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foreign [Music] he looks a little like James Bond he could pull that off he's like a cool
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slick dude he has a really cool fashion sense he just has a he's just cool he he
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is uh unintentionally enigmatic like he's just been around all these great things but he doesn't he's not at every
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Premiere you know or anything he just keeps kind of a low profile low thirst level he's not out there has cool
00:00:31
friends I think when I was out there about two summers ago we went for a walk in Washington Park
00:00:39
to see everyone on drugs in the summer and uh I think Gigi Hadid had a birthday party
00:00:45
that night he was going to he's like oh um you wouldn't want to go but there's
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this big birthday party I go yeah that would be horrible I think I'll just go
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to Chili's with my friends did you go um Dana I don't jump when you say frog
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do you understand I'm very unpredictable well Gigi Hadid called me no what's up
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with space why were you there no I don't go anywhere I'm a shut-in you know that
00:01:06
anyway I cornrowed my hair for no reason and I didn't go I just went to Outback
00:01:10
but Justin Justin Thoreau Ben Stiller told me because we're friends that um he's kind
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of The Man Behind the Scenes that's influenced a lot of comedy in the last 25 years and especially Tropic Thunder
00:01:25
which to me is uh probably the most brilliant along with hangover and and Will Ferrell
00:01:33
um Anchorman those are the me the three temples in the last 20 years and since the knots into the the teens those are
00:01:41
the ones so we break down Tropic Thunder and talk about how it's problematic in
00:01:45
2023 and whether it should be or not in Mel Brooks and movies and that's I wanted to ask about you know I've met
00:01:51
him we didn't talk about this I think I met him at Jennifer's when we were
00:01:54
watching we'd watch The Bachelor and do goofy stuff like that but I think he was there
00:01:59
and I think they were just about to get married and I wanted to take him off guard at the beginning and go okay here
00:02:06
we go Justin Thoreau first question what are your thoughts on Jennifer Aniston you have one hour
00:02:13
what a great beginning to make a move wait this isn't gonna be about that uh
00:02:17
but he did get pop broads a lot that's a hassle we didn't even get an L that's
00:02:20
that's just my thoughts on it it's always hard to be in situation like that
00:02:25
and then they're always up Jennifer's ass and uh she's very good about it but
00:02:29
man she gets hounded out there well the Line in the Sand for me is like say you go out and you're a celebrity and maybe
00:02:34
it's at the restaurant this and there but at your house they're outside the
00:02:38
gate yeah wherever it is 24 wherever you go that is a gilded cage that's a tough
00:02:43
one yeah I mean I fought through them to get get over your place today I dream about having it
00:02:48
um anyway this is Justin he's at White House plumbers White House plumbers with
00:02:54
Woody Harrelson we talk about their friendship and that that movie and him playing G Gordon Liddy
00:03:00
um that's out now well here he is Justin and you'll get to know him I just joked and almost died
00:03:07
nobody cares no one rushed me to save me [ __ ] people you're in you're off the
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charts with energy today I am yeah that's because I had chia pudding Popeye and and some uh
00:03:26
Popeye getting kicked in the groin oh did you say groin or nuts no crotch I think this is it me in college here's my
00:03:40
uh I'll do it I'll do one of mine here's my first show I got a new car well it's not really new
00:03:45
it's an old UPS truck I got a second Park wherever I want guys Park wherever I want to
00:03:51
because UPS trucks used to just park oil yeah like Amazon now I can't walk you through all of them
00:03:57
guys it was a 10 out of 10. that is not in your current set is it no it might come back
00:04:03
I just wanted fast stuff [Music] foreign [Music] welcome welcome to the podcast ladies
00:04:15
and gentlemen our guest today you are uh he's a real let me tell you something
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first of all Dana to get get off on the right foot uh this is this is not some sort of puff piece like smartless oh
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yeah you're Precious Precious he's gone about once a week and just tear me to
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shreds and it and I saw Jason Bateman a couple nights ago and I said it's a really terrible feeling because it you
00:04:37
can't I can't punch back you know like there's no I can't they're they're on
00:04:41
the air they got the [ __ ] bandwidth you know they got three against one Jason Jason wasn't even at dinner I
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don't know what happened hey I was there very early I could have gone hey come on
00:04:51
you guys I just that was a horrible Sean Hayes no they're they're very nice they're great
00:04:58
Justin remember when I was on remember I'm sure you watched it a lot of times
00:05:02
uh he said I saw spade and then he doesn't say where he goes we were at both at a seafood restaurant and he
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talks about I go do you mean koi and he goes yeah and I go isn't that a sushi
00:05:15
who the [ __ ] calls it a seafood I laughed so hard at that because yeah now whenever people are like what should
00:05:23
we get I'm like let's go get Seafood Japanese seafood it's hard to you got to identify what
00:05:30
the restaurant is so how uh what's up today man how are you I'm good I'm in
00:05:35
New York City I speaking Sean has just saw his play the other night um which was fabulous good night Oscar
00:05:40
right so good I'm plugging him now who's saying Oscar what's that what's that what's the
00:05:47
storyline it's a it's a oh God it's about uh Oscar Levant uh a sort of
00:05:51
famous pianist humorist Contour um and it sort of takes place uh uh uh on the evening that he has to appear on
00:06:00
a jackpot show the best play I ever saw our show I don't I'm not a theater right
00:06:06
but I my wife I mentioned her twice now fall in love with the theater in recent times now that we're old but we saw the
00:06:13
Freeman in London blew my mind you know theater is one of those things it's there's nothing better
00:06:21
when you see a good play and there's also nothing worse than when you're
00:06:25
watching a bad one and so it always makes you feel like that you know there's you're spinning a a gun with you
00:06:32
know two bullets in the chamber you know you'd think oh God now when you when you
00:06:36
go when you go last night or whenever to see Sean and you know ahead it's probably gonna be horrible do you do any
00:06:43
prep work no I I no I well it was a big group going you know like the smartless guys all went obviously it was an
00:06:51
opening night it was a big Fanfare um and you know it was like a real who's who of um of people and of funny people
00:06:58
too I did see that I just saw you on that and I was looking and um I know that smartless has a they Dana they
00:07:06
redid a Hummer and they put smartless all over it and they drive that around the country so to let them know they go
00:07:12
it's the three guys and they pop out like the uh tank out of the top you know
00:07:15
they are the cool the cool kids and if it was high school if life is high school they are definitely the cool kids
00:07:20
at chimney corners they're great though they're all like whatever that chemistry
00:07:25
is is very funny which I would also argue you guys have as well um on your podcast they're very very
00:07:31
likable um and smart I just watched Justin in um the Watergate uh show it's called what Justin I'm gonna call
00:07:40
the White House White House plumbers yep close enough and he's on that and it's going to be on
00:07:48
what HBO May 1st we're just getting right to the plot no I'm just gonna say
00:07:53
this because I just saw it and you look a lot like the guy in it um that plays G Gordon Lenny and uh I
00:07:59
watched one last night and I started one this morning so I got a feel I don't
00:08:03
know where it goes but I would say it looked like a a lot of fun B it looks super [ __ ] cool looks shot cool
00:08:11
and who is the director on that is it Dave Mandel Dave Mandel from SNL Rider yeah oldest Dave Mandel yeah
00:08:25
