Episode 633 - Lake Bell
Marc:Lock the gates!
Marc:All right, let's do this.
Marc:How are you?
Marc:What the fuckers?
Marc:What the fuck buddies?
Marc:What the fucking ears?
Marc:What the fuckadelics?
Marc:What the fucksikins?
Marc:And what the fuck will Barry Fins?
Marc:How's that for a few?
Marc:How are you?
Marc:How are you?
Marc:This is Mark Maron.
Marc:This is my podcast.
Marc:Welcome to it.
Marc:How's your day going?
Marc:Take it easy.
Marc:Take it easy.
Marc:Just slow down.
Marc:You're not in a hurry.
Marc:All right, even if you are in a hurry, is it worth hurting yourself over?
Marc:Is it worth it?
Marc:Is it worth it?
Marc:Just take it easy.
Marc:Relax.
Marc:Focus.
Marc:Maybe distract yourself with my voice right now.
Marc:Hey, how you doing?
Marc:What's the matter?
Marc:You all right?
Marc:That's all I'm saying.
Marc:All right, you're going to get there.
Marc:The world's not going to end unless you're on your way to the hospital and you're in the middle of a coronary.
Marc:Oh, what a negative way to start a podcast.
Marc:First off, I'd like to say that I have the amazing Lake Bell on the podcast today.
Marc:Lake Bell.
Marc:She's in this movie No Escape with Owen Wilson and Pierce Brosnan.
Marc:That's in theaters now.
Marc:She's made her own movie that she directed and wrote and starred in.
Marc:In a world.
Marc:It's got the amazing Michaela Watkins in it.
Marc:It's a funny movie.
Marc:Cute and funny and emotional.
Marc:I liked it.
Marc:And we tried to get Lake Bell in here for that, but something didn't happen.
Marc:But it's weird, man.
Marc:She's one of these people that I looked at, and I thought I knew her.
Marc:And even if I didn't know her, I thought I would know her from...
Marc:Like we've known each other for centuries maybe.
Marc:Maybe, you know, like there was a soul connection.
Marc:This is not a sexual thing.
Marc:This is just a thing that I felt, but not in that way.
Marc:Just that I felt, she felt familiar to me.
Marc:And then I realized she looks a lot like my ex-wife.
Marc:But I didn't bring that baggage to the table.
Marc:I was just excited to see Lake Bell.
Marc:And we had some, we talked about stuff I've never talked about.
Marc:So listen, I'm going to be in Dublin this Wednesday, day after tomorrow at Vicar Street.
Marc:I'll be in London at South Bank Center this Thursday and Friday.
Marc:Okay, September 3rd and 4th.
Marc:And Australia, please get on board so the promoter doesn't freak out.
Marc:Thursday, October 15th at the State Theater in Sydney.
Marc:Friday, October 16th at the Palais Theater in Melbourne.
Marc:Saturday, October 17th at Brisbane City Hall.
Marc:All right?
Marc:I know you're coming, but I just, you know, they're freaking out already.
Marc:So if you can, think ahead and buy tickets, Australia.
Marc:Would you?
Marc:Would you?
Marc:Come on.
Marc:All right.
Marc:That's good.
Marc:That's some plugging.
Marc:Go to wtfpod.com slash calendar and you can get links to this stuff.
Marc:Okay?
Marc:All right.
Marc:Let's get honest about some stuff.
Marc:So I go to the doctor.
Marc:I'm waiting.
Marc:So the EKG, I did all that.
Marc:I did the stress test.
Marc:So now I go in for the sonogram.
Marc:And I'm nervous.
Marc:I double-checked.
Marc:I'm like, I'm in for the sonogram.
Marc:Do I get to talk to the doctor today?
Marc:And they're like, yes.
Marc:I'm like, I get to talk to him, though, about what's going on.
Marc:Yes, okay.
Marc:Because it was unclear with my test.
Marc:I brought my blood test with me because I no longer trusted them to have that in a timely fashion.
Marc:I brought that with my cholesterol, my high cholesterol, my 240 cholesterol.
Marc:And the guy comes in and is like, okay, we're going to do the sonogram now.
Marc:This is like a sonogram.
Marc:It's like a sonogram, sonogram.
Marc:Like they use for babies.
Marc:It's fucking fascinating.
Marc:And I'm preoccupied with my heart and the fragility of life.
Marc:This is just one fucking organ just ticking away.
Marc:I don't know why it keeps ticking.
Marc:I imagine it wants to live.
Marc:It's got an agenda, and that is life, and it's running a machine that's supposed to dump some goo into another machine to make more life.
Marc:I've faltered on that one.
Marc:I've dumped goo, but not any place where it's going to do anything.
Marc:what the fuck is wrong with me anyways so i'm in there the guy greases up the uh lubes up the thing to rub on my parts on my chest and he puts that thing on and i can see out of the corner of my eye i'm turned to the side i can see the sonogram of my fucking beating heart in real time and it's it's pretty it's kind of emotional to know that's it that's it
Marc:And he made it sound all different ways to hear the different valves.
Marc:I wish I, you know, all I could think of was like, has anyone used this on a record?
Marc:Of course, of course they have.
Marc:So.
Marc:I think Pink Floyd did, but just straight up, not through the sonogram machine.
Marc:So I'm looking at it, and of course I'm going, Zucari, Zucari, what are you doing now?
Marc:First he checked my, what is it, carotid arteries in my neck because I checked those for plaque and deposits that would lead to stroke.
Marc:And I like how they look.
Marc:He's like, pretty good so far.
Marc:And then he moves down on my chest.
Marc:And he's looking at my heart.
Marc:And I go, so what's up now?
Marc:He goes, I'm just checking all the valves.
Marc:And I'm looking at it.
Marc:And there's color going one way and the other way.
Marc:I go, what's the colors?
Marc:What's the colors?
Marc:He goes, just checking direction of the pumping.
Marc:I'm like, is it good?
Marc:Is it good?
Marc:He's like, is it looking good so far?
Marc:and then these guys they're not really supposed to say that but how are they not going to say that they're not supposed to tell you they're not a doctor and then he's like turn on your side let's get the profile i want to see how the uh all the chambers look so i turn on my side i'm looking at my heart beating and beating and i'm like holy fuck that's the only thing that's keeping me going that's it that's the thing i got no control over that thing i do a little bit i could try not to kill it it's unexplainable why the fuck is it happening why is it just going and
Marc:I know we're built to go, but it's like, what?
Marc:I was excited and fucked up and weird.
Marc:So he turned on my side.
Marc:He's looking at the chambers.
Marc:I'm like, how's that?
Marc:How's that?
Marc:And when he put that thing on my chest and I saw my heart on the sonogram, I'm excited to tell you, it's a girl.
Marc:Yep, I imagine some of you knew that.
Marc:It's a girl.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So I'm the proud daddy of a girl heart.
Marc:Right in my chest.
Marc:Anyway.
Marc:kidding aside I waited for the doctor to come into the examining room about 20 minutes he came in he looked at my cholesterol numbers he looked at all the test results and he said that my arteries and my heart are perfect no plaque no hardening all the valves are pumping well everything is a-okay now
Marc:That is great fucking news.
Marc:He said I can try to exercise and diet away the cholesterol.
Marc:I'm borderline.
Marc:I don't need medicine yet.
Marc:That's what he said.
Marc:So what does that mean?
Marc:That means I can either continue going to doctors to see what the hell is wrong with me and why my body is short-circuiting all over the place or try to change my life
Marc:In a way that would ease that stuff.
Marc:Maybe meditate.
Marc:Perhaps not drink three pots of coffee a day.
Marc:Maybe one pot.
Marc:Perhaps not indulge and engage in anxious, crazy energy whenever possible.
Marc:Perhaps that would help.
Marc:I don't know, but I'm grateful.
Marc:The ticker's all right.
Marc:I'm sure I'll find something else wrong.
Marc:Maybe it's in my lungs.
Marc:I don't.
Marc:I'll see you, Murdy.
Marc:Everything's good.
Marc:I'm sorry I put you all through that.
Marc:Thank you for being there for me.
Marc:Okay, moving on.
Marc:Moving on.
Marc:Let's talk about this.
Marc:A couple of women stopped by.
Marc:There's this Yes All Women art auction and exhibition that's coming up.
Marc:It's on Saturday, September 19th.
Marc:It's a fundraiser to benefit the East Los Angeles Women's Center.
Marc:There's an online auction.
Marc:That starts this Friday.
Marc:You can go to yes all women art dot com for more information on this.
Marc:But I had Jesse Eskenazi and Rose McGowan come in.
Marc:Rose McGowan, the actress you may know.
Marc:And Jesse is a writer and photographer who once did a piece on me and she told me she was working on putting this event together.
Marc:So right now, let's go talk to Jesse Askenazi and Rose McGowan about this Yes All Women art auction and show that Rose will be part of it, as will many other performers.
Music
Marc:Jessie.
Guest:Yes, sir.
Marc:Ashkenazi.
Guest:Well, it's actually pronounced Ashkenazi.
Guest:I'm technically Sephardic.
Guest:Really?
Guest:If you haven't known, it's my Mediterranean nature.
Marc:I know, but okay.
Marc:Jew.
Marc:Jew.
Guest:High five.
Marc:Ashkenazi.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Rose McGowan, not Jew.
Marc:I have no truck in this one.
Marc:No Jew.
Marc:No Jew.
Marc:Not a Jew, but you like Jews.
Marc:i'm married to a jew they see that see how that goes and i had a female feminist rabbi at my wedding really there's a few of those around there's some amazing people well let's talk about this uh yes all women it started as a hashtag is it still ongoing as a hashtag it is ongoing does it still happen as a hashtag it happens because as life happens yeah uh these
Marc:Problems remain.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:Issues come to the surface.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:So, yes, it started as a hashtag.
Guest:I personally was extremely touched reading women's stories coming in from all over the world and intersectional experiences.
Guest:Um, and how gender inequality affects, you know, each specific people.
Guest:And in the first four days of this, the tweets, you know, use, there was about 1.4 million shares.
Guest:So, um, it was really profound and it was in response to acts of violence, um, that were perpetuated by misogyny in our culture.
Guest:Um, so daily, um,
Guest:It is infused, and I think it's important for people to realize just how infused in the culture it is from, you know, children during childhood development.
Guest:You know, video games.
Guest:Rose and I were just talking about this.
Guest:Grand Theft Auto.
Guest:The first experience some little boy could have, or girl, playing Grand Theft Auto.
Guest:Yeah, throwing a prostitute.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You get to buy a hooker, then you can actually kill her if you get enough points.
Marc:Right.
Guest:So that's your first...
Guest:connection with a woman sometimes.
Marc:Yes, and that does not wire the brain well.
Guest:No, and rewiring, you know, what I really want to put forth is just a chiropractic adjustment for the mind.
Marc:Can we hold on one sec?
Marc:I'm going to try to get them to shut that thing off.
Guest:Oh, sure.
Guest:Anything to make yourself feel better.
Marc:All right, so when I last talked to you, Jessie, you wrote a piece on me, a very good piece in a magazine.
