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Paul Feig (In STUDIO) Suits Up & Ditches Stand Up For Directing

December 18, 2025 / 01:00:42

This episode features writer and director Paul Feig discussing his career highlights, including his work on Freaks and Geeks, Bridesmaids, and his upcoming film The Housemaid. Topics include the evolution of comedy, the challenges of directing, and insights into his creative process.

Paul Feig shares anecdotes about his early career, including auditioning for Tales from the Crypt and his experiences with notable actors like JB Smoove and Chris Farley. He reflects on the importance of creating a comfortable environment for actors to explore their roles.

The conversation touches on the differences between directing comedies and dramas, with Feig emphasizing the need for spontaneity in comedic performances. He also discusses the impact of digital filmmaking on the creative process.

Feig highlights his latest project, The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney, which is set to release on December 19th. He describes it as a thriller with comedic elements, based on a bestselling novel.

The episode concludes with Feig sharing his thoughts on the current state of comedy in film and the importance of adapting to audience expectations.

TL;DR

Paul Feig discusses his career, directing comedy, and his upcoming thriller <i>The Housemaid</i> featuring Sydney Sweeney.

Video

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David, I have not seen you. I think the
00:00:01
last time I officially saw you, we were
00:00:03
both auditioning for Tales from the
00:00:05
Crypt.
00:00:06
>> Shut up. God.
00:00:07
>> And I walked out of the audition and
00:00:10
David goes, "Well, Fig's here. Everybody
00:00:12
else might as well go home." It was Hulk
00:00:13
Hogan and Mr. T doing an ad for
00:00:16
something.
00:00:16
>> Who knew they could?
00:00:18
>> And they were doing the comedy of you
00:00:20
thing like saying over and over again.
00:00:22
Yeah, exactly. You want to do this? I
00:00:24
mean, I tell you what, you think this is
00:00:25
going to be good? It's like, oh, dude,
00:00:27
just please. Oh, I did with a magician
00:00:29
who had who had doubs.
00:00:30
>> Oh, you did?
00:00:31
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. And they would just
00:00:32
hear.
00:00:33
>> Can they stay in your room?
00:00:36
>> Okay, Dana, a big show. We've got Paul
00:00:39
Fee. Now, Paul Feige, I don't know if it
00:00:40
hits the ear as a household name, but
00:00:42
you will know
00:00:44
>> a lot of his movies he's written,
00:00:45
>> director,
00:00:46
>> Freaks and Geeks, he created,
00:00:49
>> right? That old show that got
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>> from Jud Appattow was involved in that
00:00:53
to Seth Rogan to Linda Cardellini. There
00:00:55
was a lot of big stars popped out of
00:00:58
that.
00:00:59
>> And uh also one of my all-time
00:01:01
favorites, Bridesmaids. He directed
00:01:03
that.
00:01:03
>> We talk all about these things with him
00:01:06
with Paul and
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>> and he did the housemaid. That's the one
00:01:09
we talk about. That's coming out uh the
00:01:12
19th of December right now. So
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>> December 19th coming up.
00:01:16
>> I'm going to check that one out. That's
00:01:17
Sydney Sweeney. Uh
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>> and I think that's more in the drama
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tip. I think it's more of a uh I don't
00:01:23
think it's a full-blown comedy. But I
00:01:25
like the idea.
00:01:26
>> We talk about that movie and and the
00:01:28
sensibility of it. But yeah, he was a
00:01:30
real gentleman. He dressed up, you know.
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I wore a tank top. Spade was shirtless.
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>> A half shirt and a dolphin shorts and a
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sailor hat
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>> and he had a nice suit on. He's a real
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gentleman. And it was really fun talking
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to him.
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>> Yeah. Uh also Simple Favor he did that
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was with Blake
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all over the place. These movies that
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>> pretty much everyone has seen. So, I
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think you'll like the chat from his POV.
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So, here's uh writer, director, producer
00:02:00
Paul Fig.
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>> Paul Feige,
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>> you know, I was watching um Vertico last
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week, you know, and seeing San Francisco
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in the 50s and Jimmy Stewart is just
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always in a suit.
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>> Yeah.
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>> And a lot of hats, but just suits.
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>> Yeah.
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>> And then here I am at age and I'm This
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is me dressed up. It took 10 seconds to
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put it on.
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>> It's a different time. It's a different
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time.
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>> T-shirts are primarily what a grown man
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wear. It's just t-shirts and tennis
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shoes.
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>> That is true. That is Especially in LA.
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That's a very LA thing.
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>> Yeah.
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>> Yeah. But you're I always heard you're
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judged by how expensive your watch is
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and how good your shoes are. And
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everything else can just be tennis.
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>> Well, wait a minute. Why a good watch? I
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had a good watch.
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>> You had a good watch.
00:02:43
>> I'm not I'm not judging that.
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>> This We can cut this part, but how much
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is on that left wrist? Like what is the
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price? Is that something that would
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attract somebody
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>> murdered
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places? Exactly. No, I I I have a this
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um watch dealer in Italy, believe it or
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not, who just sells it at cost because
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he's a Rolex dealer. So, if you get in
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with one person, they'll uh they have to
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sell at cost. They can't jack it up.
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>> I have to say, you are the best dressed
00:03:12
person we've had on the podcast.
00:03:14
>> Oh my gosh. Thank you.
00:03:14
>> We've done 1,700.
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>> Least talented, but the best
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>> least talented. I saw your Wikipedia
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page. What are you talking about?
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>> I just saw the beginnings of it. It was
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>> That's right. David, I have not seen
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you. I think the last time I officially
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saw you, we were both auditioning for
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Tales from the Crypt.
00:03:29
>> Shut the [ __ ] up.
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>> And I walked out of the audition and
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David goes, "Well, Fig's here. Everybody
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else might as well go home." And then
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you got the part.
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>> Oh my god. You know,
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>> really. So, have you held a torch for
00:03:41
this?
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>> Oh, yeah. I've been waiting for this
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moment for
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>> I don't Is this a get back? Okay, now we
00:03:46
know what's going on for the podcast. We
00:03:48
don't talk about the movies.
00:03:50
>> Well, yeah. You know, I did also a show
00:03:52
called Monsters uh back in the day.
00:03:54
>> Was that a cartoon?
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>> It was a That was a movie, but I did a
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show, a scary show, and I had a doll
00:04:00
>> killing me. No, I was the killer.
00:04:02
>> Yeah. Well, the Tales in the [ __ ] you
00:04:04
killed the the the Scotty dog. I
00:04:07
remember because it was Julie Brown.
00:04:09
>> Yes, that I think I'm thinking the same
00:04:10
thing.
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>> Yes, exactly. That was probably the name
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of the episode.
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>> Yeah.
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>> Yeah. Um, anyway, that didn't propel me
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as far as I thought it would at the
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time.
00:04:18
>> A little bit of show trivia for you
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there,
00:04:20
>> but how funny that long ago.
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>> I know. I I think we've probably said hi
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at various events, but you always so
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nice to me back when I was a standup.
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>> Good. When I see uh Paul out, first of
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all, he looks dapper and I warned Dana,
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you better bring your
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>> dapper is a is a cool word. It's a David
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nivy. You know what the cannon of dapper
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>> should have a martini?
00:04:40
>> It's down to you and JB Smooth at this
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point. I know
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>> JB has he's got a hat on.
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>> Oh, I know.
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>> Look at his [ __ ]
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>> JB with a hat. He's hilarious.
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>> He has a hat at the Emmys, which I'm
00:04:49
sure everyone loves behind him.
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>> I did when we did Ghostbusters, I had JB
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come in because I wanted to do these
00:04:54
kind of man on the street things that we
00:04:55
were going to put in the movie. JB comes
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in. I turn on the camera on the street.
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He talks for 45 minutes.
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>> God damn. I I never stops.
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>> I'm so unshocked. But when
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>> it was hilarious, but I was just like,
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"Wow, JB, you are just
00:05:09
>> seen as a cutaway. JB and yeah, it's a
00:05:12
montage. I know he doesn't shy away from
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that.
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>> It's brilliant of Larry David to have
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him on
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>> just that was just magic.
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>> Brilliant character.
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>> The editing
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>> should have won an award because they
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got to really tighten it up even on
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>> Well,
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>> you don't edit on that much right
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>> now when you wear this coat. Uh, I think
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they probably I mean there's a lot of
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held shots you don't even know if
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they're
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>> Well, probably because when I did it,
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>> oh, a couple people remember.
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>> Uh, when I did it, we did it. I've told
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this before, but we just were told
00:05:45
different things. We walked into scene
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and then we argued and then we went back
00:05:50
to one
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>> and they came up to me and said, "Now be
00:05:53
a little offended by what he says." And
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then they go up to him and I go, "What's
00:05:56
he doing?" They go, "You'll find out." I
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go, "Oh." So, it actually was kind of
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fun. Come back. Now it's a kind of a
00:06:01
different scene and the editing was in
00:06:04
do you use one whole scene and tighten
00:06:06
it or do you sort of use pieces but each
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one I had a for sure stance.
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>> Yeah.
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>> And he didn't know it. He's fig we're
00:06:13
both figuring out as we go arguing but
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that was sort of very clever.
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>> I think it was a brilliant way to do
00:06:18
>> it's very Gary Chanel was the first
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experience with that and I thought it
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was like magic.
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>> Yeah. Totally.
00:06:25
>> Three cameras at once. you'll say
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something like this or you'll say
00:06:28
something like that and I'll do this and
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you'll do say something like that. It
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was like mean I don't have to repeat
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these words all day long and finally get
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to the the money shot.
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>> Well, that's what I was doing. I did a
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bunch of the offices and and uh it was
00:06:39
kind of the same vibe on there. They
00:06:41
were very they were tightly scripted,
00:06:42
but then once you got to set, Greg
00:06:45
Daniels was cool if you just kind of
00:06:46
played. And so, um, like we did a
00:06:49
Halloween episode once and, uh, we had
00:06:53
Greg allowed us to cut out a whole
00:06:54
storyline because we got on this whole
00:06:56
tear with, um, Dwight talking to talking
00:06:58
to Michael and Dwight was wearing the
00:07:00
like the hood from the the Star Wars the
00:07:02
Emperor and you just got on this thing
00:07:04
where just we got on an angle. It looked
00:07:05
funny if he overannunciated the way that
00:07:07
the guy in the movie does and it was
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just this back and forth. It was so
00:07:10
funny that Greg was like, "Okay, we'll
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lose that other story line because I
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just want to hang in the scene for
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long." That's really smart because I've
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worked on other shows where they just,
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you know, they keep any of that stuff.
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>> Do you find that as a director?
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>> I do want to hear about your past
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because it's interesting how long you
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went before you really got into with
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standup and acting and stuff.
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>> Um, when someone is discovering it while
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the camera's rolling and you could it's
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a it's it pops even if they just change
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something or they literally add a new
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line.
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>> Yeah. It's sort of a little bit of magic
00:07:40
if it works, right?
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>> Oh, I'm so that's my joy place basically
00:07:45
because I always try to cross shoot, you
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know, so that we're shooting both both
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characters at the same time. So I mean
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bridesmaids that that opening scene with
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them in the coffee shop was just like
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five hours of it was scripted but then
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it's like try this, try that, imitate a
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penis, do you know all this and out of
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that yeah these moments happen and be
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crossooting that you're on the other
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person so they're reacting in real time.
