Bonus Frotcast: Bobcat Goldthwait Interview

comedy, interview, movies

This morning I posted my interview with Bobcat Goldthwait about Call Me Lucky (my review), which hits more theaters this weekend.
Just for fun (or in case you want to hear it in your car), here’s the
audio from that interview. Bobcat talks about his relationship with
Barry Crimmins (the subject of Call Me Lucky), and with Robin Williams
and Rowdy Roddy Piper. We talked about his early days of stand-up, and I
asked him about performing at the Gathering of the Juggalos, since I
knew we’d both been there. It was the first time since the Gathering
that an interview subject has said “whoop whoop” to me. Enjoy.

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Bonus Frotcast: Interview with ‘Look of Silence’ Director Joshua Oppenheimer

interview, movies

Joshua Oppenheimer has spent 14 years in Indonesia, interviewing survivors of a 1965 purge of alleged communists that killed up to a million people. He co-directed the 2012 film ‘Act of Killing,’ which focused on commandos and militia leaders who bragged about the killings. Oppenheimer got them to open up under the guise of helping them make a film about their “heroic” actions. His latest, ‘Look of Silence’ is a companion piece, if much different, tonally, focusing on the victims. If ‘Act of Killing’ was lurid and macabre, even freewheeling, ‘The Look of Silence’ is somber, weighed down by ghosts of the past. It’s heavy, even oppressive. As Oppenheimer says, it’s “a film about memory and oblivion.”

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260: Justin Halpern, The Uptown Girl Game

comedy

This week’s FilmDrunk Frotcast really has everything: big name guests, insightful interviews, original bits, clever pop culture analysis, engaging hosts, and really just a lot of heart. Comedian Matt Lieb joins FilmDrunk’s Vince Mancini and Brendan in the Frotquarters, with Shit My Dad Says/I Suck At Girls author Justin Halpern joining via Skype.

2:35 – Matt refuses to believe that Al Pacino is in Jack & Jill. Brendan and Matt do dueling Al Pacino/Adam Sandler impressions

3:45 – The “Uptown Girl” talent redux, where Matt Lieb can turn any song into “Uptown Girl.” Brendan hadn’t played before.

8:05 – I attempt to get Matt Lieb to “Uptown Girl” the top 100 songs, before quickly realizing we only know about three of them.

8:42 – Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” gets Uptown Girl’d.

9:40 – “Uptown Funk” gets Uptown Girl’d

13:00 – Justin Halpern joins us via Skype.

17:15 – Big question for Justin as someone who has worked on multiple sitcoms: Have multi-cam sitcoms started mixing the studio audience louder? Why are studio audiences so much more present in multi-cam comedies?

23:00 – The phenomenon of studio audience members saying weird things during shows and how much time it takes to mix them out.

26:50 – The strange phenomenon of laugh-track shows being so much more popular than non in syndication.

33:30 – Justin’s story about Robert Downey Jr. on the set of Due Date.

37:30 – Justin’s Mark Wahlberg encounter, about how Wahlberg initially hated ‘The Departed,’ and called it ‘Gayfellas.’

46:19 – We read some of Nikki Finke’s hard-boiled Hollywood insider fiction.

54:00 – Brendan describes Michael Jordan getting owned by middle schoolers, and how that’s Brendan’s greatest fear.

1:00:00 – We discuss Miles Teller’s Esquire profile. Is Miles Teller the new Shia Labeouf? Discuss.

1:06:18 – We read your emails and play your voicemails, including a listener who wonders about shoplifting the pootie from a single mother that’s a stripper, and another about Dave Matthews Band, which leads us into a discussion about music nerd rock.

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259: Cecil the Lion, True Detective with Joe Sinclitico

comedy

Great show this week, as our guest, comedian Joe Sinclitico either makes or ruins my show with his audible vaping. Matt Lieb and Bret were also in the Frotquarters to talk Cecil the Lion, Woody Allen, True Detective, and horrible press tour interviews. Also, Matt Lieb introduces his new segment, the “Uptown Girl Game.”
2:34 – Matt Lieb’s incredible “Uptown Girl” talent. Matt Lieb can turn ANY SONG into Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.” It’s really quite something.
9:16 – Cecil the Lion and the cyber lynch mob. “Yeah, but somebody has to go in the wicker man, and I’m glad it’s this guy.” -Bret
23:30 – Ave Maria becomes Uptown Girl. Matt Lieb has the voice of an angel.
24:18 – I try to explain Woody Allen’s “Irrational Man” to the frot crew. 
33:40 – Joe Sinclitico calls in. We listen to him vaping.
37:37 – We talk about this season of True Detective and how much we like it and how people that keep whining about it can suck it.
38:50 – Joe Sinclitico was apparently making tea.
53:00 – Joe also has some thoughts about Cecil the Lion. 
1:05:00 – Cara Delavigne’s awful interviewers and the trouble with trying to keep up with psychotically caffeinated morning show hosts on awkward press tours.
1:12:20 – My OTHER favorite awkward press tour interview, the Australian Amy Schumer interview that feels like a Christopher Guest sketch. 
1:15:28 – We bring Joe back. It was a mistake.
1:17:47 – We talk about Southpaw and the trouble with boxing movies.
1:20:00 – We answer a question from the emails about hooking up at weddings. 

