The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast - Japanese Office

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers talk about the digital short, The Japanese Office! Plus, they talk about memories with Steve Carell hosting, what it was like having Ricky Gervais on as part of The J...apanese Office, Usher performing, and other fun anecdotes from sketches like Bless this Child, Yankee Stadium, Paul and Gene, and more! The Japanese Office - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmTfxyoEqAcMonologue: Rainn Wilson on the Differences Between SNL and The Office - https://youtu.be/QC0acqbjizI?si=4mZB0npxIoh96jf9Weekend Update: Sen McCain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoRkXVsni1ICPR Class - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtmlCJ25lGgCommencement Open - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WPwGGoR5S0Bless this Child - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKCKWdBbj0(Not all the clips we mention are available online; some never even aired.) If you want to see more photos and clips follow us on Instagram @lonelymeyerspod. Send us an email! thelonelyislandpod@gmail.com Support our sponsors:AirbnbVisit Airbnb.com today and book a guest favorite.  These are the most beloved homes on Airbnb.  Aura FramesSave on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com to get $35-off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code ISLAND at checkout. This deal is exclusive to listeners, so get yours now in time for the holidays! Terms and conditions apply.  Produced by Rabbit Grin ProductionsExecutive Producers Jeph Porter and Rob HolyszLead Producer Kevin MillerCreative Producer Samantha SkeltonCoordinating Producer Derek JohnsonCover Art by Olney AtwellMusic by Greg Chun and Brent AsburyEdit by Cheyenne JonesMix and Master by Jason Richards

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm gonna start. Here's what's going on right now. It's a big day. Not only do we have a guest joining the pod, but also Yorm's back, everybody. Pew, pew, pew, pew. Yeah. Last day tomorrow, guys. Let's shoot. Oh.
Starting point is 00:00:14 So back on the pod still in Finland, and Yorm, let me just say, we missed you a lot, and I've heard from people who enjoy the pod. It was a nice dramatic built-in arc that you were sort of both in Finland and didn't understand time zones. It was all of a sudden our podcast had a like serial element to it. Yeah and then I got drunk and then I disappeared which you know could have been related to that you know. They had
Starting point is 00:00:38 a story arc to it. I do really like that when you get drunk you will find the nearest celebrity and drag them to do a podcast. Immediately. Well, that guy's pretty willing, I gotta say. I feel like there are nights you've been drunk where you have then texted us all, hey, you know, I can bring this person too. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:00:57 Yeah. It's like you're at a bar talking to someone being like, you wanna do a podcast? I was considering doing it with Juliette Lewis, but I was like, ah, no, I won't do it again. I won't do it again. Oh, bummer, that would've been good. I'll see you about tomorrow then.
Starting point is 00:01:10 Hey, Lutz, you want to say hi, and then we're going to do the intro to the show. Hi. The Lonely Island Seth Meyers Podcast. This is the Lonely Island and Seth Meyers with John Lutz podcast. Now, Lutz, what year did you join the SNL writing staff? 2004.
Starting point is 00:01:29 You were also on 30 Rock and I never remember, what was your character's name? Lutz. Right. Yeah, it's a bit of a stretch. I feel like you did remember that, Seth. I maybe did. Typecasting. I remember when they just started 30 Rock and they were like,
Starting point is 00:01:43 we just need basically background actors who you will be in the writers room in the show, the fake writers room. Interrupt me if I'm wrong, but I remember this because Liz did it for a little with you. Yes, that's correct. It was just basically like them realizing on 22 episodes of the season, we're going to see these background actors. So wouldn't it be nice if it was people we like, as opposed to just randomly casting background actors. But we can't pay them as actors because they're not going to have lines,
Starting point is 00:02:08 they're just going to be there. Yes. Then that slowly grew to you actually being a character on the show, because you were right there and you're funny and they're like, well, why not throw them some stuff? For the pilot, Tina said she wanted to cast it all with people she could trust with a line if she needed to give it to them. Right.
Starting point is 00:02:23 Then when it got picked up, she was like, oh, I have an episode that I want to write for you where you'll call me the C-word. Because I don't want any of the regular cast members to be hated by the fans. Oh, good. So that was great. Give it to Lutz.
Starting point is 00:02:40 But yes, for the first two years, I think, I was paid, well, I would be paid as a principal if I had a line, or I would be paid as an extra if I didn't. And so for our listeners, a principal, like as in the principal of a school? Oh, jeez. And what is a principal's salary? $32,000 a year.
Starting point is 00:02:58 Private school, then public. Oh, you're still on that. Yeah. Couldn't you tell? It's weird that they either pay you as a background actor or as a principal of a public high school. Yeah. I completely agree, Kiva.
Starting point is 00:03:09 I completely agree with what Akiva said. It's a weird scale. It's part of why we went on strike. Yeah. The extras actually make more money than a principal does. Yeah, that's how bad the public school system is. Wow. So Lutz, this was a time in your life
Starting point is 00:03:22 where you were sitting around in writer's room as a full-time job, and then you would sometimes get days off and you would use those to go pretend to be a writer sitting in a writer's room all day. Yes, named Lutz. Yeah. In bell suits. With all the same, like the set was the same,
Starting point is 00:03:37 the carpets looked like 30 rock carpets, the elevator bank was the same, everything was the same. It seems like the beginning of a Charlie Kaufman movie where you have a job playing yourself. After work, you go and play yourself on a TV show. On a set of the exact same job. It's really weird. And you never sleep.
Starting point is 00:03:56 I mean, I guess you're a severance. Maybe you're ahead of the curve on severance. Are you a severance? I was a severance. You were a severance? Yes. So which LUTs did we get? Did we get above ground LUTs or below ground LUTs?
Starting point is 00:04:08 You got above ground LUTs. Gotcha. Sorry, there's a squirrel right outside my window. That's what you get with above ground LUTs. You see animals. I mean, we can't see it. So if you hadn't mentioned it, it would have just came in. He doesn't understand podcasts.
Starting point is 00:04:24 Seth, should we do a little pop culture roundup before we jump in? Yeah, let's do a pop culture roundup. All right, New York Magazine SNL cover came out. Seth, you happy with your photos in that? I am not super happy, but it could have been a disaster, so I will take middle of the road. Here's what I'm least happy about my photo, Andy.
Starting point is 00:04:41 Yeah. I mean, again, each one of us was in a photo with 10 absolute legends, right? And for whatever reason, I'm the only person who's looking off as if there's more interesting people elsewhere. Oh, is that the problem you have with it? Well, what do you got? Oh, I love it.
Starting point is 00:04:56 What is your problem with mine? No, I thought you looked totally fine. Clearly there's something. I did not like that I was looking off and it looks like I have like two chins. Understood. I mean, I think the whole spread to me is, like, kind of a fun fever dream.
Starting point is 00:05:07 Yeah. I mean, I will say that David Lashabelle, like, blown out color thing that he's been doing for a long time. It's kind of fun to see my... I mean, that was the only way you and I were gonna get photographed like that. I tend to agree. Were you there at the same time?
Starting point is 00:05:20 No. No. At SNL, yes, we worked with you. There were a bunch of different days apparently shot in different groups. And then maybe even some people that couldn't make one of those days who were airdropped in or something. Yeah, there were a couple of airdroppers. I saw Steve Martin afterwards and he said, if you told people who was in that photo,
Starting point is 00:05:41 they would all say, I bet it was so much fun. And it wasn't even a little bit fun. And that's really the true thing because we're all standing there. By the way, I'm sure I got caught laughing at somebody off camera, which is why I'm looking the wrong way. You know, everybody's both in their head about they don't want to have a bad picture, but also they're around people that they want to be funny around. It was not fun. It was stressful. I had a nice easy time. I was clumped with Billy Crystal and Lorraine Newman, both of whom had so much chill it really put me at ease. Oh, that's nice to hear. And we just kind of
Starting point is 00:06:13 gently chatted through the chaos and didn't do anything crazy pose-wise. And you know, it was good to see people. It was very nice to see people. I'd like to present an area for a spicy take from either of you. How do we feel about Alec Baldwin and Malaney's inclusion? So we got to the bottom of that. They wanted a few five-timer hosts. Yeah. There's the two of them.
