Last Looks: You Got Served w/ Larry Charles
01:05:08 Share

We can make people happy.

And The Epic, a Minecraft movie on Macs. Anything you can imagine is possible. The Disney Plus Hulu Max Bundle. Plans starting at $16.99 a month. All these and more streaming soon. Terms apply. Visit DisneyPlusHuluMaxBundle.com for details. Blue Bell Grooms Cake Ice Cream. A winner by popular vote is renewing its vows on the Frozen Isle.

luscious milk chocolate ice cream in delicious matrimony with chocolate cake pieces, chocolate-coated strawberry hearts, swirls of strawberry sauce and chocolate icing. A marriage made in heaven. Enjoy now or forever hold your peace. See you at the reception.

Now more than ever, Lowe's knows you don't just want a low price. You want the lowest price. And with our lowest price guarantee, you can count on us for competitive prices on all your home improvement projects. If you find a qualifying lower price somewhere else on the same item, we'll match it. Lowe's. We help. You save. Price match applies the same item. Current price at qualifying retailers. Exclusions and terms apply. Learn how we'll match price at Lowe's.com slash lowest price guarantee.

The Pacific Northwest doesn't know what hit it. Mr. Rad has an ally with Maurice. And we find out what it's like to have coffee with Bob Dylan. All this and more on this episode of How Did This Get Made? Last looks, people. Wrap it up.

How did this get made? It wasn't sweet like lemonade. I'd rather lay on a hand grenade than watch it again. Last look. How did this get made? It wasn't fun like it. I'd rather dig my own grave. Watch it again. Last look. French. How did it get made?

Hello, all my story listeners of America. That's right. S-L-O-A. What's up? By the way, if you are an S-L-O-A, make sure that you get yourself a sticker, a mug, a T-shirt. We made them after our You Got Served show, and I love the design. It's a little USA with headphones on. It's great. But by the way, who am I? I'm Paul Scheer, and welcome to How Did This Get Made? Last Looks.

People, we got so much stuff to get through today, okay? Because this is not an episode about me. No, no, no, no. This is about you because we're going to be hearing about all your corrections and omissions to You Got Served, which I don't think there could possibly be any because we did such a great job of breaking down every aspect of that film. But I'll open it up. I will look at it just in case. And I'm so excited.

about our guest today. Jason and I are sitting down with a comedy legend, a comedy samurai, if you will. Someone who you might not know his name, but you definitely know his work. From Seinfeld and Curb and Bruno and Borat, even Bill Maher's Religious and the A24 musical Dicks, which I absolutely loved. And I'm going to be talking to Jason about

Larry Charles is joining us. He's going to talk about the movie I did with him. He's also going to talk about Bob Dylan. Jason and I are going to really break it down with Larry, who I think if you are a comedy fan, it is a must listen. Now, before we get too far into things, I got to give a big shout out to War Widow. War Widow, you killed it with that opening song. Oh my gosh. I love these songs.

I truly do. Like, this is the best part of the show for me. And if you have a song you want to bring to us here on Last Looks, we would love...

love to have them okay and if you have any last look themes just go to hdtgm.com right and then you can upload your song right there we made it even easier for you to upload new songs to the show but keep them short now people we're gonna go on a little mini tour now not just how did this get made which will be in vancouver on july 12th get your tickets now for sylvester stallone's driven but

Jason and I are going to be in Portland and Seattle with Dinosaur. Mary Holland will be there. Carl Tartt will be there. Owen Burke, Chad Carter, Seth Morris, Rob Hubel will be in the house. So check us out in Seattle and Portland and make sure that if you're in the Los Angeles area, you are coming to see all of us at Largo on June 26. We will be at Largo. So

Come see Dinosaur. Edie Patterson sitting in in L.A. And like I said, on the road, we have a killer crew. Tickets are available at dinosaurimprov.com or just go to hdtgm.com. Everything is there. You can even get our tickets for Vancouver. Now, if you haven't heard, our amazing movie producer, Avril Haley, is going through some very serious treatments. She was diagnosed with brain cancer and she's

She has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love that everyone has given her in these last few weeks. And you know what? Let's keep on doing it. That's right. We want to pump her up. We want to send her some good vibes. And the best way that you can do that is to send a message to her through her movie bitches partner. That's Andrew at movie bitches dot X, Y, Z, or you can actually send her something special.

In the mail. A little snail mail, right? To her P.O. Box, nothing perishable, nothing scented. To Avril Halle, P.O. Box 641, Agora Hills, California, 91376. I've been blown away by what everyone has been doing. Avril is such a crucial part of our show. We love her so much. And...

If you can just take 20 seconds out of your day to send an email, take a couple minutes out of your day to send her a piece of snail mail, it would make the world of difference. It's really boosting your spirits and it makes, we're just thankful for all the love. So thank you everybody for stepping up. Now that's all the plugs I got. So let's get into it. Last week, we talked at length about you got served. Well, we had questions and we might've even missed a few things. Here's your chance to set us straight. Fact check us if you will. It is now time for corrections and omissions.

Thank you, Cool Skull. I like that name, too. That is a great name, Cool Skull. Let's go to the Discord. ASG1982 writes...

Are we sure in the in the rain dance practice that scene was outside in the rain because it sure looked to be inside a warehouse or something? I mean, if it's outside in the rain, where is that light that's hanging coming from? Okay.

Let me tell you something. ASG 1982. Yes, you got a point. There's a light in the alleyway, but that is a light that would, it seems like, um, you know, one of those like back alley lights. I just saw the new Karate Kid movie legends, which was great. I think that there are back alley lights, very Dick Tracy kind of old school lighting. I feel like that's kind of, uh, Gene Kelly was on a light post that was outside. Okay. There, there, there are lights, there are lights in back alleys. You have to illuminate it somehow. I look, uh,

I do believe it's out in the rain because I don't think they would make it rain inside a stage. Not for this movie. Dr. Guts 1003 writes, according to Marquis Houston, who played Elle, the movie was originally going to be called Dance and it was going to star Genuine and Aaliyah. However, after Aaliyah's untimely death, the film got reworked to what it ultimately became. Well, yeah, Dr. Guts, we know that.

I didn't bring it up because we want to bum us out about Aaliyah, who just was hot off of Queen of the Damned, who died very tragically and very young. I didn't want to bring that up to bring us down. That's what I do. I don't need to bring us down. But you did. It's good information. I appreciate it. But you're not winning this week. You're not you're not winning by bumming us out.

Now, Anna writes, I looked up the script and I read the discussion about the $5,000 dance battle. And this is what I think happens. Okay. I love it. Anna is getting in to some math. Each team puts up $5,000. So there is $10,000 in the

pot. And whoever wins gets to keep it all. L and David are putting up the initial $5,000, which they will get back if they win. It's like the deposit you put down at a hotel, which you get back if you don't damage anything. It cancels itself out. That leaves the other $5,000 in profit for the team. L and David are going to take $3,000 of the profit, $1,500 each, and the rest of the team is going to have to split the remaining $2,000.

