JIM MESKIMEN
www.appliedsilliness.com
Ron Howard Films
Multiple Animated Series
Lots of Video Games
Director of Galaxy Press Audiobooks
JibJab primary voice
Expert Impressionist
1) What happens when you have a cold ? It’s rough! I don’t get a lot of colds, actually, which is a good thing. I will rinse out my nose with salty water with a touch of Listerine in it, the famous “Nasal-Pharyngial rinse” a chiropractor told me about once, but it can definitely change your sound. The best thing is to stay healthy. I once had to redo an audiobook section because it didn’t match, due to a slight cold.
2) How many ways do people misspell your name,Do you still answer ? I’m more used to people mispronouncing it. If someone says it right, I’m immediately suspicious. As the name was originally an alteration of MacSimmons, I don’t see that I have anything to be self-righteous about regarding spelling or pronunciation. The thing I notice is that when people do learn how to say it as I do, they enjoy saying it, especially with “Mister” in front of it; it’s apparently kind of fun to say “Mister Meskimen”… like Spongebob Squarepants, it has an amusing rhythm.
3) Are people surprised when putting your face with your characters ? I don’t think so, although lately as I have been doing a Morgan Freeman impression for the Leno show and others, that has a certain surprise factor. When I did the voices of George W. Bush, John Kerry, Bill Clinton, Arnold Swartzeneggar and a native american for the Uber-viral “This Land” for Jibjab, that I think was a surprise to people. As I am an admirer of Peter Sellers, I enjoy doing multiple characters, and creating the illusion that they are in conversation with one another, or singing to one another.
4) One Sentence Descriptions- Ron Howard: Directs like a great basketball coach. Great actor’s director.
Marion Ross It’s great to have a mom about whom 99% of strangers I meet say, “I love your mom”.
L.Ron Hubbard: What can I say? He saved my life, and we never even met. And what a writer!
Moon Bloodgood: According to IMDB she was born in 1975. Has taken all the “O’s” away from the acting community.
Amy Poehler, gracious, generous and funny actress who deserves her success.
5) Besides your perfect ‘Morgan Freeman’ impression,Whose your best ‘Other’ voice ? I guess I’d have to say Jack Nicholson. But I’ve done Robin Williams and of course a LOT of George W. Bush… I actually was flown to Paris to do narration on a film about Bush, a comedic documentary called “Being W.” That was about an hour of narration in character.
6) Touchy subject,Honestly do you prefer to be’ Seen and not heard’,Or’ Heard and not seen’ ? It depends on the project… I love vocal work because I can hide and create the whole character without limitations. But my absolute favorite is to improvise in front of a live audience.
7) Hear you’re going to PARIS,France soon,What other countries have you been to ? Favorites ? Why ? I love Spain. I studied classical painting techniques in Galicia in the early 80s and visited San Sebastian a few years ago. I love Madrid. But London is a favorite, too. I’d really like to live there sometime.
Is it ODD,That most people know you from Galaxy Press Audiobooks or the JibJab Internet cartoons ? Well, it might be odd, but it’s my life and my unusual skill set… since I was very familiar with the fiction of Hubbard, had worked for Galaxy many times and had lots of experience in animation, both as a designer and as a VO guy, it was a natural sort of assignment for me to be overall lead director of that series. I learned a lot, I can tell you. And the final product speaks for itself; we’ve gotten a few awards so far, and overall raves, even from competing publishers. The Jibjab connection came about thru an introduction to the Spiridellis brothers from my old school pal, Ken Hertz, who is a big entertainment lawyer out here. He represents them on some deals, and has a long friendship with me, so he thought it was a good match. That was a heckuva great call; since then we’ve done dozens of projects together. So, however people discover me thru the audiobooks or the funny Internet shorts, or whether they don’t ever discover me at all but just get some great entertainment, I don’t really care, as long as I get to be a part of the fun.
9) BEST traits of ‘Meskimo’ ? WORST traits of ‘Meskimo’? I’m very eager to work on new things and try new creative challenges… the flip side is, I’m less driven to see some things to completion. My wife calls me, “Mr. Start.”
10) Here’s that spot to impress,Say it,Jim,Say IT ! Well, I’d just like everyone to check out the Stories From the Golden Age audiobooks, go to www.goldenagestories.com and listen to samples, then go to my pet project promoting the books, Elbows On The Table, where you can see interviews of my character Lawrence Carpetburner, as he interviews fascinating characters from the stories themselves. Those are up at www.elbowsonthetable.com and are a ton of fun. Thanks for the opportunity!