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Audiences pick up on that. That's the
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magic of digital cuz I never did a movie
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when digital came in and so it was
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always
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>> cutting you know always
00:08:14
>> bridesmaids was on film still so we were
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stuck with those 12minute loads and
00:08:18
something was just starting to happen
00:08:20
like oh no so that's why
00:08:21
>> got to change the film on film and it
00:08:24
was 2011
00:08:26
>> was that a concerted decision
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>> yeah it was it was the studios were
00:08:29
still a little weird about um digital HD
00:08:32
yeah I in 2006 I did a movie called
00:08:35
undercomp miners and no one all and um
00:08:37
but my DP at the time was kind of he was
00:08:40
one of the forerunners of doing HD
00:08:43
stuff. So we were going to do it and the
00:08:45
studio was really against it because
00:08:46
they had just had a really bad
00:08:47
experience on a one of the the current
00:08:50
the Superman movie they were making back
00:08:51
then where they shot on the Genesis
00:08:53
system and there was some like line that
00:08:55
went through they had to digitally fix
00:08:57
the whole thing.
00:08:59
>> So they but my guy was so adamant about
00:09:01
doing it that they end up firing him.
00:09:03
They made me fire the DP because they
00:09:06
said, "You have to shoot this on film."
00:09:07
And it was terrible. That guy was
00:09:09
halfway to Utah where we're going to
00:09:10
shoot the movie.
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>> And he had to turn his car. It was
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awful.
00:09:14
>> And now, you know, industry
00:09:16
>> standard. Yeah. Sometimes if people
00:09:17
don't watching don't know when you do
00:09:19
movie like you'll do coverage on someone
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>> and then they have to recreate something
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and it's not the same reaction. It's
00:09:26
just a real conversation.
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>> You can suck the air out of it so easy.
00:09:29
There's that's my nightmare is like
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sometimes you just can't cross shoot and
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somebody does something off camera and
00:09:34
you're like oh it's never going to be as
00:09:36
good you know could you do that thing
00:09:37
again it's never
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>> you almost want to use just the off
00:09:39
camera voice it was so perfect totally
00:09:41
even on them you're like that was just I
00:09:43
did a movie once where they probably run
00:09:45
into this where when you're with comics
00:09:46
you probably run into where you see this
00:09:48
sneaky move I didn't pick up on where I
00:09:51
did my coverage and they did theirs and
00:09:54
I stuck to the script and when they
00:09:55
flipped around they ad lived for 20
00:09:58
minutes and I I couldn't react cuz I
00:09:59
wasn't on camera anymore.
00:10:00
>> Oh, totally. Oh, no. Totally.
00:10:01
>> And so I look dumb. They're just scoring
00:10:03
scoring. I'm just like this.
00:10:04
>> Yeah, I know. I've had that happen a
00:10:07
couple time and I've actually taken the
00:10:09
time to turn the camera back around and
00:10:11
say
00:10:11
>> it was more it's more because we
00:10:12
discovered a bit when we were on the
00:10:14
other side. And I was like, you know,
00:10:15
then the crew gets all mad at you and
00:10:16
the D.
00:10:17
>> If it's fair, it's fair. And you go,
00:10:18
"Oh, that's great. That's worth it. We
00:10:20
just did something and we said, it's
00:10:21
worth going back."
00:10:22
>> That's exactly it. And they got all mad,
00:10:23
but it's like, I don't have it. I don't
00:10:25
have it.
00:10:26
>> They get paid either way. Well, you'd be
00:10:28
surprising how many directors do do not
00:10:30
at least intrinsically have your
00:10:32
philosophy of trying to capture some
00:10:34
kind of magic and they torture you and
00:10:36
and they do a thousand takes and they're
00:10:39
thinking of the edit and they're not
00:10:40
trying to kind So, I was thinking one
00:10:42
scene there's so many in Bridesmaids
00:10:44
obviously. Uh, but when Kristen Wig is
00:10:47
kind of sneaking up in the front of the
00:10:49
airplane, I mean, just the spontaneity
00:10:51
of that and how it felt and of course
00:10:53
her brilliance,
00:10:54
>> but that must have been a throw.
00:10:56
>> That was I mean, that was lit. That was
00:10:57
the most fun day on that set because it
00:10:59
would just like we do and I go, "Let's
00:11:01
go again." And like just here comes
00:11:03
Kristen. Like I don't know what she's
00:11:04
going to do this time every time.
00:11:05
>> She doesn't know either. Yeah.
00:11:06
>> No. And it was hilarious. And I mean I
00:11:08
just I didn't want to wear her out. But
00:11:09
I think we did six or seven takes of
00:11:12
that full scene just to get it. And then
00:11:13
and then we're in the coverage we were
00:11:15
playing around. So
00:11:15
>> and there's funny coverage and then
00:11:17
everybody luckily everyone in it is
00:11:18
good. Flight attendants are good.
00:11:20
Everyone's playing off it and
00:11:22
>> everybody's a good
00:11:23
>> Maya playing it so flat is good because
00:11:25
that's a choice too. She doesn't try to
00:11:26
jump in and get some big laughs. She's
00:11:28
like
00:11:28
>> you're getting laughs off her just
00:11:30
staring.
00:11:30
>> Yeah. But I mean, huge shout out to
00:11:33
Mitch Sila who plays the, you know,
00:11:34
stove Steve the flight attendant because
00:11:36
he just played that like, you know, like
00:11:38
an I love Lucy, you know, or like a
00:11:41
Jerry Lewis movie where all the stuff's
00:11:42
happening, the guy just stares and acts
00:11:44
completely
00:11:44
>> straight man in that part. And uh also
00:11:46
Rose uh
00:11:48
>> which I sort of discovered
00:11:51
mostly on that because she's such a
00:11:53
knockout. And then she was just really
00:11:55
holding up and being funny and just
00:11:57
>> everywhere you went was funny. So
00:11:59
>> Melissa, obviously that was her coming
00:12:00
out. I mean, she'd been on things, but
00:12:02
that was like,
00:12:03
>> yeah, big comedy coming out because she
00:12:04
had because she had just done Get to the
00:12:06
Greek and um and we were trying to
00:12:08
figure out who to who to cast in that
00:12:10
role, we saw a lot of funny women for,
00:12:12
but was just like, I think we need like,
00:12:14
you know, like a dramatic actress for
00:12:16
that. And Jud was like, go down the
00:12:17
editing room and take a look at her
00:12:18
scenes from uh from Get Him to the
00:12:20
Greek. And I was like, wow, she's she's
00:12:22
she's there's something there. Even
00:12:24
though she's playing a completely
00:12:25
different character, but I mean, Rose is
00:12:27
so talented. She's one of the most
00:12:29
versatile comedy people I know because
00:12:31
she plays it so straight and she just
00:12:33
becomes the character and doesn't look
00:12:35
for jokes. She just is naturally kind of
00:12:37
her reactions are funny and play well
00:12:40
against
00:12:42
>> I'm going to tell you Dana something you
00:12:44
do know but you don't think about a lot
00:12:46
that the human body is fascinating.
00:12:49
>> But did you know that scientists now
00:12:52
openly say that your gut is the
00:12:54
cornerstone of your health? The gut is
00:12:57
the foundation of overall health and
00:12:58
vitality. It's not just about digestion.
00:13:01
The gut affects everything from energy
00:13:02
to mood to weight management. I knew
00:13:05
this. I knew this. And even longevity.
00:13:07
But here's the problem. Most gut
00:13:08
supplements only contain probiotics
00:13:11
>> or probiotics and prebiotics
00:13:14
>> at best. And that's why Bioma is
00:13:17
different. Go ahead.
00:13:18
>> That's right. Bioma contains all three
00:13:22
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energy.com or where?
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>> Amazon.
00:15:20
Yeah.
00:15:20
>> Yeah. 7 minus 2 equals 5 hour more than
00:15:25
you need.
00:15:26
>> Larry David was here. I I've quoted this
00:15:28
before, but he had said that the thing
00:15:30
that he looks for is when people are
00:15:32
trying to be funny.
00:15:33
>> Mhm.
00:15:34
>> And he goes, "No, no, no, no."
00:15:35
>> Yeah. Oh, no. Totally.
00:15:36
>> We don't do that. That's this other line
00:15:39
that's crossed. And why do you you look
00:15:43
at comedies, other movies of your peers
00:15:45
or whatever. You don't have to bury
00:15:46
anybody. But can you kind of intuit it
00:15:48
what's going wrong? Because great
00:15:50
comedies are rare.
00:15:52
>> Yeah. Well, it's it's the reason why
00:15:54
comedy doesn't win awards. It's the
00:15:56
reason why Steve Carell never won an
00:15:57
Emmy for The Office.
00:15:58
>> That's crazy.
00:15:59
>> Because if you're good, you make it look
00:16:02
effortless. It looks easy. He's not
00:16:04
trying. Yeah. We all know there's
00:16:05
nothing worse than sweaty comedy, you
00:16:06
know, and you see it all the time.
00:16:08
Somebody just like working so hard.
00:16:09
>> Yeah.
00:16:10
>> So, yeah. I mean that's I'm especially
00:16:12
bless them like day players who come in
00:16:14
you know and you hire and oh they're so
00:16:15
funny in the audition all I'm ever doing
00:16:17
is like take it down take it down and I
00:16:20
get it this is your one moment to shine
00:16:21
and here you come you know
00:16:22
>> even SNL hosts their publicist warn us
00:16:24
ahead of time they're so funny and they
00:16:26
can't wait to show you the funniness
00:16:28
we're like
00:16:29
>> God just stand there we'll just steer
00:16:31
you around
00:16:31
>> there's been more no better place I've
00:16:34
seen people eat it than on SNL like the
00:16:37
guest host when you just see oh my god I
00:16:39
remember there Oh, the sweatiest one I
00:16:41
ever saw on there was from way back. It
00:16:43
was Hulk Hogan and Mr. T doing an ad for
00:16:46
something.
00:16:47
>> Who knew they could go?
00:16:48
>> And they were doing the comedy of you
00:16:50
thing like saying it over and over
00:16:52
again. Yeah, exactly. You want to do
00:16:54
this? I mean, I tell you what, you think
00:16:55
this is going to be good? It's like, oh,
00:16:56
dudes, just please.
00:16:58
>> It'd be so much funnier if Mr. T was
00:16:59
like actually pity the fool that
00:17:01
doesn't, you know,
00:17:02
>> see right there.
00:17:04
>> Do so pity these fools.
00:17:08
>> So, can we just for a second? I mean
00:17:09
because for our audience and stuff just
00:17:11
a little bit of your biography. Sure.
00:17:13
>> Because um there was an interesting
00:17:15
thing I guess and I don't know seeing a
00:17:17
Woody Allen movie kind of blew your
00:17:18
mind. I mean for me it was the party
00:17:21
with Peter Sers or other ones. So So you
00:17:24
had this as a young and then you went
00:17:26
into performing mostly right. You were
00:17:27
dream was to be on SNL maybe or
00:17:31
I I Yeah. And I actually signed with an
00:17:34
interesting thing happened where um
00:17:36
because I was a stand Yeah. I started in
00:17:38
Michigan and I was a kid in doing
00:17:40
theater and there you go.
00:17:41
>> Bloom
00:17:42
>> Bloomfield Hills.
00:17:43
>> Oh, wait. Are you from Michigan?
00:17:44
>> Yeah.
00:17:45
>> How did I never know this?
00:17:46
>> I just found it cuz it says Royal Oak
00:17:48
and I think that might be in the
00:17:50
vicinity of Bloomfield.
00:17:51
>> Yeah, it is. It is totally
00:17:52
>> And I was like, this [ __ ] never
00:17:54
ever.
