Podcast appearances and mentions of Larry Charles

Larry Charles is eccentricity manifested in human form. The creative genius' journey through television (Seinfeld, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm), film (Borat, Bruno, Religulous), and new media has been winding and star-studded. Larry has worked with greats from every industry, from the likes of Bob Dylan, to Nic Cage, Sacha Baron Cohen, and (quite famously) Larry David. Larry and Dan chat about his upbringing, his struggles with love and identity, and how he began to find peace in his forties. They also revisit his wildest journeys, from seeing the darkness of humanity making Borat and Bruno… to finding light while visiting comedians in Somalia. Larry's book, “Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter” is available on June 17th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry Charles is eccentricity manifested in human form. The creative genius' journey through television (Seinfeld, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm), film (Borat, Bruno, Religulous), and new media has been winding and star-studded. Larry has worked with greats from every industry, from the likes of Bob Dylan, to Nic Cage, Sacha Baron Cohen, and (quite famously) Larry David. Larry and Dan chat about his upbringing, his struggles with love and identity, and how he began to find peace in his forties. They also revisit his wildest journeys, from seeing the darkness of humanity making Borat and Bruno… to finding light while visiting comedians in Somalia. Larry's book, “Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter” is available on June 17th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CumpostingPodcastRosa is joined by video essayist and fellow dark woke warrior Unajoy to review 'A Minecraft Movie' a 2025 American fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft by Mojang Studios. It was directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. The film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Sebastian Hansen. In the film, four misfits are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of an expert crafter named Steve. We then review 'The Dictator' a 2012 political satire black comedy film co-written by and starring Sacha Baron Cohen in his fourth feature film in a leading role. The film was directed by Larry Charles, who also directed Baron Cohen's mockumentaries Borat and Brüno. Baron Cohen, in the role of Admiral General Aladeen, the dictator of the fictional Republic of Wadiya visiting the United States, stars alongside Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, and Jason Mantzoukas, with uncredited appearances by John C.Check out Unajoy: https://www.youtube.com/@unajoyFollow Me on

Send us a textIn today's episode, I interview Hannah Beach, Phoebe Campbell-Harris, and Sophie Stacey, the director, writer, and producer of the short film "A Matter of Minutes," a story of a young woman facing a life threatening situation at a house party.Listen to hear about Phoebe's personal experience that inspired the story, how the film used aspect ratio to drive the story, and a partnership the film has developed with the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.Books mentioned in this episode include:Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. RosenbergA Prayer for Owen Meany by John IrvingThe Cider House Rules by John Irving Apt Pupil by Stephen KingFilms mentioned in this episode include:"A Matter of Minutes" directed by Hannah BeachMommy directed by Xavier DolanBoiling Point directed by Philip BarantiniRosemary's Baby directed by Roman PolanskiWaking Life directed by Richard LinklaterArrival directed by Denis VillenueveLife is Beautiful directed by Roberto BenigniIt's a Wonderful Life directed by Frank CapraPast Lives directed by Celine Song The Manchurian Candidate directed by John FrankenheimerRear Window directed by Alfred HitchcockSilence of the Lambs directed by Jonathan DemmeErin Brockovich directed by Steven SoderberghThe Incredibles directed by Brad BirdThe Big Lebowski directed by Joel CoenE.T. The Extraterrestrial directed by Steven SpielbergThe Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin KershnerMy Dinner With Andre directed by Louis MalleThe Lord of the Rings directed by Peter JacksonBorat directed by Larry Charles"A Matter of Minutes" will be continuing its festival run throughout 2025.On Instagram Hannah is @hannah__beach__, Phoebe is @phoebecampbellharris, and Sophie is @sophielst. You can also follow the film @amatterofminutesfilm for all the latest updates. Check out Hannah's film "Pockets: New York" at the London Short Film Festival this month.

Seinfeld writer and Curb director Larry Charles who also directed Borat, Bruno, and Dangerous World of Comedy, sits down with host Joshua Turek to discuss growing up in Brooklyn and how the books he read in his younger years expanded his sense of the world. Larry talks working with Bob Dylan and Larry David and the similarities between the two men. Larry discusses how through career successes he managed to find his way back to knowing the price of a loaf of bread. He also talks the Library Cop episode of Seinfeld which he wrote!Chicago and Seattle! Joshua is going to be headlining comedy shows in your cities soon!SEATTLE Oct. 25 at the Here-After tickets here: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/joshua-turek-here-after-tickets/13607144CHICAGO Nov. 8 & 9 he will be headlining at The Comedy Bar tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/november-8-9-joshua-turek-3613879for signed copies of Joshua's poetry book his site joshuaturek.comFor Larry Charles check out his YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPH7P8UM2_uXsRhpp3Z4UQA and IG: https://www.instagram.com/larrycharles/Books Talked About Include:Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude BrownConfessions of a Cultist by Andrew SarrisCatch 22Last Exit to BrooklynnAll Fours by Miranda July (Josh) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We perform a table read of the abandoned Seinfeld episode "The Gun/The Bet", written by Larry Charles and deemed not funny enough and too dark to continue production. How many items can we make our child fetch so she's won't hear us say "sex"?

Spark up a couple 'rainy day women' and join Luke, Mitch and Vonn as we discuss two films starring the American icon Bob Dylan.First up is D.A. Pennebaker's 1967 cinema verité documentary "Don't Look Back", which chronicles a young Dylan's concert tour in England as he was on the cusp of going electric. Next we roll into our "low" feature: Larry Charles' critically panned ensemble film "Masked and Anonymous" from 2003. What's Bob's problem with the press? Who is Donovan? And who threw that fucking glass out of the window? Tune in to our deepest episode yet to find out!

He's grumpy, belligerent, stubborn, filterless and has to win every single argument. We ask how Larry David has any friends left and why he is so concerned with manners, yet is rude to virtually everyone he meets. Plus, Ben and Nemone look at why some people find Curb Your Enthusiasm excruciating whilst others just can't get enough of the hit show.   We want to hear about any theories we might have missed, what you've thought of the show so far and your character suggestions. Please drop the team an email (which may be part of the show): shrinkthebox@sonymusic.com    NEXT CLIENTS ON THE COUCH. Find out how to view here Michael, Office (USA. Season 1)  Chandler, Friends (selected episodes)  Sydney, The Bear (season 2)  Tyrion, Game of Thrones (seasons 1&2).  Alex and Bradley, The Morning Show (Season 1)   CREDITS  We used clips from Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Episodes 1,4,5,7,10.    Starring (in the clips we used):   Larry David as Larry David,   Jeff Garlin as Jeff Greene  Cheryl Hines as Cheryl David  Susie Essman as Susie Greene  Jason Alexander as Jason Alexander  Bob Einstein as Marty Funkhouser  Catherine O'Hara as Bam Bam  Anita Barone, as Denise  Peter Mackenzie as Man in Shorts  Paul Webster as Larry's Friend Jim    Created and written by: Larry David. Directed by Larry Charles, Alec Berg, David Mandel, Bryan Gordon, Jeff Schaffer and Andy Ackerman,    Produced by: Linda Balaban, associate producer  Alec Berg, executive producer  Larry Charles, executive producer  Larry David, executive producer (showrunner) / executive producer  Jeff Garlin, executive producer  Tim Gibbons, executive producer  David Mandel, executive producer  Megan Murphy, co-producer  Erin O'Malley, executive producer  Gavin Polone, executive producer  Jeff Schaffer, executive producer (showrunner)  Laura Streicher, producer    Produced by HBO and Production Partners.   Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts.  To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kyle, Joe, and Rick review 2023's Dicks: The Musical directed by Larry Charles based on an off-Broadway written and starring the stars of the film, Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp. The film also stars Megan Mullally, Nathan Lane, Bowen Yang, and Megan Thee Stallion. We ranked 13 of the songs featured in the film, as well as picking our favorite lines, characters, performers, and scenes. Enjoy

In this episode, Adam and Eric interview Bobbi Jo Lathan. Bobbi played Patti in the episode “The Stranded.” She also appeared in the lost Seinfeld episode called “The Bet” which was written by Larry Charles, and originally supposed to air on February 13, 1991. Here's a copy of an early production draft of the script: https://archive.org/details/seinfeld-the-gun-script/page/n2/mode/1up?view=theater If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email us at theplacetobeseinfeld@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Facebook at The Place to Be: A Seinfeld Podcast, Twitter @tptbseinfeld, and Instagram @theplacetobe.podcast.

C'est avec un peu de retard que 24FPS, le podcast ciné avec ou sans spoiler, revient enfin sur les films vus aux mois d'octobre et novembre 2023 ! Voici donc la liste des films abordés sans spoiler par Julien et Jérôme dans cet épisode : Le Comte (El Conde) de Pablo Larraín (à partir de 0:04:39) Expend4bles de Scott Waugh (à partir de 0:09:12) Traquée (No One Will Save You) de Brian Duffield (à partir de 0:37:40) Le Règne Animal de Thomas Cailley (à partir de 0:47:53) The Royal Hotel de Kitty Green (à partir de 0:54:44) L'Exorciste - Dévotion (The Exorcist - Believer) de David Gordon Green (à partir de 0:58:40) The Marvels de Nia Dacosta (à partir de 1:28:07) Un Jour j'Atteindrai Les Étoiles (A Million Miles Away) d'Alejandra Marquez Abella (à partir de 1:46:40) Dicks - The Musical de Larry Charles (à partir de 1:51:06) Totally Killer de Nahnatchka Khan (à partir de 1:58:09) Napoléon de Ridley Scott (à partir de 2:08:00) Reptile de Grant Singer (à partir de 2:44:54) Priscilla de Sofia Coppola (à partir de 2:48:57) Vincent Doit Mourir de Stéphan Castang (à partir de 2:55:46) Une Équipe De Rêve (Next Goal Wins) de Taika Waititi (à partir de 3:03:24) Mars Express de Jérémie Périn (à partir de 3:10:32) Hunger Games - La Ballade Du Serpent Et De l'Oiseau Chanteur de Francis Lawrence (à partir de 3:19:26) Killers Of The Flower Moon de Martin Scorsese (à partir de 3:38:42) Bottoms de Emma Seligman (à partir de 4:07:27) Anatomie d'Une Chute de Justine Triet (à partir de 4:14:46) Bonne écoute, et n'hésitez pas à partager votre avis sur Taylor Swift ! Crédits musicaux : P.I.M.P. de 50 Cent, issu de l'album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (2003) 24FPS est un podcast du label PodShows

TYSO welcomes Larry Charles (writer/director for Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Borat, etc.) to the 3-time-shoes-off-club. The two discuss his new movie "Dicks: The Musical" which Larry directed; staring Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Josh Sharp, & Aaron Jackson. Btw, it's odd and Hysterical (you'll see a reaction of Rick's parents watching the movie during this episode)! Larry is a legend in comedy. His zen energy allows listening to him both calming and very interesting. A true New York, weed smoking, Jew. Support TYSO by supporting our sponsors: To learn more about microdosing THC go to https://www.microdose.com and use code: tyso to get free shipping & 30% off your first order. Join the growing rowing community at Hydrow. Goto https://www.hydrow.com and use code TYSO to save up to $500 off your Hydrow. Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at https://www.htlixsleep.com/tyso and use code HELIXPARTNER20.  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/takeyourshoesoff

Even if you don't know Larry Charles' name, his work is inescapable. He spent years as a writer on ‘Seinfeld' before starting his career as a director on shows like ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm' and movies like Sacha Baron Cohen's ‘Borat' and ‘Brüno.' Now, after swearing off Hollywood, he's back with what might be his most “transgressive” movie yet, ‘Dicks: The Musical,' a truly deranged comedy about two “straight” twins who were separated at birth and ultimately fall in love. In this episode, Charles reveals why this was the project that got him to narrative filmmaking and shares stories from the sets of ‘Seinfeld,' ‘Curb,' ‘Borat' and more. Plus, the director opens up more than ever before about the major falling out he had with longtime collaborator Larry David after HBO pulled their documentary project at the very last minute. Watch ‘Dicks: The Musical' at homeFollow Larry Charles on Twitter @larrycharles and Instagram @larrycharlesFollow Matt Wilstein on Threads @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod and Threads @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OCTOBER 2023 PART TWO! October had a lot of movies, and boy howdy did we talk about them. OCTOBER Pt. 2 Totally Killer- dir. Nahnatchka Khan; Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Julie Bowen, Troy Leigh-Ann Johnson, Kimberly Huie Dicks: The Musical- dir. Larry Charles; Josh Sharp, Aaron Jackson, Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Bowen Yang, Megan Thee Stallion When Evil Lurks- dir. Demián Rugna; Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón, Silvina Sabater, Virginia Garófalo, Emilio Vodanovich Suitable Flesh- dir. Joe Lynch; Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Bruce Davison, Barbara Crampton, Jonathan Schaech Anatomy of a Fall- dir. Justine Triet; Messi, Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Antoine Reinartz The Killer- dir. David

Written by (and starring) Joshua Sharp & Aaron Jackson, DICKS: THE MUSICAL tells the story of Craig and Trevor (Sharp and Jackson), two competing businessmen who are determined to climb over one another on the corporate ladder. But, when they discover that they're long-lost identical twins, the two decide to join forces in an attempt to reunite their divorced parents and attempt to rebuild their family. In this 1on1, we speak to Sharp & Jackson about the legend of Larry Charles, the boundaries of comedy and birthing the Sewer Boys. 

