Senses Working Overtime with David Cross - Jake Johnson

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

Catch all new episodes every Thursday. Watch video episodes here.Guest: Jake JohnsonSubscribe and Rate Senses Working Overtime on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review to read on a future episode!Follow David on Instagram and Twitter.Follow the show:Instagram: @sensesworkingovertimepodTikTok: @swopodEditor: Kati SkeltonEngineers: Anya Kanevskaya and Casey DonahueExecutive Producer: Emma FoleyAdvertise on Senses Working Overtime via Gumball.fm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a HeadGum Podcast. I always give my guests the option of where to sit. Alright. Man, didn't hesitate. Quite often there's a hesitation. Well I've been in this room before with Gareth and I'm always there. Okay. And he's always here so I thought... And then you're feeling like, oh, I'm a guest.

I'm the guest now. Oh, yeah, yeah. That's exactly right. All right. And so... and we will end the conversation with a question from my daughter. How old's your daughter? She is about to be seven. What's the day?

The seventh? She'll be eight days. I got twin 10-year-old girls. Twin? Twin 10-year-olds. That's a lot. I mean, meaning how much advanced time did you have when you found out you were having twins? First kids, I'm assuming. First kids. How much advanced time did you have to do when you found out you were having twins first kids? I'm assuming first kids

How much time well, I remember we got whatever that was the first ultrasound or whatever it was and then we went to Our doctor and I think she was three months pregnant My wife was three months for your doctor was three months pregnant. Yes, he was okay, and that was part of an experiment Yes, all this has been an experiment. Oh, cool. It's been cool. And it's worked out? Well, it's an experiment. And so your wife and your doctor

gave birth roughly the same time? Yes, exactly right. Oh, cool. One each. And we call them twins. Oh, so you're raising your doctor's daughter. And what have you? And your...

Yes, well, my wife, it's not my technical daughter. My wife had an affair with another guy, had one baby. That's one of my twins. The doctor had a baby. That's the other one of my twins. And when you said it's only them, that is true, but I do have other kids. I understand, you're raising them.

As my twins. And you guys were able to get past the adultery and yeah I don't see them. You don't see the kids not very often. Okay He's they live at the house with the man. She cheated on me with her now husband Oh, so things worked out. I mean her that sounds great I think for all of us and then you and then it's almost like a little extra money Yeah, because you're helping, that's a free sitter. It's free, you know.

That's exactly how I see it. I just give the checks. Okay, so you still use checks. That's interesting. Yeah. How else would I get the money from my bank account to theirs? Paypen, Vemodin. Always bits with this guy.

Swilly. Always fake words. There's a ton of like- I'm either going to do that or I'm gonna do a musha musha Bunker Luka Luka or I'll just write a check Yeah, but see those words you made up are not based on a real word mine were zilly zilly Zell Zell Zell yeah, it's a okay, then I'll also use more For what what's your base word?

The same as you faking words What's your base word when I say I said pay? Yeah, a pen paper is not like is PayPal and then I said PayPal and then I said how well a bit late, but And then what was the other one? What's the's the other, Oh, V V mon or whatever. It's like Venmo. What the hell's Venmo? Oh God.

You're making up fake words and calling them banks. Yeah, they're, it's not a bank. It's a, it's a, I don't know how it works. It's like, um, well, you, you should know because you're a Bitcoin guy. You're a big crypto guy. I'm saying, yeah. Dodge coin. You got a little thing right on the beard.

You got it. Yeah. Dogecoin is what I'm into. It's the dog coins. I love those. Thank you. What was it again? Oh, and also you've been here before.

So you know you can avail yourself of the fake grapes. I love it. I love it. And we have four colors. They're variations of two different colors. We got a light green and dark green, a dark purple, and a light purple. Well, why do you hide them all the way there? Not presented to you.

That was my ques- I brought that up. Thank you. So you have fake grapes, but they're not on camera? Thank you, Jake. Yes, that's exactly- that was my issue. Like why are they- they're like, oh, it's set decoration. It kind of perks the place up. Well, why are you hiding it?

But for who? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it's in decoration. It kind of perks the place up. Well, why are you hiding it? That's in it's in the you know Yeah Your set cuz we've obviously recorded here you guys get you get the purples. Yeah, that's Anya or is that yours who chose that? That's you know purple is the color of royalty and I did a 23 and me and an ancestry.com and I am directly related to, um, not Shaba ranks, uh, who is it?

It's the, uh, Sean John. Congratulations. Yeah. So that's shocking. Um, I was surprised. Yeah, so. That's shocking. I was surprised. You should be. I was really like, I didn't think.

Yeah, I've done a 23, I didn't get anybody famous. So who did you get? Nobody, just my grandparents. Are they famous? No, that's what I mean. Like I did it, cause I've heard so many different people have great stories like yours, where they get the Sean Johns of the world,

they get all these big stars, you know, and sounds like I'll pay the money Yeah, and then I just got like I guess my lineage I got like I guess where it's like a scratch-off card You know like here's 20 bucks. What do I get? I got a million. I got lost Well, I got ten thousand a week for a life. Yeah, so it was a know, in the sense of who I'm related. Sean John's huge. And I'm- And now you're connected. So that congrats me.

I'm directly related to him. He is my great, great, great grandfather. No way. Yeah. Yeah. He came over from Russia. Wow. That's fucking awesome.

And reinvented himself, you know? That's an American tale. Oh, interesting. It's a tale as old as American self. Did he do the whole, did he come to New York, Lower East Side, Struggled, Struggled, had K2. Tenement, yeah. Yeah, and then at what point did he start making music? Like 20 years ago?

And just blew up. Blew up, yeah. I know the name, what music, like. Arrgatone. Oh, and that's like? Get on. And that's traditional Russian. Yes. So he took his past and made it a fucking hit. Yeah. Well, I wouldn't use the F word, but yeah.

Made it a hit. Yeah. So I got excited. And it's it's lazy. But it's also excitement. Not a choice. I want to I want to start. And I want to start with the same question. I ask everybody who comes on here great same Where do you stand? Israel v. Palestine Go Where do you stand?