00:17:55
>> And go Lions.
00:17:56
>> I want to look up when I'm in the when I
00:17:59
make the uh top 100 people from
00:18:01
Michigan. I should have scanned a little
00:18:03
harder to see.
00:18:05
And then I claim I'm from Arizona, too.
00:18:07
So, I really get
00:18:08
>> Oh, there you go.
00:18:09
>> I try to get in that contest.
00:18:10
>> You're a man of the world as me.
00:18:11
>> Me and Hugh.
00:18:12
>> There you go. Nice.
00:18:14
>> The big hitters.
00:18:15
>> So, you're uh Yeah. So, I I I was wanted
00:18:18
to be, you know, an actor. That was my
00:18:20
goal. I wanted to be Steve Martin. I
00:18:21
wanted to be
00:18:22
>> as a little kid.
00:18:22
>> As a little kid. Oh, yeah. Like five
00:18:24
years old. I disco I did I got laughs in
00:18:26
front of a a school play and was like
00:18:29
>> addicted.
00:18:29
>> Yeah. And so, I started doing standup
00:18:31
when I was 15 years old in Detroit. Um
00:18:34
it was terrible. Obviously,
00:18:35
>> was there a big scene or
00:18:36
>> Why was it terrible?
00:18:38
>> Cuz I was terrible.
00:18:39
>> Why? We were all terrible.
00:18:40
>> I know it was. I was doing like Johnny
00:18:42
Carson jokes and stuff like that.
00:18:44
>> I did not know that.
00:18:45
>> There we go. Thank you.
00:18:46
>> Give me an opening. I apologize. People
00:18:49
were pressing the podcast. Sore subject.
00:18:52
>> No, it was big because the show Take Me
00:18:55
Laugh was was big.
00:18:57
>> How Mandel. Yeah.
00:18:59
>> Yeah. Bruce Balm. All
00:19:01
>> Mike Binder. Then Mike Binder was a
00:19:03
Detroit guy. And so all these comedy
00:19:05
clubs sprung up because of Make Me
00:19:06
Laugh. Um where all these open mic
00:19:09
nights,
00:19:10
>> you know, was that Baby Man Bomb?
00:19:12
>> Yeah. Yeah. Baby Man Bomb.
00:19:14
>> Yeah. And he he put the thing up and
00:19:15
then he's in the club and then obviously
00:19:19
>> I love the assortment pack of the weird
00:19:21
eccentric. You know how comedians were
00:19:24
so different in the in those days? Not
00:19:26
everybody had his elbow on the mic
00:19:28
saying he masturbated in front of his
00:19:31
cat. Yeah,
00:19:32
>> I'm a Jazz Kane or Denny Johnson. Like
00:19:34
every time I got an opening or MC
00:19:37
watching these guys and we always say
00:19:38
they would
00:19:39
>> rarely change their act. That was a new
00:19:41
That was the old way.
00:19:42
>> Oh, no. It was like vaudeville. You
00:19:43
know,
00:19:43
>> you travel with that [ __ ] thing.
00:19:45
>> I think Denny Johnson got it. Folklore
00:19:47
says he got this great 20 minutes that
00:19:49
killed every time in like one night
00:19:51
almost a fever dream and then just kept
00:19:54
it for 40 years.
00:19:56
>> But that was I mean that was that whole
00:19:58
vaudeville thing. remember that like the
00:20:00
movies killed vaudeville because a guy
00:20:01
had an act for you know 20 years and
00:20:03
they put it on film though. Okay, what
00:20:04
else you got?
00:20:05
>> So what what was in stand up? Your best
00:20:08
bit.
00:20:08
>> My best bit.
00:20:09
>> You must had a bit that worked.
00:20:11
>> I did. I had a I had two killer bits. Um
00:20:14
one was uh Willard Schmidt, the wood
00:20:17
shop teacher. So I I had these glasses
00:20:19
and I would go he's and he's a stand-up
00:20:22
comedian. Okay. But that's funny.
00:20:23
>> So you I was kind of like a very
00:20:25
energetic comedian, but then I would do
00:20:27
that. He's just completely flat, you
00:20:28
know, and all his jokes are about like,
00:20:30
you know, I I had a kid in class and I
00:20:32
told him to stop fooling around. He
00:20:34
continued to fool around and he got his
00:20:36
arm cut off.
00:20:38
Then I go and tell a joke about
00:20:39
something and then I go back to another
00:20:40
horrible story about
00:20:41
>> very flat. So you would kill. It would
00:20:43
just kill.
00:20:44
>> So the teacher actually cut the arm off.
00:20:46
Was that
00:20:46
>> No. No. Because the kid was fooling
00:20:47
around. He didn't listen to the teacher.
00:20:48
>> Oh, I see. So he got the teacher.
00:20:51
>> Exactly. And then my other bit was my
00:20:53
clo big closer was the thirst and howl
00:20:55
blues which I had my harmonica and I
00:20:58
would do this uh oh yes
00:21:02
I I can't even recall
00:21:03
>> from Gilligans Island from Gilligans
00:21:05
Island. Yes, exactly. And then the
00:21:06
killer line I don't know if I can get it
00:21:08
right but was like
00:21:09
>> no pressure. Now that professor he's
00:21:11
really quite dafted.
00:21:13
>> He can make a coconut lie detector but
00:21:15
he can't build a goddamn raft.
00:21:17
>> Yeah.
00:21:18
>> And that would kill. So there you go.
00:21:20
>> Very true though. Thank you. But this
00:21:21
was back in the 80s.
00:21:22
>> I can't believe it.
00:21:23
>> Let me tell you my closer.
00:21:25
>> This killed
00:21:26
>> this killed everything.
00:21:28
>> This [ __ ] Dana destruction.
00:21:30
>> It sort of like has an extra beat.
00:21:33
>> One of my
00:21:33
>> This has a boom at the end. Watch this.
00:21:36
Watch this, Paul. Okay,
00:21:37
>> here we go.
00:21:38
>> So, I said I talk about Skinamax uh and
00:21:41
I talk about all these shows I watch
00:21:42
late at night, all these Rated shows.
00:21:44
Then I said HBO has a new show called
00:21:46
new back autopsy. We go into a corner's
00:21:50
office and film a live autopsy. Let me
00:21:53
tell you something, HBO. I can't whack
00:21:55
off to autopsy.
00:21:57
>> Or can I?
00:21:59
>> Bam.
00:22:00
>> Yep. Off gets a laugh. Whack off. Music
00:22:04
up. Good night. People fly out of their
00:22:06
chair. That was a tough one. I had him
00:22:08
cut I had him cut. Give him a red light.
00:22:10
Um I have a Gilligans Island joke that I
00:22:12
did on SNL. So, we're doing Jerry
00:22:14
Seinfeld. And my line was, "Okay, you
00:22:18
know, it was like a game show, right?"
00:22:20
And it was like, "If the professor can
00:22:21
make a radio out of a coconut, why can't
00:22:24
he fix the boat?"
00:22:25
>> There you go. See?
00:22:28
>> I can't believe it.
00:22:29
>> I like when someone goes, "I saw
00:22:30
Gilligans Island. It was the one where
00:22:32
uh Mrs. How didn't know what to wear to
00:22:34
the rescue."
00:22:35
>> Oh, yes.
00:22:36
>> Which was every episode.
00:22:39
>> Oh, what should I wear to the rescue?
00:22:41
>> Love it.
00:22:42
I got lauded. It funny. I got lauded
00:22:44
back then because this was 85 when I was
00:22:46
doing this
00:22:47
>> and everybody was still doing
00:22:48
hilariously. This sounds so old uh jokes
00:22:50
about the 60s and so all these comedians
00:22:53
come up to go like you're the you're the
00:22:54
first guy who's made fun of the 70s. So
00:22:56
I was there you go.
00:22:58
>> Oh I was my my peak in 1985.
00:23:00
>> I know. I used to do Carrie Grant. I do
00:23:03
Jimmy Stewart. You know all those Jack.
00:23:07
>> Oh yeah.
00:23:07
>> No I didn't do the hair back but I did
00:23:09
Jack.
00:23:11
leave a message, you know, whatever. I
00:23:14
kills, you know, it kills. But yeah, now
00:23:16
I'm I don't do Carrie Grant anymore. I'd
00:23:19
love to
00:23:20
>> when we work the retirement home.
00:23:21
>> But I I have a new bit now that I'm
00:23:23
doing that I'm when I'm talking to
00:23:24
Comcast and there's someone who doesn't
00:23:26
know, I just use Carrie I use Carrie
00:23:28
Grant's voice, but I turned it on and
00:23:30
off, but they still have no reception.
00:23:32
And they don't respond or say, "Are you
00:23:34
like, who are you? I can't believe it. I
00:23:37
got the voice of Big Game." So anyway,
00:23:39
so back to you. you are a standup you're
00:23:42
killing and then you're directing hit
00:23:44
movies. What's what's the timeline and
00:23:46
what happened?
00:23:47
>> Uh I was I do I was full-time stand up
00:23:50
from 85 to 90.
00:23:51
>> Okay.
00:23:52
>> Um I I did I I got on a thing called the
00:23:56
Paramount Comedy Theater which was the
00:23:58
first home video videotape um like
00:24:01
comedians special.
00:24:03
>> I don't know if I remember it.
00:24:04
>> I don't nobody. It was only in video.
00:24:06
>> Was it kind of like the HBO? was only on
00:24:08
how he how he was the host.
00:24:11
>> And um and we shot it down at the
00:24:13
Hermosa Beach, you know, the comedy man.
00:24:16
>> And when Jimmy Miller used to manage it,
00:24:18
>> Jimmy Miller, the Jimmy from Christ
00:24:21
sakes, no one makes popcorn like my
00:24:23
little brother.
00:24:24
>> Dennis's brother, everybody. And it's
00:24:26
he's exactly the same accent. But so I
00:24:28
so so I I did it and then so the guy
00:24:30
that produced it I I went did my act it
00:24:33
killed went great and it was really
00:24:36
successful. My first success is the
00:24:38
standup. I had lunch with the producer
00:24:41
few weeks afterwards and he said you
00:24:43
know they did not want you on this show
00:24:46
like How's managers hated your act from
00:24:49
your tape so much they threatened to
00:24:52
pull Howe off of the special.
00:24:53
>> What the [ __ ]
00:24:54
>> If you did it. And he, this guy was kind
00:24:57
of a fighter, so he just fought to get
00:24:59
me on there.
00:25:00
>> And the hilarious thing was after I my
00:25:02
set killed, his managers wanted to sign
00:25:05
me. They signed me.
00:25:07
>> And I this all comes back to when you
00:25:09
said SNL because I said they said, "What
00:25:11
do you want?" I said, "My dream in life
00:25:12
is to be a regular in SNL." They're
00:25:14
like, "We can make that happen."
00:25:15
>> Done.
00:25:16
>> First of all, any You should always run
00:25:18
for the hills.
00:25:19
>> Of course.
00:25:20
>> And yeah. Then of course it never
00:25:21
happened. They sent my tape to Lauren.
00:25:23
He's like, "I don't
00:25:24
>> What year? What year?" This is 86.
00:25:26
>> That's when I got the show.
00:25:28
>> Oh,
00:25:28
>> I knew it.
00:25:29
>> And I remember. Would you take a look at
00:25:32
Paul Fig's tape, Dana? See if you think
00:25:34
anything's there.
00:25:36
>> I don't see it.