Meghan and Melisa watched A24's (a non-struck company) Dicks: The Musical. It was directed by Larry Charles and written by and starring Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson. It also stars: Megan Mullally, Nathan Lane, Megan Thee Stallion, and Bowen Yang.But Am I Wrong:Melisa: This might be one of the greatest films of all timeMeghan: All films should have bloopersBut Are You Wrong:Meghan and Melisa read various reviewsBut Are They WrongMelisa: TrevorMeghan: TwinsWrite In: butamiwrongpod@gmail.comWeigh In: vote in the weekly poll on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/by.meghan.and.melisa/Buy Our Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/don-t-blame-meJoin Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dontblamemeFollow Us:https://www.instagram.com/by.meghan.and.melisa/https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdYV7J5p/Follow Meghan:https://www.instagram.com/meghanrienks/https://twitter.com/meghanrienkshttps://www.youtube.com/c/meghanrienksFollow Melisa:https://www.instagram.com/sheisnotmelissa/https://www.instagram.com/diamondmprintproductionshttps://twitter.com/SheIsNotMelissa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a legendary morning with comedy legends Larry Charles who was officially allowed to talk about his new film “Dicks: The Musical” and Mark Proksch who was forced to endure abuse from Tim, Larry and at times Vic. Then we forced Larry to watch Phil Braun's disastrous Kramer audition. Watch or listen to another hour with more of Mark, a surprise phone call from Neil Hamburger in which he forces Mark to perform the Neutron Dance, and get tons of other stuff when you subscribe to OFFICE HOURS+. Get a FREE seven-day trial at patreon.com/officehourslive. Find everything Office Hours including the merch store at officialofficehours.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a UCB show (called Fucking Identical Twins) becomes A24's first musical, it's safe to expect the unexpected. Joined by actor, writer, and comedian Drew Droege, the gang takes an intimate look at Dicks, followed by a quiz about body parts in what is surely our most mature episode to date.What's GoodAlonso - Phaidon's The Christmas BookDrea - NailtiquesDrew - Bret Easton Ellis, The ShardsIfy - spooky season, Hop WaterITIDICJohn Woo's Upcoming Silent Night Might Represent a Dialogue-Free Movie TrendDrea Called It: 2012 Doc “Queen of Versailles” Getting Narrative Treatment…as a MusicalGuillermo del Toro never saw the sequel to Pacific RimStaff PicksAlonso - The Royal HotelDrea - Little Shop of HorrorsDrew - Dyke HardIfy - Freak DanceMore about TitaniqueFollow us on BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, or InstagramWithIfy NwadiweDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeDrew DroegeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

"Dicks: The Musical" had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where it opened the Midnight Madness section with an audacious, raunchy, over-the-top presentation marking A24's first movie musical to date. With an all-star cast that includes Megan Mullally, Megan Thee Stallion, Bowen Yang, and Nathan Lane and directed by "Borat" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" director Larry Charles, writers and stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp scored big and knocked it out of the park. The two young performers and creators were kind enough to spend a few minutes chatting with us about their wild film, which you can listen to or watch down below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in theaters from A24 on October 6th. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com For more about Regal Unlimited and the Slasher Sale - https://regmovies.onelink.me/4207629222/bjs99t0x New subscribers can use code REGALNBP23 for 10% off of Regal Unlimited for the first 3 months Please subscribe on... SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/nextbestpicturepodcast Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture

Vad kan skaparen av TV-serierna Seinfeld och Curb Your Enthusiasm lära oss romanförfattare? Massor. Till exempel att knäcka koden för ett projekt. Innan serien Seinfeld skapades gick Larry David och manusförfattaren Larry Charles långa promenader i Los Angeles för att bestämma vad serien skulle vara och vad den inte skulle vara. Så kan du också jobba. I det här klippet listar jag fyra välgörande arbetsmetoder för en romanförfattare, samtliga kommer ur Larry Davids sätt att tänka. Jag har jobbat som romanförfattare och romancoach i flera år. Många av mina kursdeltagare lever nu på sitt författarskap. Följ mina råd och ta nästa steg i ditt romanskrivande. Vill du kontakta mig? Mejla till canalcarstensen(snabel-a)gmail.com

This week, The Pitch's Abby Olcese joins us for two Nic Cage-fronted true stories of dubious execution!  First up is Larry Charles' Army of One, a grating retelling of the real-life tale of Gary Faulkner (Cage), who was arrested in Pakistan hatching a plot to kill Osama bin Laden in 2010, all for 'Murica. In theory, it could be a neat little dramedy about the self-delusion of the flag-pilled white dude; in practice, it's an annoying slog with Cage making all kinds of delusional choices (the voice he does here) and everyone's favorite kook Russell Brand as God.  Things get a little better, if a little safer, with Mario Van Peebles' po-faced WWII drama USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage. Peebles casts Cage as the doomed captain of the equally-ill-fated Navy ship that famously smuggled vital parts for the atomic bomb behind enemy lines, only to get shot down by a Japanese U-boat. From there comes starvation, sharks, and a whole lotta sitting around and waiting. Pledge to our Patreon at patreon.com/travoltacage Follow us on Twitter @travoltacage Email us questions at travoltacagepod@gmail.com Podcast theme by Jon Biegen Podcast logo by Felipe Sobreiro

This episode discusses the brutal murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh on the campus of Covenant Theological Seminary in 1990. It also discusses an entire denomination's apparent erasure of women. Karl Saint Lucy is a songwriter, composer, and vocalist living in The Bronx. Karl is the songwriter, a co-composer (with music producer Marius de Vries), and a co-producer of A24's first movie musical, F**king Identical Twins, directed by Larry Charles, which stars Megan Thee Stallion in her first feature film. Saint Lucy was a featured soloist on John Cameron Mitchell's Anthem: Homunculus musical podcast by Luminary Originals and was an alto finalist for the GRAMMY Award-winning men's choir, Chanticleer, in 2017. Karl's father, Michael Johnson, is the prime suspect in the unsolved 1990 murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh on the campus of Covenant Theological Seminary.The ‘Cold Justice' Team Helps Investigate The ‘Savage' Murder Of A Seminary StudentUS murder suspect 'will not face charges' after Edinburgh nurse killedRESPONSE TO LETTER TO CHURCHESREGISTER FOR RETREATCONUncertain is a podcast of Tears of Eden, a community and resource for those in the aftermath of Spiritual Abuse. If you're enjoying this podcast, please take a moment to like, subscribe, or leave a review on your favorite podcasting listening apparatus. You can support the podcast by going to TearsofEden.org/supportTo get in touch with us please email tearsofeden.org@gmail.comFollow on Instagram @uncertainpodcast

Welcome to an all-new Films for the Void, Episode 59! In this episode, Eric and Landon take a trip to the other side of the world to talk about Larry Charles' 2006 film BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN, as well as discuss the latest from Pixar, ELEMENTAL!TIME STAMPS00:02:06 Elemental00:11:34 Borat01:11:47 Eric's Recommendation for Next EpisodeTWITTER: @films_void$3/MONTH PATREON: patreon.com/films_voidLANDON'S TWITTER @igotdefevermanLANDON'S INSTAGRAM @duhfeverLANDON'S LETTERBOXD @landondefeverERIC'S TWITTER @ericwiththehairERIC'S INSTAGRAM @ericwiththebeardERIC'S LETTERBOXD @ericwiththehair

For 29+ years, Kirkland Moody has been a workhorse in the entertainment business. His breadth of experience from actor and casting associate to session director and casting director gives him a bedrock foundation for his current work with Clockwork Casting.Kirkland got his start in Orlando, Florida when he worked with Herb Mandell casting films, TV, commercials, industrials, and starting an extras company. Upon moving to Los Angeles, he stepped directly into casting with Danny Goldman for 4 years. He then helped open AKA Talent Agency as their first employee, then moved back to casting working with Beth Holmes Casting. In 2002, he went freelance working with such casting directors as Dan Bell, Lisa Fields, Cathi Carlton, RMB Casting, Shane Casting, ASG Casting, and then primarily with Francene Selkirk.During this period, he was also a casting director for a variety of films, pilots commercials and music videos, including working with James Moll on the Steven Spielberg project “Oswiecim: Auschwitz” for the Shoah Foundation, a film permanently installed at the Auschwitz Memorial.Also during this time, Kirkland was an actor in 40 commercials, so he truly understands being on both sides of the camera.As a casting associate or session director, Kirkland has worked with: The Coen Brothers, Larry Charles, Harold Einstein, Tom Kuntz, Craig Gillespie, Zach Braff, Brian Billow, Douglas Avery, Chris Smith, Mark Pellington, Rosey, Joe Pytka, Benji Weinstein, Nicolai Fuglsig, Aaron Stoller, Tony Kaye, Matt Smukler, Chris Wilcha, Brent Thomas, The Doctor Twins, Fred Goss, Trish Sie, Phil Joanou, Fred Savage, Steve Rogers, Dave Merhar, David McNally, Zach Math, Rob Pritts, Sean Ehringer, Nick Ball, Kevin Thomas, Renny Maslow, Boris Damast, Tom Routson, Ray Dillman, John Mastromonaco, Kinka Usher, Roger Donaldson, Mark Romanek, Brad Parker, Alan White, Marcus McCollum, David Kellogg, Lisa Rubisch , Paul Dektor, Sam Jones and Henry Winkler.Follow us on instagram @slateitpod.

While the guys rest up for a much needed mental health break, we've combined The Script and the Sherpa episode review & the Larry Charles interview for you! Boys are back in the studio next week, business as usual.

