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Larry Jakubecz, right, producer and engineer of Celluloid Dreams, airs his film review show every Monday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on 90.5 KSJS broadcasted from Hugh Gillis Hall. Daniel Severin, left, an English masters student, works in the studio during air [Click to enlarge]

"It's hip, it's funny and it never assumes the listener is a moron," said Scott Sublett, a film and screenwriting professor who has been listening to the show for years. "It is about film as an art but not in a pretentious, phony way."

During a recent 50-minute phone interview with Tim Sika, host and producer, and Larry Jakubecz, producer, engineer and sound designer, talked about their enthusiasm for cinema.

"We have been movie fans all our lives," Sika said. "We like to ask open-ended questions and always stay clear of personal things."

Debuting May 6, 1996 as "PrimeAudio Soup," on Stanford's KZSU 90.1 FM, the radio show was a sci-fi/pop culture program.

With the help of Todd James, Jakubecz decided to expand the scope beyond sci-fi and by the third show Sika joined in the process, Jakubecz said.

Since the show's initial take off, it has since changed hands from Stanford to SJSU's 90.5 FM KSJS.

Nick Martinez, the station's general manager, said because KSJS is a student-run radio station, Sika and Jakubecz have to do everything a normal student would.

He added KSJS itself has one of the most powerful college student-run radio stations, transmitting at 1,500 watts.

"I believe students listen to KSJS, just some time what we play is not their cup of tea," Martinez said. "KSJS is like any other radio station, and it appeals to certain peoples taste."

Julia Jansen, a junior majoring in liberal studies, said she doesn't listen to KSJS because she just doesn't listen to the radio that much.

The KSJS broadcast signal covers seven San Francisco Bay Area counties including Alameda, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, but because it is a college radio station it doesn't reach home listeners, Martinez said.

"I listen to the show usually in my car and often take long routes to my various destinations so that I can hear the entire show," said Jack Nyblom, co-owner of Camera Cinemas.

As part of the SJSU campus and KSJS station, Chetan Chaudhari, a junior majoring in radio broadcasting said he has not heard of the program.

"I am only on campus two days a week so I don't listen to KSJS," said Nhi Tran, a masters student majoring in computer science.

Sika and Jakubecz said they have their show down to a science, planned almost to the minute, but the goal is for the show to sound spontaneous.

"You can tell (Sika) has an enthusiastic passion for film that spills out of him when he talks to artists or other film lovers," said Sean McCarthy, a local filmmaker who has been listening to the show for about eight years.

Celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Jackie Chan, Kevin Smith, Charlize Theron, Roger Ebert, Robert Duvall, Michael Moore and John Travolta have appeared on the show.

"He is able to draw out any actor, director, or writer by making them completely comfortable, by having a great deal of background information about their craft, movies, projects, etc., so that the

interview subject knows that Tim is truly interested in them," said Katy Grischy, marriage and family therapist and former SJSU student. "He asks the kinds of questions that lead to deeper replies and introspection and thus provide the listener with a more complete sense of who the actor is, rather than just a character on the screen or behind the camera."

But Sika and Jakubecz explained things have not always been so easy.

"In the beginning, we would contact publishers and agents," he said. "As the show established itself, Larry got contacted by SF publicity firms when they would make a personal appearance tours to speak to different outlets."

Jakubecz said while they used to air the show live, the process itself has adapted as the radio station equipment is not always able to accommodate what they need.

"The amount of work that goes into the show we want to have something to show for it," Sika said. "Larry figured out how to do it on a computer and we have total control of it now."

Another factor at play in their 60-minute show are the time restraints.

Jakubecz said they conduct the interviews live, in-person and generally in San Francisco, but they can fit the interview into a segment if it is prerecorded.

"The way Larry orchestrates it, if you don't know any difference you figure it is all (done) in the studio," Sika said.

Martinez said "Celluloid Dreams" recieves close to 25 to 50 calls per show.

"I think 'Celluloid Dreams' is a real asset to SJSU," said Richard von Busack, Metro weekly film critic and regular listener. "I am an enthusiastic listener to college radio, but no one in the professional or college radio station in the Bay Area does half the job of interviewing and reviewing that 'Celluloid Dreams' does."

Sika and Jakubecz are looking at syndication for their show to reach bigger markets, but they still have yet to decide what path they want to take.

"We feel it is a privilege to be able to talk to (celebrities)," Sika said. "We aren't special because a lot of people get to talk to them but what does single us out is our enthusiasm, quality interviews and passion for the subject."

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