Guest:Oh, why, thank you, sir.
Marc:And I appreciate that.
Marc:You took some good pictures.
Marc:And then, you know, you had this brainstorming.
Marc:This idea, all of a sudden you're like, I'm doing a thing.
Guest:That's often how I react.
Guest:I was telling Rose when in the development of this, I was compelled to do it more so than, you know, it wasn't something that I had to think about.
Guest:It was more I was compelled to and I had to find a way to make this happen.
Marc:What was it that sparked this thing?
Guest:I've never, you know, in my experience growing up, I have never in my life felt as understood about these issues as I have when I saw this outreach from women across the world about these issues.
Marc:The hashtag.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I just knew that this had to live on and these stories had to continue being shared.
Guest:And my background is in the arts.
Guest:So I wanted to fuse a way for the art world and community, which is so often revoltingly exclusive, to intertwine with activism and actually benefit women who really need the help.
Guest:So we're joining with the East Los Angeles Women's Center.
Guest:So all of the art that's going to be auctioned in this event is benefiting these women who are survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Marc:And some of the artists that you got to contribute art?
Guest:Well, one of my heroes, Barbara Kruger, who is truly revolutionary for women in art.
Guest:And Rose here is going to be screening the trailer for her short film that she directed.
Marc:That you did last year?
Guest:I did it last year, and yeah, it's called Dawn, and it's a powerful, you know, it's a beautiful film, but there's a strong, strong message in there about what we do to young girls, letting them go in society while binding their hands with propriety and setting them forth into the world to meet maybe a sociopath.
Guest:And then what happens?
Guest:Binding their hands and not literally sometimes literally but no with like maternal oppression with societal oppression with and then what happens when you send a girl out maybe your daughter maybe your sister she leaves your house and she's going out to the world now with no protection and every single thing society and a lot of families have taught them is to be polite and and how that can shift your brain and take away your internal warning signal for danger
Marc:Right.
Guest:It's intense.
Guest:Has it happened to you?
Guest:Yes, it has.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:I think it's happened to all of us, to be perfectly fair.
Marc:Everybody.
Marc:There's an innocence to it initially, and then you have expectations, and then you find yourself in a bad situation.
Guest:It's not even necessarily innocent.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:It's just.
Marc:No, but I mean, go when you say that you're left out, when you're misled or not led at all by your parents or by society, you sort of go out sort of open minded about something.
Guest:Like doe eyed puppy.
Guest:Right.
Guest:No, no, you actually have a feeling.
Guest:You have a feeling.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Oh, something.
Guest:But you know what?
Guest:I want to be agreeable.
Guest:I don't want to be that.
Guest:I want to go with flow.
Guest:Right.
Guest:There's actually an interview.
Guest:How bad could it be?
Guest:How bad could it be?
Guest:Let me tell you, Marc Maron.
Guest:Pretty bad.
Guest:It can be pretty fucking bad.
Guest:It can be pretty bad.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, and there's a lot we can do like men and women, boys and girls to combat this and just be aware of it.
Guest:It's really just awareness and it's little tiny things like from a magazine interview.
Guest:The lead character in my movie reads a magazine interview from it was a famous actor named Tab Hunter and
Guest:and he was famously in the closet, and he did an interview advising young girls on what they should act like on a date and what he wants in a date.
Guest:In a girl's magazine.
Marc:Right, and it was written by a publicist, probably.
Guest:No, he goes, I like girls that ask questions, but not too many questions.
Marc:But there's a gay man.
Guest:Yes, who's pretending to be a straight man, and he's locked in his own battle, so he has to be over-masculine.
Marc:Where'd you find that to be the seed of the kernel of the thing?
Guest:Well, I had brilliant writers and also I'm very, I studied classic Hollywood since I was a young child.
Marc:Obsessed?
Guest:Scholarly, almost.
Marc:With tabloid Hollywood or?
Guest:Both, really, all of it.
Guest:I mean, I actually have a lot of old Hollywood tabloids, which are horrifying.
Guest:And one of the things they.
Marc:Now that's all news.
Guest:That is news.
Guest:No, believe me.
Marc:Hollywood tabloid.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:It's got to stop.
Guest:That's on my list.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:That's on the list of enemies that need to be taken down.
Guest:Of just some chiropractic adjustments.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But I think it's hard for men to be empathetic.
Marc:It's hard for me to be empathetic towards them, too.
Marc:To be empathetic towards anybody.
Marc:It takes a certain amount of open heartedness to really...
Guest:That's why our work is really, and your work is important, and people's work is important.
Guest:People that actually engender and push people to actually feel something, anything, you are more likely, if I can push you and I figured out my life's work has been making people feel something, whatever it is, like smile, laughter, hate me, whatever, you've experienced something.
Guest:I actually have to say that I do disagree that it's difficult to be empathetic.
Guest:I think that that is our nature.
Guest:I think that is part of our survival.
Guest:No, you guys have also been raised to not be.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You've had your problems, too, the conditioning.
Guest:Yeah, it's conditioning and it's learned, but I do think that... Yeah, but... Which is false evidence appearing real, from what they say.
Guest:I know that one.
Guest:It's not true.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Right.
Guest:But my point is that that's how we survive as a population, as a species, is through empathy.
Guest:I mean, on someone's deathbed, they're not sitting there thinking about...
Guest:you know the the mundane activities that they didn't do that that week or whatever it is that it is empathy that comes out in those moments and i think that's at our core so i mean we were talking to a woman today who has been through how horrors you can't believe the other stuff she was naming off and she said i've never been raped she's like i've been beaten with bottles and have done this and that in relationships she's like i've never been raped and that was like held up as a point of pride
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And it's pretty fascinating that that has to be a point of pride.
Marc:And this would be a person that, you know, hopefully the event would benefit.
Marc:Correct.
Marc:Tell me about the shelter that you are going to be giving the proceeds to.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So the East Los Angeles Women's Center, they're really phenomenal because they really have this policy that they won't turn anyone away.
Guest:So with the money that they have been able to raise through funding, whatever...
Guest:uh... that's that's all great but if they haven't run through certain times where they haven't had money they haven't had the resources and they will go into their own pockets and take out drive a woman themselves to a motel and take her to denny's and get her food and make sure she's somewhere to go which is really different than a lot of other
Guest:There's so many.
Guest:And there's not that many.
Guest:There aren't that many.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And their variety of programs is just, I mean, on everything.
Guest:They offer everything.
Guest:Sexual assault.
Guest:They go with survivors to hospitals.
Guest:They take them to court.
Guest:They hold their hand during exams.
Marc:And this is a private nonprofit?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Now, is the plan ultimately to get this happening in other cities?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Rose and I are talking about this as a movement.
Guest:Yes, all women infiltrating.
Guest:We're talking about in the future taking it to schools.
Guest:It doesn't have to only be within fancy art circles.
Guest:I want this to be global, and I want it to be, and this is something men can stand behind, literally an easy hashtag, yes, all women.
Guest:And I would ask you if you've ever loved a woman, if you've ever considered a woman, if you've ever experienced a woman, that you would also consider that maybe we have had a different experience, and we could use your help too.
Marc:A lot of progress needs to happen.
Guest:A lot of stuff needs to happen.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:And it won't take anything away from you.
Guest:It's just going to make your life and people's lives more awesome.
Marc:I don't feel threatened at all.
Guest:I like you.
Guest:That's great, Mark.
Guest:I'm just trying.
Guest:I'm just using you as the... I'll be the puppet.
Marc:You're the representative for all men right now.
Marc:Don't do that to me.
Guest:In this moment, Mark... You are a representative.
Guest:You have testicles.
Marc:You're a man.
Marc:I can't represent all of them.
Marc:No.
Marc:But, all right, so you're going to host this event, the thing on the 19th?
Guest:I'm hosting it.
Guest:So it's like a full night.
Guest:It's like a variety show.
Guest:It is.
Guest:It's going to be an immersive experience.
Guest:And a dope experience.
Guest:Megan Amram is going to be there.
Guest:That's great.
Guest:She's a really good friend and one of the most amazing women that I know.
Guest:She has this great book, Science, for her.
Guest:It's kind of a take on science textbooks.
Guest:Yeah, it's funny books.
Guest:Is she going to read from that?
Guest:Yeah, she's going to read from that.
Marc:Now, you've got a website that I inspired you to do.
Guest:Okay, yeah.
Guest:Mark kind of forced me to make a website.
Guest:Thank you, Mark.
Guest:Appreciate that.
Guest:Big ideas of, like, where can people go?
Guest:I was like, fine.
Guest:Oh, God.
Guest:But all the information is there.
Guest:It's yesallwomenart.com.
Guest:You can learn all about the artists.
Guest:You can learn about the East Los Angeles Women's Center.
Guest:You can learn about everyone involved.
Guest:And we're really, really excited to push this further to, you know, art obviously has true healing power, I believe.
Guest:I'm sure you believe.
Guest:I think we all believe there is a true healing power from art.
Guest:So it's important to integrate that into actual, you know.
Guest:The women that work at the Women's Center, they are the ones out there.
Guest:They are doing the dirty work.
Guest:They are working 24 hours.
Guest:They are teaching volunteers how to counsel women on the other end of the hotline when people call in with an emergency or a crisis.
Marc:Full range of horrors.
Guest:Yeah, and I've answered those calls.
Guest:I volunteer for the center.
Guest:That's kind of how this also came to be, is my learning experience and the training and the certification to do this volunteer work.
Guest:you know changed my life obviously people will say that it's it's a cliche and it's a very true cliche that's doing this work will change your life oh yeah yeah being of service is powerful all right so the live auction starts on the september 4th for the artwork yeah for the artwork is that on the website yeah okay yeah it'll be all on the website everything's on the website mark okay okay and the 19th is the live show at
Guest:Dilettante.
Guest:Downtown.
Guest:And also tickets are available on the website.
Marc:Yes, it's yesallwomenart.com.
Marc:It sounds like a good night.
Guest:It's going to be an amazing night.
Guest:Jesse is an amazing woman.
Guest:I'm glad we talked about it.
Guest:And thank you.
Guest:Thank you.
Guest:Thank you, Rose, as is Rose.
Guest:And as are you, Mark.
Guest:You're also an amazing woman, Mark.
Guest:You are.
Guest:And we appreciate that about you.
Guest:Yes, all women.
Guest:Yes, all women.
Guest:I just made a woo sound on the radio for the first time in my life.
Guest:Woo!
Guest:Woo!
Guest:Did someone get me a white limo?
Marc:Yeah, it's on the way.
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:If Uber has it.
Guest:Thank you, guys.
Marc:Let me give you that info again.
Marc:The date of the performance and the date of the live auction is September 19th.
Marc:Please go to yesallwomenart.com for more.
Marc:There's also a GoFundMe page there and there's other information about the show.
Marc:So go check that out.
Marc:I had a fucking blast.
Marc:Talking to Lake Bell.
Marc:And I want you to have one as well.
Marc:So here we go.
Marc:Get ready.
Marc:Me and Lake Bell happening now.
Guest:Now I have a baby, so I have... Now you have a built-in alarm system.