Jer and Dan kick off the new year with Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" directed by Larry Charles, the less necessary follow-up to the much more successful "Borat." This month on 90 Over 90, we'll be discussing the 2001 crime drama "Blow" starring Johnny Depp. Join for only $1 at www.patreon.com/90under90

Danny Zuker is a TV Writer and Producer known for Modern Family, Just Shoot Me, Off Centre, and Grace Under Fire.Show NotesDanny Zuker on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958521/Danny Zuker on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_ZukerDanny Zuker on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/dannyzukerDanny Zuker on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyzuker/Michael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Watchlist - https://michaeljamin.com/watchlistAutomated TranscriptsDanny Zuker (00:00):So like, the people interested on the podcast who are aspiring and whatnot. Yeah. I mean, it is, and you can attest to this, and everybody I know can attest to it. Is he getting punched in the face contest? I mean, and there's no shame in stopping. It's just how many times he can get punched in the face. Because you will continually, I mean, I recently been punched, you know, I did a pilot and it was like all the way and boom, punched in the face and it's like, it never stops hurting. And at some point you just decide not to get up. I'm just not there yet.Michael Jamin (00:26):You're listening to Screenwriters. Need to hear this with Michael Jamin.(00:34):Hey everybody, welcome back to Screenwriters. Need to hear this. I'm Michael Jamin. I got a special, very special guest today, Mr. Danny Zucker. You don't know who he is. You don't know who. I barely, we worked together on many for many years on a show called Just Shoot Me. But I want to, man, I want to, this guy is, you don't understand this guy in the industry. He's known as a joke machine. He is known as the guy who comes in and hits that home run joke that makes everyone just laugh out loud in every episode. And so, let me just talk about his credits and I'm gonna bring him in. He's got a ton of credits. So I guess we'll talk about this, but we, I guess he started out on the Arsenio Hall Show as a joke writer, evening Shade, which I didn't, I forgot about that cuz I was a PA on that show. But not when he was there. Roseanne, listen to his credits. Roseanne Grace Under Fire fired up. He probably, do you want, is it okay if I mention No, I guess I shouldn't mentionDanny Zuker (01:26):That one. No, you can totally mention all the terribleMichael Jamin (01:28):Ones. jhu Me. We were, we, we worked together. Jesse Off Center, which he created Coupling the Men's Room, another show he created Surviving Suburbia, the Unusuals modern Family, which you've just got off of. So he was there for many seasons. But then also God the Devil and Bob Norm watching Ellie Oliver Bean come to Papa Stacked. I mean, dudeDanny Zuker (01:54):Act I'm glad you finished on Stacked ByMichael Jamin (01:56):Though. Yeah, that was a, yeah, . But what a man, dude, you have some, you have some you in in this podcast right now, I would say you have the second best credits.Danny Zuker (02:07):Who have you had who've hadMichael Jamin (02:09):? No, I'm talking about me. Oh, no, your, your, your credits are fantastic, dude. I mean, aDanny Zuker (02:14):Lot.Michael Jamin (02:15):Oh,Danny Zuker (02:16):But great memoir in me when I want to get out of the business.Michael Jamin (02:19):Oh, but also you do, well, you, well, you can start writing it now, I suppose. . How dare you. How dare. But also can I even talk about this? Do you have a famous book about where you, you and Trump? You got into a this is before he was president, right?Danny Zuker (02:34):Yeah, it was, it was I think 2014 back when everybody hated Trump. Not just people who could readMichael Jamin (02:41):, but, and so you just started trolling him on TwitterDanny Zuker (02:44):Just randomly and just a little, like, just a small little tweet. It was like, and then he exploded and then we went onto a month long with hundreds of tweets back and forth. And if you go back and look at it, cause it went rebal when he got the nomination. But if you look at it, he didn't like I was just a beta test. There's nothing he said about anybody else, whether it's like whoever he wants to talk about that he didn't first try out on me to no effectMichael Jamin (03:08):Really.Danny Zuker (03:09):And always bugged me when the Democrats would say like well it's so hard to fight against. It's like, no, just read what I did. It's not that hard. I feel like anybody could dunk on him.Michael Jamin (03:18):I remembered thinking though you, that he picked the wrong fight. You don't pick a, a Battle of Witch with professional comedy writer. That's not what you want to do,Danny Zuker (03:25):. It's all I do. It's, yeah, it's like, it's like me getting into a Dunking contest with LeBron. It's not gonna work out. I have one skill period. I can't do anything other than this. It's all I was trained to do.Michael Jamin (03:36):And this was at Modern Family where you were a writer, and did you, did you wanna, did you bounce off any jokes off of anybody?Danny Zuker (03:42):No, in fact, I mean, I would, he started to go after Modern Family, like when he would, you know, and that became like something he would pick out at that point that when he started doing that, I went and I talked to the cast and the other writers and the cre co-creator Steve and Chris, and I said, Hey, like, you know, my show, I would just go forward, but it's your show, right? And they were like, no, get him. It's like, fine. And it was like, I have to say, like back then, you just have to remember like, he was a, he was such a safe target. Like I would have to scroll for scroll and scroll and scroll to find one tweet that supported him. Like one reply that supported him. And I'm sure it came from somebody in his office. What was weird and why I knew like, oh, shit's different is it went viral again in like 20 16, 20 17.(04:31):At which point I got a lot of like, you are an asshole. Y O U R. I got like, it was like, there was a lot of hate. Like people were on his side all of a sudden. It was like, what? Because it was Republicans, he was a joke. Right. You know? Right. and, and so it was like, whoa. It was really weird. And it was yeah, I mean it was, you know, I, I continued, I continued to be a voice, but, you know, I I, I had threats. I was hacked. I had a lot of stuff go down that was like sort of yeah, it was like, it, you know, it, it got a little bit scary. I mean, it's scarier for women who went up againstMichael Jamin (05:05):Him. But at, at some point though, did he just block you?Danny Zuker (05:08):Oh, within the middle of that. And then by the end, after months, he blocked me and I stayed blocked all through his presidency. .Michael Jamin (05:15):And then how did that become a book?Danny Zuker (05:17):Well, I was doing it like at the 20, what was it? The the midterms, the 2018 midterms. I was part of like a democratic affiliation. Like there was some fundraiser. And they had asked me if I wanted to do like a live reading of my Twitter war. And like, you know, Tim Simons from a VE was there and he said he had an un enviable job of being Trump. And we did it. And then another friend of mine who does a lot of this stuff says we should put that out as a book. And, and then we just, I just wound up doing it.Michael Jamin (05:47):That's fantastic.Danny Zuker (05:48):Yeah. I mean, it's just a little, it's a hundred pages. It's like, it could not be sort of, and and, and I comment on the little tweets as they go along and Yeah. So . But and then I gave it to ch Yeah. And then I gave it to charities like, you know, Uhhuh legal aid for people at the border and Planned Parent, like all the things he, ohMichael Jamin (06:04):Good. Oh, now tell me. So I don't, I remember, it's so funny cause we worked together 20 something yearsDanny Zuker (06:10):Ago. I know a lot,Michael Jamin (06:12):But I, you remember, just so my audience knows, you were the guy who all of us wanted to impress in the room to make laugh. You were the guy cuz it was your approval. Yeah, it was. Because if we could make Danny laugh then Paul Yeah. Because you were the home run hitter.Danny Zuker (06:29):But that, but that room had, I felt like that room had a lot of heavy hitters. It's very flattering to know that. I mean, I always thought, you know, I thought you and your partner Siever were like, it was just, everybody was good.Michael Jamin (06:40):We were, we were all baby writers. But it, I mean there were definitely, it was a really talented, I think that might have been one of the most talented rooms I've been in, to be honest.Danny Zuker (06:47):It was certainly one of the, it was one of those rooms where like, cuz Just Shoot Me was a show that really survived on jokes. Like, it was like, the way it was built, it was like, it wasn't, you know, it wasn't about like a lot of touchy-feely moments, you know, or we'd get to them occasionally. But it, what it was most successful at was like, you know, what are the s in that world? Yeah. And, and, and so, and we had a lot, you know, it was a lot of really good people. So,Michael Jamin (07:11):Man, and then, but you started, I forgot about this as a, as a joke writer on the Arsenio Hall Show.Danny Zuker (07:17):Yeah, it was weird. I mean, I got , I mean, I was quite young. I was like, I think like 24 or 25, and I managed to get like a like a pa job on that show. Cause I'd worked on as a pa on another show with a producer there. And anyway, I got there and, you know, we're doing run through things and it, you know, writers there had 13 week contracts. And in the first 13 weeks that show became an amazing hit. Like he was on the Coming Time magazine and he wound up purging a lot of the staff on a Friday. And I just went home. This, you know, I went home that night and now long ago, and on a typewriter looking at newspapers typed up a bunch of jokes and on Monday handed up, you know, my submission to some of the other writers there to put it in with the packet.(08:03):You know, they, because I knew they were looking and they knew I wanted to write. And on Monday, like he did one of my jokes. And then like on Tuesday he did two of my jokes. And on Thursday I had a good amount of jokes in. And on that Friday, the following Friday, he hired me. Wow. So it was like, but I, you know, I'd been doing jokes, you know, I don't, I wasn't, it's funny, I was like, we were doing a move in our house, like we were remodeling, something had to move out and we get, so go through all of these boxes and in one box I found, oh, my Arsenio jokes, like a big book of my Arsenio jokes. And I thought, this is a gold mine. I can sort of recycle some of these and put them in things. And I started reading through them and they were also shit. It was like, it was nothing salvageable , but I guess it worked for there.Michael Jamin (08:43):That's so, you know, cause I was a joke writer on the mic and Maddie's show for a little bit, and I had thisDanny Zuker (08:48):That's right.Michael Jamin (08:49):But I would go through my material. I, I have the same like a binder like gold. Right. And I looked at it recently, I was, was like, there's nothing in here. It's terrible. It'sDanny Zuker (08:57):Terrible. I would never hire this fucking guy.Michael Jamin (08:59):. But, but was it your goal, like in high school to be like a on to work, like late night or what? Or scripted?Danny Zuker (09:07):Yeah, it was. I mean, I really, you know, I wanted, I, I mean I, in high school I was doing some standup poorly, you know, cause I had nothing to say and, but I really did. I wanted to be on Letterman or snl. And and, you know, I got outta college and I did, like, I put together this reel that people seemed to like, and I got into Letterman it as like, you know, I talked to like Gerard Mulligan and a couple people there, and I mission and then, and I got my first rejection letter from them and the second one from snl. And and and I still have those. And they're, they, they, they're, because, you know, you go through that. I wound up getting a job with but glad up getting a job with Howard Stern, who was doing some box pilots.(09:44):He was gonna be the show that followed Joan Rivers Show. Right. And they never went, but it was, it was a couple months producing a week of shows, you know, practice shows. And well, a couple good things came outta that one. I've been friends with him for 30 something years as a result. Bob who was in my wedding, and right. But then, but then I also met a producer on that show who liked me, and he brought me out to, you know, he brought me out. He said, I have a a pa job out here if you want it. And, you know, so it all led from that. So,Michael Jamin (10:12):But you never decided to like resubmit to SNL orDanny Zuker (10:16):Letterman? I did. I mean, I was, you know, I was absolutely planning, but then I wound up getting an opportunity to be, you know, I, I got, I, I I wanted to. And then I came out here. It's funny because before I got the Arsenio Hall ugh, this is a really dark, like, horrible story. Before I got the Arsenio Hall show , I got I was like up for like, to be a baby writer. If you remember Pat Sack had a late night talk show mm-hmm. . Yeah. That was Pat s Show. And was a lot of my friends, a lot of good people were there. Like, you know, Fred Wolf who went on to write a lot of stuff for all those movies for David Spade and Chris Farley. But like, so I was submitting packages and the head writer there, this guy Monty, I don't mind trashing him on this.(10:52):He, he he put me through the ringer. Like I kept submitting like over the course of you know, weeks of submitting to him and with notes. And I was like, fine. I was like young and prolific. Anyway, I wind up going in and I get there and there's another guy, there's writer Rob Young, who went on to write Forleo for many, many years. And he and Mon said, here's the thing, you're both baby writers, so if you don't mind, I'll make you a baby writer team. You know, you'll means splitting a salary and all that and you have to be okay with it. And we're like, I was broke and had gotten no credit card. We were like, yeah, let's do it. My family was in town, my mom and my two sisters and and my stepdad and we're like all getting ready to go out and celebrate.