Starting point is 00:06:35 There's Walken, Candice Bergen. And is that four or five? That's four. Well, Steve Martin. Oh, it's Steve Martin. Yeah. Okay. I will say the other thing that was really fun.
Starting point is 00:06:45 I was standing next to Tina and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. And again, David Loeschbeil, it's not surprising that he blasts music at his photo shoots. No. But also, at one point they were both screaming, none of us can hear you. And it was just really fun to watch those two
Starting point is 00:07:03 just sort of take charge. Yeah. And it's just in general, the those two sort of take charge. Yeah. And it's just in general, the idea that, I don't know, this group needs music to have fun. And in general, we're also just less fun than I'm sure David Lashabel thought. I'm sure people were saying to him, like, oh my god, was it so funny?
Starting point is 00:07:18 And I'm sure he's like, no. Well, also, they're blasting like, we are family. Where everyone in there is just like, we're the most cynical dead inside people on the planet. Did he play music while you took your single? Yeah, I'm sure. Disaster, because he's like, what kind of music do you like? And I'm like, I'm not gonna tell you,
Starting point is 00:07:35 and I don't wanna do this. Like Wilco. Exactly, I'm like, no. You're like, now I'm in the mood. And then I'm like, I don't know, like 90s hip hop. And then he started playing it, and immediately someone, I won't say the name, was like, what, this is your music?
Starting point is 00:07:47 What? That's a sweet brand. So that was a real flashback. Sure, sure, sure, yeah. To the early aughts. Dunking all over you for your taste in music. Should have gone over and been like, I don't know, man, just play whatever somebody else likes.
Starting point is 00:07:59 You're like, they like it on Broad City, dude. Yeah, dude. So just totally stressed out the whole time. Okay, and then something else that happened today, Spirit Award nominations came out. I'm just wondering how they gonna not nominate Beetlejuice? Seemed like the best spirit of the year to me. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:17 Oh wow. Wow. Wow. It took a second. I was sitting on that for three hours. Yoram, where's the air horn, bro? Wait, hold on, hold on. That deserved it. The other thing about that was Andy, again, really impressive that you put that second
Starting point is 00:08:31 in the pop-cult roundup. Because again, you're just like a Mexican jumping bean over there trying to get that joke out. And right after you said it, you took a big swig of water. Had to. That's what I was going to point out. Had to. It was like he was on stage. So he couldn't follow it up.
Starting point is 00:08:44 Post-bit goal. You got to wait for everyone to applaud. I think it's the anticipation of it That's what I was gonna point out. It was like he was on stage. So he couldn't follow it up. You gotta wait for everyone to applaud. I think it's the anticipation of it had just like given you like incredible dry mouth. He was like Dean Martin for a second having a sip of his whiskey well timed after a great punchline. That's what you're doing man, you surfing the web? No, I was thinking to this gold. How long before this comes out too? Like six years.
Starting point is 00:09:05 No, this one's like a week. OK, I'm just hoping that more people don't make that joke within the week. Oh, good call. It might become a Twitter thing. Seth has like six chances to steal it over the next like four episodes of his show. You know what, Andy might be in the clear.
Starting point is 00:09:19 We're on hiatus, so I think he's actually OK. Oh, that's true. But I will say it is 12, 4 at 1.22 p.m. Eastern time. So if you hear somebody else make the Beetlejuice Spirit Award joke, I just want to timestamp when Andy did it. Thank you. I have something else before we get onto this, which is that I just listened to last week's episode in my car and for the first time ever, like, actually almost cried laughing and it
Starting point is 00:09:43 was I'll tell you when. So it's best look in the world. I'm in the car alone. actually almost cried laughing. It was, I'll tell you when. So it's best look in the world. I'm in the car alone, I'm just tired, I'm heading to work and I play it. It does the first five or six minutes, we're talking about it and I'm like, oh my God, we're talking so much shit about it. It's really fun, but whatever.
Starting point is 00:09:57 Then Seth, you had done an impression of it going like, let me tell you about it, no. I was like, oh yeah, that's accurate, whatever. Then the thing that happened, that didn't happen when we were recording, of course, is that they had edited in a snippet of the song starting. And I was hit in the face with
Starting point is 00:10:14 the recording of the actual song of Andy going, let me tell you about it. And it sounded so much like your impression set. And after the five minute wind up about it, and in my head going it can't be like that bad. It's not going to be. Oh yeah it is though. When Andy's voice hit, I involuntarily and it takes a lot to get an actual real laugh out of me. Involuntarily alone in the car, I started laughing so hard out loud until
Starting point is 00:10:38 tears welled in my eyes hearing Andy's voice. It brought me pure joy. I mean, you might be right Seth. It might be Criterion for a real reason. Yeah, I mean, we do have to find another category for like the, uh, I don't know, the Criterion shitbox. Which is like worth having, but not because it's good. Criterion extras, maybe? Yeah, I don't know. Shitbox, I don't feel like shitbox.
Starting point is 00:11:00 Okay, let's stick with shitbox then. First thought, best thought. Yeah. Well, extras? Like, I mean, man. Uh, oh, let's stick with shitbox then. First thought, best thought. Yeah. Well, extras? Like, I mean. Oh, man. Oh, here's something from the last episode. You guys can just pile on as soon as I say this out loud.
Starting point is 00:11:13 I have a book club. I have a monthly book club with some gentlemen. Wow. I go to my book club. Thank you. A little late. Yeah. I was taking another one of those famous sips of water.
Starting point is 00:11:23 This has been one continuous sip since Beetlejuice. Since I spiked it. You've been talking about the side of your mouth a little bit with it last year. So we got a room at a restaurant, and we rotate who hosts, and we try to find a private place to have dinner and talk about a book. And I walked in, and one of the other guys goes,
Starting point is 00:11:39 you have to grease a palm to get in here? And it was very nice to hear a lot of the book up guys had listened to the episode, and then we had a palm to get in here? And it was very nice to hear a lot of the book of guys had listened to the episode. And then we had a long conversation about palm greasing. And had? Had any of them greased a palm? There was one guy we all knew.
Starting point is 00:11:53 We were like, you're the palm greaser. And he said, I grease in, I grease out. I like walk by a restaurant I'm not even having dinner at, and I'll just grease a palm. Is it a born and bred New Yorker? Yeah. Because my uncle's the only person I've seen do that. It is.
Starting point is 00:12:04 And it was at a Yankee Stadium, and he handed $20, and the whole other section opened up for parking. I was like, whoa, shit. I'm gonna go on a limb. I'm gonna say, John Lutz, you've never greased a palm. I don't think, no, wait. I did in college when I took a girl out on a date before a dance at Olive Garden.
Starting point is 00:12:26 Oh, my God, you greased an Olive Garden palm? How much did you give? So it was like $20. It was $20. To get what? To just, I was just like, take care of us. To the waiter or the maître d'etat? I wanted to, to know, to the waiter. To the waiter because I was really trying to impress this girl
Starting point is 00:12:43 and it didn't work. Did you get never-ending breadsticks after that? Yeah. Did he give it back and he was like, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, when you're here, you're family. Wait, you did it in front of the girl? Like she saw you grease the palm? No, no, no, no, no. I did not do it in front of her.
