‘Elf Unwrapped’ With Andy Richter

Anthony is joined by actor, comedian, and author Andy Richter to discuss his new book, ‘Elf Unwrapped,’ an oral history of the making of the holiday classic ‘Elf.’ The guys discuss their experiences with improv, taking creative risks, and Andy’s favorite behind-the-scenes stories from the film. They also explore his collaboration with cowriter Aaron Karo, the lessons he learned from writing the book, and his experience working on the film ‘Obsession.’ 00:00 - Open02:40 - Introduction: Improv, Creative Risks, and Oral Histories12:13 - Chapter 1: Favorite ‘Elf’ Anecdotes28:00 - Chapter 2: Cowriting With Aaron Karo34:35 - Chapter 3: Lessons From Writing ‘Elf Unwrapped’41:10 - Chapter 4: Jeselnik Book Club Gauntlet56:33 - Chapter 5: One Additional Question (Behind the Scenes of ‘Obsession’)58:20 - Acknowledgments: Andy’s gift and book rec1:04:39 - To Be Continued: ‘The Red Dress’ with Dr. Frank Huyler Books discussed in this episode: ‘Elf Unwrapped’ by Andy Richter and Aaron Karo‘Truth in Comedy’ by Charna Halpern, Del Close, and Kim “Howard” Johnson‘Save the Cat!’ by Blake Snyder‘As You Wish’ by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden‘Please Kill Me’ by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain‘Tai-Pan’ by James Clavell‘Shogun’ by James Clavell‘The Man From the Train’ by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James‘The Red Dress’ by Frank Huyler Email me your thoughts and questions about our next book club selection, ‘The Friend,’ by November 24 at [email protected]. Join Jeselnik Book Club: https://anthonyjeselnik.com/the-jeselnik-book-clubSave the Jeselnik Book Club audiobooks playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXdm9jUEbwwfR?si=8c8f714014474a83Tour dates: https://anthonyjeselnik.com/tourYou can order ‘The Friend’ and all the Jeselnik Book Club picks through our Bookshop.org shop: https://bookshop.org/shop/anthonyjeselnik Website: https://www.anthonyjeselnik.com/the-jeselnik-book-clubShop the books: https://bookshop.org/shop/anthonyjeselnikFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyjeselnikFollow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@anthonyjeselnik Host: Anthony JeselnikGuest: Andy RichterSupervising Producer: Magdalena MunaoTalent Booker: Paige GarbariniCreative Producer: Daniel ComerTechnical Director: Chris WohlersEditor: Matt PevicSocial: Kelsey CarterSet Design: Jonathan Ratliff and Gitu MehraAdditional Production Supervision: Jack Wilson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

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• 1:01Anthony Jeselnik?

  Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Jesselnick Book Club. This has been going great so far. I've got a fun one this week, and I've got to explain what I'm doing here. Okay, I'm gonna walk you through this. This week, I am talking to my friend about a book called Elf Unwrapped, the story of the making of the movie Elf. And you're wondering, Anthony, why is Anthony Jeselnik doing an episode of Jeselnik Book Club, talking about the movie Elf? A children's movie, a family movie that came out 25 years ago. I'm gonna tell you right now, do not stop watching this video.

• 1:44Anthony Jeselnik?

  A couple of months ago, I saw a clip of Will Ferrell talking to Amy Poehler on her podcast, which is on The Ringer. So you know it's gotta be good. And he was talking about a moment in his career. We had just left SNL. He is making the movie Elf. He's agreed to do this. And he's sitting in a trailer, dressed up as an elf. You've seen the movie. And he is like, what did I do? Is this a huge mistake? Have I ruined my career before it's really gotten started? And of course, we now know that that is now a Christmas classic. I think the last great Christmas movie, and that's 25 years old. And I was fascinated by that aspect of it. And I wanted to know more. And then I saw that my friend, Andy Richter,

• 2:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  has written this book about the making of the movie Elf. And I was like, I want to read that. Here's how much I wanted to read it. I have not seen the movie Elf. I was 22, 23 years old when that came out. I just didn't see it. I've seen enough clips to know that, what it's about. I've seen the funny parts. I've seen so much of the movie. But reading the book, I was like, oh, I've never seen this. When I saw the end, I was like, oh, I definitely have not seen this movie. But I love it as an artistic, as a piece of art about a modern masterpiece, I assume. And so I wanted to know more about this movie. I've read the book. I love the book. And again, Jeselnik Book Club is trying to get you to read. Maybe you're not into novels.

• 3:13Anthony Jeselnik?

  Maybe you want to read something that is easy, that you can kind of fly through, that is informative. And again, I really enjoyed the book. I would not have my next guest on if I did not love this book and I enjoyed the hell out of it. It's a great thing to read in between big, heavy novels like we've been discussing. But I'm thrilled to have my friend, Andy Richter, on the pod.

• 3:36Speaker 03

  Thank you. And I'm very glad that you liked the book.

• 3:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  I love the book.

• 3:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, thank you.

• 3:39Anthony Jeselnik?

  It felt like, and this is a huge compliment, I thought it felt like you were just talking to me.

• 3:44Speaker 03

  Oh, good.

• 3:45Anthony Jeselnik?

  In a way that I think a lot of these books are trying to be. Maybe it's because I know you a little bit, but it really felt like... I mean, you did the audiobook, right?

• 3:52Speaker 03

  Yes, I do.

• 3:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  Now, when you did this, did you Aaron Caro?

• 3:56Speaker 03

  Yeah, Kairo.

• 3:57Anthony Jeselnik?

  Kairo.

• 3:57Speaker 03

  Kairo, like the corn syrup.

• 3:59Anthony Jeselnik?

  I know him from my early days of stand-up.

• 4:01Speaker 03

  Oh, you do? Oh, you're right. He did stand, yeah.

• 4:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  I met him a few times.

• 4:03Speaker 03

  I don't know if he still does stand-up. But yeah, he was a stand-up for a while, for sure.

• 4:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, I met him way back, so I recognized the name.

• 4:08Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 4:09Anthony Jeselnik?

  How does that work? Actually, we know, we're gonna get into that in a second. Don't answer that.

• 4:13Speaker 03

  I won't.

• 4:13Anthony Jeselnik?

  He's in the back of your mind.

• 4:15Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 4:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  Table it. Have you ever had a moment in your career like Will Ferrell's? Where you were sitting in a room, you decided, you said yes to a project, and then you're sitting there. For some people, it's a commercial.

• 4:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 4:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  You know, some people, it's like a movie or a TV show. Where that like, did I fuck up?

• 4:35Speaker 03

  You know, I never, I don't think so. But I also just think that's because I was in similar circumstances, you know, like being the star of something. You know, like, because that's the first time he was number one on the call sheet, as we say. Like, in the book, we talk, he mentions that he had been one of the stars of Night at the Roxbury. But he says Chris Catan was actually number one. He was number two. So there's a lot of, and he was coming from SNL. You know, there was a lot of attention on him. I don't feel like I've ever had that much attention on me. And when I was number one on things,

• 5:20Speaker 03

  I just was so amped about them happening that, say, like, you know, like, I had a show, Andy Richter Controls the Universe. I never felt like, oh, no, what have I done? Because I had a big hand in helping it get made. And, you know, and a lot of me was in there. So I was just happy to have it done. I can't really, I mean, I might have had some one-off, like, you know, you do a day on a shitty movie, and you're like, oh, God, I hope my friends don't see this. But I, nothing that comes, I've pushed it all down.

• 5:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  I hosted Last Comic Standing, the final season of that show. I was the nail in the coffin.

• 5:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 5:57Anthony Jeselnik?

  But before we ever filmed it, I agreed to this deal. They announce us. And I wanted to do it to work with Norm MacDonald.

• 6:03Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 6:03Anthony Jeselnik?

  And then I had to do a photo shoot. And then I see the final poster. And I was humiliated. It's like, I'm a huge smile on my face. I'm wearing a suit. Like, I'm like pulling the curtain back on the other judges that I was furious and was like, what did I do? And then I had to go film it. It wasn't like I had filmed it, and then it was like gonna come out later.

• 6:22Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 6:23Anthony Jeselnik?

  But that was a, that was a tough one.

• 6:25Speaker 03

  See, I also have minimal shame about stuff like that. I just, I'm like, oh, I look like an asshole? Oh, what a surprise. I don't, I never, like, if they want, you know, at the end of things, they're often, you have to do those photos. And they want them to be, like, when you drive around here and you see a billboard for a new show, the picture's always like,

• 6:50Speaker 03

  they're just so fucking stupid and awful. But the people that do that love that. They want that. So whenever I'm in a photo shoot like that, I'm like, because then you get to go home. Like, take what you want, just let me go home, you know?

• 7:05Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, you talk about this in the book, but you are an improviser. Do you still think of yourself as an improviser? Or you are now an actor?

• 7:14Speaker 03

  I'm more an actor now because I don't improv, I don't improv. Well, I improvise all the time because I don't even, you know...

• 7:20Anthony Jeselnik?

  You can't learn your lines.

• 7:22Speaker 03

  No, I mean, I'm making my living mostly through hosting things now. So, I mean, and I've done game show hosting and stuff. So, I mean, I kind of, now I think of myself more as like

• 7:36Speaker 03

  a TV performer, like a journeyman on TV. Even, you know, or in the UK, they say a presenter, you know? I think I kind of am falling into that category. I really, my preference is to act. I really would love to. I mean, I enjoy it the most, and I feel like it's the biggest challenge for me. But I have done lots and lots of talking on camera. And it is a form of improvisation, but it's not scene work. I don't do scene work anymore. I have a lot of friends who even are like up to my age, who are still doing improv regularly. And, I mean, God bless them, but I'm just like, you know...

• 8:19Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's over.

• 8:19Speaker 03

  It's too much stuff on TV. I gotta stay home at night.

• 8:23Anthony Jeselnik?

  You talk in the book a little bit about studying improv in Chicago.

• 8:26Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 8:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  You meet all these people.

• 8:27Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 8:27Anthony Jeselnik?