(11:34):And as I'm getting out the door, the phone rings and it's Monty. And he said, you know what? We've re he gave me a key to the office, by the way. We've reconsidered. We're just gonna go with Rob. Oh my God. Like, after offering me the job. And I literally like my knees buckle and it was like the darkest meal ever. So I was really depressed for exactly 12 hours. And the next day Marla, this woman who went up to Bruce, the Arsenio Hall show called me and said, I can't offer you a writing job yet, but if you want, you can come in here and be like, like a, like a segment pa. And I was like, yes. And so that's all I wanted was the opportunity. So it was like literally I had disappointment for 12 hours andMichael Jamin (12:14):But still that is crippling that disappointment.Danny Zuker (12:16):It was crippling. I've never forgottenMichael Jamin (12:18):The Yeah. I feel it just the way you saidDanny Zuker (12:21):It, it was really cruel. I mean, it was like I described, I mean, to like the people interested on the podcast who are aspiring and whatnot. I mean, it is, and you can attest to this, and everybody I know can attest to, is he getting punched in the face contest? I mean, and there's no shame in stopping. It's just how many times he can get punched in the face. Because you will continually, I mean, I've recently been punched, you know, I did a pilot and it's like all the way going and boom, punched in the face and it's like, it never stops hurting. And at some point we just decide not to get up. I'm just not there yet, but, you know. Right. But butMichael Jamin (12:53):People don't, yeah. I think that's important to know. Like even us at our level, is none of it's a cake walk. Everything's, you know, a lot of rejection.Danny Zuker (13:03):It, it's true. And I'll never forget this cuz so there's a writer under studio Hall show. He's about like eight or nine years older than I was. And, and like we would pretty young staff and, but, and we were going like, all the way to Vegas, why did you ever come to Vegas with us? And he's like, you know, and he pulled me aside, he took me for a lunch. He goes, he said, you, you're good. You don't wanna stay here in late night the whole, your whole career. You should, like, I'm taking the time. A friend of mine is doing a pilot. I'm helping him with it, and I'm pu you know, and I think you should be thinking about like starting to speck out half hour. And I thought, okay, you know, he's very avan Well, that pilot he was working on was, and his friend was Larry David, who was working on the Seinfeld pilot. He was Larry Charles. Right. and, and, and, and, you know, so he, you know, it was a real inspirational thing that moved me forward. And years later when I'm first getting like my first like, you know, I'm a story editor on like evening shade or one of those things. And I remember running, talking to him and I said, it must be nice to not worry about the next thing. And he is like, oh, I worry every single day. AndMichael Jamin (14:01):This is who, who? Larry Charles said thisDanny Zuker (14:02):Larry. Charles, yeah. Mm-Hmm. . And I thought, like, I thought, is he just saying that to make me feel good? But then, you know, as I saw it, I saw like the people from friends leaving the hottest show on friends, like not, you know, scr you, it, it doesn't carry over. It's like you, you, you get in the door more. Right. But you're still subject to the same humiliations most of the time.Michael Jamin (14:24):Why did they tell you, why did he tell you you don't want to be in late night for the rest of your career?Danny Zuker (14:29):He thought that I want, he said, if you, he, he more said it this way. He said, do you want to be in late night? Do you have aspirations to do more? Because it can be a golden, you can, it can be like a golden handcuffs because what can happen is it becomes comfortable and you won't do anything else if you wanna do something else. And he thought, and he, and he said he thought I was good enough to, he thought I had the ability to go do something else. I, and and that was all it was. It wasn't like he was belittling it mm-hmm. , he just knew I had aspirations beyond it. And he said, while you are working on something good is a great time to be working on the next thing. Right. And I, I, I, I took, I I, I took him seriously. IMichael Jamin (15:06):Mean, but you had to learn a whole different thing. You had to learn how to write stories. That's aDanny Zuker (15:09):Whole different thing. You don't, and but didn't you find this for you? So you started as a joke writer. You don't know if you can do it consistently until you do it. And then you find out, oh, I can. Right. It's the same thing with half hour. It's like, I don't know if I can do this consistently until you find out you can.Michael Jamin (15:22):But I remember the first couple specs I wrote the first were terrible. Then I wrote a couple that were decent. And then after wrote that first decent one that got me an agent. I remember the, I got soundbite agent and then I remember thinking, I, I don't know if I can do this again. I think that's it. I think I got lucky.Danny Zuker (15:37):Oh dude, I'm utter, even to this day, I have to tell you, like I've, I, I'm utterly convinced that every job I have is the last job I'll ever have for my whole career. And that this is the script where I'll be found out.Michael Jamin (15:53):. Yeah. Yeah.Danny Zuker (15:55):Where the, where the big, where the, you know, it's it's imposter syndrome I think. But it, I don't know. I, I've never met somebody who turned into script and was so freaking proud of it to me or something like that. It's like, oh, this one's gonna kill where that was any good . You know? Right. Like, that kind of confidence doesn't means you haven't like, questionedMichael Jamin (16:11):It. And what were those early days like for you on those early shows like Roseanne and like, what was that like?Danny Zuker (16:17):I loved it. I mean, cuz I, I did discover I was good at it and they were like, it was competitive, which I liked mm-hmm. . And it was like, you know, I held my own. I was like, you know, I did a really good, I felt like I did a really good job on Evening Shane. And they recommended me to Right. Roseanne. And I was a good hire there. And I'm, you know, the Roseanne was one of these situations where like 30 something writers, cuz she would hire all these people. But there was one like, main room and, and, and, or like, like two, you know, of the main writers. And it was very egalitarian, you know, it wasn't just like, okay, you're co-executive producer, you're gonna be in that main room. Or the, it was egalitarian. And, you know, I had worked, you know, as a second job. I worked myself into the main room. Now keep in mind that also meant working on weekends, but it was still,Michael Jamin (17:00):What do you mean as a second job? What do you mean?Danny Zuker (17:03):Well, no, it wasn't a second job. It was like I said that you would, I, it meant that if I got into the main room, Uhhuh , I would, you know, I would work longer for the same about someone here. Oh, oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah.Michael Jamin (17:16):Yeah. Right. And and they were, yeah. Cause the hours were really tough on Roseanne. I rememberDanny Zuker (17:20):They were hard. No.Michael Jamin (17:21):Yeah. I remember getting, it's funny, I remember getting interviewed to be in the night pa on Roseanne. I was like, the night pa Yeah. You start around midnight. I'm like, oh, start at midnight. . That doesn't sound like a good job.Danny Zuker (17:35):Yeah. I remember, I think at one 30 in the morning, Rob hen at one point saying, guys, if we just let's focus, we can get out here earlyMichael Jamin (17:42):. But he wasn't. So what time, what were your hours? Like what time did you usually work until ?Danny Zuker (17:50):It depended, but like, you know, cause she would blow up the script several times and you had to deliver it. Yeah. And you know, sometimes we'd have to start from scratch. And so, you know, we saw more than, you know, I saw several sunrises. We called it working from Howard to Howard. Like, you'd come in listening to Howard's Stern and you go home listening to Howard's.Michael Jamin (18:04):Oh my God. And that's, and that's rough. I mean, I've been at a coupleDanny Zuker (18:08):Young though. It, it helped to be young.Michael Jamin (18:10):Right. I know. Imagine doing that now. You'd be, I don't know guys, it's getting, it's, it's right five-ish. It's getting dark . I go, nowDanny Zuker (18:18):I wanna eat my dinner at four 30 now. So it's like differentMichael Jamin (18:21):. So then all your other jobs afterwards. Just interesting to follow. How were they just mostly connections or your agents submitting you? How haveDanny Zuker (18:29):Almost all were con like, so what happened was, so yeah, so Evening Shade led to a connection because Victor Fresco was friends with Rob Yuen. Mm-Hmm. and then Tim Doyle who was coming in also. And, and, and so I got there from there. When I went to Grace Under Fire, it was Kevin Abbott. It was like a, a a splinter group. Us went on to that. From there Kevin wound up getting like a brillstein deal off of that. And then they were like, he, they were asking who else is good over there? And he recommended me. So then I got a Brillstein deal and did my first pilot. And when that didn't go, I was like on, I was somewhere like on vacation, you know, my wife. And, and I got a call from my agent that about like, Hey, they're looking to bring somebody on the show, just shoot me. And you know, you know, I read the script, which I liked. I, you know, I hadn't seen the first pilot and I was wrapping up and so I, I don't how many You were there from the beginningMichael Jamin (19:23):Right? From the pilot. Yeah.Danny Zuker (19:24):Yeah. So what was how many did you do that first season? Because I came in in, in at the le Yeah. So I came in on episode six of thatMichael Jamin (19:32):First season. You were there, you were there for the first episode. Final episode of Season of Season One. I don't rememberDanny Zuker (19:37):That. Yes, I was, yeah. Wow. Okay. Yeah. Cause we were, yeah. Cause I, yeah. And so yeah. So it was yeah. So that, and that's how that led. And then from there, you know, that led to a lot of different things. And, and you know, you know, it is, you start to develop a name, so then you at least Right, you can at least get in the door, you know, a little bit. So,Michael Jamin (19:56):And then, but even now, okay, so how does it work for you now? What is it? I mean, even like, I know you just, you just had a pilot what it felt like. What was that process like?Danny Zuker (20:05):Well, it's, it's, you know, it's, hopefully it's gonna be alive again. But we, we gotten into some, some, a little good news, but, you know, I was talking about a couple pilots, but like, I, you know, I got, I having the same manager as I'm at Brillstein again as a management company. And over Covid, they were like, Hey, you know, you wanna sit down with Kevin Neon as this idea?Michael Jamin (20:25):Oh, right.Danny Zuker (20:26):Kevin and I wound up writing something that I really love. And hereMichael Jamin (20:29):We go. Let's give him, give him a shout out.Danny Zuker (20:32):Oh, you gotMichael Jamin (20:33):It. Yeah, because Kevin was a Kevin, Kevin's so sweet. He was the voice on, he was actually the voice on this animated show. He did. He's over there andDanny Zuker (20:41):Oh really? Which one?Michael Jamin (20:43):Glen Martin dds. So I work with Kevin. Oh,Danny Zuker (20:45):That's right. IMichael Jamin (20:46):Remember that. And he's, so, he's the sweetest guy. And so he'sDanny Zuker (20:51):Been, he's been a pleasure to be in my life. Yeah. So yeah, it's, it was a real blessing.Michael Jamin (20:56):Well, I was just gonna say, so when he put his book out, I was like, yeah, I gotta give, I gotta help promote his book. Cuz he's just the sweetest guy, youDanny Zuker (21:02):Know? Yeah, he is, he's the greatest. And, but, you know, there's a perfect example. So it's Kevin Neen who has always acclaim. I don't have no acclaim. And, and like we write a pilot That's great. And we still get fucked around with, you know, it's like, sort of what I was saying, you know, it's like there's no, it never endsMichael Jamin (21:18):. Yeah, no, it doesn't end. And so, yeah. So that, so just so people understand those work, so the, you've sold it to, well, your, your studio paid, youDanny Zuker (21:27):Don't just We the studio. Yeah. And it was like, developed for tbs. Okay. And and then the whole TBS structure went out the window mm-hmm. like in, in the midst of doing it. And, and we just got screwed. Now it came back to us and knock wood, we have something. But, you know, and then, you know, I'm just developing other things right now.Michael Jamin (21:46):Yeah. So you'll try to shop that. Right. And so,Danny Zuker (21:48):Yeah. Yeah. I mean this is the, this is the first year though when I, because I've been working on this animated show, housebroken mm-hmm. , it's their second season. It's on Fox. My first animated show I've everMichael Jamin (21:57):Oh, I know that. Oh, wait, wait, I know that one.Danny Zuker (22:00):It's with, yeah, it's with Gabby Al Gabby and Jen Friton did, and Ku it's like bunch of pets and group therapy. Right. Which is really a funny idea. Right. And it was super fun to do when it ended, like, in, in, I don't know, September, I mean, we're still doing post-production, but when it ended in September, I had a couple offers to staff or thinking like this. And I just, I said I, unless it was something I really wanted to do, this was the first time I decided not to do that. Not to run really in my whole career because I, I felt like I don't want to do that right now. I'm tired of racing and I wanted to, and I got to travel and I wanted to do certain things and work on what I wanted to work on. Right. It just sort of have faith in the process. Cause cause you know how it is, you miss a lot of life if you don't do that. SoMichael Jamin (22:45):Yeah, well it's, there's that, yeah. It's like that trade off. Do you go on staff or, or try to develop on your own and you're justDanny Zuker (22:51):Yeah. And I'll go, but I also, it's just a trade off of like, if I don't go on staff now and I wanna go on staff later, I'll find something. You know, it's like, I'm not gonna just not do it in there, you know? Right. So,Michael Jamin (23:03):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 can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not gonna spam you and it's absolutely free. Just go to michaeljamin.com/watchlist.(23:27):Right. So now you're just coming up with ideas or teaming up with other people.Danny Zuker (23:31):Yeah, I'm, I'm actually supervising a couple pilots that I like and I'm writing one, you know, developing one on my own. And then, and, and, you know, it's been super fun and, you know, I'll start submitting again when, you know, shows get picked up. But it was fun. I got to go around the worldMichael Jamin (23:45):Interest Oh, go around the world for for what? Oh, oh, because you're on yourself. You, youDanny Zuker (23:49):Just Yeah, my, yeah, yeah, yeah.Michael Jamin (23:51):Right. Interesting. And then, and so what was go, so your last, I guess your last big credit was Modern Family. So what was that a called, what was that like?Danny Zuker (24:00):Wow, I mean, what a credit. Oh, here's the thing. So I'm 44 when that show gets, you know, picked up and, you know mm-hmm. , especially like in comedy. Right. You know, you think like, I went prior, so it's kind of funny. So prior to modern Family, you know, a year before that happened, a full year, you know, we had a writer's strike. And right before that, Steve Leviton, who we know from Just Shoot me and, and Chris Le Lloyd were doing a show with Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton called back to Back to You. Back to You. Yeah. Yeah. And and, and I didn't get hired for it, and I was like, really? I've done everything for, and it would've meant like I could've logged my deal and, and then the writer strike happened. It was the first time I went a year, like basically almost a year without working on anything.