Interviews

‘Living Wild, Wild Life’

It’s not every day that you get to talk to your comedy heroes but when you do, it’s a moment that sticks with you and one that truly means the world. In the past four years across two entertainment websites, I’ve been really humbled to chat with Joel McHale almost 10 times for work. Naturally, each time has been so much fun and incredibly special.

He is one of the kindest, funniest, and most down-to-earth people you will ever know! To say just how much Joel’s comedy has meant to me over the years is something I can never quite put into words (but more into LOLs and smiles). I started watching his version of The Soup from the very start and I was glued — like thighs on a plastic seat during a hot summer’s day. I literally grew up with the show and went through so much of life with it. My sister’s illness, relationship heartache, good jobs, bad jobs, all of it. Like how Conan O’Brien is a big part of my childhood salvation, Joel is too and I’ll never be able to say thank you, no matter how much I try. His comedy has meant a lot to me and I’m eternally grateful.

In honor of Animal Control Season 2 premiering tonight on FOX, check out my review and look back at all the shared hilarity with Joel. He really is the best!

‘Give Your Heart to Everyone You Meet’

January is almost done and honestly, it’s been such a crazy month. As I try to get back into blogging more regularly, I am so humbled by my first year at Collider. I’ve been so grateful to cover some super fun events and while we are planning for the next ones, a big favorite from last year just so happened to be my “premiere” at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. 

For years, all I ever heard when requesting to cover this at work was “no,” “not really” and “nah.” But finally, last September, I got a chance to be a part of it — and most importantly, with a team that equally appreciates film as much as I do. I’ve been watching the festival and its highlights on the local news since I was a little girl and always said to myself that I’d cover it one day. I never knew how or when, but I knew it would happen. When I started writing professionally in 2008, I thought now was the time. It wasn’t — and it wasn’t for at least 15 years. Fast forward to today and I’m really glad that day finally came and with my Collider team of all teams, who were so supportive and helpful in this whole process. I’m so grateful. 

While meeting my work family was an incredible highlight, one of my all-time favorite moments was meeting Ethan Hawke, who came into our Collider studio with his daughter, Maya Hawke for their film Wildcat. He was very sweet and kind, and just so warm. We spoke for a few minutes — a conversation I’ll keep close to me. He also signed my copy of “Ash Wednesday,” which meant a lot and just had me over the moon all month. Big thanks to my coworker for giving me the courage too. I am usually so cool around people when I’m doing interviews, but I was absolutely starstruck, haha! Not since meeting Brad Pitt and the Coen Brothers did I feel this way — but that’s a story for another day (blog post). 

I can’t wait for the next event! You will have to stay tuned for what comes next. But in the meantime, check out some more photos from my TIFF 23 experience, and read my reviews or tap to check out all our coverage, helped ideated by yours truly!

‘I Watched It Begin Again’

After months of organizing 15 years of writing and scouring the web for some of my older work, I finally got my website live earlier this month — taniahussain.com!

If you know everything I’ve been through and what it took to get to where I am, you know it was an emotional journey for me. I’m not going to get into a whole thing about my career, but I do want to say how grateful I am to those that have been there for me from the start.

Life pushed me onto the road less travelled and while it wasn’t easy, I’m so grateful to have a steadfast faith in God and a support system that humbles me constantly. I’ve been so blessed to have family and friends who believe in me when I sometimes find it hard to do it myself. Thank you to my family, all my friends and mentors for being there. Without further adieu, check me out at my official website below!

Tania Hussain

‘Woke up This Morning…’

In my almost 13 years of news reporting and entertainment journalism, I’ve had some really fun experiences but this moment is definitely one for the books. I got a chance to attend my first ever movie junket for PopCulture.com and it was an absolute blast. Maybe even more so since it was surrounding one of my favorite TV shows — The Sopranos! Most humbled and grateful to be speaking to the very kind cast (Michael Gandolfini, Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Michela De Rossi, Ray Liotta) and director (Alan Taylor) of the highly-anticipated prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark, it was a moment to remember and one I am so thankful for.

It’s a real blessing to be working in a field that is not only fulfilling with the chance to share and interpret social commentary and criticism through an art form like film with other cinephiles, but recognize that the privilege to work in a job like this is a real gift. These guys were so much fun (and oh my gosh, the absolute warmest and funniest) — be sure to watch the complete junket, hot off the press, above; and if you are interested in more awesome content from PopCulture.com, head to our YouTube channel for the latest.

‘Don’t Read the Last Page’

This past year has been a challenging year for so many and while I’ll get to that in another post later this week detailing the pain of 2020, I do want to share something that has me counting my blessings — the parts we can be grateful for amid the darkness. While an event from last Christmas left a hole in my heart, it is one that has brought me closer to some of my friends, recognizing who is genuine and who isn’t. I think that’s what age does though, right? You just get it all of a sudden.

But while certain friends and, of course, my family have been salvation during this global pandemic, I am blessed and grateful for work (and my amazing co-workers) being that totem for me too. This year was rough with COVID-19 and just tragic news coverage. Some stories took a toll each day. Sifting through information, first-hand accounts, videos, all of it can break you some days and ground you. With nowhere to go but an arm’s length, it was a lot of reflecting, disconnecting from the noise and dropping everything to spend time with my sister and parents, staying indoors, protecting them, helping them. All of it produced an interesting latent function though, ironically, that allowed me to grow outside myself — and like everything in life, the balance is important. It helps you gain perspective to make better decisions, gain a sense of calm, and see the big picture again.

With a career embedded in just about every aspect of life with no way to turn off, I got to jump outside my comfort zone and head into a realm of broadcast with work, finally getting the chance to apply everything I’ve learned in school to another aspect of reporting. I never imagined it would go that way, but here we are at the end of 2020 and I’ve filmed 18 (one embargoed for January) episodes for our ViacomCBS brand PopCulture’s @ Home series.

It all started at the end of June when I got my first interview with Ernie Hudson, which was a dream come true. (Imagine telling 4-year-old Tania about that!) I can’t even remember how I did it, but I can tell you, I was nervous AF. I had never done anything like it before and then I got another one, and another one, and another one… and I am so grateful. Talking to so many people that I have looked up to for years and admired, is an incredibly humbling experience. Work hard, friends. Like my favorite personality, Conan O’Brien once said, “Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”

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