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Frotcast 258: Guest Matt Ufford Talks Adam Sandler, Gawker Drama, and PISTOL DRONE

comedy, movies

SB Nation video (and text!) personality Matt Ufford guest stars this week (with Matt Lieb and Vince Mancini) as we talk about Pixels/Adam Sandler, and this week in pop culture, including Gawker’s Geithner drama, getting to the bottom of Taylor Swift’s latest beef, and our Pistol Drone for President campaign. Plus, your emails.
00:00 – Matt Lieb’s wonderful comedy bit about electric skateboards.2:00 – PIXELS. I describe the plot for Ufford. “I would not have come on this week if I knew this was what I was in for.”6:30 – We talk about Ufford’s tweet about Adam Sandler’s ‘Fart Vacation,’ and what it says about Adam Sandler movies that some people thought this was a real movie.8:43 – GAWKER DRAMA. We talk about Max Read and Tommy Craggs resigning from Gawker after Gawker took down the Geithner post, and what would have to happen for us to resign in protest from a job we otherwise liked (this from a current Vox employee and an Uproxx employee).19:30 – The way the current advertising system creates an environment that produces the kinds of shitty, click-bait content everyone hates, even the people writing it. 20:50 – Matt Lieb finds his new least favorite Gawker post, “the bravery of Judd Apatow knows no bounds,” a snarky takedown of Judd Apatow’s Cosby impression. Ufford and I explain the inside-baseball factors that cause a post like that to get written, and Lieb and I discuss the viability of Cosby jokes.33:36 – We breakdown my new favorite Amy Schumer thinkpiece, from the Guardian, about how Amy Schumer is now *too* successful, and how that could be “potentially problematic” for her. And society. Or something.44:22 – PISTOL DRONE FOR PRESIDENT! Ufford and Bret’s new social media campaign48:30 – THE TAYLOR SWIFT BEEFDOWN. We try to parse Katy Perry’s incredibly obtuse tweet, and the Matts help us get to the root of the now-legendary Katy Perry/Taylor Swift/Nicki Minaj beef triangle. “I used to know calculus!” sighs Ufford. 58:26 – Your emails. Starting with the guy whose friend named his son “Revin,” continuing with the guy whose on-again-off-again girlfriend is banging her platonic friend on a European island somewhere and how he should feel about that.

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257: Comic-Con Exclusives, Ant-Man, and Suicide Squad with Laremy and Burnsy

movies

Brendan, Bret, and Matt Lieb are out this week (illnesses and extenuating circumstances, couldn’t be helped), but in their place we’ve got Laremy Legel and Ashley Burns joining via Skype. As well as SO MUCH #CONTENT. Turns out, when Matt isn’t around to discuss his sex life, you go deep into the actual Issues of the Day. I’m on the fence about whether this is a good thing. The Ant-Man spoilers are very light, but if you want to avoid them completely, skip from the 27-minutes mark to 34 and you’ll miss everything.
TIME STAMPED #CONTENT
4:44: This week’s fanboy cry sesh: Comic-Con exclusives! Are they exclusive enough anymore? 
5:25: Hey, what ever happened to Nikki Finke?
19:46: Suicide Squad trailer
23:00: C-Tates helping Stan Lee offstage at Comic-Con, and the future of Stan Lee cameos. Like if Stan Lee dies, will Andy Serkis help digitally recreate a Stan Lee cameo?
26:43: First mention of Ant-Man
27:26: Ant-Man end-credits scene spoiler!
28:08: Another Ant-Man end-credits scene spoiler. (sort of. ends about about 28:40)
33:09 – 33:45 Very vague Ant-Man spoilers.
34:50 – 35:30 More slight, vague Ant-Man spoilers.
37:33: Burnsy has a story about meeting a guy from O-Town who is also named Ashley.
38:57: Trainwreck and Judd Apatow. Does he add Melissa-McCarthy-shitting-in-the-street scenes into lady-centric movies to sell them to dudes, or is he just getting blamed for something that’s someone else’s doing? 
45:35: Peter Berg and Caitlyn Jenner
50:05: We try to parse my new favorite RottenTomatoes pull quote. “I’m not sure who’s most responsible for Trainwreck’s ultimate timidity, for the mordant ribaldry evinced in the first half hour or so inexorably oozing into couple-y goo.”
1:09:35: Question from the emails: What is the most 90s movie? 

