MAY 2010

CANDYMAN: The David Klein Story, which Eddie Executive Produced, plays in Toronto's prestigious Hot Docs on May 1st and May 4th.

Eddie, in his role as IDA President, helped spearhead and shape a detailed and comprehensive argument in support of net neutrality for the future of documentary filmmaking filed with the FCC. This document, the result of much hard work from attorney Michael Donaldson, Jack Lerner and the USC Law Clinic, IDA ED Michael Lumpkin, and partner organizations like Film Independent and Kartemquin Films, can be found on IDA's website.

Eddie and the IDA also filed an amicus brief in support of overturning a broad animal cruelty law that could have seriously (and negatively) affected documentary filmmakers and free speech, in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court agreed, and the law was struck down, making national headlines in the process. You can read the story here.

WINTER 2009-2010

At the 2009 IDA Documentary Awards, Eddie opened the show for the second year in a row, introducing host Ira Glass as "a man whose voice has inspired so many crushes, he's known as the Zac Efron of Public Radio." And on December 10th, Eddie hosted a "Doc-U" lecture with the Sundance Institute's Cara Mertes.

In Jan 2010, Eddie hosted IDA's Sundance Film Festival event with Ro*Co Films, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), and Hewlett Packard.

In Feb, Eddie was named a NonFiction Hero by the blog All These Wonderful Things.

A recent column by Eddie on the importance of net neutrality can be found in the Spring issue of Documentary magazine.

Also in February, Eddie began producing a new feature documentary for release later this year.

FALL 2009

Eddie hosts "An Evening With Ondi Timoner" at Kodak on Sept 20th. Yes, the talented and charismatic director of docs like "We Live In Public" and "Dig" sits down for a conversation and Q&A with Mr Schmidt. Check it out.

On October 20th, Eddie moderates a panel about DIY docu-making at Digital Hollywood at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. He'll be joined by ace doc filmmakers including Marina Zenovich ("Roman Polanski: Wanted & Desired"), AJ Schnack ("Kurt Cobain: About A Son"), and Scott Hamilton Kennedy ("The Garden").

And, you can catch Eddie on the big screen, if fleetingly, for the premiere of Jeffrey Schwarz's "Sex In The Cinema" at the Hollywood Film Festival on Oct 23rd at the Arclight Cinemas. (He's a "talking head" along with Jennifer Tilly, Dominique Swain, and Paul Verhoeven). The documentary makes its television debut on Starz on November 10th.  Buy movie tickets here.

Finally, Eddie is producing/directing the doc special "Psychic Hollywood: The Search For Truth" airing on E! on October 28th and beyond.

JUNE/JULY 2009

Check out E!'s new comedy clipfest, "Wildest TV Show Moments", starring funny lady Loni Love and a gaggle of other joke giants. Schmidt is the show's Supervising Producer, a duty that includes writing, directing, and, yes, producing. 8 ha-ha funny episodes start Friday nights at 10:30PM in June following "The Soup," and repeat on E!'s daily schedule ad infinitum.

Eddie appears on the "truth in documentaries" panel at the LA Film Festival following the controversial film "Bananas" on both June 21st and June 23rd. He's also one of the indie film vets participating in the festival's "Kodak Speed Dating" program, which gives up-and-comers a chance to receive jaded advice from grizzled round-the-blockers.

Also, Starz repeats the documentary "In The Gutter" which features Eddie's quippy soundbites along such boldfaced names as John Waters and Jason Biggs, throughout the beginning of July.

APRIL/MAY 2009

Eddie was a guest lecturer at Montclair State University on April 7th, and on April 13th returned to Los Angeles to begin work as supervising producer on a new comedy series for cable, debuting this summer. Elsewhere: pay careful attention, as Eddie gets a brief cameo of sorts in Kirby Dick's new documentary "Outrage," opening May 8th. (No, he's not one of the outed politicians).

February/March 2009

Eddie shot another on-camera interview for a cool documentary coming to cable later this year.  Stay tuned.