Well, I'll answer that and then I'll give you after you. that's not a double works. Well, I'm the guest Exactly. I'm the host. So and I am rules. Yes, but as a guest you've invited me here Yeah, the guest and I'm sorry, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you just say twice? I believe that you Often record here. Yeah, so we're sharing the house, aren't we? Yes Jake thank you for coming on. Thank you for having me. The show. Absolutely.

Uh, and we've, we've just remit cause I, uh, mere minutes ago did your podcast next door. Yes. You were here to help. We appreciated that. What? We're here to help. Nope.

Yes. Um, so a head gum podcast. Yeah. Well, that's the convenience of, that's why I signed up with them. Yes. You know, uh, Head Gum podcast. Yeah. Well, that's the convenience of that's why I signed up with them. Yes. You know, uh, but what I will say to you, David, uh, and I started saying it before, but Mr.

Show was a very important show. Well, thank you. This isn't about me. This is, uh, it's not about you. Okay. I appreciate it. Um, uh, I'm going to jump into well, no, I'll save that for later. I'll

save it for later. And I'm not completely wholly familiar with your work. I really I only saw a couple episodes of friends. I mean, I've seen them here and there on the plane and you know, they're, they're in the background. Who do you think I am on that? On friends? Yeah.

You're the quirky one. Smokey. Work. You want just passed away. Oh, who do you think I am? Toby Keith? No, Toby Keith wasn't on friends. He wasn't the, uh, uh, fuck.

Uh, God damn it. What's your name again? Casey. Casey. Google yourself and Google Toby Keith friends, vis-a-vis question mark. Thank you. We'll find out that. Great, perfect. Well, I mean, why ask me? You would know, right? Well, because you said you don't know my work a lot, but you saw me on Friends. So I said, who am I on Friends? Oh, right.

And you said the quirky one, and I said, I think the quirky one. Oh, so not the quirky one. So I didn't, but I, but then I didn't know Toby Keith was on friends. I had no idea. But, uh, I guess he was my stand corrected. Yes. Um, but you also worked with, uh, I'm, I'm going to space on his name, but, uh, describe him physically. Uh, he's a,'s a really like kind of an

everyman type of guy oh he was in he was in fucking better call Saul he was and he I mean he was the he plays like three kind of characters they're all the same guy, he plays like three kind of characters. They're all the same guy, but he plays like three iterations of a, the same guy in, in Better Call Saul. It's a, it's a, uh, both a prequel and a, uh, uh, post-col, uh, to Breaking Bad, which is a, uh, animated series.

Um, that's really, it's pretty amazing. You've seen it. Yeah, yeah. It's about drugs. Um, and, uh, but you have worked Bob. Yes, Bob. Yeah. Yes.

Bob Okendorf, I believe. Uh, and you've worked with Bob, uh, and you were on, uh, early show of his that he produced called Derek and Simon, with Derek Waters and Simon, say it again? Hellberg. No? Yeah, 100%. I'm 100%.

I know it for sure. I'm positive. Who do you think it is? Heisenberg? Nope. That, I think, is Breaking Bad. Am I conflating the two? I think you are.

I'm conflating Derek and Simon with Breaking Bad. Yes, you are. Oh, boy. I don't want to make that mistake again. Yeah, so you were on, and that's going way back. I think we did that in 2006. Man, remember those days. Yeah. Man. Remember those days?

Yeah. God. That was pre just pre COVID and just post 9 11. So, man, they were, that was a rough. That's what everybody describes that era. Yeah. 2006 was, that was a rough time. No.

You know, it, while it was happening, it was, we look back on it and go, that's pretty good. Look back fondly. Yeah. Yeah. And how was that, it was, we look back on it and go, that's pretty good. Look back fondly. Yeah. And how was that, uh, working with Bob? Sincerely? Yeah.

It's great. Uh, Bob knew, uh, Derek and Derek had worked with, he was working with Naomi and we were all that whole, my whole generation. Mr. Show was everything to us. Cause we all did sketch and we all copied Mr. Show.

It was fun. It was, I mean, it was a fucking for us. We used to watch it on VHS. So it was the beginning of all of our sketch shows, copied your transitions, the way you guys did like three dimensional characters. We all thought like, oh, we could also act and do this. Yeah.

So that was huge. Where were you doing a show? I started off in, I'm from Chicago and then I went to New York. So I was in the early UCB, but we didn't want to go through the hierarchy. So we had just written our own play and we used to tour it around and do sketch festivals and fringe festivals and rent theaters in the Lower East Side, like the old surf reality collective unconscious way back. Yeah.

And we could rent the space for 150 bucks, yeah. Charge $3 and try to like break even. Yeah. But everything we were doing, we would go back to Mr. Show as the goal and how our transition were, how our characters were, what the sketches were. And so Derek called, uh, the first time I met

Bob was I just moved to LA, I met Derek. He invites me to some bar. We're having a drink and he said, my friend, uh, Bob's going to come. Is that cool? And I said, yeah. And fucking Odin Kirk walks out. That's great.

And it was an out of body experience. Yeah. And Bob was like really nice, but Bob, so he just comes in and he's like, Hey, what's going on? And he's fast and he's just dominating conversation. And he leaves and I go to Derek and I'm like, Hey man, I just moved here from Chicago. I need a fucking warning.

I'm comfortable with you. Our other, Eric Simon, if your friend Bob is Bob Odenkirk, say the last name. And so then we got a word that he was doing these things and he directed us and we just. Anything he said, you know, we just kind of did it did it but what was really fun we just went to the San Francisco Sketch Festival and did a panel for it but no one in the audience had ever heard of it so this is like really funky programming move I gotta say when I saw the lineup yeah and I love sketch so I've done it I don't even know six seven eight nine times I don't know but it's always a tests. I've done it, I don't even know, six, seven, eight, nine times, I don't know.

