This week, Ed welcomes very special guest, actor/comedian David Cross (“The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,” “Megamind,” “Arrested Deevlopment”) for a rare in-depth interview. Plus the musical stylings of Gary Stockdale and his band, LIVE in studio! Also we’ve got the comedy news from Julie Mitchell and Vicky Pezza in the chatroom.

Hosts

Ed Crasnick
Julie Mitchell (news)
Vicky Pezza (producer)

Guests

David Cross
Gary Stockdale

Gary Stockdale’s Band

Percussion: Scott Breadman
Guitar: John O’Kennedy
Singers: Janis Liebhart, Amy Englehardt, Greg Whipple

Introduction

VIDEO: East Coast/West Coast Ventriloquism Feud

Ed started the show by disucssing what a crazy undertaking it was this week. We have David Cross calling in from New York City, plus we have a live band in the studio, headed by Gary Stockdale (“Penn and Teller: Bullshit“).

David is having some basic Skype issues. He’s having trouble hearing the show and not himself.

Interview with David Cross

- David’s doing 2 shows. What’s the most exciting thing going on in his life, even if it’s outside show business?

As he enters the “old man” phase of his life, he’s not thrilled by his work any more. The “Todd Margaret” show is over, and he’s happy with it, but he’s just happy with his life, which is rare.

- Is that good for comedy?

No, no, not at all. His creativity is dried up. He feels like relaxing and chopping some trees down, making make some fondue and getting high.

- I heard you joined an Orthodox Temple?

Several.

- Was “Todd Margaret” crafted as a British show? It’s doing well in America, but was it designed to play in England?

David asked Ed what he found “British” about it? Ed responded that it was the tone and the writing, even the pacing.

David says he spent about 6 months in London working on the show, but it doesn’t feel immediately “British” to him. But he’s not sure what it means to be “British” vs. “American.”

He also feels that the British model is the best way to work. You write all 6 episodes, film them all and then edit them together, unlike an American show while it’s being filmed after episodes have already come out.

- Do you have any formal acting training?

He says he’s studied for 30 years under James Lipton.

- When you enter the Gates of Heaven, what do you want to hear God say?

David says he’s not commercially successful enough to be on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.”

“Inside the Actor” sketch from “Mr. Show”

- Did you enjoy “Mr. Show” while you were making it? Did you have a good time making it?

In the first two seasons, yes, definitely. There was a lot of pressure and it sometimes put a strain on David’s relationship to Bob Odenkirk, especially in the later years.

- Was “Cross Comedy,” a show David used to do at Catch a Rising Star, an inspiration for “Mr. Show”?

Not really. There were some elements of “Cross Comedy” that made it over to “Mr. Show,” but the HBO series came about because of the odd chemistry and different approaches of Bob and David. They had different takes on what was funny but a lot of respect for one another’s styles and philosophies. David had seen Bob’s one man show, which also had elements that made it into the show.

David also discussed starting to do stand-up at age 17 in Atlanta. All the opening acts he would follow were doing “redneck humor,” easy humor, and getting laughs. Though his humor and “voice” didn’t develop for years after that, he felt the whole time that it was sub-par and he developed sort of an attitude.

- Ed and David then reminisced about a performance David did at a San Francisco comedy competition.

David and Janeane Garofalo, Jeff Carlin, Ed Crasnick at others were at an outdoor Paul Masson winery. They’re all still unknowns, and are competing against one another, but they all know each other. It’s maybe 1990. David had drank a lot of wine before going up (this was Day maybe 4 of 7 of the competition so he had given up on doing well. The guy who ended up winning was named Henry Cho, and he was awful.)

At some point, David took his pants off. He started pouring out some Masson wine and insulting it. He then walked through the audience in his tighty-whiteys, just chatting with the audience. Ed describes it as “like a moment from a movie.” Jeff Garlin later was angry about it

- What’s the deal with this “Arrested Development” movie? There was a poster…is that fake?

David says he’d love to have an “Arrested” movie happening. The first thing you need for a movie is a script, and so far, there’s still no script.

- Have you talked to Mitchell Hurwitz about it?

He’s very busy and wants to make money. “Arrested Development” won’t make him all that much. You’d think it would have made him rich, because it’s so popular, but it didn’t. Unless you’re the top 1% and your show is on for years, you don’t make a lot. So that’s Mitchell’s main concern.

David does know what the potential story would be, and it’s great and funny, and David would love it to happen. He thinks he speaks for the whole cast.

- How much of the Tobias character was on the page? How much leeway did David have with the role?

He had a lot to do with developing the character initially.

As far as improvising, there was a bit of that in the first season, but none beyond that. The script’s because so dense and complicated, there wasn’t room for riffing.

Performance by Gary Stockdale

The band played a song called “Easier.”

David said he can’t believe Ed made him sit through the performance.

More with David Cross

- What’s your Hollywood Horror Story? What were the worst notes you ever received?

David’s been lucky not to have bad experiences with directors. One crazy note he got was during “Arrested Development.” An executive came over and told them to tighten it up and quicken the pace. Then she pointed to David and said, “Funnier!” It was the most unproductive note he ever got. “Do it funnier.”

- Doing animated films like “Curious George” and “Megamind”…do you like doing the voice acting?

He does. It’s fun. It’s different because you’re not playing off of anyone. Everyone else is off 20 feet away and you’re by yourself. So it’s different. But the process of doing it and seeing the end result is really satisfying, maybe more satisfying than doing live action acting.

Another Song from Gary Stockdale

Stockdale started by introducing his band.

More with David Cross

While he was gone, he checked on his Fantasy Football team and he lost by half a point.

- Are you still a Boston sports fan?

He’s a big Red Sox fan. He always hated the Patriots. He also loved the ’80s and early ’90s Celtics team, but not so muh any more.

He enjoys being a Red Sox fan in New York. The Yankees and their fans are annoying, but in a playfully adversarial way.

- If he was offered a great project that would last 3 years, but he MUST come back to Los Angeles, would he take it?

He doesn’t see that happening. He’s not opposed to it, and is used to living where he has to live to work for his whole life. If the project was really amazing, he’d do it.

News with Julie Mitchell

Julie actually met Amber Tamblyn a few weeks ago on a set. She can’t reveal the name of the project but it’s on her IMDb page.

She was also excited because last week, she was a stand-in for a voice acting session. She said both of her lines.

Julie’s website for BettyandDD.com also has now received 450 visits, so she’s on her way to being famous.

She also talked about shows like “Children’s Hospital,” which started on the Web before moving to TV. Ed asked if she thinks “This Week in Comedy” may become a TV show. She thinks it will be the first podcast made into a show.

Next week, we have Taylor Negron and a Telly Savalas impersonator.

Clip from “Todd Margaret”: Liquor License