Mr. Schmidt also provided a few satiric jolts to the indie film community with a rousing speech at this year's IDA Oscar Reception at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, honoring 2008's documentary nominees and hosted by Lily Tomlin.  Read the hubub here, here, and, sure, here.

Finally, check out Debra Eckerling's interview with Eddie, Oscar nominee Scott Kennedy Hamilton ("The Garden") and director/editor/composer Kurt Kuenne (the terrific "Dear Zachary") on the nature of writing  documentaries in the April issue of Script Magazine, on newsstands now

JANUARY 2009

Mr Schmidt puts on his Sundancing shoes (warm ones) for Park City madness Jan 16 - 20th, which includes co-hosting an IDA event on Jan 18th. Watch for almost-live reports at documentary.org.

A few days later, ES pops up as a juror for the Santa Barbara Film Festival's Documentary competition. And then...some sleep.

DECEMBER 2008

On December 5th, Eddie introduced his "close personal Facebook friend" Morgan Spurlock with a rousing guitar open to the 2008 IDA Documentary Awards at the Directors Guild of America. Sir Spurlock did a kick-ass hosting job all night long, and the evening featured a centerpiece tribute to the legendary Werner Herzog as well as appearances from the way cool trio of Ira Glass, Adrian Grenier, and Ann Magnuson. Other filmmakers honored included the great Rob Epstein and Sam Pollard, and terrific films like MAN ON WIRE, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, BOOGIE MAN, LA CORONA and BURNING THE FUTURE: COAL IN AMERICA. All in all, a great night. During the program, it was also announced that Eddie will segue out of his post as IDA's Interim Executive Director into his new post as President in January 2009.

NOVEMBER 2008

Eddie filmed a new development project with some major honchos that we'll hear more about in 2009. Shhhh.....

OCTOBER 2008

Still moderating after all these years: join Eddie and a slew of distinguished panelists, including Jeffrey Tuchman, David Gale, Michele Ohayon, Stefan Forbes and Elan Frank, for IDA's rabble-rousing presentation of "Fear and Loathing on the Online Campaign Trail," Monday October 27th as part of Digital Hollywood in Santa Monica. Scroll down here for more details.

Also, the Starz documentary Eddie appears in, IN THE GUTTER, is now available for pre-order at amazon.com, out on December 2nd. Eddie's Mom is especially proud of her son's name on the front cover, right next to a bearded guy emerging from a toilet.

SEPTEMBER 2008

Eddie moderates the panel "What's Up, Doc?" at Film Independent's Filmmaker Forum on Saturday, Sept 27th, at 10:15AM at the Director's Guild in LA. Panelists include way cool fellow docmakers Davis Guggenheim, Marina Zenovich, Freida Lee Mock, and Arthur Dong. Eddie will also stick around to host a table at the forum's "off the record" lunch (sure it's off the record!) at 1:30PM.

More information and tickets at filmindependent.org.

SUMMER 2008

Eddie joined pal and fellow "Blind Date" alum Dave Pullano (who Exec Produced) to produce and crack wise for "Wildest TV Commercial Moments," a funny and fast-paced special debuting on E! June 20th and repeating throughout the Months of the Sweltering Temperature. Check listings for times.

On July 29th, join Eddie as he appears (along with John Waters, Adam Rifkin, and many others) as an on-camera interviewee in multi-talented (and all-around) swell guy Jeffrey Schwarz's raucous examination of "gross-out" movies, "In the Gutter." The special debuts July 29th on Starz with multiple re-airings to follow. On the site, under "Starring," hit MORE to see a name you can trust.

MAY 2008

Eddie's hard at work on some upcoming projects. In the meantime, check out "This Film Is Not Yet Rated," re-airing on IFC on May 10th and May 30th, and "Twist of Faith" on HBO Signature June 3rd. Check local listings for showtimes.

And if you're feeling too media-saturated, check out Eddie's blog entry on retiring modern comedy cliches.

