Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - Bobcat Goldthwait

Episode Date: July 2, 2019

Bobcat Goldthwait (World’s Greatest Dad, God Bless America, Call Me Lucky) discusses his friendship with Kurt Cobain and opening up for Nirvana, smashing up the set at Arsenio Hall Show, and the time he made a nun cry. Bobcat opens up about his own depression, being friends with Robin Williams for 30 years and how hard his death hit him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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tables, or join a live dealer game to feel the thrill of real-time action, all from the comfort of your own devices. Why settle for less when you can go for the gold at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Gambling problem call Connects Ontario 1866531-260. 19 and over, physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggett Casino.com for details. Please play responsibly. You're listening to Inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum. A pretty unique guest. I'll say unique because this guy started out as a comedian, Rob. He was very well known.

He toured with Nirvana? Yeah, he would tour with them, but he would open with stand-up comedy for Nirvana. But he was like, you know, the Police Academy guy. He had that funny voice. Everybody knows him for a lot of those things. But now he's become an amazing director. He's worked on... He didn't call me lucky.

Oh, yeah. God bless America. And also, he directed Jimmy Kim alive. He, uh, the Chappelle show. He directed comedy specials for Pat and Oswald. Mark Marin? Yeah. I worked on one that he did with Mark.

And a very likable guy. He talks about his relationship with Robin Williams, which I remember. You can tell. Like, he still carries a lot of emotion and weight on that. He doesn't really love to talk about it. But, you know, Rob was- Yeah, you made him. I didn't make anybody anything.

You made him uncomfortable. You made him talk about it. He's a fascinating human being. And just, I really feel comfortable around him. Didn't you? Didn't you feel cozy around him? He was, he was, even when I met him back before this show, he was a very nice guy. Yeah.

And before we get into Bobcat Gold, Goldthwaite, can you say his name? Bobcat, Goldthwaite. Goldthwaite. I have a little bit of a lisp, so it's hard for me. Yeah. Also, last daughter of Krypton on Twitter, she did the theme song. Last Daughter of Krypton, thank you. Here's a fan doing the rendition of Inside of You.

Let's, let's hear it. It's my point of view. You're listening to Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. We're rolling. We're rolling. It's a very, just slide into this. It's not, well, it's called Inside of You. Oh.

Maybe it should be called Slide Inside of You. Inside of you. Yeah, inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum. Oh, okay. Howard Stern just kind of made fun of it on the air. But anytime, you know, he mentions your name, it's like, I don't care whether he's. Did more people. People search out inside of you.

Yeah, well, then that's... Yeah, they did. That episode, yeah. Yeah, I mean, it was McCulley Calkin, and he said some things that he hadn't talked about, and so it got when, like, Robin, like, Robin, was like, so on inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum, and then Howard goes, inside of you. Why doesn't he just call it Michael Rosenbaum? Inside of you, you know, Robin, it's a double entendre, inside of you.

And she's like, well, he was Lex Luthor. I liked him. He was like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He used to speak very nicely of me. It wasn't that he didn't like it. He was just making it for it. the name. Yeah, I don't, uh, my name's Bobcat, so I don't think I can really make fun any names. Well, that's not your real name. It's Robert Francis. Robert Francis Goldthwaite,

but it's, it's often people will say, do you, did you change it to Goldthwaite as if it makes everything easier? You just came up with that one day. Yeah, it's so horrible. Yeah, it's so, yeah, um, Bob Scratch Goldfarb, I think has been my favorite. Bob Scratch Goldfarb. Yeah, I had this woman said, are you Bob Scratch Goldfarb? And I was like, yes, I am. It was like, how do I get out of this conversation quickly? So I said, yes, I am. The people fuck up your name, how often? Every time?

All the time. So, I mean, that's why, like... Let it go. Well, the Bobcat thing has been around since I was 15 or 16. Right, because you were at a club with a buddy and, like, you were doing... Well, no, it's worse than that, because we were talking Barry Krimands, the guy I did, my friend Barry, whose anniversary of him passing away is the 28th, so it's coming up. How many years? Just one year.

And he was a big comedian? No. Barry was well known and loved amongst the comedy world and respected and kind of started the scene or had a lot to do with the scene in Boston. But Barry really kind of mentored me and my friend and all this stuff. But Barry, he, Tom Kenny and I, who he was the SpongeBob. SpongeBob. I've known him since I was six years old. What?

Yeah. Was he always doing fucked up voices and shit? You both were. No, but he, no. I only had one other voice. That's not true, is it? Pretty much. You just do that one thing that day.

Yeah. But Tommy always did voices. Like he would come home from school and then he would do, you know, recreate the whole day and nail all the impressions of all the other people. That's the one thing people don't know. He's an amazing mimic. He could have made a career as doing impressions. I think I could have done that. Really?

I mean, that's, yeah. I mean, I could have been like a buddy Hackett or whatever. Is that who? Did he do a lot of impressions? Who did all the impressions? Rich Little. Rich Little. That's who I met.

Who shows up in the documentary on the Orson Welles' last film that he made or tried to make. Do you know this stuff? No. The Jordarowski's Dune. No, no, no. This is Orson Wells. And Rich Little's in the movie at one point. In an Orson Wells movie, Rich Little.

Yeah. Doing what? But then he leaves. He's like, hey, man, I got to. I'm opening up for. Buddy Hacker, yeah, so he splits, and then he's replaced with Bogdanovich. All right, so Tom Kenney, amazing mimic our whole life. First grade, crying nun drags me out of my own class, and I'm crying too, this fat little kid being dragged by this nun,

and the nun's almost hyperventilating and tears like going, I can't take him anymore and leaves me in his class. And I was devastating. Were you a bad child? I was just a, you know, I was just a kid. I was a little squirrely, like all of us, I hope. I mean, yeah, yeah, I'm squirly. So, yeah, so just, yeah, so, so Tom thought it was really cool. I could make a grown nun cry, so he introduced himself at lunch.

And I love that, like, even then my ego. Like, I was like, man, I got to help this guy. Like, I saw him as like, man, this guy needs a friend. At that young of an age, you thought that? Yeah, my ego was always big and then full of insecurity. But I always had this idea. It's really strange. I remember, like, the same age, six years old, doing this tumbling routine, this little fat kid comes out.

And I do, like, in front of the whole school. You keep calling yourself a fat kid. Well, I was. But so I'm like, but I tumbled. I came out and I did like headstands and a cartwheel and then, you know, and the whole school, standing O, parents, teachers, everything. And I just remember this feeling going, yeah, this can't stop. I've got to keep this going, like, like the drug. How old?

Six. I was like. Six. this is how it should be people should just be going nuts for me all the time and that is a terrible thing isn't it yeah that's chasing that that's how i've been doing my whole life is chasing that and when it doesn't happen you just feel so little so small it's true i remember i did i think i was also i probably was let's see in 19 i was nine years old and i did the moonwalk off stage to weird out yankovitch eat it oh my god and the crowd went mad and i was like whoa and then i knew i needed to get i always fought for for attention. Yeah, it's this buzz, man. It was something. It was just like, wait a minute, I'm doing something. I'm doing something that no one else is doing. I want to keep this going. So it's funny because I did a benefit recently and Tom Kenny was on with Eric Idol and they were doing that song, sit on my face

and tell me that you love me. Hang on. I sit in your face and tell you I love you. Wouldn't it be fine if we all 69? So sit on my face. Something like that. Yeah. Well, they did. it and then they they broke it down and did an r and b version of it and how did that go it was awesome but i'm like but i'm like my ego's like i can't i can't give it up i can't let tom kenny so i go out and do a headstand i did the act from when i was six behind him are you serious oh 100 percent i was like were people dying yeah they went nuts they were like what that you know so you still have that feeling even right now like if you went on stage you have to be great.