within the first two minutes of uh White House plumbers is that was he coming to
00:08:31
your office or Woody's office he comes in the Woody's office yeah which is PS
00:08:36
Jim Downey is who we're talking about he does a a he's sweet enough to come in
00:08:39
and do a cameo and um and we all got to bend his ear about early SNL days oh he is the greatest talker ever so much fun
00:08:48
you could just sit there and listen to him you know I mean I'm certain to you
00:08:51
guys he was sort of I guess more intimidating but um you know when so you know at the
00:08:57
thing when someone's I guess kind of your was he your boss or no I mean he's
00:09:00
a writer no he was head writer when I first got there and uh no that's not really Dana's boss that's my boss wasn't
00:09:07
but uh I was I was more I was scared of Lauren in a way like most people are Jim
00:09:12
was pretty he was he was pretty approachable but I'd be more nervous about him now but
00:09:18
yeah he when he came on our podcast he called me the day before and I was driving we talked for an hour and a half
00:09:23
and I said you've just done the podcast now we have to do it tomorrow because he
00:09:28
no one can talk like him but um yeah I just wanted to overall it's just I researching you you're you're like you
00:09:36
you're you kind of do everything you're very uh light on your feet you do a lot
00:09:41
of voices you do a lot of characters you do a lot of Comedy you do a lot of drama
00:09:46
uh I don't even I just want you to comment on that I don't want to go like
00:09:50
was this your career plan but you do do a lot of stuff James I do a lot of sort of tripping upstairs I get I mean
00:09:57
obviously lucky uh uh to a large extent but I I kind of I don't know I I owe a
00:10:05
lot of it to sort of just having a short attention span and that I can't when I
00:10:08
do one thing for too long I get kind of bored and I think oh I don't want to do
00:10:13
that again or I don't want to do this again um and then I just sort of and I'm I
00:10:18
guess patient enough that I can I can go without doing something if I don't if
00:10:22
there's nothing I really that's perking my interest you know um so I'm not one of those people that
00:10:28
feels like oh I have to be working all the time uh just to be doing something so I'll I'll go for stretches without
00:10:33
work but you know sometimes cooking something up in the lab you know writing something or
00:10:39
um um or I'll do you know just sort of an animated thing or I don't know it's
00:10:42
weird I I it's not it's been a very bizarre kind of like you know I guess career but it sort of
00:10:50
just it's sort of has well it's a it's a little bit if the word gets out kind of
00:10:55
like what can't he do well could he write our script yeah could he direct sure will he produce maybe can he play
00:11:01
an Irishman with a good accent can he that's too big you know can he write Tropic Thunder and then right you know
00:11:08
being a Mulholland Drive or whatever that David Lynch film so it is like it's
00:11:13
hard to pin you down it's great not to be pinned down I think it's the best I
00:11:17
mean a virtue and it it leads to some more interesting choices sometimes to to kind of
00:11:24
um not be able to be Typecast in certain or just seen in certain ways you know in
00:11:29
certain lights I guess that's a gift though because there's very like even in
00:11:34
the comedy World some people go oh why didn't you do that comedy movie I go first of all if they want a comedian
00:11:39
they start with these top five no matter if they're right for the script or not
00:11:42
they just go out to them and then after that if they want this kind of Comedy they go to me if they want this two
00:11:48
percent different from that kind they go because people go oh you should do stuff
00:11:51
like Sandler but that's a gift you're doing a lot of different things and
00:11:54
that's not always up to the actor yeah I mean it's gotten better I mean as we all know
00:12:02
like you know when you first start out you're you'll take any you know it's
00:12:06
like you just need to you need to be seeing how things are made and you know so I started out I mean I did like I was
00:12:12
an extra on like maybe the worst soap opera in New York's history you know like and a lot of people do you know a
00:12:18
little bit of extra work no it was a half hour soap called um loving good call um I Remember Loving do you it was
00:12:25
kind of like a younger soap it wasn't like you know but it was um and I was an
00:12:31
extra on it and then they gave me I played a drug dealer and they gave me a couple lines
00:12:36
um but it was really you know that was more just and it's also I mean hilarious
00:12:39
because you know those soaps are usually written by you know guys who are much older and you know they're trying to
00:12:45
write like cool drug lingo so I had like lines that were like um you know like oh
00:12:50
let's get let's give him this stuff he'll get a really good buzz on you know
00:12:55
like you got the scratch and the lettuce you know that whatever so it's like no
00:13:00
drug dealer in the world it was funny I was actually doing it with this other actor I learned a big lesson
00:13:07
um we thought oh this is so terrible so let's kind of send it up and make it fun
00:13:12
you know like let's just so that when we watch it you know a week later when it
00:13:15
airs you know we can all have a giggle and so we sort of did it sort of bad you know like like hey this stuff's Gonna
00:13:21
Get You higher than a kite like this stuff's really good you know blah blah blah blah then we went and we watched it
00:13:27
like a week later and we were mortified because the writing didn't look bad like the other actors
00:13:36
didn't look bad we looked [ __ ] terrible and it was because we weren't understanding the medium of it it's like
00:13:42
if you if you're gonna try and be funny do it in the medium that you're supposed
00:13:45
to be funny in not on a daytime soap opera you know what I mean it's a sketch show you know so yeah you
00:13:52
never know what they're gonna like though sometimes like oh you guys are awesome or get out we ever fired
00:13:58
summarily from a show I've likely have not been fired just immediately how many
00:14:04
times have you been fired is the real question I've never been I've been fired
00:14:07
you know really fired it's always getting fired what does that look like there's a lot of firings going on at
00:14:13
least I was surprised they let me get in the costume and go in the fake helicopter with James farentino and then
00:14:19
they said hey come down here in 100 crew and this is in the 80s and they said yeah we're gonna let you go so I had to
00:14:25
walk in front of everyone like the old TV show Brandon shame or things that people have been fired
00:14:34
off of and it's always kind of like to to call them afterwards but hey that was
00:14:38
[ __ ] not cool man that was [ __ ] you always have to take their side here even though you were the one lobbying to
00:14:45
get them off you know you were horrible you [ __ ] well James farentino was high as a kite literally coked up and
00:14:52
straight vodka and we're up in the fake Chopper and he got a smile when they
00:14:55
started approaching the chopper so I kind of felt like I think Jimmy kind of said I think the kids gotta go but I
00:15:02
sucked I sucked and I was so happy to get out of there I did it to make money and that's never a good reason are you
00:15:07
the worst decision when you think like this is smart for my career or this will be good money like it's every time I've
00:15:13
done that I'd make a terrible I usually can you share when you might have done
00:15:18
that no I mean it's um okay because you know want to appear ungrateful you know because you're also
00:15:24
yeah I got you um you know you're also happy to be working sometimes you know um but it
00:15:30
usually doesn't pan out if I I have learned that lesson which is you know it
00:15:34
has to have some I have to be wanting to lean into it creatively you know um and
00:15:39
find it enjoyable it seems like if you have you been through a period or is is this sort of so-called the most offers
00:15:46
you're getting right now or was there periods hotter it seems like you just have this very even trajectory just kind
00:15:52
of have I just kind of bump along you know like I don't it's I don't in a good
00:15:57
way I don't think I've ever had that like overnight anything you know like
00:16:02
there's there's no been like there's no moment where I've ever been like hotter
00:16:06
than ever it's just kind of like I've just been sort of slow and steady trying
00:16:10
to win the race you know I've been I think obviously a lot of friends of mine
00:16:14
and you know have had that thing where all of a sudden Hollywood's wand Taps
00:16:18