But it's always a blast and I enjoy doing it. But there are things, you'll see the lineup happens every year and you're like, wow. What is that one? Do we, really? And then, but I was like psyched to see that it was getting its due. I mean, I think they wanted Bob there

and Bob would do this. And then Derek and Simon agreed. And then Derek, who, you know, wants Eric and I to come said, like, just for one night, let's go to San Fran. And I was just a yes to hang with everyone. And I didn't give it thought until we were backstage. And then they showed the pilot, which did not have Eric and I in it. Cause it used to be an HBO show and Galifianakis was in that.

Well, that's what I, that's and I in it, because it used to be an HBO show, and Galifianakis was in that. Well, that's what I know it as. So what happened is they did it at HBO with Galifianakis and Bill Hader, so they show that to the group. Oh, they're expecting. Well, then they go, guess what, we have a lot of special guests.

And then- And none of them are Zach or Bill. It's fucking me and my buddy Eric. And they didn't show ours. So then we're up there in a panel here the whole thing did you dress that a little bit because we were part of the super deluxe group super deluxe was like some weird site that used to get it I remember I I mean I part of me feels bad but only 10% but I got, I signed this thing for super deluxe. I got $90,000 to do five shorts. Amazing. Great.

And I wrote up some scripts or maybe four, maybe four. Incredible. 90,000 bucks. And it was one of those things I was working on something else at the time. I'm like, okay, yeah. And I, I sent them two scripts and they're like, okay, great. They're very, you know, three minutes, like a commercial parody or a small, you know, and then, okay, we need those other scripts.

Yeah, I've got the two ideas. I got to work them out. Sorry, I'm really busy. Okay, take your time, but don't take that much time. And then they kept going on and on. And then after like two months of them checking in every 10 days or so, yeah, yeah, so sorry. I'm working, I got a producer lined up and then they folded.

Oh, they did. So you just got the 90 for nothing. I got the 90,000. But now there was an era there where they were they were giving away money. Yeah, because they didn't know what the Internet was going to be. That's still happening. Yes, but it's different. It is different, though. I mean, I make I mean, it's shocking. I make twenty seven thousand dollars per episode of this of this. Yeah, what's up on you?

Fuck you head comes to us. We're going back to our garage But that era was I remember Derek called and they said HBO passed but this place called super deluxe You know what Derek wanted to do and he just didn't do but I would have loved he wanted to get those shirt shooters at the panel. Be like super deluxe, super deluxe. But it was one of those ridiculous panels. Cause the whole day was great. You know, we had like lunch. I told you the thing with Bob from lunch.

He then wanted to walk back to the hotel, which was a two mile walk up hills. Good for him. He was, it was great. But the panel was one of these moments where Eric and I were sitting up there and no one had seen us in it yet. walk up hills. Good for him. It was, it was great. But the panel was one of these moments where Eric and I were sitting up there and no one had seen us in it yet. Yeah. They've got no questions. No questions. And so, but what's funny about Bob, and I didn't know this because in 2006, I just,

whatever he said we did, and then we've all had our careers and then we kind of met up again. We then take a break. They show some clips. Simon and I are backstage and honest. I'm just like, this is going well for you three. I don't know why Eric and I are here, but Bob's also a boss. And I don't know if that was your guys dynamic was different. I'm sure. Cause you were peers, but Bob just walks by me and goes, Hey, start talking up there. I went like, literally, I don't even remember these shorts. I don't know why I'm here, but you get that great charge of like oh shit

I'll tell me to talk fucking talk. So would you talk about? I Think I probably talked about other I just started talking Yeah, it would be a question and they would go how'd you shoot that and I would just be like if Bob said talk Yeah, start talking have somebody else jump in. Mm-hmm, but it was it was fun to do I'm also I do want to point out to those listening or watching, I do not make 27,000 per episode. I don't think I even make 27. It's a labor of love.

What got you into the podcast game? Uh, well, to, to be honest, uh, my team had been, uh, by being agents managers team. Yes. Um, encouraging me for a long time to do a podcast. Uh, not a ton of pressure, but just like, do it, it'll help whatever. And I wasn't interested, not because I, I have

any negative feelings towards podcasts. I just didn't want to do this additional thing that would take up this time that could be otherwise spent somewhere else. And I understood what they were saying, like, if you, you know, specifically with touring, with doing standup, you will, if you have a good podcast, you will sell more tickets. It's just that simple. And then I started maybe like, I want to say three, four, five years ago, press for promotion for projects was a lot less about, you know, morning, good morning America and, you know, late night with whoever.

And it was more about, and then doing the press things and it was more about podcasts. Well, that was a kind of introduced as a. Cause it's also a bigger reach. Yep. And I really enjoyed, I'd come out to LA and I, you know, knock out four or five, six podcasts and always got a real sense of like, Oh, this is so much better than it's fun.

It's real conversation and I enjoyed it. So when I started looking at it like that, I was like, you know what, I will do one. And, um, and then here's a little addendum to it. So instead of, so I, there's a podcast agent actually, I mean, there's agents that are podcast agents, which is crazy, but you know, that's the business.

And so I got on the phone with him. I had never met him before and my manager and Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That are podcast agents, which is crazy, but you know, that's the business. And so I got on the phone with him. I had never met him before and my manager and some other people and we're talking about and I wrote up, they had me write a little pitch and it was just like, I'm a world renowned talker. I've been talking since I was about three. I'm good at it. I've had conversations, any, whatever,

and I wanna talk to my friends and interesting people. So they go, okay, you need a hook. And well, the hook is me talking to people. No, no, that doesn't work. This is what your agent said. Yeah, yeah, this is like last year, last, or a summer and a half ago. And I'm like, you like, what's the hook?

I don't know, well, you gotta figure out a hook. So fucking six weeks goes by and I'm thinking about it. You know, I'll be walking down the street doing errors, like what's the hook of a podcast? I don't know. And then it hit me out of the blue. I was like, oh, the five senses. That'll be the jumping off point for the conversation.

Great, sounds good. Went and pitched it. And then immediately, and I mean immediately, doing the podcast, having fun, it's any fear or hesitations I had were allayed immediately because I did Bob and Janine Garofalo uh, fear or hesitations I had were allayed immediately cause I'm just, I did Bob and Jeanine Garofalo and all these people. And it was just fun and never once talked about.