  You meet all these, like, people who are stars now. When you're studying improv, is there any reading involved in that? Like, it feels like books about comedy and coming from stand-up, there weren't many books to read about how to do stand-up.

• 8:39Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  Are there books, like, did Del Close write a book that everyone was, you've got to read this to understand?

• 8:44Speaker 03

  Yeah, there, I think it's, it's called like The Art of Improv or something like that. But yeah, Del Close and Sharna Heupner wrote a book that is one of the sort of, you know...

• 8:57Speaker 03

  Primary textbook bibles of long form improvisation. Uh, I for- I forget the name of it. Truth in comedy, truth in comedy is what it's called. And, um, I, I think I bought it and I, but I don't think I read it.

• 9:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, it's tough to read.

• 9:14Speaker 03

  It, I was in class and I felt like that's where I'm gonna, where I'm gonna learn stuff, you know? It was the opposite of, like, when I went to college, uh, I, well, no, it's, it, it was kinda the same. I, in college, I went to class, but I didn't much do the reading. Because class, I felt like the guy giving me the test, or the woman giving me the test, is gonna be up there giving the information. So that's probably the information I should, I should pick out more than what's in the book. Um, you know, and I mean, I could've tried harder, but you know, I've got a pretty good B student, B plus, A minus student, so.

• 9:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  What'd you go to school?

• 9:53Speaker 03

  Uh, University of Illinois. I started out there and then I finished at Columbia College. I went to film school.

• 9:58Anthony Jeselnik?

  Okay.

• 9:58Speaker 03

  Which, I mean, come on, film school, you watch movies.

• 10:01Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, I read a book about stand-up comedy before I started, but I just picked the thinnest book.

• 10:05Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 10:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  That was about stand-up comedy. Nobody wants to read about these things.

• 10:09Speaker 03

  I, it's the same thing, like, I've never read a book about writing, you know, like, there's these.

• 10:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  Save the cash.

• 10:15Speaker 03

  Yeah, these screenwriting books, I just am like, I don't know, I just feel like I've read enough scripts. So much of what I, uh, what I do, like, I do voice-overs and, and they, you know, there are people, like, they teach voiceover classes. I just feel like.

• 10:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's a scam.

• 10:31Speaker 03

  Listen to the radio and do what they do, you know, it's like, how hard can it be?

• 10:36Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 10:36Speaker 03

  You know?

• 10:37Anthony Jeselnik?

  Was there anything you've read, I mean, this is a certain genre of book. It's not an oral history.

• 10:41Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 10:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  But it is, you're just kind of like, you're interviewing people, I mean, you, not you, I assume that's Aaron Caro.

• 10:46Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 10:47Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, but, um, did you, was there anything you read to prepare from, like, this book? Were there any books about the making of?

• 10:54Speaker 03

  Yeah, there were, there's a, um, Cary Elwes wrote a book about the making of The Princess Bride.

• 11:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 11:00Speaker 03

  Um, and, and that was, they, that was sort of rec- recommended to me as, here's a template. We want something sorta like this. Cause when they said, they said oral history and to me, that means, uh, and I'm gonna forget the name, but that one about punk. It, it's just, it's all the dialogue of the people that.

• 11:21Anthony Jeselnik?

  Please kill me?

• 11:22Speaker 03

  Yeah, please kill me. Like that, cause that, to me, that's an oral history. Just, you're just seeing chunks of dialogue from what people say.

• 11:30Anthony Jeselnik?

  There was that book about SNL that was similar.

• 11:32Speaker 03

  Exactly.

• 11:32Anthony Jeselnik?

  I love those books.

• 11:33Speaker 03

  I love those books, yeah.

• 11:35Anthony Jeselnik?

  Very easy to read.

• 11:36Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 11:37Anthony Jeselnik?

  And you get so many different points of view.

• 11:38Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 11:39Anthony Jeselnik?

  On the same thing, it's just like organizing.

• 11:41Speaker 03

  It, it, there's something cinematic about it, too. It's like, you're, it's less telling and more showing, I think, when you, when you're just hearing what people actually said. And that's, somebody had said they wanted an oral history and this, it's not really an oral history. I mean, it's a, it's a making of, basically.

• 11:58Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 11:58Speaker 03

  Um, but the, the Cary Elwes book about The Princess Bride was, uh, was a very good sort of, was a good template for it. Although, he came on my podcast and he told me that when he was, it was announced that he was gonna do the book. Norman Lear, who produced it, gave him a bound copy of all the call sheets. So he had a call sheet for every day of, and I was like, oh my god, I would've killed for that.

• 12:27Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 12:27Speaker 03

  Cause then you can go and you're like, you can know exactly what was shot on each day and it can, you know, jog your memory. And he said he, absolutely, that was like, he, he used it, you know, very religiously, so it would jog your memory. Cause one of the things we ran into with this is, it's 23 years ago. And all the people we interviewed, you know, we want anecdotes, we want stuff that happened, you know, the juicy stuff that happened on the set. And people are like, they had stuff, but then they're like, well, that's all like, you know, there's only so much, it was so long ago, you know?

• 13:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's a perfect, uh, lead-in to chapter one.

• 13:06Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm still, I'm really into the chapters of it all. I assume the viewers at home are into it. I had said before, I wanted like a David Fincher, chapter one, but then the font is clearly, who's the guy who directed Rushmore?

• 13:20Speaker 03

  Um, uh, what's his name?

• 13:24Anthony Jeselnik?

  Wes Anderson. It's more Wes Anderson when you watch it. Uh, it's like David Fincher and Wes Anderson had a baby.

• 13:30Speaker 03

  Hmm.

• 13:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  That was Miss Kim, jumping in when I needed her most. Thank you, Miss Kim.

• 13:35Speaker 03

  Thank you, Miss Kim.

• 13:36Anthony Jeselnik?

  Chapter one, what are your favorite, what were your favorite anecdotes from, uh, Elf or Elf Unwrapped? Like, I've got mine.

• 13:42Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:42Anthony Jeselnik?

  That stuck out to me, it was like, anything with James Caan.

• 13:44Speaker 03

  Ja- uh, James Caan was, is a treasure.

• 13:47Anthony Jeselnik?

  Like, that chapter alone, I'm, I was so glad he dedicated an entire chapter to him.

• 13:51Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  And like, your love, I mean, before you even got on set, you, the, the movie Thief was huge for you.

• 13:56Speaker 03

  Was a big, was a, uh, a seminal, uh, thing for me because I saw it and I was starting to think about, maybe I'd like to be in show business in some way and I still, I couldn't admit I wanted to be a performer, I, but I, I start, and I started to become aware that movies, like, people had to make movies, you know, like, that was a job. And, you know, Blues Brothers was a big thing for Chicago because it was so Chicago and there were so many, so many places that you saw that were local and so it seemed like very, uh, attainable. And, and Thief was very, it was awesome, I still love it.

• 14:41Speaker 03

  It's a, I think, one of Michael Mann's best movies. And, um, I recognized everything, like, I, you know, the diner scene that, like, I'd eat, I would eat at that diner. It was a Howard Johnson's over the highway, you know, that, uh, and, and so it seemed very attainable, like, oh, this is something that someone can actually do for a living without saying they wanna be Tom Cruise, you know? Um, so yeah, and then, and he also, too, is just, he, there's a couple of movie stars that are, uh, I, I, I just, I, I love to watch and he's one of them.

• 15:23Speaker 03

  And, um, and I've always loved him, I, it was, and I'm not like a big hero wor- you know, like, I don't have like a lot of like hero heroes, but he definitely was one and I, and when I found out he was gonna be working on this, I was very excited to, to be there with him.

• 15:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  How long did you wait until you fanned out? Cause he's an intimidating guy. Did, were you right away like, Mr. Caan, the movie Thief changed my life? Or did you wait?

• 15:48Speaker 03

  I think I might've said something to him about Thief, but that was it. Like, I had, I had had enough experience on Conan around famous people that I.

• 15:58Anthony Jeselnik?

  Leave him alone.

• 15:59Speaker 03

  Yeah, leave him alone. Whenever there was, like, somebody that I would, like, you know, I sat next to Michael Caine.

• 16:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  Mm-hmm.

• 16:06Speaker 03

  Which is another, like, he's another, like, just, he's.

• 16:09Anthony Jeselnik?

  Hollywood royalty.

• 16:10Speaker 03

  Just gigantic in my estimation. I might've said three words, you know, like, hi, you know? Cause I, what am I gonna say? Hey, Michael Caine, you're Michael Caine, you know? And, and I just would feel so stupid and timid that I just wouldn't. And, um, and so, no, I don't think I ever did that with him. And I also know, like, I had enough experi- no famous person wants that.

• 16:37Anthony Jeselnik?

  Mm-hmm.

• 16:37Speaker 03

  I mean, if, and if they do, I don't wanna give it to them, cause they're, they're shallow.

• 16:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm mean when I'm around famous people.

• 16:43Speaker 03

  Are you?

• 16:43Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm short and mean because I think like, I don't wanna kiss their ass.

• 16:46Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 16:46Anthony Jeselnik?

  And also, I, I just, I'm in my own head.

• 16:49Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 16:49Anthony Jeselnik?

  When they're in the room, that I just wanna get away. I've had like, Jonah Hill come up to me in a movie theater and be like, hey, I'm a big fan, and I'm like, thanks. And I walk away and I'm like, why didn't I tell him I loved Wolf of Wall Street? Like, that would've been an easy compliment.

• 17:02Speaker 03

  Is it insecurity on your part, do you think, or?

• 17:04Anthony Jeselnik?

  I think I just, all of this like rushes into where you don't wanna fan out.

• 17:08Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:09Anthony Jeselnik?

  You don't want to annoy them.

• 17:11Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:11Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, that I just don't know, I don't know what to say and afterwards I always think, oh, I, I had compliments ready to go, of things I can legitimately tell you.

• 17:18Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:18Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm a fan of, but in the moment, I'm like, just get out of there.

• 17:21Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 17:21Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's like, it's like reality's bending.

• 17:23Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:24Anthony Jeselnik?

  And I wanna, I just wanna get away.