You have to, you want to, or do you get nervous? You get weirded out? No, I think some, some, I mean, you don't want to bomb. I think that's a dangerous place. I have gotten to that where I'm like, you know, I like myself. So if the crowd likes me or not, it doesn't matter. Not like, it doesn't matter, but I don't, I guess I do want to do well, but there's times now. It's a bad place to go on stage, you know.

I mean, there was a part when I was so, like, beyond it. Like, I was very self-destructive, but I was also. I had done sets that seemed kind of impossible, you know, going out in front of 40,000 people at a stadium for a benefit and then having a good set, you're like, after that, you're like, what else is there? You know, I definitely got to that place. And then you add anger and rage. So I just kind of thought it was funny for a period to not really care. You know, this is like when I was. opening for nirvana and stuff like i just kind of thought it'd be funny to it didn't like people like oh it wasn't that hard it's like well you know i just kind of i would be like a heal some nights you know from wrestling and just just agitate the crowd and just think it was really funny really so you're you were that comfortable well you were like i'm gonna upset them more than i

don't want to make them laugh oh yeah that was fun because it'd be like well they're gonna throw m80s at me and you know one night they successfully tossed the kid out of the pit and hit me with a kid with a child yeah well he's a guy he's like he looks at me he's terrified oh my god and he just runs off stage like on it on his back but yeah so so i i would just do things like some nights that i had to act about every third show would go well but the first night and and i really say this story and i couch it in like if i don't i don't even like saying it because uh but i would probably apologize but i hope he just never heard heard it but we were in chicago and uh moment for nirvana and i'm like uh the tour bus

pulls in the town and there's michael jordan had retired from basketball and none of us know what because the signs are like we still love you michael like it had to be explained to us like hey what is that you know and so uh i go out in front of about 4,000 people and i'm just like uh hey chicago i feel bad for michael jordan but for 40 million dollars a year i'd shoot my own dad in the fucking head and in Chicago after he just retired and the crowd's just it's not even boo it's a

what it's like no it's like kill him get him kind of thing it was it was really it was screams were you did you expect that reaction I didn't know what was going to happen the only person I remember actually Kurt laughed he was like I can't believe you said that but in order to get me out of the venue they had to put

like a towel over my head and the van came around and my feet never hit the ground this just big guy just picked me up and put me in the back because there's more people backstage at that point

at the stage door waiting to beat me versus meet the band did you always have to push the envelope and at some point where you're like I can't go any further yeah I feel like that definitely would stand up

you know it got to the point where I'm going to go to jail you know because I was like setting the tonight show on fire and things like that yeah you set the chair

the guest chair on fire on the Leno show yeah yeah But I'd smash up. And then he brought you back. Yeah, but I'd smash up the Arsenio Hall show way worse. Oh, yeah, because you just were pissed that they were canceling it. Well, I just thought it was funny.

Like, he's got to do his last week of shows, even though he's canceled. So I spray-painted Paramount sucks on the backdrop. And then just started throwing out every. And they charged you money for that. No, Tonight Show charged me. And Arsenio Show actually had a case. I mean, I did damage a lot of stuff. I put my Doc Martins.

I smashed this monitor. You can see it on YouTube. And then I put my Doc Martin's through the back of them. So it was like an expensive. Were you really angry at these moments or were you just kind of putting it on? I think people think I was angry at the situations. But it was more I was my ego. I felt I would go on these shows.

I would do well. And then as a comedian, you're like going, well, where is mine? You know? So here I am on stage and I'm bashing everybody. And it's popular. But the downside is, is, one, I can't enjoy my life. I can't, you know, I'm miserable. Like, I made a decision at one point saying, I'm going to stop celebrity bashing.

I'm going to stop doing that kind of stuff because I just can't live with it anymore. I don't, even though the audience is like it, I have to live with myself. When did you stop that? I don't know when that decision was, but it was, you know, maybe 20 years ago. And who was the one guy you always went after? Well, I just go after everybody. because it's like you're you're you know you I'm going after people's calling them a sellout and then I'm doing police academy you know so so that's I mean that's that's the corner you paint yourself into you know so I just kind of at that point I just started telling stories and then I directed the Kimmel show for three years and when I went back and did stand-up I was like I was like I thought I hated the you know doing the wacky morning shows you know you know tainting tea bag in the morning and, you know, and you have to get up super early and do that stuff.

It is brutal. And then I thought it was the clubs or the owners or the features or the audience. And I just realized what I hated was this persona that I was doing. So I kind of had a, I remember the night I was in Nashville and I jettisoned the character and went on stage. And I told stories. And I did okay, but it was funny because people were yelling, you know, do the voice, you know, during this. Did that piss you off? No, I mean, I got it.

you know, I felt like, I felt I kind of owed it to him, but I, I, I mean, but you didn't give it to him? No, because I owed it to myself because I was not, I, I had to get out of that. When's the last time you did that voice? Well, I do it for like, uh, like children and sick people before that. Rob's incredibly sick right now. Yeah, before that. He's got explosive diarrhea as we speak.

Before that, it was like when I was, you know, trying to, uh, uh, hitting on women. Wait a minute. You would go up to a woman with that voice? No, no, it'd be like, oh, you know, can you do the voice? Like, well, you know, and then do it. Because you knew you're going to get late if you did. Well, I was hoping, you know. And sometimes it worked.

Well, yes. That's insane. I asked Henry Winkler, like, did you ever put on, like, the Fons jacket that a girl ever ask you if you're hooking up or give her the thumbs up? He's like, well, Michael, it might have happened. I don't, I don't. He didn't want to be this classy guy. He didn't want to go, you know, but like, so did you sit on it?

Sit on it, yeah. I forgot about to sit on it. That was the catcher, sit on it. So all of these problems I can file under, as my ex-wife would say, my diamond shoes are too tight. That was a great expression. She'd say, like, you know, you're complaining about stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, your diamond shoes are too tight.

Did anyone ever try to beat you up from talking about them? Um, yeah, people would get mad. Hey, Bobcat, you fucking idiot. Fuck you. Like running into someone? No, it would be like, because, because we're all wimps, you know, like. Are you a tough guy? No.

You're not? So it was like years ago, I did a bit on, um, Stallone, you know. I love doing bits on Salon. But I was just talking about how he was, you know, he was a draft dodger and then he made a few billion dollars on this war. go to her in Rambo. So I said that on HBO. And I remember my daughter was born and I was on the phone with, you know, Robin Williams was my pal and I'm on the phone with him. And I'm like, I don't know if I should I cut this out? And he's like, oh no, no, no. It's fine. Go ahead. You know, I've done, I've done, I've done Stallone for years, you know, and he's fine with.

That's such a good Rob. Of course. But he, I wouldn't do. Although he hated people doing impressions of him, he'd be like, I don't really go. Aha. Uh-huh. Right. I don't know. You don't. You know, you know, that's just something. because he didn't but I go you laugh hard but uh so he says keep it in the bit my daughter's born I'm on a pay phone you know and uh and then I go back to my daughter and stuff but but I didn't cut it out and then it aired and then Stallone was calling everywhere I went and this is back when you know no cell phones of people you're doing no no I get these messages like the I would go into like my manager's office there's a pink slip it said so that's the slow call we'll call you

back are you serious but I I did listen to the conversation because my manager finally took the call. He's like, oh, I'll rip that no talent. He kept saying no talent was this thing. No talent piece of shit. Yeah, he was going to rip my heart out. So that's not really a death threat. That's pretty awesome, though.

Yeah, but then I run into him. That is cool. No, we just turned around and we're just square looking into it. And I go, hey, how you doing? And he goes, and he walked away. So, yeah, I mean, that's the thing. And then, like, I ran to his brother who I heard it was upset. Frank.

