Getting to The Point
With Fred Kuhr
What do you get when you bring together a diverse group of gay and straight guys, sit them around a desk discussing the hottest topics of the day? You get The Point, the brainchild of Fred Kuhr. Fred is a journalist, actor, media analyst, and talk show host who has a career all over the entertainment world. I reached out to Fred to find out more about his career and The Point which just celebrated its 100th episode.
Fred, can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, which makes me bi … national. I grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. — in fact, my father and Bernie Sanders went to the same high school. I started my career in journalism — mostly in LGBTQ media — when I first lived in Vermont. I eventually became editor of New England’s LGBTQ newspaper in Boston. Once I moved to Toronto, I pursued broadcasting as well as television and film work. Eventually, my partner Brad McDermott and I founded the independent production company Ticktock Pictures, which is the umbrella under which we produce films, music videos and our talk show The Point.
You produce and moderate a talk show called The Point where you bring together a diverse group of straight and gay men and discuss different topics. How did this all manifest? Where did you get the idea for this?
It’s an idea I’ve had in my back pocket for a while. I was previously on another talk show targeting the gay male community, even though part of the cast was straight guys. It fascinated me how much people’s point of view on certain topics was influenced by growing up and living as gay or straight. So I thought, what if we actually pursued that idea and brought together a diverse group of guys — half gay, half straight — to talk politics, sex, relationships, and whatever else is on our minds? Once I brought my associate producer and fellow panelist, Tito Faustino on board, we went on a search for the rest of the panel.
We are obviously influenced by other panel talk shows like The View. Since The View is all women and starts with a V — for obvious reasons — and we are all men, we wanted a name that started with a P. And The Point was born!
What was the most unusual episode that you did?
Probably the one during which we brought on a female sexologist to explain female sexuality. I did this mainly for the straight men on the panel. And you would think the straight men would want to know as much as possible about how to please a woman — but they played it cool. It was one of the gay men who was the most fascinated by it all and asked the most questions. The fact that she brought a big stuffed vulva as a teaching tool was an extra bonus.
Similarly, it’s always fun when I get the straight guys to have to talk about anal sex!
You are a journalist, actor, media analyst, and talk show host, what is one thing that feeds your soul?
They all feed my soul because they are all related. It’s all about communicating an idea to an audience, regardless of the medium. Yes, The Point is a passion project. But everything I work on is about getting an emotional or an intellectual reaction from the reader or the viewer. I want people to think, to question, to respond, to consider the world around them. And there is so much going on in the world to be worried about right now. We live in scary times, and we must pay attention and speak out for change. And vote!
I saw the “Funny Bunny” episode on Howie Mandel’s old show, Howie Do It. After what they put you through, did you get to meet Howie?
Oh my! I can’t believe you found that clip. Yeah, that’s what happens when you are an actor looking for work — you can get duped into thinking you are being hired by a singing telegram company! Like those things still, even exist! I won’t go into too much detail. People will just have to look for the clip online.
But no, I didn’t meet Howie! I was cast in one of the few pranks that Howie wasn’t involved in. Probably smart, because I would’ve recognized him, which would’ve killed the prank.
What is next on the horizon for Fred?
The Audience Awards just named me one of the “Top 10 up-and-coming LGBTQ filmmakers to keep your eye on.” So that’s quite an honor. Plus, Brad and I were invited by NewFilmmakers LA to take part in their emerging Canadian filmmaker’s program, connecting Canadian filmmakers with industry people in Los Angeles. Hopefully, this will help us get more LGBTQ film and web content out there. And of course, Season 4 of The Point premieres this fall at YouTube.com/ThePointGuys.
How can people support The Point and keep it going?
Excellent question! Please, please, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. It costs you nothing and helps us greatly. Again, that website is YouTube.com/ThePointGuys. Once you are there, you can also hit the bell icon so that you are notified every time a new episode is online. If you really want to help us out, we have a crowdfunding site at patreon.com/ThePointGuys. If you like us, please support us!