them on the head and the next day they're [ __ ] everywhere and you think holy [ __ ] and I can't even I don't think
00:16:23
my my nervous system would be able to handle that kind of a thing you know what I mean I see you have a trophy look
00:16:29
at Danny he's got a trophy behind him uh what do you think that's for what I
00:16:34
don't see what foreign yeah that's boxing I can't see cheerleading is oh
00:16:42
cheerleading pretty close David I'm not I'm oh last place last night I won't say
00:16:48
you're a hoarder but you have a lot of stuff going on in my office I can't flip
00:16:54
the camera around it wouldn't look this terrible if my I'm a complete mess I'm
00:16:58
just at a room somewhere that's nice and tidy can I ask you just for a second
00:17:01
because one thing is about your physicality like you can really look good good you and David have that in
00:17:07
common you can look good with your shirt off um and then I heard you were a break
00:17:11
dancer and my son was a break dancer so he had a few questions for you so when you were 10 how many years did you do it
00:17:18
like a couple years or um I did it I was really young and I did it um I really loved uh hip-hop and I
00:17:27
really loved breakdancing and I did it I want to say for I mean you never stop really do you
00:17:32
um but um no it's probably hardcore into it for like two or three years maybe oh okay yeah I
00:17:40
have such an appreciation for it I mean it really is floor gymnastics power moves it teaches you how to use your
00:17:45
whole body it's it's uh he asked what you did you do uh were you more of a top
00:17:50
rock or a footwork guy I was um I I was a pretty decent popper so sort of um popping and lock and and then
00:17:58
um and then I was good at floor work you know I was uh you know I could definitely that's backspin has been head
00:18:04
spins a little and then I could win I tried to I attempted a windmill uh like a year ago and boy did that not
00:18:11
go well it's and you know even to just do a little floor work is really exhausting what's
00:18:17
up what's your best a freeze yeah oh I could just freeze up you know on you know sort of up on my you know with legs
00:18:24
up you know sort of legs up you hold it yeah is that what it is you spin and start I didn't describe break dancing on
00:18:29
a on a podcast yeah I would phrase it was on the floor my arms were sort of up like this and then my legs yeah bent
00:18:37
you're just holding a pose on the floor that takes a lot of a lot of strength
00:18:41
and did you have a crew name yeah Sergeant pop and the bionic Breakers but I do think that physicality
00:18:55
physicality stays with you you know I mean I was a runner in high school distance Runner and I still like to get
00:19:01
that feeling of uh working really hard cardiovascularly so it's sprinting recently because that's hard recently
00:19:10
um I still could make a case I don't know if they do it with CGI but I would
00:19:15
say Tom Cruise sprinting and Mission Impossible in his mid 50s that's a lot of good take on it if
00:19:23
that's real his hip flexors a lot of stuff has to be working to Sprint after
00:19:28
50. I had this sort of delusional and still kind of do although I'm snapping
00:19:32
out of it a little bit this sort of delusional when I'd watch like sports like like the Olympics for example like
00:19:38
someone on like those Rings what do they call the uh you know or or the powers I
00:19:44
would sort of always watch and go like I could do that I mean like if I was like
00:19:48
set up in an ideal situation training camp diet although I said I could do that and then you know like or or like
00:19:55
swimming I'd be like I could do that you know I mean or football or baseball you
00:19:59
know I just I had this like in my head like I know that I bet I could do that you know I did gymnastics in high school
00:20:04
and I did the horse I did the Rings and I really I didn't know and I did the
00:20:09
apparel of ours oh yeah why do you think I'm such a [ __ ] could you do the audience could you do the iron cross on
00:20:15
the brain that's the fake thing they do with CGI well I needed to get contacts
00:20:20
out I I could do I could do where I'm on my like an L sit on the ground not a v
00:20:26
but an L you know you're on your fingertips stick your legs out I could do a idea I was best on the parallel
00:20:33
bars and then um pommel horse was tougher could you do that thing on the pommel horse where you know you sort of
00:20:39
go swing your legs a little bit like they're like dead bump at legs yeah because I was all obviously upper body
00:20:46
strength but my um legs were puny and weak and then I also did was it oh the parallel bars I did the best on the the
00:20:54
Rings are very hard because you have to sort of dislocate when you flip around and it's very hard to do the first one
00:21:01
you gotta trust that you're gonna ruin your shoulders for life and then uh dated my coach bro no I uh I have a I
00:21:09
have a quick question about your break dancing which I'm just going to the phones the question is do you carry a
00:21:18
slab of cardboard I did yeah we did I was cool that and I remember here's what I
00:21:25
remember my break dancing is we always had a slab of cardboard with sort of duct tape together because you have to
00:21:29
you know you try and find like we have a couple like something like a refrigerator cardboard thing yeah
00:21:34
and then I remember walking around endlessly with a with a huge radio and the enormous amount of
00:21:41
money right it would cost to buy those [ __ ] D batteries like 80 of them you know that went in
00:21:48
the back oh yeah I take like 40 yeah and you got to go get a pack and it's like
00:21:54
so much money and then you buy it for like two hours and all of a sudden the tape starts slowing down when the
00:21:58
batteries jump start get don't stop I know that whole song uh yeah so anyway can we talk
00:22:11
about it for a few minutes about how you became who you are like your childhood just a little bit because I don't know
00:22:18
where you came from I know your mom was actually um well no it wasn't a big part of my I got
00:22:25
it I don't even worry I I got arrested when I was a real a kid for vandalizing
00:22:30
cars and I um and part of my sentence because they obviously can't send a you know 12 year
00:22:37
old or 13 year old to The Slammer um my sentence was that I had to do this summer program in Washington DC which
00:22:43
was break dancing um so you were sentenced I love it sentence tool this is like a time of
00:22:49
dance you know um but no it was like it was like a weird thing I did these like summer
00:22:54
programs like I mean I felt like I was always in like some summer program for summer school or summer were you in
00:22:59
trouble more was that a one-off or were you kind of in trouble with the law a little bit I was a juvenile delinquent
00:23:04
too for a while but not I wasn't like a juvenile delinquent like you know know
00:23:09
like any High criminal activity it was more just kind of um I was extremely hyperactive and unfocused so that would
00:23:17
always inevitably lead to trouble like I would just do things impulsively like a
00:23:21
lot of young boys do um where you just do something stupid you know like I remember I threw a rock
00:23:28
through a cab window once like I mean but it wasn't it was it wasn't like I
00:23:33
was like I'm gonna [ __ ] throw this rock through a cabin it was like oh there's a rock now I'm holding the rock
00:23:39
what would happen if I threw this and before that thought had finished it was already through a window you know what I
00:23:44
mean like it was that kind of hyperactivity I guess uh impulse control I guess uh boys brains UHD used to be
00:23:52
called ants in your pants yeah so that was the diagnosis back then [Music] my mom was a writer he was a lawyer he
00:24:05
was a um he was he was a Vietnam veteran uh and uh and then went into law when he
00:24:11
got back and um my mom was a writer for the Washington Post a columnist or an essayist I should say
00:24:19
um and the New York Times was she riding during Watergate she wasn't she started
00:24:25
writing sort of in the 80s you know but she did used to take me into the you know that big sort of
00:24:31
uh enormous you know that was famous from all the president's been a big war
00:24:35
room she was in one of those floors oh those are cool yeah this is when I was really little she would yeah like stuff
00:24:41
me under the desk and it was Six Trillion ball typewriters and you know that endless amounts of cigarette
00:24:47
smoking so another thing that Flynn filler told me I can't remember his real name uh
00:24:53
that you're you're a great illustrator and I know you you studied Visual Arts
00:24:58
and stuff just another kind of thing you can do so you when did that start and I
00:25:02
started um in when I was really little I I had I loved I loved drawing so I went