Yeah, but, like, I, like, But I really meant this. Like I saw his brother and I was like, man, I love you so much in Barfly, which I really do. And I didn't do it as like, well, I'm going to say something, you know. And then we just talked. You got along with the guy, you know. So it was a lot of BS. People would be mad.

These feuds, they're lucrative, you know, people like it. I remember saying Axel Rose and one in a million, you know, because it had a lyric. A little racist. Well, it was like immigrants in fact, you come to this country and they can do as you please and spread disease. And they said, well, it should say warning. contains reactionary bullshit to cause controversy and sell a million more records. And then Axler Rose says, fuck, Mr. Bob can't go play. Why is he talking about me?

You know, and it's just, it's just ridiculous. I always wonder about that song. And I always, like, he couldn't have been being racist or is he speaking from what he thinks the less educated, ignorant people of the world are saying in that song? I mean, you would hope, but I mean, I just never understood that one in a million. And I, and when you criticize someone. one's context, I defend freedom of speech and people should be able to say stuff, you know, and he may have been writing as a character, but it was misinterpreted as that. And I thought my job

taking people to task, but, you know, again, you paint yourself in a corner. And again, I wasn't even attacking him. I was actually, really, my point was to bring it out to people who were misinterpreting and seeing it as an anthem for intolerance. But, you know, do I have a beef? You know, I don't know. I remember, so I remember I was there. I don't know if I should tell this story because... Come on. No, no, it's not about me, but it's just kind of something that I always feel like someone who's gone. I can't, shouldn't say their stories, but it was Axel Rose and Elton John did a duet on two pianos.

What song? I think it's November rain, right? That's the big piano song. And Kurt spit on the keyboard, you're thinking it was funny that Axel would have to deal with. Kirk Cobain, that he'd have to, you know, it was actually Elton John's, and Kurt felt so bad. So, Kirk Cobain spit on the wrong piano. Yeah, and he's like, I really like Elton John. I feel so bad.

Oh, my God. I feel so bad. I don't know what to do. What was it like? I mean, people ask you this all the time, but it was like, and you keep saying Kirk Cobain is obviously one of the biggest legends of all time. I mean, were you guys really tight? No, no, no. He asked you.

He asked you. He loved your comedy. He wanted you to do his tour. Yeah. Well, I met him before. they broke at a college radio station in Arbor and he interviewed me on this radio station and I remember they have a tape of that I'm sure someone does but I ran into the guy that whose radio show it normally was or something and he's like an agent now and it's just so weird he's like yeah

I remember that that was weird and I was just like wow so so it really just digress to you know us bashing the Grateful Dead that's the only thing I remember but you know like the grateful dad? I don't dislike them, but, but, uh, you know, as, uh, as a kid who, uh, punk rock, you know, that was the thing, you know, it's just like, I, let's just say I've never gone trucking with a dood man. Inside of you is brought to you by Rocket Money. I'm going to speak to you about something that's going to help you save money. Period. It's Rocket Money. It's a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so

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slash inside of you. You love the pixies, though, didn't you? Yeah, but here's the thing. Cobain loved him, right? Well, so as far as Kurt in my relationship, he liked my stand and gave me a copy of bleach. I put it in. I remember saying in the rental card to my friend Tony Bean, I was like, these guys are really good.

Rock sucks because you're never going to hear from them. And then probably a year later, they exploded and I was opening for him. But we weren't BFFs. You know, that tour was a chance for he and I to. spend time a lot of time together we did talk a lot and would be up all night so i got to know was it deep i don't know i mean it was just talking ideas you know it was it was just a friendship and then like different things he used to come to see my stand up and stuff and take people to come out so that was the friendship but was it like do we sounds like good friends i guess it is i mean

but it's not like we barbecued or stuff and stuff it's not like robin who who truly was like my best friend, you know, and it's like, I didn't have anyone I talked to more. I didn't talk to anyone more than, uh, than Robin. And I have a lot of really good friends like Tom Kenny and my friend Tony and stuff. But it's, so that's the big difference, you know. I mean, arguably like, you know, uh, Robin Williams is one of the funniest, one of the greatest actors, entertainers of all time, you know, and I grew up with that. And it's, I just had this really weird zealic, like thing where I, you know, showed up and

were friends of some of these people but I didn't really think of it as I mean I know Robin and I were friends for 30 some years and I often I always you know

I've kind of avoided everything in regards to Robin you know and I don't begrudge people making documentaries or writing books and all that stuff I just you know it's just like personal well it's because that's why we were friends

you know that's why because we had these conversations that were private and I and very little am I going to be able to say that's going to be educational or change anyone's love of the man? Sure. About his Louis Body Dementia, which was a, you know, this disease he had that was misdiagnosed as Parkinson's, and Louis Body Demention is a very aggressive. So Robin was taking care of himself, you know, and people around him who love him were seeing him, but, you know,

We just didn't know he was battling this thing. He kept it all secret. Yeah, he thought it was Parkinson's, and he got really mad when I had another buddy who has Parkinson's reach out to him. I said, hey, is it okay? And he's like, because his brain wasn't working. Like, he forgot that he and I had a conversation about this. So he was not processing reality. So those last moments of his life in my mind was just more bad information because he really was not processing reality correctly.

And, you know, that's the thing about when someone takes their own life. I think people need to, kind people will say, hey, if you're ever feeling bad, you need to reach out. But that's not the truth he was reaching out. We just don't know. And that's a kind thing. You know, hey, you're never alone. You can reach out.

That's true. But the reality of when someone takes your own life is you just don't know what people are going. Well, there's nothing that infuriates me more than when someone says, oh he was this person was selfish yeah or and i'm like coward because i deal with some depression i deal with some things i've had mental issues with my family and manic depressive you know and i you know and this show is a show that we talk about this like you know christin bell talked about her depression and anxiety general if you didn't like herself she was crying when someone says oh they did you don't know what's going through someone's mind how they think what they're doing

you just cannot fucking know the pain they're in not even the pain i mean the pain of course but also the fact that they just might be misinterpreting things correct right without this disease i i know robin wouldn't have passed away you know and my frustration comes from did he have depression yeah did he win yes he battled it for years he won you know well oh it's because he's drinking and dragging he's like no he was sober he he he he had spent most of his adult life sober he like to perpetuate this kind of drug crazy thing but the reality of it is that's not the truth because to me it's like people you know did he ever talk to you about suicide i'm like we're comedians we talked about for 33 years you know sometimes we talk about

other stuff you know like congratulations you got an Oscar back to suicide yeah i mean oh thank you how would you do it i don't know maybe a car you know so so so so he won that battle. He won the drugs and alcohol battle. He won the depression battle. This was another thing. I'll ask of people in regards to anyone that they lose or stuff, just try to practice a little kindness, you know, because of what you said. We don't know what was going on and nobody wants to do that. But I have my own depression, so I go, oh, well, I hope I would reach out when I feel bottom list you know i've spent many many years where that's how i'd go to bed i would just like think about killing myself knowing that i wasn't going to but i found it relaxing you know

have you ever thought about killing yourself rob during this interview a couple during this interview a few times god this coldthwaite's a windbag i've no i've definitely i've definitely had those moments where i'm like i'm in pain no one can understand the pain i'm in right now i just don't fucking there's those moments and they're yeah ephemeral maybe maybe that's right wrong word i don't know but you know i just feel like thank god i just i get out of those quickly and those people that can't get out of that mindset it's like a different story but also you get to a point where you say i know i'll be happy again but i don't even want that it's the ride is too exhausting you've been there sure yeah it's fuck i mean have you did if you dealt with that your

whole life depression i did but i don't think it was diagnosed you know but it's also it's the depression it's the self-loathing that's so monstrous you know i don't know if people in our business are a little more prone to self-loathing you know hey look at me i don't know but but it's pretty big you know i i and i think we mask it a lot hey how are you hey well yeah like i'm like everybody thinks i have my life is so together i show up to a party and like he's the life for the party god that rosembaum he's so fun he comes in there and he does his rodney danger field and everybody's on the floor and then he goes home and wants to fucking die

but I mean it's true like we put on persona because you don't want to show up to a party going hey I just feel like shit I want to hate myself like let's not invite him again you know so you do put on something and then I have to come home and sleep by myself and I have a sleep number bed so that's comfortable that's not bad yeah and you have your puppets

yeah I have my puppets around the house and my fingers you know Kevin Elling came in here and goes you need help and I said what do you mean he goes no well not a needy way he said I think he just I'm looking around here, you have, you're not a hoarder. No, but this stuff, when you were a kid, were you allowed to have toys? I mean, I don't know how many toys I had. There's not a lot here, but I mean, as a kid, was it?