• 17:25Speaker 03

  I had a good one the other day, cause, uh, Conan, I, I do my podcast in the same, uh, the same studio that Conan does his. And John Cena, I was there to do something else and John, he had John Cena in. And I real, I, I love John Cena and, I mean, I'm, I don't even really know him that much from wrestling because he kind of came into wrest- I was a wrestling fan and then I kinda, you know, in my adult life and having children, I just kind of stopped watching. And, um.

• 17:55Anthony Jeselnik?

  He sold out.

• 17:56Speaker 03

  But I. But I, he is a really cool, he's an amazing actor, he's fantastic, he's way better than he needs to be. And he also is just a really, he's a cool presence in the world. He just is, he's a, he thinks right and, and I really like him a lot. And I saw him and, you know, we cha- and he, we chatted a little bit and when he was leaving, I said, "I really appreciate your presence in the world." And he, you know, it's like, "Well, thank you for that." And I was like, I was so proud that I, like, it came out right, you know?

• 18:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  Is Jon seen in the movie Elf?

• 18:31Speaker 03

  No.

• 18:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  Then let's focus up, Andy.

• 18:32Speaker 03

  Okay, I'm sorry.

• 18:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  Back to the movie Elf.

• 18:34Speaker 03

  I'm sorry.

• 18:35Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'll tell you my favorite anecdote.

• 18:36Speaker 03

  It's not a book.

• 18:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  From, from the, uh, from the, from the book is, you had so many great interviews, people had a blast making this movie and people, it like almost didn't work out. There's so many things in the beginning of the book where it's like, you're on, it's this balancing act of you're watching these players come in, it's like watching the Avengers get formed. You know, Jon Favreau's first or second movie directing or first movie directing?

• 18:59Speaker 03

  Second. It was the second one he directed, yeah, yeah.

• 19:01Anthony Jeselnik?

  He did May, but nothing that would be like a big budget.

• 19:03Speaker 03

  Yeah, May didn't, it didn't set the world on fire, so it, it, it's like, people were like, "Oh, okay."

• 19:09Anthony Jeselnik?

  Will Ferrell was a tough sell, uh, at the time, and now of course, he's like a comedy god.

• 19:14Speaker 03

  Of course.

• 19:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  Um, and, uh, there was a guy, one of my favorite anecdotes later on, is the guy, the actor who, he's like a character actor, who comes in to read one line. It's like toward the end of the book where I think it's like, "Your mail's here," or something like that. In fact, they grab him and like, "Hey, are you down to like not do that? And we're gonna give you an entire day of improvisation messing around. You're now like a major, like a memorable character."

• 19:37Speaker 03

  Yeah. Mark Atchison, he's a local.

• 19:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  What's his name?

• 19:40Speaker 03

  Mark Atchison, he's a, he's a Vancouver local.

• 19:43Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, who, uh, just nailed the role and was down for it and was like, "This was the best day of my life."

• 19:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:48Anthony Jeselnik?

  As an actor.

• 19:49Speaker 03

  For people that don't know, uh, he's the guy in the mailroom. He's the guy with the long hair and the really funny part is like, cause he looks like, well, he says he was born looking forty, but like the big joke is like, Will asks him, cause they end up getting drunk and tickling each other and, uh, Will asks him like, "How old are you?" And he's like, "Twenty-six," and he doesn't, you know?

• 20:11Anthony Jeselnik?

  Sure.

• 20:12Speaker 03

  Which the studio had a problem with that. They were like, "That guy doesn't look twenty-six," and they had to be explained, "That's, yeah, that's the joke."

• 20:19Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, I mean, it's fun to see how, like, how often this could have gone off the rails.

• 20:23Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:24Anthony Jeselnik?

  With studio interference, you know, people, the, the wrong people, uh, accepting the role or ta- or taking things on.

• 20:30Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 20:30Anthony Jeselnik?

  Um, the casting, again, they nailed the casting.

• 20:32Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, and just didn't, didn't mess it up. So many films like look great on paper.

• 20:37Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 20:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  Or, and, or look bad on paper and then come out great, that it's just, it's interesting to see how, like, this is a movie, movies are made by committee.

• 20:45Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 20:45Anthony Jeselnik?

  And all the different ways, like, I loved, um, The Tale of the Old School Cut.

• 20:50Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:51Anthony Jeselnik?

  Where while this movie's being made, no one's sure about Will Ferrell yet.

• 20:53Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 20:54Anthony Jeselnik?

  Except Kent Alterman, shout out to Comedy Central, back in the day, Kent Alterman, a champion of the Jusselnic offensive until the second season. And, uh, and a huge part of getting this movie made, the way you guys wanted it to be made.

• 21:09Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 21:10Anthony Jeselnik?

  Um, but, uh, The Old School Cut, tell me about that.

• 21:14Speaker 03

  Well, as you said, there, there, there were, it, it, the people that hold on to the money had to be convinced that Will Ferrell was a bankable asset. That it was, it was a good idea to have him

• 21:31Speaker 03

  lead this movie. And there was no, they, they don't, they don't base these things on hunches, they base these things on numbers. And there were no numbers to back that up. There was Kent having a big belief in him, there was a couple other people having a big belief in him. And then other people trusting Kent to then go up to Bob Shay, who ran New Line, and say, "Give us," you know, I don't know, how, I can't remember, but you know, a couple of ten million dollars, twenty million dollars to make this movie. And, uh, and there was no guarantee, there was no guarantee that he, it could, it could flop, it could be, you know, I mean, you think about all the comedians that have done one, one movie and it just, it doesn't, nothing happens.

• 22:17Speaker 03

  In the middle of shooting it, Old School comes out, Will steals Old School, all of a sudden, you know, it turns on a dime and Will Ferrell's the hottest, funniest guy ever. The guys that, with the money and the guys at the studio are like, "That's what the movie should be." It should be frat humor. Like it should do, like, take out all that sentimentality and all that warm Christmas shit, just, just fart jokes and whatever. So there was an edit of the movie that was referred to as The Old School Cut. That I never, I mean, I don't know, probably six people saw it, you know? And, um, and it was, it was, it was universally, uh, panned. Everyone's like, "This does not work." This is not what it's supposed to be.

• 23:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's a cool moment in the book too, is when they finally test the movie.

• 23:05Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  They show families and families are like, "We love this."

• 23:08Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  And they're like, "But what about Will's audience?" And they show it to frat guys and they're like, "We love this."

• 23:12Speaker 03

  We love it.

• 23:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Like, it is just perfectly done. They, they, the Rankin-Bass, is, am I pronouncing that correctly?

• 23:17Speaker 03

  Yes, you are, you are.

• 23:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  Rankin-Bass, the old, like Rudolph and the, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, those old comedy, not comedy specials.

• 23:24Speaker 03

  Stop motion, uh, Christmas specials that are still on today, you know, they're still on, yeah.

• 23:29Anthony Jeselnik?

  They hold up.

• 23:29Speaker 03

  Yeah, I, I watch, well, I mean, I got a little kid now, again, I have older kids and a little one, and that, we watch them every year, you know?

• 23:36Anthony Jeselnik?

  And maybe it's like being in the business, but seeing them have to scramble, like, they make these costumes to, to, uh, pay homage to the Rankin-Bass cartoons.

• 23:46Speaker 03

  A tip of the hat.

• 23:47Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's too close.

• 23:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:48Anthony Jeselnik?

  The lawyers come in, you gotta make changes, the, the scrambling.

• 23:51Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  And everything is by the seat of the pants. You would think that this, the script was written and, uh, they've got the script, they get everybody in place and they just shoot it. It's like, no, there's rewrites happening day of.

• 24:02Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 24:03Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, I think it was ten years from the time the first author of the script turned it in.

• 24:07Speaker 03

  Something like that.

• 24:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  To when the thing got, was, started being shot.

• 24:10Speaker 03

  It was either eight to ten, but it was that long for sure, that it was in turnaround for that. Yeah, you know, I, I mean, this is something I figured out.

• 24:19Speaker 03

  Uh, you, you, I grew up with family businesses. My mom had a, a kitchen contracting business, my stepfather was a plumber. And I saw the way they ran their business and it was not, there was no like forward planning or spreadsheets with like what our quarterly, you know, goals are. It was all putting out fires. It was sitting there until like, "Oh shit, something's wrong, I gotta fix that." And it's the same, it's the same when you get up into show business. There, you, you expect there to be all these like smooth, practiced professionals who are on top of everything. No.

• 24:53Anthony Jeselnik?

  No.

• 24:54Speaker 03

  There's, it still is, it still is people, it's still is imperfect people, it's still is like, "Oh shit, we missed something, now what do we do? We all have to scramble."

• 25:04Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 25:04Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 25:05Anthony Jeselnik?

  Now, this book is for everyone. Like, I think anyone could read this book. You could read this book to small children who loved the movie Elf. And there's nothing.

• 25:11Speaker 03

  Some swear words, but you know.

• 25:13Anthony Jeselnik?

  A couple swear words, nothing too bad.

• 25:14Speaker 03

  Kids gotta learn that shit.

• 25:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  Is there anything that we, that you wanted to put in the book that there were like, not for the, not this version of it? Anything that you like?

• 25:21Speaker 03

  No, not really. I mean, because nobody wa- uh, nobody wants that. You know, I mean, if I made a bitchy book about Elf, nobody would want that, you know? They, they just, it, it is such a warm spot for people and I'm so happy and feel so lucky and, and proud to be a, a tiny part of it. And now, you know, elbowing my way into a bigger part of it, um, that I wouldn't want to do that. I mean, people, so many people, it's really important to them how much they love this movie, you know? And I mean, and like you said, it was, it was not a sure thing. There was a lot of things that had to go right. And there was a lot of things that had to balance, you know, I mean, um,

• 26:05Speaker 03

  Will Ferrell was coming from what, what you call hard comedy, like joke comedy, like weird comedy. He and Adam McKay, his writing partner at the time, were trying to sell Anchorman. That's what, that was their, what they wanted to do fresh off of SNL. And everybody in town was like, "This is fucking weird. No, I'm not gonna do this movie." Um, and then Elf happens and all of a sudden it's like, "Oh, we do get Anchorman, let's do Anchorman." But if Elf had been made with the same comic sensibility of Anchorman, I don't think, you know, young people, young wise asses like me, you know, back in the day, would have loved it.