00:25:37
>> Any glimmers? I didn't see it. I didn't
00:25:39
see your tape. I probably would have
00:25:40
said that man's going to make a hit
00:25:42
movie.
00:25:43
>> I don't know.
00:25:44
>> Keep behind the camera.
00:25:46
>> Very interesting. How many people were
00:25:47
standups and ended up movie actors or or
00:25:50
impressionists? Anthony Hopkins and just
00:25:52
a
00:25:52
>> well a lot of guys who were standups
00:25:54
when I was coming up all became writers
00:25:55
like you know well
00:25:56
>> writers that's the mo that's the
00:25:58
smoothest transition
00:25:59
>> well because they would have like killer
00:26:00
jokes but they didn't necessarily have
00:26:02
like the greatest stage press
00:26:03
>> or you get tired of the grind of
00:26:05
traveling
00:26:05
>> that's why I that's what drove me out
00:26:07
cuz I you know I my whole those five
00:26:09
years was like working towards becoming
00:26:10
a headliner minute I became a headliner
00:26:12
I didn't like it
00:26:13
>> because it was lonely being a headliner
00:26:15
is lonely like when you're the middle or
00:26:16
the or the opener you know the guys are
00:26:19
back you come off stage everybody's like
00:26:20
Yeah, that was so great. When you're the
00:26:21
headliner, you come off, everybody's
00:26:23
gone to dinner and you're like,
00:26:24
"Nobody's here tonight."
00:26:25
>> I know a guy, Larry Bubbles Brown from
00:26:26
San Francisco, got to a level in San
00:26:29
Francisco. He's headlining. Yeah, he's
00:26:31
great.
00:26:33
>> Said, "Nope."
00:26:34
>> After about a couple times said, "No,
00:26:35
it's the pressure, the end, just stayed
00:26:37
a middle."
00:26:38
>> I get it. And the road was I hated the
00:26:40
road.
00:26:40
>> I hated the road, too. Did you play
00:26:42
Spellbinders in Houston? What are the
00:26:43
places
00:26:45
all up and down the West Coast?
00:26:46
>> Feathers.
00:26:47
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:48
>> The Bay Area. I could stay in the Bay
00:26:50
Area pretty much, you know, and not have
00:26:52
just drive to Santa Cruz. Cobs,
00:26:54
Punchline.
00:26:56
>> God, it's funny. We must almost cross
00:26:57
path.
00:26:58
>> I know. It's crazy. No, it was the
00:26:59
comedy condo that drove me out of the
00:27:01
business.
00:27:02
>> Oh, staying with the Okay, give us a
00:27:04
comedy condo for people who don't know.
00:27:06
>> No, they would they would buy this condo
00:27:09
and have three bedrooms.
00:27:10
>> Three bedrooms. One was the shitty one
00:27:11
for the opener. One was the slightly
00:27:13
less shitty one. And then and then the
00:27:16
beautiful one for the headliner.
00:27:17
>> The master bedroom or Yeah. the primary
00:27:20
bedroom. You live with three people.
00:27:22
>> Yeah. And in like one week it's the
00:27:23
greatest thing ever. Everybody's great.
00:27:25
The next week you're stuck with some
00:27:27
[ __ ] guy who is the worst. And
00:27:29
they're all like trying to bring
00:27:30
cocktail waitresses home. And I'm just
00:27:32
like I want out of this scene. I don't
00:27:34
want any.
00:27:35
>> You're saying sex happened in the
00:27:37
comedian's condo. Believe it or not, for
00:27:39
a certain guy, there were certain guys
00:27:41
that were just totally
00:27:41
>> Did you ever have share a condo with a
00:27:43
venturoquist?
00:27:45
>> I wish.
00:27:45
>> Cuz I did.
00:27:46
>> Oh, I did with a mag a magician who had
00:27:48
who had doves.
00:27:49
>> Oh, you did?
00:27:49
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. And they would just hear
00:27:52
>> Can they stay in your room?
00:27:54
>> This was a Twilight Zone. He really
00:27:56
believed that Chuck, Chuck Wood, was was
00:27:58
real. And he said, "Don't look at Chuck.
00:28:00
Don't bother Chuck. Don't touch Chuck."
00:28:02
>> Wow. Chuck in that rider in his
00:28:03
contract. You can make eye contact with
00:28:05
Chuck.
00:28:05
>> Do you remember Emo? I stayed with Emo.
00:28:07
emo San Diego improv and he was like you
00:28:10
know I was going to breakfast early I go
00:28:12
oh we're doing this off camera
00:28:14
>> I was going to say does he like like in
00:28:15
real life he's like yeah so anyway dude
00:28:17
>> but he was very nice he would put but he
00:28:19
put all his joke cards out on f I think
00:28:21
Dennis does this writes them all out and
00:28:22
I was like am I supposed to do this like
00:28:25
it was so organized and then he like
00:28:28
Dennis they memorize them and I'm like
00:28:30
no [ __ ] chance
00:28:31
>> even back in the early days with Dennis
00:28:33
he do that
00:28:33
>> I know he has f you've seen him with the
00:28:35
cards right
00:28:35
>> I don't know the other day we were about
00:28:37
Louis K and I just just about great
00:28:39
standups and I just thought uh Dennis
00:28:43
it's Dennis's best special it's
00:28:45
>> put up there but so you're so how do you
00:28:49
so what happens next your standup is not
00:28:52
you you tire the road
00:28:53
>> tire the road so I I go into acting um
00:28:56
and and did that for like 15 years and
00:28:58
was like a regular on five different TV
00:29:00
series always be like the fifth or sixth
00:29:02
lead you know on uh which
00:29:04
>> Dirty Dancing the TV series was my first
00:29:07
I was a character that was added on who
00:29:09
was not in the movie. Norman the bellhop
00:29:12
who wanted to be a stand-up comedian.
00:29:14
>> So there you go. Yeah. Exactly. That was
00:29:16
like remember when they used to do the
00:29:17
cartoons of like you know the Brady
00:29:19
Bunch or or the Partridge family and
00:29:21
they'd add like a magical bird like I
00:29:23
was the magical bird on the show
00:29:24
basically
00:29:26
>> or the dancing pandas.
00:29:27
>> You kind of do have a timeless look like
00:29:29
I could see you on the Beverly Hill
00:29:31
Billies as the banker or you know what I
00:29:33
mean? You play a lot of parts.
00:29:35
>> Yeah, I would. I mean I that's all the
00:29:36
the parts I used to get but yeah but you
00:29:39
know yeah I was on the the the Tom
00:29:40
Arnold you know the Jackie what Tom
00:29:43
Arnold did you get?
00:29:44
>> I got good Tom Arnold.
00:29:45
>> Was he good to I'm friends with Tom and
00:29:48
I know he had some rough times there.
00:29:49
>> No Tom was great but they were you know
00:29:51
still he and
00:29:51
>> and Ros lasted two or three seasons
00:29:53
right.
00:29:53
>> No only one season that they it's the
00:29:56
first show I think in history to get
00:29:58
cancelled in the top 20.
00:30:01
>> Oh wow. because they kind of pulled the
00:30:03
plug cuz they they wanted to go over to
00:30:05
do this uh um Thomasson. I I forget the
00:30:08
those producers, but they were CBS and
00:30:10
so they pulled him over to there. Um and
00:30:12
I think we were ABC. Yeah, we were
00:30:14
>> Quit Thomas maybe.
00:30:15
>> No, it was Thomasson. They they worked
00:30:17
with the Clintons a lot. I remember. Um
00:30:19
anyway, look it up everybody.
00:30:20
>> I did not know that. Impression number
00:30:23
two.
00:30:23
>> Well done. There you go.
00:30:24
>> Was Farley on uh did Jackie Thomas?
00:30:26
>> Yeah, we did. He did that one episode.
00:30:28
>> We did. Yeah.
00:30:29
>> And and we finished the episode. I don't
00:30:30
know if I should say there's not. We
00:30:32
finished the episode and the minute we
00:30:33
were done, Tom and Roseanne had him
00:30:35
taken away to rehab.
00:30:37
>> Oh,
00:30:37
>> yeah.
00:30:37
>> Got that episode out of him, though.
00:30:39
>> Yeah. But he Oh, he was the loveliest
00:30:41
guy. I loved I mean, sweet one
00:30:45
>> sweetest guy. The last time I saw him,
00:30:47
>> one of a kind.
00:30:47
>> Joel Madison and I went to the the Rose
00:30:50
Bowl. Um, and uh he was there with his
00:30:53
mom and he's like, "Hey, Paul." Joel, it
00:30:55
was just the sweetest guy.
00:30:57
>> Doll, very Midwestern. I mean, salt of
00:31:01
the earth and probably the funniest
00:31:02
person who
00:31:03
>> Well, we haven't seen another.
00:31:05
>> No, I mean, not like that.
00:31:06
>> It's been a while now. And where's Chris
00:31:08
Farley? The new Chris Farley?
00:31:10
>> I'll just look look for, you know, um,
00:31:12
clips online.
00:31:12
>> By the way, anybody over 180 is in
00:31:15
danger of being Are you the next Chris
00:31:16
Farley?
00:31:17
>> You're a little heavy.
00:31:18
>> You have manic energy.
00:31:19
>> We were just saying this morning, it's
00:31:20
he's not he wasn't that big during some
00:31:23
earlier movies. It was really toward the
00:31:24
end like
00:31:25
>> I was so skinny and I was probably 135
00:31:27
in the movie. So he looked big,
00:31:30
>> but I'll show you something on the way
00:31:31
out. But uh yeah,
00:31:32
>> where it's like, oh, he wasn't. I think
00:31:34
he gained almost 100 pounds right at the
00:31:36
very end at some point. But you know,
00:31:38
Jackie Gleason was sort of heavy. He'd
00:31:39
go away. We go and he would move
00:31:42
gracefully, but Chris was still an
00:31:44
athlete as a as a big guy.
00:31:46
>> But all those guys, they're like sumo
00:31:48
wrestlers like, you know, Belushi who
00:31:50
wasn't his hero. Belushi was even, I
00:31:53
think, skinnier and he was known as a
00:31:54
fat guy.
00:31:55
>> He was just a little rolly poling. Well,
00:31:57
it's like like you know Zach's old
00:31:59
Zach's on his show. He's always I'm not
00:32:00
fat. He's like Zach's like just like a
00:32:03
normal looking guy. Either fat or not
00:32:05
fat or
00:32:06
>> he always has them make fat jokes about
00:32:08
him and then he's like I'm not that.
00:32:09
>> Yeah. He's like you have a beard. It's
00:32:11
not that. Yeah. I like when he's on his
00:32:12
show and everyone shits on him.
00:32:14
>> Did you all this time because I we know
00:32:16
where your story is going. Were you a
00:32:18
big big movie fan? A lot of comedians
00:32:20
>> I would whenever I could just watch a go
00:32:22
watch a matinea in a theater on the day
00:32:24
of a show. So, you were had this lane of
00:32:26
being a huge
00:32:27
>> Oh, yeah. That's all I wanted to do was
00:32:29
do movies. Um
00:32:30
>> Oh, the whole time.
00:32:31
>> Yeah. Yeah. I I just, you know, I Well,
00:32:33
my goal was to be back then Woody Allen.
00:32:35
I was going to write, direct, and star
00:32:36
in all my movies. That was the goal. Uh
00:32:38
I did it once, the very first movie I
00:32:40
ever made, which has never been released
00:32:42
uh called Life Sold separately. And I
00:32:44
wrote, directed, and starred in it. And
00:32:46
it was myself and Pen Gillette was in it
00:32:48
actually. And then some friends of mine,
00:32:50
Steve Bannis and Dave Gruber Allen, who
00:32:52
you know, who are all actors now. on
00:32:54
Carrie.