00:25:07
to I ended up going to college for both visual art and drama so I graduated as a
00:25:12
double major and when I got to New York I actually was doing better with the visual arts stuff like uh uh meaning
00:25:20
like I wasn't doing like I wasn't like a painter in the you know I wasn't like
00:25:24
doing Landscapes or anything I would do like big sort of murals graffiti type stuff I worked in a bunch of clubs and
00:25:30
you know I would do the video nice did you ever yeah like Basquiat then sort of like and then yeah it was more sort of
00:25:38
like an anime sort of graffiti style sort of a hip-hop you know like Phil Hartman had that I know I just said that
00:25:44
he was the design album covers and stuff yeah yeah logo what's that Ben Ben Stiller's production company
00:26:00
at one point I just jump in with some nonsense why I know it's so cool I mean you do
00:26:08
you still uh they would call it the old days doodle you just when you're talking
00:26:12
or trying to come up with something dude yeah a few little sketches in the margins or something
00:26:19
um uh or of something if I'm reading but I also just sort of keep a loose Sketchbook I don't but I don't do it
00:26:25
that much but I I do like to occasionally when I remind myself if I'm not working I'll just be like oh yeah I
00:26:32
could let's try something do you still own a 64 pack of Crayola that big cinder
00:26:38
block with a balcony in it no goddamn color in the rainbow so much um because you can't get the same line
00:26:48
out of them well it's just not like a medium I like that you know they just even when I was little they frustrated
00:26:53
me I wanted like a black pen or I wanted a really fresh magic marker did not want to [ __ ] Crush one fresh
00:27:00
right out of the box before the ink starts to run out yeah you don't want to
00:27:04
dry it magic yeah listen to this guy uh I had a crayons with a sharpener on the back so hmm
00:27:12
uh oh wait do you think you know Watergate you're just saying someone said it uh I did you know do you think
00:27:19
kids today know that if something bad happens like if some if there's a scandal at Disney and they call it
00:27:26
Disney gate like even they say gate about everything that they think they know it comes from Watergate I don't
00:27:32
think so they probably think it comes from you know it's just the things they don't know what it means it's a
00:27:40
weird it's a weird thing to actually catch on something gate because Watergate was one word wasn't it was it
00:27:46
a building Watergate Hotel yeah the Watergate hotel and offices like it was just a building it's a it's a condo
00:27:53
that shitty little building never knew how famous it was going to get never if it had only it shouldn't it was famous
00:27:59
though I mean it is sort of a landmark in Washington oh I don't know anything
00:28:03
I'm just talking out of myself so then again I mean as far as your own ambition is so so then then you're going
00:28:10
to become a Broadway actor but you did study in college a bit but you're an illustrator and then you you just
00:28:17
auditioned and started getting work or did you yeah we all I struggled just like everybody else I you know it's a
00:28:23
good it's it's fun to reminisce about because I I came up with a great there
00:28:28
were other actors that are now we all know and and we were all sort of in that group and we all sort of started to
00:28:34
happen or things started going well at different times but New York was a I think different than La you know La I
00:28:42
feel like I could be wrong you know but La always like whenever the couple times
00:28:46
I did go to audition out there um I would always it felt really competitive and not good and not like
00:28:53
everyone didn't want everyone to do well New York because a lot of times we're auditioning
00:28:57
for theater things that you know it felt like supportive like you could see a friend at an audition and be like hey
00:29:02
great job or I hope you do you know like it was it felt like um didn't feel competitive you know whereas
00:29:09
that was oppressive and is dark and weird I mean auditioning there it just was not not fun yeah you're driving you
00:29:17
go park in the structure you then I mean just the amount of effort that it took to go to an audition in Los Angeles you
00:29:23
know it was an all-day Affair sometimes and but anyway uh you had to go pick up the script like in the valley the day
00:29:29
before and then bring the whole script home read it and then go back to audition for three lines in the script
00:29:34
yeah terrible or or they wouldn't even give you that they just give you some
00:29:37
pages sites how am I supposed to do this and is this this is pre-cell phones right because I would get lost and not
00:29:44
start crying I just pull over and go like I'm [ __ ] my appointment is in 10
00:29:48
minutes I'm in Culver City guide yeah and you'd look for a pay phone it was a
00:29:53
nightmare pretty youngsters listening yeah yeah it was terrible where's in New
00:29:58
York it was like it felt like you know dropping off something at the dry cleaners then you hit your audition then
00:30:04
you go to the grocery store you know like it it felt like an and more than a in a weird way you can kind of get more
00:30:09
of them done here in New York but it always felt weird because they'd always
00:30:12
be like yeah they want to put you on tape for everyone in La I just always envisioned this enormous plane that just
00:30:18
had tapes dumping off the back of it you know just ended up you would never hear
00:30:23
back from anything you just never you know that was humiliating I even they said you'd be good for a commercial
00:30:29
because I wasn't like clicking in any other uh area so they go you've got a
00:30:34
great look for commercial blonde hair and I was like I've got a pretty sweet
00:30:39
body you know so they were like and I look young so I go still my gymnast stuff was going on a little bit at that
00:30:45
point and then I get this uh sbv Sutton Barth and venereal disease we called it and it was a commercial agent and they
00:30:53
would send me out you know God love them twice a day so I'd go to the valley when it's 100
00:31:00
degrees wearing a suit then go in the trunk and get shorts drive over and you're in college and this one and
00:31:07
you're and I went up for one year and I did not get one nothing so humiliated
00:31:12
it's how did I [ __ ] ever make it out of that it was like I'm mad talk about
00:31:18
anxiety and sadness like we have to do a lot of their own names that you'd go on where like it would be
00:31:27
for a commercial and you'd and they wouldn't want to tell you what the product was or they wouldn't want to
00:31:33
tell you what it what the concept was and then you go into a room and there'd
00:31:37
be like a beach ball a pool noodle um you know a funny pair of glasses and they'd be like just do something you'd
00:31:44
be like oh yuck no clown Jump Around clown they go We're not gonna tell you what it is I go go [ __ ] yourself no I
00:31:51
didn't I said okay what is it I jump on the beach ball the worst one I ever went on was
00:31:56
actually for Thin Red Line and it was although I didn't know it at the time it
00:32:00
wasn't but it was and it was I knew it was a Terence Malik movie and it was a
00:32:05
war room and it was the worst audition I've ever had in my life because they
00:32:10
they didn't um of course there was no script of course there was no character there was
00:32:16
no whatever and I go to this office building on 68th Street or something wherever it was
00:32:21
and um and it wasn't with him obviously it was like with some you know the second assistant to the casting director
00:32:27
and then they sort of flick on the camera and they were like okay just pretend you're in war
00:32:32
and I was like what and like they were like you can dump over the chairs or pretend they're you're in a foxhole or
00:32:36
whatever and I was like what the hell am I supposed like so then I got you just go right on the stage now pretend you're
00:32:42
in more shooting but I don't have any lines there's nothing I can say and I'm
00:32:46
not gonna so what did you do realizing for I just basically kind of rolled around on the floor for about three
00:32:51
minutes and then and then when I I don't think I can do this but that's one of
00:32:55
those ones you're like you really just feel like a monkey on a string you're
00:32:58
like what you know you have to at least give me something tell me what I'm supposed to do in this all right just
00:33:03
give me an angle you're scared and more you these people are coming and yeah you
00:33:06
gotta tell your friends give me the setup you know it's like David would have done it he would have hauled out as
00:33:12
Michael sure you guys would have been great hey Sarge I don't know about at least I don't know
00:33:18