Starting point is 00:12:58 Got it. You wanted to impress her not with the greasing, but with the meal. I wanted to be like anytime we needed something. Unlimited breadsticks. I think I just saw it in the meal. I wanted to be like any time we needed something. Unlimited breadsticks. I think I just saw it in a movie. I don't know. I was just really trying to... I want you to walk us through, like, your best case scenario post-grease. Like, what does this person do for you?
Starting point is 00:13:15 I don't know. Like, I don't know. Get us... Say it. Like, get the food faster. Get us out of there on time. Yeah! Oh, no! I don't know. We had a place to be. Just be attentive.
Starting point is 00:13:27 I'm not sure, yeah. I bet when you grease a palm and olive garden, the waiter's like, oh, what the fuck? Oh, shit, I didn't... Oh, God, that's never happened. Uh, yeah. God, that's so good, Lutz. Can I just say something, Lutz?
Starting point is 00:13:39 Thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Yeah, you're welcome. That paid off better than I think any of us could have hoped. Oh, and one other thing that I feel like is in the pop culture roundup. Keev, you just sent a text that Balenciaga has released their new line of shoes.
Starting point is 00:13:54 Oh yeah. Really cool looking shoes. Balenciaga. What the fuck? Unveils its bold new shoe that makes you feel barefoot. And if these motherfuckers aren't trying to get away with JJ casuals with heels, I don't know what the fuck they're doing. So-
Starting point is 00:14:08 Wait, did it have heels on it? Yeah, it's heels. Well, I can't, no, maybe not heels. No, I think that's just around the heel to adhere to the foot. Yeah, you're right, it's around the heel. I mean, better design than JJ Casuals. What?
Starting point is 00:14:19 No offense. Yeah, it is. I just, it's hard for me to accept that they- I mean, it's shoes that look like feet. Oh, no. Yeah. They to accept that they- I mean, it's shoes that look like feet. Oh, no. Yeah. They do have ones that are like colored, like not flesh colors, like pure black or pure white.
Starting point is 00:14:31 They do look kind of cool on. But the one in the thing is decidedly a beige, could look like someone's feet. Yeah, the white ones look kind of neat though, maybe? Yeah, once you're into like the white ones or black ones, it's like flip floppy, weird shaped flip flops. Yeah. Let's get to the question everybody's asking. Why Lutz? Yeah, once you're into like the white ones or black ones, it's like flip-floppy weird-shaped flip-flops. Yeah Let's get to the question everybody's asking why Lutz why is Lutz here the digital short this week is
Starting point is 00:14:57 The Japanese office is there a digital short title card? I can't remember now. Well, it's a great question I think there is because it has an interesting framing Well our rule as we've talked about for a while was we only put it in front of ones where at least two of the three Worked on it. Oh, that's right. But so did we leave it off this because it was just me and you guys? No, I think it's on. Oh, it does say it. It does.
Starting point is 00:15:11 There is. There is. Okay. So my first question, Lutz, did you guys know that you wanted Ricky Gervais to introduce it, or did that happen late in the week? Well, I'll say that I talked to Marika right before this. So Marika Sawyer is your co-writer on this piece. Yes. And she's not on here because she's shy.
Starting point is 00:15:28 Is that correct? Yes. We invited her, yeah. I said, Merica, can I say you're not here because you hate the spotlight? And she said, you can say whatever you want. I'm on a high from getting out of this and will allow anything. Yes.
Starting point is 00:15:43 She's on a high from not having, she was in a pen. Literally, yeah. Yes. But the first thing she said was, we talked about Ricky and Ricky was added later. He just happened to be around and I think, we weren't sure who asked him, but we were thinking it was Steve.
Starting point is 00:16:01 Yeah. And then we shot that, I think, Akiva, do you remember, was it Friday or was it Saturday that we shot it? The Gervais part we shot on Saturday. One of the few times I've shot something on a Saturday for that night. Yeah, so he came in real quick
Starting point is 00:16:16 and we shot his thing, I think, in one take and then that was it. We shot it on 8H using studio cameras. Yeah. They brought in that little red light and we dimmed everything and it might have been during like meal break or something. His first thing was one take.
Starting point is 00:16:29 I was actually watching that and was like, oh, that was like very succinct and good. He nailed it. I think we had cards. It's interesting when you watch it back, you realize not everybody had seen The British Office. And everybody obviously at SNL had and was a huge fan of it.
Starting point is 00:16:44 And so we saw that comedy and the adaptation of it and the comedy of Ricky being like, they ripped it off. It's not as funny. Mine's the classic. The audience, I feel like, doesn't have that moment of recognition for him. And they're also surprised he's being mean. Now, even like a few years later from stuff of the Emmys, that was a running gag between Steve and Ricky,
Starting point is 00:17:05 that paid off. But this is sort of pre Golden Globes Ricky and pre Giant Stand-Up Ricky, and even like the other, I feel like the other shows maybe. But we do have Ricky Gervais introduces it, and it's a very nice framework. Knowing that you added him late, it does help a great deal. Hi, I'm Ricky Gervais,
Starting point is 00:17:23 creator and star of the far superior British version of The Office. help a great deal. to Jim. Brilliant. Way to make it your own. The whole thing was lucky because America actually told me that this was a fake pitch and she was like not going to do it. This was something she pitched in the pitch meeting to Steve and it was a fake one and then I think everybody was like interested in it and then she said the reason I was asked to do it I think she said I was one of the only people who watched the American version of The Office and had written that monologue with Sudeikis in it. Yes. When Rainn Wilson hosted and so I had written the characters so she came
Starting point is 00:18:20 to me I think and was like oh you the office. I don't know anything about it. Familiar. Jason, how you doing? Hey, Ryan. So, Jason, what are you up to? Just compiling my monthly invoices. What, what are you talking about? Why are you at a desk?
Starting point is 00:18:38 I'm always at a desk. No, you're not. Okay. Wait, you just looked at the camera. No, I're not. OK. Wait, you just looked at the camera. No, I didn't. No, you just did it again. You're looking at the camera. He looked at the camera, didn't he, Kristin?
Starting point is 00:18:53 I didn't see anything. Wait, Lutz, will you go back to re-explain fake pitching and what that was? Oh, sure. I'm so glad, because no one could get burned worse than having to write up a fake pitch. Yes. So what I learned when I got to SNL was we go into Lauren's office to meet the host
Starting point is 00:19:12 for the first time on Monday, and you have to pitch them two ideas usually. What I found was that people were doing joke pitches just to get a laugh in the room. Yes. And you just try to get a laugh in the room just to get it over with, and you also don't want to burn your laugh in the room. Yes. And you just try to get a laugh in the room just to get it over with.
Starting point is 00:19:26 And you'd also don't want to burn your good joke. Yeah. If you pitch something and you get this big laugh in the pitch meeting, and then at the table, everybody's heard that joke, nobody laughs at the scene. Especially if it's a premise sketch with a turn. Yeah. You never want to burn the turn.