Marc:Yeah, and my... A biological alarm system.
Guest:And it couldn't get more biological because my boobs literally wake me up.
Marc:Yeah?
Marc:What?
Marc:They ache?
Guest:They are ready.
Marc:They're just sort of like, empty me.
Marc:Is that it?
Marc:How old is this kid?
Marc:Like seven years old?
Guest:She's 10 months old.
Guest:It's similar.
Guest:They're both young.
Marc:You're not going to be one of those people that breastfeeds in their teens.
Guest:One doesn't know.
Guest:I hope fucking not.
Guest:No, you know.
Guest:No, I don't think that is the case.
Marc:10 months old.
Guest:10 months old.
Guest:I mean, basically, you're at luck.
Guest:I did not.
Guest:I'm a career person.
Guest:I'm a workaholic, and I didn't think...
Marc:That you're gonna have one?
Guest:I didn't know.
Guest:Really?
Guest:I like the idea of it.
Guest:I never thought I'd get married.
Guest:How's that going?
Guest:It's great.
Guest:I definitely, I felt like if I was gonna get married, someone was gonna have to fucking throw me over their shoulder and be like, we're doing this.
Guest:But I wasn't gonna be like,
Guest:You know, when are we doing it?
Marc:Which did you become?
Guest:I got thrown over.
Guest:I got thrown over someone's shoulder.
Marc:You're coming with me.
Guest:A southern man.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:It took a southern dude.
Guest:Really?
Marc:Where is he from?
Guest:He's from New Orleans.
Marc:Oh, that's nice.
Marc:That's like exotic south in a way.
Guest:Yeah, it is.
Marc:There's a lot going on there.
Guest:Oh, it's like its own fucking country.
Marc:It really fucking is, man.
Guest:No, it is.
Marc:You go down there and you're like, we're someplace weird and there's nothing like it.
Guest:There is nothing left in this country that really has its own cultural code.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Is that what it is?
Guest:I think so.
Marc:It's a little frightening at first.
Guest:A little scary because I think we're so used to being like, well, I'm in America, so I know how to kind of do everything from pretty much anywhere.
Guest:And then you get to New Orleans and you're like, rules don't apply.
Marc:And you can feel it in the air somehow.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:And also like they're a very resilient city and there's a sort of pride there for overcoming all that horrible water.
Guest:And they should carry that pride pretty hard.
Guest:I think that my husband always says, you know, it's a very unique city because it's there's no concept of tomorrow.
Guest:You know, it just is not.
Marc:I could go either way, good or bad.
Marc:It goes bad sometimes.
Marc:There's no concept of tomorrow.
Marc:Let's just push it.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And but because of that, there's no judgment.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So it's like if you are awake at 10 because you never went to bed and you're hammered on the side of the road, you know, whatever it is.
Marc:Sure.
Marc:That's just a guy living the no no tomorrow.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And it's OK.
Guest:You know, and then everyone, you know, starts playing horns and everything sort of like spontaneously around the guy on the street that didn't sleep.
Guest:By the way, that happens all the time.
Guest:It does.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:The horns.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:The spontaneous.
Guest:Spontaneous.
Marc:So wait.
Marc:So where'd you meet this southerner?
Guest:you know we we met um on the show how to make it in america i did um that was hbo show didn't last that long last like two years it was about a bunch of people that were doing things making pants they were making pants are they gonna get to make the pants or not make the pants and then it didn't end up going through they didn't make the show we don't know how the pants fared listen a lot of people are like did they make the pants like they stopped me at the subway didn't finish it out
Guest:They didn't.
Guest:Left it hanging?
Guest:No, because it was very open-ended pants.
Marc:How many did you do, like eight?
Guest:Well, we did two seasons, and we did, I don't even fucking know how many we did.
Guest:It doesn't matter.
Marc:No one can watch them now anyways, right?
Guest:Well, no, they can.
Guest:Oh, you can?
Marc:Well, go then watch them.
Guest:I did, it was the first time I was like naked.
Guest:really yeah on on tv yeah which i'm like not squeamish about are you i think that the way you position that comment after i said you can still watch it now they're gonna go i know yeah is that you yeah i think that's how i did it was a plan you know what actually reminded me you said can people still see it and i know yeah like that you're naked profoundly that people can see it because i still get flack for it so i guess that's why i was like
Marc:You get flack or you get weird emails like, hey, Lake, what's up?
Guest:Your boobs.
Guest:Yeah, those.
Marc:I get those.
Marc:I get those a lot.
Guest:It's less emails directly and more sort of tweetage.
Marc:But you also did connect that to, is that how you and your husband bonded?
Marc:He came up and said, nice job with the...
Guest:Great tits.
Guest:Let's get married.
Guest:It was more... No, no.
Guest:He came on the show.
Guest:The show was about hipster New York.
Guest:Cool people doing cool things.
Guest:And my character gets a tattoo.
Guest:And my husband is a famous tattoo artist.
Guest:Famous?
Guest:He is.
Guest:Would you have one?
Guest:I only have this.
Guest:This is very new.
Guest:Where is it?
Marc:That heart on your knuckle?
Guest:That's it.
Marc:He's a genius.
Guest:Listen...
Guest:He hasn't done anything.
Guest:People don't even know about that, actually.
Marc:It could be a blemish.
Guest:I know.
Guest:Well, the other one before that.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Oh, you had the ankle thing?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, look.
Guest:I did this myself when I was 14 in a dorm room.
Marc:Oh, it's a cross or a star?
Guest:It's like a plus sign, kind of.
Marc:So you did that.
Marc:You read a thing on how to ink, like jailhouse tattoos.
Guest:Yeah, prison tattoos.
Marc:You wrapped it around a sharp pencil piece of...
Guest:A little like piece of like a needle and then got India ink from the art studio.
Guest:I was at boarding school and I thought I was being really hardcore.
Guest:So I did that.
Marc:You just sat in your room poking yourself with a fucking needle.
Guest:I had clientele.
Guest:Really?
Guest:Like I had a little like parlor.
Marc:At the prep school?
Guest:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:Big time.
Guest:Kilts and tattoos.
Marc:So now instead of teardrop tattoos, they just have bad grades like C plus dripping from them.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So, okay.
Marc:So you're on set with the guy getting a tattoo.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Basically what happened was I saw him and I was like, okay, I'm listening, you know, because I saw him in the trailer.
Guest:He was dating someone else at the time.
Guest:I was like, okay.
Guest:I didn't know at the time.
Guest:I was being very flirty and I didn't realize he was dating someone.
Guest:And he gave me a, he had to like draw the tattoo on first.
Marc:Onto your hip you're pointing to?
Guest:Well, initially I thought it was going to be on the arm, but when I saw that he was a fox, I was like, I think it should be by my bikini line.
Guest:And so, especially because he was like, I have to draw it on first.
Guest:Yeah, and you're like, okay.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:This is so awkward.
Guest:Of course, he does this all the day long.
Marc:Like a doctor.
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:It's so clinical.
Marc:Doesn't even notice what's right over there.
Guest:Right over there.
Guest:Right next to the thing.
Guest:You're welcome.
Guest:He drew it on, and I was secretly taking pictures of the event.
Guest:Maybe because I knew that hopefully one day this would come around.
Guest:He actually, my line to him, basically, he had a motorcycle helmet.
Guest:And I was like, all right, noted.
Guest:Because that's actually one of my superpowers is that I know stuff about cars and whatnot.
Marc:Really?
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:You do a thing.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:My dad, I grew up with my car stuff.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:My dad is a racer.
Guest:He owns race car tracks.
Guest:Really?
Guest:Which is like pretty random.
Marc:So you spent your youth at the track looking at engines.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:So I was like, so what do you ride?
Guest:I was like, trying to get in there.
Guest:And he was like, yeah, it's a Ducati Supermotard.
Guest:And I was like, cool.
Guest:You ever take it on the track?
Guest:And he was sort of like, you're sweet.
Guest:Didn't you drop any engine knowledge?
Guest:No, what's in it?
Guest:No, because he basically like he said, I do it locally.
Guest:And I was like, is it is it New Jersey Motorsport Park?
Guest:And he was like, why do you know those words?
Guest:And I said, because my dad owns that track.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Little man.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Motherfucker.
Guest:And then he was like, right.
Guest:And we're going to be friends for a long time is what he said.
Marc:Really?
Guest:Yeah, he said, oh.
Marc:He said, shwing, we're gonna be friends for a long time.
Guest:He didn't say shwing.
Guest:I'm gonna go ahead and say that.
Guest:Yeah, I added that just now.
Marc:But you did drop some track knowledge.
Marc:What are some words you would say to a guy who rides on the track?
Marc:What's your time?
Guest:I wouldn't go that route, but I would be, I think, because obviously, like, I'm not an engineer.
Guest:Like, I don't fucking know how to fix, like, I can't fix your engine for you.
Guest:Because even when I wrote my column about it, like, it's more about the experience.
Guest:It's like kind of an experiential relationship to cars and, you know, what I like, what I think's sexy or what I think's funny or, you know, it's that.
Marc:Well, did you see my 2015 black Camry hybrid across the street?
Guest:Look.
Marc:solid car right gets you to the the the a to b my mother was not happy why i don't know what the fuck is wrong with her she decided that i have like uh some money and i should get a nice car and you're very you're very smart you got a car practical yeah you have it's got great gas mileage and i like the way it looks got leather seats the fuck do i need man it's all right it's all you need i drove a beamer i wasn't impressed i can't tell the difference
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, like if you wanted to feel that.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:If you want a little torque in your life, then you might have to go elsewhere.
Marc:See, that's the thing about the torque.
Marc:I took it out.
Marc:I've only had it a week.
Marc:I took it on the highway last night and I was kind of pushing it.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And it was OK, but it felt like it was like, oh, no, here we go.
Marc:Like that.
Guest:Like nervous, nervous torque.
Marc:A little tense about it.
Guest:Like, oh.
Guest:Yeah, there are some cars that are so confident with their torque that I get nervous.
Marc:Like, I'm nervous.
Marc:Right, they're so grounded.
Marc:Like, all right, you wanted this.
Marc:Here we go.
Marc:So when was the first time you got on your guy's bike and you were like, yeah.
Guest:First date.
Guest:First date, he came.
Guest:I was so nervous.
Guest:Yeah, it was the Ducati.
Marc:Do you have another bike too?
Guest:He did, but now we have the baby.
Guest:He's kind of like the bikes are kind of waning.
Guest:We don't go on the bike anymore.
Marc:That's smart.
Guest:Just because it is so damn fucking dangerous.
Marc:Yeah, you don't want to die?
Marc:When are you going to deny it?
Guest:I don't want him to die.
Marc:Sure.
Guest:Any of us.
Guest:I don't want any of us to die or get maimed.
Guest:No maiming.
Marc:So no more bikes.
Marc:So you get married.
Marc:Oh, he's Southern.
Marc:Did you get married?
Guest:We went to New Orleans.
Guest:Yeah, and it was a whole time.
Marc:He's got a lot of friends with beards.
Yeah.
Guest:There were so many tattooed.
Guest:It was just like a sea of tattooed folk.
