For nearly a decade, the top name in comedy specials and docu-series has been Brian Volk-Weiss. If you have any streaming services, you no doubt have seen his name at the end of some of the finest offerings in the business.  Brian was generous enough to answer a few questions from a random blogger (me) that decided to bother him one afternoon.

He's everywhere, he's everywhere!

Brian Volk-Weiss has produced or directed comedy for a who’s who of the stand-up world.  From Dave Chapelle to Pete Davidson, Brian has worked with a legendary collection of talents and produced several Grammy Award-winning offerings.  On the small screen, series like “The Toys That Made Us”, “Behind the Attraction”, and “Icons Unearthed” have analyzed and celebrated pop culture nostalgia with a sense of warmth, whimsy, and wonderfulness few have achieved.  

Q: Your docuseries like "The Toys that Made Us" and "Behind the Attraction" are as funny as they are informative.  Do you draw on your work producing comedy specials for that humor?

A: Yes, absolutely, and for mainly two reasons. The first is that I’ve been in love with documentaries my whole life, even when 90 percent had to be seen in a movie theater, and after years of watching docs on fun subjects treat them like the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, I knew that if I was ever given the chance to make my own docs I’d give them a sense of humor and joy. The second reason is that when “Toys That Made Us" was green lit I hired the people I’d loved from my comedy background and when they started editing and writing the voice overs, I encouraged them to push the humor (and pathos) as much as possible. 

Q:  As far as your collecting habits are concerned, are you an "Unpackager" or a "Leave it in the Box" kinda guy?

A: 99 percent of my collection is unboxed. 

Q:  What was your go-to genre to collect as a kid?

A:  Sci-fi

Q: Toy companies seem to have shifted in the last few years to recreating the classic look and packaging of toys from the 80s and 90s.  Do you see any trends in toys and collecting on the horizon?

A:  The only trend I see for sure is more doubling down on nostalgia-based toys and a continuing improvement both in articulation and facial sculpts. 

Q:  Personal question, I gotta ask.  “Down to Earth with Zac Efron” was not only informative and helpful to world cultural issues, it featured my number one man crush, “The Zefron.” How delightful is Zac Efron in real life?

A:  He’s a true artist. 

Q:  What projects do you have coming up that we should be on the lookout for?

A:  Season 5 of “A Toy Store Near You” , season 2 of “Down to Earth with Zac Efron”, season 2 of “Icons Unearthed”, lots and lots of stand up specials, and of course we’re working on many shows that we unfortunately can’t talk about yet. 

My thanks again to one of the most prolific creators in entertainment, Mr. Brian Volk-Weiss.  Tune in for his upcoming specials on streaming services across the board, I know I will.

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*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.