L and David's argument is that they've already put up something on the line. They've already put up the 5,000. So if they lose, they're losing 5,000. They should get more of the reward because of that. And Sonny thinks they should split the whole 5,000 profit evenly. Now, let me tell you, Anna,

And I was on this page. This is what I was saying. They need to get... I agree with this. I mean, yes, you explained what I think I was saying very clearly in the show, but maybe I wasn't. And Sonny, he lost his screw there because I doubt that Sonny is getting an equal split on that other team. Can someone do some research? Can someone figure that out? Was Sonny promised an equal split on the other team? Maybe because he was bringing dance moves, he would upgrade his cut. I would buy that, but...

I would not buy that if he wasn't bringing something to the table that was extra. Anyway, let's go to the phones. Liz from Wisconsin. Hey, Paul. It's Liz. This is about You Got Served, which I admit I haven't seen. However, I was listening to the episode and I felt like you might have missed something big and...

mysterious. You talked a lot about Lil Saint and his death, and then you were talking about the weird door at the one guy's house and how there's this symbol on it, and you were theorizing about what that symbol means, and you all mentioned the New Orleans Saints logo, and why would they have a Saints logo in LA? And I was like...

All right, Liz from Wisconsin. First of all, love that you have not seen the movie, but you have a hot take, honestly.

It may sound sarcastic that I'm saying that, but it's not. This is the kind of correction and omission I want. You're right. We need to have some sort of New Orleans Saints conspiracy theories here. Not just that maybe they rented a house that had a New Orleans Saint logo on it. I will tell you, I worked seven years on a football show. We could never get the logos to any team ever, even when those team members were on our show. So I did a little research.

Googling to figure out what's going on here. And look, this is a very interesting symbol. There are a lot of connotations to it. The very general one would be like it's a sign of community togetherness. But it also has this historical association with slavery because in the French colony of Louisiana, the fleur-de-lis was used to brand slaves who attempted to escape as a form of punishment and identification. And so

So there's also interpretations here as a reminder, never again. So either way, it does have some meaning. I don't know what it does with Little Saint. I mean, unless he's a little saint, again,

More interesting than I thought. Liz, thank you for not watching the movie, but coming in with a hot take. Melissa from Connecticut, what do you got? This is Melissa, longtime listener, first-hand caller, reaching out from Connecticut. I wanted to touch down on one particular moment slash person.

of note. So I think you guys are like, oh yeah, I'm that choreographer who was doing the announcing at the final contest featuring Lil' Kim or maybe Boa Lil' Kim. His name is Wade Robson. He also had the 90s hair thing going with like the tips and all that. Wade Robson

is a cultural touchstone for the late 90s. And here is why. Britney Spears made out with him and while she was with Justin Timberlake,

She revealed this in her tell-all book, The Woman in Me. At the time, there were a lot of rumors that Cry Me a River, Justin Timberlake's hit single, was about that relationship. But it's come to be found out that Justin was constantly cheating. So Brittany does admit that she was dancing with him and kissed him. Also, Wade Robson, a very good choreographer. He

He did a ton of NSYNC stuff, Britney Spears, Pepsi commercial, the Slave For You music video, which I still know the move to. So I was pretty pumped to see him. This whole movie brought me back. You guys rock. Bye. Okay, so this is great. We actually did talk about this in the show. We cut a lot of it out because it was just sort of like, we just went off on weird tangents.

This was the better way to deliver it. I love it. Yes, I did read that book or I should say I listened to that book read by Michelle Williams and it's great. Well,

you know what? Honestly, it's not great. It's interesting. Michelle Williams is a great job reading it. I think the book is a little bit too vague. Anyway, next up, what do we got? Oh, a good one. Billy, tell me. Hi, this is Billy. I was a PA on You Got Served, and you are absolutely correct that there was a body double for little Kim. I remember it's

We had her for a day, and she was crazy late, so they pulled a woman out of extras holding and dressed her up as Little Kim. And I guess she's a method actress because at some point she really became Little Kim, walking around set in a robe, sitting in a director's chair. It was really fascinating to watch her process.

Also, extras holding, the first AD had to come down and lecture everybody about not smoking weed and cooking food on Foreman Grills. It was crazy up there. But had a lot of fun going down memory lane listening to the show. Thanks a lot. Bye. Yes, yes.

Yes, King. First of all, George Foreman Grills. What are people doing? Worried about their fat content? I love that George Foreman Grill. That was so in and so out. Like it just, that was a shot man off. Foreman Grills. I just love that you're going around there as people are grilling up very healthy pieces of chicken and burgers. All right. Thank you, Billy. All right. Now let's go back to the Discord.

I feel overwhelmed by the information we got. I mean, really on all sides, we went from society and our history to pop culture history to, well, I mean, honestly, onset behavior in history. We, it was really just history. Listen, uh, J bro writes this. There is a,

theory about the kids clearing debt with Maurice. In the movie, we see Mr. Rad enlist the help of an LAPD officer to provide security for the dance competition with Wade's crew. Later, we see that same actor jump out of the black SUV to nab Elgin when Maurice comes along looking for his money. Watch both scenes carefully. Not only is it the same actor, but he repeats the same mannerisms from earlier in the movie as he stands watch at the dance competition in

and the SUV scene. I think that character was never an LAPD officer, but a high-ranking gang member in Maurice's crew who clearly knows Mr. Rad and through their relationship is able to influence Maurice to some degree. Oh, yeah, J-Bro!

Jay, bro. Now I like this. Wow. This is the first time I've been gobsmacked by a correctional omission. That was great. Okay. This is interesting here. Just a little call out. And I noticed this.

People know that I'm a huge Lost fan. I didn't call it out, but Little Saint was played by Malcolm David Kelly, who was Walt on Lost, but he was also half of the pop duo MKTO, which you might have heard in their classic song.

Here, take a listen to Lil Saint, a.k.a. Walt, a.k.a. Malcolm David Kelly. He is in under 30 seconds of the entire three-minute song, so it's a feature. It's a feature. But, by the way, listen to our friend, Walt! Baby, you're so classic. Baby, you're

♪

Wow, so many great corrections and omissions this week, but there can only be one that is the best. And I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to make you wait for it at all because there is one person who came in and blew my effing mind. That is J Bro, bro. J Bro. Wow. Thank you for illuminating us to what is really going on. I wish I could give you something, but I can't. I can give you this song from Mike Caserta. Hit it.

Now, if you want to chime in with your own thoughts about the latest episode, hit up the Discord at discord.gg slash HDTGM or call us at 619-P-A-U-L-A-S-K. Coming up after the break, Jason stops by to chat with Larry Charles and myself. We're going to talk about Larry's new book, Comedy Samurai. We're also going to talk about Jason in The Dictator, me and Army of One, and how Larry Charles managed to convince the DGA and New Line to release his cut of the movie years after it has been completed.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. Hell, I might even be brought to you by Squarespace. I got so many websites up there. Squarespace gives you everything you need to offer services and get paid all in one place. Truly, I have been loving my Squarespace experience. I have broadened

out. I have my website, How Did This Get Made website, Unspooled's website, Dark Web's website, all there. And they each work completely differently. And what I love about Squarespace is from consultations to events to experiences, you can show off your offerings with a

customizable website designed to attract clients and grow your business. Plus with Blueprint AI, they have this AI enhanced website builder. You can quickly create personalized sites that align with your brand and goals. You can streamline your workflow with built-in tools for appointment scheduling, email marketing, invoices, and seamless online payments to keep your business running smoothly.