Guest:And then just like my parents from the Upper East Side.
Guest:And then like the comedy world.
Marc:So it was a really eclectic.
Marc:Who of my friends were at your wedding?
Guest:Well, I mean like Rob Corddry was my officiant.
Marc:What does that mean?
Guest:He married us.
Marc:Oh, he married you guys?
Marc:That must have been fun.
Guest:Well, you know what's so interesting is like.
Marc:You got the universal church thing?
Yeah.
Guest:I don't know what credentials he has.
Guest:I just believed him.
Guest:But he actually... He was so generous and loving and sweet and wasn't hilarious.
Guest:He was very, very honest and real.
Marc:Really?
Guest:Because you... He's a great father and husband.
Marc:Yeah, no, he's a solid guy.
Marc:I like that guy.
Marc:I haven't talked to him in a long time.
Marc:But you were on all the children's hospitals?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Like every one?
Guest:Yeah, we started as a web series.
Guest:But where'd you meet him?
Guest:Warner Brothers.
Guest:We did What Happens in Vegas together.
Guest:The movie.
Guest:Yeah, so it was like Cameron and Ashton, and then their sort of quirky counterparts and best friends was Rob Cordray and Lake Bell.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And then we had to, in that movie, kind of...
Guest:Full-on like hate each other and then make out and so we had this like insane tour of Sort of like comedy silliness.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Oh, so you did the like the junkets together and stuff Yeah, exactly.
Guest:We were just you got to know each other and he was like this chick's funny Yeah, they're exactly and then it sort of started that that trend of like hey, do you want to be on my thing?
Guest:Hey, do you want to be in my thing comedy world?
Marc:That's sort of like yeah comedy circuit Yeah, that's sweet because before that you were just like actress person
Guest:Yeah, like dramas.
Guest:I went to drama school in England.
Guest:I studied classes.
Marc:Hold on, hold on.
Marc:We're not going to just blow all of that.
Guest:We're just not going to blow through that.
Marc:Now I have to backload stuff.
Marc:No, no.
Marc:See, there's a lot of things that we just blew over.
Marc:For instance, your father owns racetracks.
Marc:Who the fuck is your father?
Guest:His name's Harvey Segal.
Marc:I've never asked it that way.
Marc:I've never asked it that way.
Guest:He would love that.
Guest:He'd like the assertiveness.
Marc:Tough Jew?
Guest:Yeah, he's a Jew.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:He would like to think of himself as tough.
Marc:We all do.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:There's a certain type of Jew that's sort of like, you're not going to be the accountant, composer Jew.
Marc:You're more stocky.
Marc:Perhaps there's some hair on the chest, not much on the head.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Harvey Siegel is lithe.
Guest:He's sort of a lithe dude because he's a race car driver.
Guest:He enjoys racing.
Guest:He's an amateur racer, but he enjoys that, right?
Marc:Wait, he was always that?
Guest:He always loved to race.
Marc:He's a fast Jew.
Guest:He's a fast Jew.
Guest:And he's got a big old head of hair.
Guest:Nice.
Guest:White.
Guest:Still.
Guest:He's been like silver.
Guest:He's been the silver fox since he was like 20.
Marc:So he falls into the column of fortunate Jews with life and all his hair.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, he's got a great nose.
Guest:Like, let's not.
Marc:Right.
Marc:No, no, no, that's fine.
Marc:That doesn't count as a negative in the Jew columns.
Marc:Yeah, the nose, you make exception for all noses.
Marc:But having hair and not being fat, good stuff.
Marc:Good stuff.
Guest:Yeah, look, starting strong.
Guest:So he married my mom, who was a 19-year-old model.
Guest:Really?
Guest:Yeah, who was at 37.
Guest:So that's when he started.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:So he's got game.
Guest:He's got mad game.
Marc:Yeah, and you have siblings?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah, I've got he had two babies with that woman.
Guest:Yeah, mama.
Guest:And then he then remarried when he was 47.
Guest:He married a 22 year old named Sharon and she's my stepmom.
Guest:And he had two other kids with her.
Marc:So this is like a fuck that Jew.
Marc:Like I'm just going to do what I want to do Jew.
Guest:He's one of those Jews.
Guest:He's going to do what he's going to do.
Marc:I don't know if you kids will understand this, but I'm going to make some decisions that will drastically change your life so you can get on board or not.
Marc:Totally.
Marc:I'm going to take off now.
Guest:But, you know, he's, yeah, he's like a workaholic guy.
Guest:You know, he was not the most present dad necessarily and kind of made some weird choices.
Guest:But as a dad now and kind of a friend, he's cool.
Guest:Grandpa.
Guest:Yeah, he's a great grandpa.
Marc:Good grandpa.
Guest:That's what happens, right?
Guest:When parents are, you know, kind of made okay decisions when they were parents, but then they become grandpa.
Marc:Sure.
Marc:And you're expected to forgive them and then watch them be nice to your child the way they weren't to you.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And in a way, I kind of, I allow it.
Guest:You know, even dad, he would he sort of arrived a little later in my life as like, hey, you're doing cool stuff, kid.
Guest:You know, kind of thing.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:Initially, it was like, you didn't do that by yourself.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Especially when I wrote the car call on me a little bit.
Marc:Oh, is that weird?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Like they're so I don't know if it's a weird mixture of selfish and maybe a little bit of threatened that like that sort of I think that narcissistic parents somehow see you as just another appendage of them.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:and then all of a sudden they realize like it's not connected anymore and they seem to be doing something that i should acknowledge as their own yeah it's it's a weird shift and i under i you know i'm very respectful thinking just thinking my daughter i'm like okay i don't want that kind of right that pattern to to continue but even in in sorry i'm going to bring up another whopper but in in a world there's a father-daughter competition story at the at the crux of it i know i watched it yeah i saw that one i saw your movie were you going to come on here before
Guest:Exactly.
Marc:Yeah, a while back.
Guest:And that whole, you know, father-daughter competition story was something that I was investigating personally, too.
Guest:You know, I was sort of.
Marc:I like that movie.
Marc:It was a good movie.
Marc:You did a good movie.
Marc:I'll give you.
Marc:I'm proud of you.
Guest:Good for you.
Guest:Thank you.
Guest:Thank you.
Guest:My dad was proud of it, but he didn't seem to notice that.
Guest:you know there was some really he didn't notice the kind of he wasn't oh really yeah so but it's fine I mean I think it was no that's probably better because he would have taken it personally yeah and I didn't want that anyway right but what's that guy's name who played your dad he's so good Fred Melamed what a what a trip oh you
Marc:He's like such the classic Jewel.
Marc:He's that guy.
Marc:Is he really that guy?
Guest:No, I mean, he's the nicest man, you know.
Guest:And the character he plays, Sam Soto, in my movie is, you know, he's a little unsavory, you know.
Guest:And obviously to be in the throes of serious competition with your progeny and feeling insecure about that is not...
Marc:Yeah, my dad's like that with me and he's a doctor.
Marc:It's got nothing to do with anything.
Guest:Interesting, right?
Marc:Personal.
Marc:Yeah, it's that weird thing.
Marc:It's a narcissistic thing.
Guest:I think so, too.
Guest:I think it's also it's just good old fashioned insecurity.
Marc:Yeah, right.
Marc:Which would be right.
Marc:I think so.
Guest:Like, did I do, you know, it's like looking.
Guest:It's this weird thing.
Guest:And I wonder because my my brother and my dad sometimes when they raced back in the day, you know, they would both be on the racetrack.
Guest:And that's inherently a competitive.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Place to be.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And, you know, seeing my dad, even if my brother made a faster time.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, he gave my brother a picture of them on the on the track.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And, and it was him in front of my brother, you know, going over this, yeah, this one, this one little S and it's like, like father, like son, you know?
Guest:And my brother's like, huh?
Guest:You know?
Guest:And I was like, really?
Guest:Really?
Guest:Like, couldn't you just give it to him?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Just like let him have that.
Guest:Like, what does it matter?
Guest:And isn't it great that you're, you know, so that that theme and that idea that your your your parents couldn't be proud of you for your accomplishment and actually goes even further, but actually in competition with you and feeling insecure about it.
Guest:That is really compelling to me.
Marc:Yeah, I guess that their generation of Jews were the last ones to, you know, their parents were proud if they did better than them.
Marc:We want our children to be more successful than us.
Marc:That ended with that generation.
Marc:All right, we were more successful, but you little fuckers can't beat us.
Guest:Right, fuck you.
Marc:That's interesting.
Marc:I never thought about that.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Because that was sort of the thing with that first generation of Jews were sort of like, we just want our kids to do better than us.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:And that.
Guest:It's interesting.
Guest:It's not dissimilar from ladies in success, for instance, in this business and also other businesses.
Guest:But I think that what you just said reminds me of how women were like, why aren't there more women helping other women?
Guest:Because women, I guess, have been successful for a littler amount of time, just historically.
Guest:So it's like if they've gotten to the point of success in something, it is a little harder and not as intuitive to be like,
Guest:Come on, kid, I'll help you.
Guest:You know, it's sort of like, you do it.
Guest:I did it on my own.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You know, kind of looking around in that way.
Marc:And also, like, and again, that threatened thing.
Marc:I don't think anybody's really that secure.
Marc:Certainly in the business world.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Unless you really get to a position.
Marc:Like, people are so...
Marc:And I'm sure it happens with women.
Marc:But I mean, in general, they're like, they don't want to vouch for anybody.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Or be associated, unless they really have some confidence and they're grounded in their thing.
Guest:That's what I mean.
Guest:I think, God, you know, I think I've worked hard to kind of surround myself with people who don't have that problem.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Because that's really a bummer to live with.
Guest:Yeah, it is.
Marc:It's insidious.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And it's just, especially what we do, it's like, we're super lucky, you know, to do.
Marc:I've been hearing that a lot lately.
Guest:That we're lucky.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah, and I don't know if I ever really noticed it before because I'm such an ungrateful fuck sometimes because I'm so busy going like, what happens now?
Marc:Where are we at?
Marc:What am I doing now?
Guest:This is it.
Marc:I know it is.
Marc:God damn it.
Marc:It is good.
Guest:It's pretty good.
Marc:But the last three guests have been like, we are so fortunate to be able to do this ridiculous thing that we do.
Guest:Well, it is.
Guest:What would you do?
Guest:What's the other thing that you would do?
Marc:you know i'd probably you know maybe teach at a thing and you it's that what i mean in a way look i i is that what is that going to make me happy yeah it's like what are you i mean i don't know no it's so that's behind me do you feel happy i don't know yeah i'm pretty happy you are convincing no no no no i i there's a lot of things that are happy
Guest:Do you ever feel like if you all of a sudden were happy that somehow you wouldn't be an artist anymore?
Marc:No, it's not that.
Marc:I think that it's deeper than that.
Marc:It's not about art.
Marc:I think that if I was somehow happy that it would be something completely unfamiliar to me and it would feel a lot like jumping out of a plane.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:No, I feel like that with friends who have been perpetually single.
Guest:They don't want to find someone almost because to like what's more brave to kind of like date around or to like wholeheartedly be like, I love you.