00:32:54
>> Was it the sensibility of Woody?
00:32:56
Obviously, you're not doing a Woody
00:32:57
impression, but it was just his whole
00:33:00
>> It It was No, it was um It was about I I
00:33:03
had I only had like $30,000 to make it.
00:33:06
So, I had to like make it all in one
00:33:08
field during the day on one day. So, it
00:33:10
was about four people who who get some
00:33:13
>> Yeah. totally. Oh, yeah. Like you save
00:33:15
on wardrobe, you save on lighting.
00:33:17
Exactly. Um, it was four people who all
00:33:20
get a message in their head that a UFO
00:33:23
is going to come to this one place and
00:33:25
pick them up and take them away from
00:33:26
their lives because they're all unhappy
00:33:27
with their lives in different ways.
00:33:28
Yeah, it's kind of cool. And so
00:33:29
everybody shows up and they don't know
00:33:30
why each other's there and they find out
00:33:32
they have this common thing and then it
00:33:33
all kind of
00:33:34
>> turns. And then you go into writing. How
00:33:36
do you get writing jobs?
00:33:37
>> Uh, I never actually got a writing job.
00:33:39
>> Oh, you on Freaks and Geeks. I
00:33:41
>> I created it. Yeah, I created the show
00:33:42
and then I co-an because Jud swore to me
00:33:45
that you had nothing to work.
00:33:47
>> I knew it. Oh man,
00:33:49
>> Jud hit me up this morning. I haven't
00:33:51
heard from
00:33:51
>> Well, just make sure you bring that
00:33:53
letter.
00:33:54
>> Hey, [ __ ] I don't have a Japto, but
00:33:57
that's a substitute of pressure.
00:33:59
>> Hey, I think Freaking Geeks is mine.
00:34:01
That's kind of like Japto.
00:34:02
>> That sounds just like him. Exactly. I
00:34:04
thought he was sitting here.
00:34:05
>> It's a book a book market.
00:34:07
>> Hi Jud, if you're watching. Uh but yeah,
00:34:10
you that was your creation and you
00:34:14
shephered it and it's kind of has a cold
00:34:16
following now or it's it's become a
00:34:17
thing
00:34:18
>> which is nice. I mean it's kind of stood
00:34:19
the test of time which you always hope
00:34:21
>> sort of but so you were in on casting a
00:34:23
lot of people that blew up.
00:34:24
>> Yeah. Yeah. That was all
00:34:26
>> who was on there just so just for the
00:34:28
people. for the people. Seth Rogan
00:34:30
>> who discovered at 16 years old in
00:34:32
Vancouver.
00:34:34
>> God, that guy struggled in an open.
00:34:35
>> I know. Poor guy. He's um Linda
00:34:38
Cardellini, Jason Seagull, James Franco,
00:34:40
Bizzy Phillips, uh Sam Lavine, um and of
00:34:44
course um John Francis Dailyaly, who's
00:34:46
now a big time director, writer,
00:34:48
director. I know. So, they all they all
00:34:50
have succeeded.
00:34:51
>> All blew up. Yeah.
00:34:52
>> Yeah. Yeah. So, so when So, since we
00:34:54
This isn't a two-parter. I want It's
00:34:56
like when did you start uh your first
00:34:58
movie you directed and for a studio or
00:35:01
when you
00:35:01
>> the studio? It was the the thing called
00:35:04
Unaccompanied Miners. I think I
00:35:06
referenced uh earlier. Yes. That they
00:35:08
where they fired my DP for wanting to
00:35:10
shoot HD. Um Okay.
00:35:11
>> Yeah, I got that. Well, no, no, I was
00:35:13
actually No, it was a movie called I Am
00:35:15
David that I did right after Freaks and
00:35:17
Geeks. It was like a drama and that was
00:35:20
the moment where I'm like, "Oh, I'm this
00:35:22
will be my Oscar movie." And I learned a
00:35:24
valuable lesson like don't ever try to
00:35:25
make movies for to win an Oscar. Yeah.
00:35:27
>> Cuz you What are you learning at this
00:35:29
point? What are the basic things? You
00:35:30
you do Freaks and Geeks and you're
00:35:32
directing there and then you're going
00:35:33
here. We know where you go where you
00:35:35
become this great comedy director. So,
00:35:38
you're learning stuff all along, right?
00:35:40
Well, I start I then I go heavily into
00:35:42
TV directing because I directed I I
00:35:44
wanted to direct on Freaks and Geeks and
00:35:46
they wouldn't let me because I didn't
00:35:47
have enough, you know, experience or
00:35:49
whatever. Finally, they let me do the
00:35:50
very last episode that I wrote and
00:35:52
directed and it came out really well. So
00:35:54
then
00:35:55
>> they go, "Oh, he knows how to
00:35:57
>> actually knows what he's doing." And
00:35:58
believe it or not, but then our line
00:36:00
producer from Freaks and Geeks went on
00:36:02
to do um Arrested Development. And so he
00:36:04
called me up and said, "Hey, they'd like
00:36:05
you to do Unrested Development." So I
00:36:07
ended up doing like six Arrested
00:36:08
Developments,
00:36:09
>> which is probably No, it's not harder.
00:36:10
That's still It's not a sitcom. No.
00:36:13
>> Did you ever do a sitcom?
00:36:14
>> No. No. Not Not three camera. No.
00:36:16
>> Yeah. It's It's way harder what you're
00:36:17
doing.
00:36:18
>> Yeah. Well, I don't
00:36:19
>> It's closer to movies.
00:36:20
>> Yeah. But the three cameras seems hard
00:36:22
to me, you know, like what
00:36:23
>> three camera? Yeah. It's a different
00:36:25
muscle probably.
00:36:26
>> Well, you're definitely relying Yeah.
00:36:27
You got that audience right there.
00:36:29
>> Yeah. I like I like having something hap
00:36:31
like getting it right once and never
00:36:33
doing it again. That's why I love movies
00:36:35
and single camera stuff, you know, cuz
00:36:38
you just get magic
00:36:39
>> ones.
00:36:40
>> When you get it right in a comedy,
00:36:43
>> it's so hard.
00:36:44
>> Yeah.
00:36:44
>> From the idea and the pitch to the
00:36:47
script doesn't get right and and you've
00:36:49
got to get that right. Then you got the
00:36:50
editing and the casting and then
00:36:52
>> and finishing it and the produ, you
00:36:54
know, then the marketing and the poster.
00:36:56
>> And then the biggest problem is
00:36:58
everybody's got everyone can agree
00:37:00
what's dramatic, what's sad, what's
00:37:01
scary, what's thrilling. Nobody can
00:37:04
really agree on what's funny. Yeah.
00:37:05
>> So, comedies are so divisive because
00:37:08
some people love them and some people
00:37:10
hate them.
00:37:11
>> And trailers are really, you know, like
00:37:14
lightning rods. I mean, we put the the
00:37:16
trailer out for
00:37:18
>> for bridesmaids.
00:37:20
People are enraged and angry and like
00:37:23
either's like either like, "Oh, clearly
00:37:25
all the best jokes are in the in the
00:37:27
trailer." And then they were mad that
00:37:28
they thought they knew that we were
00:37:30
going to be making fun of Melissa
00:37:31
McCarthy's character and it's like no
00:37:33
she's actually the coolest character in
00:37:34
the thing. But people there's a
00:37:36
hostility I find because I think maybe
00:37:38
it's was that people have gotten burned
00:37:40
by a lot of comedies over the years you
00:37:42
know and so they came in afraid to go to
00:37:44
the theater not not by yours my friend.
00:37:47
You've been some of the greatest
00:37:48
comedies of all time. Thank you. It's
00:37:49
true. Um, but you know, but there's it's
00:37:52
just uh Yeah, it's there's a weird thing
00:37:55
and that's why now there's not a lot of
00:37:56
comedies straight up comedy.
00:37:58
>> Yeah. What what what do you what's your
00:38:00
thoughts on that? Where are they?
00:38:01
>> I think I think comedy straight comedy
00:38:04
feels too frivolous for audiences for
00:38:07
the in the last 10 years. You know what
00:38:10
I mean? They want higher stakes. And I
00:38:12
think you know it's the difference
00:38:14
between like a movie that's about like
00:38:17
spies or cops but like the villain is
00:38:20
like bumbling and so it's like oh so
00:38:22
it's all comedy so there's no stakes
00:38:23
there versus I always go back to that
00:38:25
movie 48 hours which you know oh Eddie
00:38:28
Murphy this is going to be hilarious
00:38:29
first thing there's like a guy gets like
00:38:31
executed in a hallway you're like oh
00:38:33
[ __ ] but then yeah but then you're like
00:38:36
oh cool so now when Eddie Murphy goes
00:38:38
into that cowboy bar I'm kind of worried
00:38:40
he's going to get shot or something
00:38:42
bad's going to happen. So I think goofy
00:38:44
comedy.
00:38:44
>> Yeah. People need steak. So that's why
00:38:45
now so much comedy is in the form of
00:38:48
horror movies. I mean all do you see
00:38:51
weapons? I saw it twice. It's hilarious.
00:38:53
Yeah. I mean it becomes hilarious
00:38:55
>> and Megan and those things you know. So
00:38:58
>> is is interesting.
00:38:59
>> Weapons too scary for me?
00:39:00
>> No. No. No. It's not.
00:39:02
>> Is Megan too scary for me?
00:39:03
>> No. No. My I will tell you I will tell
00:39:07
you cuz I saw some blurb on you that I
00:39:09
would love when I watched Megan I
00:39:12
watched it like mystery science. I just
00:39:14
talked the whole time and was making
00:39:15
myself laugh and I'm like why can't Dane
00:39:17
and I just do this? Well, you just watch
00:39:19
something and there's so many funny
00:39:21
things to say.
00:39:21
>> Yeah.
00:39:22
>> And Megan was funny in that way. But I
00:39:25
see why it worked also.
00:39:26
>> Yeah. Well, because you're still, you
00:39:28
know, you're invested there. It's it
00:39:31
it's I used to get really mad at as film
00:39:33
like studio exact when they use the word
00:39:35
stakes. Yeah.
00:39:36
>> Because I I always felt like did they
00:39:38
know what that means or not? But now
00:39:40
what it means
00:39:40
>> sometimes well sometimes people just
00:39:42
repeat words. I know exactly but you
00:39:44
realize like it just audiences have to
00:39:46
feel that there's the invested and you
00:39:48
know like worried.
00:39:50
>> Naked Gun the the new one that came out.
00:39:52
I watched it. Yeah. It was but it was
00:39:55
that there was no stakes.
00:39:56
>> It's old school. Yeah.
00:39:57
>> It's old school. Oh, you really have to.
00:39:59
It's very tricky.
00:40:00
>> Well, I was really rooting for that,
00:40:01
too. And I think it did pretty well.
00:40:02
>> Yeah, it did pretty well.
00:40:03
>> But cuz that kind of breaks the mold of
00:40:05
what I'm saying. But look, comedy, you
00:40:07
know, we say this is how it is, then
00:40:09
something comes out and it changes
00:40:11
everything. So, you know, the biggest
00:40:13
thing in comedy, and we all know this,
00:40:15
is if you're inflexible in comedy,
00:40:17
you're dead.