(24:49):Right. And so I started to spec out a couple, I specked out a pilot that was a little bit more dramatic and wound up getting hired on a drama that Noah Hawley was doing in New York called The Unusuals. And it was like, and it was really fun to do a drama and easier by a mile. Right. And so BEC but and it was like, I was the funny guy in this, like, people, other writers would come to me if they need because it had, shouldn't have had a rye aspect to it and this cop drama. And so I could punch up and I was able to write a drama a script. And it was great. And that show didn't get picked up. But then I had a couple offers on other dramas when Steve called me and said, Hey, Chris and I have done this pilot.(25:27):I think you should come in and take a look at it. You might be interested in it. Now in my head I'm thinking, I can't wait to watch this pilot and say, no, I don't wanna do it. Right. , it's like hired other stuff. But I got five minutes into the Modern Family Pilot. And honestly, to me, it's the best comedy pilot I'd ever seen. Yeah. Like, for just like, it, it felt so fully formed already. Yeah. Like, but that cast, and it just like, everything clicked in a way that was magical. And I was like, I gotta get hired on this show. And so people asking, you know, it was gonna be a hit or did you know this? We had, there was a lot of pressure that first season to do something as good as the pilot and to be in that world. And, but we could feel it. We, you could, you know, you could feel something building like you could feel, yeah, this is something special. And and yeah, it was an amazing ride and I'm sort of glad to have that happen to me in my forties. It was particularly after a year of sort of, oh, slightly slimmer picking. So I really appreciated it and I knew it won't, I, I knew this doesn't go on forever. Like I know that that's a very unusual Yeah. And rarefied thing to happen.Michael Jamin (26:35):It's kind of like the last big, big hit, youDanny Zuker (26:38):Know? It feels like it, I mean, it, it, it's especially a broadcast hit. It's like Yeah. It just like, like it, it went from the beginnings of like, screaming is a possibility to like, no one watches network television at the time it's on anymore.Michael Jamin (26:53):Right. What's interesting about, I, I always love like writing in that show is like you've literally watched those children grow up to be adults, you know, on theDanny Zuker (27:03):Air same age. So Luke, the kid who played Luke and the kid who played Manny and Alex for that matter, Uhhuh were all the same age as my twin girls. And my son was younger. So I, I, I used to joke that I, I got to watch the kids who make me money grow up with the kids who cost my moneyMichael Jamin (27:19):, but, and how odd is it to write new stories? Like, it just seems like it's, you know, it's almost odd that because they're older now and you get, you're writing stories for them being older, you know?Danny Zuker (27:29):Yeah. But it's like you, that is actually, oh, for me, I did not mind that because I felt like in those first couple seasons it was very, you know, we in all purged our lives for like stories. Right. And so I was just waiting for my kids to grow up and do something more interesting.Michael Jamin (27:48):Right,Danny Zuker (27:48):Right. You know, you know, and I think, and, and I think a lot of us were, and so I didn't mind that you were moving into those, those stories. I mean, it gets hard though. I mean, you know, we joked like, you know, everybody's like, oh, you know, it wasn't as good in season eight or whatever. It's like, well, let me put it this way. It's like the most interesting family, you know, most like the Obama's, let's say when they're at a dinner party, they have at most 15 to 20 stories they tell me. Yeah, yeah. That's it. Tho those are their go and they're the most interesting family, you know, like, we did 250 episodes, or each family had like, it's hard, you know, you, you, it's, it's, it's different. And we're not like animated, so they have to be somewhat ground. It's all you can do like meta episodes, like you can do like on The Simpsons or things like that. Although I wish we could have , butMichael Jamin (28:34):But I, and I always, cause I always talk about like how writer's mind their own life for stories. But you have a famous, you famously took a story from your life, I think, right? And you said in one of the, at least one of the episodes was the, it was the fire. It was the fire. I'm thinking of the firemen.Danny Zuker (28:47):Yeah. I didn't write it, but I, I told it in the room. I had had a okay. So yeah, it was like the, the, I live in Manhattan Beach and the the e EMT workers there are like famously good looking dudes. Like I Right. Some, I, it makes me question where I am on the sexuality spectrum.Michael Jamin (29:06):.Danny Zuker (29:07):Anyway, I wound up having an attack, which I thought was a kidney stone. It turned out to be gallbladder. It was like, but at two in the morning and I wake up and I feel like I'm being stabbed to death. Right. And my, my wife Annette. Annette, you gotta call nine one one. You gotta call 9 1 1. It's like, she was like, okay, it's gonna be fine. She calls 9 1 1 and then I'm on the floor and I don't see her, when I hear the, the firemen like knocking on the door like, Annette, Annette, where are you? And then she comes out of her closet and she's dolled up like she, cause it was the middle of the night she put on, she's looking you up for the fire bitch. And we just did that word for there.Michael Jamin (29:40):Right. So you go in to, and you tell the story the next day in the writer's room, and then it goes right in the script.Danny Zuker (29:45):It's amazing. And it's amazing cause you start to lose any shame. So like, one of the things like I'd worked, I had known Brad Walsh who was part partnered with Corgan and Walsh. Right. I'd known him for many, many years before this. Worked on a show with him, a couple shows with him and never, and, but we get into that first season of Modern Family and we're like looking for stories. And he is like, and I see him struggling and he is like, okay, fine. My sister and I were part of an ice dancing team. . Like, it's something he wouldn't tell us ever except we needed it.Michael Jamin (30:16):He, you needed stories, right? Oh, you give, yeah.Danny Zuker (30:19):Yeah.Michael Jamin (30:19):You'll give your mother. I mean, people don't realize, like you're, it's late at night, you're trying to come up a story and like you do, you'll swab someone's arm for a story. You know, like a good story is so hard to get.Danny Zuker (30:31):Now I've only like, like there's a time on like, it was actually just shoot me, I think it was. But like, we're looking for a story on some kind. And it was the only time I'm tell it here, but it was like that my wife at the time, she, she actually said I would rather you didn't do this cuz they, they want, they'll watch her. But it was, it was, it was this very simple story. It was like, like I used to fly my in-laws out here before they moved out here to come see the grandkids. I was like, you know, of course you're gonna come over there and say I'd fly and I do this back and forth. Happy to do it. I'm a generous guy. It likes been good. But then I found out like they'd get the ticket and then at the airport would pay for the upgrade to first class . And it like, sort of like, wait a minute, . And it shouldn't have bothered me, but it didMichael Jamin (31:13):Wait. But, but they were paying it out, the upgrade outta of pocket. They were paying for the upgrade.Danny Zuker (31:18):They were paying for the upgrade. But it was like, I guess you pay for the upgrade. You like what? Like,Michael Jamin (31:23):Oh, if they can pay for that, when they could pay for the ticket, you're saying? Yes, I got,Danny Zuker (31:25):Well not even, but but of course that's me. That was not like, and even as when I was pitching the story, I said, this is gonna be my problem not thereMichael Jamin (31:33):.Danny Zuker (31:34):But I said, so I, so I, I put the ki on, I, I stopped, but that's about the only time I have I all embarrassed people in our lives, you know?Michael Jamin (31:43):And, but, and so yeah, I mean, so, but, but basically there, so there are other stories in Modern Family you took from your, from your life as well, basically?Danny Zuker (31:49):Oh, tons. All of us did. Yeah. We, we, we, we, we had one like five twin daughters and at one point, like, so we had to go to a we had to go to a parent teacher conference when they were like in, I don't know, second grade. And my daughter, it's Lily and Charlie, my daughter Charlie, I mean Charlie, my daughter Charlie, you know, we're sitting there and it's and and then I say, Hey, so your dad and I, you know, tonight your dad and I are gonna need to split up. And and it's like, so do you, is there, do you have a preference? And it's like, and she just thought about it for a second. She goes, well I love dad, but I think you'll take better care of me. And she thought like we were, and she was so calm about us splitting up. Like she just like, yeah, I get like obviously that's . So she was like, it was just such a weird, and so we had Luke basically do that with Claire and and Phil.Michael Jamin (32:47):So yeah. Wow. That's so, yeah. You just got, it's like you're just gonna be conscious for your life. But go, but go ahead. WhatDanny Zuker (32:52):You were gonna say? No, we had a lot. I mean, Steve's kids walked in on him having sex in the pilot when Luke, they do the thing, we're gonna shoot you Luke. Right. That is the deal. If you shoot your sister, he has actual footage of him doing that to his son. .Michael Jamin (33:07):Yeah. That I remember thinking that this, I remember watching the pilot thinking this had to be from his life. And it doesn't sound right. . He shouldn't have done that.Danny Zuker (33:15):Yes, exactly. Yeah.Michael Jamin (33:17):Now, when you go about creating a pilot, other than the Kevin Neon thing, which is, you know, a little different cuz he has this like how do you go about, how do you start thinking about ideas?Danny Zuker (33:26):It's, it's a variety of ways. Like there's some that are just like, oh, this is an idea that's been sort of itching that, that I've been itching to do. I mean, and in the day, you know, I would think like, you know, but there's just an idea that I'll get in your head. The other way is somebody comes to you with an idea or a piece of casting. I have one right now that was kind of a, I'm not gonna talk about it here, but it was like, right. But it's, it's cause I'm, I'm, I'm down the road. But it, it was so wild idea that came to me with like, some good casting associated, but it was just one line and it's broad and silly. And I was like, how am I gonna make that work? Right. And they actually went away and on a trip and, and somebody just clicked how I would do it. And so I'm, you know, I've written up treatment and so hopefully that thing goes, but it's, sometimes it's an actor. Sometimes you read an article.Michael Jamin (34:13):Do you, are you, do you develop sometimes with actors? Cuz we never, we develop for comedians but never actors really.Danny Zuker (34:19):It depends. I have developed for an actor why They're usually a comic actor though. Yeah. You know? But yeah, that's, that's about it. Yeah. I have, I mean, I know where do you guys get your, what do you do with your ideas? I mean, and don't they mostly come from your heads? Are you talking about it or it's such a hard target to chase?Michael Jamin (34:37):Is this a hard part of it that we struggle with? Cuz you always hear this as like, why are you the only ones who can tell this story? And you're like, well I'm, we're not. You know, I mean, and, and the other thing is like, well I'm a writer, I can kind of make up stuff. Like, so they, but they always want to hear like, why is so you have to always, it always has to be personal, which is a little hard. It's like you run out of the personal things. And so yeah.Danny Zuker (35:02):It sound like an obvious, this is gonna sound like a question, and maybe this just speaks to me not being a good guy, but I, I know this, but don't you lieMichael Jamin (35:10):. But you, you, you exaggerate, you, you basically say, you know, you try to extrapolate, well this is, I this didn't happen to you, but something similar happened to me, you know,Danny Zuker (35:20):But I'll be like, okay, so this is based on a guy I went to school with.Michael Jamin (35:23):Right. But is that good enough? Because then they'll, but then they'll say, okay, but then go get the guy who you went to school with. Hey, get him in here. It's his story.Danny Zuker (35:32):. No, no. I mean, I, I no, what I will say, this is my real, real, you know, I'll, I don't know. I can, first of all, I do think when you're writing a show, no matter what you're putting yourself right in all of those characters, I think it's a silly request. I do try, even if it was like something science fiction or it was something like broad and big, I will always try to craft an origin story that is usually mostly true. But just like, you know, I had this experience, like how do I explain like I'm doing something with somebody right now, an animated show that I'm supervising that has a lot to do with mental health stuff. Right. And this girl cracked it. And it was like, so when I'm coming in I say like, I've tried to do mental health issues for a long time. Never found the key. I think she did. This is like, and, and so that's my, that's my part of the sales pitch in this. AndMichael Jamin (36:20):It's so interesting cuz we don't even supervise. It's not, it's not that I'm opposed to it, but there's not a lot of money to supervise something. And you wind up doing a lot of the work. So,Danny Zuker (36:33):Well, I'm very careful with what I pick in the supervision. Mm-Hmm. . And I'm also very careful what my, you know, rate will be. So I, for me it was like, oh, okay. I, but, but, but it's like, no, but it's like I'll take, I, I, you know, somewhere along the way it's gonna be a gamble, but I wanna be with somebody who I know is gonna, and I'm very explicit about that. I always say like, if I'm going to wind up co-writing this, we are going to be back here to renegotiate because my deal is very specifically not for scripts. And OhMichael Jamin (37:00):Really? Okay.Danny Zuker (37:01):Yeah. And I'm, and I'm pretty clear with that, with my management and stuff like that. Because if I'm gonna do that, then I'm gonna take a piece of it. I normally, I don't, I I don't want to, I wanna help them do it and then I'll run it if it goes right. But I, but I'm just, when I was younger, I had a couple people, I had one person in in particular who's sort of supervising me, who took over something and I feel like Crash landed it before I was ready. And, and I'm so careful not to do that. I'm just there. So I, I really do wanna make it that person