Guest:Right.
Guest:The whole hearted thing.
Guest:Like I'm just going to fucking be scary and jump out of a plane and be like, I'm all in.
Guest:Like, do you want to meet me here or what?
Guest:Like that's so much more scary.
Marc:Did you do that to?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I learned that from Scott.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Like that whole trick.
Guest:He said that to you?
Guest:Because he's all tattooed.
Guest:Do you think he's kind of cool?
Guest:No, just from neck down.
Guest:But he also has my name.
Guest:Nine days after we met, he has a huge... Nine days.
Marc:Nine days after you met him.
Guest:Perfect example of jumping off the plane.
Marc:I think that seems a little bit manipulative to me.
Marc:But if you feel the other- Hey, no pressure, but check it out.
Guest:You know what?
Marc:He didn't even- I've known you a week.
Guest:He didn't even tell me either.
Guest:Right.
Marc:Oh, so that's cool.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:So you grew up in where?
Guest:I grew up in New York City.
Guest:Right in New York City?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I'm like one of those people.
Marc:Was your mom a big model?
Guest:My mom was a really successful model, but not to the point where you're like, oh, your mom's Jerry Hall.
Guest:It wasn't like that.
Marc:But around that time?
Guest:Yes, around that time.
Marc:Wow.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So your dad at that time, what was he doing that got him in these circles of like Studio 54?
Marc:I'm thinking.
Guest:Well, unfortunately, you know, my dad being more on the end of lascivious was at a college mixer at Finch and met my mom.
Guest:You know, he was like, he was a 37 year old at a college mixer.
Guest:and locked eyes with my mom and saw her, and she was 19.
Marc:What was he doing in a college mixer?
Marc:Was that his thing?
Guest:Picking objects, I think, yeah.
Guest:I think he had a fast car outside.
Guest:But then my mom, who's a consummate kind of nerd, she's sort of one of those beautiful...
Marc:Yeah, a lot of them are.
Guest:Women, yeah, who she's like, she's a model, but she read War and Peace in an afternoon.
Guest:You know, my mom's like one of those.
Guest:Yeah, right, sure.
Guest:And she still remains to be so fucking beautiful inside and out and has lived a million lives in different chapters.
Guest:She's sort of inspiring that way.
Guest:And yeah, so he just was like, who are you?
Guest:And then once he got to know her, he was like, I'm gonna marry this bitch.
Guest:Right.
Marc:With that sort of that Jewish focus.
Guest:Yeah, that you would focus.
Marc:Yeah, you'd come at it sort of like, we're not supposed to have those.
Guest:Yeah, therefore I will have it.
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Guest:She was like, you know, blonde hair, ice blue eyes, you know.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Sort of a wavy, sort of beautiful.
Marc:And that lasted a decade.
Guest:It lasted enough to get two babies out, yeah.
Marc:And that's your brother?
Guest:My brother, I've got an older brother, Luke.
Marc:What's he do?
Guest:He does sliding wall partitions, like sliding doors, like sort of high-end architectural.
Marc:Sliding doors?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He's got an amazing company that does these beautiful architectural doors.
Marc:He's the door guy.
Guest:He's the door guy, and he even says, he's like, I'm the door guy.
Guest:He loves it.
Marc:In New York?
Guest:In New York, yeah.
Marc:And you never moved out here?
No.
Guest:I moved out here for, yeah, I was here for 10 years.
Guest:But then I just moved back to New York.
Guest:But yeah, I went to, as I said, I went to boarding school.
Marc:You went to boarding school at like a fancy prep school?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:With the outfit?
Guest:With the outfit.
Guest:Well, actually, when I was a little girl, I went to Chapin, which on the upper side, which had the outfit.
Guest:Like the kilt thing.
Guest:Sure, yeah.
Guest:And the tunics.
Guest:And then I moved to Vero Beach, Florida for a few years with my mom because her and her chapters, a lot of chapters.
Marc:What the fuck was down there?
Guest:She was married to this guy, Gilbert Schaefer, who's amazing.
Guest:He was my stepfather my whole childhood.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he wanted to move to Florida.
Guest:So we went to the smallest town.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:the vero beach florida is on the map for a couple reasons one the dodgers trained there yeah b um it's also a surf community yeah and then c uh al-qaeda trained at the flight school in vero beach florida so it was all of a sudden on the map because of 9-11 and that was right not great and now they've had to fight back with the no but the dodgers
Guest:but the Dodgers and then the Dodgers left her and then so now it's like surfing I don't know yeah and then we're like that's everywhere in Florida how many times were your parents married mom three times dad she's on her third or she's out she's on the third okay yeah and it leveled off
Guest:She now lives in the farm and gardens a lot.
Guest:On the farm?
Guest:She lives on farmland.
Guest:Really?
Guest:Yeah, in Connecticut.
Marc:Really?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Nice.
Guest:She went from supermodely and Upper East Side.
Marc:Supermodely Manic Jew?
Guest:Exactly.
Marc:To Florida?
Guest:To Florida, Old Money, Cleveland Man.
Guest:Mm-hmm.
Guest:who was a wine connoisseur and merchant.
Guest:And then now is living in Connecticut with a nice man named Paul.
Marc:Nice.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And wound up with just a guy named Paul.
Guest:A guy named Paul.
Marc:And a farm.
Guest:And he's great.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:And your dad's on his second?
Guest:Dad's on his second, but that's like my stepmother since I was two.
Guest:So that's Sharon.
Guest:That's my Sharon.
Marc:And everybody got along.
Guest:no i like how you're just like and i want it to be that way i'm trying to i'm trying to find no there's like i mean of course there's just so much like arbitration and like you know the courtrooms and how old were you when you were like 10 i was two when they got just like it was just a mess of of like custody and and name changing and oh really yeah but it's like
Marc:It leveled off though and they were all, both, everyone was in your life.
Guest:Now everyone's cool.
Marc:Now.
Guest:I think it's like the kids end up being parentalized.
Guest:You know, they kind of take on the, we've got to fix everything kind of, you know.
Marc:Did you have that?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:My brother and I were like the hub of.
Marc:Corrections.
Marc:The in-betweens, the middle people.
Guest:Yeah, the middle people.
Marc:And you'd have, like, little confabs about it.
Marc:Is that the right word?
Marc:Where you'd be with your brother and it's like, all right, so dad's, like, acting like a fucking idiot.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And now we've got to figure out how to tell mom.
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:But there would be so much shit, like, growing up, they would always be like, this was what I loathe, is the, you know, don't tell your mom that I'm in town.
Guest:Because, you know, there's so much, like, don't tell your father that we're going to...
Guest:I'm like, we're not like CIA.
Guest:It doesn't matter that we're in town.
Guest:Who cares?
Marc:Well, the weird thing is, and I know my parents are divorced and they have been for years and my dad's a nutbag, but there's always this weird, whatever was there to begin with is still sort of there.
Marc:So all that shit is loaded.
Marc:They want to still feel connected somehow.
Guest:Interesting.
Guest:So are they remarried?
Marc:No.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Well, my dad's been remarried a long time, but my mom's sort of like, so what's your father doing?
Marc:Right.
Guest:Interesting.
Guest:Okay, okay.
Marc:Right?
Marc:It's like, what?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Because they know there's history there.
Marc:Of course.
Marc:How could that not go away?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Your mom's 19.
Marc:You know what I mean?
Guest:I know.
Guest:I mean, I just... Yeah.
Guest:I wish I was a fly on the wall.
Guest:I mean, there's so much that...
Guest:You know, I start to appreciate it now, you know, that I have a baby and I'm looking at, you know, it's like, thank God that we all have our babies kind of later in life.
Guest:You know, it's like a lot of me and my friends, we're all sort of like older parents.
Guest:How old are you?
Guest:I'm 36.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:So it's like, you're like, yeah, you're old.
Guest:No, I'm just kidding.
Guest:But it is.
Guest:It's better.
Guest:I think that you have perspective in a way that's like, if I had a fucking baby in like 20, 26, it's just.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:People do that.
Guest:I know.
Marc:And younger.
Marc:So your mom was like 20?
Guest:She was, for the first one, 21.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Second one, 27.
Marc:That's a big difference between you and your brother, huh?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And the step brothers and sisters you get along with?
Guest:Yeah, that is the greatest gift of it.
Guest:There's just two?
Guest:There's two, yeah.
Guest:I feel like I have this huge family.
Guest:But there's two younger sisters, and then I have stepbrothers from that marriage, the Florida marriage.
Guest:I consider them part of my two.
Guest:Even though they're not together anymore, you're still... Yeah, because if you spend enough time... And you're still in touch with them?
Guest:Yeah, totally.
Marc:Do you do the prep school thing?
Marc:You're smart, you're pretty.
Marc:Are you modeling?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:When I was in London at drama school, I had a bout of it just because it's the only thing you can do without a national security number in terms of making money.
Guest:And I was like, I wasn't this lithe thing.
Guest:My mom was a waif.
Guest:She was a model.
Guest:I had more stuff.
Guest:And so I couldn't do high fashion or anything.
Guest:But I could do some mediocre modem.
Guest:modeling gigs which i did and i remember being like a fucking like promotional girl you know like at like events where they give you some here kid you know actually it was in england so all right put this on yeah put this on hold this hold this thing tell people whether you know where the loo is or whatever you know and and that was you know that's what i did i was like yeah it's over here and what drama school was it
Guest:um rose bruford college of speech and drama why that one because they had a ba honors like my dad didn't like the idea of me getting a diploma so you know like what does that mean like it's just the idea but i know who cares right but the idea that if in case the acting thing doesn't work out you know it's like i want you to have something to show for it like a bachelor of arts
Guest:So this was the conservatory that offered an actual academic Bachelor of Arts, which by the way, we did jack shit.
Marc:And how was that school?
Guest:It was great.
Guest:I mean, it was like fucking no frills.
Guest:I lived above a fish and chip shop in the middle of Sidcup, which is like in England, if you said Sidcup, people would be like, oh my God, how'd that happen?
Marc:And you were there for four years?
Guest:I was there for four years and really.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And so those are my formative kind of college years was in England.
Guest:So, yeah.
Guest:So, but, you know, I don't know.
Guest:It's one of those things.
Guest:I don't think you have to go to drama school in order to be a good actor or anything.
Guest:It's just an endurance test at one point.
Marc:But you do have certain skills.
Marc:You have a composure.
Marc:Well, I mean, I think that's the difference.
Marc:I mean, a lot of actors I talk to, when it comes right down to it, they have sort of a hard time necessarily describing what it is that they do or how they do it.
Marc:But there are some cats that are really kind of...
Marc:I don't know if the word is utilitarian or like, they're just, they're, they're working actors.
Marc:They've got their craft in place.
Marc:Like you talked to someone like Cranston, you know, who, you know, came up in the studio system.
Marc:His dad was a studio system actor, like, and he's, it's like a job.
Marc:Right.
Marc:And he's got his, you know, his, the way he does it.
Marc:He sees himself as a working, you know, like a working class almost.
Guest:Right.
Marc:But then there are other people that are just sort of like, I don't know.