• 26:45Speaker 03

  But I don't think kids would love it. It took somebody, and Jon Favreau really had this insistence on doing sort of like something that was super warm and sentimental and that had that kind of ageless attraction like these Rankin-Bass, uh, specials and the, just the romance of them. Um, he was very, you know, he, that's what he wanted. And Will, I don't think that, I don't think that any one of them working alone would have made a success. I think that Jon's version of it might have been, it wouldn't, it wouldn't have had the same laughs, it wouldn't have had the same like Will Ferrell that we know today. And if Will had just been left to his own devices, I think it would have been a funny movie, but it wouldn't have been a beloved movie.

• 27:30Anthony Jeselnik?

  Like, feel too crazy.

• 27:31Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  I also liked, one, one last anecdote from, that I appreciated was, that New Line almost didn't make the movie. It was like, it bounced around to different studios, this project.

• 27:40Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 27:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  Chris Farley was attached at one point to star. And then it would just, the, the fucking option or whatever would go away and they would lose it. New Line got it and then almost didn't make it because it was while they had Lord of the Rings.

• 27:52Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  And for three years, at like in December, Lord of the, another Lord of the Rings came out and they're like, "It's a Christmas movie, we can't," someone else had to be like, "Well, this movie came out in November."

• 28:01Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  Put it out in November and they're like, "Okay."

• 28:03Speaker 03

  It was The Santa Claus.

• 28:04Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 28:04Speaker 03

  That was, that was the template for that, uh, the, the, um, what's his name?

• 28:09Anthony Jeselnik?

  Tim Allen?

• 28:09Speaker 03

  Tim Allen movie, uh, The Santa Claus.

• 28:11Anthony Jeselnik?

  Toolman.

• 28:12Speaker 03

  Came out. I know, I know The Toolman.

• 28:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  Still getting it done.

• 28:15Speaker 03

  Which, uh, have you seen The Sa- have you seen The Santa Claus?

• 28:18Anthony Jeselnik?

  I haven't even seen Elf. You think I would, you would think I would be si- be sitting here talking to me?

• 28:21Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 28:21Anthony Jeselnik?

  If I was like, really loved The Santa Claus?

• 28:24Speaker 03

  I don't know your life, bitch. Uh, no, I mean, uh, The Santa Claus.

• 28:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  Not good?

• 28:32Speaker 03

  Mm-mm.

• 28:32Anthony Jeselnik?

  They made like eight of those.

• 28:33Speaker 03

  He's, it's like the story of a dick. He's just a dick. And then it's like, he's like, but then he turns into Santa, it's like, "Yeah, but he's still kind of a dick," you know? Anyway, that's my little film.

• 28:47Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's, I mean, that's their social media clip.

• 28:48Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 28:49Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's gonna go viral.

• 28:51Speaker 04

  It's me, the

• 28:55Speaker 04

  We don't need the jingle twice. Stop it. This is about vacation inflation and how Priceline negotiates amazing deals on hotels, flights, and rental cars.

• 29:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, but I didn't mention that you can save up to 60% off hotels in the Priceline app.

• 29:13Speaker 04

  Fine. No one deals more deals than Please stop. Touche.

• 29:20Speaker 04

  Priceline.

• 29:20Speaker 00

  LinkedIn is pretty amazing at helping you grow your small business. We cannot make your email response time faster. We can help you sell, market, and hire in one place. We cannot help you find space for your three desk drinks. Why do you have three? And while we can't help you find the perfect volume for your presentation video, LinkedIn can help you find the perfect audience for your business. Grow your small business on LinkedIn. Learn more at LinkedIn.com/SmallBusiness.

• 29:51Speaker 01

  Score the best gifts at Dick's Sporting Goods. Find picks she'll love from FP Movement, Kaliya, Ugg, and Hydro Jug. Check off his list with must-haves from Nike, TaylorMade, On, and Turtle Box. And finish the kids' wish list with trending picks like trading cards and squishies, plus favorites from Adidas and Baseball Lifestyle 101. Shop on Dick's.com and in the Dick's app.

• 30:16Anthony Jeselnik?

  And now it's time for Chapter Two. Speaking of going viral.

• 30:21Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:22Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm interested, and this might be only me.

• 30:24Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:25Anthony Jeselnik?

  But I am interested in the process of working with a co-writer.

• 30:28Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 30:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  Because the book is in your voice. Again, it sounds like you're reading it and your voice is in my head.

• 30:33Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 30:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  And I don't know, and that's, and that's hard to do. But it really does sound like not just, not just someone talking to you, but you talking.

• 30:39Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 30:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  But you, I-

• 30:41Speaker 03

  That's very nice to hear. I'm very glad to hear that.

• 30:43Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, totally pulled it off. And the book, it's structured, you know, it's, it's you telling the story of the making of Elf.

• 30:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:49Anthony Jeselnik?

  And then there's little like, kind of, you know, paragraphs thrown in that are like little fun facts.

• 30:54Speaker 03

  Yes, exactly.

• 30:54Anthony Jeselnik?

  You know, quotes from someone, talking about their, like, little interesting things about the movie.

• 30:59Speaker 03

  Little treats.

• 31:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah. What does Aaron Caro-

• 31:02Speaker 03

  Gero.

• 31:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  Caro. What does Aaron Caro do? I assume he's doing the interviews.

• 31:06Speaker 03

  No.

• 31:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  You talk to people?

• 31:08Speaker 03

  I, the, the interviews are 100% me.

• 31:10Anthony Jeselnik?

  Wow.

• 31:11Speaker 03

  And, and I mean, and one of the, I mean, one of the smart things that they, for hiring me to do this, is that I could get people. Like, I could, I have people's emails, and you know, and there are people, like, producers and people who straight up said, "I don't do this, but if you're asking, I'll do it." So it pays to be nice, people, is what I'm saying. Which maybe you could learn a little lesson from that?

• 31:40Speaker 03

  But, no, I conducted all the interviews. And now, and you know, I've had a podcast now for seven years. So I'm used to interviewing people. And I'm used to kind of, I, I just know, I know that language. And, and Will was actually, I think, Kent Sett, Kent Alterman, who was the development executive who, you know, was the, the captain of the development ship for this. He picked the script, he picked Will, he put them together and, and really went to, went to the mat for them. He was the first one we interviewed, and then Will was like about the second one. And, I mean, and Will and I have known each other for

• 32:20Speaker 03

  a million years and we're friends, so we have a rapport. So it just was natural, I think, for me to talk to the people, and it was natural for them to just kind of open up about it. So yeah, the interviews were, that was, Aaron would sit in with, on them, and at the, and would ask certain, you know, like, there would be like particulars that he would want to ask. And also, and some of them, I think, because he understood there are facts that people will want, you know, that publishers will want. Like, he has mu- he's written a number of books, you know, that sold very well. And so he knows that.

• 33:01Speaker 03

  So there were some times when he'd ask questions that were just, seemed to be more like, "I need to know this for the, you know, the chronological stacking of, of things."

• 33:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Did you guys have a plan going in? Or were you like, "Let's just start at the beginning, and..."

• 33:16Speaker 03

  Just started interviewing people.

• 33:18Anthony Jeselnik?

  I gotta think when you're on set making the movie, no one knows about, no one's talking about, "Hey, this almost didn't get made."

• 33:24Speaker 03

  No.

• 33:24Anthony Jeselnik?

  You know, there's some, you know, the original writer is not on here. So you're just, you're just asking questions and then asking follow-ups. And you're doing all, are you in person or are you on the phone?

• 33:34Speaker 03

  Uh, some, some in person, some Zoom.

• 33:37Anthony Jeselnik?

  Okay.

• 33:39Speaker 03

  So yeah, and we have, we have recordings of all of them, which we were hoping would be a good enough quality to use in the audiobook. Like, when somebody's quoted, we could actually use their quote, but no.

• 33:50Anthony Jeselnik?

  Doesn't work.

• 33:51Speaker 03

  They weren't-

• 33:51Anthony Jeselnik?

  Doesn't work.

• 33:51Speaker 03

  Good enough, yeah.

• 33:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  You do the audiobook?

• 33:54Speaker 03

  I, I read the, the text of the audiobook, and then we had different people do the, the character voices.

• 33:59Anthony Jeselnik?

  At what point are you, when you're writing this book, are you like, "I'm above this part of it"? Like, I'm not go- is Aaron just doing the organizational and typing? Or are you, because again, it is in your voice. Is he just mimicking you? And you're proving it? Or you're writing-

• 34:13Speaker 03

  That, that's kind of what it is. I mean, there are sort of like, the beginning of the book, that's sort of the intro, and that's like, kind, you know, because there's a little bit of who I am, like, because I can't just assume that everybody knows-

• 34:25Anthony Jeselnik?

  Sure.

• 34:25Speaker 03

  -exactly who I am. So there's a little bit of introduction to me, which is just a way on why I was on the movie, and how I fit in the mov- into the movie, and how I fit with the people of the movie. Because I knew so many people that were in the movie before we did the movie. And so I kind of started it, and then, and then I, what I left to Aaron, because he just knew how to do it better, is the, taking the information from the, the interviews, and then laying out sort of the chronology of telling the story, and also the, the, the structure of the book. Like, I, I could have done that,

• 35:08Speaker 03

  but I don't think I would have done it as, as well as he did.

• 35:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, it sounded perfectly.

• 35:13Speaker 03

  Yeah, and he, and then, and then afterwards, and to, to be frank, too, in, our, our deadline was kind of, I think, December of last year, in the middle of December of last year. And when we were in the, like, heat of, like, "We gotta get this book written," I was on Dancing with the Stars. I was dancing four hours a day for seven days a week, minimum. And I was so apolo- I was like, he, I would, I was kind of doing stuff, but I just didn't have the bandwidth. And I was so apologetic, and he's like, "No, no, no, it's okay, it's okay." And then he's, you know, and he kind of told me, like, "You're already doing way more than a lot of people-

• 35:55Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's true.

