BONUS Ask Marc Anything #1
Okay, here's what I did.
I basically just solicited for questions on Instagram story that we were going to use for this segment, which is just a question segment, me answering questions.
I'm going to go through them here in real time off of my IG DMs.
Some of these people, I don't know, like some of them have DMed me before, but it seems like there's dozens of these.
Let's see.
Hold on.
Hold on.
Here we go.
Favorite song by Tom Waits.
I seem to always go back to Jersey Girl.
I don't know why.
I imagine that's not everyone's favorite Tom Waits song, but I love Jersey Girl.
What are you reading?
What have you read in the last few months?
Well, I just finished Sam Quinones' new book, which is The Least of Us, about fentanyl and methamphetamine.
here in the United States.
He's the author of Dreamland about the opioid problem.
And this is like the sequel.
And it's just horrifying and multileveled.
And it's all-encompassing.
It's a beautifully written journalistic piece from the human point of view, the business point of view, the law enforcement point of view, the cultural point of view.
It's a great book, The Least of Us by Sam Quinones.
Questions any behind-the-scenes insight from the unaired Fincher episode nothing other than it was I thought a fairly in-depth good conversation that went on for a couple hours But not unlike Fincher in the way he is he said we couldn't post it but
That doesn't mean it might not happen.
And it didn't really come from.
We'll see what happens with that.
OK, several questions here.
Who were your favorite comedians growing up?
Richard Pryor, Cheech and Chong, Buddy Hackett, Don Rickles, Jackie Vernon when I was very young.
Yeah, those are the ones that had a lasting influence, I think, on me.
Did you have anxiety about doing stand-up when you first started?
Of course.
What was the process that helped you work your way up to getting on stage for the first time?
I was in college, and I just was racking my brains, and I'd do it in front of my roommates, and I'd do it in front of anyone who would ever listen, and I eventually just did it at a coffee house.
It was horrifying, horrible, and completely devastating, and I was immediately addicted.
That's how that works.
What is your all time favorite movie?
It's very hard for me to answer that question.
I don't know.
I can't.
You know what I mean?
There's movies that I'll watch over and over again, it seems.
But as I get older, it's very it's very hard to answer that question.
All right.
Hold on.
Let me go to the other section here.
When you're doing what the fuck over Zoom, do any guests just hang out and chat after the official chat or would they just hang up?
Well, usually they would chat more beforehand getting set up.
I remember when Nicole Kidman was about to do hers, her husband, what's his name?
Come on, come on, dude.
The country singer.
Come on, man.
Keith Urban, right?
I almost had to Google it, but I didn't.
Keith Urban.
He helped her set up, so that was interesting.
It was usually beforehand where there'd be some awkward chit-chat, but no hanging after.
If you could see any musicians not with us anymore, who would be your top three?
I'd like to see Miles Davis.
I'd like to see Jimi Hendrix.
And I'd like to see Jason Molina.
I don't know if that's the top three, but that's just coming off the top of my head.
What what is the most amount of time spending you regret and on what what is the most amount of time spending you regret and on what or who was it?
You know, most of my past is framed in some sort of embarrassing shame or regret.
But as I get older, I have kind of.
molded those into just things I experienced and I don't have any regrets anymore.
It was just the life I led.
And I'm still here.
I'm still moving through it.
And I take the lessons I've learned from any of my mistakes and regrets and pains and pains I've caused others to try to be cognitive enough not to fucking do it again.
Oh, somebody asked me,
This was a good question.
Someone asked me, what actor and actress have you learned the most from in your acting career?
And I think...
Really, it was probably Betty Gilpin, working with Betty Gilpin and Alison Brie, two very different types of actresses that really sort of kind of showed me both spectrums of approach.
And in working with them every day and working in scenes with them, I saw the impact of sort of both.
I mean, Betty leaves a lot of room for things to happen, and Alison makes very strong choices that she sort of commits to over and over.
Both are great ways to approach it, especially TV and film acting.
And I learned a lot from working with both of them in terms of how to do it.
Am I currently pitching any new series or film projects, and do you believe you could direct any of those?
I don't really have a profound or deep interest in directing, but I am in talks right now with FX about a...