APRIL 2008

Appropriately commemorating April Fool's Day, Eddie and Documentary Magazine editor Tom White released an Onion-worthy rundown of the world's "20 Most Underrated Documentaries"

Also, tune-in to ABC Family on April 9th and 10th to catch Eddie's brief yet delightful voiceover as a Mannequin Dad in the "Live And Let Diorama" episode of TV's beloved "Gilmore Girls."

MARCH 2008

Eddie just shot an on-camera interview for one cool cable special, and contributed one-liners and gags to another. Both should be out later in 2008. Mum's the word on particulars, at least for the time being. Stay tuned.

FEBRUARY 2008

IFC will re-air "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" at the seemingly inconvenient time of 2:30AM on Feb 12th. However, with Tivo and DVR, no time is ever inconvenient.

Eddie and his cohorts have been hard at work on new pieces for SuperDeluxe.com. No, they're not up yet, but feel free to check out the rest of the site and wait very patiently.

The IDA hosts two great annual events, its Oscar tribute to this year's documentary nominees, as well as DocuDay which screens all the nominated films back-to-back with filmmakers in attendance. Eddie is bound turn up at both in some fashion...hosting a filmmaker Q&A or perhaps just eating from the buffet. Hey, that rhymes. Buy your tix here.

JANUARY 2008

Originally created for an OOZE sketch show at the HBO Workspace, famous animal rock band “The Dingleberrys” return in a new original webisode with Schmidt's paw prints on it.  See www.ooze.com/dingleberrys.

Also, on January 19th, stay up until 3AM to catch a rare repeat of 2003's (unavailable on video but still bodacious) “Showgirls:  Glitz & Angst” on HBO.  See hbo.com/schedule.

Eddie is back for a sixth appearance on “Attack of the Show” on Friday, January 25th, discussing everything from the MPAA's botched piracy study to Morgan Spurlock's latest.

DECEMBER 2007

On December 7th, Eddie returns as the offstage emcee of the 25th Annual IDA Awards at the Director's Guild in Hollywood (he's also on the Board of Directors of the org).  Presenters include Don Cheadle, Paul Provenza, James McAvoy, Joni Mitchell, Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello and more.  See documentary.org for more details.

If you're awake on New Year's Eve, the musical documentary extravaganza “Showgirls:  Glitz & Angst” pops up on HBO and HBO Latino at (gasp!) 4:05AM. 

NOVEMBER 2007

IFC-TV repeats “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” in prime time (10PM) on November 30th.  Swing by ifc.com for more info.

Also throughout November, HBO re-airs the Oscar nominated “Twist Of Faith” at various odd times.  Check the schedule at hbo.com for info.

OCTOBER 2007

On October 24th, Eddie represents the 80s in an 80s vs 90s rap battle of embarrassment, performing lyrics (live) from his high school Beastie Boys-esque group, Molly Ringworm. See getmoritified.com for show details.  Then listen to an MP3 of the group's 1986 vintage “Anthem For A Raunchy Ringworm” featuring Eddie and partner in crime Jason Ojalvo.

Oct 12th: tune in as Schmidt returns for his fifth appearance on G4-TV's daily yakker “Attack of the Show.”

JUNE 2007

Schmidt is back for his fourth appearance on G4's “Attack of the Show” on June 25th. 

MAY 2007

For the IDA's “Doc A-Z” panel “Structure Works:  Non Fiction Writing,” Eddie joins “Nanking” producer Dan Sturman, Emmy nominated writer Steve Reich, Emmy Award winning writer Michael Rose and moderator John Koch on 5/22 at the Kodak Screening Room in Hollywood.  See documentary.org for more details.

MARCH 2007

Hey hey ho ho MPAA has got to go:  it's the network television premiere of “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” on March 31st only on IFC.  Go to ifc.com for schedule; film repeats throughout April.

On March 24, at this year's Ann Arbor Film Festival, Film Threat's Chris Gore moderates “Hot And Bothered:  Censorship In The Arts” featuring curator Elaine Dutka, film professor Mathew Bernstein (“Hollywood Censorship) and Eddie.   1:30PM in the Michigan Theatre.  www.aafilmfest.org