Mayne Street Interview

With only three episodes left, the first season of ESPN's Mayne Street is winding down.  So, as a wrap up, here is an interview Tilzy.tv's Josh Cohen conducted with me before the show started as well as a picture of me and Jesus Shuttlesworth.

Tilzy.TV: What is Mayne Street?

Ben Schwartz: Mayne Street is a heightened version of Kenny Mayne working at ESPN with a splash of hijinks and coworkers.

Tilzy.TV: How’d you get involved?

Schwartz: I was sent out on an audition for a smaller role in the web series and after I auditioned, the guys pulled me to the side and asked me to audition for a different character that ended up being Mintz. Mintz was originally supposed to be 30 or older (I forget) but in the end they liked the way I played it, so the writers re-worked the character a bit to make him younger for me.  The writers/directors and producers of this piece were so much fun to work with. They let us play around and have fun with the characters.

Tilzy.TV: Tell me about Evan Mintz.

Schwartz: Evan Mintz is the Senior VP of ESPN. A title that is usually held by a far older man. He is one of the big men on campus and holds the futures of a lot of anchors in his hands. He is constantly on a bluetooth headset and although sometimes he can come across as a douche, he works his ass off to stay on top and truly wants to succeed. (Also, in one of the episodes I think I added that he takes miniature horse back riding lessons. Unsure if that’ll be in the final cut.)

Tilzy.TV: How much of Topher Grace’s “Carter Duryea” of the Dennis Quaid film In Good Company is in your character?

Schwartz: I’ve never seen the movie In Good Company, so i’m going to assume Topher Grace’s role was very similar to his role of Venom in Spiderman 3…and if that’s the case, then Evan Mintz is nothing like venom and that’s a stupid question.

Tilzy.TV: What’s it like working with Mayne?

Schwartz: Kenny was great. He really is a funny, nice, genuine guy. The whole cast was hilarious and fun. I hope that some TV station picks the show up or ESPN.com wants to make more webisodes so we all get to mess around some more.

Tilzy.TV: Do you think if Mayne could do whatever he wanted that ESPN would look a helluva like Mayne Street?

Schwartz: I think if Kenny Mayne could do whatever he wanted, he would make himself fly or give himself the power of invisibility. Worrying about work would be way further down on the list.

Tilzy.TV: There are a ton of cameos in the series. Which one was the coolest for you?

Schwartz: There are 15 episodes in total and I think i’m in 5 or 6, so I missed out on all the Sopranos guys coming in, etc. The coolest cameo for me was doing a scene with Ray Allen. I am a huge fan of the NBA and although the Knicks are my team, it was a great feeling to do a scene with a guy who just won the championship and played Jesus Shuttlesworth.

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Mayne Street Ep. 12 - New Years

Here is the 12th episode of Mayne Street entitled New Years.  It features Alison Becker, Seth Herzog, Linda Cohn and Robbie Maddison. In this episode, I shed some light on the age old question - is it hard to walk on a slippery desk with socks on?

Debra's Underwear: The Series

Someone linked me to a website where you can make your own short films by writing dialogue for animated characters. Five minutes later Debra's Underwear: The Series was born.

Episode 1 - Underwear


Episode 2 - Funeral


Episode 3 - Car Crash

Mayne Street - Team Building Bonus Content

Here is the bonus content from the Mayne Street episode Team Building. A link to the actual episode is below the video.


Team Building Episode

Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals is the Perfect Holiday Gift

The Onion, Time Out NY and the Daily News call Grandma's Dead:Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals the perfect holiday gift. Now will you think about buying a copy? Imagine a life where you no longer had to say "Sometimes I pay for sex" without the aid of a bunny in a basket. At ten dollars tell the economy to go fuck itself and lighten the hearts of your friends.  If you don't believe me...maybe you'll believe the NY DAILY NEWS.

Use A Computer: The Game Show

Collegehumor brings you a game show where contestants over the age of forty challenge each other in a battle of computer wits.  Fellow Hot Sauce teammate Gil Ozeri and I play the announcers Mark and Carl.

Mayne Street Ep. 5 - Five Minutes to SportsCenter

Here is the fifth episode of Mayne Street entitled Five Minutes to SportsCenter.  It features Alison Becker, Jordan Carlos, Tom Shillue and Jon Glaser.  Nerdy Fact: The first scene in this episode is the first thing we filmed for the entire series. The second video contains alternate takes that were cut.

BONUS SCENES FROM EPISODE 5

Mayne Street Ep. 3 - Poker

Here is the third episode of Mayne Street entitled Poker.  It features comedian Seth Herzog and Sportscenter anchors Neil Everett and Chris McKendry.

Mayne Street - Bonus Content - Louie's Original

Here are some alternate takes from the 2nd episode of Mayne Street. If robot on your suit doesn't become a homerun call on Sportscenter I will be devastated.

Mayne Street Ep. 2 - Louie's Original

Here is the second installment of the ESPN web series Mayne Street entitled Louie's Original. In this episode Kenny meets his new boss, Evan Mintz. The episode features Aubrey Plaza, Alison Becker, Jon Glaser and Andres du Bouchet.

Here is some bonus content from the episode (deleted scenes, alternate takes). If robot on your suit doesn't become a homerun call on Sportscenter I will be devastated.