Starting point is 00:19:39 I also think it's important to note, when you hear pitch meeting, there's this idea of everybody throwing ideas around and people adding to ideas and zig-zagging. Pitch is one-way traffic, the host sits there quietly, basically doesn't respond at all, and it's just this workman-like rotation around the room. Yes, the biggest thing I learned from the pitch meeting
Starting point is 00:20:01 was my first year when Harper Steel, the pitch was, so something about you playing a baker. Oh, these don't have to be a thing. Yeah. These are just so that the host sees everybody they're working with. We've talked about it at length when he's been a guest on my show, but JB Smoove was the most entertaining pitcher because he would just sort of rotate
Starting point is 00:20:26 through the same 10 pitches over the course of the year and he would do five of them real fast. And they were all super funny premises that would never make good sketches, but would crush. And then he finally wrote one, right? Which about getting pregnant in the butt. Yeah. I think that that one actually, yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:41 Cause he pitched that a lot. But pregnancy did air. And I would say it aired as a cautionary tale to not write up the other one. I remember working on that one with Tina in the rewrite room trying to figure out, is Forte the butt baby or, you know? Well, Seth, also with the pitch meeting,
Starting point is 00:20:57 my thing became that I wanted to make the other writers and cast laugh. Yes. So I would, you remember, I would always say, hello, sir, or hello, ma' laugh. Yes. So I would, you remember, I would always say, hello sir or hello ma'am. Yeah. And I remember when Paris Hilton hosted, you paid me $50 to say, bonjour Paris,
Starting point is 00:21:13 before the pitch. Oh, that's $50 well spent. That's good money. I was gonna say, that's easy money. By the way, as you were saying it, I was like, oh boy, how's this 50 buck dare gonna age? And I'm pretty happy with it. By the way, Seth, you're kinda greasing a palm.
Starting point is 00:21:30 That was like greased a palm, you guys. Yeah. It's more like bribing a weirdo, but yeah. I bribed a weirdo. Wait a minute. I mean, you could also describe what Let's Did at Olive Garden as bribing a weirdo. Yeah. They just bring you to the worst table and you're like, what happened? You're like, oh, I think is bribing a weirdo. Yeah. They just bring you to the worst table and you're like, what happened?
Starting point is 00:21:45 You're like, I think I bribed a weirdo. Sorry. I don't think. I don't work here. Right this way. My biggest burn on, cause again, getting caught, this is actually a happy ending of a fake pitch that you had to do.
Starting point is 00:22:01 I, my first year pitched went out, Baldwin was there. You have a jet ski on your lake and the lake just voted to ban jet skis. So it's a sketch about you taking one last crazy ride. And it got like a laugh in the room. And then he kept coming up to me for the next two days going, very excited about jet ski. How's jet ski coming?
Starting point is 00:22:19 Can't wait to see jet ski. And then I like wrote it up. It was like, again, fun pitch, terrible sketch. And I wrote it up and it just died at the table. And then it was in the first half of the table read. And when it went to the break, he walked by and he goes, I expected more from Jetski. Did not hold back. Did not hold back. Nor should he.
Starting point is 00:22:40 I mean, I feel like we've talked about this a lot, but my only time it happened was Pirate Convention. Right? I love that one. But the most famous one obviously is MacGruber. Yes, yes. That was not intended to be a real, no. So in the end, there's a purpose is served from even the fake pitches.
Starting point is 00:22:55 So fake pitch to a movie and a TV show is pretty crazy. Good track record. Unbelievable. So it was at the table then, right? Lutz, you and Mariko wrote it? Yes. She was saying, I think when we wrote it, and I honestly don't 100 percent remember for sure,
Starting point is 00:23:14 but I think we wrote it for it to be live. Yeah, I'm sure. Then I think you guys, I don't know how it got picked to be a digital short. It was not our idea. I don't know who it was, but somebody came in and said, could you shoot that? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:23:30 And it's perfect for me because it also, the only digital shorts that I ever did never included Andy. Right. Yeah, that's just law. That's just law. I can't have him in it. He was like, I love those shorts, but what if they didn't have Andy?
Starting point is 00:23:44 What would that look like? Yeah. But then I do think once it was made into, like it was given to you, then it made more sense because then it could look like the show. Because it wouldn't have looked like the show live. How long did it take to shoot? I mean, we didn't really even light very much. It was very well executed, I thought.
Starting point is 00:24:02 Yeah. Watching it back, the thing that struck me the most was how much it looked exactly like the show. But the craziest part about it is we didn't build a set, because we were never doing that at this time. And now they would immediately build a perfect office set. Yes. But we just went down the hall on 17. On 17. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:18 And it's crazy how much it looks like it. Yeah, that back area. Yeah, and we maybe hung the blinds was the most we did, just to make the blinds be the same blinds, and we just faked everything. That's nuts. That's really good. I just watched it an hour ago,
Starting point is 00:24:31 and in my mind's eye, you did build a set. Yeah. America also told me that the extra, the bald extra who was in the digital short was, he was really Japanese, and he wrote all the stuff that was on the board. Oh, the chalkboard. Yeah, yeah, yeah. the stuff that was on the board. Oh, the chalkboard, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:46 Yeah. It was a good detail. So let's get into that part of it real quick. So I remember when the premise came up, a bunch of white actors pretending to be Japanese is not a great start. You go, uh-oh, you can't do that. Yeah. Even back then, which was 11 years ago, 12 years ago,
Starting point is 00:25:01 how many years ago? I don't know. Here's how long ago it was. Usher was the musical guest and he looks exactly the same. Oh yeah. So it might have been 30 years ago, 12 years ago, how many years ago? I don't know. Here's how long ago it was. Usher was the musical guest and he looks exactly the same. Oh yeah. So it might've been 30 years ago. Please let's get to Usher. Oh, we will get to Usher. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:13 But anyway, I remember being concerned at the time. Now, Merika is Japanese American. Yes. And she speaks Japanese, not perfectly by her own admission, I believe. But I remember her being like, she can speak it enough, it's spoken in her house. And she was the one doing this. And that was the only thing that made, I would just keep looking to her own admission, I believe. But I remember her being like, she can speak it enough, it's spoken in her house. And she was the one doing this. And that was the only thing that made,
Starting point is 00:25:27 I would just keep looking to her and go, okay, I'm here to bring your dreams to life. I just want to say for the record, like, I would never have the audacity to, I think everyone was looking at America being like, this is your baby, let's go, we're going to support it. Yes. But it was her thing. And she also wanted to make sure that, and we tried to make sure that everything that everybody said was as close to real Japanese.
Starting point is 00:25:51 It wasn't like gibberish. You can tell too, I think. Mirka told me that she would say the dialogue to Steve and then Steve would just repeat back what she said to him. Correct, she was doing that to everybody. Yeah. I was looking at the comments and there was a lot of discussion
Starting point is 00:26:04 about how they really are speaking Japanese, but their pronunciation's not good. Yeah, their accents are a little off, obviously, but yeah. By the way, this is another reason why it would have been a terrible live sketch, because you would never have had time to have that attention to getting the Japanese part right. Or as right as it was possible for non-Japanese speakers. Yes. As right as it can be in a 48-hour span to be airing on SNL.
Starting point is 00:26:25 Yeah, and when Miracle rewatched it, she said that Steve and Wig were both very good, like she could understand what they were saying, and she was very impressed with them. All the comments from Japanese speakers seemed to think that they can understand everything, whether or not they're doing a perfect pronunciation. And all the credits, too, were in Japanese.
Starting point is 00:26:45 And they were all like, um, America's cousins' names and sister. And also, um, she said that Jason's credit in the episode was Mike Schur. Oh, funny. So Jason's character was played by Mike Schur in Japanese. Support comes from Aura Frames. Keev, I've been talking about AuraFrames a lot,
Starting point is 00:27:05 so you know it comes from the heart. You won't shut up about it. It's really fantastic. These are a perfect Christmas gift. I gave one to my parents. Really, my brother did it. I don't know why I try and take credit for it, but my brother gave it to my parents,
Starting point is 00:27:17 and he loaded it up with pictures, and they're just changing all the time. And my parents are so happy, because otherwise they're just like hounding me for pictures of my kids. And this way I can just use my phone, upload it to their house and then everybody wins. Guess how long it takes to set it up, Keith?
