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hey guys this is uh David Spade Nana
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Carvey and before we get into Ben
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Stiller we just wanted to share a few
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thoughts about the other night with the
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Will Smith uh Rock situation Rock it's
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obviously a buddy of ours we had him on
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here
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a little bit ago and we have a common
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denominator which is being bullied
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growing up I was a certified pipsqueak
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uh and always being pushed around and it
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really hit a nerve with me and Dana also
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and rock had talked about on this uh
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podcast
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um I could jokingly say that slap in the
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face was a real slap in the face for
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comedy but it is true that
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um
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on a serious note this is a dangerous
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precedent um
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that was the straw that broke Will
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Smith's back I it couldn't have been
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a medium rough joke
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uh just bad timing it was like a Jack In
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The Box that you hear Dean today
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and here's Chris Rock so that was just
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the one where he decided to flip and not
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sure what Will's going through a met him
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seems like a decent enough guy
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uh I'd love to see him in a roast I mean
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listen comedy's rough I just did a
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comedy special for Netflix and it's
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there's some stuff in there that makes
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me laugh people could get offended by
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it's just the way it is
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I hope roasts aren't
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outlawed soon
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I mean my god
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um
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I don't know I just thought it dimmed
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some light on the other performers that
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night you didn't really think about any
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other performer anybody that won
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it was just that
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and they allowed him on stage again I
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didn't I probably wouldn't have not a
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lot of defensive Chris right there and
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then at the show like other people or
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people are standing up and giving Will a
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standing ovation like nothing happened I
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thought that was all very odd and I
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honestly just don't think he should have
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been able to go get his award I hate to
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say it but there's got to be some
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consequence because you shouldn't be
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allowed to do that Dana well first of
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all
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um you know I've seen real anger and
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experiences so the first thing I thought
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was I was triggered because everyone
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talks about triggers when I saw a very
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large person Go Go full [ __ ] house
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physical on a person who's not small but
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much smaller and that just like whoa
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this really just hit me so I saw a bully
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and you know I when I entered High
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School I was five feet tall 93 pounds
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you know I look like a fetus with shoes
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but my point is
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me too dude I I that yeah I I'm not a
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psychiatrist but I've played one on TV
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but this was not about Chris Rock it was
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not about the joke something else is
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going on especially the second time will
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said
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keep your keep my wife's name out of
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your [ __ ] mouth the energy and rage
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and anger of that was so extreme so I
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don't really know but mental health is a
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thing that I would just say needs help
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secondarily where was security could
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anyone else have gotten away with that
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it was very awkward
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um and then to give them a stand Ovation
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he had 45 minutes to kind of pull it
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together he had Denzel Washington
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talking to him other really smart people
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Bradley Cooper but he couldn't pull it
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together to apologize and said sort of
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double down I protect women
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um yeah so the word protect was Heavy in
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there yeah I'm protecting and then the
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next morning he got said
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uh hi this is your publicist uh Brian
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and uh maybe we should talk you know
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because then there was the apology so I
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just looked at it as a bully it
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triggered me and uh I think it was uh
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kind of horrific and just felt bad Chris
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is our friend and our colleague and I
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don't want to see anybody slap like that
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at any time on television especially or
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anywhere David yeah it's funny you know
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Dana when you get older uh like us we we
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when we were bullied and I know rock was
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bullied as a kid a little skinny kid and
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he said he really it really stuck with
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him and it does it's it's the root of a
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lot of things I I you know get me mad I
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have a short temper
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and any bullying in a car cutting me off
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or
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a guy if I'm on a date coming up with me
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and looking at me and going okay I could
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take this guy and so I'll hit on this
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girl right in front of him those little
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forms of it are there all the time yeah
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so when I saw that obvious just walk up
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hit him and walk away and almost like
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laughing like [ __ ] you what are you
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gonna do about it it made me spin out
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like oh my God so it bothered me all
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night
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uh I thought Chris was pretty cool about
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it of course but what do you do your
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mind's spinning I'm in live TV a billion
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people what's happening you know what do
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I go down do I hit him back do I I
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couldn't even read The Prompt after that
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I'd probably be going I I gotta get out
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Chris Chris handle it perfectly and well
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I give him a lot of credit for keeping
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it together after something like that
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you know I I actually thought Will Smith
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would walk up if if he was staying and
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he's joking around laughing which was
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sort of more crazy in my head or more
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that's not a good word but it was just
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more unusual and then when he got his
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award I would have said what the [ __ ]
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was I doing with Chris Rock that was not
