsor kids to go to school or have extracurricular activities.

(22:48):
Now, the education system, they do go to public schools, most of
them, but there are programs outside of school that are
needed, such as tutoring to helpthem learn languages.
You figure these kids are pulledfrom their country, right?
And their parents are scramblingto find jobs and houses and kids
are trying to be kids. But it's hard for these kids to
be a normal kid like mine or yours would be.

(23:12):
So once they land in their home.Addie, do you know something
that I don't know? What's that?
Do I have some kids roaming around there somewhere that I
don't know about? Oh, you don't have any kids?
Thought maybe you got some secret communique or something.
Well, I wouldn't be surprised. Should I call an action out
asking around? You might not want to do that.

(23:34):
No. Yeah.
So those listening at your kids,maybe if you have children.
And if you don't, your neighbor's kids or whoever's.
So, you know, basically, though the kids are plopped down into
their new home and they don't often know the English language.
They have a hard time adjusting.They're having a hard time with

(23:57):
history. They don't, you know, American
history, they're struggling in history classes, math classes,
you name it. So they need tutoring.
So the guy that the Afghan guy is Akbal?
Iqbal. Iqbal, now he, he was kind of
the catalyst because before you were doing it kind of without an

(24:18):
Afghan connection, right? And.
Once he came on board, then he was able to directly contact the
families and maybe put them at ease or make them feel more
comfortable. Yeah.
So I mean, we did have, my friend Candace was with the
Blackfeather Foundation, and sheended up taking a couple of the
Afghan boys into her home and helping them out.

(24:39):
Now aside from that, you're totally correct.
We didn't have somebody to solely focus on connecting with
the families. So he came in, he was amazing.
He actually helped overseas as well, well before he came here.
Joe knew him, so it was a natural fit.
That's awesome. And if I want to donate to

(25:01):
blackfeatherfoundation.org, how do I do it?
Yeah, just hop on over to the website Black Feather, the Black
featherfoundation.org. If we hit the donate button, you
can do it that way. You can donate on social media.
You can click the donate buttonsthere.
You can call our office. We can definitely help with
that. If you're looking to get
involved, if you're looking to volunteer, we have places for

(25:22):
you. And it's the black
featherfoundation.org. Yes, yes.
OK. Wow.
You turn that into an interview on me.
Well, Patty, you're always helping other people.
And I know that, you know, as much as you have other things
going on, you're not someone that's really in people's face

(25:42):
about it. And I, and I have it having been
involved with the Black, the Foundation, I have seen what it
does and seen the work that it does and seeing how important it
is. And I just want to, you know,
I'm a big proponent of organizations that help kids,
especially so. I know, I know you are.
You're amazing. And and if you're like me, you
know I have kids, they're grown.So this is my way of continuing

(26:08):
on with kids and I see you helping out organizations and
especially kids. So thank you.
Thank you. And I just want to say thanks
for having us on. If you want to see a great TV
series, Office Joe, it's on Amazon, it's on Google Play,
it's on iTunes. You can get the whole season for

(26:29):
I think like $17.00. And if you're a DVD Blue Egg
person, Office joeshow.com and we'll send it to you right away.
Patty, thanks for having me on the show.
Oh. My gosh, thank you for coming on
the show. It's about time.
I've been trying this for a while.
You have been I've. I've been avoiding you.
You yeah, the introvert and and that you guys the character he

(26:50):
plays. Go watch it.
All right. Thanks everybody for listening.
Until next time, go back into the show archives if you didn't
catch Dan or I keep wanting to call him the seven foot giant.
That's Dan. Dan and Nick on my show.
Please do it until next time. I will see you later.

(27:12):
Have a good day and head over tosocial media.
Give Hollywood a like which Hollywood what?
What is your Instagram account? Hollywood.
The Texan. Thank you.