• 35:55Speaker 03

  -that are actors who write a, you know, I wasn't Bill Shatner. I wasn't just having a phone conversation, and then a novel comes out of it. So he was, he was, and then, when I was done, I actually, when I, when I got eliminated from the show, I used my trailer on that set for, as my office to finish the book. And, and so the, that, I just went through and made sure it sounded like me. And there, and things that didn't sound like me, I took out. Or jokes I wouldn't make, I took out, you know, and jokes that I would make, I put in.

• 36:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  So William Shatner, Tim Allen, is there anyone in Hollywood you do like? That you don't want to-

• 36:33Speaker 03

  You.

• 36:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  Thank you.

• 36:34Speaker 03

  You?

• 36:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  Thank you.

• 36:35Speaker 03

  I count you as in Hollywood. I don't know if you do.

• 36:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, I'm on the outskirts. You know, I'm a rebel.

• 36:40Speaker 03

  Right, exactly.

• 36:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  You know, I'm not-

• 36:41Speaker 03

  You're on the fringe.

• 36:42Anthony Jeselnik?

  The man-

• 36:43Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 36:43Anthony Jeselnik?

  Like you. You're like, you're like a cop.

• 36:46Speaker 03

  Absolutely.

• 36:46Anthony Jeselnik?

  In Hollywood.

• 36:47Speaker 03

  I'm the mayor of Hollywood.

• 36:49Anthony Jeselnik?

  Who was a cop.

• 36:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  All right. Now let's get to Chapter Three.

• 36:54Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 36:57Anthony Jeselnik?

  Andy, I was on your podcast once, Three Questions.

• 36:59Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 37:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  Catch it now on Sirius XM?

• 37:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, but you know, wherever.

• 37:05Anthony Jeselnik?

  Spotify?

• 37:05Speaker 03

  Wherever you get the podcasts.

• 37:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 37:07Speaker 03

  They're everywhere.

• 37:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  It was on Three Questions, and you asked me at the end, "What have you learned?" And I felt like you weren't happy with my answer.

• 37:16Speaker 03

  Oh, really? I don't remember it.

• 37:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  I know, I'm sure you don't.

• 37:18Speaker 03

  I don't, I do not mean that as, as, I don't remember what happened to me yesterday, so don't take offense.

• 37:24Anthony Jeselnik?

  No, I, I'm not offended.

• 37:26Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 37:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  I remember I said, "It's okay to be a problem." And he looked at me like, "You wanted me to say, 'It's important to be present.'"

• 37:34Speaker 03

  No, I think, I think you're, you're reading into that.

• 37:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  I've never read into, into anything in my life.

• 37:40Speaker 03

  Ah, yes, you have.

• 37:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  I have not.

• 37:41Speaker 03

  You, you do constantly.

• 37:43Anthony Jeselnik?

  You, see, you're doing it right now.

• 37:46Speaker 03

  I was not unhappy with that at all and I and I do not have any problem with that philosophy.

• 37:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  Unhappy is not the word, almost concerned. Like, are you okay? Like, that's not a healthy thing to think.

• 37:59Speaker 03

  You are, you have this cool veneer, but underneath there's a guy that's worried.

• 38:03Anthony Jeselnik?

  The veneer is the surface, the veneer is the whole thing, it doesn't get deeper than cool.

• 38:07Speaker 03

  Listen, I know, I know.

• 38:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm the Fonz inside and out. That's why I'm on the Ringer. But what have?

• 38:14Speaker 03

  That's why your shirt and your shoes and your watch all match.

• 38:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's right.

• 38:18Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 38:18Anthony Jeselnik?

  I did this for you.

• 38:19Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, that's a guy that doesn't give a shit, but he wears maroon shirt, maroon shoes and a maroon watch.

• 38:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  I was given this shirt, I've had these shoes for a while, Miss Kimmel will tell you, and the watch is, the watch is new. But I didn't do it because of the shoes and the shirt. I was in Milwaukee days ago performing at the Riverside Theater and they gave me the shirt and I just, I saw an opportunity and I ran with it.

• 38:43Speaker 03

  Okay. You didn't go, yeah, my Chuck Taylors, my maroon Chuck Taylors will go good with this.

• 38:49Anthony Jeselnik?

  Do I sound like that? Yes.

• 38:51Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 38:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  But did I do that? No.

• 38:53Speaker 03

  And my maroon watch.

• 38:55Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's a cool watch.

• 38:56Speaker 03

  It is, Oris is a great brand.

• 38:57Anthony Jeselnik?

  It is, what's yours?

• 38:59Speaker 03

  It's a Rolex.

• 39:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  Oh, I've heard of them.

• 39:02Speaker 03

  It was, uh, this was a, uh, this was a gift from TBS at the end of Conan.

• 39:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  Oh.

• 39:08Speaker 03

  The best swag I've ever gotten.

• 39:10Anthony Jeselnik?

  That is a good, like at the very end?

• 39:11Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 39:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Wow.

• 39:12Speaker 03

  Yeah, my assistant, uh, was, it was like, I mean, it was, it may have been like the last day. Uh, and I was at my house and my assistant was like, they're sending a gift by and I was expecting, you know, a fleece or like a tote bag. And then it was this.

• 39:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's the ultimate gift watch, I think. I've given two watches as gifts.

• 39:31Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 39:32Anthony Jeselnik?

  To my brother, my best friend and they were both, uh, that watch.

• 39:34Speaker 03

  Oh, really?

• 39:35Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, you can't go wrong.

• 39:36Speaker 03

  It is, yeah, no, I love it. It is, it's got, uh...

• 39:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'll believe whatever you say.

• 39:42Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 39:44Anthony Jeselnik?

  I can't see that from here. What does it say? Could you imagine? Conan, 2010 to 2021, and then TBS logo.

• 39:55Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 39:55Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's incredible.

• 39:56Speaker 03

  That's, see that, people will know. This is, if I'm found in a ditch and I'm, and they've taken my wallet, this is how they'll, well, no, they'll probably take this before they'll take my wallet.

• 40:05Anthony Jeselnik?

  Did Conan get the same watch?

• 40:06Speaker 03

  He did.

• 40:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  Okay.

• 40:07Speaker 03

  He did, and I think our executive producer too.

• 40:10Anthony Jeselnik?

  Who's that?

• 40:11Speaker 03

  Jeff Ross.

• 40:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Okay.

• 40:12Speaker 03

  Not Jeffrey Ross.

• 40:13Anthony Jeselnik?

  Of course.

• 40:14Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 40:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  Of course, Jeff, Jeff Ross.

• 40:15Speaker 03

  Jeff Ross.

• 40:16Anthony Jeselnik?

  Couldn't produce anything. Uh, but my question, what have you learned from not just making Elf but writing this book? Like, what surprised you? You had your memories of making Elf.

• 40:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  And they're all, they're all great memories, they're all positive, but you're on that fucking thing for five days.

• 40:33Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  And then you have to do a deep dive into what is not your story, but make it your story.

• 40:38Speaker 03

  Right.

• 40:39Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, it reads as your story, what did you learn?

• 40:43Speaker 03

  Um, that I could, uh, write a book, which was definitely a question. I mean, uh, Carrie at Day Street had more confidence in me when it was her, it was her idea for me to write this book and, and she had more confidence than I did. Uh, and so, yes, I could write a book. Uh, you know, and I, I should say co-wrote a book because I don't, I don't want anybody to think that I'm saying it was all me, uh, you know, I, because Aaron was as important to this as I was.

• 41:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  Probably more so.

• 41:19Speaker 03

  Probably more so, you're probably right. Um, so that's, that was one of them, um...

• 41:27Speaker 03

  How... How much fun it was to just kinda stroll down memory lane with this thing and also to share it with other people, you know, to get to sit and talk to Amy Sedaris about that time and, you know, and just kind of for us to sort of in, you know, kind of spark off each other remembering things that we hadn't, you know? Um, it was, and it was a great, you know, sit down for an hour with all these wonderful people that I had worked with and get to just shoot the breeze with them.

• 41:58Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, it was cool to read because I, this is 25 years since the movie came out.

• 42:01Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 42:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  And so you're doing this. I got my 25 year college reunion coming up, uh, next month.

• 42:06Speaker 03

  Really?

• 42:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, so it's like...

• 42:07Speaker 03

  Are you going?

• 42:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  I am.

• 42:09Speaker 03

  Oh, wow.

• 42:09Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm, I went to college in New Orleans, so I booked a show to make sure I would be there.

• 42:13Speaker 03

  Tulane. Oh, Tulane, sure.

• 42:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, that's the best part of going to Tulane.

• 42:17Speaker 03

  Cause it's Tulane or UNO, right? Aren't those?

• 42:19Anthony Jeselnik?

  Tulane, Loyola.

• 42:20Speaker 03

  Oh, okay.

• 42:20Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, UNO, Xavier, there's a bunch and they get worse after you leave Tulane, you know what I mean? That it's like, it's nice to be able to say.

• 42:27Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, you went to Tulane, yeah, yeah.

• 42:29Anthony Jeselnik?

  But I'm excited to, uh, to do that, but reading the book, I was like, oh, 25 years, like, you know, that was, 25 years ago was the greatest time in our nation's history, if not the world.

• 42:40Speaker 03

  Really?

• 42:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  2001, 9/11 mostly, um, and just that, that carefree feeling of what else can happen. Uh, we, we talk about 9/11 a lot on Jocelyn Book Club, more than you would think, more than anyone could have predicted when, uh, when you guys hired me to work here.

• 43:00Speaker 03

  You said that after this contract was signed. Oh, yeah, and by the way, gonna be a lot of 9/11 stuff.

• 43:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  I've made it very clear at the Ringer that they made a deal with the devil, that they are not in fact in charge, and I don't care what the contract says.

• 43:13Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 43:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  You work for me.

• 43:15Speaker 03

  That's what the Fonz would be concerned with, 9/11, 9/11, like the Twin Towers, your thumbs.

• 43:22Anthony Jeselnik?

  I like that, I'm gonna use that.

• 43:23Speaker 03

  Ayy.

• 43:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  And now it's time for chapter four.

• 43:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  All right, Andy, you've been, you've had a great career.