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sorry yeah I thought you know I thought
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that for sure the jokes got to me I
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[ __ ] how stupid I'm gonna go back and
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tell him right now thank you for this
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award whatever any acknowledgment would
00:05:33
have just taken all the pressure out and
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gone it was nuts we'll still talk about
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it but hey something else is going on
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clearly and I'm sure Chris is your
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friend like it just all it was all tough
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to watch so I don't have a ton to say
00:05:46
about it other than uh what we just said
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I mean it'll all work out everyone will
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walk away but
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definitely an odd moment in time you
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know before that moment of course my
00:05:57
relationship with Will Smith was just
00:05:59
from afar as a very likable uh positive
00:06:02
person so it was it was it's disturbing
00:06:05
on so many levels it gave everyone a
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relief from covid and and Ukraine you
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know so the whole culture has been
00:06:14
rotated on on this moment because it was
00:06:16
so shocking and I really just uh
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I don't know it's still it's still going
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on because Chris hasn't spoken at this
00:06:24
hour yeah I hope they uh make up they
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seem to be it seems they're friends and
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uh like them to get back to that uh and
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have everyone live happily ever after
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it's tough to live with that hanging
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over your head if you think someone's
00:06:37
out there after you hey Lady Gaga oh all
00:06:40
is who's beautiful but she's always
00:06:42
working with really old people like she
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gets next to Tony Bennett she looks like
00:06:47
a high school senior last night they
00:06:50
wheel out Lisa Liza Minnelli poor sweet
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woman and then Lady Gaga looks like
00:06:55
she's in eighth grade it's a I don't
00:06:57
know it's it's I would I know and Us
00:06:59
magazine immediately did who wore it
00:07:01
better and who looked better and that
00:07:02
was unfair
00:07:04
um also Dana Regina
00:07:07
uh one of the hosts beautiful lovely
00:07:10
woman she did a bit that I have to say
00:07:12
as an observer I'm for all forms of
00:07:14
Comedy but if everyone else gets to
00:07:16
complain
00:07:17
if it's a male host bringing the
00:07:19
prettiest actresses up to analyze them
00:07:21
and take them backstage right with them
00:07:23
covet test then Pat them down it just
00:07:26
wouldn't fly I mean I don't care that
00:07:29
writing bits someone in the room should
00:07:30
have gone what if someone doesn't love
00:07:33
this idea but listen fine fine I just
00:07:37
have to say it because I don't care just
00:07:39
either let everyone do comedy in general
00:07:41
men women or just don't but you can't
00:07:44
say you can't do this you can do that
00:07:46
that's all
00:07:48
you agree uh totally agree it was uh
00:07:52
was really surprising maybe the Oscars
00:07:54
are coming back now if they have more
00:07:56
more fights more Politically Incorrect
00:07:59
things and they go just ape [ __ ] you
00:08:01
know maybe it'll become a huge winner
00:08:02
again I don't know I mean the only thing
00:08:05
could have been bigger would be a melee
00:08:08
Chris fights back and then you've got
00:08:10
Nicole Kidman who's knows her way around
00:08:12
the block you've got Keith Urban coming
00:08:14
up you've got Costner probably with a
00:08:17
shotgun stopping the whole fight to
00:08:19
either Perry would have gotten in there
00:08:21
so Joe Jonas is ripped he would have
00:08:23
come down there's a lot of people that
00:08:25
have been trained to do movies like that
00:08:27
where they have training so they can
00:08:29
come in and send them yeah I mean I
00:08:31
don't know if Keanu was there he needed
00:08:33
to be
00:08:34
um it must have been tough for Chris to
00:08:36
sit in the back and realize literally
00:08:39
nothing happened no one walked up no
00:08:41
security no stopped the show no it was
00:08:44
just like on with the show this is it
00:08:46
Standing Ovation for standing ovation
00:08:48
you know it's hard to pull for the bully
00:08:50
I don't know Will Smith probably a great
00:08:52
guy just in that particular instance
00:08:56
it was the bad guy talk to people who
00:09:00
grew up not bullied because they were
00:09:02
bigger at a young age and so forth so on
00:09:04
so maybe their father didn't bully him
00:09:05
they're like what yeah they don't get it
00:09:07
they didn't get it
00:09:09
um but that's what my takeaway was but I
00:09:12
wish everyone the best in the end of the
00:09:14
day so
00:09:15
I'm not a Negative Nancy no it'll we'll
00:09:19
all land on our feet
00:09:21
all right here's a show Squad
00:09:24
Dana we've got Benjamin Stiller Ben
00:09:28
Stiller
00:09:30
yeah he's Ben Stiller who's pretty much
00:09:32
a superstar I would say uh yeah I would
00:09:35
say if you add up everything he's done
00:09:39
by the time you get to the end you can't
00:09:40
even remember the whole amount if you
00:09:42
read his IMB it you get exhausted he's
00:09:45
done it all you get exhausted I mean if
00:09:48
you think of night of the museum one two
00:09:51
and three right there
00:09:53
that's over a couple of years to do
00:09:55
three movies that are very like Robin
00:09:56
Williams is in all these great people in
00:09:58
them they all Crush they all killed
00:10:00
worldwide PG
00:10:01
family movie check three three three you
00:10:05
gotta have an animated franchise
00:10:06
Madagascar one two three how about doing
00:10:10
a comedy with Robert De Niro Meet the
00:10:13
Parents meet the water meet the father
00:10:14
too yeah yeah Zoolander one two I'm
00:10:19
gonna call him the franchise kid I mean
00:10:21
my gosh it's unbelievable and he's a
00:10:23
cool dude I saw him last year I don't
00:10:25
see him a lot but I saw him last year
00:10:27
it's Sundance which is uh it's a dance
00:10:30
place I go to so we went out there and
00:10:34
uh people were hounding them I the guy I
00:10:37
think
00:10:38
he directs a lot now but he's got a very
00:10:41
interesting life he did sign it live he
00:10:43
did it for how many five shows five
00:10:45
shows and that's the riveting hook of
00:10:48
why we get to talk to him because we
00:10:50
want to talk about that and we just he's
00:10:53
just a guy that's very cool big star
00:10:55
Something About Mary was a monster
00:10:58
monster I mean you don't even get to
00:11:00
that one and it's so big dodgeball all
00:11:02
these big comedies yeah and he directs a
00:11:04
lot and he's got the new show Severance
00:11:06
which is cool weird sci-fi so yeah all
00:11:09
props to him he's very unassuming person
00:11:11
uh and kind of shy uh but we're gonna
00:11:15
tease him out on today's show oh yeah
00:11:17
we'll flush him out of the brush it's
00:11:19
gonna be it's gonna be interesting is it
00:11:20
mono and mono is it a fight no it's a
00:11:22
conversation but I think things will
00:11:26
happen
00:11:26
things will happen but yeah looking
00:11:28
forward to talking to our friend Ben I'm
00:11:30
already thinking of how I'm going to
00:11:32
interrupt you during the show when
00:11:33
you're asking very good questions well
00:11:35
yeah when I'm running out of steam I
00:11:37
should have a signal like just please
00:11:38
please bailed me out on this please
00:11:40
interrupt me I am winding down and I
00:11:43
have no no you know sorry anyway so Ben
00:11:45
Stiller yeah I hope you're going to have
00:11:47
a good time with him
00:11:48
um an old school snlr that spun it out
00:11:51
into his own sketch show and uh won an
00:11:54
Emmy for it but he'll tell you all about
00:11:56
it yeah yeah revenge of uh whatever yeah
00:11:59
he won the Emmy beat out his own his old
00:12:02
gang
00:12:06
I think there's a there's over there
00:12:09
it's like a comeback movie's tale of
00:12:11
Vengeance it's a bit of a Rocky theme oh
00:12:14
definitely yeah and he he was he was a
00:12:16
lightweight boxer yeah he was he was uh
00:12:19
I think 82 and seven as an amateur boxer
00:12:22
if I read that correctly yeah you know
00:12:25
I'm super
00:12:26
um fly on the wall wait
00:12:29
oh boy yeah the jokes are getting worse
00:12:32
uh fly fly on the wall fly fly the wall
00:12:36
gotta fly don't blow up all right let's
00:12:40
just get to Ben Stiller these people are
00:12:42
sick of us ladies and gentlemen we bring
00:12:44
you we give you the one and only
00:12:48
Ben Stiller Ben Stiller yeah
00:12:50
[Music]
00:12:57
I'm okay if I gotta be oh [ __ ] there's
00:12:59
that guy there's that guy
00:13:01
um yeah Mr Stiller yeah if someone said
00:13:07
to me this so I'm gonna start with
00:13:08
someone said to me you know Ben Stiller
00:13:10
is probably the biggest most successful
00:13:13
comedic influence of his generation last
00:13:15
20 years my answer is I wouldn't I
00:13:18
wouldn't punch them in the face like I
00:13:20
wouldn't I wouldn't have an argument
00:13:22
with him I wouldn't get mad I would go
00:13:24
huh it would make you go okay
00:13:26
if they said Spade was you'd go no
00:13:31
I was looking over your film films and I
00:13:35
was reading them out loud to my wife and
00:13:36
she goes man people he might be
00:13:39
underrated I mean it's like yeah it's
00:13:41
kind of crazy
00:13:43
I said lucky oh yeah look yeah mostly
00:13:46
luck come on okay I'm just gonna get
00:13:49
these out of the way real fast then
00:13:50
we're gonna get into Severance but these
00:13:52
are these all the [ __ ] monster movies
00:13:54
I'm not gonna go to existential
00:13:55
questions it's two Howards coming at you
00:13:58
with coffee and I'm overlapping so you
00:14:01
jump you can ask us questions too Ben
00:14:03
we're all at will we're excited because
00:14:04
you're here uh certain uh Impressions
00:14:07
I'm gonna request and yeah we'll get to
00:14:09
that later the last 40 minutes is about
00:14:11
us believe me Eddie Munster
00:14:13
uh by the way I just talked to Mike
00:14:15
Myers about Eddie Munster on sprockets
00:14:18
the very first sprockets that was the
00:14:20
first one right yeah yeah incredible
00:14:22
yeah okay just real quick like it
00:14:24
commence blushing okay night of the
00:14:26
museum three great movies Meet the
00:14:28
Parents got three out of that then you
00:14:30
do something got three I got three out
00:14:33
of that no but those are brilliant
00:14:34
something really in terms of ringing
00:14:36
ringing movies out of a concert I've
00:14:39
definitely
00:14:40
yeah not at the Museum yet so it was so
00:14:43
so many that you got to present history
00:14:45
people you got to like Joe Biden then
00:14:48
you do Tropic Thunder and Zoolander
00:14:50
dodgeballstar ski Hutch as broad
00:14:53
characters you do something about time
00:14:55
my observation for you Ben which maybe
00:14:57
you've never thought of before it's very
00:14:59
difficult in modern comedy what you did
00:15:02
was play these broad characters and then
00:15:05
have a character that could travel as
00:15:07
Ben Stiller
00:15:09
uh in movie that's all I got I'm tapped
00:15:11
out David you go that's all I have for
00:15:13
the day
00:15:14
like that analysis uh like a 40-minute