This is just one room. Yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot in other rooms. Yeah, but that's, I think it's, uh, cool? Yeah, because it's, like, well, the biggest reason I like it is because you clearly are a fan of things. I'm a fan. And I think so many people in show business aren't fans. James Gunn looks down on me.

our mutual friend well he's just like you know my buddy dach shepherd i've talked about it ad nauseum he constantly says why do you need an autograph why do you need because in my mind i'm probably never going to meet them again and they're my hero in some way or i love their work and it's a little piece of like it's a memory it's a little moment i look at and i'm if i ever have kids i go hey you you have no idea who this fucking person is but yeah i just did that to uh roger deltry and And he had a book and he would have signed it. And I didn't do it because I don't know. Have you ever kept anything from anyone you've met that you looked up to?

No, I don't have memorabilia like that. But I do have memorabilia of other people. Do you know what I'm saying? If there's a fire, Nora, my girlfriend, yeah, I'll wake her up. And I'm sure. And I'll try to get the cats. But this shit's were more. But the autographed Ed Wood 8 by 10 is, okay, it's the third thing I'm grabbing on the way out there.

By both the actors? No, by Ed Wood. Oh, the original Ed Wood. Ed Wood, yeah, Dana Gould gave it to me. And I'm like, yeah, I'm like, even in my exit route, like I put it above a door so I can grab it on the way out. Oh, my God. Yeah. So, you know, I've ran into people who were highly successful.

full actors and directors and creators and I start talking about movies you know and then they're going yeah that movie's kind of corny and I'm like oh it crushes me it's like how can you not be fans anymore I think that's a danger when you're not fans are you a big horror movie fan because I am I like I came really late to the game because I was very sensitive about it it just would disturb me gore and slash and a bit of a snob and then probably in my 40s I was like what have you been you've been missing this whole world and I went and I saw uh Halloween in a theater uh you know the original years later but I saw it and I was like yeah man this is this is this is this is amazing suspense and and and so yeah as an adult I became a fan yeah and I think

there's a misconception too because the right away I said horror and you said gore and slasher well I do like gore films too now and I like them too I'm just saying that a lot of the great ones aren't even those things yeah like Halloween is all suspense you know well that's kind of a bit of a slasher yeah but it's like compared to like there's just moments where nothing's going on and you're terrified yeah but i mean like the exorcist the omen the shining yeah the even it follows or uh you know certain movies well i've made seven movies people as a director and writer yeah and you know i my movies make hundreds of dollars i mean people do hey my buddy are my DP for my movie, Bradley Stone Seinfra.

Did America? God bless America and he did call me lucky. He's done a lot of stuff. Which are good movies. What do you mean hundreds of dollars? People don't see them? Yeah, but I mean, I don't mind. I joke about it.

It's just me like when I start talking about my canon of work, you know. But I did do a suspense, scary movie, Willow Creek. It's a Bigfoot movie. And I did it because I didn't know if I could scare people. And that was the whole experiment for me. Like, often when I started a movie, I was like, can I do this? Can I do a rom-com with a tiny bit of bestiality in it?

And then I go and make that movie. Can I do, like, God bless America, can I make this movie? And can you empathize with these characters? And I would think I was working out a lot about how I saw the world. I say that's a very violent movie about kindness. And I was just truly trying to ask where are we going as a culture. And so many of the things in that movie actually ended up happening. So I wasn't really that upset.

I kind of knew that would happen in a weird way. Right. The violence in there. Is that what it takes for you to make a movie, though? Do you need to go, to think, I don't know if I could make this. I've never done this kind of thing before. You have to be challenged. You don't want to repeat the same kind of idea.

Yeah. It's like, oh, can I do this? You know, is this a genre style I haven't done? And then there's always a personal thing. That I never see until later on. like my my daughter would be like yeah that's you dummy i go oh i i didn't get it your dad will say that no my daughter that's happened a few times yeah because you don't get this like i did your own movie yeah like i did a series called misfits and monsters and there's an episode

with uh our buddy seth green and and and and he's he's the voice of this beloved animated bear bubble the bear you know hey hey i'm baba the bear and bear and bobby the bear and And Bubba the bear shows up at his front door, and he's like, I'm going to fucking kill you. I'm going to send you back to hell. What, whoa, whoa, whoa, why you got me stuttering? That's something funny for kids to laugh at? So he's the voice of Buff of the Bear, and Bubba is trying to kill him. And it's like Cape Fear meets Roger Rabbit.

And I always thought I was doing it, thinking it was based on Tom Kenny, who is SpongeBob and all these things. And then it was my daughter goes, no, Dad, this is about you. You know, you can't get away from that person. you created and it was killing you and I was like how old is she well now she's 31 but yeah yeah so yeah I was like oh I didn't get that and what was the documentary did you see this call me lucky call me like I haven't seen it yet it's about my friend Barry Kremens who was a political sadderous my favorite Barry joke is uh him getting heckled and the guy because he's you know very progressive politically and someone's like if you don't love this country why don't you

get out of it and he's like because I don't want to be victimized by it's foreign policies so he's really sharp guy yeah super sharp guy known him since i was a kid like i was 15 i think when we met tom canney and i answered this ad they're looking for comedians and that's where i became bobcat because people called him bear cat and tom kennie and i being snarky little pricks were like oh that's funny they call me bobcat he's like yeah they call me tom cat yeah but then like 35 years later he's barry he's told him and i'm bobcat 15 but bear didn't even know until recently it was so pissed, furious at me. You snide little fucker.

Like he wanted to kill me. But so Barry as an adult kind of starts this comedy scene or a big part of it in Boston, which you got like Kevin Meaney and Paul Poundstone, myself, and Steve Sweeney and Lenny Clark. And I'm sure I'm forgetting people, Dennis Leary. Stephen Wright, did I say Stephen Rydell? All these people. I were for Stephen Wright. He's an interesting guy.

He's the best. I love Steve. Joey and E. Raffney were known, a dual known as Steelers' Wheel when they recorded this bubblegum pop favorite. Whatever that fucking was from Reservoir Dollars? Well, he, Stephen won an Oscar for his short, and he went up, and he's like, I'm really glad I cut the other 45 minutes out. So I would see Stephen a lot. Lately, that's my thing. I've been really connecting with old friends on purpose. Why?

just because you just talk a lot of shit hey let's get together boy we had fun and now I actually do it like I just I buy a ticket I fly across the country doesn't it take a lot of your time it doesn't matter because it's meaningful and it's also just like oh do you remember that day you you worked on that script all day or do you remember that time you surprised Tony on his 60 fifth birthday you know which which am I going to remember you know yeah so my friend jack is performing with a band Saturday, I'm going to fly up to Sacramento for the night. I don't care anymore. You just do it.

You make the time. You just do it, yeah. I mean, that's it. That's the whole deal. When someone passes away, you show up. That's the other thing, too. It's like, oh, I didn't know that, you know? I'm becoming like the fixer, the cleaner and pulp fiction.