Head to squarespace.com slash bonkers for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use the code bonkers to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's right. Squarespace.com slash bonkers using the offer code bonkers.

As the temperatures rise, it is the perfect time to refresh your wardrobe with not just summer essentials, but versatile pieces for every season. Quince pieces are timeless, lightweight, and far more elevated than anything at this price. I love Quince. I, you know, I started going to Quince because they were an advertiser. Now I just go there all the time. And I love this idea of summer shopping because they have

cool looking and coolly priced clothes like 100% cotton, European linen shorts and dresses from $30, luxe swimwear, Italian leather platform sandals, and so much more. Everything from Quince is half the cost of similar brands because they work directly with top artisans and cut out the middlemen, giving you luxury without the markup. Now, I got to tell you, I have a pair of linen shorts that I love. They get compliments because, you know,

You know what? Quince brings me quality. And you know what? Quince also brings me fashion. That's right. Give your summer closet an upgrade with Quince. Go to quince.com slash bonkers for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash bonkers. You get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince dot com slash bonkers.

Putting off that dream trip because, I don't know, you're nervous that you don't speak the language and how will you survive in a foreign country if you don't understand anything? Well, don't sweat it because Babbel's got your back. Start speaking a new language with the confidence that a person who grew up speaking the language has when you use Babbel's conversation-based technique that quickly teaches you useful words and phrases about things you actually talk about in the real world. That's why I love Babbel. Babbel's tips and tools for learning a new language are approachable and accessible. It's like having a

private tutor in your pocket. You know, I love Babbel because whenever I have a moment of downtime, I can pop in and do a lesson. I can actually learn on my own time. It's long-term memorization that doesn't feel like work. Plus, Babbel has these amazing games for sentence building and spelling reinforcement. Learn

BABEL.com slash bonkers. Rules and restrictions may apply.

All right. And we are back. Make sure you're listening to our matinee episodes. Okay. Every Tuesday, we get a classic episode pulled out of the vault. This week's matinee was Xanadu. Next week will be Speed 2 Cruise Control with Scott Aukerman. That's right. Hot Saucerman is here. Keep on checking out all of our replays of classic episodes every Tuesday. And without any further ado, it is now time to welcome Jason to Last Looks for Little Xanadu.

Just Chat. Jason, I am so excited about our guest today. This is a comedy icon, a legend, and a legend that you might not know.

By name. But you definitely know by work. His name is Larry Charles. He is a screenwriter, a director, a producer. He started off as a stand-up, worked on the show Fridays, which was a competitor to Saturday Night Live that actually starred Larry David, which, by the way, check it out. Then went on to write jokes for Arsenio Hall. Then moves into television and becomes a key voice on Seinfeld. He is...

kind of known for crafting a lot of what we love about Kramer. He produces on shows like Mad About You and Entourage, directs and is very heavily involved in Curb Your Enthusiasm, has been Emmy and DJ nominated, goes on to work with Sacha Baron Cohen in movies like Bruno and Borat and The Dictator. He directed Jason in The Dictator and me in a Nicolas Cage movie called Army of One. He made a movie with Bob

Dylan. He worked with Bill Maher on a documentary about religion and religion

very recently directed the A24 musical Dicks. I mean, this is a man who has gone all over the comedy circuit for the last 40 years. I would say one of the curious agitators of this generation. He has just released a memoir called Comedy Samurai, 40 Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter. It is...

Everything that you want from a person who has traveled with all of these. Giantly talented people. He is raw, honest, gives you a true behind the scenes. Look at what it's like.

to make these bold, satiric, legendary films. And I just can't wait to talk to him. So without any further ado, please welcome Larry Charles. Yes, yes. Well, first of all, thank you for the kind words. I think career, you mentioned my career, and I think one of the things that's important to me is I don't have a career. That's one of the keys to my interesting work is that I'm just flailing and groping and trying to find...

cool things to do. And that's been the body of work. You know, it just happened to work out. I'm very, very lucky. I feel like Larry, you are, you attract people. You're an incredible collaborator. And I will say like both Paul and I have been directed by you and you are a fantastic director, but I think you are an incredible collaborator. And specifically, you are always working. You are someone that people seek out.

Yeah.

You know, and that is incredible. Well, that's, that's the samurai part of it, you know, going from village to village and trying to save the village, you know, and make the village great again. And then moving on, you know, and I, that has kind of happened, you know, inadvertently over the years. You're a comedic Mifune. That's right. There's something interesting though, because each one of these people, and if you look at just Larry David, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Bill Maher, the

The fact that you are able to get in with these guys who are very opinionated, very different, and they respect you. What do you think that is that you are able to, I mean, you, you're a whisperer too, because you're able to manipulate people who I think have very strong beliefs of how things should be done. I mean, Jason and I work with Jeff Schaefer for seven years on the league and, you know, and he has a, and he worked on Seinfeld. You worked on Seinfeld and curb with him.

They want to do things very specifically, but you're able to get in there and, and I think push is,

but also make them feel like they're not being pushed. Well, I'm very open. I want to discover as much as anybody else does. You know, I don't want to know everything. I want to be surprised. And I think in that respect, I stay very open to the process. You know, I don't force anything. I don't try to make things happen. I try to just kind of absorb what's happening and then direct it in the right place.

So it's very much about my integrity, really. You know, I think that all those people trusted me because I am trustworthy when it comes to that. I am not going to compromise anyone's vision. I'm going to add my vision to your vision and I'm going to take it to the natural place it's supposed to go. Well, then I need to ask this question about Bob Dylan. How does Bob Dylan find you? Because in this world, right, and we talk about it in the book, but like

Bob Dylan goes up. I think I'm going to write a movie with Larry Charles like that is that is I mean again talking about enigmatic people who are very much in a in their own shell and know what they want to do. I mean for him to reach out to you. Are

Are you, are you, I imagine you're a fan, but what is that like to work on that level too? Well, he, I, you know, think that's one of the great things. I mean, there's many great things about Bob Dylan. We could spend the whole time talking about him is that, is that he is, um, he, he doesn't have any pretenses, any sort of, uh, assumptions, uh,

So he didn't care who I was. If he connected with me, he felt that was sufficient and adequate to move ahead. And so we met that first time at the coffee shop. He wanted to do a half-hour comedy. He had been on tour, on the never-ending tour. He had a VCR, which was the technology of the time. And he was watching Jerry Lewis movies. I mean, that alone is such a juxtaposition of

Bob Dylan laughing at Jerry Lewis movies. And he thought, hey, I could do that, which is a very presumptuous thing for him. But he wanted to do a half hour comedy. And so they came to me and said, would you be interested in meeting with Bob and talking about a half hour comedy? And I was like, sure, of course, you know, why wouldn't I? But I thought it would be like one meeting. We'd have a cup of coffee and then I could tell all my friends that I met Bob Dylan.

That was the extent of my expectation for that. You know, and I went to the meeting and at that time I was wearing pajamas. I wore pajamas like for years. I guess I was in some sort of weird space that I was wearing pajamas and

And I met him. He had a coffee shop in Santa Monica. He might still have it. And he came out and he was dressed like a homeless guy, which is sort of his look at the time. And we sat down. And the first thing he said, his assistant came over and said, can I get you guys something to drink? And I said, I'll have an iced coffee. And he said, I want something hot.