00:15:17
answer
00:15:18
I think it was basically yeah you know
00:15:21
it was basically doing what was there
00:15:24
you know coming at me and I never really
00:15:27
you know look when I was at my short
00:15:30
short time at SNL I was so overwhelmed
00:15:34
by the level of sketch comedy acting
00:15:38
prowess that was there I never ever was
00:15:41
you know I never considered myself being
00:15:43
to be good at that I did like sketch I
00:15:46
loved sketch comedy I like to do it and
00:15:48
try to do it but I think I never felt
00:15:51
like I always felt like okay I'm kind of
00:15:52
like trying it and I can kind of do it
00:15:55
sometimes and it's fun to do but I never
00:15:57
considered myself you know that wasn't
00:15:59
like my wheelhouse really even though I
00:16:01
like to do it well I would have been
00:16:02
curious because if if say it was a
00:16:04
government order that Ben Stiller has to
00:16:06
do 100 episodes of Saturday Night Live
00:16:09
because I I felt altered after about 80
00:16:12
episodes it took me to kind of I faked
00:16:14
it in the beginning you know you only
00:16:17
did like five shows right so who could
00:16:19
get results yeah it was so intense and
00:16:22
overwhelming you know you were there
00:16:24
it's crazy you know it's funny that it
00:16:27
was because it is and then you do movies
00:16:30
which there's makeup there's directing
00:16:32
there's you know directing is no easy
00:16:34
task there's so many pressures of just
00:16:36
being in the movies and TV and it is
00:16:39
true that that one hits you in sort of a
00:16:40
different way where you get in there and
00:16:42
you go you're just like hit around going
00:16:44
what the [ __ ] is happening you know you
00:16:46
don't see it coming even though you
00:16:47
think you do yeah because of the whole
00:16:49
process of the week leading up to the
00:16:52
show and and what it takes to get to the
00:16:54
show and what it takes to get a sketch
00:16:56
on the show and then to really
00:16:58
understand how to gear yourself to and
00:17:01
you were both really good at it to you
00:17:04
know for that 11 30 show because the the
00:17:06
thing that always
00:17:07
sort of was like this kind of crazy mind
00:17:09
[ __ ] for me was when you do that dress
00:17:11
rehearsal and the dress rehearsal would
00:17:13
be like all right we nailed in the
00:17:14
dressers was like yeah but we actually
00:17:16
haven't done it for real at all yet
00:17:18
because nobody saw that yeah you know
00:17:21
it's worse on air and you go God damn it
00:17:23
yeah you hate when dress goes too well
00:17:25
you always want the idea was that the
00:17:28
live show in the back your head if if
00:17:30
that voice is talking it's saying this
00:17:33
is the best you've done it all week this
00:17:35
is I'm I'm actually doing it's going the
00:17:37
best it doesn't always happen but I
00:17:39
remember the intensity when we did
00:17:41
Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise and just
00:17:45
you're in the slats and the music's
00:17:47
playing and then it is kind of like they
00:17:49
just push you and all acting or come
00:17:52
it's all about getting it out of your
00:17:53
own house
00:17:54
and then you're giving yourself a report
00:17:56
card like am I okay am I doing it too
00:17:58
much where's Ben I mean I I get it it's
00:18:01
just it's a ridiculous concept really
00:18:03
it's a torture yeah and I'm sure you
00:18:05
guys talk about it on on this this this
00:18:08
podcast all the time the you know like
00:18:10
that feeling right before you go on and
00:18:13
right before you get you have to go out
00:18:14
the door
00:18:17
um or just like The Surreal nature of
00:18:19
like your whole life wanting to be a
00:18:20
part of SNL and then you get there and
00:18:23
then you're doing it and then it's like
00:18:25
it's just crazy the voice in your head
00:18:28
goes I'm on SNL and I'm doing it we had
00:18:30
Tara uh Julia Sweeney on and she she
00:18:34
came in one show early and just watched
00:18:36
this show but she was so Adept at doing
00:18:39
sketch comedy she said she wasn't
00:18:40
nervous she looked at it and said oh I
00:18:43
can do that but then she got nervous
00:18:45
later but initially it was like La Dee
00:18:47
Da just say your life did you guys did
00:18:49
you guys get nervous doing it oh sick
00:18:52
yeah I wasn't when I was there I went I
00:18:55
did the same thing as Julie did I went
00:18:57
there a week early and watched and I had
00:18:59
the other reaction of I cannot do this
00:19:01
like I was just I was a stand-up now
00:19:04
she's coming from an improv group so
00:19:06
she's used to Quick changes she's used
00:19:07
to blah blah everything jumping around
00:19:10
in characters and I'm watching it going
00:19:12
are you out of your mind and how fast it
00:19:13
moves and during the commercials that's
00:19:15
really all the time you have I didn't
00:19:17
really get that part like if it's 30
00:19:19
seconds it's 30 seconds or they go to a
00:19:21
fake graphic in the front that's just to
00:19:23
buy you some time uh and then when I was
00:19:26
doing my first update piece I'm on the
00:19:28
side and it's such a little studio in
00:19:31
when I got there that I go so when I
00:19:33
walk three feet uh 10 million people see
00:19:36
me and then I come back and it's just
00:19:38
some stage and chewing gum going good
00:19:40
job good job here they move the camera
00:19:42
and look at the other guy and I go is
00:19:44
that it like did anyone see it that one
00:19:46
out there yeah it actually happened yeah
00:19:49
and I don't have my phone you know I'm
00:19:50
not on a cell phone back then so then
00:19:52
hopefully somebody saw it somewhere and
00:19:54
they tell you but you just go the rest
00:19:56
of the night and everyone's doing their
00:19:57
thing my first sketch uh I never did
00:20:00
sketch comedy just to stand up my first
00:20:02
sketch was a cold opening with Jan Hooks
00:20:04
and Phil Hartman and when I landed a
00:20:07
laugh I had to I my head wanted to turn
00:20:09
toward the audience like a stand-up and
00:20:11
I go keep looking at Phil he's the host
00:20:13
of the game show so but I could show you
00:20:16
Church chats early on where she's going
00:20:18
like this her hand goes up and it's wet
00:20:20
with sweat you know sure babe you were
00:20:23
so good but you like that's crazy that
00:20:25
you never did sketch comedy at all
00:20:27
before the show I was doing it as a
00:20:30
stand-up but didn't really know it you
00:20:31
know I didn't have any jokes I've
00:20:33
written maybe two jokes in my life I was
00:20:35
doing one man sketch but I there was no
00:20:39
theater group in ssf at the time anyway
00:20:42
but um but I do that but I do think that
00:20:44
with you guys both coming from stand up
00:20:46
that did at least prepare you in a way
00:20:48
because it's the live experience of
00:20:51
going up in front of an audience you
00:20:52
know and I had had some of that but I
00:20:55
didn't come out of stand up and you know
00:20:57
there's the natural sort of thing of
00:20:59
being in front of an audience you know
00:21:01
I've done some theater but you know that
00:21:03
I always gravitated towards having more
00:21:07
takes and doing it you know you do in a
00:21:09
movie where you could just like you
00:21:10
could do it a number of times that was
00:21:11
really what you know I I felt more
00:21:13
comfortable doing which is why I went
00:21:16
running away after a few weeks and one
00:21:18
one the Emmy for best television sketch
00:21:21
show two years later yeah but I mean I
00:21:25
was you know I was like looking at that
00:21:27
environment going oh man this is really
00:21:28
hard I don't know if I I will do well
00:21:30
and even when I you know think back on
00:21:32
the few things that I did there I was so
00:21:34
nervous
00:21:35
um even you know sprockets like Mike was
00:21:37
that was his first box and Mike was just
00:21:39
so like that was such a great sketch
00:21:40
that character it was all so well formed
00:21:43
he was a great sketchwriter right out of
00:21:44
the box and he was just so you know he
00:21:47
understood you know I was doing whatever
00:21:49
character I was doing Eddie months there
00:21:51
wasn't even a character it was just like
00:21:52
you know
00:21:54
well it was a very funny take on it the
00:21:58
outfit was hysterical you know Dieter
00:21:59
was such a like a perfect kind of SNL
00:22:01
type character he just understood the
00:22:03
structure of it and everything
00:22:04
instinctively yeah well I I get that I
00:22:08
mean Mike did a lot of sketch comedy
00:22:09
before he got SNL that that would be
00:22:11
helpful but still but Ben did you do uh
00:22:14
was it a color of money why would you do
00:22:16
that you did a video and why did you do
00:22:18
that for is that what they saw is that
00:22:19
what Lauren saw I liked it yeah yeah I
00:22:22
um yeah I I was doing a play uh
00:22:27
Off-Broadway
00:22:29
um and I saved up the money I'd made in
00:22:31
the play to do this takeoff on The Color
00:22:33
of Money with a couple of friends of
00:22:35
mine and we made this short and I didn't
00:22:39
know then I didn't know what to do with
00:22:40
it because I basically had made a short
00:22:42
but there was nowhere it was pre
00:22:43
everything you know there was nothing to
00:22:45
die no nothing there was nothing so it
00:22:48
was sort of like I had a 16 millimeter
00:22:49
short
00:22:52
yeah and that was like transferred to
00:22:54
three quarter inch tape so I had this
00:22:56
like three quarter inch tape I was
00:22:57
taking around and John Lovitz came had
00:22:59
come to the show that I was doing the
00:23:02
play uh called The House of Blue leaves
00:23:05
and he had come back stage and I reached
00:23:09
out to him I didn't even know him really
00:23:10
I said hey I got this short I'd love to
00:23:12
get it try to get it to you know
00:23:13
somebody to see for the show and he took
00:23:16
it up to Lauren he literally owned his
00:23:18
tape up to Lauren the romance of that
00:23:21
when I hear about somebody let's put on
00:23:23
a show and making financing making a
00:23:26
short film and then having it go
00:23:27
somewhere because imagine all the young
00:23:29
people now putting stuff on YouTube but
00:23:31
the fact and I did watch some of it this
00:23:33
morning it was absolutely hysterical
00:23:35
they make up the whole like yeah it was
00:23:37
all like my friends and my parents my
00:23:39
grandfather it was like oh you know the
00:23:41
whole cast of it was just people doing
00:23:42
favors and the Tom Cruise impression and
00:23:45
character was so potent and bizarre and
00:23:48
your look was so amazing I mean what it
00:23:51
was you must have laughed your ass off
00:23:52
it was called you
00:23:54
[Laughter]
00:23:59
you know we kind of like had the idea
00:24:01
for the movie uh it was uh Steve Clayman
00:24:04
Ralph Howard my two friends that we and
00:24:06
we had this idea and was like Who's
00:24:08
Gonna Do cruise because like we knew we
00:24:10
had the idea but and and Steve actually
00:24:12
did a cruise too and I was like oh well
00:24:13
maybe I should do a cruise and then you
00:24:15
know we had like a cruise off like we
00:24:16
should do the best part well what was
00:24:18
your not to interrupt Ben but what was
00:24:20
your into Cruise usually it's like one
00:24:22
hook you did it in the restaurant it was
00:24:24
just it was one thing it was just sort
00:24:27
of yeah that yeah
00:24:45
um which I'd love to understand how you
00:24:47
how you what your method is because you
00:24:49
talk about it sometimes I'm trying right
00:24:51
now with Biden I'm still trying to find
00:24:53
your Biden is great where are you at
00:24:55
when you're buying right now well the
00:24:57
the new the latest Hook was that he he
00:24:59
yelled in the beginning it was like come
00:25:01
on here's a deal my dad lost a job no
00:25:03
joke not kidding around here that was
00:25:05
you know it was not a joke and he said
00:25:07
no joke
00:25:08
number one the one part number two what
00:25:11
the guy said number three you know the
00:25:13
drill come on it isn't rocket science