show.Michael Jamin (37:33):But the problem is cuz and I, I haven't, we haven't done this, I haven't experienced, but my fear is you'll turn it in the studio will not be happy with it, with their work, with their draft. And then you will have to do all that work. You will have to do all that regretting.Danny Zuker (37:51):Well, I'll have to do some work. Uhhuh . But I'm, I'm picking people I think who's have a pretty good sense of, right. I, I'm betting on certain people. I'm not betting on like somebody who is just like a comic. I'm betting on somebody who is at least writing or has some workMichael Jamin (38:09):To. And so those people, they don't come to you out of the, I should be clear, they probably don't come to you out of the, off the street. They come to you through channels, through agents, managers, stuff like that. Yeah.Danny Zuker (38:17):Or through, or through like pods. They, somebody we're developing this or we, we love this pitch. And that's sort of what happened with this, this animated oneMichael Jamin (38:24):Doing so. Right, right. Interesting. Now have you done a lot of animation? That's something I I didn't know you got the all thatDanny Zuker (38:30):Just this housebroken show. That's the first night I've ever done.Michael Jamin (38:34):It's been very all on Zoom.Danny Zuker (38:36):All on Zoom practically. Yeah. Yeah. All on Zoom. But it was a real blast. Now I kind, I didn't mind it.Michael Jamin (38:43):Right. Well you had to be in your house, get to relax too.Danny Zuker (38:46):It was kind of fu It was. Yeah. I mean, and also just having something like, you know, it was, again, we went into the pandemic, nothing was going on during that. I was just sort of sitting home riding pilots and, and doing stuff. And I was like, oh God, am I done again? Am I done? Then I got a call from mm-hmm. , you know, Gabby and Jen and that production company that if I was interested, I could come there. And it's like, I loved every, you know, I love those guys and it's all these a bunch of really great people over there. It's like basically the whole cast of Veep is isn't that thingMichael Jamin (39:14):? Oh yeah, I know. AndDanny Zuker (39:15):It's a, and and, and it was just like, it's just been a blast, so. Right.Michael Jamin (39:20):Wow. And so, and I also know, I, I noticed you've been, you've been performing a lot too.Danny Zuker (39:25):Yeah, I have. I started doing I started doing standup a little bit. I'm, I took a little break, but I've been going, yeah, I took like a 30 something years break from standup. But it's been fun. Cause like I have stuff to talk about and I don't care what happens. Cause I already have a career. Like there's no stakes in it at all.Michael Jamin (39:41):And you go, I mean, and so you go up, how often do you up?Danny Zuker (39:44):Well, when I was doing it more, I was going up a couple times a week and little clubs, little club shows. I was actually I shortly before the Pandemic was going through a divorce and but I was dating somebody who was a comic and so, and she did a lot of club shows and would put me on. And then we just recently broke up, so now I need another Ed doing club shows. What I wound going though, I wound up going to Edinburgh. A friend of mine who's a comic was doing a show at Edinburgh at French Fest. And I opened for him, like, for four shows. And it was really a blast.Michael Jamin (40:12):It's so interesting. We're talking about doing that. What, what was your experience there? I I would definitely talkDanny Zuker (40:17):About that. Loved it. Yeah. We have to talk. I'm actually thinking about putting something up there myself.Michael Jamin (40:22):Oh. And they gotta talk now. We definitelyDanny Zuker (40:23):Have to talk. Yeah. Yeah. We'll talk afterwards.Michael Jamin (40:26):Wow. Now I wanna, I wanna stop this conversation talk, but, and so, but do you wanna do more? It's so interesting. Like, do you wanna do more performing? BecauseDanny Zuker (40:36):I always like, I love to perform. I don't need to do it as a career. What I find is I just like the process of it. Right. I like the way it makes, like, I had this epiphany when I started getting up on stage, like right before the pandemic, a friend of mine was doing the DC improv and at this point I had like, and was gonna needed a, like a, a feature. And so I was like, she's like, do you have 15, 20 minutes? And at the time, I had five. And she's like, and I had a week to go. It's like, well, I'll figure it out. So I, you know, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, you know, just on all the way over, I get it. And I got there and I'd written some stuff and like, there was a joke I had in the act that I thought was, it's gold.(41:16):Like I, I just know the stroke is gonna work as an open. Yeah. And the first night it didn't really work that well. And I, I came back, my first night was a little rocky, but my fir there were two shows a night, two, I mean, so the first show first night was a little rocky, not terrible. It was not like I bombed it, not terrible. So, and but from second show, I started to figure stuff out and it got, got good, except that joke didn't work again. And I was like, well, I don't know, keep going. It'll work tomorrow. Third try still doesn't work. And with that and so forth, Joe, I abandoned it. But what it, what was interesting about it for me was this, I'll write a joke for a script and a table read and it won't go well. And I will be convinced. I don't, I didn't go out to table read, but it's a good joke, right. And it'll work and I'll fight for it. And sometimes it'll get on. And now I'm thinking it should be a very obvious realization to anybody who's not a complete narcissist. But to me it's like maybe, I don't know,Michael Jamin (42:11):. But the thing is, Danny, if I was, if I had to, but if I had to bet, if I had to say who could, what comedy writer do I know could go and put together a standup act in an evening li or you know, in a couple of hours who could write a fricking five or 10 minutes in a couple of hours and kill it would be you. Because it's just, it's just easy. If, you know, if one thing bomb, whatever you can, you'll pitch on it. You get the one that works.Danny Zuker (42:36):I, I, I feel like that's the case for me. And I also think like, you know, you know this, there's like the two kinds of comedy writers. There's the extroverted ones, and then there's the ones who are just like quiet, but like, you know, good on the page and like, you know, really, and, and you know, will pitch. They're assassins when they pitch, but they're not, like, they don't have that perfor, they're not frustrated performers. Right. And and I just, I just really enjoy it. I mean like, and again, I enjoy it wherever it is. Like I enjoy it in a club with 10 people or in a theater with like 200. It's like, for me it's like been, it's been really kind of, it's just about the process. Like I am no goal to, like, I, I'm not looking to get a Netflix hour. Like I don't, none, none of that appeal. None of that happens. I just like doing it. I find that the process of it works a different part of my brain and like my, you know, I, you know, like I said, like in like in the course of a couple years, my marriage ended, my job of 11 years ended and then the world ended and it was like, yeah. So I was like, grasp, you know, so it was like, it was a lifeline.Michael Jamin (43:37):Were you, did that, I mean, did that panic you at all? Did all that, that's a lot to hit at one timeDanny Zuker (43:43):By the ti? Well, no, because by the time the world ended, my, my marriage like was, that was going through nine months and I'd survived the worst of it in Annette and Ireland we're super close. We're like, we're best friends. It's like the best. And then the show ended did, which was a little bit trauma, you know, traumatic and it was going on. But having survived the uncertainty of a show ending and a marriage ending, by the time, like everything shut down, I felt like, I was like, oh, I've been living in chaos for a while. Come on in, I'll show you. You know, it's like, lemme show you around,Michael Jamin (44:11):Let me show you. And that was, and that's kind of what your act is now? I mean, or no,Danny Zuker (44:15):No, no. My, my most of my act. I mean, it depends. I mean, I do a lot of my act about like oh my God, how far have I fallen? Or I talk about, I talk, I talk a lot about, like, I talk about like when a joke doesn't work or something like that. It's like, oh, they, you know, thing doesn't work. The, the Academy of Television Motion pictures and scientists really liked it though. And like, I'll talk about like my, I, I'll, I'll, I'll be falsely humble about that. Right. And also it's, it's been interesting to, to discover, you know, when I go out to a lot of these club shows, I am considerably older than a lot of the comics who are there. But like in my head, it doesn't feel that way to me. But I can tell that that's how I perceive. And that's also been interesting to talk about just being older.Michael Jamin (44:58):Do you think, cuz so many of these comments wanna get into actually sitcom writing, and do you think they look at you and like you're the guy? Oh, there's,Danny Zuker (45:06):There are some who look to me who there you can, but you know, this can't you tell when someone's talking to you and wants an opportunity? Or is just like being cool? I I, I, I can usually tell.Michael Jamin (45:18):Well, but no, but I wonder if, I wonder if, not that they're like sucking up to you, but if they're just in awe of you because of everything you've written. You know,Danny Zuker (45:25):I think they're, I think there are some people, yeah. I mean, I'm sure that they would be impressed with that aspect of it. Uhhuh . I, I, I'm pretty good at putting people at ease though. Cause that makes me uncomfortable. If people start doing that. I mean, I know it's all coming from a good place. I just, right. I, I don't, I don't like it's too much pressure to be vaunted. It's like I will like, cause all I can think of when someone's looking up to me, it's like, I'm gonna so let you down. It's like you have no idea how disappointed you be, reallyMichael Jamin (45:53):See it. It's interesting cuz that whole reinventing, okay, so even in the comedy room, even, I remember, like you were, there were times you'd be on stage in the con there were 10 of us in the writer's room and you're on stage. And so it seems like you are a perfor. You really are a performer, but this is you, this is like a big deal. Reinventing yourself, especially at this age. It's kind of, it's very intimidating, I think, or no for not for you.Danny Zuker (46:16):No, no. I love it. It's, it's, I I am so much more afraid of stagnation and things like that. Uhhuh . And it's, you know, and it, it's, it's interesting because, you know, especially as you get older and in comedy writing, you know, my full career, they were like, you hear like a certain subset of writers as they got into forties talking about ageism, which I'm not saying doesn't exist. Of course it exists. Mm-Hmm. . But what's interesting is some of the voices that were complaining and the loudest about ageism I would see on the show. And then we'd be pitching some, they'd be pitching something and then somebody like younger might say, yeah, that feels like a little famil, you know, familiar. It'd say, Hey, it worked on this, you know, and then they would disregard. It's like, this is what worked on, you know, growing pains.(46:57):It's gonna work here. Right. And I, I really clocked that. And so for me, part of doing standup and hearing, like I say very, like, I'm interested in comedy as an exploration date. And I think writers don't understand that. It's like a lot of people, comedy people don't understand it. It's like, yes, this was really funny and you could be upset that you can't say this word or this word anymore, but you rolled your eyes at the generation that came before you too. Right. Like, remember that. And you have to like, it is constantly changing. You must, the big experiences I've had is like, I can't wait to show my kids when they would get older when starting to get older. This is classic comedy. And to watch when you watch it again for the, there's certain things that hold up, but a lot of it doesn't hold up that well.Michael Jamin (47:41):Yeah. Right. If someone said like, okay, they wanna put you on tour and you tore the whatever, like a, like a, like a road comic, would you do it?Danny Zuker (47:50):I mean, if I, I might, I mean now in the, it's different. I, if you asked me this before, the age of Zoom, Uhhuh , I'd probably say no. Now if I, if I got to that point where, you know, I would wanna be good enough, like I have many opportunities to cut the line given to like, you know, my status. I know people who, like, if I wanted to, I could suck up to somebody in a much bigger club and say, Hey, gimme a couple spots here in a way that younger comics wouldn't. Right. But I, I, I desperately don't want to do that because I wanna be good enough to get that spot, you know, I'll work it out there and when I get there, you know, so, yeah. I don't know. I have a weird ethos about the whole thing. It's probably just the way of me procrastinating doing more, butMichael Jamin (48:34):, that's interest. It's so interesting. I, anyway, I I know you, we actually, you do have a, you have a little of a time limit, but I wanna, and I wanna talk more off camera, but I want to, is there, yeah. Is there, is there anything I can pro plug or send people send if they wanna know more about what you're doing?Danny Zuker (48:51):Yes. I'm on all social media @DannyZucker, Z U K E R and, and yeah. What else? I got nothing to promote right now. I, I don't know, I don't have any dates till after the new year, so I don't know what those are gonna be. We're able to performing, but but yeah, that's it.Michael Jamin (49:07):But follow there to know when your next pilot gets picked up or whatever. , when your next show. Yeah.Danny Zuker (49:12):Thank you for saying when,Michael Jamin (49:13):When, when. All right everyone, thank you so much, Danny. I can't thank you so much. I'm so happy that you did this. This is oh,Danny Zuker (49:20):I'm so fun. Respond to you, man. You've always, you've, and also you've always been one of my favorites, so dude, like I a handful full of people in there that IMichael Jamin (49:27):Dude, you're kind. So that's it everyone. Thank you so much. Yeah, continue. What am I gonna say at the end of the podcast? Well, if you wanna get on a free newsletter, go sign it for that. I send it out once a week at michaeljamin.com/watchlist. And and that's it. Continue following you know, on Instagram and TikTok @MichaelJaminWriter. Okay. Thank you so much, Danny. Thank you again. AllDanny Zuker (49:48):Right, you're welcome.Phil Hudson (49:51):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 to hear today's subject. For free daily screenwriting tips, follow Michael on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @MichaelJaminWriter. You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @PhilAHudson. This episode was produced by Phil Hudson and edited by Dallas Crane. Until next time, keep riding.