I show up. My friend passes away, and I walk out of, all right, get off the phone. No one needs to talk to the press. Order half the amount of food you just said you were going to get, and get some booze here for the grown-ups. Really? how we do it. Yeah, I'm not you're not a crier, you're not that

emotional or you do it by yourself? I guess I do that kind of step by myself, but I had people that stepped up for me when I lost people, so it's just what you do. Who had to step up for you? Well, like when my dad died,

Barry just showed up. I hadn't even told him. I don't even know how I knew it. He just shows up in Syracuse set the funeral, and here's this guy, this renowned political satirist, and And he didn't like crotch humor or fart humor, all that kind of stuff. You did, right? Yeah, of course.

And so he's telling me, trying to steer me away from that for 40 years. And then he shows up in my dad's funeral with an electronic fart machine in his pocket. Oh, my God. Yeah, so that's what you do. So Barry, as a political satirist, he's having success somewhat as a guy running a club. And then one night he discloses on stage talking about his rape. when he was four. This is call me lucky.

Yeah, call me lucky. And so that just sent him on this thing like looking for other survivors. Who is he? What's he going to do? Barry was always angry my whole life. Just one of the more angrier people. So Barry goes and while he's looking for other survivors, this is the early days of AOL. He finds all this child pornography.

He goes to the feds. They don't do anything. Goes to the police. They don't do anything. Then he goes to AOL. No one was listening to him because it was a new thing too. And so he posed his two kids, got all this crime evidence. That's what child pornography is, handed over the feds, and then a whole bunch of arrests were made.

But he ended up on the floor of the Senate taking on AOL in a real Frank Capra kind of a moment. And then other things happen. But you see, at the end of Barry's life was not the end of his life, but the next chapter of his life, he shifted that rage that was where he was angry at everybody. And then he starts using it like a laser beam. on targets and things and people but meanwhile too I don't want to you know he's also still very funny and very silly yeah and where can we find this I think at this point I don't know I think it's like on iTunes only it was on Netflix for a while but then they pull stuff off what's the

project you're most proud of that you've worked on that you're like I think it's like call me lucky and I think um world's greatest dad the movie I did with robin I like those movies I like them all for different reasons but those are the two where I felt you had the most fun no it was the two where I think I kind of came closest to what I was trying to do. I've done smaller movies where I have a lot of fun. You know, when you're doing a movie about child rape, it's a hard movie. And Barry go, oh, I'm sorry, it was hard for you. Because there's a scene and I go, I didn't want to do reenactments doing a Q&A. And Barry goes, you didn't want to do reenactments. It was really dark, but I found we did laugh a lot. But because we were listening to

other survivor's stories and engaging with these people. So it was about as heavy as it was going to be for them. Is it sometimes hard for you to deal with such heavy stuff? Yeah, and especially if you're connected with the person. You know, the hardest direction I've ever given in my life was Barry on camera, disclosed the events. And I was like, it was like 10 o'clock in the morning. I went to the refrigerator, I opened up a beer for him, and he drinks a beer.

And then I came out, I go, I think we're both making this movie for the same reason. and I need you to not tell the story. I need you to think about what happened and tell me those events. How hard is that for you to say? It was hard, and then he did it, and that's what's in the movie. But that's not the hardest bit of direction I think I've ever...

To say, hey, listen, there's a difference between, hey, tell us what happened. Yeah, or relive it. Relive it. And that's what's in the movie. Yeah. It's amazing when you stop for a second and you actually think of what you're talking about sometimes.

Yeah. I was just the other day, somebody asked me about something just not even that important, but I thought of my brother saying it to me. And it just, I teared up. Yeah. And I just was like,

oh, my, because I visualized my brother looking at me as such like, I don't know, this kind face, this brother that I've, you know, he's,

I love him. And he just, but that, that visual changed me. It was, it was emotional moment. So it's amazing when you do think about what you're talking about. if it's impactful, how it could really just...

Yeah, I mean, maybe that's a selfish thing, me asking him to go to those depths, but I think because of my friendship and relationship, I could ask him that. And not only that, but if he does it, it is helping other people. Well, that's the thing when we made the movie. Like, I was making the movie

because I knew Barry's story was amazing. I love my friend, and I wanted the world to know him. The byproduct, which I didn't expect, was the amount of people. Like, at screening, so many people would come up and disclosed for the first time about their own abuse and they're just crying and hugging you and it was that make you uncomfortable or do you like that no i was very uncomfortable because it's got to be overwhelming when it's just like okay yeah so the the the movie now being done i'm doing

it as a narrative film which i actually originally was going to do i was going to do it with robin as a narrative movie right robin says you're never going to make that movie we're all getting old do it as a doc i go i don't have any money he's like here's some money go start the movie so that's how the movie got made wow so robin encouraged me to go make this movie so then we make the movie and then that was i got divorced at the beginning of the year and then uh robin killed himself and then i'm editing a baby rape documentary 10 hours a day and then my girlfriend and i split up decorating a christmas tree what happened there out of all the things you just said i want to know about

the Christmas tree? Well, uh, and yeah, but how do you break up while decorating a Christmas tree? I understand what happened. I think I, I, uh, and she's a great person. Uh, she, she looked down in that tree and, and I'm assuming she realized that there was never going to be kids at the bottom of the tree. I think that's what fueled that. Was it a fight? No, no. It was really harsh. I could just hear like Bing Crosby. And then, I can't do this. And I do love her. She's a great person.

But I was like, what happened was, uh, so, so I had this half decorated tree. And then one morning I was like, fuck you, tree. I'm better than you. I put on some Peggy Lee and I put on some, uh, uh,

uh, joy division. Oh, yeah. And then I, and I finished that tree. Love, love will tear us apart. Yeah. Yeah, of course. And I finished the tree. I was like, I did it.

I did it. Do you get over shit quickly? No. I mean, that's why, like I said to my friend who just, this other fellow who I'd worked with and I did know, and it was a really good guy, Kevin Barnett. He passed away, but I went to his two closest friends, Josh and Germain, and I was like, you know, when this happens, you kind of feel like you're not allowed to live your life because you're forgetting this person because these guys are so close to him like if i laugh

i feel like i'm betraying robin if i continue my life i feel like i'm betraying him but i'm not he would want me to of course and it's hard uh it's easier if it's not someone who takes their own life but when someone dies it's an arm and that's missing and that And it is in a way, but you do, you will experience joy again. That's, that's, I think that comes from experience and that comes from just living and hitting a rock bottom. So many times, yeah. So many times that you're like going, I mean, what's the alternative? When someone dies, you think, well, I'm going to do this, you know, we're going to have a memorial and that'll help and it won't.

Or it does for some, in some ways, but it doesn't. Or we're going to, I'm going to go on a trip and go to a beach and that doesn't do it. But I think time is the thing, you know. Do you ugly cry? Do you go home by yourself and cry like no one's ever seen a person cry? No, you know, it's funny. I well up at a commercial, but then those big blowout cries, it's been a long time. What's the last time he had one of those?

I think it was when Robin passed away, but it was weird because it didn't come at all when people expected it to. What about success? I was on a plane. Wait, you were on a plane when you found out? No, no, no, I'd found out and everything, but the big ugly cry came when I was on a plane. Robin had the worst taste of music. He really just, like, I'll apologies to anybody who said. I probably love it.

I bet it's like cheesy music. No, but it's just like, just anything. Like, he didn't really, he wasn't, for some reason, that wasn't something he was passionate about, strange. So in World's Grace's Dad, the song Under Pressure is used in a couple ways. It's used comedically, and then it's used at the end of the film. And he loved it, and he's like, I'm going to, I'm going to make that my song. He wanted that song when people play, when he walked down to a talk show. He wanted that.