00:25:15
folks and then once in a while saying
00:25:17
nothing it's mad I know how to do this I
00:25:20
can talk loud look at me go and he's
00:25:23
finally had it do it right and then he
00:25:25
whispers you just no but yeah no please
00:25:28
no whispers are really funny The
00:25:30
Whispers when he comes down you go
00:25:32
what's going who's he talking to is
00:25:33
there someone else
00:25:34
to do someone and also for the audience
00:25:38
to get used to that person you know just
00:25:40
little hooks later on I know more about
00:25:42
Biden's voice now than I did six months
00:25:44
ago but anyway I think it's your comedic
00:25:46
hooks into the characters to me are
00:25:48
always like what you choose to focus on
00:25:50
is what makes it so funny because it's
00:25:52
like something nobody else would think
00:25:53
and then you're like oh my God yes
00:25:55
that's exactly what he does that's the
00:25:57
hard part and when they when you do it
00:25:59
Dana and then some someone like George
00:26:01
Bush like back in the day when there's
00:26:03
only four channels in SNL that you know
00:26:05
all the presidents are aware and then
00:26:07
they almost do what you're doing because
00:26:10
that's what they're supposed to be doing
00:26:13
it's a weird thing that happens I wanted
00:26:15
to learn Michael Caine because of Steve
00:26:18
Coogan yeah those guys traveling around
00:26:20
Europe in their car and doing
00:26:22
impressions oh yeah yeah the trip yeah
00:26:23
they were so good at Michael Caine that
00:26:25
was me consciously wanting to learn
00:26:26
Michael Caine just for myself not not to
00:26:30
put on TV or anything but then how do
00:26:32
you do it knowing that that exists do
00:26:35
you go to you just go to Michael Caine
00:26:36
and go I'm going to come up with my own
00:26:38
take um yeah I realized them what is it
00:26:40
I used to do it like this and then I
00:26:42
realized the whole Hook is the nasal you
00:26:44
could choke like that but if you go
00:26:46
totally a day so you got him there and
00:26:48
the hook that I do is I do Michael Caine
00:26:51
in kindergarten so it's Michael Kane at
00:26:53
five years of age and the line is I like
00:26:57
to eat paste
00:26:59
I I don't know why I don't know why I
00:27:03
like to eat things in the classroom I'm
00:27:05
sure on a hula hoop
00:27:09
so that's right but as far as Saturday
00:27:13
Night Live having that Focus like it's
00:27:16
gonna be on TV Saturday you know I'm
00:27:18
terribly lazy about these things so yeah
00:27:21
yeah but yeah anyway you understood how
00:27:23
to do that and uh it's a definite a
00:27:26
specific art form that uh you know I
00:27:28
think some people are built for and some
00:27:30
people aren't
00:27:33
[Music]
00:27:35
but what's the difference like so you go
00:27:38
in there and uh you do I I guess it was
00:27:41
you said five shows maybe Dana said that
00:27:43
but then you go ultimately not Revenge
00:27:47
but you still are interested in it you
00:27:50
go back and do your own show and then it
00:27:53
works you got to feel a little good like
00:27:54
see it's not it just wasn't my situation
00:27:57
that wasn't perfect for me yeah I mean
00:28:00
that's why I made the decision in the
00:28:02
moment and I think it was after I made
00:28:04
that decision in retrospect a lot of
00:28:06
people you know including people in my
00:28:08
life are like wow you quit Saturday
00:28:10
Night Live you know and which was like
00:28:12
oh yeah geez but I I did have a specific
00:28:14
thing that I was going to which was this
00:28:17
MTV show which was uh Jeff Khan and I
00:28:21
were working on uh uh this thing called
00:28:23
it they have this thing called it's your
00:28:25
hour where you could kind of do your own
00:28:26
thing and it was really because of the
00:28:27
shorts and that time I wanted to be
00:28:29
doing short films and I wanted to do
00:28:31
what Albert Brooks had done on the show
00:28:33
that was sort of my dream and and you
00:28:36
know he'd go and make these little short
00:28:37
films and then show them on the show and
00:28:39
that wasn't happening back at that point
00:28:41
and so that was I had an opportunity to
00:28:43
do that and really I think instinctually
00:28:45
I just felt like oh I'll be more
00:28:46
comfortable doing this and I'll be able
00:28:49
to you know that's funny Ben is that to
00:28:51
go like uh you go to MTV and they go why
00:28:54
should we do a show with you about
00:28:55
sketches you go well my resume shows you
00:28:57
I just quit a sketch show no so we
00:29:01
should do one with you and you yeah I
00:29:04
was at the Emmys Saturday Night Live was
00:29:06
having a good year it was the political
00:29:08
campaign everything and the winner is
00:29:10
for best comedy show the Ben Stiller
00:29:13
show and I remember you and Bob onakirk
00:29:15
and your gang going up there and just
00:29:17
how shocked you were can you describe
00:29:19
that feeling of like oh it was surreal I
00:29:22
mean yeah we'd been canceled for nine
00:29:24
months already I think we'd been off the
00:29:26
air for that long and you were canceled
00:29:28
that's right yeah we weren't even on the
00:29:30
air oh that's even more of a shocker it
00:29:32
was crazy easy and you know I think
00:29:34
there was a fair amount of bitterness
00:29:36
towards Fox that we all felt because we
00:29:38
felt you know we thought like oh our
00:29:40
show is you know we were good and give
00:29:42
us a chance but we really didn't play
00:29:44
our cards right with uh the network it
00:29:46
was a fledgling Fox network you know at
00:29:48
that time they weren't even on fully you
00:29:51
know they were on like maybe like 12
00:29:52
hours a week or something and we were up
00:29:54
against 60 minutes so we had awful
00:29:56
ratings and you know and also we were a
00:29:59
weird show I don't think anybody should
00:30:00
have really watched us necessarily but
00:30:02
we we felt very excited I loved it but
00:30:06
you know the head of the network I think
00:30:08
we did something I really I know there
00:30:10
was a moment when there was some sort of
00:30:12
presentation I think it might have been
00:30:14
the TCA things which is like the
00:30:15
television critics Association and you
00:30:17
go up and you talk to everybody and Bob
00:30:19
and I and Janine were up there and we
00:30:22
made some joke about the head of the
00:30:24
Network's hair I think Bob did looking
00:30:28
like an old-timey uh leather head
00:30:30
football helmet like that you know that
00:30:32
movie leather yeah yeah we made a joke
00:30:35
about the head of the Network's hair
00:30:36
looking like that and that might have
00:30:38
been the nail in the coffin first and
00:30:40
after that uh you know we were just we
00:30:42
didn't expect that you know to win I
00:30:44
didn't expect to win I heard Bob talking
00:30:46
about it recently and saying that he
00:30:47
actually thought we might have had a
00:30:48
chance
00:30:50
um but you know which he was such a
00:30:52
great sketchwriter yeah he was amazing
00:30:55
so funny Dana it's so funny
00:31:00
he was yeah
00:31:02
and he and he really I think it was his
00:31:05
a lot of his writing was on the episode
00:31:06
that won it you know for us um so it was
00:31:10
great it was and then I said some stupid
00:31:12
thing about like Fox you missed
00:31:14
something here
00:31:17
I was sitting next to Lauren when your
00:31:20
name was announced or the show and
00:31:21
Lauren just went oh anyway
00:31:34
I was listening to you guys break down
00:31:37
the Lauren Impressions
00:31:39
um recent episodes which I can never you
00:31:41
know always entertaining to listen to
00:31:43
different interpretations different
00:31:45
Lauren I guess Rob Lowe does a good one
00:31:47
oh yeah I do I do a copy of anyone's
00:31:50
copy I'm like a cc of a cc I just it
00:31:54
comes down that's what I do I'll try to
00:31:55
do
00:31:58
just noises how does Lauren feel about
00:32:01
it you think I mean at this point you
00:32:03
know I think he is you know I think he's
00:32:06
he's like he's Lauren he's aware bigger
00:32:08
yeah right he doesn't he doesn't dig
00:32:11
into it I think he he underst I think he
00:32:13
understands how it's meant because
00:32:14
everybody always is doing it with a
00:32:16
sense of like Lauren is a singular
00:32:17
entity that's created it's like us he's
00:32:19
a celebrity now and it's like a
00:32:21
celebrity impression and a weird way and
00:32:22
he also knows you know anytime he does a
00:32:24
sketch on the show he always knows how
00:32:26
to do himself yeah
00:32:28
I mean like he always can be he would
00:32:30
have a glass of Chardonnay at least the
00:32:32
first season he'd walk around the floor
00:32:34
during the live show I guess just to try
00:32:37
to calm us down you know but he was an
00:32:40
intimidated figure but then after you're
00:32:41
not on the show he's like your greatest
00:32:43
friend he's like so positive and
00:32:46
everything is positive I mean you went
00:32:48
back and hosted twice I was just going
00:32:50
to ask you to the nerve part did you get
00:32:52
past that by being a host on two shows
00:32:55
and you've done a lot of cameos as well
00:32:56
recently Michael Cohen yeah has it
00:32:59
gotten a little better just because
00:33:00
you're Ben Stiller now and you know
00:33:01
there's nothing to lose
00:33:05
honestly not at all every time I feel
00:33:08
that thing in the pit of my stomach
00:33:09
especially when we were doing the last
00:33:10
round we were doing the Michael Cohen
00:33:11
ones because there were changes that
00:33:13
were happening and this must have
00:33:15
happened to you all the time you know
00:33:17
the few times I was out there I don't
00:33:18
remember when I was on the show the last
00:33:21
minute changes like literally like like
00:33:23
a minute 30 seconds before still playing
00:33:26
around like things like that I remember
00:33:28
them on the cue cards while you're
00:33:30
standing there and they're like this
00:33:31
will be a little different you're like
00:33:32
and you realize that you're just on your
00:33:35
own like maybe it's like whatever like
00:33:36
you just have to do it nobody else is
00:33:38
going to do it you have to keep it in
00:33:39
your head
00:33:41
so you know it's fun when you can come
00:33:43
on I think in a an unannounced moment
00:33:47
right when you show up in somebody when
00:33:50
somebody else is hosting and it's like
00:33:51
all of a sudden like you walk out and I
00:33:52
remember doing that once with De Niro
00:33:54
and it that was probably the most fun
00:33:56
because I didn't really have to do
00:33:57
anything there was no pressure and it
00:33:59
was like oh people are excited to see
00:34:00
you because they didn't know you were
00:34:01
going to be there right yeah big
00:34:02
Applause yeah and then you don't have to
00:34:04
do much
00:34:05
um but uh I think uh yeah the hosting I
00:34:09
think is really you know there's nothing
00:34:10
like that feeling when you go out right
00:34:12
before you have to go out and
00:34:14
um again but that's the same feeling I
00:34:15
always had so I don't think it'll ever
00:34:17
it's chilling going through that door
00:34:19
Ben Stiller
00:34:21
and just the Roar of like expectations
00:34:24
really high yeah and right now and then
00:34:29
it's like then the show all right I like
00:34:30
when the host you know Dana when the
00:34:32
host has to go uh you know ladies and
00:34:35
gentlemen Red Hot Chili Peppers you know
00:34:36
they've dragged you all the way out
00:34:38
there and they put you in a different
00:34:39
outfit for that I'm like how about I
00:34:40
just wear what I'm wearing and you've
00:34:42
never heard of them you know but ladies
00:34:43
and gentlemen bent nerve you know yeah
00:34:46
sometimes like hot House Flowers it is
00:34:48
interesting to watch when you go through
00:34:50
the old shows like what the bands were
00:34:51
and like which ones are actually they
00:34:53
made whatever yeah yeah because they try
00:34:55
to catch them right on the precipice of
00:34:56
blowing up and some of them blow down
00:34:59
they never quite catch and you're like
00:35:02
no it's a game I play with myself
