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Exclusive: Konversations with Keeme: A Chat with David Distinti
5K views
Nov 1, 2022
Thirteen year old Ajibola Tajudeen, better known as Keeme, is the host of New Paradigm Theatre's web series now in it's second season here on BroadwayWorld. 'Konversations with Keeme' is show where Keeme interviews seasoned television and film professionals like Tamara Tunie of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Renee Lawless of Tyler Perry's The Have and the Have Nots, as well as Broadway veterans such as Emmy and Grammy winner, Paul Bogaev, and Broadway pros Christine Dwyer, Kelly Grant, Juwan Crawley and more.
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hello, my name is Ajabola Tajuddin, which you can call me Kimi
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And today you're watching Conversations with Kimi, a show we ask stuff and we make stuff
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Today, my guest you'll be seeing behind the scenes of filmmaking and television screens
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He's the technical director and has been the technical director of So You Think You Can Dance, Fox NFL Sunday, and Deal or No Deal and more
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He has won two Emmys and even more. Please help me in welcoming David Distinti
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Hello, TV. Hey, how are you? I'm doing great. How are you
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I'm good. When are you going to win the Tony? I'm working on that. I'll just tell you, if you ever heard my husband saying, he will never win a Tony
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Oh, sorry. I'll keep on trying. How did you get your two Emmys
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Well, I direct I can start with this Oh, that's right, of course
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I've been told I have to cut these things And I hope I don't cut my finger off
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But anyway, so I'm cutting and talking, is that right? So I direct for ABC News
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One of the shows I direct is World News Tonight with David Muir It's this little show that like 8 million people watch
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A little show When I'm not directing that I am directing special events for ABC
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So when there's breaking news, I'm the guy who's working from 11 a.m. to 8 o'clock p.m
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So when you see breaking news on ABC, I'm the guy who's directing the coverage
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And that's how I got my two Emmys for breaking news coverage. How did you get started in your career Interestingly enough I was talking with a friend on the phone I was working for this stuffy I can say the name of the company
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but I was working for this business, a business, and I was wearing a jacket and a tie
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and I was working behind a desk as sort of a summer job, and a friend of mine, I was speaking with her on the phone
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and she said, I didn't know what I wanted to do. So my friend said, well, what do you want to do
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And nobody ever asked me that question. So I said, I'm going to work in television
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And then my friend said, well, how do you do that? And I went, I have no idea
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So I hung up with my friend. And I don't know if you kids know what this is, but there were the yellow pages
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The book with yellow pages, right? Phone books. A phone book? A phone book
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You actually know what that is? Yes. Oh, amazing. Simply what happened, I basically looked in the phone book
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I found News 12 in Norwalk, Connecticut. And I cold called them
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And I said, how does someone get into television? And I got Dennis Buckman, the sports anchor, and he has this rough voice
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He's like, I don't know, you can do an internship. So he transferred the phone to this Shelly, my old boss, production manager
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He called me down and said, hey, you want to come on down to the station? So I said, okay
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Next thing you know, I got signed up for an internship, and that was 30 years ago, September
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What did your parents think about you joining behind the scenes of the arts
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Oh, you know what? You know what? Actually, my mom was really mad. Wow
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Okay, it's an interesting story. Well, I was going to college and I said, you know what mom, I think I'm going to take
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a semester off and try this TV internship thing And she turned and looked at me and started yelling at me saying you crazy why would you do that You going to mess things up And she got really mad at me And
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honestly, it was the first time I made like an adult decision that I didn't, I didn't
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ask for her permission. I just did it. And I took a chance. What was the most stressful day that you've had at work so far
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I would probably have to say when the shootings in Sandy Hook took place
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I know a lot of friends who live in Newtown and their children went to that school
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to the elementary school, and I really wanted to go home and support my friends
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but I couldn't, and I remember my boss came to me and he says
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I know how much you want to go home and be with your friends, but we really need you to help direct our special event coverage
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And he says it's really important for the people out there to know what's going on
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You can help with that. And so I stayed and I directed that
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And I have to tell you, we were on the air for probably six hours
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What's the worst scene that you've ever shot? So I also oversee a filmmakers group called Connecticut Filmworks
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and one of our first shorts was called A Jaguar for Sale
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And every aspect of that short was horrifying. One thing is don't hire an actor or an actress
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unless you've had them audition before. What is your favorite holiday tradition with your family? Ooh
5:05
Um gosh you know I sort of I think Thanksgiving is the uh I enjoy the most because I think it a time where you get together with your family and you have a good time
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You get to eat a lot of turkey. I prefer stuffing. I don't know about you, but I like stuffing
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And I also like hanging out with my family. Fun fact, my birthday sometimes is on Thanksgiving
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How is it sometimes on Thanksgiving? Because my birthday is on the 24th. So sometimes Thanksgiving runs on the 24th. Oh
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So what would you say to young leaders who want to lead out there in your community
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I think the most important thing for people in leadership is to have a goal
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know what that goal is, and then put 100% towards that goal
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And I think that is probably helps you stay on track. You know what your mission is, and you know what you need to get done
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And you don't waver from it. So let's show our snowflakes. It looks like a shark got a hold of mine, but here we go. Ooh! Ooh
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Ah, look at that. Hey, we can do this. Yeah, we'll just hang it on the things like that
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There you go. Thank you so much for being our guest here on Conversations with Kimi
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Well, thank you guys so much for watching Conversations with Kimi, and I hope you remember
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that your voice is your power. So use it. Kimi out. Conversations with Kimi is produced with support from the Department of Economic and Community
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Development Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National
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Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency
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