He wanted that, but no way people are going to play rock and robin or, you know, some bullshit from Aladdin or something. And I just put on my headset and that song came on. And then I just lost my mind. I just, out of planet, just like. Were people, someone next to you? No, I don't know what they were making. I just buried my face in the window.

And I just lost it. Yeah. But it didn't come when I imagined it was going to. And that sucker punch me because I just, well, just put on my heads out, and then I actually thought at one point I would possibly make a movie about our relationship, but not about he and I, about like, two painters. One's super successful and one's painting Disney characters on a kid's bedroom walls for rich people. So it was going to be him and I, and I went back and I listened to our voice messages. And I, I thought I could, well, I'll just do this. And then I'll start writing. And then, so that destroyed me. Like, I had about 45 pages of that script. And then I listened to those messages. And maybe someday I'll go back to it, but probably not real soon. I like that idea, though. Yeah, I think it's good. You know, well, I'm making, call me lucky into a narrative, like I was saying with Judd Apatow and I'm, you know, and so that's what the plan. Yeah.

But part of it was trying to help Barry and Helen out, see if we make this movie deal. So, I'm visiting Barry and he's close to death and he drags me into the kitchen and he can't walk very well and he's like, I need to talk to you. And I was like, I go, and I think he's going to tell me he loves me or take care of Helen or where the money's buried. I don't know what this is like. And he's like, I want Mark Ruffalo to play me in the movie. And I was like, Barry, I don't want to talk about the movie right now.

I do. I want Mark Ruffalo to play. And I was like, I go, I want Chris Pine to play me. And he's like, who's Chris Pine? I go, how do you know Mark Ruffalo? And he's, because Barry, you know, he did watch movies. We watched old movies. I go, how do you know Mark Ruffalo?

He goes, oh, I've seen him speak at anti-fraking demonstrations. I really like the guy. Oh, my God. Yeah. That's amazing. Somebody said, you know, they'll say, boy, tragedy follows you a lot. But the reality of it is, that's not the case. I've just been fortunate enough to connect and have friendships with a lot of people.

Speaking of friendships, you're good friends with also one of my best friends, James Gunn. Yeah. Now, you kind of lost your marbles a little bit when they fired him from Disney. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I mean, I just made it clear, you know. A lot of people were unhappy. Everyone was unhappy. Yeah, but I just made a statement, which is kind of funny that, you know, is,

you know, where I was saying that... What was the statement? I'll be paraphrasing myself, but I said, hey, Disney, you know, you might want to remove my voice from this upcoming attraction, seeing that I, too, have said a lot of things in the past that I regret, and... And you made Song of the South. Yeah, I said, yeah. Well, I ended a little bit on that, because I said, I said, and, you know, clearly you're taking your lead from fringe, right-wing, radical groups. they're making decisions for you. So I've also said offensive things about the president. And so, you know, you might want to pull my voice off of this thing.

Did they? And I also said, no, they didn't. I also said, because James Gunn's voice was on. I go, hey, you might want to check James Guns. Not, sorry, James Woods was also in this voiceover thing that I did. And I said, you might want to check James Woods' tweets. He writes some really wacky stuff, too. P.S. Are you guys still making money off a powder asking for a friend?

it blew up you know i i i just did it because i you know i love james and i just he regrets saying those things he's saying him to be outrageous yeah it was some of them it was a provocateur it was 10 years ago and he was responding and it wasn't that's not the person he is not at all he he had apologized a few times he they knew about it before right yeah look like i said i we opened this with me telling that that he michael jordan started So I've said things I regret. And I also said, oh, by the way, I stand with survivors. Are you making money off of powder?

But, you know, I just, what I didn't expect was the reaction. Like, that became that itself became a new story. But. Well, that's just, it's not a stupid question. It's important because I always want to know because I see your whole persona and how you've come full circle from, like, you know, doing a lot of angry comedy and going after people to saying, you know, I'm not doing that anymore. I'm not doing the voice unless it gets me late or I'm doing it.

for whatever and all these you know these these movies that push you are provocative or storytelling and something you know things that you don't look at as oh this will be a commercial success but more yeah more things that interest you but i look back did you have good childhood i don't think so but but what makes me laugh is everything i do i'm kind of doing on a selfish basis trying to make this movie trying to do this trying to do that if it connects with people that's awesome and i'm hoping it does but to reinvent myself as a director or a storyteller make money that's not what i'm doing i mean for the first like movies i made i was still on the road all the time doing stand-up so i could pay my bills so i could keep making movies i made a living

so i didn't make my living off of making movies so it's only recently now i'm starting to get paid which is crazy but um uh i forgot where i was going with that sorry well i was talking about your childhood and i was talking about like oh i was talking about your movies that you made now that oh this is what i was thinking about and what people will say like i come and stay stand up for James or I go to a woman, the woman's march, or I go to anti-Trump rallies and people will, I'm only

on Instagram, not any other social media, but they'll say, you just lost a follower. And it's like, I used to play arenas. I've lost millions of followers. You're really late to that. So, I don't know who has a

lovely childhood. I had a mother that told me I could do anything. So that's pretty cool. I had a dad who was bananas and some of that was inspired lunacy that was kind of genius and then other times it was frightening you know so

when you grow up with a lot of drinking partially our house was a little bit like the in the moving mask you know that the yard sheriff's boyfriend I think it's Sam Elliott. All the Harley's on the front yard so my house

was that house. So there's keg parties and my brother who has a biker there was always motorcycle clubs at the house so it was kind of chaotic and then i go to tom kennie's house with his parents or college ed educated and his father's a successful don't you think a lot of your shit like you know the insanity but the love at the same time from your mom is like this dichotomy of like you that you kind of brought that into who you look you're a product of your own environment right like do you think a lot of that angry stuff and a lot of that you know stems from your surroundings when you're young I don't know where the anger came from because Tom Canny and I couldn't figure this out.

You know, we're in high school. We're getting three square meals. Our life's pretty good. Did you get bites? No. No, but we're so angry. We're these snotty guys who are just furious and sarcastic and cutting. Like Barry, who is one of the most sarcastic people, not sarcastic.

Yeah, I know. But cutting, like he was really... Cynical? No, because he hates the word cynical, because cynicism is hopelessness, you know? but so he he would say hey I'm still you may not like what I'm saying but I'm still swing you know coming up to bat you know cynicism is when you no longer show up to the point that Tom getting I were so kind of vicious and so petty and funny when we were kids that even Barry was a little afraid of us were just judgmental yes yes everybody make in

front of everybody yeah every look at this fucking guy yeah I have this girl but why we're who why you know but you never looked at yourselves yeah That's the same thing, people, it's always that case. But we were, we were the, it's just weird. You know, and here's Tom Kennedy in a trench coat with a dicky and, you know, and I'm wearing whatever I'm wearing, you know, combat boots. And, you know, we're just like idiots. So why are we, what are you looking at?

Well, you. Were you? You look like a moron. Were you guys clowns in school? Like, where did you get, like, the funniest guy or? Yeah, we were class clowns and all that stuff. But by the time I was 16, I was just like so into. doing stand-up that being popular in school

kind of in any matter and I was just like well I'm just going to do this I got on Letterman I was 20 so it's pretty crazy 20 years old got on Letterman who was every comedian's hero I like Letterman I like this show like when it first started and it was really abstract how crazy it would be you know I mean it was just so strange it was really abstract it's very da-da do you remember it'd be like

yeah my uncle was on it many years ago he was my uncle was Warren Eckstein he's a pet therapist psychologist, trains animals. He brought a pig on Letterman, you know, and they used to drive around in Letterman's duster. And the woman that would, like, dress up parrots. Yeah, yeah. But Brother Theodore was on, Andy Kaufman was on.