00:35:04
watching the show now to see which bands
00:35:06
I actually know better on the show
00:35:08
because I almost I'd say like 80 of the
00:35:10
time I don't know do not that's out of
00:35:12
it I think it's a typo there's no way
00:35:14
that's a band on the show I have never
00:35:16
heard of them when you listen to music
00:35:18
Ben like now today what do you listen to
00:35:21
do you listen to it in your car because
00:35:22
that's why I listen to music
00:35:24
yes I listened to music in my car I live
00:35:26
in the city and I also live north of the
00:35:28
city of New York so I kind of go back
00:35:29
and forth and I like listening to music
00:35:31
but I'm I'm so like as I get older like
00:35:34
my I can start going like 80s 70s yeah
00:35:37
90s I go to the 90s and then little and
00:35:40
then I become the old guys like what is
00:35:43
this what are they playing what is this
00:35:44
stuff that's not music I don't this
00:35:46
auto-tune all of it
00:35:48
um I mean I like hip-hop I guess but
00:35:51
from like even like my hip the hip-hop
00:35:53
taste is much older but I'm like I could
00:35:56
listen to you know like Elton John all
00:35:58
day I'm that guy right I got lost
00:36:00
somewhere around the Spin Doctors after
00:36:02
that I don't I think I'm pre-spin
00:36:04
doctors but isn't that interesting
00:36:05
though because it really does sort of
00:36:07
like settle in like what you really like
00:36:08
to listen to you know and like you just
00:36:11
don't know it after a while you just
00:36:13
stop knowing anything wanting to know it
00:36:15
too yeah but
00:36:18
like I was thinking about it like if I'm
00:36:21
listening to Elton John from 1973 right
00:36:25
now
00:36:26
that's 50 years ago or whatever right
00:36:28
pretty much almost yeah yeah yeah right
00:36:30
so that's like if my dad in 1973 was
00:36:34
listening to 1920 some hit song from
00:36:37
1923 all the time oh my God you know
00:36:40
what I mean yeah
00:36:42
yeah totally the one thing that happened
00:36:45
to me was the stereos back then sucked
00:36:47
so I have a Volvo it's not a rich man's
00:36:49
car per se but it's a you know and the
00:36:52
stereo in it is so insane that uh maybe
00:36:56
three months ago I put on oh Tiny Dancer
00:36:58
okay so I blast it it's 1500 watts I'm
00:37:02
surrounded titanium speakers it's like
00:37:04
I'd never heard the song before but then
00:37:06
I go to the hip-hop Channels with my
00:37:08
sons and they introduced me to cardi B
00:37:10
and I'm like wow I've never felt so old
00:37:12
you know WAP anyway this one's about
00:37:16
poontang
00:37:19
G-rated yeah they're not open to it I'm
00:37:22
open to it but then if I'm really being
00:37:24
honest with myself usually I don't get
00:37:25
into new stuff so Ben what here's the
00:37:28
question how did you get so good at what
00:37:30
you do you think like you're a little
00:37:32
kid you like to like I I want two I want
00:37:35
one or the television shows I know Star
00:37:37
Trek we got to interview William Shatner
00:37:39
on this podcast which was a thrill oh
00:37:41
really a crazy the Lucid brilliant
00:37:45
analyzed everything you know asked us
00:37:48
question it was like a shrink he's a
00:37:50
scientist he described what a mirage is
00:37:52
we talked about UFOs so I know that and
00:37:55
I was wondering what other films or TV
00:37:57
shows that just blew your 10 year old
00:38:00
Ben's mind and then you grow up to equal
00:38:03
or surpass Your Heroes as a film
00:38:06
director uh I don't know kind of surreal
00:38:10
it's not you know for me it yeah I loved
00:38:13
movies ever since I was a kid and was
00:38:15
just making Super Eight movies as a kid
00:38:17
and watching movies and television
00:38:20
watching movies and television you know
00:38:22
in the 70s when it was uh stuff was on
00:38:25
TV or you actually went to the movies
00:38:27
and go see Planet of the Apes or go see
00:38:29
you know Towering Inferno or side
00:38:32
Adventure itself
00:38:34
Shelly winners I was obsessed with it
00:38:37
Gene Hackman the way I was up there he
00:38:40
had a turtleneck on he was just it's out
00:38:42
that's incredible life is out there it's
00:38:46
one inch stick less thick than two
00:38:48
inches remember that he said they had to
00:38:50
go up there and they go yeah it's an
00:38:52
inch of Steel a pair of Lights
00:38:57
yeah yes do that again up there is life
00:39:00
down here is death
00:39:04
many gives Shelly Winters a big wet kiss
00:39:06
oh I love it
00:39:09
and she swam under the water she was the
00:39:12
championship swimmer and God damn and
00:39:15
that was a great movie but that tidal
00:39:18
wave that's a great shot right Ben
00:39:21
yeah
00:39:23
the tidal wave it's incredible that's
00:39:25
great direction is that Irwin and Ronnie
00:39:27
McDowell is the you know the waiter who
00:39:30
helps them and they had to turn the
00:39:31
Christmas they had to take the Christmas
00:39:33
tree it was so smart I was just obsessed
00:39:35
it was UPS everything was upside upside
00:39:36
down
00:39:38
I'm gonna watch that all day okay I
00:39:41
remember once my parents were going to
00:39:42
see uh they had tickets to see Lily
00:39:45
Tomlin performing live on Broadway she
00:39:47
was doing one of her amazing one-woman
00:39:49
shows and they said come on we're gonna
00:39:51
go see Willie Thomas I was like no
00:39:52
Poseidon Adventures on yeah 12th time
00:39:55
I'm gonna stay home and watch it do you
00:39:57
remember there's got to be a morning
00:39:58
after yeah unreal song Perfect
00:40:03
her brother the bass player dies in The
00:40:06
you know
00:40:16
the only time it looked fake is when
00:40:19
they looked through the binoculars they
00:40:20
see the huge tidal wave and then when it
00:40:22
hits they had a crew guy throw a cup of
00:40:23
water a Dixie cup of water into the
00:40:25
captain's face he goes oh
00:40:31
are you [ __ ] me it was Unreal I was
00:40:33
scared as a kid I could I was riveted I
00:40:35
wasn't scared enough like I was during
00:40:37
scary movies it was sort of accidentally
00:40:40
scaring me but I was riveted to it like
00:40:42
what if this happened my sister and I
00:40:45
snuck out when we were in LA with my
00:40:47
parents because we grew up in New York
00:40:48
where my parents would come out to LA to
00:40:50
work and do like The Love Boat and
00:40:51
things like that and we would stay at
00:40:53
the sunset Marquis Hotel with them and
00:40:56
like my sister and I snuck out once to
00:40:58
see The Exorcist at the man's timeout
00:41:01
these are grumman's Chinese Theater and
00:41:04
it scared the [ __ ] out of us we just
00:41:05
were so freaked out by it but we didn't
00:41:07
tell my parents that we've got to see it
00:41:09
he said they couldn't understand why we
00:41:11
were so why you were crying every day
00:41:13
yeah oh my God yeah go ahead you're I
00:41:17
want to hear your exercise
00:41:19
I still can't see it I used to my
00:41:22
brother told me about it and I was so
00:41:23
[ __ ] scared that I would talk before
00:41:25
I went to bed to make sure my voice was
00:41:26
wasn't like the way he said the voice
00:41:28
was in the movie because I was scared
00:41:31
I'd be possessed and then I I won't I
00:41:34
shouldn't tell Dana you don't have to
00:41:35
listen to this but I'll tell Ben because
00:41:37
he's a better all right I'll mute Ben I
00:41:40
saw the movie Tommy at this huge this
00:41:43
huge theater in Arizona the Santa Capri
00:41:45
when I was whatever age I was when I
00:41:48
came out and it scared me that I got
00:41:50
like a stomach ache and I had to leave
00:41:51
when the Acid Queen there was burning
00:41:54
and it threw some something to burn the
00:41:56
guy's face and right at the beginning I
00:41:57
go what the [ __ ] that that movie is not
00:41:59
for kids I thought it'd be a fun movie
00:42:01
Tina Turner right yeah it was a Psycho
00:42:04
movie I saw him he was like a great he
00:42:06
did Altered States too remember that
00:42:08
movie with William oh yeah
00:42:10
Bob going on I'm on [ __ ] fire
00:42:13
remember when this and he turned and his
00:42:15
feet turned into eight feet in the in
00:42:17
the shower and it's just like he's
00:42:18
having these crazy hallucinations he was
00:42:20
a really interesting filmmaker yeah so I
00:42:22
I mean those movies were so good when we
00:42:24
were that age that I was and I was so
00:42:26
into them that you know just I wanted to
00:42:29
do that and make make movies and and so
00:42:31
that's you know I I was always doing
00:42:33
that that's honestly like part of the
00:42:35
reason why I didn't stay at SNL and all
00:42:36
that is because I wanted to keep
00:42:38
exploring that and doing that but I was
00:42:40
also kind of like trying to be an actor
00:42:41
too and I think uh you know I just have
00:42:45
always loved that more and probably like
00:42:47
the last you know six or seven years
00:42:49
I've you know I haven't really acted in
00:42:50
anything for a while and it's been
00:42:52
mainly directing and I stopped acting
00:42:54
and in the things I was directing which
00:42:57
I've really enjoyed a lot more because I
00:42:58
do feel like that gives you the
00:43:00
opportunity to really focus on the you
00:43:03
know what you're doing it's hard when
00:43:04
you're kind of you know doing both like
00:43:07
just how hard it is to either and then
00:43:09
you got to do both I mean yeah yeah yeah
00:43:10
well it's kind of cool that your latest
00:43:13
thing you've done is being received so
00:43:15
it's brilliant and I'm obsessed by it my
00:43:17
son's in their 20s
00:43:19
the way it's shot that I don't know the
00:43:22
set design the colors of the lights
00:43:23
action you know it's so music so Atmos
00:43:26
atmospheric and as it gives you this
00:43:29
wash of feeling and really takes you out
00:43:31
I mean what what I mean yeah
00:43:34
you know what's interesting yeah I mean
00:43:36
first of all it was written it was a
00:43:38
script that came to our production
00:43:39
company about five years ago by a writer
00:43:41
as a writing sample Dan Erickson this
00:43:43
guy who had not had anything produced
00:43:45
and I read and I was like oh this is
00:43:47
really this reminds me of like the
00:43:49
office it reminds me of office space it
00:43:52
reminds me of like Parallax view it
00:43:55
reminds me of you know um
00:43:57
Truman Show
00:44:00
um yes and it had all these different
00:44:01
things going on and I was trying to
00:44:03
think of that other movie oh what was it
00:44:05
the Andromeda stream yeah or t-h-t-h-x
00:44:08
1130x 1138 yeah the drama story I just
00:44:11
thought it was like an interesting thing
00:44:13
he was doing with the tone which he was
00:44:14
taking the office workplace comedy and
00:44:17
then sort of like adding this other
00:44:18
surreal layer to it which is like who
00:44:21
are these people what are they doing why
00:44:22
are they doing it but yet they're
00:44:23
bantering like they work in an office
00:44:24
but they don't even know what who they
00:44:26
are yeah you know you know that's like
00:44:28
really interesting concept so anyway I I
00:44:31
just you know it took a while to set it
00:44:33
up I knew Adam Scott was the guy to play
00:44:35
it because I felt like Adam has sort of
00:44:37
like mastered that tone yeah can we talk
00:44:40
about him for 10 seconds Adam Scott is I
00:44:42
saw my big little lies I you've seen him
00:44:45
around for years and then I've seen him
00:44:46
on this I go holy [ __ ] he's never made a
00:44:48
false smooth as it's amazing and he has
00:44:52
this like really interesting quality
00:44:53
because like sometimes he'll he'll be
00:44:55
like he'll look like Tom Cruise he'll
00:44:56
have this like this like thing and then
00:44:58
other times he'll be like sort of like
00:45:00
this kind of regular like guy like kind
00:45:02
of you know very self-effacing and then
00:45:04
he'll be kind of like flat and nothing
00:45:06
going on but then all of a sudden you
00:45:07
look in his eyes and there's some really
00:45:09
deep thing happening and he's also like
00:45:11
just as an actor he just like is he just
00:45:14
is so specific and I call him an acting