GGACP celebrates the birthday (December 1st) of writer-director Larry Charles (“Borat,” “Seinfeld,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) with this ENCORE of an interview from 2019. In this episode, Larry joins the boys for an engrossing conversation about humor as a survival tactic, the hazards of guerrilla filmmaking, the persuasive powers of Sacha Baron Cohen and the Netflix show, “Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy.” Also, Mel Brooks sends up Bill Cullen, Jerry Lewis inspires Bob Dylan, Gilbert guest stars on “Mad About You” and Larry remembers the late, great Bob Einstein. PLUS: “Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp”! The Zen of Jack Nicholson! The influence of Jackie Mason! Larry hangs with Huntz Hall! And the “Seinfeld” episode that never aired! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

00:34 Eli Braden 01:11 Guest Intro 0:1:43 Suicide Squad - King Shark 3:20 Modern Family Experience 04:45 Working for Jimmy Kimmel 8:10 LoveSac Story 17:40 Sara Silverman 23:45 - Larry Charles 27:27 Athletic Greens 28:54 BetOnline.AG 32:03 Steve's origin story 35:15 Steve's crazy twitter story 44: What are you watching?   Follow us all on twitter: @steveagee @jennyjohnsonhi5 @doinitpodcast @theguydf

On this latest episode of On the Job With PORAC, PORAC President Brian Marvel and VP Damon Kurtz bring on comedian Thom Tran via Zoom to discuss his military background and comedic journey. Tran will be the entertainment at our 70th Annual Conference of Members in November during Saturday Night's Installation Dinner!   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ About Thom Tran Los Angeles-based comedian, musician, and U.S. military veteran and advocate Thom Tran started his career as a standup comic after a combat injury ended his career as a soldier. Thom enlisted in the United States Army at 18 years old before he even finished high school. After joining the Army, Thom spent his entire career as a Communications Sergeant as well as a Civil Affairs Sergeant within the United States Army's Special Operations Community. In 2003, four days after crossing the border into Iraq, Thom was wounded during a firefight when a sniper's bullet found it's way to the back of his skull. He bandaged himself up, continued the mission, and finished his 12 month tour in Iraq. But his wounds would eventually bring an end to his military life. After redeploying to the United States, Thom was medically retired in 2005. Post-combat, comedy saved his life. After touring the United States as a road comic, Thom moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and two years later created The GIs of Comedy Tour, a Comedic Troupe of Troops that has toured all over the United States and to nearly two dozen different countries performing to audiences both military and civilian, bringing the healing power of laughter to those who need it the most. In 2019, Thom & several members of the GIs of Comedy appeared on the Netflix series, “Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy.” and toured nearly 30 US Air Force bases across the continental US. The group has raised over $30,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a charity that raises college scholarship funds for the children of fallen US Special Operations personnel. When Thom isn't on the road he makes his home in Hollywood, CA performing at The World Famous Laugh Factory & clubs all over SoCal. He also works as the mid-day traffic anchor for SoCal radio station KNX 1070-NewsRadio. And occasionally Thom does some acting, having co-starred on Black-ish on ABC and SEAL Team & NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS. Recently, Thom's love of rock and roll finds him back on stage playing lead guitar for a heavy metal band and cover band he co-founded called, The Thom Tran Band, playing bars and nightclubs in Southern California!

What is a comedy? ...are these? The Spike Jonze 2002 juggernaut, Adaptation matches up against Larry Charles 2016 Army of One. Twins! A weird voice! Masturbation! Dialysis Sword Fight! You'll need soft hands and a soft head on this weeks Cage Match.

Abby and Riley sat down with funny guy Harris Mayersohn to discuss one of the most controversial comedies of all time, Borat. Harris breaks down why this spectacular car wreck of entertainment potentially changed America forever… for the worse. Tune in to find out where they stand on classic American values like stubbornness veiled as patriotism, shitting on other countries veiled as patriotism, and lauding racist, misogynistic, homophobic frat boys... veiled as patriotism. This episode is actually pretty bad... NOT!  Follow Harris!  TW IG Read his Bright Wall, Dark Room essay on Borat here. And go see Normal Guys, a weekly comedy show at Emblem BK.

The humour train continues as the guys talk about the ICONIC comedy Borat. Can they pinpoint all the points in history when people embraced the film, rejected it and then embraced it again after enough time had passed? What exactly IS a humour coach? Isn't it quaint how these shocking reactions from people are viewed in the world of 2006? Are the nice people actually nice or just very convinced that foreign visitors know absolutely nothing about customs? All this and more!   Next week: time to get sad again... with Mike Leigh! Questions? Comments? Suggestions? You can always shoot us an e-mail at forscreenandcountry@gmail.com   Full List: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-british-films/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forscreenandcountry Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/fsacpod Our logo was designed by the wonderful Mariah Lirette (https://instagram.com/its.mariah.xo) Borat stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell and Pamela Anderson; directed by Larry Charles. Is It Streaming? USA: Spectrum on Demand and available to rent Canada: Disney+ and available to rent UK: Disney+, Virgin TV GO and available to rent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Executive producer Lafe joins Brian to talk through more stories and letters regarding Bob Dylan's eccentricities. Email the show: wearethestoryguys@gmail.com SHOW NOTES: Songs on the show: "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" - Bob Dylan https://www.vulture.com/2016/10/37-hilarious-bob-dylan-stories.html https://www.vulture.com/2014/07/how-did-bob-dylan-get-so-weird.html

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the Finnish horror film, ‘Hatching'. A film that is at once unimaginable and at the same time deceptively simple. Then Cage-Fest continues with Matt “Ripping His Shirt” and I discussing the Larry Charles helmed comedy, that's right, the Borat director's ‘Army Of One' has Cage on a mission to bring in Osama Bin Laden, alive! There's the stupefyingly beautiful rundown of the big releases featuring the Streaming and Straight to DVD Picks of the Week. Then Matt and Chris wrap up the big show with another round of ‘Call It!', featuring Audrey Hepburn, Jesus, Hanshiro Tsugumo, and more! So grab your swords and delicately pack your eggs. It's another wild trip down the road of cinema! Yay! 00:00-13:51: Intro/Hatching13:52-24:51: Physical Media Releases24:52-35:27: CageFest: Army Of One35:28-52:36: Call It!52:37-54:46: Wrap UpTheme music by Jamal Malachi Ford-BeyTwitterInstagramFacebook

One of the most beloved comedies and sketch comedy characters from the last 20 years is Borat.  But fellow countryman to Sacha Baron Cohen is Josh from Films and That believes Borat is as funny as a rubber fist in anus.  Or if you're into that, enjoy!  Maybe Josh just hated how everyone kept saying, "NIIIIICE."  But do Commandant @KevinGootee and Colonel @KevinIsrael_NJ feel that Josh's argument is worse than being stuck in a Pentecostal church?  See if we give this film a rating of iPod Mini or Pamela Anderson in Baywatch.We can't express how thankful we are that you continue to give us an hour of your time every week, thank you!Head on over to www.athelticgreens.com/gtsc  Then, you'll get 5 travel packs along with a year's supply of Vitamin D for FREE.  And it helps us out in the long run!Looking to sell your product, advertise your services, or raise brand awareness? We'd love to help you and we can be reached at guttingthesacredcow@gmail.comThank you ALL for continually shouting us out on social media, we love when you do that as well as leave us those 5 star rating and 2-3 sentence reviews. Guttingthesacredcow.com is you get that sweet ass merch, go grab a hat or mug post haste!Check us out at the metaverse as well at the $joke community comedy roomWe're now doing over blogs, video style, at Patreon now: patreon.com/guttingthesacredcow Social media for the gang: @KevinGootee on Twitter, FB, IG. www.kevingootee.com@kevinisrael_NJ on twitter, FB, @Kevin_israel_comedy on IG www.kevinisrael.com @films_that Don't forget, you can find us on all podcasts platforms: apple iTunes, Spotify, google, spreaker, stitcher, iheartradio, castbox. You name it and we're on it! And you can also see our handsome yet smug faces on Youtube as well. Hello to our new friends! We love it when you click "subscribe", like us on social media, and most importantly when you tell your friends/family about our podcast. 