• 43:33Speaker 03

  Thank you.

• 43:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  Still going on, still going strong, it's almost like a renaissance with Dancing with the Stars, but are you ready? A whole new audience.

• 43:40Speaker 03

  Yeah, that is, that is true.

• 43:42Anthony Jeselnik?

  About like college girls like screaming your name, chasing you down the street like fucking Beatles.

• 43:47Speaker 03

  It's, well, that might be, the Beatles, they just wanted a selfie, they didn't want like, you know, to steal my zippered boots or anything. Uh, no, but yeah, I, I told you this, but that, uh, shortly after Dancing with the Stars, my wife and I went on a trip to New Orleans and there were groups of young women coming out of bars and also too, in that New Orleans style, dressed like they're going to a job interview.

• 44:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Mm-hmm.

• 44:12Speaker 03

  Like in New Orleans, it's like, if you're gonna go out and get fucked up, you gotta dress nice.

• 44:16Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's a southern thing, yeah.

• 44:17Speaker 03

  Yeah, you gotta dress nice, coming out and just like, Andy, we love you so much and, but also like their moms too. And I, you know, it was baffling to me, um, but I'll take it.

• 44:28Anthony Jeselnik?

  Who wouldn't?

• 44:29Speaker 03

  Yeah, the attention of women, it's fantastic, the best.

• 44:32Anthony Jeselnik?

  Are you ready for the Jocelyn Book Club gauntlet?

• 44:35Speaker 03

  Of course.

• 44:35Anthony Jeselnik?

  All right, I'm gonna give you just some statements, you can agree, disagree, what does it make you think of, whatever, you're an improviser, you know this.

• 44:43Speaker 03

  Of course, sure.

• 44:45Anthony Jeselnik?

  Your rich friends should have to buy your book, no free copies.

• 44:51Speaker 03

  Depends on the rich friend, and it depends on friend. Uh, generally speaking, like, I'm not gonna make Conan buy this book, he's getting a free copy, I said no.

• 45:01Anthony Jeselnik?

  I would make him buy the book.

• 45:02Speaker 03

  Hmm, A, A, he wouldn't buy it.

• 45:05Anthony Jeselnik?

  I would bookshop that work.

• 45:06Speaker 03

  Someone would buy it for him, you know, so.

• 45:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's possible. Did you give, have you given away, has anyone asked you for a copy?

• 45:12Speaker 03

  Uh, yes, family.

• 45:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  Okay.

• 45:14Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, definitely.

• 45:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's always family.

• 45:16Speaker 03

  And family, and family like, can I get copies for the woman I work with and, you know, then my neighbor and, and, you know, okay, okay.

• 45:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's always family that stabs you in the back.

• 45:28Speaker 03

  They're, no, they're just, they're leeches, every single one of them.

• 45:32Anthony Jeselnik?

  One, that's, that's showbiz.

• 45:34Speaker 03

  It sure is.

• 45:36Anthony Jeselnik?

  Let's get personal, how did you find out that Santa Claus isn't real?

• 45:41Speaker 03

  Oh, gosh, I don't even remember, honestly. You know what? It was finding presents, it was, it was finding presents and I, my brother's three years older than me and he was like a fucking detective about like where the presents were and we found them and that was like, oh, you know, and then we didn't say, hey, we found the stash of presents and then, uh, Chris, you know, like there's the toy that's from Santa and you're like, I saw it under the bed, you know?

• 46:11Anthony Jeselnik?

  I remember as a kid, very young, this is one of my only memories of like that, it's like four, you're four, you're five, whatever.

• 46:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 46:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  My family had a Christmas party, a bunch of kids there and someone says, oh, I can see Santa's sleigh going through like the sky and everyone runs to the window and half of them like, I see it. And I was mad I couldn't see it, like I thought I was, something was wrong with me.

• 46:31Speaker 03

  Wow.

• 46:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  And the next year I found out that Santa wasn't real and I was just mad at those people.

• 46:35Speaker 03

  For fucking with you.

• 46:36Anthony Jeselnik?

  For making me feel stupid.

• 46:37Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 46:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  Like I, like I had an eye issue, you know, back when I was a kid, why do that to people?

• 46:42Speaker 03

  Right.

• 46:42Anthony Jeselnik?

  But I liked to, my siblings and I, when we were growing up, I was the oldest of five.

• 46:46Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 46:46Anthony Jeselnik?

  We, we knew our parents were, this was all bullshit, the Santa thing.

• 46:49Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 46:50Anthony Jeselnik?

  And they didn't play it too hard, my parents, but they wanted, I had younger siblings, like, keep it magical for them.

• 46:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 46:55Anthony Jeselnik?

  But I liked to, you'd find the presents under the tree, whatever the most, the nicest one was, I would hide. My parents would be like, what did you get? You know, what did Santa get you? And I would tell them everything except for one and they'd be like, wasn't there something else that Santa got you? And I'd be like, no. And then you'd watch my parents freak out, they had misplaced something until I finally told them, but that was how I got my revenge.

• 47:14Speaker 03

  Wow.

• 47:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  As a child, on my parents.

• 47:17Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 47:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  For getting me presents.

• 47:18Speaker 03

  Now I know why you haven't seen Elf, there's a lot of trauma attached to Christmas for you.

• 47:23Anthony Jeselnik?

  I was 22, 23, like I was, it was just, I love the, I can see the poster, I can close my eyes and see the poster for the movie.

• 47:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  And again, their clips are flying around all the time.

• 47:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  That I really felt like I had seen it until I read the book and the last 20 minutes, we talk about how it's not, there's no, the laughs stop for 20 minutes at the end, like it's just, it becomes like a heartfelt movie.

• 47:45Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 47:45Anthony Jeselnik?

  And I was like, oh, I've never, I didn't know any of this.

• 47:48Speaker 03

  Yeah, no, that last 20 minutes are like, uh, Buddy saving Christmas.

• 47:53Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 47:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:54Anthony Jeselnik?

  He crashes the sled and sends a park, no idea.

• 47:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:57Anthony Jeselnik?

  No clue, but love the book. Have you ever had to pretend to read a book that you didn't actually read? I'm thinking like being on a talk show, you have authors on, you have people who have written books.

• 48:06Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 48:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  Have you ever had to fake it for a book?

• 48:10Speaker 03

  I mean, yes, for, I mean, I'll, I will say like, yeah, I read the, I, you know what, I never say I read the book, I say I read some of the book. When somebody's on and I read some of the book, you know?

• 48:21Anthony Jeselnik?

  Dagger.

• 48:22Speaker 03

  Um...

• 48:23Anthony Jeselnik?

  Because you can say I started the book, saying I read some of the book is like, I want, and just enough credit for you not to get mad.

• 48:28Speaker 03

  Right, exactly.

• 48:30Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 48:30Speaker 03

  I will say that to them too, I don't give a fuck, fuck you people, people that come on my show. Uh, no, I mean, I, I just don't wanna, I don't wanna be dishonest, but I do remember, uh...

• 48:45Speaker 03

  Uh, because I, I was married for twenty-five years and then I got divorced and then, you know, dated for a few years and then I got, there was a woman I was dating who, uh, had me read a book and I started it and I, I did, I was like, no, I'm not reading this. And then I, I lied, like, just like, yeah, it was really great. And then she wanted to talk about it more and I was like.

• 49:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  Good stuff.

• 49:07Speaker 03

  I know, I just was like, oh yeah, I love that part. Now.

• 49:11Anthony Jeselnik?

  Did you make it through? I mean, as an improviser, that is your, that's your true task.

• 49:14Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah. No, and I also, I, I, I'm pretty good at, like, landing, this, and this is from, uh, growing up in like a household where people are screaming and you feel like you're the, the, uh, peacekeeper. Learning how to like land a conversation, a topic, and then moving on to the next one. So, I'm pretty good at that.

• 49:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  Speaking of that.

• 49:39Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 49:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  Have you ever read a book you were embarrassed to be seen with in public?

• 49:48Speaker 03

  I don't think so, no.

• 49:49Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, it's, it's, that's a tough one. Either it's like a pretentious, or it's like a friend's book.

• 49:54Speaker 03

  Well, I mean, like, you know, some kind of filthy coffee table book that I peek at at Tashin, you know? I wouldn't want people to know that.

• 50:03Anthony Jeselnik?

  A filthy coffee table book?

• 50:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, oh my god, have you ever been to the, like, over at the farmer's market, the Tashin store?

• 50:09Anthony Jeselnik?

  With all the, the naked girlies?

• 50:10Speaker 03

  Fuck, there's like, it's, I swear, there's like, bu, the, I may not even be making this up, that there's like, the pussy book. And it's just vaginas. And it, but it's this big and weighs thirty pounds.

• 50:23Anthony Jeselnik?

  I, I mean, I hope you're right, but in a way, I hope you're wrong too, that people are like, what? I hope you get cancelled for what you just said.

• 50:29Speaker 03

  Now, that, alright, I'll take that. You know, there's other things that I'd be cancelled about, I'd be mad, but no, that's alright.

• 50:36Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, reading makes you funnier?

• 50:40Speaker 03

  I would think so, because I think, uh, knowing more things makes you funnier.

• 50:45Anthony Jeselnik?

  I agree with that. And I think that having, putting words in your head is always a good thing, that it gives you like more ideas.

• 50:50Speaker 03

  Absolutely.

• 50:51Anthony Jeselnik?

  More references. We all know the people who have, as they age in comedy, just keep making the same jokes.

• 50:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 50:58Anthony Jeselnik?

  And again, that's like, that's what dad humor is all about. I'm not knocking it, but I think if you keep reading and giving yourself new stuff.

• 51:04Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 51:04Anthony Jeselnik?

  You have new references, new things to talk about, that I agree that reading makes you funnier.

• 51:08Speaker 03

  Yeah, and also getting facile with words, because being funny, well, I mean, there's some people that are funny just because they're funny. Like, they can say something that anyone else could say and you just laugh, because they have that gift. But, most, I think funny is, most of the funniest people, or, or a lot of the funny people that I enjoy, they, they like, are really good with words.

• 51:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  Mm-hmm.