00:45:17
machine and I mean that as a compliment
00:45:19
yeah whatever you want whatever you can
00:45:22
do it wait you too David I feel like
00:45:24
you're an acting machine yes thank you
00:45:26
um and he has this ability to uh like
00:45:30
just change things by a millimeter but
00:45:32
uh you know and still you know do what
00:45:35
he did but then like as a director it's
00:45:37
great to work with him so the whole
00:45:38
thing was really interesting to me and
00:45:41
you know trying to do something that I
00:45:42
tonally that I guess you know was an
00:45:44
experiment and then I I thought you know
00:45:47
well it's fun to be able to experiment
00:45:48
with some something we did it all during
00:45:50
the pandemic it's been literally like
00:45:52
two and a half years working on it yeah
00:45:55
so we started before the pandemic and
00:45:57
then we were about to start shooting and
00:45:58
then the pandemic happened and we had to
00:45:59
shut down so it's been a long process
00:46:02
and we were in this you know very
00:46:04
oppressive uh claustrophobic set for
00:46:07
like nine months shooting it so it got a
00:46:09
little bit you know like it was the show
00:46:11
kind of like folded in on itself and you
00:46:13
got John Turturro and Christopher Walken
00:46:15
I mean those are also just it was weird
00:46:17
because tutorial I was talking to him
00:46:20
about doing the part and he suggested
00:46:23
Chris Walken he said because we hadn't
00:46:25
cast the role of this his co-worker bird
00:46:28
who you know Chris plays and John said
00:46:31
well have you cast I'm like no you know
00:46:32
I'm thinking about some music it goes
00:46:33
what about what about Chris and I'm like
00:46:35
yeah that would be great okay I'll reach
00:46:39
out to you because I can call him and he
00:46:41
literally made it happen he's like yeah
00:46:42
everyone loves Christopher Walken I know
00:46:45
I mean anything he's got this amazing
00:46:48
voice amazing face and he just you can't
00:46:51
not look at him on the screen yeah you
00:46:53
know I mean and he's aware you know he's
00:46:55
such a sweet person I actually worked
00:46:57
with him in that first play that I ever
00:46:59
did the thing I did when I did Hustler
00:47:00
money to take off on color money yeah he
00:47:02
was in that production and he worked
00:47:04
with my dad a lot
00:47:06
um and uh you know he's just he's very
00:47:10
sweet and sensitive uh yeah guy I
00:47:13
remember this is a non-securator
00:47:15
standing next to Bonnie Ray at a party
00:47:16
and it was Eric Roberts and Christopher
00:47:18
Walken and this is in the 90s and Bonnie
00:47:21
Ray said I feel like I'm having sex just
00:47:23
looking at him
00:47:24
[Laughter]
00:47:31
um if he is aware of all these
00:47:33
Impressions and if he it throws him off
00:47:35
acting because you know that's the way
00:47:38
he sounds and now he's like do I sound
00:47:39
like a cartoon of myself yeah I think
00:47:42
he's aware that people you know he knows
00:47:45
that people will adjust scripts when
00:47:47
when he's in it that because he's in it
00:47:49
you know I think he's aware of it but he
00:47:51
honestly I think is not a guy who you
00:47:53
know he doesn't really
00:47:56
he's not I don't want to like say too
00:47:59
much because it protect his privacy but
00:48:01
like he's not a guy who engages in
00:48:02
social media and does it you know what I
00:48:04
mean like he really just lives his life
00:48:06
and um he's a very genuine person like I
00:48:09
think he loves act he's been acting
00:48:11
since he was a like a small child
00:48:15
I mean literally like a like five or six
00:48:17
years old yeah I have a question for you
00:48:19
but this one is not Christopher Walken
00:48:21
related but still a good question can't
00:48:23
wait um in severance
00:48:27
in the first episode I picture like you
00:48:30
know we all get scripts so you're
00:48:32
reading it I'm like I wonder where it
00:48:35
won Ben over like you know because I
00:48:37
think you only read the one right you
00:48:39
only read the first episode that's right
00:48:41
that's right so I'm watching it starts a
00:48:43
little Bleak it's got some interesting
00:48:45
creepy music I mean I don't really know
00:48:46
what I'm watching music you know yeah
00:48:48
and that's so I'm watching I'm like this
00:48:50
looks so different and so I'm just
00:48:52
getting hooked in on the fact like I
00:48:54
don't know what's happening you know
00:48:55
that's kind of fun but I'm picturing on
00:48:57
the page because you sort of you know
00:48:58
bring it more to life and then
00:49:01
and in those last couple minutes I go oh
00:49:03
[ __ ] oh [ __ ] and that's probably where I
00:49:06
go I bet Ben was like oh [ __ ] this is
00:49:08
great because it makes me go I gotta
00:49:09
watch the next one now right which I
00:49:11
think is like the bottom line with TV
00:49:13
shows and I learned that on the last one
00:49:15
I worked on which is like you just want
00:49:16
to get people to watch want to watch the
00:49:18
next episode you know you want to have a
00:49:19
story that unfolds but you know when I
00:49:21
read it it didn't have all that there
00:49:24
was no music attached to it right there
00:49:26
just like reading it and it totally I
00:49:29
think I might have taken it a slightly
00:49:31
different place and I didn't even know
00:49:32
it was going to go because I really
00:49:33
responded to the like that that
00:49:36
workplace comedy thing that was in there
00:49:38
you know the banter that was happening
00:49:40
you know and like just sort of like the
00:49:42
back and forth between uh Adam and Zach
00:49:44
Cherry in the beginning when they're at
00:49:46
their workstations that seems so
00:49:48
familiar to me and funny and like oh
00:49:50
I've you know I've heard that but then
00:49:51
like I said it was that other layer to
00:49:53
it but I think the ending too I just as
00:49:55
a pilot I thought oh well this like this
00:49:57
crazy little thing that happens at the
00:49:59
end with one of the characters where you
00:50:00
don't expect it that really pulled me in
00:50:03
and uh but I don't know you know I I
00:50:06
don't know if you're like this but like
00:50:07
when there's something you read as that
00:50:09
just you have a gut feeling about where
00:50:11
you just go okay this is something that
00:50:13
I really connect with I don't even know
00:50:14
why I connect with it but it's just you
00:50:16
know it's just pulling on something that
00:50:18
like I something it's resounding with
00:50:21
something in something inside of me
00:50:23
which um sometimes you don't have to
00:50:25
explain also it's Unique it's a unique
00:50:27
read so yeah I'm sure you see like I get
00:50:29
similar comedies a lot and you and Dana
00:50:31
and so if you see something out of that
00:50:34
world it's it's our already a little
00:50:36
easier to keep your attention because
00:50:38
you're not doing this every day and is
00:50:40
it kind of unintentionally zeitgeisty
00:50:42
you know about work from home and the
00:50:43
great reset and people rethinking their
00:50:46
lives because it rang true that
00:50:48
sometimes people are in a corporate
00:50:49
situation they're not quite sure what
00:50:51
they're doing which is kind of funny and
00:50:53
separate no one really knows what
00:50:54
they're doing you know that's the funny
00:50:57
that was one that's one of the things I
00:50:58
loved about is they have no idea what
00:51:00
they're doing
00:51:01
to do they don't know why they're doing
00:51:03
it or what what purpose it serves and
00:51:04
they know they're not really supposed to
00:51:06
question that also you know yeah um but
00:51:09
uh you know this was all before
00:51:10
everything that was happening we wrote
00:51:13
the script like six years ago or
00:51:14
something so yeah it was kind of ahead
00:51:15
of it all it's uh I don't know it just
00:51:18
it feels like people are definitely
00:51:20
rethinking that kind of corporate
00:51:22
structure and you know just yeah you
00:51:24
know it seems like everyone in the world
00:51:25
is really rich now because it's never
00:51:28
been in our face as much notwithstanding
00:51:30
Ukraine right now but just the idea of
00:51:33
uh people monetizing fame or Instagram
00:51:35
or what is it David fans only
00:51:46
to get people on a cubicle for 50 years
00:51:48
you know with all this other input
00:51:50
coming at them but anyways we told kids
00:51:53
kids are being told like I see on uh
00:51:55
these places where they're like why are
00:51:57
you working for other people when you
00:51:59
can make millions on your own it's like
00:52:00
I don't know if that's the best message
00:52:02
I mean it's a good message but everyone
00:52:04
chasing their dreams at once might
00:52:06
collapse everything you know it's very
00:52:08
hard to say keep one foot in reality but
00:52:12
always try to strive to do something
00:52:15
better in life but it's hard because
00:52:17
right now they're like quit your job
00:52:19
I also think that's changed in the way
00:52:22
uh you know in Show Business too and
00:52:24
like what you're you know you talk about
00:52:25
back when there was no YouTube or
00:52:28
anything to or Instagram to post funny
00:52:30
stuff you know I made my little short
00:52:32
and was like taking it around now it's
00:52:34
almost incumbent on uh an actor or a
00:52:37
comedic performer to put their stuff out
00:52:40
there and to make stuff so that you you
00:52:42
know that you have to do that really to
00:52:44
get noticed and then the other aspect of
00:52:46
that is there's so much of it out there
00:52:48
now it's almost the opposite where now
00:52:50
like how do you get noticed within that
00:52:52
sea of um you know content quote unquote
00:52:54
and I think um it has changed the way
00:52:58
people sort of approach like what are
00:52:59
you supposed to what do you call success
00:53:01
and you know are you supposed to be
00:53:04
successful by 19 or 20 and you know if
00:53:06
you're if you're putting your stuff out
00:53:08
there feels younger and it feels younger
00:53:10
when you're Kylie Jenner and you're like
00:53:11
19 and you have a billion dollars
00:53:12
everyone goes wait I'm it's so much
00:53:14
stress for kids like I'm so far behind
00:53:17
I've got fomo from Instagram everyone's
00:53:19
prettier than than me everyone's you
00:53:20
know everyone there's two girls at my
00:53:22
school are pretty and now I'm like I'm
00:53:24
competing against the world if you're a
00:53:25
woman you know it's like I see every
00:53:27
guy's life everyone's Rich it seems
00:53:30
everyone's having a better time than me
00:53:32
it's funny that during the the lockdown
00:53:35
it almost let you relax for a second if
00:53:37
you're a kid to go at least everyone's
00:53:40
in the same spot for a second like
00:53:41
they're not on a yacht they're not
00:53:43
skiing they're not and I don't feel
00:53:44
because I think people feel badly over
00:53:47
and over quietly about all that stuff
00:53:49
and it makes them nice I I I feel that
00:53:52
way
00:53:53
even you feel that way yeah because I I
00:53:55
looked up I mean yeah what your
00:53:59
celebrity net worth no I'm kidding
00:54:00
novice
00:54:02
I definitely feel that way I took I got
00:54:05
off Instagram because of that yeah I I'm
00:54:07
still on Twitter but like I I couldn't I
00:54:10
was feeling all those feelings way too
00:54:12
much and I was like this is I'm too old
00:54:14
to be getting into this like it's not
00:54:16
healthy I should be really concentrating
00:54:18
and spending my time you know on much
00:54:20
more
00:54:21
um positive in you know things and you
00:54:24
know so I just made that choice for
00:54:26
myself the thing is when you do do take
00:54:28
yourself out of that you know right now
00:54:29
everybody sort of communicates that way
00:54:31
though too you know even there are good
00:54:33
parts of it being able to stay in touch
00:54:34
with family and you know and and stay in
00:54:37
touch with people that you're you don't
00:54:38
see all the time but I just decided that
00:54:40
for me that was that was too much
00:54:43
um and I think
00:54:45
you know it's I I don't see the good