Wayne Kline talks about growing up with a Methodist minister as a father; Max Schulman; reading because his family couldn't afford a TV; Woody Allen; John Oliver; Alfred Hitchcock; Get Smart; Gilligan's Island; Ginger v. Mary Anne; Dobie Gillis; becoming an Army reserve; selling jokes to George Kirby; never being able to imitate Ed Sullivan; writing The Ed Sullivan Show to sell jokes; reading about the Improv in a newspaper; going on vacation to New York to sell jokes to comedians; Walter Alston; selling a routine to Freddie Prinze; leaving NY for LA; joke structure; winning enough to live off for two years on a gamed show; Ed Bluestone introduces him to Henry Bear & Doug Kenney; writing for the National Lampoon Radio Hour; losing on getting SNL to Alan Zweibel; writing for Jimmy Walker; Rodney Dangerfield; punching up a Doc script leads to his first sitcom; Byron Allen; Helen Kushnick; David Letterman's writing ability; how Wayne saw the talent of Robin Williams on Laugh In; Lenny Schultz; Fernwood Tonight; Fred Willard; One in a Million; Norman Paul; room written shows; Jay Leno's Tonight Show was a feed the hopper show; how Bill Scheft and the Underwear Bomber got Wayne a job with Letterman; being advised by Ross Abrash; trying to beat Mulholland and Barrie for jokes in the monologue; head writer Steve Young; submitting for Bill maher; Curb Your Enthusiasm; Larry David getting him a job copying documents; writing a spec scene for Seinfeld and being told it was too sitcommy; Larry Charles; the horror that was Thicke of the Night and Late Show with Joan Rivers; Joan is replaced by Arsenio Hall; Wayne gets fired then hired by Jay Leno with jokes from a monologue he was going to use; being hired as a full time Tonight Show writer working when Jay Leno guest hosts; Joe Toplyn; how to get into show business; Christopher and David Lloyd; loses jobs to Twitter users; Alan Thicke stories; Jay v. Dave: personalities --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

It's time for the 30th anniversary of the ninteenth episode of Seinfeld's third season! George and Jerry take someone else's limousine. Elaine and Kramer meet up with them. And it's time to ask: what's the deal with Larry Charles' New York and the experience of watching this episode in 2022?

Some plot twists are just too good to keep under wraps for long, whether because of a game's popularity, loose-lipped fans, or sequels that build their lore on formerly secret knowledge. This week, Larry Charles joins us for a look at five once-shocking plot twists that have become too broadly known to even be considered spoilers anymore; we're talking "I am your father!"-level, here (but you'll get warnings and timestamps anyway, just in case). Then we'll get into Horizon: Forbidden West, Perfect Tides, Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster, the Street Fighter 6 reveal, and the 3DS and Wii U exclusives you think people should grab before they disappear.

Oh, Dr. Tongue... poor Elaine goes on a terrible date with a doctor. Larry Charles gives JLD some fun stuff to work with in this episode, although, it isn't very much. We finally see some shedding of the overly sensitive Elaine of the past and are treated to her flirty side, a side I never find tiring. 

THERE SHE IS!! Ahhh, finally we see the familiar Elaine emerge in an episode written by Larry Charles. With two guest stars who are incredibly interesting and funny, we learn more about Elaine's career aspirations as well as what she's willing to put up with from people. Elaine takes no shit, and I'm HERE FOR IT!

In Episode 14 of Comedy Anatomy, Mike and Masavia chat with comedian Thom Tran. Thom is a fantastic comic with a very unique point of view. He's a staple at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, and has appeared on numerous TV shows. Most importantly, Thom has traveled around the world performing for the U.S. Armed Forces. He is himself an Iraq war veteran, and was featured in Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy on Netflix. He's also a broadcaster in L.A., a musician, and a lover of cats. In this episode, we spend a little more time than usual on our guest's early life, and talk at length about his time in the war in Iraq as it relates to his journey, and perspective on comedy. You can find Thom's own podcast Sex, Jokes & Rock N' Roll on Apple Podcasts. --- Comedy Anatomy delves into the minds of comedians and tries to understand how they navigate the comedy industry, and the world at large. Join us as we take a deeper, more introspective look at the people who pursue the art form of comedy. It's all about having thoughtful, engaging conversations with some of entertainment's best and brightest. In each episode, hosts Masavia Greer and Mike George interact with comedians like few ever do, revealing who their guests are as comedians but more importantly, as human beings. Ideally, our conversations leave listeners with a little wisdom to enlighten their own personal journeys. Please subscribe, comment, and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. For more info or to get in touch, please visit our website at www.comedyanatomy.com Follow us on Instagram @comedyanatomy and on Twitter @comedy_anatomy NEW: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel where we are streaming the never-before-seen roast of the late legendary comedian Patrice O'Neal at the Boston Comedy Club in 2003, featuring Rich Vos, Bill Burr, Robert Kelly, Greg Giraldo (rest in peace), and many of the greats. Hosts: Masavia Greer, Mike George Producers: Masavia Greer, Mike George, Nat George Music by: Jeremy Carlstedt

Ready to feel old? 2001 was a watershed year for videogames, with powerful 3D consoles and classic games that laid the groundwork for the modern era of gaming. It was also 20 years ago, meaning all those games are now two decades old. We've invited Larry Charles of Striking Distance Studios to help us through this sad realization by celebrating five unforgettable games from the now-distant past, after which we'll talk about Street Cleaner, the return of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game AND Lucasfilm Games, and your New Year's gaming resolutions for 2021.

This week on Total Movie Recall, things get grim and a little too close to 2020 reality for comfort. Definitely don't watch this movie if you're fresh out of rehab, which Ryan can tell you all about. The future is bleak, but if it's also as ruggedly handsome as Clive Owen is and has the greatest single-take of all time, it might not be so bad. This is also one of the greatest movies of all time, just to be clear about it. Children of Men (2006) d. Alfonso Cuarón Starring: Clive Owen Julianne Moore Chiwetel Ejiofor Michael Caine Clare-Hope Ashitey Charlie Hunnam When infertility threatens mankind with extinction and the last child born has perished, a disillusioned bureaucrat (Clive Owen) becomes the unlikely champion in the fight for the survival of Earth's population; He must face down his own demons and protect the planet's last remaining hope from danger. Things discussed in the show: Y Tu Mamá También (Carlos Cuarón, Alfonso Cuarón, Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho) A Little Princess (Alfonso Cuarón, Liesel Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Jason Woliner, Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hanks, Rudy Giuliani) Impractical Jokers The Movie (Chris Henchy, Paula Abdul, Joe Gatto, James Murray, Brian Quinn, Sal Vulcano) Bad Trip (Kitao Sakurai, Eric André, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish) Jackass The Movie (Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Spike Jonze, Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, Jason 'Wee Man' Acuña) Ali G Indahouse (Mark Mylod, Sacha Baron Cohen, Dan Mazer, Emilio Rivera, Gina La Piana) Brüno (Larry Charles, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Bañagale) Jimmy Kimmel and Borat The Yes Men (Dan Ollman, Sarah Price, Andreas Bichlbauer, Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum, Chris Smith) Who Is America? (Sacha Baron Cohen, Roy Elghanayan, Emanuela Postacchini) Topnotch Idiots - YouTube Dr. Sleep (Mike Flanagan, Stephen King, Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran) The Shining (1980, Stanley Kubrick, Stephen King, Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers) Supernatural (Eric Kripke, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jim Beaver, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Mark Pellegrino) The Haunting of Hill House (Mike Flanagan, Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas) The Haunting of Bly Manor (Mike Flanagan, Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Amelia Eve) The Conjuring (James Wan, Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston) Slimer Scream (Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy) Blair Witch - 2016 (Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Corbin Reid) The Guest (Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Dan Stevens, Sheila Kelley, Maika Monroe) The Blair Witch Project Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, Drew Goddard, Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan) REC (Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza, Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano) The VVitch (Robert Eggers, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie) The Witches - 1990 (Nicolas Roeg, Roald Dahl (book), Allan Scott (screenplay), Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher) The Witches - 2020 (Robert Zemeckis, Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci) The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Colin Higgins, Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Dom DeLuise) Anjelica Huston vs. Anne Hathaway Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo, Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Austin Stowell) Taking of Pellam 123 - 1974 (Joseph Sargent, Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam) Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer) Money Train (Joseph Ruben, Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez) Zombeavers (Jordan Rubin, Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm, Lexi Atkins) Roma (Alfonso Cuarón, Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey) Great Expectations (Alfonso Cuarón, Charles Dickens (novel), Mitch Glazer (screenplay), Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria) The Possibility of Hope (documentary, overpopulation, climate change, the rise of fascist powers, Fabrizio Eva, John Gray, Naomi Klein) Avengers Endgame (The Thanos Snap, Josh Brolin, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Jon Favreau, Natalie Portman, Jon Favreau, Taika Waititi) Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón, Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris) Die Hard (John McTiernan, Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia) Allegories to the Virgin Mary The Christmas Truce of WWI Thriller Franz Kafka The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer Billy on the Street with Julianne Moore (Billy Eichner) The Murder of Fred Hampton Logan's Run (Michael Anderson, Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan) “There's no such thing as an anti-war film,” is a quote often attributed to the late French filmmaker François Truffaut. American Sniper (Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner) Next week: Cabin Boy

Larry Charles is best known for his work on Seinfeld, Bruno, Curb Your Enthusiasm and much more. He joins the guys this week to talk about what made him want to get involved with Entourage and what it was like working on the show. Victory The Podcast is produced by ACTIONPARK MEDIA Follow us on Instagram:@actionparkmediagroup@victorythepodcast@mrkevinconnolly@kevindillonofficial@mrdougellin

Today is Valentine's Day, so let's take a look at some of gaming's most iconic couples, with help from Larry Charles of Striking Distance Studios. We then take a close look at Dreams, Geoff Keighley's departure from E3, and your favorite Black videogame heroes.

I was thrilled to have a sweet and funny guy – and one of the creative forces behind “Borat”, “Seinfeld”, and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” over for a chat about his new Netflix documentary series “Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy”.   It's a terrifying project that chronicles Larry's search for levity in warzones and dictatorships.  Cousin Ed and I also tackled some “Touchy Subjects” such as the new Michael Jackson documentary and Stormy Daniels' attempt at stand-up comedy. We also feature a “Roast in Peace” tribute to beloved actor Luke Perry. Make sure to leave us comments and thoughts to roastmastergeneral@gmail.com or check us out on Instagram @therealjeffryross @eddietunes @larrycharles @kevinschini      Additional material:  Ed Larson  Kevin Schini 

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 11/15/2018 It's another Mike episode, as we discuss the hugely successful and oversaturated 2006 satire "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" starring Sacha Baron Cohen and directed by Larry Charles.

This week's episode is a minicast, an interview with Paula Finn, author of Sitcom Writers Talk Shop: Behind the Scenes with Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, and Other Geniuses of TV Comedy. It's a collection of interviews with some of the finest writers in television history, including big names like Reiner, Lear, James L. Brooks, Larry Charles, Phil Rosenthal, Mike Reiss, and Al Jean, and some important figures lesser-known outside of TV nerd fandom like Treva Silverman, Leonard Stern, and husband and wife team Austin and Irma Kalish.  These people contributed foundational work in the art of television. Reiner wrote on Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour and created The Dick Van Dyke Show. Lear is responsible for more great sitcoms than you can count, including All In the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Maude, and One Day At A Time. Brooks co-created Mary Tyler Moore, Taxi, Rhoda, and The Simpsons. Silverman wrote for Mary Tyler Moore and The Monkees, Stern for Get Smart, The Honeymooners, and The Phil Silvers Show. Austin and Irma Kalish had a wide-ranging career writing on everything from F Troop to All In the Family. I could spend this entire introduction giving you credits, and it would read like a list of every show you've ever loved. Luckily, I don't have to do that because Finn has written the book, and you can pick that up on Amazon or wherever fine books about comedy are sold. And Finn has a particularly interesting vantage point from which to write about television. Her father, Herb Finn, was a sitcom writer who worked on The Honeymooners, The Flintstones, Gilligan's Island, and others. I caught up with Finn by phone to talk about the book, television, and growing up with a funny father.

Sam Harris gets together with Bill Maher and Larry Charles to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their film “Religulous.” They discuss religion, politics, comedy, and other dangerous topics. Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television. First on “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last fifteen years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him 40 Emmy nominations. Maher won his first Emmy in 2014 as executive producer for the HBO series, “VICE.” In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous,” directed by Larry Charles. The documentary has gone on to become the 8th Highest Grossing Documentary ever. Larry Charles is an American writer, director, and producer. Charles was a staff writer for the American sitcom “Seinfeld“ for its first five seasons, contributing some of the show’s darkest and most absurd storylines. He has also directed the mockumentary comedy films “Borat” and “Brüno,” the documentary film “Religulous,” and comedy film The Dictator.