I want a hot beverage. That was like the first thing he said. And they brought the two drinks and immediately he took my drink, the iced coffee and started drinking it. Wow. And I'm, and now I'm like in this quandary, you know, do I say something? Do I let it go? You know? And I don't say anything for a while. And finally he actually says to me, why aren't you drinking your drink? And I said, because you stole my drink. And yeah,

He cracks up and we really started working from that moment on. He never, that was it. He just has an organic trust in the process. And do you think that was for him like a bit? Like he was doing a bit with the drinks or seeing, or was it a test? Are you going to, you know, come back at him or something? Like, I'm so curious about like, because Dylan is such an odd character, truly. Yes, yes.

Well, I think that the answer is yes to everything. I think it was a test. I think it was a bit. I think it was inadvertent on some level, on purpose on some level. I mean, he is operating. He's one of the few people that I've ever met who's operating on all these levels at once.

And so he trusts, he trusts himself. He trusts his instincts. That's just the key with him. I mean, I guess also if you can tell Bob Dylan, he stole your drink, then you can actually give him a note on any creative project, right? Because most people wouldn't, wouldn't admit to that, right? Like I'm sure he lives in like a rarefied air. I heard a great story about Bob Dylan, you know, known,

For not really speaking in his shows, right? Like he just kind of plays his music and goes. And, um, someone said that they went to go see him in concert. This may be like two or three years ago. And in the middle of his set, he stops and goes, uh, anyone see, uh, Creed two, uh,

And he's like, great movie, great movie, great boxing. And then just went back to playing stuff. And I just love that. Like it was on his mind, whatever he, I know he is into boxing. He has a guy, you know, he must've just watched that. Cause it was way after Creed two would come out. I think Creed three had already been out. And so it was like, he just caught Creed two and wanted to talk. He probably saw it on the bus behind.

Behind the coffee shop that we met in that first day was a boxing gym that he owned. And he's heavily into boxing. He did boxing workouts for years. And we would sit in a cubicle, a closed cubicle in the boxing office. He would chain smoke cigarettes for 12 hours a day. We would sit and write in this kind of cloud-filled cubicle. And so he's very connected to boxing.

Of course, he wrote the great song Hurricane, which is about Reuben Carter. So he loves boxing, or at least he used to anyway. The story that reminds me, my story that reminds me of that story is sitting with him and writing. And it's true at a certain point that I got comfortable enough to give him a note. And he would bring in little pieces of paper with...

like a monologue or a line or a name of a character. And one day he was like, he had this line, I'm not a pig without a wig. And I was like, you know, Bob, I have to say that even in this weird movie that we're making, that line doesn't make any sense. No one's going to know what that line means. It's like, no one's going to understand it. And he just looked at me and went, what's so bad about misunderstanding? And I was like, whoa, whoa.

Wow. And that's the kind of logic that he throws out at you that kind of cracks your skull open, you know? Oh, because we're working so hard to make sure what we say can only be understood the way we want it to be. He's been understood. He's done that. He's interested now in what happens when you're not understood. What is the consequences of that? I love that. Oh, that's so fantastic. Fantastic.

Fascinating guy. Now you also, you know, talking about like you and I, we work together with Nick Cage, another interesting guy, right? And yes, you know, a larger than life person. And, and I feel like there's something about you as you are a writer, you are a director and you can kind of, I think, talk to people on a lot of different levels. Can you, do you feel like there is a secret to your,

to getting people to trust you? Do you feel like it, or do you just listen, or like, do you have a technique to kind of engage with these people who might be more suspicious? I know we just talked about that a little bit, but like, any way to kind of gain that trust and favor so they can kind of give you this performance that they're not being overly conscious of? - It's a great question. The answer though is I don't have a technique. I am me, and I think that just the natural version of who I am

just connects very well with larger-than-life characters. Growing up in Brooklyn on the streets, dealing with crazy characters all the time, dealing with intimidating people all the time, I just learned how to find common ground to survive. So I wouldn't get my ass kicked, essentially. And I think that that gave me some unique traits of

that I've been able, luckily, to apply to someone like Nick or Bob or those kind of people. But when I first met you, I gotta say, I don't know if you felt this, Jason, too. I was intimidated because the only images I've seen of you, you look like a fucking badass. I mean, you've got this beard. You're sometimes wearing a hat. And like you said, you showed up in maybe pajamas because you're in that...

That like, you just didn't know what you were going to get. And I was like, oh man, I don't want to upset this guy. And you are exactly who you are in this interview. You're just very down to earth, very funny. And you don't take yourself seriously, but there is a presence to you. If, if we were just to put pictures of you up, you'd be like, don't fuck with this guy. Yeah.

Oh yeah. There's a real, there's a real dark Prince of comedy vibe off of LC. But I remember, but then like to Paul's point, like what a sweetheart you are, Larry. We did, we've done a couple of things together. First, we did a pilot that I'm not going to remember the name of, forgive me, but it was Ant's pilot. And I think it was, what was the guy's name? Paul, the star's name was

Paul British guy. Um, Paul British guy. Right. Anyway, we, we were on, I was doing that and it was, it was genuinely like a very early job for me. And I had my beard and the, I needed to shave my beard for the part, you know? Uh, and you pulled me aside beforehand and gave me a real, like, Hey,

I'm a beard guy too. Don't worry about it. Like you gave me a very sweet conversation that was like, that felt like you were saying, Hey, I know I'm asking you to shave your beard and that's a hassle. And I get that, but, but I appreciate it. It'll be okay. And I was like, wow, what a sweet move and what a generous thing to do. And like, I'm sure by the next morning, my beard had already grown back. I'm, you know, it grows so fast, but it was just such a, like such a generous move to,

to put me at ease and to like, and to really get me feeling comfortable. And that is, I feel like an essential part of what you're great at is really getting, really connecting with everybody and helping everybody connect with each other.

Yeah. Making, I want to be like a human safety net. I want people to feel like they could go crazy. They could go over the line. They could be wrong. They could do too much and it's fine. Right. You know, we'll do another take, you know, if it has to change. And a lot of times in giving that people permission to be whatever they're going to be. And Jason, you're a great example of it in the dictator. You discovered new things all the time. You are always finding new material, new ways to approach it. You never did the same thing twice. Yeah.

And it was always like a revelation. And that's what I want. I want to be surprised by you. And I'll do anything I can to try to make that happen. Well, I think that idea of mixing improv

into writing some writers are very strict they don't want you to change anything it has to kind of be letter perfect and i think you've definitely found in these later years this ability to kind of have something that's written that you feel good about but then you can kind of continually craft even on uh army of one the movie that we did with nick cage you were constantly like

retooling the script, getting it down to its core essence and just finding things. But again, allowing the day to be whatever the day was and then not overdoing it. If you got it, you got it. And that's, I feel like a real trust in the entire process, the actors, yourself. And, you know, and I think like a lot of people, uh,

you were one of the very few sets I've ever wrapped early on. And I was like, and I was like, and that's an extreme compliment. It wasn't because you were like, yeah, we got it. Like you and Clint Eastwood are the two people. I will say, somehow we never wrapped early on the dick team. Right. That's right. Now that's, that's interesting. Well,

There were other forces at work at the dictator. Indeed, indeed. I'm a big admirer of Clint Eastwood, of all people, and not that he's big on comedy, but he's somebody, too, who trusts his instincts. And when he's got it, he's got it. He doesn't belabor the point, you know? On the dictator, it was a little different because...