about these missile search I don't like missiles my glasses are broken no it was one pen
00:33:33
stomping around with it with one of the prostitutes in the movie and and he's
00:33:37
like we're gonna hook up with this girl and we're gonna pass around and Michael
00:33:42
J Fox Say you gotta give me a minute on this here sorry like he was he was the nice guy in the movie and they were all
00:33:48
casualties of War of course yeah great movie so funny that I would even remember that movie let alone
00:33:54
based my whole stand-up routine but it's it's always a winner so did you
00:34:00
I mean when did you know you could you had an ear like you could do accents and voices were you asked and then just
00:34:05
learned I can learn it or because it seems like you'd have a I have some English family so I can I can kind of um
00:34:11
do a couple English accents which ones oh I don't know I mean there's that sort of the you know
00:34:21
the clip sort of upper class English then there's sort of the me and Barnett
00:34:25
are always doing bits on um under the sort of the guy Richie accident you know just like David job
00:34:30
all right they stayed a job you know are you gonna do the trouble we're going to
00:34:34
do the job you know we just literally yeah super working class yeah exactly come on let's just go that's my
00:34:45
holidays I like in your audition for the war you're rolling around like an idiot and
00:34:53
then you just go yeah I'm not good for you you cut them off from firing you you
00:34:58
go I'm not into it tell Terence uh it's a no-go but hit me on the next one yeah so the next time
00:35:07
they asked you to do something like that you just you just tapped out you learn to just go well I need some
00:35:14
pages or something you do you do need you can't oh okay it's kind of like
00:35:17
handing someone a crown and saying hey can you paint the Sistine Chapel and you're like no I I only have a crayon no
00:35:23
it's actually easier because they go just paint something you oh here's a
00:35:26
wave at least you you can you can make up something but if it's just a random
00:35:30
War you're like am I happy for them yeah that matters no it doesn't yeah to
00:35:39
me get out of town where's the Applause button he well I mean it was a long road uh but it was
00:35:55
you know Ben used to um me and Ben became friends I was doing a play on Broadway
00:36:02
um uh with his then girlfriend and and we and I was a huge Ben Stiller show fan um sure I just thought it was hilarious
00:36:10
so he came to the show and or opening night or it was kind of hanging around the theater a couple times and I was
00:36:16
sort of quoting his show back to him and we ended up sort of becoming friends and
00:36:20
found out that we had a very similar sense of humor um and he would and he was just sort of
00:36:27
blowing up at the time doing you know with like something about Mary and and uh you know oh [ __ ] he's right in the
00:36:33
pocket yeah that was the moment that he was like really exploding and people were yelling at him on the street
00:36:38
um but when he would come to do to New York to do like you know Letterman or uh Conan or whatever he would do these
00:36:45
like really elaborate bits you know you know like he'd really work on these you
00:36:49
know sort of sex yeah yeah um and so I would sort of like help we'd sort of sit around and come up with bits
00:36:56
for him to do you know where he would say something like he would go on Letterman I remember one he did where he
00:37:01
he said yeah I don't really want to talk about the movie I'm promoting I just you
00:37:04
know I had to take a break and I've been in France and I've been painting and um
00:37:09
Letterman's like oh you're painting he's like yeah it's just a little sort of
00:37:13
ramshackle place in the south of France and I'd pay this prostitute I paint her
00:37:17
and you know every night and then the reveal was that he would hold up these these uh this artwork that
00:37:25
was just done in pasta with watercolors and Like Glue like a prostitute like made out of fusilli so we'd work on
00:37:33
stupid bits like that when you talk about doing TT what's that yeah then we said then he he had the
00:37:42
original sort of idea for it which was um it was it was let me talk about Thin Red Line it was that period of time when
00:37:50
it felt like everyone was going to do a war movie like you know like Oliver Stone was doing a war movie
00:37:56
so many Vietnam movies in a row um yeah and the Press at the time for them was very sort of serious you know
00:38:04
and all the actors when they would get interviewed would be like uh it was intense like you know they said you know
00:38:11
when we shot um you know Oliver wanted us to be in war you know and let me tell you it was
00:38:16
war you know we kind of it and so he had a the original sort of joke sort of if it was the one-line pitch to me was
00:38:26
um let's do a movie about a bunch of actors that come back to LA after making a war
00:38:31
movie and they all have PTSD from the movie um so that was sort of the original idea
00:38:37
um and then I sort of was like well what if we just and also Blair Witch was really popular at the time I said what
00:38:43
if it's like that they go to do a war movie but then they get caught up in a
00:38:47
real war and that was sort of that was the sort of the kernel that's like a moment yeah
00:38:54
that's great and then everything and then you get good people because uh by the way yeah okay so you get good people
00:39:01
because Ben you know he's doing well it's a funny idea with a scripture it
00:39:07
took a long it was years of writing that script because I was working at that point and doing I think I was doing six
00:39:14
feet under or something and he was obviously like on Fuego so um we we would sort of pass the script
00:39:21
back and forth like I'd write some we'd write like a funny scene that had no
00:39:25
place to go like it was a funny yeah here's an idea that's funny like the
00:39:29
first scene in the movie where he's you know got his hands blown off and it's
00:39:32
the guy going like come on you can make it you know and he's like I can't feel
00:39:36
my legs stop it um so I wrote that scene and and that just made us laugh and I don't know we
00:39:43
just sort of toss it around um and then gradually a script started to formulate take shape it was it was
00:39:50
Monty Python s that first thing because you have real violence or you know the the the two nights and he starts cutting
00:39:56
the arms off and the legs off yeah but in terms of Ben playing that so serious no man you know I mean we had like a
00:40:02
million blinds for that you know and I the the seed the joke in that scene is that he's this action star obviously and
00:40:11
that he can't cry and he's he's working across from you know Lawrence Olivier
00:40:15
essentially and and it frustrates the other actor he's like you can't even
00:40:19
squirt he can't even get the tears going what the [ __ ] up with my man you know
00:40:22
like um yeah you know so that's when we sort of pan out to reveal that this is the
00:40:29
shooting of a movie Etc yeah it's obviously as you know just such a huge comedy it's there's never
00:40:38
been anything quite like it I don't think I'd never seen a comedy like it's
00:40:42
also like a huge I mean without any jokes it was a huge movie meaning just as far as like visual I mean a factory
00:40:51
oh yeah it was a yet explosive it was as big as any War movement you know we we I
00:40:57
mean as far as the look I mean Ben such I mean he's obviously you know does get the credit you know um
00:41:02
but he's often not credited enough I think with how great a director he is you know he is like a real camera mover
00:41:09
who knows how to where was it oh yeah where'd you shoot it Hawaii a thing about a movie in comedies uh
00:41:31
probably dramas too it's just these uh whatever you call them word packages that just are Transcendent that are
00:41:39
funnier as time goes on you know and I I think one of them that's less controversial would be the
00:41:46
Tom Cruise Les Grossman I want you to take one step back and literally [ __ ] your face or your own face yeah which
00:41:54
one was it I'm not sure but that's the that's the kind of thing and again like
00:41:58
Monty Python I don't know where that influence came from but those type of lines that nonsensical thing
00:42:05
um I assume it wasn't a guy alone in a room or you're together at that point
00:42:09
where you're kind of riffing what that character say or character uh came out
00:42:13
of you know we you know we wanted Tom to be in the movie very badly and he it was kind of
00:42:20
um he was like well I read the script and there's he's like there's no like
00:42:24
Studio presence like why don't we create like a studio uh character you know and
00:42:30