They would just like. It was just like. Really weird because they would just like, they would, the bumpers going to commercials would show that one night, I remember, they just had the different forms of welding. Acetylene torch. And then they had guy welding. And they would just, yeah, I mean, that's. That's really abstract, so I like that.

Did he love you? The first time you went on there? You know, they had me back right away. It was just like, I'm 20 years old. They don't go, hey, this guy's 20 years old. They're like, this is one of the weirdest acts we've ever seen. Do you remember what you said? No.

Anything? Well, I was just so far in the character. I'm pretty inaudible. It's just all stuttering and screaming. So where did that come from? And I'm like saying, and I think I'm like doing, you know, I don't know if then, but, you know, the big one would be like, my wife's so fat You know

How fat is she? I don't have a wife And I'd start crying And read a dear John letter That I got And then I go back to my acts And It was just all tears

And rage It wasn't like I looked at somebody And said Hey I'm going to ape that guy's persona It was I was just much more comfortable Being anyone but me on stage So it would be

It was actually a guy The first time I did it was a guy who had seen Bigfoot and he was trembling and terrified. Yeah, it just kind of grew from there. But I'm not, like I say it, like, I remember when I was on Letterman, I was so terrified. I was sick, you know, trying to do well, so nervous. Did you, like, throw up before you ever shit? Yeah, I always think a lot of shits before I go up, I throw up.

Yeah, yeah. And that's what it was like. I really gotten myself so sick physically just going on that out of that. I'm going to pass out in front of millions of people. I am fucked. I'm going to die. I'm going to have a heart attack. But then I go, and like when my buddy.

Tony ends up getting on Conan, I don't go, hey, you don't worry about that. I just, you know, I send them a thing of flowers saying, don't fuck this up, you know. Did you audition for Police Academy? No, they sell me to do this show at the comedy store with Whoopi, believe it or not, that many years ago. And I go out and do the show and, you know, there's prior in the audience. It was just like crazy. Yeah, because Whoopi had all this heat, so there was this room. and the producer was there, and they'd asked me to be in it.

Yeah. I think if I had auditioned for it, I wouldn't have gotten it because, one, I would have been nervous, and two, they would say, I think they needed to hear people laughing at what I was doing, you know, like the first screening I saw of Police Academy, too, I didn't get one laugh because the crowd was just like, what the fuck is this guy doing? And they're laughing at the rest of the movie. And then my manager at the time was like, hey, man, you got to go and come to, Westwood and see the movie because it was that

I didn't get a laugh when I saw this with this like the friends and family like people were like Were you like did you feel like shit? Yeah I felt like I was like horrible I was so depressed So then I went to Westwood and it was inverted Like I was getting laughs and Michael Winslow Was getting laughs but the rest of the movie wasn't

getting any of it. Really? Because you guys were characters. You were fun to watch. I don't know but that. Yeah I mean that sounds very egotistical but that is what happened. So, um, it was, that's how I went. Yeah, I've had those moments where I go in there and like my, you know, I was telling this story, Dax, I was watching, I did this movie and Dax, my buddy Dax, text me in the theater and said, this movie's so bad, I can't believe I'm not in it.

Yeah, yeah. I'm like, God, I know. Fuck. What do I do, man? Well, you can't do anything. We do a lot of bad movies. Yeah, but I mean, it's like, you know, your goal is to work. I mean, there are people that, that turn down stuff, but then they, they don't pay the

bills you know i was on the way to a set one day i remember being on the in a van on the set being driven to do a scene in police academy and i didn't know where to stand i didn't know anything and then i was in a van recently i was directing something and the the teamster gets on the radio goes yeah i'll be right there i got to drive some guy to the set and my ego would be like when i was an actor uh i'm not some guy you know i mean i'm a success story but But as a director, I was like, I liked it. I was like, oh, man, I'm just another guy on the bus. It was really, it made me really.

So you like that. You don't really miss acting? No. But, you know, now that I'm behind the camera, I'm completely, my idea of acting is completely changed. I think it's so much harder than I had given it credit for. You know, I was just doing this persona, and that's kind of easy. I'd lock in and do it. But acting is so hard.

I really, I love actors now. You have more of, so much more of a respect for like the whole thing. Because they were just these people in the way of me getting laughs. Yeah, right? They're listening. They're focused. And you're just going, yeah. See me.

It's my turn. Yeah, yeah. So it's completely changed. You know, when it doesn't look like they're working at all. You know, that's so awesome when you get that in a scene. It's so funny when I watch TV and movies. And if they're not doing a good job, and I'm not trying, oh, I'm so talented. But I get, I escape, you know, I'm out, you know.

That's what happens. I'm out. And it's like, I could be out. Yeah. And it's because if they're not, it's just because we, we love movies and TV. And we also ban in it. We know it. You know, my daughter and her boyfriend is a camera AC and he's sitting there going,

you're soft. He's down the pole focus. Yeah. And I'm sitting there going. cut you know one day back when i was directing kimball i was exhausted and i'm watching saturday it live and i'm exhausted and i'm down the couch with my daughter and it's during the music saying and i and i just go and i'm not ironic and not as a joke i just go camera three like like the shot was too long oh my god it's camera three yeah i go camera three i'm and i go to bed

did you feel like you had like a tough time uh in terms of making that transition this persona and the squeaky guys, the voice, that dude, and now I'm going to direct things that will matter. Well, but so what happened was I directed Shakes the Clown and I didn't get any directing jobs for, you know, another 10 years between doing a Talking Horse movie and then an alcoholic clown movie that was like, this is how I see the world. And I'm not in their character in that movie. People think, it's just this alcoholic clown movie. That put me in comedy jail and directing jail.

And I didn't get any work probably for another 10 years. And I'm doing everything trying to direct. I'm trying to direct commercials. I'm trying to direct rock videos. No one's hiring me at all. So what was the next thing? It was Kimmel calling me up and saying, hey, you want to work on the man show as a director? With him and Carolla?

Yeah. And I was like, yeah. So I started directing. And that was like being an ER doctor. You know, sometimes there would be a film commercial and then, you know, found comedy man on the street and then you know just all these different genres and I was

directing them and sometimes I'd be the only director there was other directors but sometimes there really was I would have four editing bays going and it was like me putting in that 10,000 hours they talked about you know Kimball believed in me when my name really was a punchline so he

asked me to direct his TV show and I go in and I see this live TV show and he goes what do you think and I was like I think it'd be like landing a plane in Chinese. I don't know how to do it. But I saw it, and I realized that there was places where you could have cut to and that. And I knew that because of my friendship, I could have made it a little funnier.

So I said, I think I could make it funnier. So, you know, hats off that crew at Kimmel taught me how to do it, the cameraman. And from there on, you started getting more work and more work. You were able to do things that you wanted to do. Yeah, well, then during Kimmel, I'd written this movie. It was called Stay. and just because I had so many people turned down everything I wrote that I and I was writing them for the wrong reasons I was writing them for me to be in a movie

I was writing them because I thought I'd get made I was writing them for other people vehicles and stuff and then I just I said I don't know if I can write a script and hand it to you and you can understand it because the reactions were so negative about everything I wrote so I wrote this movie that wasn't for me to be in and my manager at the time read it and had a meeting with this whole staff the next day and they're going, this is a really well-written script, but we're frightened of your mental health. We don't want to send this out to people. Oh my God. And I was like, and I didn't think it was funny. I was devastated and I dropped that manager the next day because I said, right or wrong, this is what I want to be

doing. So that just sat there for a year. I'm directing Camel. My friend, she reads the script she says this is a good script we should make it and we just shot it for 20 grand with a crew from craigslist and it got and it got into sundance and uh that kind is how things started changing wow yeah it was crazy the crew from craigslist and just like we were filming one scene in this garage and it's a pivotal scene and i said to the crew i was like hey you know this is a scene kind of a really heavy scene for the actors so we have to be extra quiet and just be be aware of that. And the cinematographer

Ian Takahashi says, you don't have a permit again. I go, I don't know whose fucking house this is. We had broken in. I broke the lock off the door. We shot a scene. It was a house that was for sale and it was across the street.