Sasha never felt we got it. And so we were going and then we might come back the next day and do it again. Or we would try a completely different version of it sometimes. And so it was a little bit more of a challenge on the dictator, but on army of one. Yeah. I've never seen anything that loose scaled up that big.

You know, like the looseness with which I feel like your sets are like the traditional kind of, okay, let's improvise. Let's find moments, blah, blah, blah. I'd never seen it on a scale that big as The Dictator with hundreds of extras and stunt elements and all this stuff. Yeah. It was a little crazy and it was a little stressful at times too. I'm aware.

But you were always, you know, the thing I would say to you is you were always there. You were so present and you always had something new to play with and you never gave up. And at times it was challenging and you were always amazing. And your performance really was fantastic in that movie. Thank you, Larry. I was so blown away.

blown away. And then, of course, I lost control of the editing and some of that got lost. Sadly. But sadly, for me as well. But really, that was a tremendous, one-of-a-kind performance. Thank you, Larry. That's very sweet of you to say. I will say, it was

truly one of the most incredible experiences of my life on a process level. And Jason, you are still in the dictator, right? You are still in. I am still in the movie. Yes, I am. You're in the movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's true. I will say like anytime I work in New York, Larry, anytime I'm on a set in New York, somebody on that set worked on the dictator and wants to pull me aside and talk about it.

Right, right. That is the way, that's why the chapter is so large in the book also. Oh yeah. It was a, it was a wild ride and I loved reading that part of the book and, and seeing like, you know, legendary AD Joe Reedy's name, all these kinds, all these wonderful people who came through that.

The Hamburglar was just a mascot, but Jerome Jacobson was the real deal. A McDonald's security chief who almost pulled off the ultimate inside job. On Wondery's podcast, The Big Flop, comedians join host Misha Brown to chronicle pop culture's biggest fails and try to answer the age-old question, who thought

Who thought this was a good idea? I mean, at the time, McDonald's collab with Monopoly was a genius idea. Come get a Big Mac and you could go home with a million dollar prize piece. The only problem, when they picked their head of security, the one guy in charge of protecting all those million dollar pieces, McDonald's drew the wrong card.

Comedians Ify Wadiwe and Beth Stelling joined Misha to break down what really went down with McDonald's monopoly scandal. Listen to The Big Flop wherever you get your podcasts. Little exercise for you here. What is your perfect day? Being on a beach, going camping, seeing a movie, having a perfect meal. Imagine that. But now, picture you stink. You stink from your pits. Okay?

The only thing that can wreck a perfect day is your body odor. Okay. When you stink, no one wants to be around you. And here's the thing. I don't want you to wreck a perfect day. I want you to have a perfect day. We need to enjoy our perfect days. And so does Dove Men Plus Care Whole Body D.O. All right. They help keep your B.O. from ruining the good days. From pits to privates to feet, you can feel confident with 72-hour protection and

all your odor zones. Dove Men Whole Body Dio goes on instantly dry with an aluminum-free vitamin E-infused formula for a whole body freshness and care. Dove Men Plus Care Whole Body Dio get everywhere care, even down there. Find it on Amazon or at Target today.

You know what doesn't belong in your epic summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill. That's right. While you're planning beach trips, barbecues, and three-day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing holding you back. Make sure that you switch to Mint Mobile. With plans starting at $15 a month, Mint Mobile gives you premium wireless service on the nation's

largest 5G network. All plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text. Ditch overpriced wireless and get three months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile. So while your friends are sweating over data overages and surprise charges, you'll be chilling literally and financially. You know, our producer Scott switched to Mint Mobile and he says now his bill is $40 less per month. Now,

He should be taking that extra money and buying clothes for his newborn baby. But no, what he did was he splurged on the Alamo Draft House Jaws 50th anniversary popcorn bucket. That's smart thinking. You know why? That baby doesn't deserve it. Scott deserves it for thinking that Mint Mobile will save him money. Anyway, this year's skip, breaking a sweat,

and break in the bank. Get your summer savings and shop premium wireless plans at mintmobile.com slash hdtgm. That's mintmobile.com slash hdtgm. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, five gigabyte plan required, equivalent to $15 a month. New customer offer for the first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

Well, you know, Larry, you're talking about like losing control or getting out of the edit on The Dictator. You've done something that I was blown away by. On the movie that we did, Army of One, you were allowed to release your cut on YouTube. So it's the cut that you actually wanted to make. I thought that was one of the coolest things ever because...

There are these, you know, we obviously hear about it in the grand, like the superhero thing, like what's the cut, you know, the, the, the Snyder cut and stuff like that. But to see the movie that you wanted to make, what was the impetus to continue to kind of push that forward? Because obviously it's a comedy. You don't often hear about the comedy alt version of it, but this came out maybe, I want to say like a year and a half ago, you were able to release your cut. Yeah. Well, it took me that long. I, first of all, I had a battle with Bob Weinstein and,

Bob Weinstein, you know, I finished the movie and then the producers basically bailed on me. I mean, it's funny in both these cases, the dictator and army of one, I've lost control of that final edit. I wish I could put out my version of the dictator also, but it's a little bit more complicated because,

But I went to the, I eventually, I looked into litigation. I looked into all kinds of alternatives to sort of get control of the cut again, because I thought the cut that they did was so, such a betrayal of what the intention of the movie was. The movie was a very dark,

strange, surreal movie. And they tried to make it into like a fairy tale. And I thought they really ruined the movie. They ruined the whole point of the movie, you know, which has a kind of a sad, poignant ending to it also. And they changed that even. And they couldn't do it because I didn't give them the footage. So it's very cobbled together in a very, you know, incoherent way as well. And it really bothered me because I didn't want it to be reflective of my work, you know?

And I went to lawyers, and nobody wanted to take on Bob Weinstein. My own lawyers, my own agents at the time did not want to mess with it because the Weinsteins were still so powerful at that point. And I finally went to the DGA, and there was a guy at the DGA named David Dreyfuss who said, this is ridiculous, I can't believe this happened. And he single-handedly got me the agreement to

to be able to do my own cut and put that cut out as long as I didn't make money with it, which was not my goal anyway. And so that's what I was able to do. I was able to fashion my own cut, which was the original cut that I had done, and put that out on YouTube. And it's available for people to see. And it's in stark contrast with...

to the version which died, by the way, anyway. I mean, if the movie was going to bomb, let my version of the movie bomb, you know? So now this version does exist for people who want to see it, and they'll see it in stark contrast to what they may have seen on Amazon or wherever the other version is. Wow, that's incredible. It's really, it's such a better movie. Your movie is such a better movie than the one that was released, and it is, that thing as a director or as even like a,

you know, you started directing in TV too, like you can get your work taken away from you. And I think a lot of people don't realize how quickly that can happen and how this mindset that you have and this ability to kind of move from town to town and not carry that weight, because I think you can get very, very,

I think it could beat you down a little bit, right? Because you don't know who to trust. We're talking about other idiosyncratic people trusting you, but you have to also trust that you're not going to be fucked over, right? Because it's sort of like, it feels like that's often what happens a lot of the time. Well, it's also, yeah, how comfortable are you knowing or assuming that at some point in this process, this difficult person is going to turn on

me, you know, and, and how do you handle that? There's a lot of betrayal, a lot of backstabbing, a lot of bad behavior, you know, and one of the reasons I did this with army of one was I, I felt like I had let Nick down. Actually, Nick had really given everything to that movie and he gave a really one of a kind performance and,

And I promised him that that version of the movie would be the movie, you know, and then it was taken away from me. And I wrote to him and I apologized and I just felt like I had let him down. And so I really wanted to put out the version that we had agreed on because that was the version that he really shows all the levels that he was trying to reach in that part. Yeah.