00:40:18
>> You know, if you're like, I know what's
00:40:19
funny and don't tell me what's funny. if
00:40:21
you don't evolve along with the the
00:40:23
scene, you know, keep your voice, but
00:40:25
just, you know, don't be making dad
00:40:27
jokes.
00:40:28
>> The ones that stick out to me are Tropic
00:40:29
Thunder, uh, Hangover.
00:40:32
>> Yeah.
00:40:32
>> Um, some of Will Ferrell movies.
00:40:35
>> Yeah. They just hold up.
00:40:36
>> And then they sort of it sort of changed
00:40:38
or it stopped. I don't know if it's
00:40:39
political or whatever the studios want
00:40:42
or the audience wants, but
00:40:43
>> I just think it's what the audience
00:40:44
want. Audiences are very
00:40:46
>> fickle. Yeah. Exactly. But they a
00:40:49
because we've done a lot of research in
00:40:50
my company on this, you know, about like
00:40:53
why why do sequels a lot of times not
00:40:56
work anymore,
00:40:57
>> right?
00:40:57
>> You know, because used to be like a
00:40:58
sequel.
00:41:00
Yeah, exactly. Because you think, oh,
00:41:02
people just show up. But the big
00:41:03
question audience are asking now because
00:41:05
they got so much stuff available to them
00:41:06
is why? Why? Why do I need to see this?
00:41:09
I really like the first one. Why do I
00:41:11
need to see what's going to be different
00:41:12
about this? Am I just going to see the
00:41:14
same thing again? And it's a valid
00:41:16
question. You know, everything's
00:41:18
expensive. And
00:41:18
>> there's something about discovering
00:41:20
>> a movie, too. Yeah. And you just don't
00:41:22
discover it in the sequel. You found all
00:41:24
your answers kind of.
00:41:25
>> Yeah. And that's why sequels are so hard
00:41:26
to do because you've estab you're not
00:41:28
discovering. Yeah. The discovery isn't
00:41:31
Everybody thinks they want Bridesmaids,
00:41:33
too. And I'm like, yeah, it could be
00:41:34
funny, but the reason Bride Mates works
00:41:37
is because Kristen Wig, you meet this
00:41:38
person who's just a complete disaster,
00:41:41
and she has to build herself back up,
00:41:43
and by the end, she doesn't show happy.
00:41:45
So you don't want to go
00:41:46
>> disaster again. Yeah. It's like where do
00:41:47
you start?
00:41:48
>> Yeah. Right. Oh, she's messed up again.
00:41:49
Well, I don't want to watch this.
00:41:50
>> We talked about that with there's a one
00:41:51
we did called The Wrong Missy on Netflix
00:41:53
and
00:41:54
>> we wind up getting married, but the
00:41:56
girl's crazy and she's very funny. She's
00:41:58
the whole movie. Like she goes bananas.
00:42:00
>> But how do you do it where she kind of
00:42:03
got her [ __ ] together
00:42:05
>> and then
00:42:06
>> there's different pitches, but you go,
00:42:07
"God, that's a tough one cuz you almost
00:42:10
want to leave it alone, but there's such
00:42:12
>> a feel for like, well, maybe do one.
00:42:15
They pay you more, it makes less. So,
00:42:17
>> I know. Oh, yeah. Fame. That's the
00:42:19
answer. There you go.
00:42:20
>> You know, you've worked with a This
00:42:21
sounds like uh some social statement.
00:42:23
You you've presented a lot of women into
00:42:27
comic films, you know, bridesmaids,
00:42:29
obviously.
00:42:30
>> Um, and then you you love Melissa
00:42:32
McCarthy as we all do. So, when you you
00:42:35
directed her in Bridesmaids and then you
00:42:37
guys connected again, I would just speak
00:42:39
to that. I mean, did you just sort of it
00:42:41
we we've we know her. I mean, she's so
00:42:43
charming and whatever, but did you see
00:42:45
lightning in her biology? There's more
00:42:46
here. Are you just
00:42:47
>> Yeah. Well, we just hit it off. I mean,
00:42:49
after cuz Yeah. We did bridesmaids and
00:42:50
we did The Heat, then Spy, and then uh
00:42:53
Ghostbusters.
00:42:54
>> Yeah. So,
00:42:54
>> no controversy in Ghostbusters, by the
00:42:56
way.
00:42:56
>> Well, yeah. I I I was I was out of town.
00:43:00
>> Do people talk about it? I love the
00:43:01
first one.
00:43:02
>> No. Well, you you know like with Farley
00:43:04
and you know and people you've worked
00:43:06
with like if you're in sync with
00:43:08
somebody comedically that's like gold
00:43:10
because it's so hard to find that you
00:43:12
know where it's across the board you
00:43:14
agree
00:43:14
>> well I think for the performer from that
00:43:17
side of the fence if you have a director
00:43:18
like you who's affable who gets them
00:43:20
who's smart and wants to capture them is
00:43:23
not resentful of them or competitive
00:43:25
with them I mean there's there's a lot
00:43:27
of types of directors out there and so
00:43:29
that obviously just
00:43:31
>> you capture her. Yeah. Well, I mean
00:43:32
that's my I always say my biggest job on
00:43:34
the set is to create a safe environment
00:43:36
where everybody feels they can try
00:43:38
anything and we like cuz I used to when
00:43:40
I was an actor I'd get yelled at by
00:43:41
certain directors like what are you
00:43:42
doing? Stop that. And then you just you
00:43:44
clench up
00:43:44
>> humiliated. Can I try something?
00:43:47
>> And then I try something and he goes,
00:43:49
"That's what you wanted?"
00:43:50
>> Oh, no. No. Yeah. Really? That was
00:43:52
terrible.
00:43:52
>> Those are quotes. So that's what you
00:43:54
wanted to do. This is in front of the
00:43:56
whole crew. So why would you sabotage
00:43:58
the person in the movie?
00:43:59
>> So awful. I mean, I I I love my fellow
00:44:02
GGA and yet sometimes I just go, you
00:44:04
guys, come on.
00:44:05
>> Well, sometimes they're they're speeding
00:44:06
it up. They want to keep moving. And
00:44:08
also, if you just go at the end, can I
00:44:10
try one? But if it's someone like you
00:44:12
and you're like excited to see it, like,
00:44:14
hey, if we can make it better
00:44:16
>> and then like you said, you stumble into
00:44:18
something else that works. That's the
00:44:20
fun. I think she can do that. I think
00:44:21
she trusts you because I saw The Heat
00:44:23
and I was with Sander Bulock.
00:44:24
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:44:25
>> Great. And uh and then after that was
00:44:28
>> Spy was Spy and Rose again.
00:44:31
>> Physical comedy. Always a verbal
00:44:34
non-verbal comedy with Melissa is always
00:44:36
great. She does that. She I mean
00:44:38
>> well she'll surprise you with jokes and
00:44:39
like you know sometimes she'll be in the
00:44:41
middle of a of like a really mean thing
00:44:44
and she I can't say that. I'm like
00:44:46
Melissa finish it. It's gonna be the
00:44:48
funniest thing you say all day.
00:44:49
>> Thanks for the out takes. Give us
00:44:51
something. Yeah totally. because some of
00:44:52
those movies she goes off and then she
00:44:54
can be very you you feel for
00:44:56
>> Yeah. Well, that's the thing and that's
00:44:58
you know I you know when because when we
00:45:00
did the heat there was a lot of not
00:45:02
backlash but I heard like certain like
00:45:05
entertainment reporters like she only
00:45:06
does one thing. She's always just mean
00:45:08
all the time. So that's why I did Spy
00:45:10
because I was like no I want to show
00:45:11
that she's actually really sweet. Yeah.
00:45:12
>> You know in real life but then she gets
00:45:14
to become a tiger. She has to be a tiger
00:45:16
but then she is affected by it.
00:45:19
I've always felt like a security system
00:45:21
should do more than just react after
00:45:23
something happens. If you could stop
00:45:25
someone from breaking in before they
00:45:28
even got inside, why wouldn't you?
00:45:31
>> Most old school systems only alert you
00:45:33
once. Obviously, it's already too late.
00:45:36
>> That's why they're simply safe. You
00:45:38
should do it. It's proactive. AI powered
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00:45:43
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00:45:45
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00:45:48
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00:45:50
person through the camera, warning them
00:45:52
they're on video, calling police if they
00:45:54
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00:45:57
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00:45:59
stop a crime before it happens. That I
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00:46:03
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Life can't be safe or simple, but it's
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simply safe for you.
00:46:47
>> Safe and simple.
00:46:49
>> So, you actually read reviews that are
00:46:51
actionable on them. Oh, I see that. Now,
00:46:53
I'm going to make a whole giant $30
00:46:55
million movie to prove you [ __ ]
00:46:57
wrong.
00:46:57
>> Pretty much. I I I do everything out of
00:46:59
revenge basically.
00:47:00
>> You just wait a minute. You'll see her
00:47:02
range. And then she was in a simple
00:47:04
favor. Or was that Blake Lively?
00:47:05
>> No, it was Blakeley. Blake. Yeah.
00:47:07
>> Yeah.
00:47:07
>> I know they're always up. What's going
00:47:08
on with Blake Lively right now? She's a
00:47:10
great actor.
00:47:10
>> Are you going fantastic?
00:47:11
>> Are you going to jail? There's
00:47:12
>> I know exactly. I have no idea what's
00:47:14
going on.
00:47:14
>> I know. I don't either.
00:47:15
>> All I I'm team Blake. I'm definitely
00:47:17
>> Do you have any final Cuz we'll put it
00:47:19
to rest here. Do you have any final
00:47:20
thing to say about Ghostbusters?
00:47:23
>> I'm glad I made it. I'm very proud of
00:47:24
it.
00:47:25
>> Okay.
00:47:25
>> The people that had a problem with it,
00:47:27
I'm sorry.
00:47:29
Younger people really like it. It was a
00:47:31
lot of mostly
00:47:32
>> Hey, it's supposed to be Bill Murray.
00:47:34
older guys who saw when they were kids
00:47:36
and they got really mad that I would
00:47:37
>> touch it. It was with me going that I'm
00:47:40
exactly your demo. Old cranky. I should
00:47:42
be an
00:47:42
>> cranky. I judge everything. I don't like
00:47:45
anything to change.
00:47:46
>> What? That's not him.
00:47:48
>> Wait a minute.
00:47:48
>> I don't even like Dan Akroy being older
00:47:50
now. I'm like I want him the way I saw
00:47:51
him.
00:47:52
>> And so when I see that I go I literally
00:47:54
go in I go I got to be fair about this.
00:47:56
>> I love Ghostbusters but I think these
00:47:58
girls are funny. So what do we do? So I
00:48:00
go in and I go it is funny. Now, that's
00:48:03
just one opinion, but I paid I went and
00:48:05
saw it and then
00:48:05
>> I saw it, too. I thought it was great.
00:48:06
>> You go,
00:48:07
>> well, those four people are just
00:48:09
>> It's different. There's different jokes.
00:48:10
It's not It's not exact frame by frame
00:48:13
recreation.
00:48:14
>> No, cuz you didn't want to do that, but
00:48:15
it was just, you know, it was I I
00:48:17
thought it would be fun. I What I didn't
00:48:19
realize
00:48:20
>> it wasn't going to be fun.
00:48:20
>> I know. It was It was It was one of the
00:48:23
worst experiences of my life. Not making
00:48:24
it was was fantastic, but the all the
00:48:27
[ __ ] around it. I mean, Donald Trump
00:48:29
came out against us. Oh, he did. Oh,
00:48:31
there's a video. There was a video of
00:48:32
him going, "Uh,
00:48:34
>> we don't like it. We wanted that accent.