Marc:You just, either you have a knack for it or you don't and you kind of pretend, which is true.
Guest:I think it's sort of like an amalgamation of both because.
Marc:But you speak so nicely and you made a movie about speaking in a way so that you must have learned how to do that.
Marc:Like my mouth is a fucking mess.
Marc:I have rolling L's.
Marc:I lisp and my jaw doesn't meet.
Marc:It's a disaster.
Guest:But you're super aware of everything, which is kind of amazing, right?
Guest:Like you're so aware of yourself.
Marc:Yeah, I can't stand it.
Marc:There's nothing I can do about it.
Marc:If I get a W and an L together, like howl.
Marc:I had to say howl a bunch of times before.
Marc:It's difficult.
Guest:Howl.
Marc:Yeah, because my L's are sort of like W's.
Guest:I used to kind of like have a sibilance a little bit.
Guest:You know, a little bit of that.
Guest:And then I kind of worked through it.
Guest:Because what I love about the voice and why I'm so obsessed with it.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:um and what you learn at drama school um is you know that the all these muscles are workable like in the way that we do physical therapy to shift our body right um and repair our body you can you can do that with your voice and what about movement um and i love fucking movement i dork out all this shit but so you you did though but that training means something man i was so into it but i also was kind of a sponge for that kind of dorky stuff but um sword play
Guest:sword play i did all that dancing yeah i mean just like rapier jagger motherfucker you know what i mean um i i you know i don't get to do that as much anymore really not much sword play not much sword play but i did get pregnant and that happens oh come on good one uh so you do that for four years then you come back here
Guest:Um, so I did that for four years and then I went straight to, uh, Los Angeles where it was like, all right, kid next.
Guest:You know, it was very, I had just done tis pity.
Guest:She's a whore, you know, like a Jacobean play, you know?
Guest:And, um, and then all of a sudden I was like, uh, I did, uh,
Guest:I got, I don't know.
Guest:I remember I did my first job out of the gate.
Guest:Not many people know this is very horrible.
Guest:And I told Rob Hubel about it because we did that show, The Shit Show.
Guest:You know, it used to be, but it's a horrible, horrible movie called Slammed.
Guest:And I play just like a booby girl who like with other kind of, I mean, this is like, like with like girls who would do porn, you know, like where I, I'm just like the comic relief in a, and I'm horrible in it.
Guest:Like I'm just the worst actor.
Marc:But you were like, it's the first job.
Guest:Oh, it was so exciting.
Guest:I thought this was my mystic pizza.
Guest:I was like, I've arrived.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:I was like, but, and, you know, I remember having, they wanted me to audition for like the girl, you know, the one that's like, hey, Chad, like what's going on with us?
Guest:You know?
Guest:And I was like, insisted on auditioning for the like kind of comic relief person.
Guest:And I did this whole shebang and they were like, who, it was such a dodgy group of people.
Yeah.
Guest:And, you know, of course, I got it.
Guest:I was so jazzed to be there.
Guest:And there was one scene where I'm like, you know, like, we're gonna get your boobs to bounce.
Guest:And then he's gonna drop salsa on you.
Guest:You know, I mean, it's just like the worst, like, but I was so like, unfettered optimism about it.
Guest:And then, and then shortly after that, I started to, you
Guest:You know, I was like a cocktail waitress for a while and then a hostess.
Guest:And then I got war stories, which was like me and Jeff Goldblum.
Guest:And I played a journalist in a backdoor pilot, which became kind of a TV movie type thing.
Marc:So that was your first role.
Marc:And then you're a hostess and a waitress.
Marc:And then the big break was.
Guest:I mean, that's the thing.
Guest:Just a slow fizzle?
Guest:Yeah, I'm like a, not fizzle, but maybe like slow step up.
Marc:But you did episodics?
Guest:I did episodics.
Guest:I did TV for a while.
Guest:I always was on a TV show on the air.
Marc:You're always on?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Because you were good.
Guest:It was like Mismatch and then Boston Legal and then fucking, what else?
Guest:I don't know.
Marc:When was the first movies?
Marc:When did you get tied in with the comedy people?
Guest:Then it was What Happens in Vegas.
Guest:That was it?
Guest:It kind of changed my life.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Everyone was like, who's this funny chick?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then it was kind of like, you're just it.
Guest:You know, again, I'm not like it's like you're not you're clearly not like sitting across from Cameron Diaz right now.
Guest:You know, like I feel that I am comfortably and so sort of like I love the trajectory because I'm like, oh, I still go on the fucking subway.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:And I can live my life.
Guest:And then also I'm a constantly working person.
Marc:Right.
Marc:But occasionally you get there like, hey, you're there.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, did we?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then, you know.
Marc:Then it goes away.
Guest:And then it goes away.
Guest:And it's always respectful or, you know, it's like, I never know what someone's going to say.
Guest:They're like, oh, you're, they never know my first name.
Guest:No.
Guest:You know?
Guest:No.
Guest:It's occasional, only recently maybe.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You know, but usually it's just like, oh, I don't even, oh.
Marc:And then you tell them what happened in Vegas.
Marc:They're like, no.
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Guest:And then you're just like, but they'll be like, in another world.
Guest:And I'm like, it's close.
Guest:Or made America or something.
Guest:And I'm like, yeah, sure.
Guest:Or I hate when people say, oh, what do I know you from?
Guest:Right.
Guest:Because I'm like, well, I don't know what your arsenal of iTunes, you know.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Yeah, you can't.
Marc:It's hard to answer.
Marc:You don't want to spend too much time.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So, but when did the, like, I'm trying to figure out when he sort of got integrated into the comedy world.
Guest:I think it's honestly Children's Hospital.
Marc:What about David Wayne's thing?
Marc:He did a Wayney Days.
Guest:Yeah, but that was like brief.
Guest:I mean, I only did one Wayney Days.
Guest:It was really just Children's Hospital.
Guest:Because what happened was, you know, I did What Happens in Vegas.
Guest:And then, you know, Cordray and I became pals deeply from that experience.
Guest:And then he started, I think it was one of the first people that was on Children's Hospital with him.
Marc:Oh, I see.
Marc:So you ran through that and then all this other stuff was sort of happening simultaneously, really.
Guest:Exactly, exactly.
Marc:So you did Children's Hospital and that ran for a while, years.
Guest:Seven years.
Guest:We're still doing it.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You know, all of a sudden I was like I was playing a comedy, a comic.
Marc:Right.
Marc:And now you're like a comedy person.
Guest:Now I'm a comedy person.
Marc:BoJack Horseman, Wet Hot American Summer.
Marc:That's like a comedy graduate school.
Guest:I mean, basically.
Marc:Yeah, you're like you're in with the...
Guest:But Children's Hospital kind of functions in that way, too.
Guest:Like, I feel like every year we all come together and it's like comedy camp.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And we all get paid seven dollars.
Guest:But we show up, you know, and now I direct them each year, even though this year I didn't get to because I'm in pre-production on this other thing.
Guest:But like, you know.
Marc:And you have a big movie coming out, right?
Marc:That's why you're here.
Guest:No Escape.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:We're not talking about it.
Guest:But No Escape is not a comedy.
Marc:With Owen Wilson.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:So it's me and Owen, but there's no laughs.
Marc:Why did they do that to you?
Guest:You know what?
Guest:I think it's kind of smart casting because you've got, it lulls the audience into like, well, shit can't get that bad.
Guest:And then it gets that bad.
Guest:Bad.
Guest:It's so bad.
Guest:Like the, the shit that happens is so level 10 and then a level 11.
Guest:I mean, there's just like, it's, it's so good though.
Guest:Honestly, like I'm so thankful that it's not, you know, the kind of thing where I have to come out and like promote something I don't believe in.
Guest:But it's, it's, it's fucking good.
Guest:I don't usually watch movies like that.
Guest:I have to admit.
Marc:What kind of movie?
Marc:A thriller?
Guest:It's not the kind of thing where all of a sudden, you know, we're like a family and all of a sudden we know fucking Kung Fu.
Guest:It's like if Owen and I were married and this happened, it's like we're it's kind of a mess.
Guest:You know, we're messy.
Guest:It's you got to figure shit out in a way that's very hyper, hyper real.
Guest:And the children aren't props.
Guest:You know, that thing of kind of like.
Guest:Let's get the kids too.
Guest:You know, you like know their names.
Guest:It's Lucy and Breeze.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:You know how they feel about things.
Marc:So it's menacing, this thing.
Guest:It's just like, ah, it's so stressful because – Is there one guy causing the trouble?
Guest:We get caught in a sort of government coup.
Guest:So like rebels sort of overthrowing their government.
Guest:And it's something that actually was attempting to happen in the middle of –
Guest:you know, in Thailand when we were shooting it.
Guest:So while we were shooting this fucking movie, they had to regulate when we did our riots scenes and stuff like that because it's Shangmai, Thailand, and it might have been misconstrued that something was going on.
Marc:It's like Apocalypse Now in the Philippines.
Guest:Yeah, it was volatile.
Marc:So when did you start directing stuff?
Guest:I had been writing for many, many years, but kind of closeted.
Guest:I didn't want to be an actress who was working on a screenplay with nothing to show for it.
Guest:So you didn't talk about it.
Guest:Never talked about it.
Guest:And then I presented this first script to my agents that I had co-written with this girl who I sort of like...
Guest:you know worked with and sort of got a it was four years of work and it was a college level course in screenwriting you know it was like great working with her because I was all dialogue and like ooh what if this happens and kind of like improvising with myself and she was like structure so we were a great team but then that all sort of dissipated and there was like dissipated hostily
Guest:In a unfortunate way.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Because it just was it was one of those things where I think there's so much energy when you work with someone and you're like people you care so much.
Guest:We almost became too dependent on each other.
Guest:And then, you know, even personal life, too.
Guest:And then once that starts to get weird, then it's hard to think about, you know, when you make a movie, it's like years of your life, you know.
Guest:And if there was distrusting measures there, then why?
Guest:move forward.
Guest:So I kind of killed it.
Guest:But anyway, so after that, I then started to write on my own.
Guest:I was inspired to write by myself, and that's when I started writing In a World.
Guest:And I presented it to my agents.
Guest:They then were like, look, you should direct this shit.
Guest:And I was like, I'm not directing having never done anything before.
Guest:I think that's really irresponsible.
Guest:And I'm too... I just don't have the audacity to do that.
Guest:And...
Guest:They said, well, then, you know, Billy Lazarus, my agent, was like, then fucking write and direct a short film.
Guest:And so I did.
Guest:And that was Worst Enemy.
Guest:And it went to Sundance and did really well there.
Guest:And then so after that sort of validation, I then was like, all right, I'm going to.
Guest:You can do it.
Guest:And then when In A World got in, you know, and I.
Guest:I mean, the sort of energy and love and success that I got from In A World really did change my life vastly.
Guest:I mean, it won the Screenwriting Award at Sundance, which was vastly unexpected.
Guest:You know, it just was like...
Marc:And it's exciting.
Marc:It's a big thing over there.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:When the buzz at Sundance, it's like you're in that weird little world with everybody in the business is there.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And there's stars everywhere that you don't know are there.