So that was a lot of it was just to kind of make things right with Nick. I felt like I owed Nick that, you know? Yeah, that was important to me. That's great. And I feel like that's the reason why you work with these people, because they know that you'll look out for them on some level. And I think there's like a great quote in the book about, like, I think, well, I'm going to paraphrase it, but you do things that seem...

and or reckless, but you don't actually... They appear that way, but you are approaching it with a lot of care and thought. How do you approach that idea of being quote-unquote reckless, but also having a structure to it? Well, I want to push. To me, it's all about... The best comedy is entering forbidden territory. Trying to get to a place that really...

wouldn't normally be even thought of as funny. I mean, religion is a very serious topic to most people. But for me, I knew that therefore it was great fodder for comedy. And The Dictator in the same way. And even Army of One, the story of Gary Faulkner, is not really a funny story. You know, but that's where comedy, the most...

The richest comedy lies for me, you know, is the places where you're not supposed to be laughing. If you can get comedy out of something that isn't funny, that's the place where the audience can finally liberate themselves and release all those emotions and laugh in a way they normally don't laugh at things. And that wave of that discomfort, you know, that discomfort is so important, you know, and it's missing from so much of what's funny right now.

Now it's very hard to do, actually, but it is a release for the audience, and that's when you achieve those gales of laughter, and I'm addicted to that. I want the audience to lose control like in a horror movie. Instead of screaming, I want people to be laughing on that same level. Well, it's that thing, too, where we have lost... We used to all...

share in the collective experience of being scared together in the movie theater, screaming together at the movie theater, having a collective experience. And the same was true for laughing together. Not just, I think that's funny, but the waves of laughter that take over an audience, that's missing. We don't do that anymore. We don't put people in a room. I remember seeing Borat in a theater and thinking, this theater is going to crumble to the ground. Yeah.

So cacophonous and so physically committed to laughter are these people that it is like shaking the room, basically, you know? And that we don't do anymore. I was just going to say the audience is now broken down and fragmented. It's really not a mass audience anymore. And the movie-going experience really doesn't exist for comedies like it once did. It reminds me of that great final scene of Sullivan's Travels

where all the convicts and all the people are all together from all these different walks of life, and they're laughing hysterically at the movie. And it's like, that is the power of laughter. And we've kind of lost that power a little bit. I agree with you. You also forget that when you're in an audience,

the laughter kind of will check you. Like if you look around, I felt like when we first started performing in LA, there was a little bit of a vibe, especially when we were doing improv, where people were looking to the left and their right being, is this funny? Is it okay to laugh at this? Whereas New York, I feel like we could push any boundary, any limit, and it was getting a laugh.

And I think so many people consume things at home now or in the privacy of their... Just on their phone and in their head that you can manipulate a joke and you cease to see why it's funny. But if you're in a crowd of people and you're hearing it, you're much more...

willing to be like, okay, I'm the odd person out or I'm not going to be judging it because it clearly is working. But when you're only one person receiving comedy, you can manipulate it in any which way or take a quote out of context. It really is. It's a bummer because you see things that are clearly sarcastic or, you know, just being silly and people just miss the whole point of it. And that's a bummer right now too. Well, you want that process to be unconscious. You want people to not be thinking about it. Now we watch things and we go, okay, that's a joke.

That's supposed to be funny. And you're going through a thought process, a conscious thought process, instead of like on Borat where you don't know what's going to happen. It's completely unpredictable. And now you're laughing out of a reflex, not because of something you thought about, but something you just are reacting to naturally. And that sort of natural reaction, that reflex reaction, which happens with horror movies too when they work,

is kind of being lost and sort of filtered down and flattens by the algorithm, by the fragmented audience, by the various pressures, the corporate pressures also, that are on most comedy today, it seems. There's also something about comedy really thrives in your ability to surprise the audience.

for them to feel as though they are being surprised or they are discovering in the moment an avenue forward that they didn't see happening, but you've just shown it to them, right? You're saying, look at this, you know, you thought it was going to be this, maybe it's this or whatever. And that,

entire thought process now is, is suspect to people. Like they don't want to be surprised. You know, it feels as though to surprise people now is for them to be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't do that. Let's not get crazy. Exactly. Right. Let's stick with the plan here. And that's why the purity of comedy today is in what you guys do is in improv and

is in standup, those are the places where that purity, that connection with the audience, that unpredictability you're talking about still exists. And you could have that connection still and have it be an eruption because of that. And because the audience does want to be surprised, but they are afraid of it and they've been taught not to really, they've been conditioned not to really be seeking it anymore, you know? So it's great that you guys are still doing that because that's the place on the stage with a live audience

where you can still achieve that sort of level. There's two things that you've done recently that really blew my mind. And one, I think speaks to this, which is like the dangerous world of comedy that you did for Netflix is a documentary about, you know, people, you know, doing comedy in like Liberia and Somalia, like, and, and,

you forget that there is comedy in these other places, right? Like we don't think of it like that. I think that there's, or at least when you are looking at it, I don't know. I think we can be very, you know, we can get very pigeonholed in thinking about it. And so that really was wonderful to see like, oh yeah, how do you do it in these countries where free speech is at stake or how do you be funny in these worlds? And I just, if you have not watched that, this is to people who are listening, check that out. It's just a really beautiful way of kind of

blowing out what comedy is to so many groups of people. We have so much longitude and latitude here to do whatever we want, but there's other people who have to work in smaller parameters and are still doing amazing work and really interesting work. I also just want to talk to you about the musical that you did. That musical, Dicks, that you did was one of...

It was one of those moments where I don't know if I even knew that you directed it or whatever it was, but I like sat up off the couch in the first moment. I was like, holy shit. Like, and I feel like that, like that energy is kind of electric and it's very different for you, right? Like this is like a bold, like,

queer comedy and it's like, and it's a musical, like how do you get involved in that? Is that something you've always wanted to do? I know I heard Tom Cruise wants to do a musical. I didn't know if Larry Charles had that on his list.

Well, again, first of all, I was very lucky. Josh and Aaron, the stars of the movie, who I insisted be the stars of the movie. I didn't want Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to play those two parts. They actually came to me and asked me if I'd be interested. And they gave me the script and they showed me their UCB sketch that it was based on. Yeah, that was a UCB show, right? It was a UCB show, yeah. And I read the script and I remember it so well. I read the first two pages and...