I think, I think I asked Eugene a question and there was one other person. That was it. Yes. Never. And. That is the game of agents and development though. But it's like, it's like now I'm, I'm, I don't want to say stuck with, but, and I got really cool theme

song by Mark Rivers. I got this lovely artwork and it has nothing to, but what I was saying to them, which still applies is who gives a shit? No one gives a fuck. No one's going to go, I don't know if I'm going to listen to David Cross's podcast. Oh wait, he's talking about things that you hear. Okay. Well, I would like to hear the five senses.

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is that the whole press model has changed. The old world of press has changed. And I just did a movie. In a better way, I think. A way more interesting way. But this was the first movie where, uh, in terms of when I started getting the press, I used to

think that it was just our job and you have to say yes to everything. And that what the business puts in front of you, you'd go like, fuck. Yeah. All right. Now I'm going for five days and I have to go do junkets. And that what the business puts in front of you, you'd go like, fuck. Yeah. All right. Now I'm going for five days and I have to go do junkets, junket, not only that I used to, when I was doing new girl, we used to tour around

and have to go city by city and do local affiliates in the morning. And that's just what you did. Yeah. For this new one, I was talking to my publicist about it and they would be, there was a podcast called dope as usual, just two guys who have like a little room near the

home Depot, they smoke a ton of weed. There's weed everywhere and you just bullshit. And when it started, I was ready to pitch my movie the way I'm like used to doing it. And the guy goes, I watched a movie last night. I have a good take on it. And I go like, cool, man. Like, do you want to start and you do it?

He pitched me the movie in a way where I'm like, Oh, you get it, man. And he's like, cause I didn't realize, but he's like, you made a stoner thriller while I'm not a big stoner. So I was like, I didn't think that's what it was, but while he was talking, I'm like, Oh, I'm not getting this interview on good morning America in nowhere. I'm good morning America. I'm not landing anything. I'm doing I'm just there.

And then I finish and I don't think anybody from that is gonna watch my projects, but I just do it. And I'm like, all right, I'll go do the Kelly Ripa thing. I'll try my hardest. I know the audience doesn't like me, but I'm just here. Why do you know the audience doesn't like you? Cause I've done it and it never lands. I'll like have a story that will go in like

the pre-interview or you! Or you get even worse. You'll get like the joke moment, you'll get. And you're like, just get me outta here. I'll see Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest's eyes die in the middle of my stories. Where I'm like, I know you're thinking about what's next. I still got, I can see on the clock, I got two more minutes.

Jake, what are you gonna, you got a Halloween costume plan? What would that be? You wanna hear the biggest die I've ever done on one of those? Yeah. So my brother and I grew up diehard Steve Harvey fans, not ironically when he did, but I need to say, qualify it. Okay.

But I do, cause I feel like, you know, there's a way in part of the story is that, but we watched him do Apollo and we loved him. So I'm doing press for something and I get an invite to do the Steve Harvey show, but I'd have to fly to Chicago to do it. And I didn't want to do it, but I had to tell my brother that I had this opportunity and he's like, if you pass on this motherfucker, you're passing on like something we love together.

So I go like, you're not wrong, but what if we did it together? So I talked to the producer and I go, we'll do it, but can we do like a makeover? Cause remember how Steve Harvey for a while was doing like makeovers. I don't. Okay. Fair, fair.

So Steve Harvey used to do like style makeovers for awhile on his show and he would like kill you and make fun of you and then dress you up and tell you how good you look. So I'm like, to look like Steve Harvey. Yes. Yeah. All right'm like, to look like Steve Harvey? Yes. Like, uh, all right. So like, okay.

So look, our premise had holes in it, but we pitched it and said, like, rather than Jake just talking about the movie, what if we have Steve Harvey do a makeover on Jake? And then at the end of the episode, you dress him up and he comes out and then we just like say, and the movie's blank in theaters now. The producers said like, we love this idea.

So they're like, great. So we heightened how bad of a dresser I am. We had the cast of it. So it was a little down from downplayed from this. Yes. Okay. I mean, I'm calling the kettle my king. Well, I'm not but I don't have any.

I'm not under the... We're literally wearing the same outfit, but you have a family on. I know, but I don't think that I... I'm not saying that I dress nicely. Yes, neither, but this doesn't need a makeover. This is fine. No, I agree. I agree.

But so we heightened it, and so, you know... All right, so how do you heighten that? I'll tell you. Okay. So we get to the Steve Harvey show. I'm listening. Is this going well or bad? Just get to it. I'm trying, your fucking podcast story took three minutes.

Trim some of that. Speaking of why you don't listen to podcasts, do the five sentence. Ha ha ha. So I get there, I'm wearing short, corduroy shorts. Oh, that's good. I'm wearing flip flops and then like a weird sweater on top. I would never wear that on television in a million years. We get there.

We're excited to meet Steve right before the producer goes. We haven't told Steve the premise, but he's gonna like it. I'm backstage about to go on in two minutes, shorts, and that's what I, and I went, that's not a good idea. And I went, I don't think we do this. I go I, and I went, that's not a good idea. I don't think we do this. I go, you ha I go, you have to tell them. And they go, Steve's just been so Steve Harvey turns the corner with my brother.

He thinks I'm a member of the crew because he just goes, he's like, all right, what do we. Okay. And then they go, this is Jake. He's on the show. And he goes, you're on my show. And I go, yes. And he goes, why are you dressed like that? I go because I need help with style.

And he goes, yeah, you do. You don't look TV ready. And then my brother goes, we're really big fans. And he goes, no, you're not. You're with me. And we go, no, we're not. He goes, all right, we get on the show. He has no sense of humor about it. He's mad at me. He thinks I have mental problems. Because he's like-

He thinks you're fucking with him. You're taking the piss, right? And then when I'm saying I'm not, then he goes, then you're fucking, your brain is broken. Because if you're not messing with me, why would you come on television in short, cut off corduroys and flip flops? Yeah. And I'm in front of his audience and there with him. So, so did you come out and what? Yes, we do the segment.