A half hour sort of dramedy that I created with the writer Sam Lipsight and we've written two scripts for them and we're waiting to hear if it's going to be made into a series.
Do I count calories?
At times I have, yes.
A you question where did you see yourself that you didn't achieve?
Where did you see yourself that you didn't achieve what project that didn't launch do you most wish had worked?
What thing you didn't expect is your biggest blessing?
That's a lot of questions.
I think that.
There was a couple of show ideas in the past that I thought could have went okay.
But I don't know.
All of the disappointments and all of the things that didn't go, they probably didn't go for a reason.
And I guess that's one way of looking at it.
I had a talk show pilot that didn't work out, and that was probably best that it didn't.
There was a couple sitcoms, one where I was a strip mall lawyer, which years later sort of became Better Call Saul in a way.
But I mean...
That idea was, I don't know, man, 25 years ago.
We rode a fucking pilot, me and Mike Saltzman, and I thought that was a good environment.
And it turned out it was, just not for me and not that year.
What is the best tool you use for anxiety that isn't exercise?
Oh, constantly telling myself that I'm not in a hurry and that most of what I'm reacting to is something my brain is making up.
How tall am I?
Five eleven revised question.
Have you seen the bear?
I haven't given your love of Chicago and time as a dishwasher.
You would dig it.
OK, it's outstanding.
It's not really a question.
Is American democracy over?
I believe it.
I believe it is.
Hey, Mark, I like seeing your crotchety face on screen.
Got any forthcoming acting gigs you can talk about?
Could you be in Joker 2?
I was not asked to be in Joker 2.
I don't see how that character would necessarily come back.
I'm in a thing called the horror of Dolores Roach.
I think either episode one or two and I get killed.
What interviews did you feel the most connection?
Most of them.
I can't answer interview specific questions.
It just does not.
It doesn't.
I don't have answers for them.
Where can we watch your old show?
I loved it and would like to watch it again.
I think it's available for purchase on iTunes.
What's your favorite foreign film?
What is my favorite foreign film?
Holy shit.
Um...
There's some Dogma movies that I really liked.
I can't think of them right offhand.
I'm sorry.
Will Marin ever be available on DVD or Blu-ray?
Probably not, but you can get it on iTunes, I believe.
Have I ever met George Carlin?
No.
And what is your favorite era of his work?
Well, I kind of tapped out pretty early when I was a kid.
I listened to Class Clown, AM, FM.
And I picked up later with an evening with Wally Londo or something.
But I was not a lifetime...
carlin fan i met him when i went to see him when i was in fourth grade and i believe i had a cast on and i asked him to sign it after the show and he was gracious i i think it was at the albuquerque convention center um question one would would you do another recurring tv show character again if you got the offer depends what it is you've talked about moving out of la sometime where else do you think you would settle and how soon do you think you would leave i'm going to try to get out ahead of the of the the running out of water and i'm looking at canada
Would you ever go on tour in musical capacity playing with an ensemble of other artists?
That might happen.
The guys I'm playing with kind of want to do that.
Hi, Mark.
What is your comfort movie?
Lately, it's been The Intern with Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, and I do like The Devil Loves Prada.
Would you ever be interested in interviewing George Saunders?
Sure, but I have to read his books.
Have you ever played a Fender Aerodyne Stratocaster from Japan?
I have not.
Pfft.
Have you visited all 50 states?
I think I've been in all of them.
I don't know.
I would say I visited them.
I don't remember South Dakota.
Would you ever consider continuing Marin TV show concerning Lynn's death and your relationship with her and how you have worked through grief?
Also, end of the world bullshit could be added like you're performing your act.
No, Marin's gone.
Do you have a lisp?
I do have a little lisp.
He said it one episode.
My God, he was telling the truth.
Yes, I have a bit of a lisp.
okay fine here's a question when will you and kit be podcast official she loves animals so she must be a good one uh you know i i've left enough hints about me and kit and i try to keep my relationships relatively subtle now on the podcast because things happen uh that are out of the control of of me or them and it might not end well and then you know it's a one-sided thing and
I don't know.
I've just learned my lesson.
Did you and Jon Stewart ever patch things up privately?
No.
Was curious how that worked itself out over time.