And I was laughing so hard at the script. And I went to my wife and I said, this is like the funniest script I've read since, you know, Borat or whatever. And I

I kept reading and it kept getting funnier and funnier and funnier. And then the music was amazing. Right. And I was like, I was so excited that I had to make that movie. And when I feel that way, I really trust that feeling. And I also knew that we get very little money for it. I like the idea, the challenge of doing this on a low budget and shot it.

kind of like, let's do a show together kind of feeling, proscenium style, very in your face. And I thought it was really, really fun. And I thought the language transcended its queerness, its gayness. It was just funny, you know? Oh, yeah. It's an electric movie that, again,

I feel like when it came out or theaters were just coming back, but it's like, that's a movie that I wish I saw surrounded by people. Right. Yes. Because that is a big, that's a like belly laugh. Very funny, constantly surprising movie.

Yes, yes. Well, we did a number of previews with audiences, and like at Toronto and places like that, where it killed. And it was great to watch an audience, again, we've been talking about how it's all so fragmented, but their audiences came together in these various screenings and really were like rocking. They were like rocking audiences, and I want that rock concert, live event sort of feeling to it, and it really had that. And the music was amazing. I mean, that was...

one of the most special things about it too. And it was fun to do choreography and shoot that kind of stuff as well. Yeah, you are working with, like we said in the beginning, so many amazing people. Like in Dixie, you have like Megan, the stallion, you have, you know, you have stories about Mel Brooks and Larry David and Sacha Baron Cohen. These are stories that I would imagine when I'm reading this book, I'm like, are you nervous to be like, can I tell these stories? Because I mean, I'm sure that there are some things you may have to take out, but when you put it in a book,

Do you feel nervous? Like, oh, I don't want to say that about this person. Or I, you know, maybe that's crossing a line. Well, I felt like I, as long as I was honest about myself, I thought I could be honest about others. And I certainly, you know, bust myself as much as I bust anybody else, you know? And I think, so, you know, you're getting truth, right?

And it's like, you can hide the truth only so long. It seemed to me this is the truth of my life, for better or for worse. And that includes my own failings, which are legion. I've had tremendous failure, tremendous humiliating failure, as well as success. And I felt that was what justified me talking about these things. When I was hurting somebody...

that seemed to not deserve to be hurt in some way, I would take that out. I wasn't interested in just hurting people, but I was interested in telling people the truth of my life and my saga, essentially. And I imagine, too, there's probably this thing where

When people hear about you, they were like, oh, well, tell us about Seinfeld. What about the masturbation episode? What, you know, I'm sure there's these things that you have talked about and there's, and there are no good stories to it, right? Like, it's like, well, what was it like to shoot that? It's like, well, I don't know if we had any notes on the contest, right? It's like, there's no, but you know, but like, but come with me because I actually have like 20 other more interesting stories. I don't know if this is in the book or if I remember reading this, but it's

When you were working on Arsenio Hall, which I love, and you were a joke writer for Arsenio Hall, you started out as a stand-up, you couldn't get any jokes on the air, right? And you had this, like, come-to-Jesus moment. It was like, I remember, maybe you just told me this, but, like, Jack Nicholson, you're, like, out in front of the Arsenio Hall stages. Like, can you talk about that for a second? Like, yeah, just, like, being in this moment of just, like...

I'm fucked. Like I have a kid and I don't know what to do. Like, yeah, that isn't the book. That's right. Then I remembered it the right way. Right, right. No, I, I, you know, I additionally had gone to Arsenio and I said, you know, I want to write these Richard Pryor type monologues. And he was really into it.

And I did that at first, and he was getting so much shit for just being a black guy on TV. He was getting such hate mail pre-internet. He would actually literally get crayon hate mail threatening him and sexually wanting to destroy him. And we had metal screeners up in the audience so that people would come through. We had to take their weapons off of them. It was a very weird, crazy...

He was under a lot of pressure that people don't really know about. So he couldn't do this controversial material. It was too much for him. It was too much to take on. And I could not write those kind of generic jokes that he needed. I just couldn't do it. So I went for six months without getting a joke on the air. And I knew that at the end of that, my contract would be over and I was going to be fired. And I came to that point.

point where it was almost over. The contract was almost over. And I went outside and I'm standing in front of the trailer where the writers worked this dank trailer on the Paramount. People think Paramount, they think of the glamour, but we worked in a dank trailer. It was disgusting. You know, there's little rooms in a dank trailer and

And I knew that Jack Nicholson was on the lot because he was doing the two Jakes at the time, the sequel to Chinatown. And I had seen his parking space and I'd seen his Mercedes in the parking space. And I'm standing outside the trailer and I'm just looking at the sky, literally going, what am I going to do? Like my career is over. Where do I go from here? You know, I have, I have no idea what I was going to do. And as you said, I had a baby and I felt like, wow, man, I am fucked. This is it. It's over. Um,

I had a ride and now the ride is over. And suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I saw slowly moving towards me this Mercedes. And I saw inside a guy wearing the Laker hat and the sunglasses. And it was Jack Nicholson. And he's slowly moving past me. And as he moves past me and he's in the car, he's got everything. He's really beat. He's beat the system. You know, he looks at me and I look at him and we both just

burst out laughing apropos of nothing. We just both burst out laughing and he just says, yeah, it's funny.

And just keeps going. Wow. And I interpreted that as like, it's a game, man. It's a game. I played the game. I did okay. Just play the game. Don't take it so seriously. It's going to be all right, you know? And I really, he gave me kind of hope in a weird way in that little moment, you know? And then I got fired. Ha ha.

And the next thing that happened was Larry David called me and asked me if I wanted to come to work on Seinfeld. Wow. Wow. Is there a piece of your body of work, not your career, but your body of work that you like a lot that you feel like,

that people don't appreciate? Because obviously you, there's so many things I'm sure that people are going to run up and talk to you about, but you're like, oh, no one ever talks to me about this. I think this is like one of my favorite things, whether it's like, you know, and you were working on sketches on Friday all the way through, you know, through now. I mean, like anything that you just stands out that people don't talk to you about enough?

Well, it's an interesting point because I often think, and I think I talk about it in the book even, that we're defined by our body of work, by our public body of work. But in a lot of ways, I think you know me better and you know a lot of people better by the stuff that doesn't get produced or that fails, that nobody sees. And I would even look at Army of One, for instance, is a perfect example of that. I mean, I really was proud. I was excited about making it. I was excited about working with all of you.

I loved the movie. I thought, wow, we really have done something very, very unique. And it got kind of crushed. Right.

And that had a crushed me at the same time, you know? And so I think that's a perfect example of something that more people, most people don't have, who don't exist. And, and I have a lot of work like that, that has either been made that people haven't seen, or that hasn't been made. I made a lot of pilots, very like the pilot that Jason's talking about, or a number of other pilots that were really cool, interesting, weird pilots, you know, with, I mean, you made the Kanye West pilot too, at that,

I mean, you know. That's right. His whole life would be different today if that had been picked up, you know, if you think about it. Yeah, I mean, seven seasons, it would be a whole different story.

Can you imagine? That's right. He would be a totally different trip now. So yeah, I think there's a lot of my work, a lot of it is unseen for one reason or another. And that work that is unseen, I think, defines me as much as the work that is out there that people know about. And I try to talk about as much of it as I can in the book. Well, the book is really great in the sense that if you are a fan of comedy, you have touched so

Like, and, and it's, and it's not like, this is not a book that, oh yeah, Larry worked on, you know, Seinfeld. And this is now your, it, the, it Seinfeld is a, is a part of the book. It's so much bigger on both sides of it and continues to grow. And it's sort of not even a career book because like I said, your career is still going. You're very active. You're doing a bunch of stuff. And this is like a chance to sit down with just a great writer.

comedy mind in a sense of this is what everybody wants to hear. I think it's the stories. It's the well, it's like it's no bullshit, right? Like if you're listening to this, you're getting a sense of it. You're one of my favorite people to run into to talk to. You are a not only are you at all these things or all these places are inside of all of these iconic places.

Or as we're talking about, maybe not iconic things, things that have lost their way or been taken away from you. There's something really incredible about all the stuff you've done. And you're just a great storyteller. You're a great, you're perfect at telling your story in a way that is warts and all.

It is not like, look at me putting yourself up on a pedestal or something. It is, it's a blast to read these chapters. It's a blast to read this book. Thank you. Thank you. You know, you are also narrating your book as an audio book. So for people here, a lot of our audience are going to listen to it and it's you telling these stories, which makes it

A million times better. And because it's, I think it's, you know, there's something really fun about being able to say your word. I mean, writing your words is one thing, but then also being able to perform them. You know, you started off as a stand-up too. Was it fun to go back and

And do and perform your book because you're not often, you know, you're not often on camera like that. I loved it. Actually, I had a really great time making the audio book. We did it in this really small studio and it was just I did enjoy performing because I wrote it the way I talk. Yeah. And so I reading it was a really natural, organic kind of process for me. And I really had a good time doing that. Yeah. And I do see it as one big monologue in a way. I love it.

Well, we're going to let you go. I just want to ask one quick question because you did say you mentioned Sullivan's Travels, which was one of my favorite movies, comedy movies. Anything that you would recommend that just tickles your fancy that you're like, oh, this is something you should check out. It doesn't have to be new. It could be old. Just something that you want to turn us on to because we always talk about things that we're recommending to each other. But like,

What have you been into? It could be music. It could be a movie. It could be anything. Just, yeah. What are you into? You know, I recently watched a movie which most people don't know exists and it's about LA and it's called the loved one. Have you ever heard of this movie? No. The love, the loved one is directed by Tony Richardson, who is a really great director of the sixties and stars Robert Morse and

And an all-star cast of cameos. Oh, wow. Jonathan Winters and all kinds of really interesting people. And it's about the funeral industry in...

in Los Angeles. And it's basically a comedy about the funeral industry in Los Angeles. It's in black and white, but it's a really super cool, funny, one-of-a-kind movie. I happened to watch it recently, and I thought, wow, this is an undiscovered gem. I love this. So anybody who's interested in comedy and looking for something esoteric, that's something I would definitely recommend. It's on streaming somewhere. Yeah, it's on Amazon Prime. You can get it on a Blu-ray, too. It's a nice Blu-ray. Larry, your book...

Comedy Samurai. It's out right now. You can get the audio book. You can get the regular book. Are you going to be doing any signings or getting anywhere out like that on the road? Or are you just staying in? I have a book soup event, um, at the Wilshire e-bell on, on, uh, next week, uh, next sometime. I'm not sure when. And, um, uh, and I'm doing, I'm going to New York and I'll be in a couple of shows and I'm doing the podcast and yeah, I'm, I'm trying to make the rounds, you know? I love it. Well, everyone should check out this book. Uh,

I was so excited to have you on here. And yeah, like I said, one of my best experiences, I think, Jason, too, is like working with you is true. Oh, I mean, truly, truly. It has been what a pleasure, you know, and that the dictator was a real character.

capital M movie to be on. And, and you were an essential part of making that a, a, an insane and incredible experience. Yeah. Well, thank you guys both. And again, I have my apologies for the way things turned out, but I loved working with both of you and I hope I get a chance to do it. Oh, absolutely. Anytime. I mean, we'll show up. Uh, and I will tell you this much. Uh, when your book came, uh, I was reading it. My dad was visiting, took it,

read it and took it home with him. So I am now buying another copy of your book so I can live on my bookcase. All right. Thank you, Larry. All right. Thanks guys. Great to see you. Thank you, Jason, for just chatting with me. But now it is finally time to announce our next movie. We're going to be going from Mr. Rad to getting rad. That's right. Next week, we are shredding the gnar as we watch surf to starring Eddie Deason and Eric Stoltz.

I love this movie. We did this on tour. It is one of my favorites. I recommend you watching it. Here's a short breakdown of the plot. A disgruntled nerd who was bullied in high school creates Buzz Cola, a soft drink that turns surfers into zombies. Yes, it only has a 53% score on Rotten Tomatoes. And Woody Anders says...

It's a one-star film because it's a horribly stupid and annoyingly would-be send-up of both 1960 beach party pictures and cheesy 70s drive-in horror. But guess what? It works. Take a listen to the trailer. There's a...

The surf wars continue when a mad genius pollutes innocent surfer youth and the free beaches of America. Do you know how many brain surges, nuclear visits, or Nobel laureates have been surfers? I'll tell you, none. It's a sprawling surf saga of rebellion, romance, adventure beneath boiling seas, struggle against uncontrolled substances, and a race to the death by freedom fighters protecting your right to surf and the American way.

It's twice the fun of Surf 1. Surf 2.

You can stream Surf 2 for free on YouTube, Prime, or Roku with a subscription membership. Or check it out over at The Vinegar Syndrome. Oh, I love The Vinegar Syndrome. They're re-releasing Dirty Work, a new, dirtier cut. In addition, I also encourage you to check out Hoopla, Canopy, and Libby, which are digital media services offered by your local public library that allow you to consume movies, TV, music, audiobooks, e-books, and comics for free. That is it for Last Looks. If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, please take a moment.

rate us, review us. It helps. And make sure that you are following us and have automatic downloads turned on. That really helps the show. Have automatic downloads turned on. And you can always visit us on social media at HDTGM. A big thank you to our producers, Scott Sani, Molly Reynolds, and our movie-picking producer, Averill Halle. Our associate producer, Jess Cisneros, and our engineer, Casey Holford. We will see you next week for Surf 2. I'm just gonna be here, Lord.

Your dad, who just eats oats, loves to tell stories. If he ate bunches of oats, maybe he'd have more than three of them that he tells over and over. Yes, dad, what your friend Squeaky did back in 88 is hilarious. But maybe instead of telling us about it again, you could grab a bowl of delicious, nutritious honey bunches of oats. Don't just eat oats, eat bunches of oats. Honey bunches of oats.

More perks, more value. Join the Nordy Club at Nordstrom Rack to unlock extra deals on your favorite brands, discounts just for you, even an extra perk on your birthday. Get app notifications for new in-store arrivals and sales so you can shop them first. Plus, Nordstrom credit card members get an extra 5% off every purchase at Nordstrom Rack. Great brands, great prices. Download the Nordstrom Rack app and join the Nordy Club today.