And what did he say? Did he? He first, he's trying to do an interview with me like he's doing press. And then he would go like, why are you wearing shorts on TV, son? And I'm going like, I've got a problem with style. And it goes sideways in between the break. This is a great story. It's, but it was a nightmare. Would you tell it on my podcast?

Okay, great. Uh, which sense is it? Uh, touch. Touch. So part of the bit was going to be, you know, then when we change, we put his clothes on one of the things I thought I had a beard, I'd shave into the mustache and then he could go like, now you look good. The makeup people and the producer came in and said, don't do the mustache bit.

And we're like, okay. And then the hair and makeup guy goes, I haven't seen him hate a guest this much in a long time. And my brother goes, we bail. We walk. I go, we can't walk. We have to do it. So then they put me in a Steve Harvey suit, three pieces with everything. I still own the suit. It's tight fitting. It's his style. I'm standing behind a big poster of me as he's intro in the bit, in between the commercial. He's not happy. He doesn't like it. Thing comes up. We, he just luckily talks about what he

likes about the suit. We get out of there. The point of the story is it did nothing for the movie. It was no fun. It was a total nightmare. And that's the sense of touch. It's a, it's a, yeah.

I mean, that encapsulates it. Yeah. It's a, uh, uh, well, that's a good story. I, I, if he's going to be upset with with anybody it'd be the producers great which he should be great So should you and so should your publicity? Yes Well, we did it via email ourselves and they later it was that he was really stressed and they just didn't get to it But they did kill us on that and in the world of pod. That's a terrible I mean for them not to say anything it put him in a bad spot. It put us in a bad spot.

That's just dumb. Yes. But now that it's over, when we left and I was in his suit and my brother and I are in the town car, probably the hardest he and I have laughed in 10 years. We were, and then, hey, my brother, they pull him on stage and my brother, who's not in the game, when they do the suit,

there's a shot of my brother and he's releasing stress where they go like, no, get ready to see the new Jake Johnson. And I'm in this suit going like this. And then it gets to my brother and he's going, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

So for us, we're like, one of the best days, but the worst. Do you have video of that? Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, it's fun. That's great. All right, well, I guess that's that.

Thanks so much for having me. Yeah. Yeah. Now, here's something I want to say that, and I try not to be too obsequious with the guests, but I was watching Mythic Quest, which I, that's the name of it, right? Yeah. And which I really liked. And I was watching it because a friend of mine is on the show. And I very quickly was like, oh, this is cool. I like this. And then there was an episode. And for the longest time, I was trying to remember it. I thought in my head, it was an episode of Black Mirror. I was trying to remember it. I thought in my head, it was an episode of Black Mirror.

Like, but it was a, it was a one-off, they use a business term of you and what's the ladies name, Christina Milotti? Yes. Yes. And, uh, playing it, it was so good and you guys were great and it was really, uh, tonally much different. And it was really, uh, tonally much different. Yeah. And it was the origin story of the office.

Yes. I believe. Yeah. It was, it was, uh, and you don't really, I would say you don't even have to be familiar with the show to enjoy it. I mean, it's just, it's its own encapsulated story and, uh, just a, a really, really well done. And you guys were fantastic. Thanks, man. What I love about streaming is that you can get away with that.

Yeah. That you can get a call and not be part of a show. Rob just texted and said, do you guys want to do this? And I've been a fan of them and what they're doing with, it's always sunny. I like how they do that. I like that they're doing like a live action Simpsons and they've been on TV for 14 years and they might be doing this forever. Yeah. I like that they're doing like a live action Simpsons and they've been on TV for 14 years and they might be doing this forever. Yeah. And so I was just say, I was just a yes to kind of see how he does it all. And then very quickly you go like, Oh, there are certain people who keep winning in this game. And when you work with them, you see why. Yeah. And then there's other people who keep winning.

And then you work with them and you go like, I don't get it, man. You've had a good run, but it's going to come to an end. And Rob was one of those guys of like, Oh, you have all this figured out. And so for us, it was just, that was a fun one. Yeah. I, it's, it's just all around like the writing, the acting, the direction, the, the feel of it is, uh, it's, it's really cool. How do you pick your parts?

Uh, so like for, like for you, when you go from like Mr. Show and that I would assume be the one that puts you really on the map or an arrested already come out yet. No arrested was way after a Mr. Show. So that one was the one that took you from standup known in the comedy scene. And then everybody knew it. Yeah.

Well, you're, you're everyone didn't know Mr. show. It was very, when, uh, when it was out, it, and even a few years later, um, I mean now way more people know about it, but it wasn't, it was a small hardcore cult thing. And you, you know, I don't know if Bob talked about this and when you were, but you said you saw it on VHS. We, and I'm forgetting the guy's name, but credit to the guy who ran a video store on,

off of Santa Monica Boulevard, who this was his idea. I can't remember his name and he reached out to us. So we because of HBO and the contract, we, this is pre DVDs, right? Right. We, we, they weren't interested in. HBO wasn't. No, in, in video distribution, videotape. So this guy said, legally, so if you give me copies of the show on VHS, which we had, right? And we had the artwork, you know, based on our, you know, each season's, you know, whatever the promo shots were. And we mass produced, I wanna say,

I'm interrupting myself. He said, if you give me the video tapes. And he, by the way, he's saying this to you and Bob, not HBO. To us, yeah. Cool. If you give me the video tapes, I can't rent them out,

but I can say if you rent whatever. I can give it to you. I can, rent them out, but I can say if you rent whatever. Bob, I can give it to you. I can, it's this, you can get it for. It's bootlegs, it's Grateful Dead. He did the Grateful Dead arc with you guys. Yeah, but even, I mean, the Grateful Dead go, hey, yeah, take it, tape it, I don't care. But then pass it around. Yes, so we ended up doing that. Then we reached out to these, the cool hipster video stores in each city. So we do Boston and Austin and Minneapolis

and Atlanta and Seattle. And we go to each and we'd send a case, you know, and then that's the deal. You can go, if you rent something that nobody's ever gonna watch, you know, some Italian horror. Then take this too. Or take this one, or the sequel, take this too.