00:48:36
We got to have the other guys. The
00:48:38
ladies can do their movies. The men do
00:48:40
their movies."
00:48:40
>> Well, here's the exact here's the exact
00:48:42
quote. And you can find it online. It's
00:48:43
on tape on video. Oh, it's on video. He
00:48:45
goes, "And now the Ghostbusters are
00:48:46
women. What's going on?
00:48:48
>> What is going on?
00:48:49
>> It's the end of the world as we know it.
00:48:51
It's not good." And let me tell you,
00:48:52
I've seen it many times
00:48:55
and they're busting them. I know what
00:48:56
they do. And they need to have acro.
00:48:58
They've got to have Acro.
00:49:00
I don't know. So, let's talk about your
00:49:03
current movie, which I like these kind
00:49:04
of movies. I saw the teaser trailer I
00:49:07
thought was kind of brilliant because
00:49:08
it's just a, you know,
00:49:09
>> and so it's called Housemaid.
00:49:11
>> The Housemaid. Yeah.
00:49:12
>> With someone who I I think is sort of
00:49:15
out there now a lot.
00:49:16
>> I think she's got a future. Yeah. Sydney
00:49:17
Sweeney. Sydney. You've heard of her.
00:49:20
>> Um and Amanda
00:49:22
>> Amanda Safe Freed.
00:49:23
>> Safe Reed. And so tell us about this
00:49:25
movie that's coming out in December.
00:49:26
>> Yes. Uh yeah, I'm very excited about it.
00:49:28
It's a It's more of a straightup
00:49:30
thriller, but it's still in my own
00:49:32
inimitable way. It's going to be funny
00:49:33
at times.
00:49:34
>> Gets nutty. Yeah. It gets, you know, in
00:49:36
the weaponsy kind of way, I guess. Um,
00:49:38
but it's it's a it's a based on a
00:49:40
bestselling book that's been on the
00:49:41
bestseller list for a year and a half
00:49:42
called The Housemaid by Freda McFaten.
00:49:45
>> And, uh,
00:49:46
>> Brandon Slenar is also in it, who's
00:49:48
fantastic, and and Michaela [ __ ] who
00:49:50
was in my another simple favor movie
00:49:52
that I did last. Uh, and it's it's just
00:49:54
it's a really fun twisty thriller. You
00:49:56
think you know where it's going and you
00:49:58
completely don't know where it's going
00:49:59
and then it twists again.
00:50:00
>> I love it.
00:50:00
>> Yeah. I I I love thrillers. That's kind
00:50:02
of all I watch.
00:50:03
>> Well, it's good for City Sweenies, too.
00:50:04
>> You know what? You know, I do, too. Huge
00:50:06
star.
00:50:07
>> I really like thrillers.
00:50:08
>> Yeah. You know, it is like I I find I
00:50:11
don't watch much comedy because I don't
00:50:13
watch it at all. I know how the rabbit
00:50:15
gets out of the hat. So, it has to be
00:50:17
something really different.
00:50:18
>> Yeah. No, totally. Oh, I I did just
00:50:20
watch um Friendship the other night and
00:50:22
that really made me laugh.
00:50:23
>> How was that in friendship?
00:50:25
>> Yeah. You know, Tim is just so it's if
00:50:27
you like Tim, if you love Tim, you'll
00:50:29
love this movie.
00:50:30
>> Sure.
00:50:30
>> There's some of the funniest there's a
00:50:32
couple of sequences that are so funny.
00:50:34
>> He's got some of the best clips.
00:50:35
>> Yeah.
00:50:35
>> You know, like everything is clips now,
00:50:37
but
00:50:38
>> it's a way to introduce you. It's like a
00:50:39
little nugget
00:50:41
>> and then if I see it enough, it starts
00:50:43
showing up and I'm like obviously I'm
00:50:44
watching it because it keeps telling me,
00:50:46
"Oh, you like this."
00:50:47
>> Yeah. No, totally.
00:50:48
>> You're going to look at it again. And
00:50:49
then keep surprising me. It's very hard.
00:50:51
>> Yeah. No, it's true. So, so I don't
00:50:53
watch like but I I Yeah. thrillers and
00:50:55
and crime shows and all that. I love all
00:50:57
that stuff.
00:50:57
>> Yeah, that's I watch them with my wife
00:51:00
and you know and I they're they're just
00:51:02
fun. So, you like true crime, too.
00:51:03
>> Did you say it? The housemaid is it's
00:51:05
called
00:51:05
>> The Housemmaid. Yeah.
00:51:06
>> And did you say a little bit of what it
00:51:08
was about or you don't want to say?
00:51:09
>> Oh, uh no, I I say yeah, I guess I
00:51:11
should do the plug. Yeah. It's about
00:51:14
this young woman who's kind of uh living
00:51:16
out of her car, a little down on her
00:51:18
luck, who goes and uh gets an interview
00:51:20
to be a housemmaid in this rich this
00:51:22
rich family's house and gets the job and
00:51:25
the the the woman who hires her seems
00:51:27
like the greatest boss ever and then
00:51:28
things start to turn get weird.
00:51:30
>> I'm in.
00:51:31
>> Thanks.
00:51:31
>> It's all I needed.
00:51:32
>> Excellent.
00:51:32
>> Living in car.
00:51:33
>> You're going to love it. Exactly.
00:51:35
>> And it and it's it's a sexy thriller,
00:51:37
too. I'll say that.
00:51:38
>> It's kind of nice. I mean, I just
00:51:40
>> Everything for Eden was like, "These two
00:51:42
girls are going to hook up." Like Eden
00:51:44
was just like I thought it was literally
00:51:45
two girls hooking up. That's that was
00:51:48
the pitch. It was like
00:51:49
>> Yeah. I thought it was really kind of a
00:51:51
softcore porn.
00:51:54
>> Was this taking you back to your
00:51:55
Skinnamax days?
00:51:56
>> It was. And I was like, "Oh, there's
00:51:58
other people in it.
00:51:59
>> Wait, there's sand."
00:52:01
>> Actually, how do you That sounded like
00:52:02
an interesting movie because it was
00:52:03
weird. Like I go,
00:52:05
>> well, it was a true story, you know.
00:52:07
>> How do you fight this idea that we all
00:52:09
know?
00:52:10
>> I was in and out. Oh, Eden was a true
00:52:12
story. I like it. No, I did like it. And
00:52:14
Jude was good. Was in it.
00:52:15
>> Jude, I love Jude.
00:52:16
>> So, when will it be on my machine? Eden.
00:52:18
>> Uh, well, it's it's going to be in
00:52:20
theaters, believe it or not. It still
00:52:22
hasn't been released.
00:52:22
>> I'm sorry, Eden. I'm sorry.
00:52:24
>> Oh, yeah. I switched over here. We know
00:52:25
about Housemate.
00:52:27
>> Sorry, let's go back to House. The
00:52:28
Housemate opens December 19th.
00:52:31
>> Sort of the thing. It's in theaters and
00:52:33
then you have to want compel people to
00:52:35
the theater thinking that well, it'll be
00:52:37
on Amazon Prime in a month. So, is there
00:52:40
a strategy?
00:52:40
>> It'll be on the machine soon, I bet.
00:52:43
>> Always always I guess it's always on
00:52:45
something else later.
00:52:46
>> It used to be DVD, used to be VHS, but
00:52:49
now
00:52:50
>> like F1 I saw then it goes it's going to
00:52:52
be on Apple. I'm like, oh,
00:52:54
>> yeah.
00:52:54
>> I didn't want to wait, but you know,
00:52:55
it's like, oh, okay. But there's a
00:52:57
window. It's shorter. It's longer.
00:52:58
>> The big screen is great.
00:53:00
>> I'll tell you this. What I've discovered
00:53:01
this is
00:53:03
>> because of this connectivity.
00:53:05
>> Yes.
00:53:06
>> It's either church or a movie theater.
00:53:09
Turn it off
00:53:10
>> for 2 hours. It goes pitch dark. The
00:53:12
sound's really great. You're in a
00:53:14
stadium. There's almost no one there.
00:53:16
>> It's fantastic. I mean, the world just
00:53:18
quiets down. It's way bigger deal than
00:53:20
it was to me in the '90s.
00:53:22
>> Now it's like I I'm going to turn it
00:53:24
off.
00:53:24
>> Well, at home when I watch movie, I look
00:53:26
at my phone and I got when I go to the
00:53:28
theater.
00:53:28
>> I you you're also disturbing people. So,
00:53:31
>> it's one more reason to go just [ __ ]
00:53:33
for a little bit. Even though you get
00:53:34
itchy, you go,
00:53:35
>> "Oh, no. Totally." or like when you hear
00:53:37
it like buzz, you know, you're like
00:53:38
wonder what it was.
00:53:40
>> It's that that's
00:53:41
>> Let me ask you a question about the
00:53:42
summer blockbusters and which one that
00:53:44
you might have enjoyed the most. I I was
00:53:46
in my own head because I did see all
00:53:48
three in the theater cuz
00:53:50
>> Jurassic Park,
00:53:51
>> right?
00:53:51
>> Um
00:53:52
>> are they Mission Impossible and
00:53:53
Superman? Those three Yes.
00:53:56
>> all did really well and got a lot of
00:53:58
people in the theaters, which is great
00:53:59
for the movie industry.
00:54:00
>> Yes.
00:54:01
>> Do you have a favorite?
00:54:02
>> You're going to love this.
00:54:03
>> You don't have to say.
00:54:04
>> I didn't see ANY OF THEM. WHAT?
00:54:06
>> I DIDN'T see any of that.
00:54:07
>> Fantastic 4.
00:54:08
>> No, I'm I'm I hate to say I'm not a
00:54:10
superhero guy.
00:54:11
>> Okay. What's your favorite movie in the
00:54:13
last few years? What's the movie that's
00:54:15
really float floated your boat besides
00:54:17
Dunkirk?
00:54:18
>> So, I'm just throwing stuff out. There
00:54:19
you go. Exactly.
00:54:20
>> Once upon a time in Hollywood.
00:54:21
>> Uh that was I I enjoyed that very much.
00:54:24
I really like that. I I mean I have to
00:54:26
say I think well there's a movie called
00:54:28
Abigail
00:54:29
>> that I loved. It was this vampire movie,
00:54:31
but it it's a straightup comedy. It's it
00:54:33
cuz it's so bananas. You got to watch
00:54:35
it.
00:54:36
>> That's on the machine.
00:54:36
>> No, exactly. Yeah, that's on the
00:54:38
machine. You can definitely get on the
00:54:39
machine.
00:54:39
>> I've heard of that. That's
00:54:40
>> Megan. I thought Megan was great. The
00:54:42
first Megan. I didn't see the second one
00:54:43
yet. Um
00:54:45
>> Yeah. I mean,
00:54:46
>> I got you. Is Allison Williams and
00:54:47
Megan?
00:54:49
>> Yes.
00:54:49
>> She's the mom.
00:54:50
>> Yeah, she's the
00:54:51
>> It starts like a tragic beginning,
00:54:53
right?
00:54:53
>> Oh, no. Totally. Well, it's actually a
00:54:55
really funny beginning because it starts
00:54:56
with the ad for the dolls for this other
00:54:58
dolls they're trying to sell. That's I
00:54:59
go like, "Okay, I they It's so smart.
00:55:03
You got to set the tone right at the
00:55:04
beginning of a movie."
00:55:05
>> Yeah. You said open with Did you say
00:55:06
that? Opening.