• 51:33Speaker 03

  Like, they're, it's, you know, like clay and they're a sculptor. So, yeah, reading can only make that better.

• 51:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  I agree. Men who don't like fiction are afraid of their feelings.

• 51:47Speaker 03

  I don't like fiction and I don't think I'm afraid of my feelings, motherfucker.

• 51:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  You don't like fiction. I, I can see you don't read fiction.

• 51:55Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 51:56Anthony Jeselnik?

  Do you dislike it? Do you, because again, that's, just like, book clubs trying to turn this ship around.

• 52:00Speaker 03

  I, here's the thing.

• 52:01Anthony Jeselnik?

  A lot of people are like, you tell me why.

• 52:02Speaker 03

  Here's the thing, I, um, uh, reading long-form things is very hard for me because of my fucked up attention span. I, I read a lot, but I read articles, I read pieces, I, I read short stories. And, um, so it's really hard for me. So, taking a flyer on somebody I've never met and it's like, oh, I, you're gonna tell me, you're gonna take me on a journey through your brain for what could take me three weeks? No.

• 52:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  You wanna meet the guy first, or the woman?

• 52:35Speaker 03

  I don't know, I, I, well, I need somebody that I trust to say, you gotta read this novel. And even then, I've been like, you know, my ex-wife used to like, give me like, Jonathan Franzen, like, you got, you will love this, you gotta read it. And I'm just like, ugh.

• 52:51Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, I mean, it's great, again, you gotta put the work in a little bit, but Franzen's great.

• 52:54Speaker 03

  And I, uh, but like, if you tell me, here's the, the story of, you know, an expedition where they turn to cannibalism, alright.

• 53:03Anthony Jeselnik?

  Sure.

• 53:04Speaker 03

  Um, I'll read that, you know?

• 53:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, I was hoping for cannibalism in this, and it didn't quite get, I mean, people get bitten.

• 53:11Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 53:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  But no one gets fully eaten.

• 53:13Speaker 03

  No, no, no.

• 53:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  But, I, I live for the bite.

• 53:16Speaker 03

  It was dinklage.

• 53:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  What did you read, either to prepare for or to get you through Dancing with the Stars? Was there anything that was like, again, dancing is a physical effort.

• 53:26Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 53:27Anthony Jeselnik?

  There's like, um, there's mental gymnastics and actual gymnastics. Was there anything that you read to either prepare you mentally or just like, this is a book that every dancer should read?

• 53:37Speaker 03

  No.

• 53:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  Were you ever in your trailer, like, I, I need to rest my body and quiet my mind and stare at something, or were you just kinda on your phone or?

• 53:48Speaker 03

  I, well, you know what, I was reading, I think I was reading, um, uh, James Clavell's Tai Pan at that time. Uh, do you know that book?

• 53:59Anthony Jeselnik?

  No.

• 53:59Speaker 03

  Do you know James Clavell, the guy that wrote Shogun?

• 54:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  I know, I've heard of Shogun, but I didn't know.

• 54:04Speaker 03

  Shogun's fucking great. And that's like a tome.

• 54:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, that's huge.

• 54:08Speaker 03

  It's a huge book. And I think that, uh, because there was a min, there was a very excellent miniseries, uh, made from it. And-

• 54:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  Who was who starred in that?

• 54:16Speaker 03

  I don't, I honestly don't know.

• 54:18Anthony Jeselnik?

  I feel like I remember as a kid, like, the show, that thing.

• 54:21Speaker 03

  Oh, oh, yeah, there was, there was an old one when we were kids, and that was, uh, Richard Chamberlain.

• 54:27Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yes.

• 54:27Speaker 03

  Um, but there was a new one that was, I think, on FX just recently, that's really, really fantastic.

• 54:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  The same, uh, okay.

• 54:35Speaker 03

  Same story, yeah. And, uh, and Ja, this, it's an, I mean, I love, uh, Samurai shit anyway, like, I love Samurai movies. But, because they're kinda like westerns in that it's like, they're like, or Mexican food. Limited ingredients, combined different ways, comes out fantastic.

• 54:55Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 54:56Speaker 03

  Or not fantastic.

• 54:57Anthony Jeselnik?

  No, I think they're all great. I mean, have you ever seen, is it Thirteen Samurai?

• 55:00Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 55:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  That, that was fucking awesome. That's, that's like ten years, fifteen years old now.

• 55:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 55:04Anthony Jeselnik?

  I love all those things.

• 55:05Speaker 03

  It's fantastic. And, and there are like really good, I mean, I'll watch a shitty Samurai movie, but there's some like fantastic, uh, Samurai movies. And there's series like Zatoichi, The Blind Samurai, is some of those, like, like the second or third one of that is one of my favorite movies.

• 55:23Anthony Jeselnik?

  Those are great.

• 55:24Speaker 03

  Um, uh, but, uh, Shogun, the book, and I think now, when I was a kid, it was one big book, they've split it into two, just, you know, so they can get more money, because of the TV show. But, um, I would recommend that. It's a long read, but it's fantastic because it's like meticulously researched. So, all just like the little bits of, of like, just environmental, you know, uh, details are all like super particular.

• 55:54Anthony Jeselnik?

  Would you describe it as Lonesome Dove for Asian people?

• 55:57Speaker 03

  I never read Lonesome Dove.

• 55:59Anthony Jeselnik?

  Me neither, I don't know anything about it.

• 56:00Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 56:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, but I'm gonna go ahead and say-

• 56:02Speaker 03

  Isn't there some like gay subtext to that?

• 56:03Anthony Jeselnik?

  To Lonesome Dove?

• 56:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, isn't there like, isn't that the one where there's kind of like, an, a non-sexual romance between two old cowboys? Do you guys know that?

• 56:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  Are you talking about Brokeback Mountain?

• 56:13Speaker 03

  No, no, no.

• 56:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  I feel like Taylor Sheridan would stand for that kind of foolishness.

• 56:17Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah. No, I think, I think there is like, like, it's like a romance, a, a platonic romance is, is central to it.

• 56:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  Was that, and there's no gay people in Shogun?

• 56:32Speaker 03

  No, there are. Because, yeah, in Japan, they didn't have, you know, they, they'll like, you want a boy or you want a girl tonight, you know?

• 56:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  We'll get to the bottom of this.

• 56:42Speaker 03

  That's the kinda hospitality they were talking about.

• 56:44Anthony Jeselnik?

  We'll figure it out.

• 56:45Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 56:46Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, I don't, I mean, I cannot believe we've gotten from Elf to that, to what just happened on this show. Uh, does a good book about improv comedy exist? I kind of already asked you this.

• 56:58Speaker 03

  Yeah, I, I think that, the, uh, truth in comedy is, I think, all you need to know about improv comedy. Uh, Del Close and Sharna Halpern wrote it, and it is, I mean, like I say, I had it and I read it a little bit, but, uh, I know people who swear by it and love it. And, and I mean, and Del Close truly was a genius. And, and invented a lot of what you see today.

• 57:23Anthony Jeselnik?

  Mm-hmm. I've never, I did improv, a very little improv, it was not for me. I was a stand-up, I don't, I'm not a yes and guy, I'm a no but guy.

• 57:31Speaker 03

  Yes, no, I know, I know. I know, I know.

• 57:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  We've talked about it.

• 57:36Speaker 03

  No, I like being on stage with other people. And I also don't like homework. That's what, stand-up to me, because I've tried doing stand-up, it's homework. You gotta go write, write shit and think about it and like rehearse it and like, I don't, just, let's go out there and figure stuff out. I like that better.

• 57:52Anthony Jeselnik?

  I didn't think of it as homework, like, the idea of having to have like improv practice seems like homework. I've gotta meet up with these people.

• 57:58Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 57:58Anthony Jeselnik?

  Improv is like you're in a band.

• 58:00Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 58:01Anthony Jeselnik?

  With stand-up like you can just go by yourself.

• 58:02Speaker 03

  But you get to a certain point and you just do shows. You know, like, you, you get to a point, you don't, you, you don't, you're like, later in my, like, when I was doing improv all the time, we didn't like get together and do rehearsals, we just did shows.

• 58:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah, they never, they didn't teach us that in Groundlings Level One, which is what I dropped out.

• 58:19Speaker 03

  They won't, they won't, yeah.

• 58:20Anthony Jeselnik?

  Um, I'm still mad about it. And that was just on a book club gauntlet.

• 58:24Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 58:25Anthony Jeselnik?

  I'm still, I'm still remembering. You did a great job.

• 58:26Speaker 03

  Oh, thank you.

• 58:27Anthony Jeselnik?

  You, uh, nailed it. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, the Shogun, Lonesome Dove thing was pretty weird.

• 58:32Speaker 03

  Mm, mm.

• 58:33Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, but we're leaving it in, even if you want us to cut it out.

• 58:36Speaker 03

  I don't, no, you can leave everything in, I don't care.

• 58:39Anthony Jeselnik?

  The Tashin pussy thing made my assistant uncomfortable.

• 58:42Speaker 03

  Did it make you uncomfortable? She's laughing now, but maybe it's that sort of fearful laugh.

• 58:47Anthony Jeselnik?

  It is. I, trust me, as my assistant, I see that a lot.

• 58:50Speaker 03

  Sorry.

• 58:50Anthony Jeselnik?

  But it's time for, chapter five.

• 58:52Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 58:54Anthony Jeselnik?

  This is one additional question. You played a pivotal role in the movie Obsession.

• 58:59Speaker 03

  Ah.

• 59:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  As the owner of a record store that has zero customers, way too many employees, and not enough sexual harassment training.

• 59:06Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 59:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  Compare that movie to Elf, are they different in any way?

• 59:15Speaker 03

  Not that much. I mean, they both have a good combination of, of heart and, and excitement and, you know. I mean, you know, you replace laughs for fear. Of course, I'm kidding. No, they're very different. Um, and, um.

• 59:31Anthony Jeselnik?

  We know you're.

• 59:35Anthony Jeselnik?

  I love it. At this point in the show, you felt like you had to say that.