Either one, you could, if you rent, take this, or take this too, then you would get, you'd get this. Who's gonna watch Mr. Schof? You gotta take this and take this too, not to be a dick. Well, you would only get one of them. You? You gotta take this and take this too, not to be a dick. Well, you would only get one of them. You'd get take this or take this too. I don't know if the sequel was made yet. It might've been just taken.

So you'd watch take this, you know. So good. Yeah, it's an awesome, you know, starting a young Luke Wilson. Yeah, but if you talk about like what started horror horror for like a new generation. Luke Wilson. Yeah. But if you talk about like what started horror horror for like a new generation, Luke Wilson. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say the whole world of take this. Luke was great. Take this, take this to take this again, take this some more, uh, take this home. The take this to goes West. Take this goes into outer space. Yeah.

A lot of those, I will say lost me. Yeah. I just for me, I will say lost me. Yeah. I just for me, just for me as like a purist. I think the, um, the ladder three were kind of weak. Which one were you in again? I was in, uh, um, take this honey. And you got paid.

Uh, oh yeah. Yeah. That was a money gig. Yeah. That was, uh, that was all, I mean, it was coupons, but they all, uh, you know, each coupon, there's boxes, boxes's coupons, but they all, you know, each coupon, there's boxes, boxes of coupons, but each coupon, if you look on there, it says, you know, this is worth a tenth of a penny.

Right. Well, when you've got a million coupons, Casey, Google, tenth of a penny, times dot the word times with the X symbol for times, uh, uh, one million. The, the, the words 1 million BC. That's a lot of money. Um, yeah, it's, uh, so it's good. And are you getting paid on coupons here at headgun? No, no, no, no, that's a, that's old school.

Um, this is going way back to the, to the, no, I get paid in NFTs and it's all grapes, grape NFTs. But that market's gonna explode. I mean, if you listen to Logan Paul, just wait, Logan knows he's a business guy. I don't want him to beat me up. But I will drink Prime. One time Bob and I were in New York and we were in New York and we were, we were going to bicycle. We had the whole day, you know, I bike a lot in New York and he loves biking too. So we went from my place in Brooklyn and the plan was to go Brooklyn, over the bridge, up to Riverside Drive and then kind of back around. And we got into like, you know, somewhere in Soho,

whatever, and pretty, there's all these people lined up. And we see, and there's like traffic, you know, wooden, those wooden horse barriers that the cops put up, tons of cops, tons of people for blocks, to the point where we had to get off our bikes, like clogging the streets. And then we noticed like, they're all like, 90% of them are it's dads and like 15 year olds, mostly guys, some girls. And I mean, we're talking like into the tens of thousands

on like covering Soho, right? As we're coming down and then we're walking our bikes and we're like, what the fuck's going on? What is this? There's police, they're blocking streets. And I asked this guy, excuse me, what is this? And he's like, oh, hey, hey, you know, and yeah, but what's all this?

Oh, the Paul brothers or whatever, and neither Bob or I have any idea what he's talking about. What are they? Who's that? What were they? YouTubers, TikTokers, minds? Big YouTubers. YouTube guys. And then, okay, what did they do? Ah, they do pranks and they make fun of themselves. Like, and they're, it's the biggest city in America and they have a police presence to shut down because of these, and then we watch, I think Bob pulled out his phone and these two dumb goofy motherfuckers, you know.

Just wave, wrestle, and the crowd goes nuts. It's crazy. And they're multi-multi-millionaires, and we're like, what have we done? I went to, the first time I did Sundance, it was with Mike Sarah and Charlene Yee, and we're doing a movie called Paper Heart, and I was so excited.

And I thought like, I've arrived. I'm cool. I'm a real actor. This is fucking awesome, dude. And there was a crowd of people on main street around somebody. And I swear to God, I thought it was probably going to be like Robert Redford. Sure. And I thought like, he probably, if I'm in the program, he knows me too.

I assumed everybody watched everything. It wasn't a business Expo. And I was like looking around, I had that like swelling of pride, I was like, get out of here fans, like let me meet Robert and talk films. And I kind of looked in and the biggest crowd was around this woman

and I looked around and I saw it and it was Hulk Hogan's wife. Oh. And I had that sinking feeling of like, it's all dead. Yeah. Here we are in Park City, it's like romantic, it's snowing. The biggest ticket is Hulk Hogan's wife. And it's mostly industry.

It's all industry. And you're like, what? But you're all around her because they had like a new show called like, Hogan's Rules or whatever it was. Oh, I like that title. Yeah, well. It tells you what it is. Don't steal it, I don't mean that, that's not a joke.

No, no. That's my idea. All right. Even though I said it on your podcast, I own the IP on Hogan's roles. I'm not getting all businessy on you. Okay, but the sense of that will be lawsuit. Yeah. Don't fuck with that one. Bob and I started we started riffing this idea like after that, after we were like looking of Jake Paul as Logan Paul, whatever, as a, you know, starts on this older man and you hear this kind of VO and about his accomplishments and then you're pulling back and you realize it's the Kennedy Center honors and he's being honored. Yeah, he's being honored for his contribution to the arts. Well, Jake Paul's turn has been really weird

I don't know if you follow MMA or any of that. I know that he's a wrestler put a boxer Logan does WWE wrestling, but the younger brother became a boxer, but he first started that He just started boxing like professional basketball players and people or MMA guys who don't do striking and he's just knocking people out. Yeah. But then there's the question of like, is he a real boxer? But he keeps doing these big matches. It's getting a lot of people and then beating the hell out of people.

So right. So has he, has he, he's starting to fight boxers, but I don't really know who his opponents are. So there'll just be some guy who's also really strong but everybody's also saying he's paying them. What he said oh yeah what a fun game this guy's created if he's paying everybody i don't want to kick shame but people are if you that's what you're going to get you off that's what gets you off you know back to the vhs for a second it's funny that that was the play. Because the way we heard of it my buddy a bill and all of our we took like a road trip. And we had a friend up there who was like the cool friend. And we were hanging out at his house. And he said, cause I think he or a friend worked at a video store. He's like, you guys want to see the funniest shit.

That's how it got out there. And that was the beginning of like, it used to be faces of death, right? Where it's like, you want to see some crazy and all that shit, you know, and then somebody would show it to you and you'd be like, dude, I just watched somebody like burned to death and That was you want to see some funny shit and we watched mr Show and that was the beginning of all of us being like, oh so to hear the strategy that one person created Yeah, it wasn't it wasn't even us. It was a guy fucking cool. I can't remember the name of the story I wish I could I should know this it was off of Santa Monica, kind of in the,

like near Pico, like where the, now that Japanese area is, kind of like Sautel. Cool. So it was a video store over there. It was his idea. And so we made it. And then we took his idea of like, why are we just doing this here?

We should go and it cost us a couple hundred bucks. Oh no, no, I'm saying it was- It's fucking awesome. And it got it out there. And so people, all the comedy folks, all the comedy nerds who we were a part of, and we even did a sketch, like it was a link, I think, the underground tape railroad or what it was called.

And it was all about, because I had tons of them, and we would have screenings, things that you might have seen at this point. I don't know if you ever saw the DR Live pitch for his movie to Disney, The Guy in Arizona. Just things that are now famous. In Run, Ronnie, Run in the, um, in Run, Ronnie Run, we did this thing called What

You Want, which was this tape that, you know, somebody, a friend of ours, Mike, was editing this stuff for a guru type guy in Marin and he's like, you gotta see this. And then got word that the guy was coming to take the stuff. So we dumped as much as he could onto his computer, gave him back all the materials, took this, put it on video, gave it to us.

And then we passed it around. We even have screenings and we did, we actually did a thing in the run, run, run, about what you want. You just say what you want and you'll get it. It's the dumbest fucking thing. The original on this guy really touchy feely, uh, Faye, you know, say what you want.

I want, uh, ocean liner with streamers and clouds and the other people are like, yes. Yeah. You know, it's just ridiculous California new age bullshit. And, um,'s so we had all these things that we would, oh, wait, what's the Chicago lady who can't sing, who put out- Chicago lady who can't sing.

Oh, you're gonna know. Or Chicago, no, she's, fuck, what was her name? And she would do songs, videos for songs. God damn it. I will remember this. She's famous now like you've seen. I got it. She she's not she wasn't. I don't know if she's still alive, but hold it up. Wasn't very attractive and not a good singer at all. And she'd do these songs and sing them and trying to be with her resume and send them out. So that got shopped around. Farting preacher, you ever see farting preacher?

No. God, dude. Robert Tilton. These are all things that were passed around. Somebody made a super cut before there was that term of Robert Tilton, who spoke in tongues, a TV preacher. And just every time he went like, because he would say, and that's why I do this, he would squeeze his eyes and then take a pause. And then the guy would always lay in fart noises. It's funnier than it actually sounds. And the South Park Jesus film,

the little five minute thing that became South Park, that was floating around. And I mean, there's so many of these things. And are you familiar with Found Footage Festival? Yes, of course. Okay, so they, we've swapped those things. They have a bunch of those. There was a Jewel, which is a, uh, a, uh, supermarket chain

in the Midwest had somebody gave me a training film for a jewel training film from the nineties. That is just where they're acting. It's great. It's great. And, uh, what to do, what not to do. And the acting is just the best. Yeah.

So all those things we would swap. Now you can go on the internet, just click, click, click, and see it. But it used to be when somebody showed you something, it meant something back then. Yeah. And it was really cool. And it was the only way you could see it.

And it was special, you know? I will say about what I like about podcasts and what I like about that era. And when I had my two-man show and we traveled around with it, I like that it's feeling like it's going back to having a small business and trying to build that small business. And I feel like what I've liked about Hollywood and this game is that I've

been on a ride and the ride takes you places and for a press tour for anything else, the money comes in, this is what you do. Then there's a whole PR meeting that you're not even part of. And you go, okay. And if you take a big studio job, they tell you what to do and you do it. And the only control you have is between action and cut, you do your best, but who cares about

it even then you don't have even that. And then the final result, whatever it's going to be is going to be. And when Gareth was trying to get me into podcasts for a while, I wasn't into the idea for a while. And then the thing that finally broke it was this idea of like, oh, it's like an old sketch show.

It's like you're building a thing and then you're like, oh, do we go live? Do we go somewhere? And you're like, I don't know. You're like, oh, then you could go to a city the way we used to. And you start building and seeing the numbers rise. And when people find things, I'm like, oh, it's so it reminds me so much of a different era. And it feels so and I'm having a blast.

I mean, this is really enjoyable and, uh, you know, I came into it somewhat reluctantly, but I'm really enjoying it. And, uh, we're both late. Cause this is late to come into the podcast game. Oh yeah. Uh, I did, I did Dax's and I was talking about this one and he goes, when he started his, they were originally gonna call

Armchair the one millionth podcast. Cause he's like, he's like, I already felt we had missed it. Years later, you're talking about starting a podcast. And I'm like, yeah. And I'll tell you what though, it's like whenever you start, there's a whole world, you find a base pretty fast. And you're like, it's pretty neat.

But also it's, not to denigrate any part of this, but the, the, um, the reason I started to do it, I mean, I'm enjoying it now and I'll continue to do it was to get more people to be familiar with my work so that I could have bigger, better audiences for stand-up. And there's no, I'm not, I really enjoy touring and I have, you know, I'll do sold out theaters and stuff and it's great. But the idea that I'd be out touring and you know, doing an hour and 15 hour, 20 minute set is fucking hard. You have to work to get it all, to craft the material, to craft the set,

to do all this stuff. You know, the touring is a grueling process. But I love it and I enjoy it. But I'd be out on tour after working for a year to get a set ready. And it's like, oh, I can't do this theater. Oh, I love that theater. Why am I doing this other theater? Oh, because they're doing a live podcast of two chicks and a guy talking about murder mysteries. And it's sold out. And it's $58 a ticket. What the fuck am I working my ass off for?