Starting point is 00:27:34 I'm gonna guess two hours. Two minutes, bud. Whoa. Yeah, also guess what, Yorm? I know you're always like, you know, a lot of us are like save the trees and you're always like save the wrapping paper. Well, good news, every frame comes packaged
Starting point is 00:27:45 in a premium gift box, no price tag. Love that. Add unlimited photos, videos, invite as many people as you want to a frame. There are absolutely no hidden fees or subscriptions. If I bought one for Lutz, could we all put our pictures onto it? Yes, we could all do that for Lutz,
Starting point is 00:27:59 which I think we would all do because we all love him equally. You could put any pictures you want on there too. How many photos and videos could we put? Like three, four? It's unlimited. Whoa. And it's, by the way, not limited to even photos.
Starting point is 00:28:10 Videos work as well. Save on a perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com to get $35 off of Aura's best-selling Carver Matte Frames by using promo code island at checkout. That's AuraFrames.com. Promo code island. The deal is exclusive to listeners, so get yours now in time for the holidays. Terms and conditions apply. Support for the Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast
Starting point is 00:28:27 comes from Airbnb. Akiva, you love to try to pass as a local when you... Oh, that's my thing. If I go to Rome, first thing I do the first day is just try to look at what people are wearing, what kind of hats they're wearing, and I go to the local haberdashery, and I try to, like, really get in there.
Starting point is 00:28:42 And if I'm going back to a hotel, I feel like the gig is up. So I need to be there. in there. And if I'm going back to a hotel, I feel like the gig is up. So I need it there. It's a dead giveaway. When you walk to a hotel, they know. They're like, this guy's from the States, despite his local hat.
Starting point is 00:28:52 Exactly. Keev's known to just go to the local city and get a local Airbnb and then just get a Coney dog in Detroit. That's right, a Coney dog in Detroit. So they know you're from there. Mm-hmm. And so the reality for you, Keev, is that some trips are better at an Airbnb
Starting point is 00:29:09 because you're traveling with a group of friends, you want to hang out in a way that they don't let you hang out at a hotel. That's right. And Airbnb ticks those boxes for you. Plus, I'm just into some weird shit, you know? And it's just better when no one's around. All right, Keev, I'm going to start yelling out cities.
Starting point is 00:29:23 Tell me what you do when you're there to make you feel like a local. Paris. The Paris baseball team's local hat. The Paris baseball team's local hat. Here's the thing, you guys. I'm in a real talk right now, but in Airbnb, what I love is my kid's bedtime
Starting point is 00:29:40 doesn't need to be my bedtime. Keef, we were just at my brother's wedding. You stayed at a hotel. Yeah. Well, I stayed at Airbnb because I had my kids with me, and the hotel was where the wedding was, and the music was loud. And instead, I was at Airbnb two minutes away.
Starting point is 00:29:54 My kids stayed there. The music didn't wake them up. You had room to kind of spread out and be comfortable. I was just jammed in a room. You were just jammed in a room, like a sardine. Yeah, exactly. I had so much sympathy for you. So anyway, thanks to Airbnb for my brother's wedding weekend
Starting point is 00:30:09 and also for sponsoring The Pod. So again, we were talking about Rikki Trevace introduces this as the American office ripped off my show. Our show is based on this Japanese show, but you can tell it's pretty different. And of course, it is exactly the same with Steve Carell playing the Steve Carell part. Man-O-Man did our cast overlap with the cast of
Starting point is 00:30:33 The Office incredibly well for the purposes of impressions. I was shocked re-watching it, how each one nailed it perfectly. I think you could argue an alternate universe. Every one of those people could have been cast on The Office and the path of that show would have been almost exactly the same. That's a big thing to say. I'm just saying that, again,
Starting point is 00:30:55 I say this credit to everybody in The Office was amazing, but the amount Wigg has the Jenna Fisher mannerisms down while she's also speaking in Japanese. I remember playing this sketch for Gervais before he recorded his part. He came in, I found a computer, we've huddled around it, I showed it to him. When it got to Keenan's part playing Stanley, it was the only moment where he was giggling and enjoying it and like,
Starting point is 00:31:19 oh, this is so cool. Then it got to that and he's like, huh? Because that character does not exist in the British office. Right. And it took him a second and he's like, what? And he's like, who's that? And I was like, oh, Stanley's like, oh, from the, okay, yes, yeah, yeah, got it. Yeah, yeah. Because it would have also worked as a parody of the British office. Yes, exactly. Every beat in it is from both.
Starting point is 00:31:37 Right. I think on purpose, right? Let's say you chose the most iconic moments that were from the British office that were repeated because for the logic of it, it had to be things that were in the British office because it was the precursor. Yes. So the jello with the stapler. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:50 It was like all the trailer moments. It really is all because the pilot, the American pilot is basically the British pilot. It's very similar. Yeah. Right. They don't change a lot. How many seasons into the American office were we at this point?
Starting point is 00:32:04 It had to be after Rashida was in the show because Rashida was in the monologue with Rain. Well, that's later, I feel like. That's like at least three seasons in there. It's less, I bet it's season three. Yeah, I bet it's season three. Because first season, I don't think it really kicked off. Office premiered in 2005.
Starting point is 00:32:24 And this is 2008, yeah. Yes. There's just really nice moments in this. Suds and Bill and Kristen are fantastic. Steve seems to be having a good time as well. Keenan is Stanley great. And also the audience just seems to very much enjoy it from the kickoff. Yeah. One other last thing I'll say that Merika gave me was that that music for the calisthenics that they're doing is real calisthenic music that she used to have to do with her school and she would do the calisthenics outside to that exact music. When Gervais saw it all, he asked about it for a scene and just springed it up. He's like, should I at the end,
Starting point is 00:33:03 should I say it's racist? And I remember being like, yeah, go for it. And then feeling a mix of like, ooh, this is dangerous. And also kind of a little bit of relief of like for anybody out there that would be like, ooh, is this okay? Which is something I think I felt is like, is this okay? Oh, I thought 100% that you had added that, Keefe,
Starting point is 00:33:22 cause it feels like a very lonely island move. And also you're from Berkeley and you would have added that. 100% Gervais, but I was happy to have him do it and just be like, all right, hopefully that's us calling out that we are aware this is a tightrope being walked. And then the other thing I remember is at this time, this was 2008 and on American Airlines and most flights, there was still a communal TV, multiple communal TVs where yes, you could watch your own stuff if you had something you could watch it on, but there would still be a program that had to be watched by everybody if you put in headphones.
Starting point is 00:33:55 NBC had a, what would you call it, a partnership? There'd be NBC stuff that played before the movie, and SNL always got to put a sketch in, and of course, it would never be ours because ours are not something you would broadcast to an entire flight of people of all ages. And this was the one that, we should say it went over very well.
Starting point is 00:34:14 And afterwards, people at the show would be like, that was very, I remember getting so many compliments on this one and being like, oh, I just directed it, like, it's not really mine. Like it was a hit sketch in the SNL world. Did we get residuals for that? For American Airlines. Did we get residuals for those planes?
Starting point is 00:34:29 That's what the first strike was for, was airplane residuals. Okay. You might've honestly. Yeah. But it was chosen and it would play on every flight. And I remember seeing it on one of our flights back to LA. That's crazy. Did they have the Gervais part as well before?
Starting point is 00:34:43 Or did they cut that out? I think so. I think it played the whole sketch and I remember seeing it and being like why don't they put dick in a box up there? But also being like that's cool. So it went over very well Well, I think it also though, Keeva, the way you shot it you really did like we were saying capture how it felt The intro the music everything it just really came together how it felt. The intro, the music, everything, it just really... It came together. It was a very good parody. And I think it's also because
Starting point is 00:35:10 the office itself is shot kind of in bare bones, kind of a documentary style. Yes, it's the perfect thing to try to copy because you can do it. Hey, this is really... I just had a feeling, sometimes I look at sketches that get cut from dress and I go, I bet that one's fun to read. And I saw there was a sketch cut from dress called Paul and Jean that was written by Fred.
Starting point is 00:35:34 So what does that make you think when you see Paul and Jean written by Fred? Folk singers. Kiss. Kiss is correct. So open on Jean Simmons office, it's decorated with gold records. Fred is Gene Simmons, Steve is Paul Stanley,
Starting point is 00:35:47 another member of Kiss. Jason approaches them with a video camera. Thanks again for doing this, you guys. This tape's gonna make my son so happy. He's been in the hospital, he's a huge Kiss fan, so this is really gonna cheer him up. Fred, this is what we're all about. Fred, of course, if you don't know,
Starting point is 00:35:59 does an incredible Gene Simmons impression. Anything for a fan man. Jason, okay, I'm ready when you are. Fred, here we go. Shoot. Super still, so now it looks like it's being recorded through a video camera finder. Hey, Billy. I'm Paul Stanley from Kiss. And you know who I am.
Starting point is 00:36:15 And we want you to get real soon, so soon, and get well. Because rock and roll all night, party every day. Yeah, get out of that hospital so you can chase the ladies around and make them beg for your musky sweat. Now we know what the premise is. Mm-hmm. Gene's not gonna do well.
Starting point is 00:36:33 Gene Simmons is bad for making a video for an eight-year-old. Yeah, yeah, he's missing the tone. Oh! Oh my God. What else we got? You know what? I'll just say it. GOP nominee, Senator John McCain was on the show,
Starting point is 00:36:45 did update, did a sketch as well. That was a gentleman I always enjoyed the company of. He was a fucking good guy and super funny and was a blast to be around. He was always good when he came on. He was always good when he came on. He basically came on update and he made the argument, it was right around when Hillary was maybe gonna drop out
Starting point is 00:37:02 and he made the argument that both should stay in, Hillary and Obama should stay in as long as possible, and, like, basically saying, like, they just should beat each other up. But he was saying it as, like, very helpful advice. Democrats, I have to urge you, do not, under any circumstances, pick a candidate too soon. Oh.
Starting point is 00:37:21 Oh, so you don't think Hillary should drop out? Absolutely not. I told you. Cool it. You cool it. That's right. Fight amongst yourselves. There's an interesting cut-on-air one, Seth. You see it on there? Uh, Yankee Stadium? What those are is the one we already talked about, the New York stories. Yeah. The ones I shot with Poehler and Fred, and they would be like Fran Lebowitz and Scorsese or whatever.
Starting point is 00:37:46 This was a sequel to it and I remember it's one of the first things I think Solomon directed because I remember giving him all my pointers on how I made it look the way I looked and what to do and blah blah blah and they went to Yankee Stadium and shot a bunch of them. I wonder if those will air next time. They do. They do air next season. It's very fun. I love the way they look. These are the people that Amy and Fred play, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Scorsese, Rosie Perez. And then it must be Gene Simmons and Kim Gordon. That's impressive that they went from a whole season. Like, does that ever happen? I don't remember anything.
Starting point is 00:38:17 Because it's a pre-tape. It's a pre-tape and it's sort of timelessly they were playing people from different eras. And no host. Right. Yeah, no host. That's the key. And, Keev, when you said Solomon directed, you meant Solomon Rushdie? Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:38:31 It was after the fatwa and he was trying to do some different stuff. Oh, wow. And Lauren's like, we need to get him back in. He was trying to stay under the radar, so he went by John, right? Didn't think that's what I was teeing up. By the way, last time I saw Solomon Rushdie
Starting point is 00:38:45 was at Lauren's apartment. FYI. So they are friends. Last time, meaning you've seen him a lot or? Sure, he's been on my show. I run into him. Famous author. Famous author.
Starting point is 00:38:54 You know, Seth has a whole book club where they talk about books with fellow gents. Yeah. A men's only book club. I was stretching it. It was John Solomon. It's completely different spelling. Yeah, it is.
Starting point is 00:39:03 I think everybody knew you were stretching it. Solomon Rushdie is spelled almost exactly like Sandman, which is crazy to me. Seth, are women allowed at your book club? Uh, we can see here. What's next? Won't answer it. Won't answer it. What's next? There's a really funny thing, because now we can still transition into Usher.
Starting point is 00:39:20 It says, update cut, Usher, in parentheses, older women, and then obviously the name of the writer, nobody's certain because it just says Tucker, question mark, question mark. And I want to be like, yeah. If there was a update feature that was called older women with Usher, that was Tucker. It just seems like Tucker comedy right there. I'm just going to, I texted him during this.
Starting point is 00:39:41 We'll find out. It was also something Usher wanted to talk about, I remember. Yeah. Usher wanted to talk about Aldo Werner, because he wanted more of it in his life. He was married to, or dating or married to someone who was much older than him, and he was like,
Starting point is 00:39:53 this is all anyone talks about, about me right now. He gets asked a lot about it. Yeah. He wanted to address it. By the way, are we talking about MC Usher? Oh boy. Yeah. Yeah, I mean.
Starting point is 00:40:03 MC Usher. See, I feel like this is all on you, Andy, for the Salman Rushby thing, because now you've planted that in Lutz's head. It's actually pronounced salmon. Salman Rushby. Now it's okay for everyone. Do you remember when MC Usher came out for the musical act
Starting point is 00:40:16 and kept walking down the stairs, but never got to the monologue? Yeah. This is me slow clapping for Seth. He kept flipping upside down, and all of a sudden, he'd be walking on the ceiling. He'd be like, -"Hull?" -"By the way, that's what Usher basically does."
Starting point is 00:40:30 Yeah. Wait, what else do you want to say about Usher? I mean, it was fantastic to have Usher around. I mean, Usher's the shit. We love Usher. And for me, just, I was so excited that he did Love in This Club, because I love that song. It was amazing.
Starting point is 00:40:43 I believe Love in This Club, if you did like a mashup or whatever with Alphaville Forever Young, would be very close, and I really love both those songs. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I just listened to it on the way to work yesterday and was loving it. Which one?
Starting point is 00:40:57 Both. He mashed them up. No, I didn't mash them up. I did not mash them up. He brings a little boombox and then it's car rating. So wait, which one though, Jorm? Usher, in this club. I did not listen to, no. You weren't listening to Alphaville? No.
Starting point is 00:41:09 No. So Usher got cut from Update. Obviously, he did both of his songs. He appeared in another sketch. Does anybody remember? He appeared in a sketch I wrote. Yes. Congratulations.
Starting point is 00:41:20 It did not get cut. It did not get cut. CPR class, talk us through CPR class. Samberg, Solomon, and Schaffer. This is Andy doing a live sketch. Cause this ticks a lot of your boxes. Me, Akiva, and Sam and Rushdie. This was a classic stupid live sketch, CPR class.
Starting point is 00:41:42 Carell is the instructor. Yep. And he wheels me in as his assistant. It's so weird that you're wheeled in because I feel like a normal assistant would get on the table. So now Andy, why do you think you were wheeled in? I mean, it's obvious why I was wheeled in
Starting point is 00:41:57 because his hands need to go bursting through my chest and blood needs to spray everywhere and I was clearly set up on a rig. The only thing that I really take issue with, because I did actually rewatch it, Seth, before this, because I saw it on the rundown, and I was like, what was that? And then now I totally remember.
Starting point is 00:42:12 That's how I knew the usher answer. Full disclosure. If we just, it took so long to get to the moment. Yeah. That's what's inexcusable about me being wheeled in. If I'd been wheeled in and he immediately started doing it, it would've been fine, but there was still a lot of preamble. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:42:26 So you're like, okay, so this is a rig and something's gonna happen. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. But I did like a couple of the moves in it, a lot of like, buddy, I'm a grown man, I can take it. You can do it the right way. Yeah. I just so clearly dig it up.
Starting point is 00:42:39 The rig is great, his hands go through your chest. Mm-hmm. And a lot of blood. Yep, a lot of blood, then he gives me CPR and a balloon lung starts inflating out of the hole. Which was fun. Which was really good. You have to then give your dying speech while, obviously, I'm assuming you gave the instruction to the blood pump guy to just go nuts. Yes. I said, please just keep shooting it right into my face.
Starting point is 00:42:59 And mouth. Which they did. I've had a good life. I graduated from high school. I worked once ever as a lifeguard. And I just got a free watch from the coolest guy I know. And then the great thing is, do you think Usher was always in it? Or this had been a, hey, we cut you from update,
Starting point is 00:43:25 but we have another really fun thing for you to do? That I don't remember. Basically the sketch is over. O to the V to the E to the R. And Steve Carell says, you know, I can't help but think this is somehow my fault. In some ways, I can't help but feel responsible. You are responsible.
Starting point is 00:43:46 We all are responsible. Hi, I'm Usher. CPR can be a lot of fun, but it can kill someone. Then he gives a thumbs up, and it's over. And it is not a fit. There's one extra moment of it that I did appreciate, though, is he gives a thumbs up and it's over. And it is not a fit. There's one extra moment of it that I did appreciate though is he gives a thumbs up and then it cuts to wide and everyone else is also giving thumbs up for some reason.
Starting point is 00:44:13 Yeah. I'm looking at that right now. I enjoy it. And it also cuts mid zoom out. So it's actually like kind of nicely up cut. It's a rare, nice shortcut. Actually, Kevin, while we're doing this, is there any way you can watch dress
Starting point is 00:44:28 and see if Usher was in dress? It does make me very happy because just seeing it, again, it was in golden era, and sometimes we just did dumb things at the end of sketches. And it certainly was better than what the ending of that sketch is without Usher coming in and looking like a million fucking dollars.
Starting point is 00:44:44 Yeah, literally. It might be like a million fucking dollars. Yeah. Literally. I mean, it might be like a 51 to 49% situation, but yeah. Better than the all. Yeah. Yeah. Better than the other. And it was fun, again, I love seeing you in live sketches. I wanna also go back to, Lutz was hired, what was your first year at SNL, 04?
Starting point is 00:44:59 04. 04. February of 04. Do you remember going to a SNL after party where you were there with Liz Kikowski? You were there almost being vetted to see if people liked you enough to be a writer on the show. Yes. They flew Liz and I in. From Chicago.
Starting point is 00:45:17 From Chicago. We went to the Megan Mullally, I think, show. We interviewed with Lorne, I think the day before on Friday. And then they said, come to the dress rehearsal, come to the show in the after party. And then we did all that. And I remember in between dress and air,
Starting point is 00:45:34 we went to pasta lovers in Times Square to get some fancy New York food. Uh, and really feel fancy. And I remember that we did then go to the after party, and that's where we found out we were hired. Oh, you find out that night? We found out that night, like, Shoemaker and, um, Higgins came up to us and told Liz and I that we were hired.
Starting point is 00:45:59 Um, and they wanted us to start that Monday. Now, let's, what's the over-under on you greasing a palm at Pasta Lovers? I wanted a nice experience, you know, to pay for it. Just to kind of take care of you guys, you know what I mean? He called back to his local Olive Garden and asked if that guy could put a good word in for him at Pasta Lovers. And I actually, in my interview with Lauren, said if you could just call Pasta Lovers ahead of time
Starting point is 00:46:28 for us, get us a good table, that'd be great. I like that Lauren was the one who recommended it. You were like, we'd love to get dinner in New York, and he's like, what do you like? And you're like, we love pasta. He's like, Lauren and Pasta Lovers. He didn't want us going to La Tansi. Yeah. Yeah, that was a crazy night. And then
Starting point is 00:46:48 I we I had to go up to Lauren's table and I was standing up in my friend's wedding. My best friend's wedding was next Saturday. I talked to Shoemaker and Higgins and I said, I don't know if I can start on Monday. I'm standing up in my best friend's wedding. And he said, Oh, and so Higgins and Shoemaker took me over to Lorne's table and they explained it to Lorne and then asked if I could start a week later. Wow. Whoa. And Lorne was like, sure. John, I gotta go bullshit.
Starting point is 00:47:15 My best friend's wedding came out in 1997. I knew it was coming. No, no, not the movie. Not the movie. God damn it. I watched him look it up. Yeah, I could tell what was happening. Sorry, brother. Sorry to have to nail you to the fucking wall, man.
Starting point is 00:47:31 So guess what? We are gonna bring this to Lorne. Who you allied? No, please don't. I need this story. This is my only Lorne story. This is my main Nick Dote. And no one does stand up in that movie.
Starting point is 00:47:43 It is not about that. Oh my god, yeah. What was the stand up scene in that movie. It is not about that. Oh, yeah. Oh, my god, yeah. What was the stand-up scene in My Best Friend's Life? Oh. It was a good Nick-dote. We should start calling them that, right, you guys? Agree with me, gentlemen?
Starting point is 00:47:55 A Nick-dote. Yeah, sure. Seth, you should ask people that on the show. Any fun Nick-dotes from Seth? Any fun Nick-dotes that you want to dote upon us? Hey, America worked reception at SNL before she was a writer. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:48:07 We would receive, I remember in the dog days of summer, myself, Jost for a while, Harper would read through like 200 submissions and select out which ones were good. I remember we all liked America's before we realized it was America's. That's cool. It was this funny thing of like,
Starting point is 00:48:25 oh, is that, wait, that's Mar- that's that Sawyer? And when we hired her, it was one of the only cool ways to hire somebody. I remember I was in Higgins' office with Shoemaker, and he called reception and asked her to bring in a legal pad and some pencils. And then she came in and he's like, that's for you, you're a writer here now.
Starting point is 00:48:45 Oh, that's fun. That's fucking awesome. Really good. Pretty awesome. That's kind of like a Studio 60 moment. Yeah. Yes. It's how Sorkin would write it.
Starting point is 00:48:52 Yeah, exactly. Those are yours, kid. You're a writer now. So Seth, you're saying Mariko was a recepto baby? Yeah. Man. She was. I am saying that.
Starting point is 00:49:02 Now that one. Hey, move over, Nick Dotes. A recepto baby. Nobody's angry enough about recepto babies. Yeah, man. I guess she just added giving to her. Oh, my God. What else do we have to talk about here?
Starting point is 00:49:21 What about some Seth's Corner? It was a very quiet day in Seth's Corner. You did the monologue. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I did the monologue. Maybe the Senator John McCain something? I did, I think I wrote the update with McCain and then- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't start talking about it. We haven't done the song.
Starting point is 00:49:36 Oh, sorry, go. Seth's Corner, you're all invited. Seth's Corner, it's happening right now. Take it away, Seth. I'm gonna seed Seth's Corner because I was so excited to see the opening, cold open, was a Jim Downey Jack Handy sketch according to the names on it. Heavy hitters. And it was a very old school sketch which is a commencement address where Correll is handing out diplomas and he gives a big wind up as to this is the kind of school.
Starting point is 00:50:04 A lot of you came from other schools and were more than just faculty students, were family. This is not the kind of place where people get made fun of for the way they look or who they are, what their last name is. And then it's just one of those parades where all the names are just the most embarrassing names. Oh, I remember that one.
Starting point is 00:50:19 And again, it's that real nice Jim Downey touch. Yes. Where one of the names is Dick Hertz and no one comes up. And like the name before was like, hey, would you blow me, right? And somebody comes up, gets a diploma and he's like, Dick Hertz, Dick Hertz. And you see Amy's behind him as sort of faculty and she's a little concerned.
Starting point is 00:50:37 And then she gets up and whispers in his ear, Dick Hertz, is Dickts not with us today? Who's Dick Hurts? I will remind the students that this is a commencement exercise and not an occasion for childish pranks. That's the one fake name. After Hay, would you blow me? Yeah, and the next name's like Buster Hyman.
Starting point is 00:51:15 But I was like, ah, fucking A man, Tony. That's great. Such a good Tony move. And this is the end of a season. I bet we're all in a pretty good mood at the end of this one, because again, this is the end of a season. I bet we're all in a pretty good mood at the end of this one, because again, this is the end of the season where we went on and returned from strike. Yeah. Also, this was our second corral, is that right? Second corral.
Starting point is 00:51:36 He was our very first episode. And goes without saying probably, but just the nicest dude ever and so funny and we were always like, here comes a real comedy host. Also, Usher's first song was This Ain't Sex. And it may not have been, but I watched it, and I got pregnant from watching the performance. Lutz, is that the kind of joke that Tracy
Starting point is 00:51:56 would make on 30 rec? Yeah. It's 1,000% every day. Yeah, except he would say it like 10 times in a row. One more thing to say about this. The 10 to 1 sketch is a perfect 10 to 1 sketch that does not get what it deserves. And I think it might be, I can't quite figure it out.
Starting point is 00:52:14 It's called Bless This Child. Anybody remember Bless This Child? I did not until I watched it today. Wig and Correll are in it, written by Wig and Sublette. And they are putting their newborn child in a crib. It's very clearly a doll. And they start doing a prayer called, bless this child, that turns into a dance
Starting point is 00:52:33 where they are just using the baby in the dance and like flipping it back and forth to one another. And it's so, I mean, it's so clearly a doll, but I do feel like the audience is like, oh. And it ends with them each holding a leg clearly at all, but I do feel like the audience is like, oh, oh, oh, oh. It ends with them each holding a leg of the baby upside down and singing into the feet like it's a microphone. Bless this child.
Starting point is 00:52:56 Keep her safe and warm. And shield her from all harm. Bless this child. Protect her from the storm till the sun comes up again. Bless this child, fill her dreams with gold and make them all come true. Look at us, we're a family. Man, it's really good. Sounds pretty cute.
Starting point is 00:53:27 And I will just say real quick that Tucker has no memory of Usher older women. So that's an exciting way to end this. I'm just watching Bless This Child with no sound, and it does end with a wig dummy and Karel spinning it in a circle and knocking over all the curtains and stuff. Which is pretty fucking incredible. Well, there's one more thing I have to add
Starting point is 00:53:50 that I think Chilty on his will. That's right before she said that, she says she's pregnant with another one. ALL LAUGHING And then he starts spinning a dummy in a circle and knocking it into Chilty. Oh, nicely done, Kristen and Sublette. When we come back, well, a lot to talk about
Starting point is 00:54:08 going into the next, which is you guys do an album in the summer, which is in Credibet. You rent a kick-ass house where you host parties, like a bunch of guys who just got a big deal from a record company that intend to save none of it. Very much so. You have the room you record in, which I was lucky enough to visit a few times, was maybe one of the hottest rooms I've ever been in in my life.
Starting point is 00:54:30 The worst room in the house, yeah. In all ways. Yeah. And then we return with Michael Phelps and Space Olympics, which is one of those that the first time you played it for me, Andy, I laughed all the way through, because it is maybe a version of your comedy that I like the most. Oh, wonderful. Yeah, which is super specificity
Starting point is 00:54:54 of things that are maybe not going great. All right, so we're gonna do a Q&A episode with questions everybody's written in with. And I can't wait to be back next week. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:55:08 Totally, man. Did you enjoy it, Lutz? Did you have fun? Lutz came by the house in Encino. Yeah, it was a house guest. I remember one time you came and stayed and then we dragged you to a Die Ant Word show. Yes, with Ryan Phillippe.
Starting point is 00:55:20 Yeah. It was a great night. It sounds right. Just listening to those crazy music that Lutz would not have been familiar with and watching him enjoy his evening. And it was all of us up in the VIP at the L-Ray, just drinking with Ryan Phillippe.
Starting point is 00:55:31 We had a blast. And then we stayed after to meet the weird singers of that group. They were like doing a little... Artists. The artists. Yeah, that was fun. They were so weird, you gave them 20 bucks
Starting point is 00:55:45 and asked them for a good table. Yes. Thank you. One more thing I'll say about Lutz. Lutz and I knew each other from Chicago, and when I got late night, Lutz was one of the first writers I hired. And Lutz still works for Late Night Now. People might not know that, but I've been lucky enough
Starting point is 00:56:03 to know you for almost 25 years. But Rob Janis was a Chicago improviser, and I remember a couple other guys brought him to a Beastie Boys concert, and he was like, well, I would just ask that we listen to their music on the way to the concert. I'd like to familiarize myself with their canon. There you go, guys.
Starting point is 00:56:23 What a lovely time this was. Lutz, thanks for joining. Lutz, do you think you had more fun being here or Merika had more fun not? I think she had more fun not. Yeah. But I had a lot of fun, so. So was up there.
Starting point is 00:56:36 Yoram, it was great to have you back, bud. Thanks, guys. I am finally actually catching up too because this was the last show that I wasn't around for. I was finishing up Land of the Lost, and this was pre me knowing that I had a Razzie nomination for that movie. So great.
Starting point is 00:56:51 It's your last episode where you can be not Razzie nombed. That's a big deal, because you kind of changed after that. Yeah, you did change. Yeah, it's a big turning point for me. Oh, one more thing. I don't think any of this recorded on my end. Oh, good. God damn it.
Starting point is 00:57:05 I will send it. All right, I don't think any of this recorded on my end. Oh, good. God damn it. I will send it. Alright, I love you guys. Let's finish this. Sorry. Alright, I love you. It's fine. They have his mic clean, Dave. You're mic clean. I can talk over anybody. We'll just cut this part out.
Starting point is 00:57:16 Oh my God, Akiva. It's not gonna be an issue. Can I just say something, Akiva? Like, not letting the episode end is very unprofessional. Oh, no. It's a fun Wednesday. We've clearly reached an end point. To drag it out with like side quips? I mean, who are you?
Starting point is 00:57:29 Today's Fred Armisen's birthday, I think. Oh, good. December 4th to Fred Armisen. Andy, you hosted the Spirit Awards, right? I did once, yeah. If you were hosting it this year, would you be mad right now that you had blown the Beetlejuice joke?
Starting point is 00:57:42 No, I would just keep hitting it over and over throughout the show. And definitely come out as Beetlejuice for an extended period of time. Definitely. You think? Hey. How are you going to leave out the juice? Yeah, exactly.
Starting point is 00:57:54 I heard people were talking about me. Yeah, if you're asking me, who's the best spirit? I'm going to go. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's weird to do it now that it's been on SNL, you know? Because now it's like, oh, I'm doing my famous thing.
Starting point is 00:58:06 Yeah, now it's like a hit. Yeah, that everyone loved and can't stop talking about. Now it's like if Bill was doing Stefan in interviews, you'd be like, yeah, it's a hit. Yeah, exactly. We know what it is, dude. All right, it's one of our classic double-enders. Love you guys. Love you, love you, bye.

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