• 59:37Speaker 03

  Guys, I'm not, I don't really think obsession is the same as Elf. Um, no, I, I, uh,

• 59:46Speaker 03

  honestly, I think like, uh, obsession probably has a more airtight screenplay. That screenplay, there's a reason I did the movies, cause it was like,

• 59:56Speaker 03

  I, I like horror movies, but I'm like a stickler and I don't, I don't like gaps. I don't like, oh, you have to, uh, everything, you buy everything, everything justifies itself.

• 1:00:08Anthony Jeselnik?

  Look, I'll tell you my favorite part of the movie obsession. I have seen this movie. Uh, so it's different from Elf in that way.

• 1:00:13Speaker 03

  Right. That is one way.

• 1:00:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's when the guy gets halfway through his sandwich and then looks down and realizes it's his cat.

• 1:00:20Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:00:21Anthony Jeselnik?

  He ate half of it.

• 1:00:21Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:00:22Anthony Jeselnik?

  And then like, it's just, she didn't like cook it. It's just the pause. But I thought that was, uh, fantastic.

• 1:00:28Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:00:29Anthony Jeselnik?

  That was a great little.

• 1:00:30Speaker 03

  And reading the script, that was a moment where I was like, holy shit, this is fantastic.

• 1:00:35Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:35Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:00:36Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, and that was, chapter five, it's time for acknowledgements, Andy.

• 1:00:40Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 1:00:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  Every book has acknowledgements. I mean, this one does, for sure. You guys talk, you thank people. Uh, this is where you give me a gift, which you have brought.

• 1:00:49Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:00:50Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, you have a gift for me, just to thank you for talking about your book, selling copies. Twenty dollars. This is, listen, I have, no one's given me money yet. People have forgotten to bring me a gift.

• 1:01:03Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:01:04Anthony Jeselnik?

  No one has thought to replace that gift with money.

• 1:01:06Speaker 03

  I have never, I, I'm one of those people, it's like,

• 1:01:12Speaker 03

  you know, I'll take money. I'll give you money. Like, don't, don't be like, oh, this is so easy. Like, yeah, it's easy. And then you do what you want with the money. I show you, you know, that I made it. Oh, there you go. It's a good, a good.

• 1:01:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  Good bookmark.

• 1:01:27Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:01:27Anthony Jeselnik?

  I don't like gift cards. Because gift cards is like, I would have given you money, but I don't trust you. So I'm gonna tell you what you're buying, like where you're going to shop with it. Like, why not just give me money?

• 1:01:38Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:01:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  It does, it costs the same as the gift certificate.

• 1:01:40Speaker 03

  Right.

• 1:01:41Anthony Jeselnik?

  But it's truly like, I don't trust you.

• 1:01:43Speaker 03

  I don't want you to, yes, spending it on drugs.

• 1:01:45Anthony Jeselnik?

  I had a, I had a boss once in my early days of Los Angeles, uh, when I was accounting clerk, who gave me a Trader Joe's gift card because she didn't trust me not, to not buy drugs. And she knew I like, didn't have food to eat. But I went to Trader Joe's and they sell alcohol. Like, it was not, I got around it. Uh, but thank you for the, thank you for the gift. I know you put a lot of thought into it.

• 1:02:06Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:02:07Anthony Jeselnik?

  Um, can you suggest a book or two? You've already suggested Shogun.

• 1:02:10Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 1:02:11Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, can you, is there another, one more book you can recommend to me, to our, our listeners, our watchers?

• 1:02:18Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 1:02:18Anthony Jeselnik?

  Your Jeselnik Book Club?

• 1:02:19Speaker 03

  I actually, I had a couple loaded up because I, like I say, I, I, I'm, I have dad tastes. Like, I like, uh, historical violence, basically. And, um, so there's a, uh, there's a book. And, and I'm, there's, I don't have anything that's like a new thing out. But like, there's a couple of books. Um, uh, there's a, a book called, uh, The Man From The Train, by a guy named Bill James. And he's a sports writer that I don't, I can't remember exactly why. But he was doing research and for something else and started to read about these different sort of like,

• 1:03:00Speaker 03

  uh, far-flung, like very similar mass murders in different towns. And started noting them in like different little rural areas. And, you know, they, some of people, they find a drifter and hang him for it. And he went and did research on all these different, uh, different murders and found that there was a serial killer who worked on the railroad. Because all of these murders were like within walking distance of train tracks. And in those days too, in rural places, every house had an axe in the yard. And, and like he did for 20 years, just, and I don't think ever got caught.

• 1:03:44Speaker 03

  Uh, they do at the end, they, they figure, they do figure out who it is. But, uh, it's a pretty compelling read and it's very interesting because it's just, there's no communication between, you know, like sheriffs who are three miles apart.

• 1:04:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:00Speaker 03

  Don't talk to each other at all.

• 1:04:02Anthony Jeselnik?

  So everyone's been killed by the axe, they, they're, by their yard axe.

• 1:04:06Speaker 03

  By their yard axe.

• 1:04:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  And he just leaves it. Or is he collecting the axes? I mean, that sounds awesome.

• 1:04:10Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:04:11Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, what's it called again?

• 1:04:12Speaker 03

  Uh, The Man From The Train.

• 1:04:13Anthony Jeselnik?

  The Man From The Train.

• 1:04:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:04:14Anthony Jeselnik?

  How, how old is that book?

• 1:04:16Speaker 03

  I think it's like maybe 10 years old. I think it's like 2016, 2015, something like that.

• 1:04:20Anthony Jeselnik?

  I wouldn't like, I mean, that sounds like a fun, like a fun skit.

• 1:04:23Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:04:24Anthony Jeselnik?

  Just going on killing people with their own, uh, train axes. Did they, did they decide like why he did it?

• 1:04:29Speaker 03

  I don't think so, no.

• 1:04:30Anthony Jeselnik?

  Is it just convenience?

• 1:04:31Speaker 03

  Yeah, well, why does anybody axe people?

• 1:04:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, if you've got one in your yard, you're asking for it.

• 1:04:36Speaker 03

  Cause they got the devil in them.

• 1:04:38Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's, that.

• 1:04:39Speaker 03

  They got the devil in them, you know?

• 1:04:40Anthony Jeselnik?

  That's true. Andy, thank you so much for being here.

• 1:04:42Speaker 03

  Oh, thank you for having me.

• 1:04:44Anthony Jeselnik?

  I hope we move some copies.

• 1:04:45Speaker 03

  I, I hope so too. And I really appreciate all that you said about the book. And, and it's been delightful. You know, you just did my radio show. It's been delightful hanging out with you.

• 1:04:54Anthony Jeselnik?

  It has been a fun, it has been a fun day. Maybe we need two podcasts in a row to get the juices going.

• 1:04:59Speaker 03

  Right, right, exactly.

• 1:05:00Anthony Jeselnik?

  So we don't have another.

• 1:05:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, cause you were real dud across the street on my radio show.

• 1:05:04Anthony Jeselnik?

  Um, but no, I hope, I hope the people check this book out. And I hope by watching this podcast, you understand why I brought this to Jeselnik Book Club. This is a fun read. It's an easy read. I don't read a lot of some heavy shit.

• 1:05:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:05:17Anthony Jeselnik?

  But I want a palate cleanser. I want to have fun and just read about Amy Sedaris fucking around on set. Like, it's just, it's, it's a great book. I'm not just, he's not just here because he's my friend. We're not friends. We're like showbiz friends. We like each other.

• 1:05:32Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:05:32Anthony Jeselnik?

  But I'm not doing you a favor.

• 1:05:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:05:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  You're doing me a favor. So thank you again. Uh, thank you to my guest, Andy Richter. The book again is Elf Unwrapped with Aaron Caro.

• 1:05:44Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 1:05:44Anthony Jeselnik?

  And maybe that's why we didn't get along back in the day, cause I was not saying that name correctly.

• 1:05:48Speaker 03

  Hmm.

• 1:05:49Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, to be con-

• 1:05:50Speaker 03

  You know what? It, he didn't tell me, we wrote the whole movie, or the, the whole book. I called him Aaron Caro, uh, all the time. Before I went to record the, uh, the audio book, he sends me a voice text. By the way, my name's pronounced Caro. And I was like, why, why didn't you tell me that like months ago?

• 1:06:12Anthony Jeselnik?

  At that point, it's his fault. It's his fault.

• 1:06:14Speaker 03

  Yeah. And he's like, well, I just let it go, whatever. And I was like, I wanna report, I wanna pronounce your name correctly, so.

• 1:06:20Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, when your name's Jeselnik, I take such a care.

• 1:06:24Speaker 03

  Do what, how do people fuck it up? Jeselnik or?

• 1:06:26Anthony Jeselnik?

  Jeselnik, Jelesnic. People will like get dyslexic with it.

• 1:06:30Speaker 03

  Right, right, right.

• 1:06:30Anthony Jeselnik?

  Jeselnik. But, uh, I get, I've gotten all kinds.

• 1:06:34Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:06:34Anthony Jeselnik?

  It's a sign of respect to say someone's name correctly.

• 1:06:37Speaker 03

  Yes, I know. I know.

• 1:06:39Anthony Jeselnik?

  I mean, Aaron Caro, Aaron Caro.

• 1:06:43Anthony Jeselnik?

  Aaron knows.

• 1:06:44Speaker 03

  Aaron knows.

• 1:06:44Anthony Jeselnik?

  Stick with the first name. Uh, next week on the show, this is To Be Continued. Next week on the show, I've got, uh, Frank Huyler, uh, talking about The Red Dress. This is a great new book. Uh, I went, I picked this book just based on the description of it alone. Looking forward to talking to him, chopping it up. It's a proper novel.

• 1:07:06Anthony Jeselnik?

  Thank you for watching the show. And remember, TV is bad, movies are bad. Give me something else that's bad, Andy.

• 1:07:13Speaker 03

  Um, cancer.

• 1:07:15Anthony Jeselnik?

  Cancer is bad.

• 1:07:16Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:07:16Anthony Jeselnik?

  I just read that. That's true.

• 1:07:18Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:07:18Anthony Jeselnik?

  Uh, books are good. Read your books, enjoy your books. Thank you for watching. Jesselnic Book Club. We'll see you next week.

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