00:55:08
>> It's You got to get something right
00:55:10
away. It's almost like a TikTok.
00:55:11
>> We just got to let people know how to
00:55:12
watch the movie,
00:55:13
>> right? Okay. Horror films are the the
00:55:15
highest money makers at the moment. At
00:55:18
the moment.
00:55:18
>> At the moment.
00:55:19
>> I was just curious just before we let
00:55:20
you go, it's just like what what movies
00:55:23
do you love just off the top of your
00:55:25
head? You don't have to say your
00:55:26
favorite. just of all time. Way back of
00:55:28
all time. I mean, my favorite movie of
00:55:30
all time is It's a Wonderful Life.
00:55:32
>> And not that I think it's the greatest
00:55:33
movie ever made, but I think it
00:55:35
accomplishes everything a movie is
00:55:36
supposed to accomplish. It makes you
00:55:38
cry. It makes you happy. It makes you
00:55:39
sad. It It takes you through dramatic
00:55:41
things and it's uplifting at the end.
00:55:43
So, I always love that one.
00:55:45
>> I I I concur. I I literally It's a thing
00:55:48
my wife just laughs because if I talk
00:55:50
about that movie with people
00:55:52
>> and I just And I don't know if it'll get
00:55:54
me now, but it's like a trigger.
00:55:55
>> You get emotional. Oh, no. When the
00:55:56
people come to the end and they say, "We
00:55:59
heard No, it's I'm already feeling it.
00:56:00
We heard George."
00:56:02
>> Sorry. Yeah.
00:56:03
>> Bailey was in trouble. I don't know why.
00:56:05
That gets me every time.
00:56:07
>> It's fantastic. And you know the the
00:56:08
backstory on that movie is it it
00:56:10
literally bankrupted the studio that
00:56:12
created it. Yeah. It was Capra and and
00:56:15
some other guys started the studio,
00:56:16
Liberty Studios, I think it was called
00:56:18
to and and it was so poorly received and
00:56:21
so destroyed by the critics.
00:56:23
>> Cap Capricorn.
00:56:24
>> Yes. Capricorn. Exactly. But it was only
00:56:27
because when you know TV came around and
00:56:31
they it was something that they could
00:56:32
put on for free or for like no money. So
00:56:35
they just started playing it over and
00:56:36
over again at Christmas time and that's
00:56:38
how it became this big.
00:56:39
>> Oh boy. I kind of like those stories.
00:56:41
>> I like those stories too because when
00:56:42
critics [ __ ] all over your movies, you
00:56:43
go maybe there's a second chance.
00:56:45
>> So what else is on your list off the top
00:56:46
of your head?
00:56:47
>> Uh Doctor Strange Love, one of my
00:56:49
favorites of all time. Um Bringing Up
00:56:52
Baby, one of my favorite movies of all
00:56:54
time. That was with Heburn.
00:56:56
>> Stewart.
00:56:56
>> He and No. And um you're you're the guy
00:57:00
that nobody knows the that you do
00:57:02
anymore. Uh
00:57:02
>> Carrie Grant.
00:57:03
>> Carrie Grant.
00:57:03
>> Yeah. Carrie Grant. Right.
00:57:04
>> In one of his funniest roles ever. He
00:57:06
plays a nerd and it's hilarious.
00:57:08
>> I like to bring up babies.
00:57:10
>> Something about the babies that I just
00:57:11
love.
00:57:12
>> It's a fun voice to do. It's the
00:57:13
weirdest voice in film.
00:57:15
>> Yeah, totally. It's It's fantastic.
00:57:16
>> Do you like 2001 of Space Odyssey?
00:57:18
>> I do. I love it.
00:57:19
>> You like that?
00:57:20
>> Love that movie.
00:57:21
>> It's so funny. When I was in film
00:57:23
school, um I had a friend and he was
00:57:25
like, "Oh man, if they made that movie
00:57:26
today, the sound would be so much
00:57:28
better." And all I go, "No, the reason
00:57:29
that movie is great is cuz there's no
00:57:30
sound." Like where they're in space,
00:57:32
it's just silent and it's so creepy. You
00:57:35
know, when that guy's trying to get back
00:57:36
in and they're trying to grab him, I'm
00:57:37
like, "Oh, it's so harrowing." And then
00:57:38
he goes drift. I never got that for
00:57:40
years. It took me I kept thinking about
00:57:42
that guy who drifted off into
00:57:43
>> and the greatest death scene in a movie.
00:57:46
Yeah, totally.
00:57:46
>> I can feel it, Dave.
00:57:48
>> I can feel it. Daisy,
00:57:50
>> we're
00:57:52
>> And now here we are in the world of AI.
00:57:54
>> Well, Paul, that's the scary part. And
00:57:56
and we all I can in three years I can
00:57:58
make a movie with my computer like
00:57:59
Apocalypse Now, right?
00:58:01
>> I refuse to believe that's going to
00:58:02
happen.
00:58:03
>> Garbage. Your movie.
00:58:04
>> Apocalypse Now is garbage.
00:58:05
>> No, I mean if you're going to go make it
00:58:07
on your computer with
00:58:08
>> Yeah, I know. Exactly. You still need
00:58:10
human experience. Exactly. Exactly.
00:58:11
>> So, um, well, any final thoughts? You've
00:58:14
been on the David Spade podcast.
00:58:15
>> I want to know if you would think I
00:58:17
could handle the Conjuring.
00:58:19
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I love the
00:58:21
Conjuring movies, but would you enjoy
00:58:23
it? If you
00:58:24
>> No, I won't. I'll mean
00:58:27
>> that's based on re if it's as any real.
00:58:29
If there's any devil, I can't take it.
00:58:30
>> Go to see Weapons.
00:58:32
>> Weapons is a good
00:58:34
>> Okay. You and Dana both like it.
00:58:36
>> You will enjoy it.
00:58:36
>> It's mostly funny and and it's filmed. I
00:58:40
thought the beginning, the first act is
00:58:42
so interestingly
00:58:43
>> Yeah. The first act you'll go like, "Oh,
00:58:45
this gonna be really scary." And then it
00:58:48
because it jumps around different POVs
00:58:50
of the different characters and then
00:58:51
let's just say Amy Madigan is brilliant
00:58:53
in the movie.
00:58:54
>> I didn't know it until I was going to
00:58:56
the end credits. Yeah,
00:58:57
>> you're going to get pop outs, you know,
00:58:59
and you know when they're coming, the
00:59:00
camera's in tight. What I do is I sort
00:59:02
of
00:59:02
>> There's not too many of those cuz I
00:59:03
don't I don't like
00:59:05
>> three of those kind,
00:59:07
you know. Um just squint during those.
00:59:10
I'm in my late dancing line. Take a beta
00:59:12
blocker and
00:59:13
>> I'll take a beta blocker and go.
00:59:15
>> All right. Thank you, Paul. And I will
00:59:16
uh movie house. We will go December
00:59:20
19th.
00:59:20
>> December 19th in theaters only.
00:59:22
>> Theaters only.
00:59:23
>> I'm going to see it and then I'm going
00:59:24
to hit you up after tell.
00:59:25
>> You bet. I can't wait.
00:59:26
>> Perfect. All right. Bye guys. I'm going
00:59:27
to go.
00:59:28
>> Bye everybody.
00:59:29
>> Thanks everybody.
00:59:29
>> Bye-bye everybody.
00:59:31
>> Bye.
00:59:31
>> See you.
00:59:36
Hey guys, if you're loving this podcast,
00:59:38
which you are, be sure to click follow
00:59:40
on your favorite podcast app. Give us a
00:59:43
review, fivestar rating, and maybe even
00:59:45
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00:59:47
a friend. If you're watching this
00:59:48
episode on YouTube, please subscribe.
00:59:50
We're on video now.
00:59:52
>> Fly on the Wall is presented by Odyssey,
00:59:54
an executive produced by Danny Carvey
00:59:56
and David Spade, Heather Santoro and
00:59:58
Greg Holtzman, Mattie Sprung Kaiser, and
01:00:01
Leah Reese Dennis of Odyssey. Our senior
01:00:04
producer is Greg Holtzman and the show
01:00:05
is produced and edited by Phil Sweet
01:00:09
Tech. Booking by Cultivated
01:00:10
Entertainment.
01:00:11
>> Special thanks to Patrick Fogerty, Evan
01:00:14
Cox, Mora Curran, Melissa Wester,
01:00:18
Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Colin
01:00:22
Gainner, Shan Cherry, Kurt Courtourtney,
01:00:25
and Lauren Vieiraa. Reach out with us
01:00:27
any questions to be asked and answered
01:00:29
on the show. You can email us at
01:00:31
flyinthewala.com.
01:00:34
That's audacy.com.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 75
    Best performance
  • 70
    Best overall
  • 70
    Best direction
  • 65
    Best writing

Episode Highlights

  • Paul Feig's Impact on Comedy
    Paul Feig, known for directing hits like Bridesmaids and Freaks and Geeks, shares insights on his creative process and the evolution of comedy in film.
    “We talk all about these things with him.”
    @ 01m 06s
    December 18, 2025
  • The Magic of Spontaneity
    In discussing Bridesmaids, Paul Feig reveals how spontaneous moments can create magic on set, especially with talented actors like Kristen Wiig.
    “I didn't know what she was going to do this time every time.”
    @ 11m 04s
    December 18, 2025
  • Sweaty Comedy
    There's nothing worse than sweaty comedy, and it shows when someone is trying too hard.
    “Yeah, we all know there's nothing worse than sweaty comedy.”
    @ 16m 05s
    December 18, 2025
  • Dreams of SNL
    A comedian shares his childhood dream of being on SNL and the journey that followed.
    “I wanted to be Steve Martin.”
    @ 18m 20s
    December 18, 2025
  • Killer Bits
    A comedian recalls two killer bits that always got laughs during his stand-up days.
    “I had two killer bits.”
    @ 20m 14s
    December 18, 2025
  • Magical Bird
    Reflecting on his role in a TV series, he humorously describes himself as the magical bird.
    “I was the magical bird on the show.”
    @ 29m 24s
    December 18, 2025
  • Remembering Chris Farley
    A heartfelt tribute to Chris Farley, highlighting his unique charm and humor.
    “He was the loveliest guy.”
    @ 30m 41s
    December 18, 2025
  • The Challenge of Comedy
    Comedy is divisive because humor is subjective; what’s funny to one may not be to another.
    “Nobody can really agree on what’s funny.”
    @ 37m 04s
    December 18, 2025
  • Creating a Safe Environment
    A director's role is to foster a space where actors feel free to explore their creativity.
    “My biggest job on set is to create a safe environment.”
    @ 43m 34s
    December 18, 2025
  • Simply Safe Promotion
    Lock in your discount with Simply Safe. It's simply safe for you!
    “There's no safe like simply safe.”
    @ 46m 38s
    December 18, 2025
  • Ghostbusters Reflection
    The creator expresses pride in Ghostbusters despite mixed reviews.
    “I'm glad I made it. I'm very proud of it.”
    @ 47m 23s
    December 18, 2025
  • It's a Wonderful Life
    A discussion on the emotional depth and legacy of this classic film.
    “It makes you cry. It makes you happy. It makes you sad.”
    @ 55m 35s
    December 18, 2025

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Spontaneous Comedy11:04
  • Sweaty Comedy16:05
  • Magical Bird29:24
  • Chris Farley Tribute30:41
  • Body Image31:25
  • Safe Environment43:34
  • Simply Safe46:46
  • Ghostbusters Pride47:23

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown