Podcasts about The Ben Stiller Show

Phil and David welcome stand-up comic, writer, actor and voice artist Dana Gould for a "Naked Lunch" from The Sycamore Kitchen full of great stories about everything from writing for The Simpsons, being part of The Ben Stiller Show, being the voice of the Gex video series, and starring as Dr. Zaius in "Hanging with Dr. Z." This is the only episode with stories that involve Mel Brooks AND Sammy Petrillo. See Dana's new  I'd to plug my stand-up special, "Perfectly Normal," which just dropped on January 29th. It's called Perfectly Normal and is  available at 800poundgorillamedia.com -- and on YouTube starting 2/13. To learn more about building community through food and "Somebody Feed the People," visit the Philanthropy page at philrosenthalworld.com. 

On today's episode, I talk to comedian and actor David Cross. Originally from Roswell, GA, David started as a stand-up at the age of seventeen, first in Boston and then in New York in the '90s. David's television career began with a writing job on the The Ben Stiller Show. It was around this time that he met Bob Odenkirk, and they started performing together, eventually creating the brilliant sketch show Mr. Show, which ran on HBO for four seasons. Since then, David has done a million awesome things including Arrested Development, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, as well as smaller parts in everything from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to What We Do in the Shadows. He's also performed eight stand-up albums and specials; his latest Worst Daddy in the World just came out last year on 800 Pound Gorilla, and it's a delight! And of course, you can see him touring this spring, if you live in Canada or Europe. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

This week Mike sits down with Severance's very own Ben Stiller and Adam Scott. The three of them dig into the behind the scenes of Severance Season 2 and discuss what it is that makes them work so well together as actor and director.  Ben and Adam share audition advice for actors, as well as how their grieving processes influenced their work together. Plus, Mike and Adam nerd out about The Ben Stiller Show and Reality Bites, and Mike reveals which Severance character he almost played.Please Consider Donating To: The Center for Reproductive Rights and the UNHCR 

This week's episode is an interview with writer/producer/director Brent Forrester! Brent is our first guest who worked on The Office—he worked on the show from seasons 3 through 9, with numerous writing, directing, and producing credits from that time. He's also written for shows like The Simpsons, The Ben Stiller Show, King of the Hill, and more. Our conversation covers a wide range of topics, including the art of comedy writing, what it was like crafting some of our favorite episodes, and even writing for animated comedies. It was a fantastic conversation and we hope you enjoy it!  Brent also teaches courses on writing TV comedy, his next class on WRITING THE PILOT starts on February 9! You can check it out here: https://www.brentforrester.com/webinar  Support our show and become a member of Scott's Tots on Patreon! For only $5/month, Tots get ad-free episodes plus exclusive access to our monthly Mailbag episodes where we casually pick through every single message/question/comment we receive. We also have Season 2 of our Ted Lasso podcast Biscuits with the Boss available to our Patrons, as well as our White Lotus Christmas Special, Party Down, and unreleased episodes of this show. Oh, and Tots get access to exclusive channels on our Discord. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The infamous Andy Dick returns for a revealing 1-on-1. They talk about Andy's sobriety, his bisexuality, growing up with an absentee dad, finding his biological parents, his decreased libido, and going to Diddy parties. Then, they discuss Andy's time on The Ben Stiller Show, what Andy does for income in 2024, why Jon Lovitz blames Andy for the death of Phil Hartman, and Joe Rogan's anti-marijuana stance on the set of NewsRadio. For more with Andy Dick: ● INSTAGRAM: @andydick ● TWITTER/X: @andydick ● WEBSITE: andydick.com ● DOCUMENTARY: The Sad Little Angel Clown (That Cried) - filming now, premieres next year. Thank you for supporting our sponsors: ● https://Bioptimizers.com/adam and use promo code Adam ● https://Kalshi.com/adam ● http://Sendthevote.org/Adam or text ADAM to 33022 ● http://OReillyAuto.com/Adam

10/25/24: Jim Shaw is filling in for Joel Heitkamp on "News and Views," and is joined by Bruce Kirschbaum. Bruce is a producer and writer, and is best known for his work on The Ben Stiller Show, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Bruce shares memories of working on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and tells the listeners what it was like working with people like Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Cross joins Mark to discuss going on Letterman, auditioning for SNL, meeting with Lorne Michaels, Mr. Show, & The Ben Stiller Show.   Tour Dates: https://officialdavidcross.com/pages/appearances Listen: Senses Working Overtime with David Cross   Watch- YouTube Channel   Follow on Instagram   Follow X (formerly Twitter)   Follow Facebook

Janeane Garofalo joins Mark to discuss working with Garry Shandling on The Larry Sanders Show, being on Letterman and guest hosting The Late Show, the challenges being on SNL, and The Ben Stiller Show. Presented by LateNighter.com Follow Mark on Instagram and X Please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. For more episodes go to LateNighter.com/podcasts

Brent Forrester is an award-winning writer, producer and director, who has written for 6 Emmy Award-winning television comedies. He's written on some of the biggest sitcoms ever such as the Office, The Simpsons, The Ben Stiller Show, Space Force, King of the Hill, Love, and Super Fun Night. Brent won his first Comedy Writing Emmy at age 25 for his work on "The Ben Stiller Show."  He went on to write for "The Simpsons," helped launch "King of The Hill," and was a writer, producer and director at NBC's "The Office" for seven seasons where he later became the co showrunner/ co head writer.  He's also written for "Late Night with Conan," "Mr. Show with Bob and Dave," and "The Larry Sanders Show,". He has also worked as a Head Writer on Netflix shows like Judd Apatow's "Love" and Steve Carrell's "Space Force," along with Amazon shows like Greg Daniel's "Upload" and "People of Earth."  Brent has a new writing course which is now out! (Link below). It doesn't matter if you missed the first one, you can still join and catch up on previous weeks. Here's the blurb for the course- “This is the latest and greatest version of my FIVE WEEK class:  five 90-minute webinars, Sundays at 2pm PST.  If you can't be there live, don't worry, there's a link to watch later.  In Class One I encourage everyone to take THE PLEDGE: "I will finish a draft of my script!"  Over the following weeks, I lead you through my own 6-part writing process, which I developed over 30 seasons in writers rooms, sharing all my most valuable writing secrets, in the most entertaining way I can. We analyze scenes together, I bring you on screen to discuss your work, and do everything I can to motivate your writing process!”   We chat about his drive to improve and move forward, writing, The Office, The Simpsons, being fired, his mentor Susan Harris, “not having talent”, rejection, writers room approach, his new epic course (which is now out) plus plenty more! The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Brent out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forrestercomedycourse/ Course/ website: https://www.brentforrester.com/webinar Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brentforrestercomedy

Comedy Icon and star of one of the greatest television dramas of all time Bob Odenkirk joins Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis to discuss Royle Family, Better Call Saul, Golfing, Skating in the 70s, Messing with Basements, When Jason beat Tony, Talking Fathers, Mr. Show, Ben Stiller Show, Better Call Saul, David Cross' voicemail, Action scenes, and Bob gives Tony a couple of Skate pointers outside. See Jason On Tour! https://thejasonellis.com/ Go to Outerknown.com today and enter the code “Wolf” at checkout to get 25% off your full price order Win signed Better Call Saul merch from the episode, make sure you're subscribed, like the episode, and leave a comment, screenshot that and send it to the Hawk Vs Wolf Instagram and we'll randomly pick winners! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedy Icon and star of one of the greatest television dramas of all time Bob Odenkirk joins Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis to discuss Royle Family, Better Call Saul, Golfing, Skating in the 70s, Messing with Basements, When Jason beat Tony, Talking Fathers, Mr. Show, Ben Stiller Show, Better Call Saul, David Cross' voicemail, Action scenes, and Bob gives Tony a couple of Skate pointers outside. See Jason On Tour! https://thejasonellis.com/ Go to Outerknown.com today and enter the code “Wolf” at checkout to get 25% off your full price order Win signed Better Call Saul merch from the episode, make sure you're subscribed, like the episode, and leave a comment, screenshot that and send it to the Hawk Vs Wolf Instagram and we'll randomly pick winners! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a CreepSeason 25, Episode 1Andy DickYou probably know Andy Dick from the “The Ben Stiller Show” or “NewsRadio.” But he's also famous for a very long history of harassing, groping, licking, and punching people, as well as whipping *it out in public. He has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, but that's no excuse for his behavior. What a creep.Sources for this episode CBS NewsCrackedEntertainment WeeklyLooperPage SixPage SixPeople MagazineThe ThingsVoxYahoo NewsWikipediaTrigger warnings: Addiction, suicide, and constantly whipping it out in publicBe sure to follow us on social media. But don't follow us too closely … don't be a creep about it! Subscribe to us on Apple PodcastsTwitter: https://twitter.com/CreepPod @CreepPodFacebook: Join the private group! Instagram @WhatACreepPodcastVisit our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/whatacreepEmail: WhatACreepPodcast@gmail.com We've got merch here! https://whatacreeppodcast.threadless.com/#Our website is www.whatacreeppodcast.com Our logo was created by Claudia Gomez-Rodriguez. Follow her on Instagram @ClaudInCloud

This week, we're back on the rom-com train with another selection from Hayley's collection, as we raise a blind ferret and get down with the scuba man. It's 2003's Along Came Polly, written and directed by John Hamburg, and starring Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, and Hank Azaria, along with countless other famous funny people who oddly aren't allowed to do anything funny in this film. It's one we come to out of appreciation for the late great PSH, and he gives an outstanding performance -- how much you love Mr. Hoffman may very well make this one worth watching for you, but sadly little else here registers. That's alright though: both hosts are fresh back from the theatre having seen Alex Garland's Civil War, and J Mo's got a bonus theatrical field report from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. If you'd like to watch Along Came Polly before listening to this episode (and we do not recommend that you do), it is currently streaming on Starz at the time of publication. Other works discussed in this episode include King Kong (2005), Godzilla vs Kong, Men, Annihilation, Dredd, Bad Times at the El Royale, Fallout: The Series, Captain Marvel, Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, There's Something About Mary, When Harry Met Sally..., Duplex, Envy, Meet The Fockers, Tropic Thunder, Zoolander, Garden State, The Ben Stiller Show, Mystery Men, Flirting With Disaster, Keeping The Faith, Reality Bites, Empire Records, Singles, 30 Rock, Empire of the Sun, Heroes, The Wrestler, The Virgin Suicides, and The Iron Claw. We'll be back next week to wrap up the month with Hayley's nominee for April's canon induction, as we'll look back at Stephen Sommers' 1999 summer blockbuster The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, coinciding with it's 25-year-anniversary theatrical re-release. The Mummy is currently streaming free on Tubi at the time of publication. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

Dana talks to Jay about the ego death of change. You think you're something and then you're not. He talks about aging, dadding, growing comfortable with being who is and being damn lucky to be that. Bio: Dana Gould began his professional comedy career at the age of seventeen with six solo stand-up comedy specials and done all talk shows from LETTERMAN to CONAN. As an actor, Dana has had memorable turns on SEINFELD, PARKS AND REC, his live-action self on FAMILY GUY. Dana was writer/performer on the original BEN STILLER SHOW, a Co-Executive Producer on The Simpsons and a producer on NBC's PARKS AND REC. Dana is the creator of the IFC horror-comedy STAN AGAINST EVIL and created the YouTube sensation, Hanging With Dr. Z, “the talk show Dr. Zaius should have had in the 1970's and didn't but now does.” Dana's podcast, THE DANA GOULD HOUR, and released 2 comedy albums MR. FUNNY MAN and I KNOW IT'S WRONG. He also made the comedy concert film Joy Ride! with fellow comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. His next stand up special, the third season of Hanging With Dr. Z, and the premiere of the Peacock series TED TV, upon which Dana is co-executive producer, are all on tap for 2024.From Straw Hut Media

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we talk to Rachel Pollack, daughter of actor/director Sydney Pollack. We talk to Rachel about some truly amazing experiences that only a child of a celebrity could tell you. Like what you ask? How about being on set of Out of Africa IN AFRICA with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and still wishing you were home in LA with your high school boyfriend? Or having to tell your dad who Dave Matthews was before a meeting? When your dad's films are nominated for 48 Academy Awards, those things do tend to happen. We also talk about Ben Stiller's impression of her dad as Frankenstein on The Ben Stiller Show (which she didn't know about), how her father met her mother in a very famous acting class in New York and how her mother gave up her dream so that they could raise a family together and – get this – her dad's obsession with making BBQed ribs. I ask you, what other podcast can tell you that Sydney Pollack started making his ribs 24 hours in advance? We hear stories about Tom Cruise, Tootsie, The Sopranos, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Burt Lancaster and much, much more. It was a truly fantastic discussion with Rachel and you get to hear about it right now, on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

For a time in the 2000s, Ben Stiller dominated big-screen comedy. As a charter member of the "Frat Pack," along with people such as Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Will Ferrell, Stiller had an incredible string of blockbuster hits, including Zoolander, Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Meet the Parents, and the Night at the Museum franchise. In recent years, Stiller's stepped away from comedy, moving behind the camera to helm acclaimed limited series such as Escape at Dannemora & Severance. In this episode of WTF Happened to this Celebrity, we take a look at his career, from his early days on The Ben Stiller Show, through his breakout in There's Something About Mary and beyond. 

November 24-30, 1990 This week Ken welcomes the hilarious, smart and fantastic writer, comedian and host of "TV, I Say with Ashley Ray", Ashley Ray. Ken and Ashley discuss being in Columbia, lack of Spanish language skills, watching foreign TV vs keeping up with American shows, Good Day LA, CTV, Canadians getting shows before the US, Ashley's birthday, growing up in Central Time, being born in Dallas, Rockford IL,  revisiting stuff from the 1990s, TVLand, Nick at Nite, Designing Women, Golden Girls, Network family sitcoms, The Goldbergs, Abbot Elementary, single cam vs multi cam sitcoms, Wonder Years, Growing Pains, non-people who have had TV credits before Ken, Malibu cigarettes, Linda Evans, Dynasty, made for TV movies, Tricks of the Trade, Your Mother Wears Army Boots, the legacy of The Cosby Show, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Lisa Bonet's eternal ultra fame, A Different World,  Kindergarten Cop, Chic Jeans, K-Mart ads, back to school shopping, the debut of Law and Order, Carol and Company, comedy anthologies, Kroll Show, The Wonder Years neighborhood in Burbank, In Living Color, seeing only the highs and now the lows of a sketch comedy show, the greatness of Nora Dunn, The Motown 30 What's Going On special, when Damon Wayans got himself fired from SNL, Ken's excited tangents, Ashley's favorite sketch show of all time, The Tracy Ullman Show, Rags to Riches, Big Brother Jake, Descending Angel, Jean Smart, George Carlin, The Ben Stiller Show, Charles and Diana, 52 Pick-Up, the teen suicide episode of Growing Pains, A My Name is Alex, the sad evolution of Ricky Schroeder, stand up specials, Def Comedy Jam, Pulp Comics, Shop Til You Drop, Premium Blend, Six Ladies Laughing, Andrea Martin, Lifetime Television for Women, TV trivia hosted by Alan Thicke, Arsenio Hall replacing Mud Wrestling, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, watching TV shows with your friends in them, Babes, making fun of your stars in the title of your show, thirtysomething, not revisiting shows you hated, Quantum Leap, Jack Kerouac, historical figures from your own lifetime being depicted by actors on fictional TV shows, "Obama" on Legends of Tomorrow, how beatniks are just hippies, Family Matters, watching all of Sex in the City for the first time during the pandemic, making sure you do the reading so you know all the cultural references and having heavy reality TV as your comfort shows. 

On this exciting new episode of Comedy Gold Minds, Kevin is joined by actor, director, and comedic powerhouse Ben Stiller. The two discuss all things comedy, including growing up with comedic parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, creating The Ben Stiller Show, what it's like to act and direct a film at the same time, and why he thinks his movie Tropic Thunder would never get made today.Like Comedy Gold Minds? SiriusXM subscribers get it a day early, plus Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud Radio, his 24/7 comedy channel, with great talk shows and stand-up. Learn more / check it out for 3 months at siriusxm.com/comedygoldminds.

July 14-20, 1990 This week Ken welcomes comedian and writer Lew Schneider to the show. Ken and Lew discuss growing up in Brookline, MA, Boston accents, Michael Dukakis, picking up garbage, the Pope of Brookline, Lew's concerns for Ken, Ken's misspent youth and wasted potential, being in a Summer replacement series, Sinbad, giving Grape Nuts a try, hosting Nickelodeon's Make the Grade, TV starts with unpronounceable names, doing improv in Chicago with Bob Odenkirk, the blue collar job that is being an actor, realizing being a writer is a smarter move, how Winter takes years off your life, the benefit of Vitamin D, how TV is a writer's medium, Ray Ramano's dramatic acting career, Men of a Certain Age, The Goldbergs, Phil Rosenthal, 1-900-925-KELLY, Bob Denver: Phone creep, The Geo Metro, who the hottest women on TV are circa 1990, Kadeem Hardison is a Doctor, how Ken is a jew who isn't a jew, Hester St, Ken's crush on Alyssa Milano, Comic Strip Live!, doing a show just for a cool jacket, Emma Thompson, Star Trek The Next Generation, befriending Brent Spiner, original TV Guide art, Wish You Were Here, auditioning for Northern Exposure, how weird Loren Michaels is, The Wonder Years, what ifs related to The Gambler, having a deal at Disney, The George Wendt Show, the golf hazards at the US Open, Richard Lewis, Anything But Love, Later with Bob Costas, getting a Hungarian work visa, Down the Shore, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Ben Stiller Show, The Edge, getting paid badly to be on a CBS TV show, being too early for Netflix, loving Succession, Love on the Spectrum, Evil, The Good Fight, The Good Wife, and 101 Fun Things to do in Melbourne with Children.

After American comedian and actor Andy Dісk would make a name for himself on a series of cult-classic 90s television series like “The Ben Stiller Show” and “NewsRadio”, he'd be heralded as “the most talented, gutsy, and truly strange comic of his generation” by Time Magazine. But then came the turn as a series of outlandish controversies would see him spiral out of control on his path toward becoming one of the most disliked individuals in Hollywood. But long before that switch-flipped, Andy Dісk was born in Charleston, South Carolina on December 21st, 1965. His actual birth name was Andrew Thomlinson, but he was adopted by his parents, Allen and Sue Dісk who then passed on their last name. During his childhood, Andy got to see a whole bunch of the world thanks to the fact that his father served as a commander of a nuclear submarine in the United States Navy. Andy's family lived in seven different places, including Yugoslavia, before moving to Joliet, Illinois in 1982 when he was 17 years old.

The trouble with Andy Dісk and his plunge into the Dark Side of Fame began long before headlines revealed that he'd been arrested in Santa Barbara, California on felony burglary charges after allegedly entering a home under construction and stealing multiple power tools. Stealing something might be a brand-new offense for Dісk, but groping is most definitely not. And if he's not having problems keeping his hands to himself, well, he's probably somewhere out there in La La Land, doing illegal stuff. In some ways, Andy Dісk fall from grace is a tragic chain of events that brought down a once-promising comic who was heralded by Time Magazine as “the most talented, gutsy, and truly strange comic of his generation”. In other ways, controversy and Andy Dісk have become such common bedfellows that to expect anything else from the dude would probably be asking too much at this point. You see, as Andy's star rose in Hollywood thanks to his presence in the cult-classic television series, “The Ben Stiller Show” and “NewsRadio”, so too did his seemingly endless appetite for illegal substances.

Director Paul Miller joined me to discuss appearing on TV before ever watching it; Howdy Doody; becoming a director; getting hired at the Ohio State University TV station; getting a job at KGO TV San Fransisco; Electra Woman and Dyna Girl; working freelance for NBC Sports; directing the Oscars and the Osmonds; getting the call to direct Fridays; working with KISS; directing the Hollywood Cubes sketch; how live TV makes changes up to the last minute; how Saturday Night Live uses more pre-taped segments then when he was there; directing the Gilbert Gottfried / Larry David pilot Norman's Corner; NBC urges Lorne Michaels to hire him to replace Dave Wilson as SNL's director; SNL being a writer's driven show; directing the pilot for In Living Color; appearing on camera in first SNL episode; Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, and Jan Hooks; Sam Kinnison; being pre-empted by the World Series; Roy Orbison; directing SNL during the Technician's Strike; '88 Debate sketch; Mike Myers; coming back for anniversary shows; Damon Wayans; Jim Carrey; working on The Ben Stiller Show, Mad TV, and Not Necessarily the News; directing and being nominated for the Cable Ace Award; Dennis Miller; Kathy Griffin; directing 2 Super Bowl half Time Shows; can you win an Emmy for directing the Emmy's?; directing Charlie Brown's Christmas 50th Anniversary; where he keeps his Emmy; producing and directing The Carol Burnett Show's 50th Anniversary; and his charity work building schools in Africa.

This week, we have our first Podcast guest, Writer/Director Rob Cohen. Rob has written and directed for shows like The Simpsons, Wonder Years, The Ben Stiller Show, MAD TV, SNL, Just Shoot Me, Maron, Big Bang Theory & Black-ish. Join Michael Jamin and Rob Cohen as they discuss their careers, breaking in, and what it means to have a long, fruitful career in Hollywood.Show NotesMichael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Watchlist - https://michaeljamin.com/watchlistRob Cohen on IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169712/Transcripts are Auto-GeneratedRob Cohen:Just shoot Me was in the nineties. And if you said NBC in the nineties had so many comedies, some were good, and some were terrible. But now, if you look at NBC, are they doing any comedies? Like maybe two?Michael Jamin:Yeah, maybe. Yeah.Rob Cohen:Yeah. So, so it's the same place, but it's the, the tide is clear. So for somebody to aspire to working on wacky old-timey NBC comedies, it's very foolish. However, if they are a self starter and, and determine what their roadmap is, nobody will stop them. You can't guarantee success, but at least you've tried it and you might be successful trying it and pursue what you like.Michael Jamin:Right. You're listening to Screenwriters Need to Hear This with Michael Jam. Hey everybody, welcome to Screenwriters. Need to hear this. My name is Michael Jamin and Phil is not here with us today, but I have a special guest. This is our first time ever having a guest on, on our podcast. And I'm absolutely thrilled that it's, you know, in Hollywood. People say this is my good friend, My, but it's true. Rob, you're my good friend and thank you.Rob Cohen:You're my goodMichael Jamin:Friend. Yeah. . And so it's nice to actually have a good friend kick off my guest on the show. So let me introduce you. This is Rob Cohen, Writer, Director, and I'm gonna scroll through some of your credits so people know who you are. And and I'm sorry, I'm, I'm only gonna do some of the highlights that I think I'm gonna leave out. Probably the someone's I, because you had, Rob has a huge resume and you're a writer and a director, but you started andRob Cohen:Some of it is good.Michael Jamin:And for, for those of you wanna make a, a visualization. Rob also worked on one of your early jobs was The Simpsons and the character of Millhouse was Rob modeled after him. So Rob is picture Millhouse now older and sadder. So, and also Rob's Canadian. So I wanna talk about how a Canadian breaks into the business. Sure. The whole language barrier, how you learned English. Right. I wanna learn how weRob Cohen:Figured out Yeah. How the machines work so we could Yeah.Michael Jamin:I know you drove a dog sled growing up and now, now you drive a car. So stuff like that. Thank you.Rob Cohen:Thank YouMichael Jamin:Thank you. So let's begin. Rob's, I guess your first staff job, I guess was the Naked Truth, your big one?Rob Cohen:No, my very first staff job full time was the Ben Stiller show.Michael Jamin:Oh, right. Will you go back even further than that? Bend Stiller. Right. And you also did Mad tv. Hold on. Your credits are crazy good. Like you have a huge list of credits. Naked Truth work with me, I met you on, well I think I knew you before that, but just shoot me work. You work together, right? Bet, bet. Midler show. Yes. According to Jim. Mm-Hmm. , according to your credits, you are on, According to Jim. Right. the Jamie Kennedy experiment. Was that a show or an experiment? Rob?Rob Cohen:That was an experiment. That became a show on the wv.Michael Jamin:See Dots? I don't know what that is. It'sRob Cohen:A amazing, That was a pilot for nbc. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Oh, Pilot. How did you get that in there? Father of the Pride? You remember that, that animated show American Dad? I've heard of that one. Yep. Big Bang Theory. Heard of that one. Mm-Hmm. , 20 Good Years. Mm-Hmm. , our friend Marsh McCall created that show. Mm-Hmm. Emily's reasons why not. Mm-Hmm. fascinating.Rob Cohen:You're really combing through all theMichael Jamin:I'm on IMDB.Rob Cohen:Yeah, of course.Michael Jamin:There's more Life In Times of Tim, which was a riot that, that animated show Maron, which we brought you back. We hired you to be a writer and director on that. We're gonna talk about that. Yeah, sure. Lady Dynamite with our friend Pam Brady. Mm-Hmm. I don't know companies. I don't, I don't know. So I'm skipping over the, But you also have your own show called Hanging with Dr. Z. We're gonna talk about that. And then, But directing credits are also crazy. I mean, really I'm all them. Well, well you're, you're, you're good looking. Thanks. Let's go over some of them. Sure. Obviously you did a, you did a bunch of Marons. Yeah. Mystery Science Theater, 3000. You did some Lady Dynamites. Yeah. You did Blackish. Mm-Hmm. Stand Against Evil, Speechless. Bless this Mess. Superstore, you directed mm-hmm. The Goldbergs, you directed. Mm-Hmm. Interesting. told that Mo You are, And then most recently, somebody somewhere, which I, I talk about that a lot cause I love the pilot of that. And I just love that show. You directed five episodes of thatRob Cohen:Damn right. Seven,Michael Jamin:Seven. We have to update your IMDB. Yeah,Rob Cohen:Yeah.Michael Jamin:Let's start at the beginning. Cuz a lot of people ask me this and I have no answer. How does a Canadian start work in this country? Like, there are lawsRob Cohen:There are laws and I mean, I know that Americans are all about purity. So I will say that Canadians, they're almost like Americans. It's almost like we live next door to you guys,Michael Jamin:South or north of us.Rob Cohen:I, I don't know, , I don't know. But I didn't have any aspirations to get into showbiz or even come to the United States. So I didn't know that it was a, it was all a fluke. The whole thing was a fluke. I can certainly condense the journey.Michael Jamin:Let's hear it.Rob Cohen:The fast version is I was a bit of a scam as a young man and was encouraged to live on my own at a young age. And so I lived on my own and I was just a complete screw up. And I grew up in Calgary and had no future whatsoever.Michael Jamin:You were encouraged to live on your own at what age?Rob Cohen:15.Michael Jamin:Why? You were, you were a handful for your parents.Rob Cohen:I was a handful because my dad had gotten remarried and the mix was not the greatest mix. So there were two opinions on how things should work in that situation. I was of one opinion andMichael Jamin:TheRob Cohen:Back was of another.Michael Jamin:But looking back on it, do you realize, Do, are you, do you feel like you were wrong as a 15 year old? Or do you like No, I was right.Rob Cohen:You were right. I was absolutely right. Interesting. Absolutely. Right. and so I just, You,Michael Jamin:You were on your own at 15, Dude, I, I couldn't imagine.Rob Cohen:Yeah. I had an apartment. I, I mean, it's not like I suddenly got, was living on my own and figured everything out. I was still a disaster. I just had my own apartment and I was so stupid that for the first month I was like, Oh, this is awesome. My party pad. And I had all my buddies over and we were just doing stupid things. And then I got the, basically realized I had to pay rent and gas and electric. And I was like, Oh my God. Like, I actually have to pay these bills to live here. And I was delivering pizzas at night, and that was certainly,Michael Jamin:You're gonna school during the day and delivering pizza.Rob Cohen:Yeah, I delivered pizzas. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I was a comp, I was a disaster. I had a 75 Dodge Dart that I would deliver pizzas in whatever the weather was and would like steal gasoline from car lots. So I could put gas in my car to deliver pizzas. I was a complete idiot.Michael Jamin:Have you tried pitching this as a show?Rob Cohen:No. it's just, it's so, it's, it's interesting in hindsight, but it's also, you know, you could call it, you know, like it's like Don portrait of a team runaway. It's like Rob portrait of a complete disaster because every choice I made was wrong. That'sMichael Jamin:Mind's a good show.Rob Cohen:. Well, maybe at some point, but I think I sold a pilot once about my parents' weird divorce and how they lived a block away from each other, but had the same address through it, some flute. But anyways, I was just drifting around for a while, just doing nothing. And sort of speeding up to your question. My cousin lived here in LA in the Valley, and I, because I was doing nothing in Calgary and had, I was not gonna college, I did not have enough credits or interest to go to university. And just got my car one day and left my apartment in Calgary and just threw a bunch of stuff in the car and drove down here to LA to visit my cousin who lived in Vaneyes. And again, like speeding through the boring stuff. I was just gonna visit for a couple days and crash on his couch.Rob Cohen:And I met this girl that he was going to school with, and we, she and I hit it off and I'm like, I'll stay another week mm-hmm. and then I'll stay another week. And then I sort of had this, if you want to use the word epiphany incorrectly realized like, I could go back to Calgary and do nothing, or I could stay here and do nothing with this girl. So I decided to like stick around for an you know, excuse me, undetermined amount of time. And then realized I'm kind of living here. But I was, I lived here illegally for many years.Michael Jamin:And you were like 17.Rob Cohen:Yeah.Michael Jamin:How old were you? And you were living here illegally?Rob Cohen:Yes. For many years. Interesting.Michael Jamin:Yeah. And, but you were working, How did you work then?Rob Cohen:I worked under the table. I got a bunch of jobs. I think the statute of limitations is over, but I worked at different restaurants and Right. The, I was a security guard at a mall. I sold shoes, I fixed yogurt machines.Michael Jamin:You know, I worked at a yogurt store. I wonder if you fixed Humphrey yogurt.Rob Cohen:You fix, did you fix them? I worked at a place called I can't believe it's Yogurt. And then they opened up a second store that said, Yes, it's yogurt . So they basically, they opened up a store that answered a question nobody was asking. No. Was asking . Yeah. And I still remember how to, you know, you unscrew those four bolts and you pull out the assembly and you take the O-rings off and you clean them and then you lu the O-rings and then you put the thing back in. But it was all the reality was because I looked and mostly sounded like an American people never asked. And this was pre nine 11 and pre all that stuff. And they just thought I was American. And no, not one person asked me for any validating id. Wow. And I, I made up a fake social security number and got hired and they, a lot of 'em just paid me cash under the table.Michael Jamin:This is perfect. Yeah. Now, and then at some point, well, but maybe I'll skip. So how did you, how did this whole Hollywood thing happen? When did you decide, how did that, when did you decide you wanted to be a, I guess, a writer? Right.Rob Cohen:Well, I never decided it. I, I, it's such a boring story and I may actually do it as a pilot, but cutting to the chase, I was delivering food for a, a deli that is no longer in business in LA Right. And had a lot of clientele that were in show business. And this one guy took a liking to me and basically said, you know, if you ever wanna get outta the exciting world of late night sandwich delivery, gimme a call. We need PAs. And I didn't know what a PA was. And he explained what it was. So I, I, this is how dope I was. I was like, Yeah, sure. So I'll, I called him up and went over to the Fox lot and he explained what a PA was Uhhuh and I thought it paid more than working at thisMichael Jamin:Deli. And he, he was a producer. What wasRob Cohen:He? Producer? for, I mean, he's still a producer, but producer of The Simpsons, Tracy Elman show. Oh, okay. This, he's an amazing guy named Richards guy who I, I literally owe everything to. And he hired me because I was nice to him when I would deliver food as a PA on the Trace Elman Show. And that was the very first time I was exposed to anything in show business whatsoever. And I was assigned to the writer's room, so I was in charge of getting them food and cleaning up. And And that's a queen. Yeah. And it was an amazing writer's room. And that was it. That was the first exposure to it.Michael Jamin:And then when did you decide you wanna start? When did you start writing?Rob Cohen:I didn't start writing. I was there for the last two seasons of the Tracy Elman Show. And then on the last season I didn't even, I still don't really know how to type. I started hunt and peck, but I would stay late at night. And they were, it was a great writer's room and they were really nice to me. And I just thought these guys seemed to be having fun. And one night they were stuck on a joke and that meant they were sticking around, which meant I had to stick around because I had to clean up after them. And I just decided like, I'm gonna write down a couple options for this joke. And sort of meekly slipped it to one of the writers, this guy Mark Flanigan, who was an incredible, and I'm like, you know, I don't mean to step on eight toes, but I just, I wanna go home.Rob Cohen:Ideas. Yeah. And that was literally, I wanna go home. And he, they used one of the jokes. And so I got to go home . And then I was like, Okay, well I'll try this again. So I, I started to very quietly with months in between side sort of pitch ideas. And then I went in at night after work and Red Scripts and sort of taught myself how a script is visually structured. Right. And then on the computer would type fake scripts just to physically format a script. And then, because it was a sketch show, I had this idea for a sketch and I just typed it up and it took like a month for me to type up a six page sketch cuz I was terrified. Right. And they ended up buying it and Wow. It was like $1,600. And I got an agent at caa, but I was still a pa at the Tracy Elman show. Right. And, and then I thought, again, showing my lack of planning for my life it was like, this writing things seems kind of fun, like maybe I'll try it. And that was, that was when I had the first inkling that perhaps that was something I may want to try to pursue. But there was no guarantee of success.Michael Jamin:And then you just continued writing specs scripts and your agents started submitting you places.Rob Cohen:I wrote a bunch of spec stuff and then by that point to Tracy Mond show was canceled and they switched. It was the same production company as The Simpsons, which was just starting. So they switched everybody over to The Simpsons. And then because everybody there was so great when The Simpsons took off, you know, it just was huge outta the gate. They had all these weird assignments that they needed help with. Like can you come up with 50 grant calls for Bart? Can you come up with a promo for this? Do the Bartman video that's gonna be on mtv. And I'm actually looking, the, my very first check sort of professional check over on the wall was for writing the intro that Bart Simpson was gonna say on MTV for the Do the Bartman video that had Michael Jackson on it. Right.Rob Cohen:So I got $300 and then just started sort of you know, writing weird things. And the, the first actual job that I got was I was recommended by one of the writers to these producers named Smith Heian. Mm-Hmm. And they were doing a 50th anniversary Bugs Bunny special for CBS. And they needed a writer that knew a lot of stuff about Bugs Bunny. So I had a meeting with them, they hired me for $2,600 to write this whole special, And that was like my first professionally produced credit of something that was, I, I was involved in from the beginning to the end. Right. But I'm still a paMichael Jamin:And none of this see, people ask me like, Well, do I have to move to Hollywood to work in Hollywood? AndRob Cohen:Like, Right.Michael Jamin:I mean, this wouldn't happen if you were not in Hollywood.Rob Cohen:Oh yeah. And it was, everybody says this, but it was absolutely a different time. And I also think that because it was the late eighties, early nineties and things were, there were way more jobs. And also because sketch shows were so popular, they needed people needed little bits. And also being around The Simpsons from the beginning, it was great like that. The Do the Bartman thing I sweated over that for a week and it was probably four sentences. Right. and I would write like top 10 lists for Letterman and try to send them in like naively thinking here's, here's 20 top 10 lists, Maybe you guys will like them. And I was just, I would stay there late at night in the office on the Fox up by myself with, you know, feral cats giving birth under the trailer just writing weird stuff and kind of figuring out the job as I was doing it.Michael Jamin:And then how did you get the Ben Stiller Jo Show?Rob Cohen:This has gotta be also boring.Michael Jamin:I think it's fascinating.Rob Cohen:Well, the way I got the Stiller show was The Simpsons had taken off and I was still working for Gracie. And I had an idea for an episode and it was season two of The Simpsons. And so I went and just wrote this episode on spec on my own. And it was basically a diehard parody cuz Diehard had come out just like a couple years before that about the power plant where Homer works getting taken over and he inadvertently becomes a hero and saves a power plant. Mm-Hmm. . So I wrote this whole spec, I turned it into Sam Simon who was running the show and was just great and he loved it. But what I was told sort of off the record is at that time, Gracie Films had a rule where they could not hire writers that were already working for the company in another capacity.Rob Cohen:It was like this weird archaic rule. So being a Ding Don I was like, Oh yeah, well screw that. I quit. So I walked over to the main bungalow and spoke to Richard Sky and I was like, You know what? I think that rule's terrible and Sam likes my script and I just think I'm gonna try this writing thing. And, and I quit. And they're like, Well, we're sorry to have you go. And then as I was walking back across the parking lot to get my stuff, Sam grabbed me and he is like, I heard you quit. And I said, Yes. And he goes, Well now you don't work here anymore, so now we can hire you, but we can't use your idea because you pitched it to us when you're an employee. And I was like, That's weird. But cutting to the chase.Rob Cohen:They took me upstairs to the writer's room and they had an index card that just says Homer invents a drink and most deals it. And so they said, We would like you, we loved your script and you've been here since the beginning. Like, we'd love you to write an episode. And I was like, Absolutely. I was freaking out. And I said, like a, an arrogant idiot. I was like, But I wanna be involved in the entire process. Cause I knew the process cuz I was working on the show. And they're like, You got it. And so we broke the whole story and it ended up being the episode flaming mosMichael Jamin:Flaming. I know you wrote Flaming Mo. Wow.Rob Cohen:So I wrote Flaming Moose, and then time went by and, and it got produced and it was on the air. And the way that I got the Stiller show was I was doing punch up on this terrible movie for Morgan Creek and met this other writer there named Jeff Khan. And Jeff and I hit it off and he's like, Hey, they're shooting this weird pilot at my apartment, you wanna go check it out? And I was like, Sure. So we went over and it was the pilot for the Ben Stiller show. Mm-Hmm. . And Ben was there and he and I hit it off and he was asking what I'd worked on and I said, this episode that had just come out for The Simpsons called Flaming Mos. And he was like, I love Flaming Moes, you wrote that. So he said, if his pilot ever became a show, he would love to hire me because we, he and I had so many similar references in our life. We love disaster movies and all this other stuff. So we really clicked. And then a couple months later, the show got picked up and he called me and said, I wanna hire you. And that was my first staff job.Michael Jamin:Wow. What itRob Cohen:Entail? What it entail. IMichael Jamin:Not it is, No, I think it's so cool. I I've known you all these years. I didn't even know that dude.Rob Cohen:And then it's all flukes. It's all flukes,Michael Jamin:It's all Yeah. But it's also you putting yourself out there and I don't know. That's amazing.Rob Cohen:Yeah. I mean, I'm very fortunate these flukes happened because, ButMichael Jamin:You also Yeah. I hadn't but you put yourself in a position to have these flu happen too. Yeah. AndRob Cohen:You were put if I hadn't, but I was prepared. But if I hadn't met Jeff that day and we hadn't gone to his apartment, I would not have met Ben and that wouldn't have led to the show. Right. WhichMichael Jamin:Led. But you're also, I mean, honestly, and I mean this in a compliment, like you're one of the be better connected, more most connected writers. I know, you know, a lot of people like, you know, you're friend, you're a friendly guy, you, you know, a lot of people I guess maybe cuz you leave your houseRob Cohen:No, but you're, you're connected, you know, a lot of people, it's just,Michael Jamin:It's just I know, but I'm always, I'm always surprised by who you like you seem to know more people .Rob Cohen:Yeah. But it's only because I just think I hate this term, but I think the alt comedy scene was starting when you and I were starting off in LA Yeah. And because, especially because of the Stiller show, that whole crew were so important. Like Janine and David Cross and all those guys were so important to the alt comedy scene. And then that's where Jack Black and Tenacious D started and all these other people Will Ferrell. Like they were all coming up that way. I just think it was timing of an, an era that was happening. So wereMichael Jamin:Just, Were you involved in that? Like did you do like, what do you mean? Did you go to those shows and stuff? Like IRob Cohen:Oh yeah. The Diamond Club. Yeah. I mean it was, that was the whole scene. Like big intel books, the Diamond Club. IMichael Jamin:Didn't even know about it back then.Rob Cohen:Really? Oh my God. Yeah. That was where everybody hung out. Like I even performed in some of those dopey shows just because it was, it was a group of friends that were not famous yet that we're just doing these weird shows at this place, The Diamond Club in Hollywood, which is gone mm-hmm. . And you could tell it was like, you know, Jack and Kyle, you knew they were amazing, but they were not tenacious to you yet. Right. And, and Will was not Will Fiery yet. He was a guy from you, the Groundlings and people were just, you know, Janine and David and Pat Oswald and all these guys that were justMichael Jamin:Right. So let's talk about those guys. So they were, you know, these are people putting themselves out there. It's not like Absolutely. They're not saying, Hey, I put me in my movie. They're just putting themselves out there. They're doing shows. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's just how you do it. And so is they're not asking to start at the top, they're starting at the bottom.Rob Cohen:Yeah. Well I think that's a great point. And I think using the, the Diamond Club shows, The Diamond Club was this horrible, horrible dumpy club. A club is a loose term that was owned by one of the the Stray Cat was it Stray Cats?Michael Jamin:Yeah, I know the band. TheRob Cohen:Band The Stray Cats. Yeah. It was like Slim Jim Phantom, I think was the guy who owned the club. Okay. So it was this horrible, decrepit theater that was near LaBrea and Hollywood and it was kind of a you can do anything you want kind of place because it was just soaked in like old piss smell and booze. But the good thing was a lot of friends of ours, like this friend CJ Arabia, started to put these shows together. And so she would ask everybody in our little group that all hung out and travel together and dated each other and whatever. It's like, hey, we can do these shows at the Diamond Club. And I'm not a performer, but it would be like, we would build entire sets out of corrugated cardboard and paint them because the Diamond Club didn't care. They just wanted to sell alcohol to people that came to the shows . So there would be like, you know, shows where you look now at the lineup, you're like, Holy crap, that's the, that's like a lineup of insane comedy hitters. Right. But at the time they were not, they were just young weirdos.Michael Jamin:It's so, because you know, I moved here in 92, I lived right in West Hollywood. I lived right on the corner and I'm just, it's amazed how like we just didn't know each other then, you know? Yeah,Rob Cohen:Yeah. But you and I actually in Seavert sort of weirdly intersected with the Wonder years unbeknownst to us.Michael Jamin:I well sever wrote on that. I didn't he sold number years.Rob Cohen:No, but you guys, and you're credited on my episode.Michael Jamin:I'm no, I I didn't work in the Wonder Years. Si sold ans sold an episode of Freelance episode of Wonder Years, my partner becauseRob Cohen:Yeah. But it's so weird because on screen, it's you two and me credited on the episode. I pitched to Bob Brush. He tried to ripMichael Jamin:Up. Not me, dude. I don't have any credits on Wonder Years. You gotta, I Oh,Rob Cohen:You know, Seavert and his old partner?Michael Jamin:Yeah, his old partner. Yeah. Yes.Rob Cohen:Sorry. It was Sivert and his previous partner.Michael Jamin:I'm surprised he got credit though. Okay.Rob Cohen:Wow. Wow. The whole thing was Bob Brush was just stealing ideas left and right. But wow. That's interesting. But that's SivertMichael Jamin:And I But you never wanted to I'm well, I'm sorry I cut you off. GoRob Cohen:Ahead. No, no. I was gonna say, I didn't know you were Seavert yet. Right. But on that episode, Seavert and I share credit even though at the time we were complete strangers. And then I really met him when I met you on just shootMichael Jamin:Me. Right, Right. Now, did you, you never wanted to perform, I mean, it's funny cause you have performed but you never wanted to.Rob Cohen:I have performed reluctantly. I hate it. And it was like, whether the Diamond Club show or if I've been like an emergency fill in at the Growlings, it's, before I do it, I'm like, Hey, this is cool. It's gonna like sharpen my brain and it's gonna be a great thing. Just jump off the cliff and try. And then in the middle of it I'm soaked in sweat and hate myself. And then at the end I, I am so relieved it's over and I absolutely loathe it. I wait,Michael Jamin:I'm just shoot me. I remember we had you play the dirty bus. The dirty bus Boy was your character. Dirty Dirty bus, and you hit it outta the park.Rob Cohen:. Well, all I had to do is sort of wiggle my eyes. Lasciviously while it was clear the older waitress and I were messing around.Michael Jamin:Oh my God.Rob Cohen:Cause Andy called me in and said, Can you, He's done that so many times where it's like when he had True Jackson, he's like we need somebody to be the hobo king. Can you be a paramount an hour? I'm like, .Michael Jamin:Okay.Rob Cohen:But it's not. Cuz I love it. I, I hate it, but it's also, it sounds so goofy that if I don't have any lines or something that I'm fine doing it. But I ended up on so many shows I worked on as a writer, being an emergency go to that.Michael Jamin:IRob Cohen:Truly, I truly hate it. IMichael Jamin:Truly hate it. As mentioned, Rob was talking about Andy Gordon, who's a writer we worked with a number of times. Yeah. A great guy and hilarious writer, butRob Cohen:Hilarious and so funny. Like just as a personMichael Jamin:It really witty, really making laugh. Yeah. And you just had dinner with him. Yeah. It's so fa Okay, so then you were okay. Then we worked together and just shoot, We, for many years, we, we used to sit next to each other. Yeah. Sometimes at least. Yeah. And then, and then what happened was years, I remember years later we were doing a pilot. We were helping out a pilot. I don't remember whose Do you, do you remember? We were, I remember I pilot, I don't know, might have been, might have been a CBS Ratford pilot, but, but what happened? So people don't know. So when someone makes a pilot, it's very, at least back in the day, it was very common for the person who created the show to call in their friends as a favor. Hey, can you guys help, you know, sit a couple days and help me, You know? Right. Pitch on jokes or do the rewrite or whatever. And as it's courtesy, you always say yes. I mean, you just never, never say no. And CauseRob Cohen:You also hope, if it's a success, you'll get a job.Michael Jamin:Yeah. But sometimes you have a job so you don't even care. But Sure. But, but absolutely. You always say yes. And I remember being there on the state floor, and I hadn't seen you in a while, and I was like, Rob, what are you up to? And then you said, I was like, so I was thinking you were gonna, you know, you had written on a bunch of shows, but you were like, Yeah, I'm kind of done. I'm done writing, I wanna directRob Cohen:Mm-Hmm.Michael Jamin:. And so what happened there? What was the, what made you wanna stop writing and start directing?Rob Cohen:I feel like I, I'm gonna continue to take long, boring stories and compress them, but the, the quickest answer is I'm so appreciative of the, the fluke that come into writing. And I, I was a writer on TV shows for 18 years. Right. And I, I greatly appreciate the opportunity that it provided in all areas. But what was happening would be I would be on a show and they would need somebody to go supervise, like a shoot on, like at, you know, the Radford lot. There was that fake New York Park. So they would need somebody to go film a scene that's supposedly Central Park. Right. Also, if they were doing any exterior shoots, I would volunteer to do that. And there's people we know that are writers that hate being around actors and they just wanna stay in the room. . And I was, I was realizing I wanted to get out of the room mm-hmm.Rob Cohen: and go where the action was. And then I would direct some, some friends of mine would do low budget music videos and I would do it for free. And then I was kind of building this weird little real sort of unknowingly. And then other friends of mine that part of those Diamond Club crowds that were now becoming well known comedy performers were doing movies. And they would ask me if I would help write the promos, you know, the commercials for the movies. And foolishly or otherwise, I would be like, Yeah, if you, if you arrange for me to direct these promos, I'll definitely, I'll write it and I'll do it for free. And they're like, Okay. So because they had muscled with the studio, they would be like, Rob's the guy and he's also gonna direct it in the studio's. Like whatever you say.Rob Cohen:Right. So I realized that I was really enjoying it. I'm not saying I'm good at it, but I was really enjoying it. And then building this sort of very weird real. And then when the writer strike happened 2007, 2008 I was walking the picket line and kind of had this feeling in my head, like, if I go back into the room, I'm going to stay on the path of being a TV writer probably for many, many, many years. And this is an opportunity. I was pretty honest with myself. It's like, what I really, really want to do is be directing, like, to make the stuff instead of write the stuff. Right. So, so I decided on the picket line that I would kind of hop off the writing train and just try to keep cobbling together these weird little directing jobs. AndMichael Jamin:That's,Rob Cohen:That was when I made the term.Michael Jamin:But I remember being on the floor with you on this stage and say, I remember this conversation really well. I was like, Wow, you're gonna be a director. And I said, like, So is your, because you know, Rob's a big shot writer. I said, So is your agent helping you out with this?Rob Cohen:Right.Michael Jamin:And what was your answer?Rob Cohen:Not at all. They wouldn't not at allMichael Jamin:Discuss it. And why not didn't discussRob Cohen:It because I was making money for the agency as a writer, and they did not want to go through building me up as a director because they were and it wasn't evil, It was just, those were the facts.Michael Jamin:That's exactly right. And that's, it's not, it's because that's a hard sell. They're not gonna push that rock up the hill. They already have directors and Rob's a no one is, he's said, no one is a director. Correct. And so you, you were literally starting your career over, and the way you did it was by working for free, you know, by just doing it and not asking for permission. You just did it. You know, figure out what you can do. And I say this all the time on my podcast, on my social media, like, and I use this, I use as an example, you know, you did it. And then I, so we were at one point we were running Maron, and that's, and I use you as another example of how to get work there. So I don't remember who contacted who, but we were, Maron was our low budget show, really super low budget show. And I guess, and how did, how did we get, I don't remember. I don't remember details, but we came in contact again.Michael Jamin:Hey, it's Michael Jamin, if you like my videos and you want me to email them to you for free, join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos. These are for writers, actors, creative types. You could unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not gonna spam you and it's absolutely free. Just go to michaeljamin.com/watchlistRob Cohen:In what I think it was, I emailed you guys to congratulate you on the show and we just started a dialogue. And then you guys very generously asked what I was doing. And I think that's how we loosely started this conversation.Rob Cohen:Right. But it was you Sivert, Mark, who I'd known a bit in the past. And then was it Erco or was it yeah,Michael Jamin:Probably Pi Cerco.Rob Cohen:Yeah. I can't remember. I mean, you guys went way out of your way to let me have a meeting.Michael Jamin:But what's what I, IRob Cohen:Remember is in Glendale.Michael Jamin:Yeah. And what I remember about that meeting was how prepared you were. You came, we met with a lot of directors and we needed directors who were cheap, can do low budget. Who, And you, you had, you were all that I could do low budget cuz you do low budget, you do no budget. Right, Right. And you came in super prepared, and I've talked about this before as well. I, I think on my podcast, we on social media is like, you blew us away. So what you did, as I remember, you watched the presentation, which is already shot, and then you, you blocked it. You, you, you drew diagrams and you said, this is where I would've, this is how I would've shot the presentation. This is where I would've put the cameras. And see, by doing it this way, you have less setups and you don't have to move the cameras much.Michael Jamin:And because you do, because you're being efficient with your setups, you can make your day, you can get all the shots that you need because I'm not getting a ton of coverage. I'm just getting exactly what I need and I'm getting it fast. And the fact that you took all that time to draw those drawings, you, you know, you proved to us, and I remember you walked out and we were like, He's hot. You know, he's the guy, he knows how to do it. Mm-Hmm. , you know, you blew us away. So it wasn't like we did you a favor, you came in, you were prepared. You know,Rob Cohen:We, Yeah. But I really, I mean, again, I remember that meeting so clearly because I was, I, I, I loved you guys. I thought the presentation was awesome and the show had all this great promise, but I loved the vibe of what the show could be and really, really wanted that job for those reasons and to work with you guys again. But also because I knew there was a way, and it was my old writer sort of producer brain thinking like, there's limited time, there's limited money. How can you maximize the writing and the, the humor opportunities, but your production schedule is so crazy tight. How can mathematically you do both things? And that's, I remember leaving that meeting and just like, I, I didn't know what else I could've said, but it was really my experience as a writer and a producer, just like, this is how I would make this more efficient. Not that you guys were inefficient, but it was just how my brain had worked from the writing side.Michael Jamin:And that's, and I, and that's what we appreciated most about you as a director, is that you came from a writer, you were a writer, you understood the writing, you understood how to be true to the script, how to service the script. And I gotta say, it was always very easy working with you was never, you had never had any ego attached. You were like, Hey, is this, how do you like this? Oh, you don't like that? Maybe you like this. It was always, you know, course pleasing the client basically. ButRob Cohen:You guys were not only were you my friends, but you guys were the bosses along with Mark and I I would say just, it's not even from a Canadian standpoint. It's like you are hired to visually capture the script that has been written mm-hmm. . So if somebody's coming in thinking like, here's how I'm gonna put my stamp on it, or this is gonna be for my real, it's a mistake because Right. What I, what I love doing, and you guys were great show runners, was if you got Guy, if there was an idea I had, I would happily run it by you because it made it easier if you liked it. And if you said, Well, we actually thought about it this way when we wrote it, it's like, that's cool. My job is to visually capture it. Yeah. And, and also it's like this scene's running over, so here's a, here's an idea how we can pick up that time.Rob Cohen:Right. Or Mark has an idea. So it's like, okay, let's honor what Mark is saying and Right. That's to me, it's your number one goal is to take the blueprint and build a house. And it was so easy because you guys, we all knew each other, but we all came from a writing background. Yeah. And it was, it was like, well, you know, this B story's never gonna pay off this way, so what if we just save some time and just make this like a joke instead of a B story or whatever was going on. ButMichael Jamin:I remember right. I was always relieved when you, when you were directing, I was like, Oh, this is gonna be a good fun week. It's gonna be easy. It's gonna be yeah, we'll get what we need.Rob Cohen:Oh, I loved it.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Rob Cohen:I love that show.Michael Jamin:Yeah. That was, we had a blast. But it was, yeah, it was low budget. And then, so what do you say to, because it's so many people, you know, they do ask me like, Well, how do I, how do I become a director? Mm-Hmm. . And so how would you tell people, young people just starting out, I would do what you just did, but go, let's hear what you would say. No,Rob Cohen:I, I would say you know, again, to sound like an old man, times have changed mm-hmm. . and I would say that the number one thing is to show somebody that you have directed something and that can be directing it on your phone or making a short film. There's so many ways to do it inexpensively now with technology. There's no excuse. Right. My second answer would be it's to show the people that have written the show or have the script that you can not only be trusted to run the set and get all the scenes and get some options e editorially, but that you also aren't literally just filming the script that you are gonna mind some more humor. Right. Or you have a style that's appropriate and that's established in the first part that I said, which is make your own real.Rob Cohen:You know, like there's a music video I did the total budget out the door before, way before that was $2,000. Like everything. Right. And we were able to, you know, we had three minutes and 25 seconds or whatever it was to do it, but we were able to get some funny stuff within the video and it was for Virgin Records. And the one letter I got back from was like, We love this video because there's so much funny stuff in it. It wasn't about the song, but it's finding a way to sort of add, without putting the spotlight in yourself because the spotlight should be on the script.Michael Jamin:But once you have your reel, like okay, how do you, who do you show it toRob Cohen:You? If I was doing it today? I think you show it to I mean YouTube is a great example of somewhere that for free, you can exhibit your wares mm-hmm. , I would say the going, showing it to an agent is a, is an older route that I think is gonna be more frustrating because you can now start a website of yourself and send it around to people with a click. I think, you know, the great thing about short films is there's so many festivals and a lot of 'em are online that even if you make a three minute short film for a, a very inexpensive amount of money, you could literally have people around the world see it after you're done editing it. And so that's what I would do today is write something, because if you write it, it gives you extra juice.Rob Cohen:Mm-Hmm. . And then you're also not paying a writer. Right. And you, and then the way that you saw it as a writer, writers basically direct stuff in their head when they're writing mm-hmm. . So then take the initiative to film what you saw in your head originally and put down on paper. And then there's so many people that would do favors. Your friend might be an editor and he needs something for his reel. So you make a deal. It's like, if you edit this for me we'll have a finished product, then both of us have something. So I, I would say it's, it's, it's it's hustle, but it's not like that lame thing of you gotta hustle. I think it's an iPhone will make something so beautiful. And with an iPhone and a tripod, your costs are gonna be your phone and a $10 tripod.Michael Jamin:And I, I say the, I Go ahead. Continue. Right.Rob Cohen:Well, no, I just think there's no excuse to not make stuff. Yeah. But you want to, you, you want to use the internet you want to use film festivals that a lot of 'em have free submissions and start a website you're on webpage and people will find it like they, somebody's gonna see it. And as long as you keep adding to it on a fairly regular basis, it's the same as when you and I were starting, you would have to send out a packet and to meet writers for staffing meetings, they would want to either read your spec half hour or your writing packet. So this is the same thing, it's just your directing packet.Michael Jamin:Right, Right. I say this all the time, I think people think I'm nuts, but Yeah. It's just like, stop asking for permission and just do it. Yep.Rob Cohen:Absolutely.Michael Jamin:A Hundred percent. And stop and stop thinking about starting at the top. How do I sell my, how do I direct for Twentieth Century Fox? No. How do I direct for my neighbor? Yeah, That's, that's the question. Yeah.Rob Cohen:But that's what I loved about those music videos. Not to keep referencing 'em, but you're, the, the greatest thing is when the artist said yes, because I was like, Oh, this is great. I'm gonna have a music video in my real, And then you realize like that $2,000 pays for catering, pays for editing, pays for a dp, pays for lighting, pays for location, and you very quickly realize you have no money. But the challenge of that is so great and has so much value, these little jobs that people can take because when you do show it to somebody, they go, You made that whole thing for $2,000. That's ex or damn, or you made this short film for a hundred dollars and you could, I you could, if you have a Mac and an iPhone, you can make a film.Michael Jamin:I said, so funny you say, cuz I said the same exact things. Like the less money you spend, the more impressive it is because you're saying aRob Cohen:Hundred percent,Michael Jamin:You know, and, and by the way, no one's gonna be impressed by the Dolly shot or the special effects you put in because you're not gonna, you know, the Marvel movies are gonna do that a thousand times better than you can ever dream of doing it. Yeah. So it always comes down to the script and Yeah. And, and how little you can spend. That's the impressive part.Rob Cohen:Yeah. And I will say, not to over compliment you, but whenever I have meetings for directing jobs that every, the shows that they bring up almost every time that they're really curious about are Marin mm-hmm. standing against Eva, which is another Iffc show. And somebody Somewhere, which is the Bridget Everett show, which is an incredible group of people that do that, but on a fairly low budget. Yeah. And nobody wants to talk about how you pulled off some amazing big budget production because they know you had a big budget, but if you can show them that you can work lean and mean and you were involved from the ground up it has so much cred with everybody that to this day, like it happened the other day, people were talking about Marin, they did not believe what that schedule was like. Yeah. And when I explained it to 'em, their minds are blown. Yep. They, they can't believe it's possible. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Right. Yeah. FastRob Cohen:And it is possible.Michael Jamin:Yeah. It was like two or two and a half days for a shoot,Rob Cohen:Which is two and a half days for an episode.Michael Jamin:Yeah. And ordinarily, it's like five. Right. Or how do you, have you ever directed an episode that was more than five days?Rob Cohen:I've done one that's six. Okay. but you know, me, the thing that I would say in these meetings is like basically a, a regular work week, you will have completed two episodes where most shows are barely getting one for a way bigger budget. Yeah. But the great thing about the Iffc model was they don't give you notes, they stay outta your way. They're supportive and they appreciate that you're delivering a television show for peanuts. But then everybody benefits because they've agreed to embark on a journey where everybody has skin in the game. And that, that I think also will help people get writing or directing jobs.Michael Jamin:I see. I, I think sever and I, we prefer, you know, we take whatever work we get, but we prefer working low budget for that reason. They leave you alone and you can actually be more creative. But how do you feel when you're like, I would imagine directing a high budget piece would be more stressful and, and and terrifying.Rob Cohen:It is, but because there's more writing on it. But I would say the larger budget stuff that I've directed, and it's not like major movies or anything like that. The, the pace of things is a lot slower mm-hmm. because people have more time and more money. And to me, I love going fast and lean and mean because you still have the amount of money, but why not get five takes at a scene instead of two takes. Right. And, and so if you have more money, it doesn't mean you get lazy, you keep your foot on the gas, but you just get more options. Right. And so I think learning anything, writing or directing anything from the ground up with no resources will make you be more creative and more efficient. And people, when they're hiring you, certainly for directing, appreciate how efficient you are. Because you're basically saying, Give me the keys to the bank and I will take care of your money and you'll have five choices instead of two choices. Right. And that's what it comes down to.Michael Jamin:You say choices, do you mean coverage or do you meanRob Cohen:Coverage?Michael Jamin:CoverageRob Cohen:Takes coverage? You know, Maron, we would rehearse it as we blocked it. You know, like it was, it's not like we had these long, lazy rehearsals. It was like, Okay guys, we have three hours in the living room. Let's,Michael Jamin:Do you have more rehearsals, more rehearsal times on your other shows? Yeah. We had no rehearsal time.Rob Cohen:Yeah, sometimes, but I also think that's built into the larger budget. So if it's a network, single-camera show, people can walk away to their trailers and you call him back when you're ready and then lighting director gets everything perfect. And again, like with Joe Kessler, who is our awesome DP on Marin mm-hmm. , that guy works so well just like running gun, Running gun. Yep. And there's ways to make stuff look great. And also Mark, who's not a trained actor, was delivering some really heavy stuff mm-hmm. and people are finding it as they go. Because I think that team mentality, if you're writing or directing, everybody's on board. They, they've signed up understanding what the job is and once people chip in it's gonna make it a better experience in every area.Michael Jamin:Now you, I'm changing gears here, but you also do a lot of like this Dr. Show. Like you do a lot of, like, you do commercial work, but you also do like bizarre passion projects on the side. Mm-Hmm. , Right? So talk about like that. Like what, what's, what'sRob Cohen:WellMichael Jamin:Hanging with Dr.Rob Cohen:Yeah. It was during the Pandemic and Dana Gold, Pete Aaronson and I are friends and we just, everybody was stuck inside and a lot of work had gone away because of the pandemic. And we just started talking and kind of came up on the fly of the show and realized we could make our own YouTube channel and if we put the money together ourselves, then we're the studio. So nobody's gonna stop us because we're paying for it. Right. So Dana does this incredible Dr. Zs impression and we were like, what if Dr. Zs hosted the Mike Douglas show? But he was sort of like a cheesy Sammy Davis Jr guy, and we would call in favors with friends of ours who would be real guests, shoot them remotely and make 10 episodes. Right. And it was truly a fun project during Covid. And we ended up, you know however you could describe having a small but interested following making season one of Hanging with Dr. Z. And we used the internet and Instagram and, and all that stuff, which led to us having a really successful Kickstarter campaign for season two. And the budget, I wouldn't even use the word shoestring, I would say it was like a photocopy of a shoestring, but I love doing weird, silly stuff. And a lot of it it improvised and it just tapped into all of our favorite ways to do stuff. Right. But it was working with friends, you know, during a pandemic.Michael Jamin:Right, Right. People have friends and you do project with your friends, right?Rob Cohen:Yeah. And we ne we, we have not made one penny on that show. We, we have lost money on it, but willingly because it going, what I said earlier, we could guarantee it would exist because we were creating it and paying for it. So there's nothing stopping us. Why not? Like why not do it?Michael Jamin:People often say to me like, you know, they want, or they want me to read this, they want me to make their career. And it's like, you don't need me to make your career. You need three funny friends. There are three friends with a similar vision. Yeah. Do something with them. And that's exactly how you, that's how you started. That's how I started. Yeah. And so that's why I say stop asking for stop begging for permission to just start, you know, doing it. Just do it.Rob Cohen:The thing that, like using hanging with Dr. Z as an example, and only because it's something that I was involved in that came out of some friends of ours who were politically active when the elections were happening, the 2020 elections mm-hmm. . And there was a group that had reached out to my friend Colin to make a campaign to stop Mitch McConnell. And so they asked Dana and I like, Could you guys help us out? And there's zero money involved, but are you guys interested? So Dana and I just started to shoot the breeze and we thought, let's just shoot Dr. Zs basically talking about why Mitch McConnell should be stopped. We shot it in his backyard and his girlfriend at the time played Nova and he played Dr. Zs and we did it in front of a, a green screen sheet and we knew we were gonna put the Statue of Liberty from Planet Apes behind them and shot a political ad in two hours.Rob Cohen:Right. And then we had so much fun with that and the, this little weird ad kind of did well enough within the small circle of people that love Dr. Z's political ads, that that's what led us to talking about the talk show. But again, it was just homemade. And my point is, I think whether people call it a passion project or whatever they wanna call it, if they have an idea and they write it or they direct it, or they do both, you immediately eliminate people saying, You can't do it because you did it. But more importantly, the people that could give you other opportunities respect the fact that you did it and didn't wait around for somebody to give you an opportunity. Right. Cause you will get the opportunities by creating your own opportunities.Michael Jamin:And that's, that's one thing I always admire about you, is you're, you're very entrepreneurial that way. And it's like, Yeah. You follow your heart.Rob Cohen:Yeah. But I'm also convinced, like as flukey as my career started, I'm convinced that it's gonna end. Every job will be my, my last. So I'm trying to keep more plate spinning Uhhuh. But I also love, you know, like whether it's, you know, somebody somewhere is such an amazing experience because of Bridget and Hannah and Paul who created, and Carolyn Strauss and hbo. And it is the nicest group of people and the most enjoyable environment where you can, every single person on that show in rural Illinois is there because they want to be there. Mm-Hmm. . And that energy drives that show where people watching it on TV can feel that vibe. Right. And, and whatever people think of that show, it's like summer camp where every year you get together and people are so excited to take very little money to be part of this experience.Rob Cohen:Right. And that the same thing can happen with person X deciding they want to make a short film or they wanna make fake commercials or whatever, because they're gonna set the tone and they're gonna create the vibe. So I think it's a mistake if somebody's like, I only wanna do cool stuff, or, you know, nobody's gonna let me do my ideas. It's like, Yeah, you're not letting yourself do your ideas. So when you told me you were starting your course, I'm like, the biggest obstacle to somebody making anything these days is the person who's bitching about it.Michael Jamin:Yeah. That was me. Yeah.Rob Cohen:No, but, but it's all doable. Can you guarantee success? No. But you will gain amazing respect and opportunities by having it be tangible instead of complaining about it.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Yeah.Rob Cohen:And that's just a fact.Michael Jamin:That's just a fact. Well, where do you see, where do you, because the industry has changed so much since we started, What? I don't know. What's, what's your prognosis for the future? What do you see? People ask me this, like, I don't know.Rob Cohen:I think, what doesMichael Jamin:The present look like?Rob Cohen:Well, I don't know, but I think it's quite obvious that streamers of the future and broadcast networks are not the future. Mm-Hmm. . So you and I were lucky enough to start in sort of part of the glory days of the nineties when mm-hmm. , you know, you had multiple staffing meetings, you know, you would just, it would be that sort of dating circuit for a few weeks where you would bump into people going in and out of offices. And you started off like having four offers. And then it would be two offers, and then it would be one offer. And then it goes from you hoping you do get an offer, or hoping you get a meeting and you could see the tide is turned. So to me, the future is definitely streaming and smaller budget, shorter orders mm-hmm. . And if somebody is expecting it to go back to people paying you a lot of money to do 22 episodes of a TV show a year, I think that is very foolish. Yeah. In my opinion, because it'll never go back to that.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Yeah.Rob Cohen:But it shouldn't go back to that.Michael Jamin:Well, it is what it is. But, but no,Rob Cohen:But there's no more musty tv. Like Right.Michael Jamin:YouRob Cohen:Know, look at the Emmys. Like, it's the, the show with the biggest amount of TV stars on it that just aired, had the lowest ratings ever. And it's not because of one person, it's because they've lost their viewership. Right. It's, they, they're not gonna get it back. People aren't gonna wake up one day and go, Gosh, I can't wait to watch this award show on broadcast. Like, those days are over.Michael Jamin:Right. And so it's always about, it's about hustling, it's about getting work, looking for the next job. Mm-Hmm. about doing your own stuff. Right. Yeah. And, and at the end of day it's gotta be, it's also has to be good. Whatever you're working on, like, you know, has to be great. Right. Well, IRob Cohen:Mean, look, I've done more than my share of crap and largely in my own hand. And I think that an opportunity is an opportunity. You know, there's a lot of credits I don't have in my IMDB page because the show was either a deeply unpleasant experience, or it's such a crappy show. You would spend so much time explaining it to people that they would fall asleep. And so the reason that I've called those credits is because it's, I'm grateful for the experience, but it was a stepping stone to what, what I wanted to do. And if I hadn't taken crappy show X, it wouldn't have led to a more positive thing. And, and I think like what you're doing is encouraging people to pursue an idea that they really believe in and learn the basics of how to write it and shoot it. Mm-Hmm. and just that small amount of initiative, even if you never show your project to anybody, you've made it, It's, it's an immense amount of satisfaction. Mm-Hmm.Michael Jamin:. That's right. Incredible. Exactly right. And I, I said that as well. And if you didn't enjoy it, then this Hollywood thing is not for you. Cuz if you're not enjoying it for free, you're not gonna enjoy it when someone's banging, you just, you, you're just gonna get money for it. That's it. Yeah.Rob Cohen:And there's people that do that, and they make a fortune. But it's also, you know, like, not to keep talking about when you and I started, but mm-hmm. just shoot movie was in the nineties, and if you said NBC in the nineties had so many comedies, some were good and some were terrible. But now if you look at nbc, are they doing any comedies? Like maybe two?Michael Jamin:Yeah, maybe. Yeah.Rob Cohen:Yeah. So, so it's the same place, but it's the, the tide is clear. So for somebody to aspire to working on wacky old timey NBC comedies, it's very foolish. However, if they are a self starter and, and determine what their roadmap is, nobody will stop them. You can't guarantee success, but at least you've tried it and you might be successful trying it and pursue what you like.Michael Jamin:See Rob Cohen is Rob Cohen. Everyone is, is there something where, is there something, What, what, Is there something people can do to follow? What do you, what what do you wanna, Can we plug something about what you're doing? Can we No, no. Can,Rob Cohen:No, I mean, I'm not on social media. I, I'm I just, I I'm genuinely appreciative of the projects that invite me to be a small part of it. And those happen, you know, here and there. And there's nothing to really follow. But I, I just think I'm excited to see this on your, your podcast. You've built a great following.Michael Jamin:I'll say this, when I need a pick me up, when I need a little encouragement, I call you mm-hmm. to kick me in the ass. Right. So I, you're just a great dude, and I appreciate you so much and for coming on and for sharing, but you thought was what was boring, but it was not boring at all. I, I learned some things about you.Rob Cohen:Yeah. I was a disaster as a young man, and now I'm an older disaster.Michael Jamin:, that's soRob Cohen:What you're, what you're doing, I know you're wrapping it up, but IMichael Jamin:Well, that's okay. I I don't wanna take more of your time, but go ahead. No, you'reRob Cohen:Not. That's, you're not, I'm, you've got as, as long as you want. I, I really think that if somebody wants to be a writer or director or producer or an editor, then do it. Like, again, you don't have to show it to anybody, but if somebody writes something really great, you can show it to people and someone will recognize that you have talent, but nobody's gonna be able to know anything about what you want to do if you haven't, if you can't manifest it. Right. So you know, again, like when you guys gave me that opportunity on Marin, unbeknownst to me, it, it was a huge help in me getting my next directing job because it, it legitimized me as a director, and then the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. But if I hadn't had that opportunity, it would be a struggle until there was another opportunity. Right.Michael Jamin:So you wanna It would happen eventually.Rob Cohen:Yeah. But you wanna be prepared for those opportunities. Right, right. So I just think that's just common sense. But what you're doing now, like if I told you you're gonna be doing this five years ago, you would, you would laugh.Michael Jamin:I would've said absolutely not. Yeah. Yeah. Of course. Yeah. Wisdom, Rob. Hustle. Hustle muscle. That's it. I can't thank you enough for coming on, coming on the show time, man. Thank you for being my first guest. I, I didn't, I'm surprised I let you talk so much. I thought maybe I'd be doing all the talkingRob Cohen:. No, I'm surprised I talk so muchMichael Jamin:. I'm surprised. I'll let you get a word edgewise. Yeah. I dog a lot. Dude, thank you so much again. AndRob Cohen:Anytime. I love it.Michael Jamin:Don't go anywhere. We're gonna, we're gonna have a post more to wrap up after this, but Sure, sure. Thank you, everyone, for listening. And until next time,Phil Hudson:This has been an episode of Screenwriters Need to Hear This with Michael Jamin. If you'd like to support this podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving your review and sharing this podcast with someone who needs

Dana Gould's connection to Ed Wood – both the movie and the man himself runs deep. He shares Wood's love of monster horror, he auditioned to be in the Tim Burton film, and as he's gotten older, he's found himself relating to both the Ed and Bela Lugosi characters in new ways. Here, he shares those stories, plus how his inner Ed helped him bring his “Dr. Z” to life.Then, Jordan has one quick thing about her recent Hollywood Forever double feature.Watch Hanging with Dr. Z on YouTubeHere's the full “Dr. Z” guest spot on TCM with Ben MankiewiczBooks referenced here:David J. Skal, The Monster ShowHarry Benshoff, Monsters in the ClosetKatharine Coldiron's Midnight Movie Monograph on Plan 9***With Jordan Crucchiola and Dana GouldProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producers Kevin Ferguson and Laura Swisher

Judd Apatow has directed, produced and written many of the most iconic films and hit TV shows over the last couple of decades. The film's he's directed include THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, THIS IS 40 and the current HBO documentary GEORGE CARLIN'S AMERICAN DREAM. The movies he's produced include ANCHORMAN, THE BIG SICK, BRIDESMAIDS, SUPERBAD, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, and FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. His notable television work includes GIRLS, FREAKS AND GEEKS, THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, THE BEN STILLER SHOW and CRASHING. Join us for a fun, insightful chat about Judd's life, his career and, yes, politics! Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a messege: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by radiofreerhinecliff.org and Andy Ostroy Music by Andrew Hollander Design by Cricket Lengyel

Hilarious comedian, actor and writer Dana Gould joins Mick on this episode of Post Mortem! Known for his plethora of tv and film roles on The Ben Stiller Show, Roseanne, MYSTERY MEN, The Simpsons, and Family Guy, Dana discusses his amusing and winding career in entertainment as well as his unique take on the industries.POST MORTEM WITH MICK GARRIS NICE GUY PRODUCTIONS 2022See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Comedian, writer, producer, and actor Dana Gould has had his comedy-writing hands all over pop culture for the last couple decades. From his writing and performing on The Ben Stiller Show, and working as a writer/co-executive producer on The Simpsons, to acting on Seinfeld, Parks and Recreation, to appearing on Shudder's Creepshow, and creating the horror comedy Stan Against Evil. He is also the host of the exceptional Dana Gould Hour podcast and writes the Cinemorph newsletter. And for the last two seasons, he has been the man behind the monkey in “Hanging with Dr. Z,” the 1970s-flavored celebrity chat show where he plays host Dr. Zaius, from the original Planet of the Apes franchise. In the following Talking Strange interview with Aaron Sagers (Paranormal Caught on Camera), Gould discusses how his version of Dr. Z came to be, and why he chose the orangutan as the talk show host. Plus, he gives an update on more Stan Against Evil, and his Kolchak: The Night Stalker moment with The Sopranos' creator David Chase. And yes, we talk about ghosts, aliens, what's out there. For more Talking Strange videos, check out our YouTube Playlist, and download new episodes of the Talking Strange podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review/rating. And give us a shout on TalkStrangePod on Twitter. To support Aaron Sagers, say hi to him on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and on Patreon, where he's making tiki cocktails and talking creepy things.

Judd Apatow is perhaps best known for work in the film world, writing movies and television like The Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Freaks and Geeks, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Funny People, and This is 40, among others. But he's also known for mentoring rising stars, such as with Lena Dunham for Girls, Pete Holmes  for Crashing, Amy Schumer for Trainwreck, and Pete Davidson for The King of Staten Island. Somehow, between all these projects, he's also created documentaries about George Carlin, Garry Shandling, Darryl Strawberry, and The Avett Brothers and published books of interviews called Sick in the Head. The thread through all of these avenues, however, is comedic storytelling. “It's like a tuning fork, where it's fun, it also services all of my other writing and all of my other projects,” he said about stand-up, specifically in regards to his 2017 special, The Return. “You really feel like you understand the audience and you're taking in information on an unconscious level of how to be funny.” In this interview, Apatow talks about writing comedy movies today, how to make voice-driven films, lessons from making documentaries, audience validation, and his new book Sicker in the Head.

Dana Gould on his comedy life, being a sober comic and controlling yourself, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, and Albert Brooks, his SNL audition and working on The Ben Stiller Show, writing and producing The Simpsons and that show's response to cultural change, Joy Ride and Bobcat Goldthwait, his own projects, Just for Laughs Vancouver, other future plans, and more. Supported by you on Patreon, Pizza Trokadero, the Bookshelf, Planet Bean Coffee, and Grandad's Donuts. Support Y.E.S.S. and Black Women United YEG. Follow vish online.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this exciting new episode of Comedy Gold Minds, Kevin is joined by actor, director, and comedic powerhouse Ben Stiller. The two discuss all things comedy, including growing up with comedic parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, creating The Ben Stiller Show, what it's like to act and direct a film at the same time, and why he thinks his movie Tropic Thunder would never get made today.Like Comedy Gold Minds? SiriusXM subscribers get it a day early, plus Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud Radio, his 24/7 comedy channel, with great talk shows and stand-up. Learn more / check it out for 3 months at siriusxm.com/comedygoldminds.

Judd Apatow is one of the most important comic minds of his generation. He directed the films THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, and TRAINWRECK. His producing credits include Superbad, Bridesmaids, Freaks and Geeks, and The Ben Stiller Show. He is the author of the interview collections SICK IN THE HEAD and SICKER IN THE HEAD, in which Apatow sits down with comedy legends such as David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg, and Will Ferrell, as well as new stars such as John Mulaney, Bowen Yang, Amber Ruffin, Pete Davidson, and others. Let's join Pat Stango for a conversation with Judd Apatow that covers his career, his books, and his reflections on a life devoted to comedy.

We welcome "Seinfeld" Guest Star Dana Gould. Dana played Frankie Merman in the Season 9 Episode of "Seinfeld," "The Junk Mail." Dana is a Standup Comic, Writer, Producer and Actor. You know him from "The Ben Stiller Show," "The Simpsons," "I'm Dying Up Here," and "Stan Against Evil." You can follow Dana on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/danagould/ on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/danagould and his website: https://www.danagould.com **DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THE VIDEO FOR THIS PODCAST WAS LOST.** Subscribe to this channel and turn on notifications to get the latest episode of our podcast. We talk in-depth with Seinfeld guest stars, cast, crew, and writers. Find out how your favorite Seinfeld scenes came about, and hear behind-the-scenes stories about Seinfeld episodes from those who were there. We are a podcast dedicated to "Seinfeld," the last, great sitcom of our time. We are the World's #1 Destination for Seinfeld Interviews. We talk to those responsible for making Seinfeld the greatest sitcom in TV history. Our guests are Seinfeld writers, Seinfeld actors and actresses and Seinfeld crew. We also welcome well-known Seinfeld fans from all walks of life including authors, entertainers, and TV & Radio personalities. We analyze Seinfeld and breakdown the show with an honest insight. We rank every Seinfeld episode and compare Seinfeld seasons. If you are a fan of Seinfeld, television history, sitcoms, acting, comedy or entertainment, this is the place for you. iTunes: https://apple.co/2RGC89m Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3tqDVh6 List of Podcast Episodes and Sponsors: https://bit.ly/3rn0PUp Seinfeld Episode Rankings: https://bit.ly/3ic8mEi Social: https://linktr.ee/ThisThirsty Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThisThirsty Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisthirsty/ "This Podcast Is Making Me Thirsty" is The Place to Be for "Seinfeld" fans. We are the #1 destination for all things "Seinfeld," the last, great sitcom of our time. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thisthirsty/message

In 1992 Ben Stiller, along with Janeane Garofolo, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick, Dana Gould, John F. O Donoghue, Dino Stamatopoulos & Judd Apatow initiated the acerbic meta-comedy of the 90's with “The Ben Stiller Show” for which they were rewarded with an Emmy AFTER they were cancelled by Fox. How is the world wrong about this show? From Andras Jones: The world was never more wrong about this show than when it came out and still, far too few people, even those who are steeped in the comedy of the 90's, remain unaware of it or its influence. In this epic end of year episode Bryan and I attempt to correct this oversight. Find all of our episodes at www.theworldiswrongpodcast.com Follow us on Instagram @theworldiswrongpodcast Follow us on Twitter @worldiswrongpod Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKE5tmbr-I_hLe_W9pUqXag The World Is Wrong theme written, produced and performed by Andras Jones Check out: The Director's Wall with Bryan Connolly & AJ Gonzalez & The Radio8Ball Show hosted by Andras Jones See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heather and Jameson explore the exciting world of 1990s sketch comedy on MTV including The State, The Ben Stiller Show, The Jenny McCarthy show, and some others you definitely haven't heard of (but that cast a lot of today's comedy legends).Both giggle at muppets looking at Jenny's tits, Jameson can still only tell us that Juan is eating some apples, and Heather has to differentiate Princess Diaries from Princess Bride and explain that no, Michael Ian Black is not in the Smashing Pumpkins. Jameson interviews Heather for her amazing thrice attendance at SNL (#legend) and the duo watch I Wanna Sex You Up by Color Me Bad and question the lyrical choice “makin' love until we drown”. And remember, Donna Martin graduates!

We have an excellent show for you. Rob Cohen is with us. Rob has been a creative partner of mine since way, way, way, back in the Ben Stiller Show days. In addition to being in incredibly talented writer and director in his own right, Rob and I collaborated on the late lamented Super Adventure Team way back in the dark ages, Rob directed Stan Against Evil and is currently the director of YouTube's hairy sensation, Hanging With Dr. Z. He also has a new podcast out that is incredibly funny called The Bad Dates Show, which is just people recounting their worst dating experience. But, as you will hear in the interview, these stories aren't just, “We didn't click.” Some of this stuff is INSANE. Additionally, Adam Carsten is here. Adam has a documentary out that you have to see called Live At Mr. Kelly's. If you are in any way interested in stand up comedy, or jazz, or the nightclub culture of midcentury America, this doc is a must see, covering the stories of Mr. Kelly's, the London House and all the legendary nightclubs that made Chicago the cultural nexus it was in the 50' and 60's. Stand up comedy, jazz, Playboy magazine, all that stuff flourished in that era and Live At Mr. Kelly's tells the story in a way that is a an incredible and entertaining education, but that also leaves you wanting to learn more.

This week Val and Rachel discuss The Ben Stiller Show, an American sketch comedy series that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then on Fox from September 27, 1992 to January 17, 1993. The Fox program starred Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. The program featured numerous filmed comedy segments, many of which parodied middle of the 1980s to beginning of the 1990s pop culture. Despite mostly positive reviews, Fox canceled the series after only 13 episodes, due to low ratings. Unlike most sketch comedy programs, The Ben Stiller Show did not use a studio audience, and was the first ever Fox sketch comedy program not to use a laugh track. After cancellation, the series won the 1993 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program. Hot Topics Include: 1.) Judd Apatow and BSS's place in the history of comedy 2.) Gen X's lasting legacy of self-deprecation 3.) Our favorite sketches, in detail 4.) Remember when cybersex was considered raunchy? 5.) What Ya Watchin': You (Netflix), American Horror Story (Hulu), Stanning  Cody Fern and Sarah Paulson 6.) Community Theater Acting 101 7.) Underwhelming announcements for our new Instagram (@slidersandwingspod) and Youtube (just called Sliders and Wings, good luck with your search) accounts   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ben_Stiller_Show  

Christopher Roberts was one of the producers of "The Believer", as well as on the film "Welcome To The Dollhouse" and the demo that got Andy Dick booked on The Ben Stiller Show. Roberts joins the podcast to fill in a few details left out of our interview with director Henry Bean and share stores with his old high school friend, Andras Jones. Directed by Henry Bean. Starring Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix, Theresa Russell, Billy Zane, Garret Dillahunt, Joel Marsh Garland, Glenn Fitzgerald, A.D. Miles, Elizabeth Reaser, Tovah Feldshuh, Judah Lazarus and, in a brief un-credited appearance, Natasha Leggero How is the world wrong about this movie? From Andras: As a comedy, this film isn't an easy one to laugh with but once you get its wavelength…once you know laughter is permissible…it only gets darker. Imagine Polanski doing an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with a young Ryan Gosling and then decide if it's something you want to see, or notsee. Find all of our episodes at www.theworldiswrongpodcast.com Follow us on Instagram @theworldiswrongpodcast Follow us on Twitter @worldiswrongpod Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKE5tmbr-I_hLe_W9pUqXag See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Free Guy” releases October 12th, 2021 on DVD/Blu-ray/4K and we have filmmaker Alan Griswold on the podcast for a fun-filled discussion about the extras he produced for this movie.Alan also provides background on his career in Hollywood, which started as a producer's assistant to comedian and actor Ben Stiller.  That led to working with Warner Home Video on the DVD release of The Ben Stiller Show, then Zoolander, and the rest is history.  Along the way, we'll discuss our collaboration on the sitcom Two and a Half Men, his anti-career bent in college (it didn't work out), and stories from his work with Ben Stiller on Tropic Thunder, and Shawn Levy on the Night at the Museum movies.www.monkeyincorporated.com

This multi-talented comedian and podcast host served as a writer and Co-Executive Producer on The Simpsons. He has numerous HBO specials as well as appearances on Conan and Letterman. He appeared as an actor on Seinfeld and The Ben Stiller Show. He created the series Stan Against Evil and co-created MTV's Super Adventure Team. He hosts his own podcast The Dana Gould Hour available everywhere in the known universe. In this episode, he shares his love of Planet of the Apes, Johnny Carson, and the genre of horror. He explains how laughter and screams both offer a way to relieve tension. Together he and Pat explore the clever names of animal groupings and birds of prey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and Randall discuss how Hollywood comedic talent hasn't had any new blood lately. "The young kids are going to the movies to see people their parent's age act like they're their age and it's working right now." —Randall   Topics discussed include: City Slickers (1991) Free Guy (2021) Cruela (2021) The Ben Stiller Show (series) Mr. Show (series) Liar Liar (1997) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) School of Rock (2003) The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) The Hangover (2009) Clueless (1995) Borat (2006) Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Jojo Rabbit (2019) Lady Bird (2017) Booksmart (2019) Deadpool (2016) The Suicide Squad (2021) counter culture Easy Rider (1969) Risky Business (1983) Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019) Knives Out (2019) Parasite (2019) romantic comedies Roger Corman Tyler Perry generation gap Annie Korzen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasocial_interaction The Economics of Superstars: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1803469 the printing press   recorded August 25, 2021 Visit us at https://chrisandrandall.com/

Bruce joins me to talk about the beginning of his career writing for "Donny & Marie" and "Fridays" as well as being head writer for "The Ben Stiller Show"

This week the TV Boys sit down to discuss Aaron Paul. He's a one of a kind actor who became a household name as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad and has been captivating audiences ever since.

Dana Gould is a stand-up comedian, writer and performer who wrote and performed on The Ben Stiller Show and spent eight years as writer and producer on The Simpsons. His stand-up special, I Know It's Wrong, was one of the best specials of the 2010s decade. In 2016, Gould created the IFC comedy horror series, […]

This week, Stephen and Matt take on the early 90's sketch comedy, The Ben Stiller Show! Did it deserve its cancelation? Should it be brought back? Find out this episode! Theme Music: Escape Me - Great Lakes Feather Company Brought to you by Very Fair Productions.

We welcome Mark DeCarlo. Mark played Alec Berg in the Season 6 episode of "Seinfeld," "The Face Painter." Mark is an actor, television host, comedian, and travel and foodie expert. He has won has three local Emmy Awards as a contributor to WLS-TV morning show Windy City Live. He is well-known for providing the voice of Hugh Neutron, the title character's father, in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. Mark authored a comedic travelogue and cook book, “A Fork on the Road: 400 Cities, 1 Stomach” published by Lyons Press. Mark also hosted the Travel Channel's Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo for two seasons in 2004 and 2005. You have seen Mark in, among other television an film roles, "Family Guy," "The Ben Stiller Show," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Social: https://linktr.ee/ThisThirsty Mark: Instagram: @markdecarlotv Twitter: @markdecarlo "This Podcast Is Making Me Thirsty" is The Place to Be for "Seinfeld" fans. We are the #1 destination for all things "Seinfeld," the last, great sitcom of our time.

Comedy legend Dana Gould (stand-up, The Ben Stiller Show writer, The Simpsons producer) talks about the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood actors such as Tom Cruise, Jon Bon Jovi, and Larry King, the toll his impersonations take on his health, and The Problem with Apu. The gang also discuss growing up and dealing with religion, having right-wing siblings, how to make a relationship work, and how to introduce a new love to your children. And Dana was a juror in a murder trial.

This week The TV Boys sit down to discuss Bob Odenkirk. From outstanding performances on screen in shows like Breaking Bad to superb writing for programs such as SNL, it seems everything he works on is gold.

For the premiere episode of Peaks, Mark Riccadonna joins Jon to discuss Ben Stiller’s huge run from 1998-2001. They celebrate the perfect casting of There’s Something About Mary, life lessons learned from Meet the Parents, and the insane plot of Zoolander. They also size up his comedic competition from the era and remember the best moments from The Ben Stiller Show. You can find other Wasted Robot Network shows here --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/peakspod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/peakspod/support

An Ebert one-star movie, Matt and Mark come across probably one of the famous film critic's worst reviews of all time. Conflating Zoolander's "insensitivity" to the events of 9/11 is probably one of the greatest stretches since the Olympic pole vault record was broken. Regardless, derived from Ben Stiller's hilarious "Ben Stiller Show", Zoolander deftly ties all its sketches in with a fairly consistent and well written story line. So grab a hose of 87 Octane and let the fun begin!Download: 163 Zoolander

I love Andy Dick. He, like myself, is a free spirit and creates his own path daily.  He is an uninhibited free bird who has messiness like the rest of us, he just happens to be in the public eye so we are all privy to it.  Andy is an American comedian, actor, musician, and television and film producer. He best known as a comic, he is also known for his eccentric behavior, drug stuggles, and wild sexual stories. I am so grateful there weren't camera phones when I was living la vida loca!   His first regular television role was on the short-lived but influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadioand was a supporting character on Less than Perfect. He briefly had his own program, The Andy Dick Showon MTV. He is noted for his outlandish behavior from a number of Comedy Central Roasts and other appearances.   Andy Dick for President!     

NSFW (Nuclear Sour Flavored Whiskey): Bill Frost (SLUGMag.com & X96 Radio From Hell), Tommy MIlagro (observing Dry July like a chump) and special guest star Melissa Merlot (The Area 52 Podcast) talk Alien Highway, UFO Hunters, where's Honey Boo Boo?, Mike Tyson Mysteries, more Squidbillies and Mr. Pickles, Veronica Mars 4 Life, American Horror Story: 1984, the rise and fall and rise of Yacht Rock, '80s Slasher Flick o' the Week: New Year's Evil, Stranger Things, The Ben Stiller Show, What We Do In the Shadows, Legion, NOS4A2, GLOW, Rasslin' News and What to Watch Harder (Aziz Ansari: Right Now, Legion, Harlots, iZombie, Stranger Things, The Detour, Mike Tyson Mysteries, NOS4A2, Archer: 1999, Dr. Pimple Popper, Baskets, The Loudest Voice, Euphoria, The Rook, Drunk HIstory, Love After Lockup and 90 Day Fiance). Drinking: Whiskey Sours made with New Make Whiskey and fixin's from OFFICIAL TV Tan sponsors Sugar House Distillery and Boozetique.

REPOST JULY 8, 2019: Bill Frost (SLUGMag.com & X96 Radio From Hell), Tommy Milagro (observing Dry July like a chump) and special guest star Melissa Merlot (The Area 52 Podcast) talk Alien Highway, UFO Hunters, where's Honey Boo Boo?, Mike Tyson Mysteries, more Squidbillies and Mr. Pickles, Veronica Mars 4 Life, American Horror Story: 1984, the rise and fall and rise of Yacht Rock, '80s Slasher Flick o' the Week: New Year's Evil, Stranger Things, The Ben Stiller Show, What We Do In the Shadows, Legion, NOS4A2, GLOW, Rasslin' News and What to Watch Harder (Aziz Ansari: Right Now, Legion, Harlots, iZombie, Stranger Things, The Detour, Mike Tyson Mysteries, NOS4A2, Archer: 1999, Dr. Pimple Popper, Baskets, The Loudest Voice, Euphoria, The Rook, Drunk HIstory, Love After Lockup and 90 Day Fiance). Drinking: Whiskey Sours made with New Make Whiskey and fixin's from OFFICIAL TV Tan sponsors Sugar House Distillery and Boozetique.

NSFW (Nuclear Sour Flavored Whiskey): Bill Frost (SLUGMag.com & X96 Radio From Hell), Tommy MIlagro (observing Dry July like a chump) and special guest star Melissa Merlot (The Area 52 Podcast) talk Alien Highway, UFO Hunters, where's Honey Boo Boo?, Mike Tyson Mysteries, more Squidbillies and Mr. Pickles, Veronica Mars 4 Life, American Horror Story: 1984, the rise and fall and rise of Yacht Rock, '80s Slasher Flick o' the Week: New Year's Evil, Stranger Things, The Ben Stiller Show, What We Do In the Shadows, Legion, NOS4A2, GLOW, Rasslin' News and What to Watch Harder (Aziz Ansari: Right Now, Legion, Harlots, iZombie, Stranger Things, The Detour, Mike Tyson Mysteries, NOS4A2, Archer: 1999, Dr. Pimple Popper, Baskets, The Loudest Voice, Euphoria, The Rook, Drunk HIstory, Love After Lockup and 90 Day Fiance). Drinking: Whiskey Sours made with New Make Whiskey and fixin's from OFFICIAL TV Tan sponsors Sugar House Distillery and Boozetique.

Dennis talks to Christian and Lindsey about John Travolta, The Ben Stiller Show, Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams as roommates at Juliard, a Christian Dior exhibit, Honolulu, Trump's hair, sitting at a hockey game with James Lipton, Real Housewives, the Panama Canal and more!

Andy Dick Lives! Today brings Dr. Drew's biggest challenge yet. Can he wrangle the chaos that is the HILARIOUS Andy Dick?? Is Andy a "Daddy" or a "Babi?" We find out as the topic of Sugar Daddies creeps into conversation via a YMH clip. Andy also tells Dr. Drew about being OG Fluid. Does EVERYONE get road rage? Emails bring us questions of "Mass Movements," proper "Raw Dawg SZN" and more! Plus, Andy tells BEN STILLER SHOW and NEWS RADIO stories while discussing the reasons he became a performer.   For 50% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins go to takecareof.com with promo code: drdrew50 Go to daily-harvest.com and enter promo code DRDREW to get three items FREE off your first box! Get an extra 25% off when you keep all items in your box at stitchfix.com/drdrew.  

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, I’m here with a valentine to my favorite movie of all time, 1968’s Planet of the Apes, and the entire multimedia franchise that sprang up in its wake! And here to join the festivities is my special guest Dana Gould! Dana is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer and voice artist who’s been featured on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central. You’ve seen him on Seinfeld, Roseanne, and The Ben Stiller Show. He’s been a producer on The Simpsons, Parks & Recreation, and his IFC series Stan Against Evil aired its third season this past fall. Most importantly for this conversation, he’s a professional Planet of the Apes fan, having dressed up as Maurice Evans dressed up as Dr. Zaius for numerous appearances, and having adapted screenwriter Rod Serling’s original script into comic form for a special graphic novel published last year by Boom Studios. I couldn’t be more honored to have him with me to wish celebrate a belated fiftieth anniversary to one of the greatest movies ever made! You can hear it all via the embed below, or subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher Radio, or TuneIn Radio. As always, send all questions or comments our way via MovieFilmPodcast@gmail.com, and don't forget to hit "like" on our Facebook page

A master of fierce, feminist wit, Janeane Garofalo has been a comedy mainstay since the 1990s and is still making waves today. You may know her from her 25 years doing politically savvy stand-up comedy. You may recognize her from her roles on iconic TV shows including The Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and Saturday Night Live. Or you may be a fan of her performances in such films as The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Wet Hot American Summer, The Matchmaker, Reality Bites, and Sweethearts. Through every role Garofalo chooses, she telegraphs some truth about women’s lives, and in this interview, our discussion got surprisingly heated.

ANDY DICK is a multi-faceted comedian, writer and director who's entertained millions on both the small and big screen for over three decades. Despite his well-documented struggles with substance abuse and run-ins with the law, Andy has proven himself as a once-in-a-generation performer whose talent talent and staying power in Hollywood is undeniable. Dick started his TV comedy career as a cast member on the beloved sketch comedy program "The Ben Stiller Show," and then his big breakout role came in 1995 portraying Matthew Brock on NBC's "Newsradio". Additionally, Andy has had memorable roles in films like "Road Trip", "Old School", and "Zoolander".

ANDY DICK is a multi-faceted comedian, writer and director who's entertained millions on both the small and big screen for over three decades. Despite his well-documented struggles with substance abuse and run-ins with the law, Andy has proven himself as a once-in-a-generation performer whose talent talent and staying power in Hollywood is undeniable. Dick started his TV comedy career as a cast member on the beloved sketch comedy program "The Ben Stiller Show," and then his big breakout role came in 1995 portraying Matthew Brock on NBC's "Newsradio". Additionally, Andy has had memorable roles in films like "Road Trip", "Old School", and "Zoolander".

Busy Philipps always knew she would be an actress. In fact, she was studying theater in college when she landed her first major role as Kim Kelly on the coming-of-age hit Freaks and Geeks. While she found success early on at the age of 19, her career hasn't been without setbacks, rejection, and grit. "I never have really fit into a lot of people's molds," she tells Hillary Kerr on episode 35 of Second Life. But Philipps persevered in a male-dominated industry fraught with unrealistic expectations to come out the other side more sure of herself than ever.

Bob Odenkirk sat down with HFPA journalist Brent Simon to talk about his life, from discovering comedy in college and sketch writing for SNL and Mr. Show to dramatic acting in Breaking Bad and its spinoff prequel Better Call Saul. He also talks about working on Get A Life, The Ben Stiller Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and The Larry Sanders Show. They also touch upon his forthcoming memoir, how he would reshoot his film The Brothers Solomon, and more.

Rosie Jones, a stand-up comedian whose material plays on her experience of living with Cerebral Palsy, discusses defying expectations - both onstage and off. Her one woman show is Fifteen Minutes.Janeane Garofalo is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on The Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and Saturday Night Live, and has appeared in more than 50 films. She discusses her Edinburgh show, Put A Pin in That.Jenni Fagan reads from her latest collection of poetry, There's a Witch in the Word Machine ahead of her appearance at the Edinburgh International Books Festival. Plus, we get under the skin of the Festival Fringe with two talent scouts, asking is Edinburgh still the place to make your name as a comedian?Presenter : Viv Groskop Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

Bobcat Goldthwait is an American comedian. Goldthwait's first major film role was in "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment". He reprised the role in the next two films in the series.He has made several guest appearances on talk shows as well as comedy programs including "The Ben Stiller Show." He made his feature film directorial debut with "Shakes The Clown," which he wrote and starred in as well.Bobcat began directing ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in the fall 2004 season. Since joining the show's crew, the ratings went up to 2 million viewers a night, with the numbers rising nearly 50% with the teenage demographic. In May of 2006, he left to pursue his film career as a filmmaker/director. His latest anthology television series, "Bobcat Goldthwait's Misfits & Monsters" premiered on truTV on July 11th 2018.

Bobcat Goldthwait is an American comedian. Goldthwait's first major film role was in "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment". He reprised the role in the next two films in the series.He has made several guest appearances on talk shows as well as comedy programs including "The Ben Stiller Show." He made his feature film directorial debut with "Shakes The Clown," which he wrote and starred in as well.Bobcat began directing ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in the fall 2004 season. Since joining the show's crew, the ratings went up to 2 million viewers a night, with the numbers rising nearly 50% with the teenage demographic. In May of 2006, he left to pursue his film career as a filmmaker/director. His latest anthology television series, "Bobcat Goldthwait's Misfits & Monsters" premiered on truTV on July 11th 2018.

JUDD APATOW is a producer, director, writer, and comedian whose comedy movies have defined a generation of comedic filmmaking. Starting as a stand-up in New York as a teenager, Judd penned jokes for Rosanne Barr, wrote for the "Ben Stiller Show", and won multiple Emmys with "The Larry Sanders Show" before executive producing "Freaks and Geeks," and creating "Undeclared" for FOX. Turning to films, he produced "Anchorman" starring Will Ferrell, and co-wrote, co-produced and directed the smash hit "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" with Steve Carell.His string of hit comedy films - produced through his company Apatow Productions - has not stopped since, and they have launched the careers of some of the biggst stars in the world today. They include: "Knocked Up", "Forgeting Sarah Marshall," "Talladega Nights," "Pineapple Express," "Superbad," "Funny People," " This Is 40," "Bridesmaids," and "The Big Sick." His book "Sick in the Head" is available on Amazon, and his new hour special "Judd Apatow: The Return" is available for streaming on Netflix.His latest projects include the show "Crashing" and the two part documentary "The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling" on HBO.

JUDD APATOW is a producer, director, writer, and comedian whose comedy movies have defined a generation of comedic filmmaking. Starting as a stand-up in New York as a teenager, Judd penned jokes for Rosanne Barr, wrote for the "Ben Stiller Show", and won multiple Emmys with "The Larry Sanders Show" before executive producing "Freaks and Geeks," and creating "Undeclared" for FOX. Turning to films, he produced "Anchorman" starring Will Ferrell, and co-wrote, co-produced and directed the smash hit "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" with Steve Carell. His string of hit comedy films - produced through his company Apatow Productions - has not stopped since, and they have launched the careers of some of the biggst stars in the world today. They include: "Knocked Up", "Forgeting Sarah Marshall," "Talladega Nights," "Pineapple Express," "Superbad," "Funny People," " This Is 40," "Bridesmaids," and "The Big Sick." His book "Sick in the Head" is available on Amazon, and his new hour special "Judd Apatow: The Return" is available for streaming on Netflix. His latest projects include the show "Crashing" and the two part documentary "The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling" on HBO.

HOW DID I MISS THIS?: "Cannoli, chalk boards and a whole lot of denim." (1972-1984) Bob has never seen The Godfather. And Tim has never seen Jaws. So today .. wait ... hold on a minute ... don't they host a show about pop culture? Yes they do and, having once dedicated an entire episode to Howard The Duck, they must now explain how they managed to miss some of the most colossal efforts of the 20th Century. 00:00:00 PRE-SHOW PRATTLE - sad toilets and sadder tubs 00:01:27 AS INTROS GO - this one is okay / “Crying In My Beer” 00:02:53 GETTING THE REFERENCE- while avoiding the source material 00:07:11 WASN’T THAT GUY IN THE FRESHMAN? - not watching “The Godfather” 00:20:42 WELL, I SAW THE FOURTH ONE - not watching “Jaws” 00:30:15 A DENIM METRONOME - not listening to “Bruce Springsteen” 00:43:38 A FANATICAL PISSING CONTEST - and still now watching “Jaws” 00:52:30 THE FALTERING FAN-BOY ENGINE - still not watching “Jaws?” 00:56:43 CLOSINGS - Contacts, plugs and no catchphrase / “Born To Add” 00:58:46 BONUS FEATURES - Stand-Up Spotlight With Tim BlevinsCountdown a surprisingly high number of horse-head-in-the-bed jokes thanks to this montage organized by SevenEightNineAndTenDidntCareHERE.Or trim that down a bit with this variation of "Simpsons Already Did It" HERE.See who 7 year-old Tim thought was Marlon Brando with John Belushi's original SNL audition tape HERE.See what should have hit the cineplex of Hill Valley three years ago with this original trailer for the never actually realized holographic horror JAWS 19 HERE.Track the production history of Jaws, even if you haven't actually seen Jaws, with the cryptically entitled "THE MAKING OF JAWS" HERE.Be wholly entranced by Bruce Springsteen's perchance for numbers with (another) one of Tim's favorite "The Ben Stiller Show" sketches HERE.And get the definitive origin story of all that counting with Bruce Stringbean's Sesame Street performance of "Born To Add" HERE.The use of audio and video clips linked from YOUTUBE are for educational purposes and without the expressed permission of their legal holding companies. All rights remain with with their original distributor.This episode of 20TH CENTURY POPCAST was recorded by ZENCASTR, a high fidelity podcast recording platform that records multiple guests from multiple zip-codes all as if they were in the same room. Log on for studio quality recordings NOW! (exclamation point also provided by ZENCASTR)MUSIC FEATURED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:“Crying In My Beer” performed by one of the more under-rated pop/punk bands of the past century, Screeching Weasel, off their 1993 album WIGGLE. "Born To Add" performed by Bruce Stringbean And The S. Street Band from the 1983 Grammy nominated Sesame Street album BORN TO ADD.The use of these songs are for entertainment purposes and without the expressed permission of the recording artist.Subscribe to 20TH CENTURY POPCAST! on APPLE PODCASTS, STITCHER and ANDROID or stream it at www.20popcast.com.Like, share and reminisce with 20TH CENTURY POPCAST! on FACEBOOK.Contact the show with any questions, suggestions or possible topics at 20popcast@gmail.com, #20popcast on Twitter and the POP TALK section of www.20popcast.com.Follow ROBERT CANNING @rhcanning on TWITTER. Read his web-comic at EXAGGERATEDLIFE.wordpress.com and his music blog at superultramegamix.wordpress.com. Follow TIM BLEVINS @subcultist on TWITTER and as SUBCULTISTon INSTAGRAM. 20TH CENTURY POPCAST will return next week with and intricate hand gesture and some novelty ears.

September 12-18, 1992 FALL PREVIEW ALERT! Today Ken welcomes writer, actor and all around quality human being Obehi Janice to the show. Ken and Obehi discuss Obehi's mic technique, Rugrats, Nigeria, Ken's love of Percey Rodriguez, how Jim and Pam can ruin insurance, Lowell, Jack Keroac's On the Road, going to boarding school in Greenfield, Brooklyn, Mill No. 5, Fanta, Nigerian Weddings, Nollywood, how comedy doesn't always translate, Haverhill, Riverdale, the weird nexus of pop culture that was 1992, having a real black night on a Saturday, Here and Now, Out All Night, Regina King, Malcom Jamal Warner's poetry, Boyz in the Hood, SNICK, Nevermind, Rober Urich, a cross country motorcycle trip, why there is always a God show, The Good Doctor, why autism shouldn't be used as magic, how the rise of nationally televised sports ruined America, niche programming, Mr. Rogers, Jim Henson, The Edge, In Living Color, Ken's love of Robert Townsend, SCTV, Spongebob, the early days of Reality TV, Great Scott, The Ben Stiller Show, Whoops!, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Mad About You, Townies, loving Jenna Elfman, early bed times, Rags to Riches, ruining your eyes by reading in the dark, how the Bernie Mac Show is truly family friendly, the politics of drag and...(the recorder cuts out sadly, so the final 10-20 minutes of Ken and Obehi's chat have been lost to time)

Todd mourns a loss, the guys coin the term Crispin' and announce the latest movie in the week's Coming Attractions Episode. The guys talk about McG, navigate a detour of crazy subjects to get back on point and challenge you to share your favourite misheard song lyrics. They reminisce about The Ben Stiller Show and dream about selling out and talk science class.

Izzy loves podcasting Gem City Catfe GCP #523 Avant-Garde with TBTV - Coffee With Idiots Podcast TBTV is a comedy sketch show created by Coffee With idiots podcast hosts Brandon Berry and Tyler Wise for DATV in Dayton, OH. GCP co-host/producer Izzy Rock sits down in the East dayton home of these local content creators "Imagine if The Ben Stiller Show scrounged together all of their unusable material and compiled it into a program for about 12 people to watch, aware that they would be cancelled before the 13th episode. This is that show." - Brandon Berry "Pretty good." - Tyler Wise "Reminded me a lot of Mr. Show!" - Andy HartWe're a simple podcast covering everything from music to politics, pop culture to martial arts. https://www.coffeewithidiots.com/ http://twitter.com/coffeeidiotspod https://www.facebook.com/coffeeidiotspod/ https://www.facebook.com/TeeBeeTeeVee/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E47rny2NmK8 Ep 472 GCP http://gemcitypodcast.com/?p=3287 Andy Gabbard - Look Not Sound https://andygabbard.bandcamp.com/ Goodnight Goodnight - Divine Hammer https://www.goodnightgoodnightmusic.com/

On today's episode I talk to stand-up and writer Dana Gould. Originally from Hopedale, MA, Dana started performing stand-up at the tender age of 17, and since then has taped numerous late night appearances, specials (including an HBO Half-Hour), and four albums: Funhouse, I Know It's Wrong, Let Me Put My Thoughts in Your, and his latest Mr. Funny Man, which was just released earlier this year on the wonderful label Kill Rock Stars. As an actor, he's appeared in everything from Roseanne to Seinfeld to King of Queens, as well as most of the programs he's written for, which include The Ben Stiller Show, The Simpsons, Parks and Rec, and his own show on IFC, Stan Against Evil, which just finished its second season. In addition to all this, Dana hosts his own monthly podcast The Dana Gould Hour, which is just a delight. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

Things get sketchy when we discuss The Ben Stiller Show. Comedian Drew Harmon joins us to talk comedy, ginger ale, and who can and cannot afford Spotify Premium. Watch the pilot here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwviWcEQGCU

A funny thing happened on the way to this podcast. I had recorded the first interview, with podcaster and LA comedy gadfly Mike Carano. I then recorded interview #2, with comedian Valerie Tosi. Valerie and I both grew up in Massachusetts and we started talking about, among other things the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, which always signaled to end of summer vacation. After we recorded the interview, I thought, you know, I should write the middle piece about Jerry Lewis. He's a pretty interesting dude. And then, I went to bed, and woke up in the morning and learned that Jerry Lewis had died. Oy. Hope it wasn't me. In any event, although I have never met Jerry, I did see him in what must have been one of his last public appearances here in LA. But, I know people who know Jerry, so I made a couple phone calls and got them over here. So with apologies to Valerie Tosi, who will be appearing next month, my guests today are... The brilliant and hilarious Mike Carano. If you are a fan of comedy, you may not know him, but every comedian you know knows him. Also, director Steve Kessler, who directed Vegas Vacation, The Independent and Paul Williams Still Alive. And writer director Rob Cohen. I squatted in Rob's office at The Ben Stiller Show in 1992 and we've been friends ever since. Rob has directed SPEECHLESS, MARON, and half of season 2 of STAN AGAINST EVIL. Also, actor, writer artist and Jerry Lewis expert, Ken Daly is here. As far as I'm concerned, come see me. Live appearance info is at http://DanaGould.com/events

FALL PREVIEW ALERT! September 9-15, 1972 On his Birthday Ken starts the show with discussing his plans for the day. He then welcomes writer and occasional actor Dino Stamatopoulos to the show. Ken and Dino discuss slaughtering Dino's name, Dean Martin, hookers, Chicago, growing up in a bar, why there are 40 in the top 40, not knowing there was color TV, Charlie Kaufman's refusal to believe Superman and Clark Kent are the same person, the lost Skank! spin off, The Ben Stiller Show, how Greeks can break the Toaster Oven Theory, why Boston may be the punchinest city in America, Chicago Nostalgia, Mary Tyler Moore, The Lonliest Runner, Made For-TV Movies, The Lone Ranger, The Treasures of Black Cinema, Black News, Hee Haw, Liza with a Z, Gold Diggers, The Violent Universe, Father Knows Best vs. Hogan's Heroes, unraveling ropes, The Bob Newhart Show, The Anderson Tapes, panel shows, SCTV, Monty Python, Jamie Gertz, John Stamos - Race Traitor, Auto-focus, childhood hiding spots, being trapped in a fold out couch, being buried alive, when the Devil Makes you do it, Silent Films, Hollywood Television Theater, Merv, impressionists, John Saxon, loving Christmas Specials, Community, Moral Orel, Andy Griffith Show, Let's Make a Deal, and a dwarf and Charlie Callas showing the Brady Kids what to watch.

February 9-15, 1991 Today Ken welcomes comedian Josie Long to the show. Ken and Josie talk about coming from the UK, American misperceptions of Royalty, how Hollywood couples like Roseane and Tom Arnold keep it together. The Radio & TV Times, why Darlene is so cool, Kevin James' Rich White guy support of Donald Trump, how cocaine explains most things, BBC Three, UK Play, Twin Peaks, Iraq War, Operation Desert Storm, The Damned, The Young Ones, Fist of Fun, tough guy dry tea, multiple channels having the same network, why America is a big weird country, Austin City Limits, hanging out in a shed playing guitars on a Saturday night, why the UK keeps sex and cuts out violence, pro-bowling on television, The League of Ordinary Gentlemen, Surrey Quays, Dog Soldiers, playing hidden camera pranks on Stevie Wonder, the talk show boom: Rickie Lake, Jenny Jones, Sally Jesse Raphael, Morton Downey Jr, Jerry Springer in The Ringmaster, The Kids in the Hall, John Waters movies, the wonders of Designing Women, Josie starring in a UK remake of Gabriel's Fire, War as Entertainment, how Nationalism = Racism, Encino Man aka California Man, The Ben Stiller Show, Tom Hanks early TV roles, Bosom Buddies, Moonlighting, 2001, Murder She Wrote, The Fresh Prince, Blossom and the acting career of Jerry Hall.

Two new releases highlight the podcast this week which, last week's show notwithstanding, will not in fact turn into a weekly podcast about "The Room." First, Will and Tim did into the Romanian moral drama "Graduation," which feels like '90s "Crimes and Misdemeanors"-era Woody Allen, but even more spare and despairing. Then they discuss Nacho Vigalondo's "Colossal," which features Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis as two Americans who have the strange, unwitting ability to control monsters attacking downtown Seoul. In this week's Reboot segment, we dig into Michael Mann's "The Last of the Mohicans," which features a brawny Daniel Day-Lewis being hyper intense. There's even a fun skit from the old "Ben Stiller Show" that we added. Stay alive, no matter what occurs! We will find you! Timestamps: 4:06 "Graduation" 18:50 "Colossal" 36:41 "The Last of the Mohicans" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Graduation Day," The Beach Boys Closing Song: "Got A Woman," Eagles of Death Metal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snuggle up in your straitjackets MONSTER PARTIERS! Things are about to get CRAY CRAY! JAMES GONIS, SHAWN SHERIDAN, LARRY STROTHE, and MATT WEINHOLD, pay a visit to the laughing academy, when they delve deep into the lovable madness of... PSYCHOPATHS!!! Helping us with a not-so-clinical diagnosis of this subject is, EMMY AWARD WINNING writer/producer/director... ROB COHEN! (THE BEN STILLER SHOW, THE SIMPSONS, SUPER ADVENTURE TEAM, THE BIG BANG THEORY, MARON, LADY DYNAMITE, MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000) Rob goes off his meds, and joins us on a psychotic ride through some of screen history's most magnificent maniacs! MONSTER PARTY BONUS: Just when you thought this episode had pushed you beyond the realms of sanity, stay tuned after the closing music for a special story from Rob Cohen (hint: it involves Canada and gun play), and some EXTRA PSYCHOPATH CHAT! Insert maniacal laughter here.  

ANDY DICK is a multi-faceted comedian, writer and director who's entertained millions on both the small and big screen for over three decades. Despite his well-documented struggles with substance abuse and run-ins with the law, Andy has proven himself as a once-in-a-generation performer whose talent talent and staying power in Hollywood is undeniable. Dick started his TV comedy career as a cast member on the beloved sketch comedy program "The Ben Stiller Show," and then his big breakout role came in 1995 portraying Matthew Brock on NBC's "Newsradio". Additionally, Andy has had memorable roles in films like "Road Trip", "Old School", and "Zoolander".  

Janeane Garofalo is a longtime standup comic and TV and film actress. She has been a cast member of the Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Saturday Night Live, and The Jim Gaffigan Show, among others. She has appeared in dozens of films, including The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Wet Hot American Summer, Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, and Reality Bites. She has been a longtime activist for progressive causes.

Janeane Garofalo is a longtime standup comic and TV and film actress. She has been a cast member of the Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Saturday Night Live, and The Jim Gaffigan Show, among others. She has appeared in dozens of films, including The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Wet Hot American Summer, Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, and Reality Bites. She has been a longtime activist for progressive causes.

Writer, producer, performer, comedic genius, rival podcaster (Skull Juice), & LEGEND: Dino Stamatopoulos (Mr. Show, Conan, Community, Lettermen, The Ben Stiller Show, TV Funhouse, Moral Orel, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Starburns Productions, Anomalisa) discuss why they wouldn't work out as a couple, his career path, fetishes, drugs, alcohol, sexuality, Andy Dick, getting fired, his band (Sorry About Everything) and so much more! HE EVEN SINGS A SONG A CAPELLA! Alexi tried to sing one too, but crumbled in fear.

David Cross is a gifted comedian, actor, author, and writer who originally hails from Atlanta, Georgia. For almost 30 years now, he’s been at the vanguard of comedy, writing and/or performing on influential and hilarious TV programs such as The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show, Arrested Development, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, W/Bob […]

Before the Fall (Grand Central Publishing) From the Emmy, PEN, Peabody, Critics' Choice, and Golden Globe Award-winning creator of the TV show "Fargo" comes "the" thriller of the year. On a foggy summer night, eleven people--ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter--depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs--the painter--and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul's family. With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the crash and the backstories of the passengers and crew members--including a Wall Street titan and his wife, a Texan-born party boy just in from London, a young woman questioning her path in life, and a career pilot--the mystery surrounding the tragedy heightens. As the passengers' intrigues unravel, odd coincidences point to a conspiracy. Was it merely by dumb chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something far more sinister at work? Events soon threaten to spiral out of control in an escalating storm of media outrage and accusations. And while Scott struggles to cope with fame that borders on notoriety, the authorities scramble to salvage the truth from the wreckage. Amid pulse-quickening suspense, the fragile relationship between Scott and the young boy glows at the heart of this stunning novel, raising questions of fate, human nature, and the inextricable ties that bind us together.  Praise for Before the Fall: "Before the Fall is an astonishing, character-driven tour-de-force. The story is a multi-layered, immersive examination of truth, relationships, and our unquenchable thirst for the media's immediate explanation of unfathomable tragedy."--Karin Slaughter, #1 internationally bestselling author "This isn't just a good novel; it's a great one. I trusted no one in these pages, yet somehow cared about them all. Before the Fall brings a serrated edge to every character, every insight, and every wicked twist."--Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of The President's Shadow "A masterly blend of mystery, suspense, tragedy, and shameful media hype...a gritty tale of a man overwhelmed by unwelcome notoriety, with a stunning, thoroughly satisfying conclusion."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Before the Fall is a ravishing and riveting beauty of a thriller. It's also a deep exploration of desire, betrayal, creation, family, fate, mortality, and rebirth. It's one part Dennis Lehane, one part Dostoevsky. I was spellbound from first page to last; I haven't fully recovered yet."--Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours "I started and finished Before the Fall in one day. That begins to tell you what kind of smart, compellingly dramatic read it is. So read it."--James Patterson, #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of the Alex Cross and Michael Bennett series "Like the successful screenwriter that he is, Hawley piles on enough intrigues and plot complications to keep you hooked."--Kirkus Reviews "A pulse-pounding story, grounded in humanity."--Booklist (starred review) Noah Hawley is an Emmy, Golden Globe, PEN, Critics’ Choice, and Peabody Award-winning author, screenwriter, and producer. He has published four novels and penned the script for the feature film Lies and Alibis. He created, executive produced, and served as show runner for ABC’s "My Generation" and "The Unusuals" and was a writer and producer on the hit series "Bones." Hawley is currently executive producer, writer, and show runner on FX’s award-winning series, "Fargo." Bob Odenkirk has written for the TV shows "Saturday Night Live" (where he famously wrote "The Motivational Speaker" sketch), and "The Ben Stiller Show" (where he wrote the infamous "Manson Lassie" sketch), and then Bob went and created (and starred in) "Mr. Show with Bob and David," which has been called "the American Monty Python."  He's also had a creative hand in creating "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" and "The Birthday Boys" sketch show on IFC.  As an actor, Bob has had memorable roles as the agent Stevie Grant on "The Larry Sanders Show," the character of Saul Goodman on AMC's "Breaking Bad," and Director Alexander Payne’s Oscar-nominated film "Nebraska," as well as FX's award-winning series, "Fargo." Bob's comedy scripts and short essays have appeared in "The New Yorker," "Vice", and "Filter" magazine, among other publications.

September 12-18, 1992 FALL PREVIEW ALERT!Today Ken welcomes musician, and all around quality human beingBrett Anderson (The Donnas, The Stripminers) to the show.Ken and Brett discuss The Heights, The Ben Stiller Show, TwinPeaks inside Beverly Hills 90210 outside, moving from Indiana toCalifornia, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, appearing on Charmed,Jawbreaker, Ken's first meeting with Brett in New Hampshire at theElvis Room circa 1998, not having your music advertise feminineproducts, Yaz, birth control, "We're Not Gonna Take It", exactlyhow you talk to an Angel, the Jamie Walters phenomenon, AaronSpelling blue balls, Herman's Head, studying psychology, Lita Ford,Samantha Fox, Ken's love of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, thereturn of Zubas and the Hi-Top Fade, Bill Cosby's worst trait, how"The Edge" predated Mr. Show, hate watching, loving a B-, TobeyMcGuire's sitcom roots, Whoops, Billy Bob Thorton's sitcom roots,Hangin' with Mr. Cooper's link to Growing Pains, set recycling,"Just You and I", wanting to be Donna, which New Kid on the Blockcan sing for Judas Priest, what happens when you go to sleep, classof '96. The Hat Squad, New Jack Swing, Holiday hostingconscription, obtaining a couch, Super Bowl rights, Paul Reiser, MyTwo Dads, prank phone calls, Delta Burke, the debut of Martin,"Snap Battles", Miton Bearle's Ratt, Gene Simmons' cold Cokeseduction, MTV, cable, The Last Unicorn vs. The Neverending Story,Fraggle Rock, being wrong about Daylight savings, Headbanger'sBall, SNL, Kids in the Hall, Idiocracy, sugaring up for all nightTV marathons, birth control candy, Fifteen, Depression &Anxiety, Scholastic books, Book bus and purple sweatsuits, BJ'sWholesale Club, haunted by Dunkaroos, Top of the Pops, miming onTV, TRL, Madonna as sketch comedian, the music of Double Dare, micface based payments, exercising with Bruce Dickinson, Andrew WK,David Coverdale's sexerly voice, what to do when it's "Too Hot toSleep", Rick Springfield's magical cartoon work, You Can't Do Thaton Television, writing lyrics to instrumentals, and writing a TVtheme song.