00:54:47
thing I I feel like Twitter also
00:54:50
I have uh conflicted feelings about
00:54:53
Twitter too because I I like being able
00:54:56
to get immediate news and information
00:54:58
and things that are going on in the
00:55:00
world but then I'm also again way too
00:55:02
aware I think sometimes the things that
00:55:03
I shouldn't really be spending my time
00:55:05
on
00:55:06
you know
00:55:10
[Music]
00:55:12
did you turn down any uh Big commercials
00:55:17
like in the 90s or the knots or did you
00:55:19
do some I mean now that's totally
00:55:21
changed and people talk about their
00:55:22
brand and getting their product in the
00:55:24
marketplace which is great by me but did
00:55:26
you turn down commercials I did a few
00:55:28
naively yeah no I did I didn't I've
00:55:32
never gotten offered a lot of
00:55:33
commercials weirdly but I
00:55:36
did do I did a Japanese beer commercial
00:55:38
in the 90s uh yes I or nice
00:55:44
um uh I'm trying to even remember that
00:55:46
it was like it was a crazy thing I had
00:55:48
to say I had to go um
00:55:51
this like frozen wave or something
00:55:55
um that's it and you got paid money I
00:55:57
got paid money for that and uh and then
00:56:00
not a lot of offers after that maybe
00:56:01
that effective but um yeah I got offered
00:56:05
one a couple years ago uh one of those
00:56:08
Super Bowl ads uh and I somebody else
00:56:12
did it and I saw it and I just felt like
00:56:14
it didn't feel right
00:56:16
I had that happen a Super Bowl ad and
00:56:18
then someone else did it I'll tell Dana
00:56:19
later I'll do anything at this point but
00:56:22
I remember Paul Newman and I don't know
00:56:24
if he gave it to charity but Paul Newman
00:56:25
is like the greatest kind of celebrity
00:56:27
industry I think I think he was writing
00:56:29
a a tricycle or something like it was a
00:56:32
motorcycle or something but Paul Newman
00:56:33
and I think Meryl Streep did one and
00:56:35
then they didn't like it and they she
00:56:37
got millions and they didn't even show
00:56:39
it but I do think the Super Bowl is
00:56:41
unique everyone kind of goes hey it's a
00:56:43
Super Bowl commercial I mean also now
00:56:45
it's become such a thing where the
00:56:47
commercials are such a huge deal and you
00:56:49
know everybody watches I watch them you
00:56:51
know and see like okay what's yeah you
00:56:53
know who's gonna did they ever ask you
00:56:55
to Direct One
00:56:56
um I've I've directed some commercials
00:56:58
back then I have been offered
00:56:59
commercials to direct I'm not great at
00:57:01
directing commercials because I don't
00:57:04
love this process
00:57:07
at the end of the day it's a little bit
00:57:09
like I have to care about this someone's
00:57:11
like move the Doritos closer to the
00:57:13
Chihuahua please hold it up while you're
00:57:15
talking Angela Chihuahuas chewing the
00:57:18
bag
00:57:19
it's an art form I I enjoy a funny
00:57:22
commercial but you have to really care
00:57:23
about that so Ben how are you as a
00:57:25
celebrity like your emotional
00:57:27
temperature I just made it how are you
00:57:29
is like kind of
00:57:31
assuming Superstar obviously you don't
00:57:34
you're not out there all the time I mean
00:57:36
when was the first time you're going you
00:57:37
were like Mickey Rooney and the Twilight
00:57:39
Zone like uh I'm too famous I'm too
00:57:42
famous what was the one that blew you up
00:57:45
where you were like oh [ __ ] now it's
00:57:46
good you know there's there's a point
00:57:47
where you hit critical mass I don't know
00:57:49
what your words like you're really
00:57:51
famous yeah and that's where my glasses
00:57:53
broke and I couldn't read any of the
00:57:55
books Meredith
00:57:57
young Ben Stiller with Fame that he
00:58:00
never wanted go ahead
00:58:02
I think it was a kind of a gradual you
00:58:05
know thing for me because I was around
00:58:06
for a while from like my you know my
00:58:09
little stint in like late 80s uh to you
00:58:12
know then getting little parts and
00:58:13
movies and something about Mary was
00:58:16
something about Mary was the one that
00:58:18
really was the first time I was ever in
00:58:19
yeah that was huge and meet the parents
00:58:21
and then Zoolander that was pretty
00:58:22
quickly boom go ahead
00:58:26
yep yeah and that was that was after
00:58:28
that was like 1998 or something and I
00:58:31
had been doing it for you know on and
00:58:34
off for 10 years and had you know had
00:58:36
directed Reality Bites and directed
00:58:38
cable guy at that point and like so I
00:58:40
was working in Show Business and happy I
00:58:43
was really happy and then that that
00:58:45
movie you know was a big hit and I
00:58:47
remember people going like oh I knew
00:58:49
like someone who worked in my team said
00:58:52
I knew it was always going to happen for
00:58:53
you I was like I thought it had
00:58:55
you know I thought I was doing it okay
00:59:00
and you're like I've heard people say
00:59:02
come back oh come back did you wear a
00:59:05
hat and stuff when you went out or
00:59:06
sunglasses yeah when you first got yeah
00:59:08
David I love it to be in a convertible
00:59:11
you know hi everybody yes
00:59:15
I mean I was definitely going around La
00:59:18
I you know I had a period of time when
00:59:21
it acted ridiculous I'm sure you know
00:59:23
like I bought a Jaguar sweet do it yeah
00:59:34
a low-key rhyme yeah yeah
00:59:37
um yeah I mean it was yeah it was it was
00:59:40
definitely like you know fun but a
00:59:42
little bit sort of intoxicating in that
00:59:44
you know it's that thing where like
00:59:46
everybody you know is recognizing
00:59:48
everybody's being nice to you and
00:59:50
there's just a lot you know a lot of
00:59:52
opportunity in all ways and it's like
00:59:54
you know weird yeah it's weird when
00:59:56
there was a jizz scene you might not
00:59:58
remember in Something About Mary no I
01:00:00
forgot which one was that it was there a
01:00:03
discussion of the amount of jizz is it
01:00:04
too offensive is it too far there was
01:00:07
because I don't think people have seen
01:00:09
too much jizz on screen apparently
01:00:11
brothers or since yeah
01:00:13
um I had a discussion and Bobby Fairley
01:00:17
about that scene because you know I took
01:00:20
my work seriously and I was I was
01:00:23
questioning a lot in that movie but I
01:00:25
would like question all of like the
01:00:26
logic moments in that movie with them
01:00:28
and then I realized halfway through the
01:00:30
movie that you know shooting the movie
01:00:31
that I just was wrong because they were
01:00:34
yeah because they're just going to do
01:00:35
what they did and they were so right
01:00:36
because they knew exactly what they were
01:00:38
doing but I was like okay I'm gonna make
01:00:40
sure this makes sense to me so my
01:00:42
question was
01:00:43
how am I not feeling how am I not
01:00:47
feeling the jizz on my earlobe right why
01:00:51
am I not feeling this yeah how can I
01:00:53
nerve ending how do you play that so I
01:00:56
literally like said can we somehow set
01:00:58
up in the movie at some point in like in
01:01:00
the past I lost feeling in my earlobe
01:01:06
that's what they said they're like Ben
01:01:11
[ __ ] I'm like really I think it's not
01:01:13
gonna be as funny if you think you're
01:01:15
wondering why I don't feel it on my
01:01:16
earlobe so I lost that argument and yeah
01:01:19
and I guess you're smart to say when I'm
01:01:22
in someone else's thing I've done that
01:01:23
where you go this is their thing I'm
01:01:25
kind of along for the ride I did sign up
01:01:27
and I I can put in my two cents but
01:01:29
overall they're gonna win in editing so
01:01:32
I got at some point just gotta roll it
01:01:34
yes and you have to recognize that you
01:01:37
know and I think it took me I remember
01:01:39
we were there in Miami it was so much
01:01:40
fun shooting that movie too because it
01:01:41
was just like everybody was having a
01:01:43
great time and they cut together like
01:01:45
the first 10 minutes of the movie and
01:01:47
Peter pulled me into his trailer and
01:01:49
said hey check this out I want to show
01:01:50
you and I saw the first 10 minutes and I
01:01:52
was like oh this is like it's so much
01:01:53
fun and it had such like yeah I think I
01:01:55
was like you know I'm like kind of more
01:01:56
of like a serious type of person or you
01:01:59
know and they were just like happy fun
01:02:01
I'm like okay this is like a happy fun
01:02:03
thing which I have to get used to and
01:02:05
you know Embrace is probably good for me
01:02:07
um but I remember also after the movie
01:02:09
we Shot the movie weirdly uh I keep
01:02:13
saying weirdly don't I um it's a good
01:02:15
word
01:02:16
um you have a big life
01:02:19
um no but I was living in the same
01:02:20
apartment building as Cameron Diaz in LA
01:02:23
in largely that is weirdly yeah and
01:02:27
um I was coming downstairs and and she
01:02:30
was going out with Matt Dillon at the
01:02:32
time and you know so we'd all done the
01:02:34
movie together the movie hadn't come out
01:02:35
and he'd just seen a screening of the
01:02:37
movie and Matt was like hey man did you
01:02:40
see the movie is really it's funny man
01:02:42
it's funny and he's like dude dude you
01:02:45
jerked off in that movie
01:02:50
that's a good Matt Dylan yeah that is
01:02:53
good and I was like yeah I know I did it
01:02:56
I definitely did it um and he was like
01:02:58
he was saying it as a compliment I think
01:03:00
but it was kind of like you really did
01:03:01
that and at that time we didn't know how
01:03:03
the movie was going to do so it felt a
01:03:05
little bit scary your balls are in a
01:03:07
zipper dude it's great it was like a
01:03:09
hangover in a movie that came out and
01:03:12
just kind of changed everything for a
01:03:13
while but I'd like to talk before we go
01:03:15
whenever we go about Tropic Thunder
01:03:18
because that hit me like a ton of bricks
01:03:20
and I've probably seen that three times
01:03:23
I mean I just absolutely I I think I
01:03:26
mean Ben died
01:03:28
you went full r word that's why you went
01:03:31
home empty-handed it is like it for
01:03:35
comedy writing at the time I know that
01:03:37
you couldn't do it today I suppose but
01:03:39
God that was that brilliant that movie
01:03:40
how did you [ __ ] come up with that
01:03:43
but I think in today's you know
01:03:45
environment now of course it just would
01:03:46
never even get out of the you know it
01:03:48
would never get out of development um
01:03:50
but that was an idea that I had had
01:03:52
since I had a little part in Empire of
01:03:55
the Sun in 1987 I was playing one of the
01:03:57
pows uh in that movie and I which was
01:04:00
hilarious thank you
01:04:03
and Robert Downey Jr was in blackface in
01:04:06
that film too I remember but uh I you
01:04:08
know I thought oh that at that time in
01:04:11
like mid 80s all the actors my age were
01:04:13
auditioning for every you know war movie
01:04:16
it was all war movies it was all
01:04:17
Hamburger Hill platoon
01:04:19
um and yeah we all and we all I remember
01:04:22
and everybody was going on these fake
01:04:24
boot camps where they'd go out with Dale
01:04:26
die and you know spend two weeks in the
01:04:28
Philippines and get you know dirty and
01:04:30
get yelled at yeah well could David just
01:04:32
for an insert David could you do your
01:04:34
Michael J fox War thing just and then go
01:04:36
back to you I can't do it hey Sarge you
01:04:38
got to give me a minute on this
01:04:40
hey she's just a just a farm girl
01:04:46
we don't know I have to ask you what
01:04:48
would uh Bert Lancaster be like yeah
01:04:54
I'm telling you we gotta get down
01:05:01
I did a movie with bird Lancaster that's
01:05:03
one of my favorite of your impressions
01:05:05
is the bertland the Kirk Douglas Burt
01:05:07
Lancaster entertainment oh that thing oh
01:05:09
that's beautiful yeah would you like to
01:05:11
come over to my house I'd like to come
01:05:13
home five o'clock I'm on Cannon Drive
01:05:16
there's a code five four three two gate
01:05:20
code no we're gonna yes we're gonna
01:05:23