Marc:It's like, what is that?
Marc:Who's that coming out of the bathroom?
Marc:Totally.
Marc:They're just here for a day?
Guest:Does anyone know they're here?
Guest:But yeah, it was really special.
Guest:And all my friends were in it.
Guest:You know, it was just like the movie just fucking was the be all end all.
Marc:Yeah, I like that movie.
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:I did.
Marc:You know, and I don't, I wouldn't say it.
Marc:I didn't want to have to yawn and be like, watch a movie and be like, oh no.
Marc:No, it's, it's a good movie.
Marc:It's a very heartfelt and it makes you, it's emotional.
Marc:And, you know, Demetri Martin, it's tolerable in it.
Guest:He's great in it.
Guest:Yeah, he's great in it.
Guest:And, you know, Cordray is amazing and very honest.
Guest:And Michaela Watkins, who you just, I love her.
Guest:She's like one of my best friends and she's in it.
Guest:And Tig Notaro, obviously.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And Nick Offerman.
Guest:Yeah, everyone's in there.
Guest:Stephanie Allen.
Guest:Everyone's in there.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:stephanie allen yeah i mean cameron's got a little cameo in there yeah um evil angoria you know yeah yeah you stacked it up yeah you're like this is like the cast of stars i just like yeah i didn't even with cameron i didn't even i said to her i was like i you guys are buddies yeah she's a really good friend of mine and i was like i do not want to
Guest:I didn't want the credit to be there.
Marc:Because I just didn't want to... You didn't want to look like that person?
Guest:Well, I didn't want to like... She's genuinely a very good friend.
Guest:I didn't want to sort of... Seemly using her?
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Marc:And how did that movie do, Lake Bell?
Marc:I'm just going to reset you like we're on NPR.
Marc:So Lake Bell, how did that...
Marc:um that film do in a world it did great i mean i made 0.00 dollars congratulations thank you so much that's great um but it changed my life yeah i guess that's what you mean in what way um personally or professionally i mean both i mean obviously personally you directed a movie and it got well received and it was fucking beautiful and you're a rock star
Guest:Well, I mean, I was an actor, and now it's like- You're a director and a writer.
Guest:Yeah, it's like, okay, at first was- Your force.
Guest:I'm just, I have hyphenates, and I have justified hyphenates versus just sort of like presenting them out there in a kind of, you know, idealistic way.
Marc:So it says on your resume you're a director, and what did you direct?
Marc:I did a thing.
Marc:I can send it to you.
Marc:You're not-
Guest:if you have to say i can send it to you then it's a little bit you know i can give you a link there's a my music's not cleared but here's a link you know um but yeah so i you can you can purchase my work on itunes at all um but and then i'm i'm in pre-production on on my next picture but it's also it's not a comedy so it's sort of an interesting new you wrote and directed
Guest:No, it's an adaptation of this novel that I love called The Emperor's Children by Claire Massoud.
Guest:The adaptation is written by Noah Baumbach.
Marc:Yeah, I know that guy.
Marc:I talked to him.
Guest:Did you?
Marc:Right on.
Marc:He's got a movie coming out right now.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But he just had one.
Guest:He's super prolific.
Guest:I am not.
Guest:I'm really in awe of how quickly he sort of churns shit out.
Guest:And I'm always in awe of people who can do that because I take my time.
Guest:I'm kind of slow.
Guest:He figured it out.
Marc:He's one of those kind of low bud shooter guys.
Guest:I know.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And but then again, I kind of could do that, too.
Guest:But I just have, you know, I'm when I go and act in a movie for two months and I have a baby and, you know, I'm right because I have an original work that I've been working on for like five years or something.
Marc:You really have to.
Marc:I think you'd have to pull back from the acting.
Yeah.
Guest:Indeed.
Guest:Indeed.
Marc:Right?
Marc:Totally.
Marc:Okay, so he adapted this thing.
Guest:He adapted The Emperor's Turtle.
Guest:I'm sorry, I cut you off.
Guest:No, no, it's fine.
Marc:You're about to say something.
Marc:You set it up with your head and everything.
Guest:No, he sort of adapted it, and then Imagine Entertainment is making it, so it's like... Okay, you're just directing it.
Marc:So now you've been hired as a director.
Guest:Yeah, like Brian Greiser and Ron Howard hired me to direct it.
Guest:Who's in it?
Guest:Jeff Bridges.
Marc:Oh, he's great.
Guest:Yeah, he's the best.
Guest:And we're still casting the other characters.
Marc:Do you need me for anything?
Guest:Are you a 26-year-old girl who went to Brown?
Marc:I can do that.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:I can do it.
Marc:Just picture it.
Guest:Would you shave your mustache?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Just to make it more believable.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Not the goatee, though.
Marc:Something's got to stay.
Guest:We'll CGI it out.
Marc:I just want to have a little bit of me in the park.
Guest:You.
Guest:Well, then you're going to bring your heart.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:This is a new thing I do where I put people on the spot to cast me in things on my show.
Guest:It's a new thing.
Guest:But I appreciate it.
Guest:Oh, sure.
Guest:Yeah, no, it's going well.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:I've got nothing.
Guest:We're going to have to have you come in just like me because, you know, the producers need to kind of... It's not me.
Marc:It's just that the producers... But let's not diminish it with my neediness and my joke.
Marc:So you're casting.
Guest:I'm casting right now.
Guest:But it's two, there's two women, you know, there's two sort of young girls.
Marc:Where's it going to shoot?
Guest:New York City.
Guest:Mm-hmm.
Guest:My hometown.
Marc:Do you know what you're going to do now?
Marc:Like, as director, is like, you're like, you got locations going and everything's going?
Guest:In truth, I'm in the frustrating purgatory of, you know, being, I have been in pre-production for a year and a half.
Guest:Right.
Guest:um and solidifying your financing and making sure that it's stable and that they everybody's okay but that's not on you right you know what i am someone who's very much involved in that kind of stuff so you're a producer as well i am i don't know whether to get that credit but yeah i've been producing it with my producers you know for you know when when we get cast you know it's like it's me who's in there if we have to do a rewrite that's me in there you know it's
Marc:But Imagine hires you and they're like, okay, this is the money we're going to put in.
Marc:We'll see you.
Marc:Good luck with everything.
Marc:Use your people and we'll talk to you.
Guest:No, no.
Guest:Imagine is actively producing it.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:So they are, we're teammates, you know, very much in trying to like make it all fucking happen.
Guest:And it's just like fucking frustrating sometimes.
Marc:That's exciting.
Marc:So you're in Brooklyn?
Guest:I'm in Brooklyn.
Marc:So you're there?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Going into the city?
Yeah.
Guest:yeah i mean i try to like i'm gonna try to locations got as much in brooklyn as possible just easier to shoot there yeah you know because the city is like a beast it's a fucking nightmare right i love it don't get me wrong but it's just um i think i don't know i grew up there and i still enjoy you know being in brooklyn and getting to see manhattan you know from the other side of the the river like right isn't that better you know being able to kind of let's not
Marc:the same you know manhattan's exhausting and it's just even if you know it's nice to be able to look at it and go like oh am i gonna go in today yeah and and or just look at it yeah like for a sexy date night maybe you want to go into the city it's like it makes it exotic again instead of hating it yeah yeah you you like it's like living on long island are we gonna go into the city yeah
Guest:Different, but the same.
Guest:Did you ever live in New York?
Guest:Yeah, so you know.
Guest:Where did you live?
Marc:I was just there.
Marc:I lived on 3rd and 16th for a couple years.
Marc:I lived on A, 2nd between A and B for a couple years.
Guest:Yeah, my brother lives in that neighborhood.
Marc:Well, when I lived there, it was the late 80s.
Marc:It was like different.
Guest:No, I mean, he moved there like 15 years ago.
Marc:Oh, so he saw the whole shift.
Marc:Smoke, dope, dope, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, dope.
Marc:And then the weird heroin names, Yankee Doodle, Tango and Cash.
Guest:Yeah, my mom was always like, what are they saying?
Guest:You know, why are they asking me something?
Marc:Well, it's nice that they were asking her that she had that look.
Guest:I love that.
Guest:Like, that lady needs something.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I was like, why are you approaching my mom, this blonde, you know, shiksa goddess?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And did you say you were going to want to look at places here?
Marc:Did I make that up?
Guest:No, yeah.
Guest:I mean, we're trying to figure out whether they're going to move back.
Marc:Really move back.
Guest:I know, but I feel like I... Do you own the place in Brooklyn?
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:All right, so you're good.
Guest:I put all the money in there, and now I'm like, shit.
Marc:What do you mean?
Marc:So you just have that place?
Guest:Or rent it or whatever?
Guest:It was a big deal because basically... Did you buy a building?
Guest:We bought a four-story kind of townhouse.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:And then I birthed it at home.
Marc:What?
What?
Guest:So it was like a very important.
Marc:Whoa, whoa.
Marc:In the bathtub?
Guest:On the floor.
Marc:On the floor?
Marc:On a mat?
Guest:To be honest, it's kind of like it's not linear kind of where it all happens.
Guest:It's like.
Marc:You just go like, we're doing it here?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, I knew I was going to do it at home.
Marc:You planned it though.
Guest:I planned it out.
Marc:Did you have a doula?
Guest:I had a doula and a midwife.
Marc:Really?
Guest:But no doctors.
Guest:Huh.
Guest:Just hanging out at home.
Marc:Yeah?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And you liked that?
Guest:I liked it.
Marc:You'd do it again?
Yeah.
Guest:I would do it again, even though if you asked me right after, I'd be like, fuck you.
Marc:It's a mess, right?
Guest:It's fucking ridiculous.
Guest:It was a fucking mess.
Guest:It's just a massacre of stuff.
Guest:But also, I just had no idea that it was that hardcore.
Guest:I knew birth would be insane, but I didn't know the aftermath was insane.
Guest:Right.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Cause I don't know.
Marc:Do you have like friends who like, are you like, cause I gotta, you got, everything's gotta come back together.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Nobody tells you about that.
Guest:I just, everything is so you're like, Oh, I'm injured.
Guest:Like I'm an injured person.
Guest:Um, I thought I would just kind of like bounce back and you know,
Guest:because i like i like i make lists i'm kind of organized and i felt like all right i'll be able to kind of troubleshoot yeah this new sort of priority shift you know right and it was just like i was hit by a wave i just didn't know what the fuck happened i totally was depressed i you know all that chemical shit happened to me and i just felt like i would be i don't know somehow and scott was there tattooing the baby immediately
Marc:He's got some ink on that real estate.
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Marc:No, but he was there for the whole thing.
Guest:Yeah, he was there.
Guest:He was like my doula, basically.
Guest:Holy fuck.
Guest:He's great.
Guest:He runs marathons and shit, and he's kind of hardcore.
Guest:He knows how to... If we were taking a hike and there's a scorpion or something, he'd be like, I can talk to the scorpion and make sure that it doesn't come near.
Guest:He's sort of like an...