These guys are going around every city I go to. They're Jake Pauling it. We're in a world of Jake Pauls. So, uh, I mean, that was part of it. It was, it was like a little bit of a frustration, jealousy. Uh, but the idea is if, you know, people are listening to this podcast going, oh, I didn't know he had a special

out on maybe I'll go see this. Let me finish 800 pound gorilla.com. Um, then, uh, yeah, next time he rolls into town, I'll check them out and, uh, um, and the two help each other out. You know, I think I got into it. I directed a movie and from writing to directing to doing everything, it took about a year and a half. and then with reshoots and then with notes and then with putting it in front of a crowd and then testing it and doing it again. I think for me,

I was like, I want to just make something that is highly produced that we do have thought we edit it down and then it goes out and there's two a week. And so like it or not like it, I wanted to do the development while it's out. So how many of those were here to help with you done? I think we've recorded over a hundred. We have a bunch banked, but we've released about 50. And so I like working, I like the grind, and I like the idea that it's not all coming out

in two years. And I'm like, oh, so if I do another TV show, if I do a movie and I have something that I'm now developing. Sure. While that's happening. And then the thing that really tripped me out was when I was doing press for my movie,

I just had a lot of the cast come do this. And I was like, oh, this is now a press stop. That's what- And I was like, this is wild, man! That's going back to the new, you know, the new, not style, but the, what we, how we promote stuff. Yes. And it's vastly superior.

Because you're also promoting to an audience that you know already likes it. And then what I'm starting to think of and getting excited about is the idea of, if the audience gets bigger and bigger, when you're making something, you just go directly to that audience. You just create a website, you go directly to your group,

and then you could sell it to a streamer at a second release. Have you had Kelly Ripa on? Kelly? Yeah. She hasn't come on yet. Wouldn't you want to reach her audience? I would love to if she would come. Okay, you guys heard that.

How did you pronounce her name? Kelly Rippa? Kelly Rippa, yeah. What did I say? I heard Kelly Rippa. You did? Yeah. I heard.

I feel like I should balance out and say- No, it's okay. I mean, I could be wrong, but I did not hear Kelly Rippa. Maybe it was just jarring to hear- Oh, are you saying Rippa? Rippa. Oh, like the Boston- Kelly, yeah, like the Rippa. Oh, fucking Kelly Rippa. He's a fucking Kelly RippA. Maybe it was just jarring to hear. Oh, are you saying RIPA? RIPA. Oh, like the Boston. Kelly, yeah, like a RIPA.

Oh, fucking Kelly RIPA. He's a fucking Kelly RIPA. She's a real RIPA, yeah. Kelly RIPA. Yes. No, I was saying Kelly Ripa. Kelly Ripoff. Yeah.

Who's she ripping off? No, no, it's like a Polish name, Ripoff. Oh, Ripoff. Yeah. I would take Seacrest. Of the, you would what? I would take Seacrest on the show. He's a killer. Seacrest. Of the, you would what? I would take Seacrest on the show. He's a killer.

Seacrest. Ryan? Is that a boat? You would have a boat on the show? He's still passing out VHS's, it's 2024. Ryan Seacrest, the king of all media. That's how you laugh. I thought that was Howard Stern. No.

I thought Ryan Seacrest was the queen of all media. Hello! And with that, we will go to Jake and every show with a question from my daughter. And this question is, let me pick one. Usually I have one ready and I apologize for not. Okay, here it is. So Jake, where do you stand Israel V. Pellan? Okay, here's the question from Arlo, for you, Jake Johnson. Is there anything you want to plug, let people know about it? We're here to help. We're here to help. Uh, Jake and Gareth Reynolds, uh, not, they're not married, they're not there.

Jake Johnson and Gareth. David cross episode when you release this one. So you can listen. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay, great. That's, uh, what do they call that then? Uh, cross promoting synergy.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So listen to, I just did it earlier and it was a blast. It was fun. And so here is the question from Marlo. Since lava is in a volcano, why doesn't it burn the volcano down? That's a solid question.

Since lava is in a volcano, why does it burn the volcano down? Dense rock, Harlow. Dense rock. Because, you know, you can't burn everything. If you ever had a fire in your backyard, right, or anywhere, you go camping. Well, there's a grill all right so the fire is gonna cook the meat but it doesn't cook the grill correct yes so it doesn't melt everything well the mountain is the grill so she should think about it as a big grill around the dirt the mud

whatever it's gonna be and the fires with him but you need that grill to protect the meats. So you're equating molten lava with a barbecue grill. Fire's fire. Heat's heat. Yeah, there's different variances. I mean, there's extremes, I'd say. I mean, it definitely gets hotter and definitely gets colder right so this this is cold enough because I believe the lava is is already melted Mantle and crust and rock and it's your science over here Not it's not official yet, but by the time this podcast comes out it may I may be officially mr.. Science. We're still waiting Yeah, they're at it places out of Calgary,

Canada, so it takes a little while to get there. But it'd be a great time. But I think that's the final answer. And what's your final answer as the father of this child? Um, I will let her listen to this and then when I'll turn it off and correct you. In your own time. I want her to go to school and report on that. Well, Jake Johnson, I don't know if you're familiar with Friends, but Jake Johnson said, all right, man, thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

Sense is Working Over Time is a HeadGum podcast created and hosted by me, David Cross. The show is edited by Katie Skelton and engineered by Nicole Lyons with supervising producer Emma Foley. Thanks to Demi Druchen for our show art and Mark Rivers for our theme song. For more podcasts by Headgum, visit Headgum.com or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and maybe we'll read it on a future episode. I'm not gonna do that. Thanks for listening. That was a Head on Apple Podcasts and maybe we'll read it on a future episode. I'm not gonna do that. Thanks for listening. That was a hate gum podcast.