wrestle right we're gonna rest we're
01:05:25
gonna wrestle Greek Romans die because
01:05:28
that lack the wristle I do too two men
01:05:31
having fun doesn't mean a thing I had to
01:05:33
I made it a little more PG yeah no
01:05:35
that's good yeah did you ever see the
01:05:37
swimmer by the way with Burt Lancaster
01:05:39
oh yeah what a weird weird crazy movie
01:05:42
he just swims in people's pools fences
01:05:45
in this like tight tighty whitey you
01:05:49
know speed up thing the whole time he
01:05:51
looks good but it's like he's swimming
01:05:53
in people's pools for two hours to get
01:05:55
home and kind of going crazy it's
01:05:57
fascinating Dan is like I love that
01:05:58
movie so much I saw it once
01:06:02
so Tropic Thunder I'm gonna update
01:06:04
that change it I'm gonna up it to five
01:06:06
times
01:06:10
[Music]
01:06:12
now Ben before you go one last one we're
01:06:14
not talking enough about
01:06:16
The Reality Bites yeah come on Dana do
01:06:20
you know this Spade had a little part
01:06:22
you went in Reality Bites I was have a
01:06:25
tude wiener dude
01:06:26
come on
01:06:28
plucked me out of obscurity out of a
01:06:32
rigorous casting and I went in there I
01:06:34
don't know if I was on SNL or was I on
01:06:36
it I feel like how did you even remember
01:06:38
how that happened I don't remember the
01:06:40
beer yeah but Ben the funniest part
01:06:43
about this is I first of all I'm not
01:06:46
great at acting so I I I'm trying to
01:06:48
memorize the script I thought before I
01:06:50
do the scene I should know it because I
01:06:52
do that with a lot of my parts
01:06:55
um so I I look at and I go I'm
01:06:57
interviewing Winona for a job at the
01:06:59
wiener Hut or whatever it's called
01:07:02
and so I'm the manager and then uh so I
01:07:05
have I the the joke is like I go I I I'm
01:07:09
with it whatever is I interview her and
01:07:10
then I go just I'm gonna throw out some
01:07:12
numbers what's remember I told her she's
01:07:14
gonna get cashier so I'm gonna go what's
01:07:16
85 plus 22 and she's like uh 1. I'm like
01:07:19
nope like dollar 40 I'm like nope she
01:07:21
was already
01:07:23
and so I go but listen so anyway I do
01:07:27
this and then Ben hits me with this
01:07:29
[ __ ] curveball I picture we're
01:07:31
sitting in a little interview table like
01:07:33
in the back of Burger King and then you
01:07:35
know I just go back and forth and then
01:07:36
he goes okay let's go now Spade scenes
01:07:39
up here you go you're gonna walk this
01:07:40
way you're gonna hand the customer this
01:07:42
you grab a bag you put this mop over
01:07:43
here I go what the [ __ ] I have to walk
01:07:46
and talk and say my and say the lines
01:07:48
and you go yeah and I go holy [ __ ]
01:07:50
inside my hands I'm like this was never
01:07:53
discussed it's never happened in acting
01:07:55
before and so I go why is he doing this
01:07:58
to me and so and then Winona all she has
01:08:00
to do is trail behind me that's way
01:08:02
easier and so I'm literally going in
01:08:05
rehearsal going if I hand them this then
01:08:07
I say this that's how you remember it
01:08:08
you know you go by blocking so I go
01:08:11
somehow we got it but I agree a lot of
01:08:15
business you had a lot of business and I
01:08:17
think I believe I did it as a winner I
01:08:21
think it's like a one shot which is
01:08:22
worse because they have to get
01:08:23
everything right yeah it's like you're
01:08:25
traveling you're following the Steadicam
01:08:27
or something yes and you have to get it
01:08:28
all right and I'm like
01:08:29
but obviously that's the way to do it
01:08:32
obviously it made it funnier and then um
01:08:34
yeah and it was funny I still love it I
01:08:36
love hearing people saw reality no and I
01:08:39
love that you're in it too it always
01:08:40
makes me happy I'm gonna have to order
01:08:42
that up on Amazon tonight and check out
01:08:44
Dave and the last thing I got to tell
01:08:46
Ben is when I did this last movie they
01:08:49
go uh a Sandler sent me this movie and
01:08:51
he goes you know you're not like
01:08:53
it it it's the wrong Missy he goes it's
01:08:56
not the typical thing you do blah blah
01:08:58
but then I go I read it and I go oh this
01:09:00
is like what a Ben Stiller would do
01:09:02
because I always like what you do in
01:09:03
these movies where these craziness
01:09:05
around you like you don't meet the
01:09:06
parents you're not always doing that but
01:09:08
you're very good at it and I go I want
01:09:10
to do one where it's sort of a re you
01:09:13
know grounded guy that's overwhelmed
01:09:15
and so everything was happening around
01:09:18
me swordson was funny each night it was
01:09:20
funny Lauren Lapkus who was great is the
01:09:22
Missy character and uh
01:09:24
and I was sort of trying to keep it
01:09:26
together but there's it's a hard thing
01:09:28
to do and you do it very well and I was
01:09:30
like going if I can just kind of do that
01:09:32
part because it's an underrated uh thing
01:09:36
to do in movies yeah and it really keeps
01:09:38
everything working if you have good
01:09:39
reactions and do it and then that movie
01:09:41
was super fun wound up being but I just
01:09:44
wish they could tell you ahead of time
01:09:45
if the movie's gonna be a hit it would
01:09:48
be so much easier to shoot like
01:09:50
something got married you'd have so much
01:09:51
more fun if you go this is a [ __ ]
01:09:53
yeah you never know here we go that's
01:09:55
the old adage you just you know you
01:09:57
really have no idea but I think like
01:09:59
when you're doing that like that kind of
01:10:00
thing like the great thing is I always
01:10:02
felt like there's no pressure on me
01:10:04
except to just you know just to be in
01:10:07
the scene and hopefully react honestly
01:10:10
but like you have to not have the ego
01:10:12
about like feeling like I always wanted
01:10:14
more funny people around me because I
01:10:16
just felt like that would make the movie
01:10:17
funnier it helps everybody if you don't
01:10:19
understand it by being around funny
01:10:21
people who make me funnier
01:10:23
how happy were you when when you sat
01:10:25
down either rehearse or shoot the first
01:10:27
scene on Meet the Parents and you saw
01:10:29
that De Niro was playing it full
01:10:32
badass dinero which made it so funny the
01:10:35
way he intimidated your character it was
01:10:37
just such a perfect common chemistry he
01:10:39
was amazing and also I think you know he
01:10:41
at that point he hadn't done a bunch of
01:10:43
comedies you know he'd maybe done analog
01:10:44
I don't know if analyze this was before
01:10:46
or after that I think oh right right he
01:10:48
you know and he was one of the producers
01:10:50
of the movie too but he totally got it
01:10:52
from the beginning and you know was just
01:10:55
playing that he knew that playing it
01:10:57
straight and also he knew with me that
01:10:59
you know he could just sense with me
01:11:02
that I was nervous around him and so he
01:11:06
would yeah you know what I mean like he
01:11:07
wouldn't make it so he worked off that
01:11:09
he enjoyed doing that and you know it
01:11:11
was really like there was like real that
01:11:13
was a real thing like I remember like
01:11:15
we'd be in the car together doing these
01:11:17
scenes and then like you know back then
01:11:18
we were doing scenes where you actually
01:11:19
were in the car it wasn't like a green
01:11:21
screen and we'd have to then take the
01:11:22
car around to start the scene again and
01:11:24
then we'd have to just sit together in
01:11:26
the car in between when we did the seat
01:11:27
and when we restarted so there'd be like
01:11:29
five minutes of us just sitting
01:11:31
uncomfortably which is staring literally
01:11:33
just you could have just kept the camera
01:11:35
rolling it was the same as the movie it
01:11:37
just wasn't moving
01:11:39
I have nipples do you want to milk me or
01:11:42
is it I was just like coming out of De
01:11:45
Niro's mouth you want to find him you
01:11:47
want to make my nipple yeah great that's
01:11:49
great all right well let's let Ben go
01:11:50
he's been great you guys Ben was very
01:11:52
nice thank you very funny people great
01:11:56
to catch up with you Ben uh I'm glad
01:11:59
you're doing for kids who want to live
01:12:00
stream Stiller for young people
01:12:02
dodgeball starts getting Hutch
01:12:03
Madagascar Something About Mary more
01:12:06
than I could mention Jesus it's a resume
01:12:09
I got exhausted
01:12:12
is Severance Apple TV Severance is Apple
01:12:15
TV plus it's Apple TV plus that's the
01:12:18
part you have to pay for yeah and it's
01:12:20
uh that's all right it streams every
01:12:22
Friday so all right guys thanks
01:12:28
[Music]
01:12:29
hey what's up flies what's up please
01:12:31
what's up people that listen we want to
01:12:33
hear from you and your dumb questions
01:12:35
questions ask us anything anything you
01:12:37
want you can email us at fly on the wall
01:12:40
at cadence13.com
01:12:43
we have one from Andy Lipsy
01:12:46
all right Andy lipsey says hi guys what
01:12:48
was the first concert you ever saw live
01:12:50
and who do you want to see that I've
01:12:51
been able to I'll start with this I saw
01:12:52
heart
01:12:53
16 as a heart the band
01:12:56
they [ __ ] rocked it and my brother's
01:12:58
snuck in some Sloe Gin you ever know
01:13:00
what that is it's so gross it's like
01:13:02
Boone's Farm it's like a muddy cherry
01:13:04
wine it's like a red
01:13:07
I don't know what it is but it had booze
01:13:08
in it I didn't care I couldn't be picky
01:13:10
chugged barfed and I did like heart I
01:13:14
still love them and then
01:13:16
did a joke about him and I said no one
01:13:18
got in trouble and then I would love to
01:13:20
see Led Zeppelin live Dana Les Evelyn is
01:13:22
the greatest uh when I was 14 I was
01:13:25
running cross country freshman High
01:13:26
School this summer I ran a six mile time
01:13:29
trial at 5 20 a mile so I was feeling
01:13:32
really good I have three older brothers
01:13:34
so I was 14 16 18 and 20. they took me
01:13:38
to Fillmore West ooh ten years after
01:13:40
Cactus and toe fat so I'm there girls
01:13:43
are bikini dancing there's a show Bill
01:13:46
Graham actually came out and said stay
01:13:47
away from the brown acid I actually did
01:13:49
and they were passing joints along I
01:13:52
didn't have any but all that experience
01:13:54
was Unforgettable then went outside and
01:13:57
this dude kind of like a wino was really
01:13:58
high and he looked up at the Marquee he
01:14:00
was really buzz and he goes ten years
01:14:02
after Cactus and toe fat what the [ __ ]
01:14:06
that's what I said when you just said
01:14:08
that was the name of a rock band toe fat
01:14:11
my brother in
01:14:14
1966 he came home from Fillmore was he
01:14:17
was like in eighth grade he says I've
01:14:19
just seen the best guitar player in the
01:14:21
world I said what's his name he woke me
01:14:22
up I was in like sixth grade Jimmy Jimmy
01:14:25
Jimmy Hendrix Jimi Hendrix for real that
01:14:29
was Hendrix it was Hendrix I said yeah
01:14:31
weird name probably won't go anywhere he
01:14:33
goes why do you say that just a thought
01:14:34
but then we saw Jeff Beck a lot me and
01:14:37
my friends would Jeff Beck
01:14:39
um we saw I saw Fleetwood Mac Jesus a
01:14:43
lot of Neil Young and who would you see
01:14:46
now if you could pick
01:14:48
um Snoop Dogg okay because my sons
01:14:51
played that for him and that was the
01:14:53
first time I really appreciated hip hop
01:14:59
like it's hot Drop it Like It's Hot
01:15:02
thank you Andy when it's feeling kind of
01:15:05
hot
01:15:06
Drop It Like It's Hot you're a bad boy
01:15:08
David Spade
01:15:13
[Music]
01:15:17
flying the wall has been a presentation
01:15:19
of cadence 13. please listen then rate
01:15:22
review and follow all episodes executive
01:15:25
produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade
01:15:27
Chris Corcoran of cadence 13 and Charlie
01:15:29
finan of brillstein entertainment
01:15:31
production and Engineering led by Greg
01:15:33
Holtzman Richard cook Serena Regan and
01:15:36
Chris Basil of cadence 13.