Guest:uh like an animal whisperer and so i felt like him when you turn kind of into an animal when you're having a baby yeah and it's true i just was not even there i mean i was there but i i we actually had a we had our friend photograph the event um she's a good idea yeah
Guest:You know what?
Guest:I didn't even know she was there.
Guest:I just was like, I knew she was there, but I didn't, it wasn't what I was concerned with.
Guest:And she's a street photographer, so she's amazing at being kind of invisible.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Guest:How do you, what do you, how, well, just looking back on it, you know, it's like Scott was just.
Marc:In it?
Guest:In it, yeah.
Guest:And just there.
Guest:And it's, it's, um, sigh.
Guest:I feel for the first time I just felt badass.
Guest:My husband runs marathons and he is physically a badass.
Guest:And I just don't have that.
Guest:There's nothing that's ever... Partially I think why I wanted to do it at home was I just...
Guest:I just was like, this is going to be my thing.
Guest:I don't want to... I want this experience.
Guest:I want to feel it.
Guest:I want to be there.
Guest:I'm impressed with this whole mechanism.
Guest:My body is just kind of operating.
Guest:That's the thing about it.
Guest:You get nervous.
Guest:At least I got very nervous about, will I know what to do?
Guest:And the truth is, your body knows what to do.
Guest:The fucking...
Marc:It's coming out.
Guest:It's coming out.
Guest:Yeah, and my midwife even said afterwards, I was like, I realize you never told me.
Guest:When I hear other people's birth stories, like, you never told me you're six centimeters or whatever.
Guest:Like, I never heard the word centimeters.
Guest:Right, right.
Guest:She was like, well, I don't want you to start doing, like, birth math.
Guest:Like, if you've been working fucking hard for 10 hours and you're only at six centimeters or some shit, you're like, okay, I need to get four more centimeters.
Guest:That means 10 centimeters.
Guest:Oh, my God, are you kidding me?
Guest:You know, like, you would go crazy.
Guest:almost claustrophobic with anxiety of that you'd have to continue it's too exhausting but so she was like look my philosophy is it's either in or it's fucking out and that's all you need to know you know so you got to keep going you know how long was it it was like two days or something you know on the floor
Guest:No, all over the place, like in the shower, in the toilet, in the tub, in the bed.
Guest:The bed sucks always, which is what's so crazy.
Guest:In the hospital, they put you on the bed or whatever.
Guest:It's like totally ridiculous.
Guest:Really?
Guest:You shouldn't be on the bed.
Guest:It's not hard enough?
Guest:No, it's just like that shape is not conducive to gravity pulling.
Guest:Oh, right.
Guest:Right?
Guest:Oh, right.
Guest:It doesn't make sense.
Guest:You should be like.
Marc:Squatting?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I was on a little stool sitting like this.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Interesting.
Guest:That's when shit gets real.
Guest:You know what I'm saying?
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:That's why a lot of people deliver on the toilet.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, not to get into it.
Guest:I don't know.
Marc:Right.
Marc:I've never gotten into it.
Marc:We can get into it.
Guest:I mean, I don't know.
Guest:This is like... No, it's exciting.
Marc:I don't know if it's going to happen for me.
Marc:So hearing about it, I don't think it ever happened.
Marc:Well, how old are you?
Marc:51.
Marc:51.
Guest:You can totally... The guys are so lucky.
Guest:It's like my dad.
Guest:He was having babies into his 50s.
Marc:You know, it's just... So you got pictures.
Marc:Do you look at those pictures?
Guest:I relive it.
Guest:It's really intense, yeah.
Guest:I mean, it doesn't... It looks like...
Guest:It looks so of another time.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You know, the thing about birth is like it's been happening.
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Guest:And there's like in order to feel calm anyway, there's just candles lit and stuff.
Guest:So it really looks like some of these photos look like.
Marc:As opposed to like being in a hospital surrounded by machines.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And bright lights.
Marc:The hats and the scrubs.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:It just looks like, oh, I relate to this on a, you know, and in my home I have, I love like old timey, you know, all my, my mom's an interior decorator, so everything's very sort of like antiques.
Guest:So it really looks like it could be.
Marc:Timeless.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's great.
Guest:And birth is timeless.
Marc:And sure, it keeps happening.
Marc:People have babies everywhere.
Guest:And by the way, I can't believe it because that shit is crazy.
Guest:I can't believe women are just like right now pushing babies out.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Right now.
Guest:It just makes me want to like, I'm like, I mean, if I'm, yes, I'm a feminist because I'm a woman, but like the, that I was like, we, women are amazing.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:And what about this depression?
Marc:So you like afterwards, the aftermath was just not happy necessarily.
Guest:Well, but the baby must've been like, Oh my God.
Guest:It's that part's amazing.
Guest:It is so,
Guest:I'm someone who... I feel very at home directing a movie.
Guest:I love being on the front foot, energetically, juggling a million things at once, staying calm, locking in with people, and feeling that experience.
Guest:I love that.
Guest:That's my happy place.
Guest:But...
Guest:when you are all of a sudden bedridden you can't walk downstairs you know every pain everything's all beat up yeah and you're torn and you're you know you're literally like you're beaten up you know and there's this little thing that is insatiable like i don't know what she needs or i don't know what the fuck i'm doing you know i also you know have this person that i share my life with that you
Guest:you know, can go down to the shop and get something, you know, but I can't, you know?
Guest:So it's frustrating.
Guest:That's frustrating.
Guest:And it's like... Your body's just like a tool to, you know, every time the baby goes on your... I'm sorry, I don't even know what I'm talking about.
Guest:But look, I'm just gonna say that...
Guest:When the baby first starts feeding, nobody fucking told me this, but you get contractions.
Guest:After you've just done all that fucking work, it's like you get contractions and there's like blood and everything.
Guest:And it's just like.
Marc:And you're like, when does this stop?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And it's just like, how can this be the new normal?
Guest:Like, this is insane.
Guest:You know, like the idea of I mean, I was in pre-production on The Emperor's Children, you know, in soft prep and development.
Guest:And I thought, when in God's name?
Guest:In the near future, will I be able to go to my computer and be like, okay, let me just open up Final Draft.
Guest:Let me just check navigation and see what... One second.
Marc:When are you going to have that tone again?
Guest:That seems so impossibly far away and terrifying.
Marc:How long did it take?
Guest:Still going, you know?
Guest:No.
Guest:I mean, 10 months later, it's, you know, I finally... But your body heals.
Guest:Your body heals.
Marc:And you get into a pattern or a system with it.
Guest:It takes longer than I thought, though.
Marc:Right.
Guest:And maybe if I was younger, maybe it wouldn't be as long.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:But, like, it took longer, you know?
Guest:And I still have, you know, especially someone, you know, I'm a little spoiled.
Guest:Like, I, you know, don't work out that much.
Guest:And, you know, I sort of...
Guest:Enjoy my body and everything.
Guest:And I definitely have evidence that I've had a baby.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:On my person.
Guest:And that is something that you finally get over.
Marc:Yeah, it's a shot to... I think it reprioritizes your vanity somehow.
Guest:Absolutely.
Guest:I'm like, I don't give a shit.
Guest:At first, I was kind of like...
Guest:I am kind of a little bit, I will admit, a little proud almost of the scar, the marks that I have from my pregnancy.
Guest:Because I'm like, yeah, it was crazy.
Guest:And here is my evidence that I did it.
Guest:What, like stretch marks?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah, but that's amazing.
Marc:But you do get into a routine with it at this point.
Guest:You start to figure it out.
Marc:Are they with you?
Guest:No.
Guest:See, this is my first time kind of this long away from them.
Guest:It's a six-day door-to-door thing.
Marc:Okay, so now we can come full circle.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So your boobs wake you up.
Guest:So when I'm here... What are you doing with it?
Guest:So you've got to pump.
Marc:Right, if you don't pump, you just explode.
Marc:Yeah, I'm not a complete fucking idiot.
Guest:I don't think you're fine.
Guest:Yeah, I just don't know.
Marc:But you pump and then save it?
Guest:Yeah, you got to save it.
Guest:It's a whole rigmarole.
Marc:No, I know, but you can save it for six days?
Guest:Or are you shipping it back?
Guest:No, no, then I have a freezer, I have a deep freezer at a friend's house that has all the milk in it.
Guest:And so I transport it to the freezer.
Guest:But right now it's like in the hotel freezer and like I have to, you know,
Guest:it's a whole thing i mean but in the morning yeah you get woken up because you're just like franken boob yeah and it's just like yeah and so it's you know it's basically when the baby's getting fed so then you gotta plug yourself to like a cow milk machine yeah and it's like yeah right and just sit there maybe what do you do read the paper i sit there and immediately you're you're ravenously thirsty and so you sit there and drink i'm just i'm just like just drinking while liquid is going in and coming out it's just like
Marc:It's going to be okay.
Marc:It's going to be okay.
Guest:I think it'll be okay.
Guest:But if you need any milk.
Guest:Oh, could you leave some?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I have my pump with me.
Guest:I might have to go into your bathroom really quick.
Guest:Seriously?
Guest:I would.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:What time is there right now?
Marc:20 to 11?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I'm doing like a half an hour.
Guest:Don't worry.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:Well, you can.
Marc:You're more than welcome to.
Guest:Thank you.
Marc:I appreciate it.
Marc:There'll be people over for support if you need it.
Marc:My girlfriend's coming.
Marc:She can talk to you.
Guest:Oh, yeah?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:That's great.
Guest:I'm sort of not squeamish about it.
Guest:And people, you know, I just like plug in.
Guest:And it is kind of terrifying to see.
Marc:What about the breastfeeding in public?
Marc:No problem?
Guest:I'm fine with that.
Guest:I just cover myself.
Guest:I don't bring my tit out.
Guest:I think it's fair to cover.
Marc:So it's all good.
Marc:It's going to work out.
Guest:I think it's going to work out.
Marc:You seem good.
Marc:You seem out of the woods with it.
Guest:I am.
Marc:Good.
Marc:And now you have a whole other production.
Marc:You have to produce a decent human.
Guest:Yeah, I think that and learning how to kick ass as a director and also be a kick ass mom is going to be interesting.
Marc:I have complete faith in your ability to do that.
Guest:Thank you.
Guest:I appreciate that.
Marc:Nice talking to you, Lake Bell.
Marc:Thank you, Mark Mann.
Marc:Yeah, what an amazing story about giving, like, a baby coming out.
Marc:Anyway, Lake Bell is now starring in No Escape with Owen Wilson and Pierce Brosnan.
Marc:That's in theaters now.
Marc:Thank you for listening, as always, to WTF.
Marc:I appreciate you being here.
Marc:Where's my pick?
Marc:Where's my fucking pick?
Marc:Go to WTFPod.com for all your WTFPod needs.
Marc:Get on the mailing list.
Marc:Go check out Howl.
Marc:At howl.fm.
Marc:That's where all the archives are now.
Marc:That's where it's all at.
Marc:That's where all the WTFs will live.
Marc:Well, on iTunes and on wtfpod.com.
Marc:But, you know.
Marc:You know what I'm saying.
Marc:God, all I need is Chris Isaac to sing.
Marc:Boomer Lives!