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256: Ted 2, The Trials Of Jared Fogel And Amy Schumer

comedy

This week on the Frotcast, the world’s best pop culture podcast! Brendan is back in-studio, joining Matt Lieb and Vince Mancini, with guest comedian Torio Van Grol. Topics:-Matt Lieb’s Breakup. Snuggly Rock has crumbled and winter is coming. Matt joins all the dating sites and we discuss the merits of each, from J-Swype (that’s the Jewish Tinder) to FarmersOnly and AshleyMadison.-Dogfight, the backyard brawling documentary from the director of The U. -Jared from Subway’s child porn. Do we hope it’s true or untrue?-Ted 2 – Matt, Vince, and Torio all saw it, and we agreed the funniest bit in it was the stoners in the back row laughing like Beavis & Butthead at all the worst jokes.- Torio is now a Segway tour guide and tells us about an old lady who fell. – The Amy Schumer thinkpiece industry and the internet science of exposing secret racists. “I saw your secret heart!” -Matt Lieb- License to Shill: Why selling out seems like it must be awesome.-Your emails, including how the Frotcast ruined one listener’s relationship with his father.

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255: Oliver Stone’s Snowden, Aaron Sorkin’s Jobs, HBO, and Deaf People’s Orgasms

comedy, movies

First of all… DON’T FREAK OUT! I opened this week’s show with about a minute of Matt Lieb’s stand up. It’s something I’ve been wanting to experiment with. After that, it’s a regular Frotcast, with Matt Lieb, Bret, and Vince, live in studio. 
This week’s topics!-What do deaf people sound like when they orgasm? (Don’t ask how we got on this subject)-The ‘rules’ of comedy and thinkpiece culture.-HBO – Game of Thrones and that BIG TWIST in True Detective-The new ‘Snowden’ movie and Oliver Stone.-Danny Boyle’s ‘Steve Jobs’ and Aaron Sorkin in general. (Quoth Bret: “In the first draft of all Aaron Sorkin’s scripts, the female characters are all named ‘MY EX-WIFE.'”)-The Startup Castle gets evicted

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254: True Detective, Ballers, And Addressing The Haters (With Burnsy!)

movies

This week on the Frotcast, Ben and Burnsy join via Skype, with Vince, Bret, and Steve Post in the Frotquarters. We talk about the first episode of season two of True Detective, an HBO show about some police officers who drink a lot and are very sad about the absurdity of existence. Alt titles: “California Pout Force.” “Grumbleteam Jelloshots.” “The Misanthropolice.” My hypothesis: Colin Farrell’s character isn’t a bad dad. His only crime is caring *too* much. 
Then I address all my numerous haters, from Entourage fans to the defenders of Inside Out’s 100% RottenTomatoes rating. We suspect Pixar sends everyone who defends them in internet comment sections a free pie if they reach 100% on RottenTomatoes and I ruined it for everyone. We talk about Ballers, Burny gives us the latest scoop from Florida, and Steve Post admits that he took a picture of Chris Pratt to the barber and put his thumb over the face. “Make me look like that,” he said, and now he looks like a thumb with Chris Pratt’s hair. Enjoy. 

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Frotcast 253: Inside Out, Jerry Seinfeld, Rachel Dolezal, with Laremy

comedy, movies

With Bret and Matt Lieb joining Vince in the Frotquarters, we open this week with a lengthy, or possibly girthy, discussion of Lebron James’ penis. Laremy joins via Skype to discuss Pixar’s latest, Inside Out, which we both saw. Since we’ve been off for two weeks, we discuss Jerry Seinfeld’s now-infamous “Political Correctness is killing comedy” comment (words Jerry Seinfeld didn’t actually say), and Matt’s perspective as a fellow Jewish comedian (I’m required by law to mention that Matt is Jewish at least once in every post). After that we talk Rachel Dolezal (because who ISN’T talking Rachel Dolezal, am I right??), people whining about Game of Thrones, and Jurassic World. 

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