I just had a really bad experience working for Harvey Weinstein and so um on a movie that I had directed and I
00:42:37
I thought shocker and whatever happened to that guy um I and I just wanted to like I just
00:42:44
wanted to um I wanted to somehow memorialize that bad experience and um and so that's how I got that
00:42:52
character you know wow that's even funny it's even fun just that like that I
00:42:57
remember Joel Silver one time he goes hey was that character based on me and I go no and he goes damn it okay I wanted
00:43:04
it to be based on them oh funny well the Popeye forearms and the hands and then the Tom Cruise uh which you know
00:43:13
everyone loved the new Top Gun I mean he gets shinier and brighter when I look back and I see him now and I look at him
00:43:19
in that movie when he's doing the dance slapping the ass at the end it's like
00:43:23
yeah the guy is really funny he's so funny and he's so committed you know um
00:43:29
yeah and I remember kind of because he has some really hard charging lines in that in that movie
00:43:36
um writing him these lines he's gonna say Tom Cruise is gonna say this like yeah
00:43:44
it was before we had seen him in any of the tests and the hair and makeup and stuff well without saying the line which
00:43:50
were the ones that were the most scary or you really couldn't use it was too
00:43:54
far no maybe you can't you know we had sort of like Ben's a really smart
00:43:58
director we you know if we were to sort of pile the script up in all the pages that were written it would probably look
00:44:04
like a phone book or a three phone book stacked on top of each other Ben is really good at um we would always sort
00:44:11
of shoot like sort of you know an A B and category of jokes within the scene and then
00:44:18
alternates alternates alternates we had sort of these alternate scripts that we would go okay now we're only one where
00:44:22
you say this and so in the edit you know when we could you know when Ben was sort
00:44:28
of testing the movie uh he was able to see you know oh this this you know went a little too far let's dial it back and
00:44:35
you know and it could be something simple just like too many f-bombs in a row or something yeah and so you know
00:44:41
and so he could he could ride the edit ride the cut of the movie um to sort of find The Sweet Spot um
00:44:47
because we would have shot all different very slight variations of every scene you know yeah and I think that you know
00:44:54
obviously a lot of movies have a lot of people involved and it's nice to have
00:44:58
one you know Creative Vision with other people with almost exact same sensibilities that's how a great movie
00:45:05
has to get made has to be just everyone's on the same page yeah someone and me and Ben I think were the real
00:45:11
guardians of that we you know we I think we both and by the time we shot that we were both so we had been with it
00:45:18
for so long that we intuitively knew exactly what anything would want it to be if it had to change on the day it was
00:45:25
a real kind of like you know um great um collaboration it was sort of a real sort of mini Lennon McCartney thing that
00:45:34
was happening on the making of that you know like wow well the way everything got in so it's great the way every
00:45:40
everything got in and there's no one blocking your [ __ ] like the studio Downey everyone's saying we're all in on
00:45:47
this we're all gonna do everything I don't care if it's offensive and it's so
00:45:50
funny and then even Tom Cruise to his credit finding a spot to be in you know not getting out of it saying no we'll
00:45:58
find something and then doing it and then I'm sure if you throw them lines he
00:46:01
laughs and just does another take and says oh yeah that's funny let's try that
00:46:04
and then when it all comes together and everyone's shocked to see him especially in a movie that's already
00:46:10
good and was Woody playing his assistant was Woody in there what's that was we
00:46:15
here no I think McConaughey yeah heck yeah are those two different people I know for sure the same [ __ ] person
00:46:23
okay it's unbelievable did you guys uh did Cruz Break a lot when he said lines
00:46:28
like go [ __ ] your own face or something he enjoyed himself you know I remember
00:46:34
and then I remember you know because first then you give them these outrageous lines and then Tom Cruise
00:46:40
knows how to sell a [ __ ] line you know I mean that guy gets super now he's
00:46:45
playing it like it's a straight up drama I mean he's not really winking or
00:46:49
leaning in or doing anything he's just playing it like as if he was in you know
00:46:54
one of his other movies [Music] whenever Tropic Thunder comes up you know I get a lot of uh you know uh well
00:47:06
you couldn't make that movie today and I kind of it bums me out because I'm like
00:47:09
I think you can make that movie today it wouldn't look exactly like that movie
00:47:13
but you know I remember kind of taking it hard when when people you know as you would when when people are you know
00:47:21
trying to boycott something that you think is is actually on your side or on their side
00:47:27
and I remember I lucked out a couple years later after the fact um having a drink with Mel Brooks and
00:47:35
kind of moaning about it a little bit um and and he just he sort of stopped me and he just went nope uh you look you
00:47:43
have to just make sure the joke is aimed perfectly at the person who's the idiot
00:47:49
you know and and that's your job is to you know you know obviously um we're not trying to make jokes about
00:47:57
anybody except for Hollywood actors in that movie you know um and Egos and Studios and that kind of stuff
00:48:04
um so the minute you're sort of he was basically he gave me some comfort around you know because his movies are
00:48:09
so brilliant and you know you could equally say like well you can't make those movies say but yes you can you
00:48:15
know you can make you know his his jokes that's weird everyone I think when you see a Mel Brooks movie you don't
00:48:22
think oh well you know uh that's really uncool that he would write that like you know what a horrible
00:48:29
team he's batting for you know what I mean yeah right and obviously you're
00:48:33
talking about Blazing Saddles which you know Richard Pryor wrote a lot of a lot of it with with him and
00:48:40
um obviously all the racist people in the movie are idiots and Clevon little is the smartest guy in town and there's
00:48:46
some it's very very naughty words in that movie and crazy things you've said
00:48:50
in that movie but um but you know again I don't know well we talked to Bill Burr about his
00:48:57
stand-up because he'll he'll right outside the line sometimes and he says
00:49:01
for himself intention matters like absolutely yeah are you going after a disenfranchised section of the
00:49:09
population or are you satirizing more privileged people if you want or wherever the target is so I think
00:49:16
um I'm still recovering that you got to hang out with Mel Brooks and talk to him
00:49:20
for a minute it's not like we had a salon going uh in the West Village and we're just lounging around smoking I
00:49:26
like that uh Steve Spielberg Steve said um he wishes he didn't take the guns out
00:49:32
of E.T I just read that too yeah yeah I thought that was interesting that he would say that yeah it's a weird thing
00:49:39
you know like um you know they people it's just censorship is a weird thing you know
00:49:46
like and it and people are genuinely I think afraid to write things and perform things and do things you know because no
00:49:52
one wants to get their head chopped off you know sure you don't want comedy to
00:49:56
turn into the same five jokes that everyone's allowed to use and then so when you go outside and try to break
00:50:03
some ground I guess there will be more pushback than normal but as long as it doesn't ruin
00:50:09
your life but I the intention again you're trying to be funny you're trying
00:50:12
to be this and no one's out to get someone yeah there's um in actually I
00:50:17
was watching this Oscar Levant play with Sean Hayes uh that I was watching the other day
00:50:21
um that I saw the other day he has some great lines Oscar Levant has some great lines where he says things like you know
00:50:27
there's no such thing as a sincere joke you know you can't bring the house down
00:50:30
with a wholesome gag you know what I mean like it's something has to be dangerous about it you know
00:50:36
um and catch people off guard in the element of surprise and it's not what you think they're going to say and it's
00:50:41
just just fun I mean you know we're all in the same but it's nature is not
00:50:46
respectful you know what I mean nor should it be you know what about the Zoolander you did
00:50:51
Zoolander you worked on that with Ben I worked on two with uh with Ben evil evil
00:50:56
evil DJ and I was when I was the evil DJ full makeup was that that's that look
00:51:03
like fun and that guy was break dancing that you had to do that that's actually
00:51:07
I was did you break dance yeah yeah I had the break dance fight with Owen Wilson in that with uh Hansel that's the
00:51:14
big act three fight scene between me and Hansel Owen's always great um did you go when Woody uh Woody is in
00:51:20
your new show did you go and he did silent live I did I went there and saw that he um
00:51:31
he's he's uh him and Owen Wilson the people I've met they're such a cool kind
00:51:37
of I don't know Texas frequency to them there's something about it's so funny
00:51:41
when you do I would actually like to hear your take on This Dana there is a version where you can impersonate Woody
00:51:49
Owen and McConaughey probably all at the same time yeah yeah there's something
00:51:54
they should all hang out together I think they do yes yeah no you were fine I don't care she's not even mad at you
00:52:03
then like I mean do you sort of slip into more of a Stoner kind of like that's what I don't like about it
00:52:11
what is like he's he's still he's so he's really cute you know I was looking
00:52:16
at him he still has those dimples and there's something just uh incredibly likable about him I think you two are
00:52:24
great in that is this his foils for each other they were kind of like a you know it's
00:52:30
you know we in in life and in this show you know we're very much it's a very
00:52:34
sort of Odd Couple relationship you know um you know feel it's going to answer
00:52:39
you know like and it's just tease he is a very kind of I mean in the show he's a
00:52:44
more sort of uptight Gruff whatever um but once said Howard hunt Howard hunt yeah the CIA yeah yeah we just we
00:52:51
laughed a lot he's a very fun guy to work with he's he's very sort of
00:52:55
infectious and he's very very very laid back in a way that I wish I could be you
00:53:01
know he's so he's one of those guys that can jump to set like 12 minutes late and 15 minutes
00:53:06
late be like oh hey whoa why is everyone oh okay there's no judgment about it oh
00:53:13
we're already here okay cool yeah he was like that even on SNL back in the 90s
00:53:17
there was almost like he's what am I supposed to do it's all kind of thrown
00:53:22
away and then he just lands it perfectly he doesn't have I feel like he has no
00:53:26
cortisol in his system whatsoever [Laughter] he uh we had a running gag when he hosted when I was a cast member and I
00:53:37
was just kidding with him because you know I liked him immediately and the running gate was you could never be
00:53:41
depressed Woody the rest of your life because you know me you actually know me and so that became a right
00:53:47
he sent me a frame photo with that phrase on it you know me how could you ever be sad
00:53:54
just think of it just all that guy but he's so good so I know that uh Justin
00:53:59
has a favorite we'll let you go in a second Justin you have a favorite do you
00:54:02
like love after hours Dan do you remember after hours Griffin done the best Jeff Goldblum Michelle Pfeiffer am I
00:54:11
crazy no not Jeff Goldblum he's not dead it's um him Catherine O'Hara
00:54:16
um oh God it's such a great cast Scorsese is one sort of Comedy I guess what was
00:54:23
Michelle Pfeiffer in what are you talking about she was in Scarface Scarface or after hours
00:54:32
after hours but I think Michelle Michelle gang up on me whoa I started knowing what it was
00:54:43
because I knew what's the one with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer where they go out all night isn't it
00:54:51
what's the one with Michelle do you know if I'm is that even a movie are those people Dangerous Liaisons no
00:55:00
that was John Malkovich I wanted to know what's on Justin's uh favorite film list you know or or you
00:55:09
know I always hate that bet your favorite or films you revisit or films that stayed with you Young Frankenstein
00:55:15
if we're talking about Mel Brooks is definitely a luck yeah yeah I stole a big bit from Young Frankenstein for
00:55:21
Tropic Thunder actually I mean that's you did well but it was you were influenced the Beatles were influenced
00:55:26
influenced yeah there's the scene where um Jack Black gets tied to the tree to
00:55:30
kick drugs you know he says no yeah don't let me off that tree you know you know I'm moving cunning I'm really
00:55:36
baffling but don't let me blah blah that's kind of a lift uh from Young Frankenstein when he goes into the room
00:55:42
literally the monster he said don't let me out of this room no matter what I no
00:55:45
matter what I say so it's in the same universe that joke um and then of course he goes in there
00:55:51
and he's immediately pleading at some points everything was has been yeah Cape Fear a recent guess that was a
00:56:03
movie Sarah Sherman from SNL said she watches that all the time to cheer up the the second okay the second one I
00:56:10
think was the second one she meant not the Mitchum one but that movie is so good it really is do you remember in the
00:56:16
Ben Stiller show he he did that um he did that sort of fake I guess fake trailer where it's uh Eddie Munster and
00:56:24
Cape Fear yes yeah he's he is the Eddie monster of all time that's um that's why that that show because he
00:56:34
had left SNL he talked about it here and then he suddenly I was at that Emmy Awards and then he was so shocked that
00:56:40
he won best show but it was it's another show that stands to test the time I know
00:56:46
that group of writers performers Bob Odenkirk I mean Jesus is Manson he did that Charles Manson though it's so
00:56:53
hilarious so good oh you're so good uh so as far as SNL should we cover that for a second
00:57:05
yeah I was texting with uh David yesterday I've never been on SNL so I don't know what to uh you know because
00:57:12
you want to see podcast but I you know massive Mass you know I haven't said it
00:57:18
at the top Dana David already knows I'm a huge fan of him but also likewise you
00:57:23
well that was we heard that you liked our podcast at least I threw David or something like week three so I
00:57:30
immediately yeah you were early he was really happy as being a super fan of yours and then like he likes our podcast
00:57:36
I mean I mean it is like SNL I mean it must be a curse to be an SNL cast member because
00:57:43
I'm sure you get you know bombarded with questions you know about every aspect of it what's it like
00:57:50
working live what's the name what's the most scary thing and then of course
00:57:52
probably the worst thing which is like you know what you should do knew it would make a great SNL bit you know it
00:57:56
would be great on SNL you know Dana I have one funny sketch idea and I want to go host and just do
00:58:02
one sketch and leave I could handle that we'll just do a guest spot just do a
00:58:06
guest spot I know but it wouldn't make any sense because it's not no I said
00:58:10
just do a guest spot just do a walk on it so there's a lot of those Walk-Ons
00:58:15
now where it's like oh look there's you know Fred Armisen he's not a member of
00:58:18
the cast he's not hosting he's just walking he's playing this character I'll
00:58:22
be Christopher walk-on you know I saw I saw a great walking sketch where he's watering plants he's a
00:58:29
guard and talking to the plan I might be lying again yeah and he goes they're
00:58:34
cactuses and he goes cactuses are intimidating so I put googly eyes on them he puts googly eyes on him then he
00:58:42
keeps saying googly eyes and it's hysterical perfect googly eyes perfect for for walking you were on SNL with
00:58:49
Kyle Mooney he just called and said hey can you just do it it was a walk it was technically a walk-on it was nothing um
00:58:56
meaningful but uh well this is the only thing we're going to air of the whole podcast so
00:59:03
um hi Dana what what's your mind I think Justin thrall really wants to host the
00:59:06
show wouldn't that be terrific I'll reach out that's the last job I definitely don't want to have SNL that
00:59:12
to me is absolutely I get so scared by that I mean and then I even like when I you know Amy
00:59:21
pohler used to always be like come to uh you know UCB you know when she was doing
00:59:25
it here in New York and I it would make me anxious you know I loved it but it felt like watching trapeze work you know
00:59:32
with no net and it just made me so anxious I much prefer kind of being able to go away learn lines really rehearse
00:59:40
and then just come out like that it's so sea to your pants the idea to like on a
00:59:45
Monday you're kind of like hey what's the idea and then by Tuesday you're kind
00:59:48
of flushing it out Wednesday like let's read it and then by Saturday no it's
00:59:52
crazy it shouldn't exist in some ways do you asked Woody did he need any help
00:59:57
with writing and he punch-ups on monologue or anything no I saw him on Wednesday and he's like it's gonna go
01:00:03
well but he was like out partying he's like it's gonna be good um I did a little a little punch up when he
01:00:13
went on sort of did A Walk On A Zoolander but um yeah I don't know it's to me it's
01:00:19
like but then when you see people who are genuinely relaxed doing it because you can kind of tell people who are
01:00:24
unreli not relaxed doing it you know not that their hands are shaking or anything
01:00:29
like that but but it's normal but like I feel hard when you'd see him you'd go he
01:00:34
had this kind of um you know plant your leg say the line beautifully confidence that was so just like nice to like great
01:00:43
to watch and then obviously you guys you know like your delivery on you know Hollywood minutes and you know it was
01:00:49
just kind of like when you can tell people are a having fun and be at least a pure like they're not nervous
01:00:59
yeah Phil was uh like he was like we hear uh Dan Aykroyd was like he almost was it
01:01:08
well he obviously was a pro and he was in so many things and he had this binder and he was he could memorize he could
01:01:14
read the cards really well but then in between scenes he'd be reading a book
01:01:17
about Evinrude outboard motor schematics it happens like how can you yeah I don't
01:01:23
know I would just be in such a state of distress I think that um I don't know you don't have to do it
01:01:29
I I totally get you I mean it's hard to host it if I host it and there's a
01:01:34
sketch somewhere you could do an Irish guy or British guy I'll try to bring you
01:01:38
in just for one for one thing yeah if we need a guy to lay on the floor and act like he's in the Army yeah
01:01:45
exactly the worst nightmares we go we're not going to tell you what the sketch is I'm
01:01:52
not gonna tell you what the sketch is just give me a beach ball of pool noodle and just send me out there you know well
01:01:58
aside from his new show he also owns Ray's Bar and uh I want to thank you for coming down today and
01:02:07
talking to us uh Justin thank you for having me and uh I will see you on my next trip when are
01:02:13
you coming to New York David it's all pretty top secret but you know I'll call
01:02:18
in some other channels send me the file yeah there's only one other thing besides leftovers which I think is a
01:02:25
brilliant show mosquito Coast all the stuff you've done it's so you have such
01:02:28
a cool career and then you did this thing with Norman Lear where you did those live yeah it
01:02:34
was all in the family and stuff that that I thought was was going to be a train wreck but it really landed
01:02:39
beautifully yeah it was great and it actually you know it's become sort of an
01:02:43
annual thing um I mean talk about a I mean I really can't take credit for that show that was
01:02:50
an idea that I had where that I imparted taking a Kimmel who then turned it into this sort of you know
01:02:57
Super Bowl winning football team of of talent you know um you got a lot to pick from if you
01:03:03
keep doing you can keep doing Partridge Family happy days whatever you want well
01:03:06
I mean we could yeah you can go we can keep going but I mean can I play Fonzie everyone's like everyone every day he's
01:03:11
like why aren't you playing Fonzie I'm already down as Chachi Chachi was cool
01:03:21
she loves Joni or what was their show that's great what about Ralph mouth um Ralph mouth did you remember the
01:03:30
beginning of happy days and then I'll let you go um he takes the salt off no he has the
01:03:36
salt they put the salt shaker top back on but they put it really loose and he pours it on his fries and it all goes
01:03:42
over it and he just looks back to camera and keeps chewing his gum I'm like he
01:03:46
didn't even give a reaction I thought was genius that's like your brand uh like and it's
01:03:53
like anything I can do that like I can do this yeah I go oh do nothing I can do that
01:04:06
what was your early comedy not to prolong this but um besides me like I was like my earliest
01:04:17
comedy memories are uh Mel Brooks but also my dad making me stay up to watch SNL with a blue she acroyd yeah yeah
01:04:26
Gilda radden 100 same thing Life of Brian early on Animal House um Holy Grail holy all those are unreal
01:04:34
and then getting an Eddie Murphy Trading Places and those kind of things all those old movies that were just funny
01:04:40
Caddyshack all Bill Murray and then in the Ghostbusters all the things just all my guys I liked I'd follow him to
01:04:46
whatever movie they were in cracked me up made me laugh Steve Martin albums Steve Martin uh huge stuff
01:04:54
like say again Steve Martin I've never I've met him once but not in any meaningful way
01:05:01
um but takes his comedy very like he's a master of or he's sort of a student of
01:05:06
the science of the comedy and the bit like which I admire because he's has to
01:05:11
be loud there's not that I mean the jerk obviously the the when he came out and
01:05:15
deconstructed the idea of a comedian with this guy in the white suit I'm a wild crazy guy I'm sure somehow it
01:05:21
influenced me humbly saying that because he didn't really have jokes he did two
01:05:25
minutes on just his character asking for a blue spot can I get a blue spot and the commitment of it you know uh that
01:05:33
was sort of This brilliant new move and then the Robin Williams was around Richard Pryor was around obviously
01:05:39
George Carlin and then it kept going to Kennison and on and on but uh I love comedians I do too it's
01:05:47
terrifying I mean Dave you're so I always whenever I've seen you perform
01:05:51
live or until on Netflix or whatever it's like you have that that ease that's just so I
01:05:58
guess dry but it's also so [ __ ] funny the way it's this there's a musicality
01:06:04
to it like where you sort of drop in these little and then you know then you sort of like go with it I don't know how
01:06:10
you do it it's a magic trick to me so I don't really want to know how you do it
01:06:13
but I very much I appreciate it we just found a little extra time no David does have an incredible like
01:06:24
throwaway little phrases and there's I see Nealon in him and Dennis Miller and but he's
01:06:30
his own own man but they were they were really it's kind of pretty special yeah
01:06:35
I I have to go out there and scream and dance around like do voices yeah and David's so Lo-Fi and it's very cool I I
01:06:43
admire that too because I just like Richard Pryor says if you're bombing just start pushing energy I was doing it
01:06:49
last night throw it out there I was having a slow patch so I started talking a lot louder and moving a lot more I go
01:06:55
full JonBenet you slow him down there's not even any jokes in there it's just
01:06:59
all energy what's up I'm people that come on you know whatever Just Energy
01:07:04
because if their energy is going down and you reflect it then that the souffle just collapses but I used to say Dana
01:07:11
Don Rickles used to go look at that over there he's like I want a cookie and you
01:07:14
go these aren't really jokes but if they're set in the form of a delivery
01:07:18
and oh no Rickles was the greatest because he just sounds like a joke Ed does another show start put him in the
01:07:25
corner give him a cookie yeah see you're always happy it's just all Rhythm and you go I think that was a
01:07:31
joke and Dennis Miller used it one time he said I sometimes will throw in a word
01:07:35
even I don't know what it means I just make it up and just because it sounds
01:07:39
like with the Rhythm that's the funny part and everyone laughs and they go I
01:07:42
didn't even get that one I don't even but it just you know it sounds funny all right Justin I'm
01:07:48
gonna go so you guys stay on for another 10 minutes while I drive off we're going
01:07:51
to talk about you David thank you Justin you're a good job dude great to meet you
01:07:57
and uh love to see you in New York David and I will come out together please come
01:08:00
when the uh the White House plumbers it's on White House Monday May 1st HBO or on Max or
01:08:10
whatever or HBO Max Woody Harrelson as Howard hunt and of course Justin Thoreau as Lena Horton Liddy a very
01:08:18
gentle kind of boring character I mean that must have been his he lit himself on fire he ate a rat I mean this guy is
01:08:27
something so that's that's that's gonna be uh awesome for you so anyway anybody
01:08:32
got anything else anything else miss them already Greg Annette Heather S don't read who else is
01:08:42
the producers [Music] this has been a podcast presentation of cadence 13. please listen then rate
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01:09:05
Corcoran of cadence 13 and Charlie finan of brillstein entertainment the show's
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