Are you kidding? No, no. So we filmed the scene in a home. And no one ever said anything? You got your shit out of there? It was even better than that because we're wrapping all the shit out and we're laughing that. We're laughing that. we pulled it off, and then a moving van pulls up for that house. It was so great. Oh, my God.

That's right out of a movie. Yeah, well, we did a lot of that kind of stuff. Even on World's Greatest Dad, there's a scene where I realized that Robin's character gets over his son's death too soon, and his son's a pervert. And so there's a scene where Robin's looking at a bunch of porn racks at a newsstand, and it reminds him of his son, he starts sobbing. So I call Chris, who's from the, I was like, hey, we're in Seattle, and I'm making a movie.

Would you be the newsstand guy? And he was like, well, what's the movie about? I go, well, you know when someone passes away how people rewrite their history and they're kind of not concerned about the people that actually knew the person? He's like, I have no idea what you're talking about. So he was in the movie. But Robin's like, yeah, he shows up. And then I found out that he wasn't in Seattle at the time.

He had actually flown in to do this part. But I said to Robin, I go, hey, man, we don't have a permit because it was like a scene that I came out with really quick and didn't have time to file it because you need like a week. And he's like, it's like, so Ed Wood, he's like, he's like, well, what do we do if people come, like, go, run, you know, so, so there's a scene in the movie shot with Robin without permits. It's pretty cool scene. Wow. Oh, yeah.

You just have some balls. You just want to make your movie, man. Yeah. You still do that or you get permits? No, sometimes it still's, that is a little funny. Like, do you know Bryce Johnson? Oh, he's in a lot of the stuff I make. We shot Willow Creek, the Bigfoot.

movie and we shot it up where the Patterson Gimlin footage was shot actually out of my reverence for the Patterson Gimlin footage I did not shoot on the actual location I didn't want us trampling over it seriously so we shoot the movie and we saw mountain lions we saw two mountain lions so it's it's 11 mile dirt road that takes about two hours to drive because it's just on the side of a mountain and we get there and we're shooting the scene like I said we saw a mountain lion and And in this scene, it's in this tent, and it's very intense. And we do the first take. It's an 18-minute-long scene.

It's in the movie that long. It's no cuts. And it's just in the tent and the stationary camera. And so he says, we do the first take, and he's just sobbing. And he's like, I go, this is really good. I don't think your character would cry, though. And he goes, my character's not crying. I don't know why we're outside in a tent, in the middle of the woods.

no phone service we can shoot this in the parking lot and I was like okay that's good use that intensely just don't cry let's go again it was just so you did another 18 minute scene yeah but he's like he's like that's that's the ones in the movie but he was like he was that like you're saying just getting it done that movie was a little I was a little bit it's my Fitzcarraldo a little bit like I'm like lost in the woods and I'm saying they go we just saw the mountain line I go where they go over there go let's film over there and they're Everyone's like going, let's get in the car, let's go. So it's when you're working for Bobcat, it's a little bit of an adventure.

Yeah. You never know what's going to happen. I mean, that was the worst case in that movie. Right, right, right. But then again, you know, I did ask Barry to go to those places. And I had Alexie Gilmore and Bryce and Willa Creek. I asked them to do very dangerous things. And in hindsight, I probably, no, if I was on a regular, like a TV show or something that wasn't mine,

those are the times where I really do I go let's slow way down you know even if we're behind you know because that's when people get hurt when you're like trying to get effects and also when you feel like you're rushed sometimes actors like oh my I feel rushed here I'm not you got to take that moment you got to get right

yeah man when I see an actor doing that I'll take out a I'll do stuff like I'll play music but so like I'll take a ball out I'll say give me a ball and I just start tossing it around with the crew and we just calm everything down because we're behind

but I see this actor implode and I just slow take that five minutes where it looks like we got all the time in the world Yeah, and then you see that person do it That's happened, but where people are like, You can see the guy up there, the UP, what do they call them the UP? Yeah, and you're fighting that all day long. We've got to go right now, and the actor's like,

oh my God, what I got to rush through this? It's the worst thing to have in your head. Where, what's next for you? Well, there's the, the call me lucky narrative movie. Call me lucky you can find on, uh, on like iTunes. You know, I have a series. that I did last year for True TV. I think that's on iTunes 2 called Misfits and Monsters.

Each week, a different kind of thing. And I'm currently working on two movies. And those are top secret? No. I mean, you know, normally I tell my premises for movies because I figure, hey, if you can get it going, God bless. But this one, I kind of am a little closed mouth. Because it's like, you know, I mean, like I wanted to do a zombie fetus movie called

ankle biters, you know? It's just like, you know, and it's like, hey, man, if you can get a go and knock yourself out. Hey, man, if you like that idea, please let's get some more money over here. Or it's like, I'll make more. You know, if someone does an idea, you know, it's not so, it's always going to be yours. I'll tell a story we get going on this, but I was at a meeting with a gentleman who I like, and he produces movies, and he's discussing the movies. He has in development, and I'm discussing my idea.

and we're about two-hour meeting. And at the end of the meeting, he's like, well, there's this other thing. It might be too out there. And he goes, do you know who Lepetamine is? And so do you know who Lepetamine is Joseph Puzzo? His name means the fartist. And he was the highest paid entertainer in the Moul en Rouge

in the turn of the last century because he could fart music and he did impressions out of his ass. Sounds like a great artist. Yeah, he was huge. So he goes, do you know who Lepenameen is? And then I go, yeah, I know who Lepename. main is that's is that him on your arm yeah it's like a full sleeve you have a tattoo of that guy on your arm

the fartist yeah yeah it says never forget and um it was the best that's an amazing tattoo yeah it's really good holy shit um isn't insane though because he's like have you ever heard of him i go yeah i've heard of him so i've had it on my arm yeah so ideally i would love to uh you know maybe maybe lepidermain will be a dream you know that sounds like a lot of because the movie again You're going to think it's this, but it's going to be about what is art, and this guy is tortured. You know, it should be like... Tortured soul, and this is what he does, and he thinks that this is... Well, he knows that people are laughing, but he knows he also has so much more to say.

So I am Lepetton. With his ass. Well, no, but now he's just stuck. He's tortured by this. So to me, I think it's again, it's myself, you know. So, so, you know, but it'd be like Daniel D. Louis is Lepetonine. I am La Petamine, God damn it. I love it.

Well, this has been a real freaking treat, man. Oh, good. I don't know. I mean, we didn't know each other other than we met at James Gunn's house a couple times. And I was like, I always like this guy. He's so interesting. He's done so much. I've had friends that worked with him.

And this was better than I thought of even big. Oh, geez, thanks. Because you're very open. You know, I could tell some things were a little dark for you, but you're like, you opened up as much as, you could. Yeah, I try to be honest. It's too. I'm over protecting myself. am too. For so many years, I was just like, you know, I think that's the biggest compliment.

People say, you're just so, I know everything about you, I think. I know you. You're so vulnerable. I'm like, good. Because that's the only way this works. If, you know, I'm, I'm being real. Bob Kat, thank you for allowing to be inside of you today. Joe Saul-Sehi, host of the Stacking Benjamin's podcast. Today, we're going to talk about what if you came across $50,000. What would you do? Put it into a tax-advantaged retirement account. The mortgage. That's what we do. Make a down payment on a home. Something nice. Buying a vehicle. A separate bucket for this addition that we're adding. $50,000. I'll buy a new podcast. You'll buy new friends. And we're done. Thanks for playing everybody. We're out of here. stacking Benjamin's follow and listen on your favorite platform