It did not.
Not that I know of.
Would you like to record an album of originals with your bandmates?
I don't know because I don't write songs.
I write bits and pieces of music.
Do you own any telecasters?
Yes, I have one, two, three, four telecasters.
Nothing great, but I have them.
Do you still miss Monkey LaFonda and Boomer?
I do think about Monkey and LaFonda.
Boomer's long gone.
I do miss him if I think about him.
Digging the full Marin experience, particularly Brendan's segment on editing the show.
Any chance we will be enjoying more production insights in the future?
Yes.
Yes.
I'm definitely sure there will be more Brendan production insights.
What app do you what app you use?
Mike's mixer preferences.
I use I don't care about the mixer.
I don't know what it is.
It's an EPM six.
I use Shure SM seven beta mics.
And I used some crappy audio program for recording.
I don't even know.
It's new.
I don't even know what it is.
So there you go.
The only story is I think the mics are what it's all about.
Uh, I think I know the answer, but wondering if there's a prospect of another book in your future.
Uh, no, I can't stand writing.
I think my husband is a distant cousin of yours.
He must be.
You have the same facial features.
Where is your family from?
Jew land.
My family is from Russian and Polish Jew land.
Uh,
Did you ever hear a laugh as ridiculous as that dude in Charlotte?
No, I didn't.
That's true.
I remember that in Charlotte, North Carolina.
What does it seem from a movie that has changed your outlook on a past life experience and made you change your viewpoint on an issue you thought you would never change your mind on?
That's a hard question to answer spontaneously, but I do find that, you know, I was just watching The Harder They Fall.
And, you know, it sort of kind of solidified something...
Interesting.
It was a scene between Rod Steiger and Humphrey Bogart towards the end of the movie after it's a boxing movie after, you know, Humphrey Bogart had given twenty six thousand dollars to the clown that Steiger had brought up to be used as a punching bag and all these rigged fights from Dominican Republic or South America somewhere.
And, you know, it was a turning point in the movie where Bogart, an ex sports writer, decides to give him the money that he got from being the publicity guy for Stiger's corrupt boxing endeavor and and paid the guy to go back home and then to write an article about how fighters are treated, you know, in you know, in the business and and expose Stiger's character.
And there's a scene where Steiger is threatening Bogart about putting the guy in a plane home and also about possibly writing an expose about him and his horrible self.
And Steiger's like, you owe me $26,000.
Dollars.
Where's my money?
I can't do Steiger.
And then Bogart's like, I gave it to the kid.
I gave it to the guy.
He's like, what do you mean you gave it to the guy?
So whatever.
I'm paraphrasing.
But Steiger goes, you know, I can't talk to a man who gives away.
How do you talk to a man that gives away $26,000?
Like the terms of conversation of any kind.
between those two men was diminished by a selfless act of charity and caring for another person.
The terms of business and the talk of business and the talk of a trust or an intimacy even or an understanding around the terms of how men interact.
If a guy gave away $26,000, that other guy, the criminal, the businessman, the racketeer,
has no traction and no way to communicate with that person.
And I thought that was indicative and revealing about a type of man and a type of conversation.
Love it when you take us along on your art gallery tours.
Where or when did your appreciation for art begin?
My mother was sort of a failed painter, and she was a huge art fan.
So from a very young age, we would travel from New Mexico to New York to see retrospectives like Cezanne and Picasso and...
And it was my mother.
My mother gave it to me.
I'm coming up on three years sober and notice it's been harder than my first two years.
Do you have any advice on sobriety when it stops feeling so fresh?
Yeah.
Just understand that the first step is the only one you have to work perfectly.
And you're only sober for as long as you don't put a drink or a drug in your dumb mouth.
So and also whether it's fresh or not, remember that you can't drink safely and that the likelihood of you ending up right back where you started or right back to where you left off drinking is high.
The only thing that keeps sobriety fresh is to be terrified of fucking alcohol and rightfully so.
What's it like being so hot?
Oh, that's very nice.
I just try to live with it.
I don't pay much attention to it.
Why don't you interview more authors?
I don't know.
It's a good question.
Any chance you will get glow movie or bonus episodes?
No.
Who would you love to play guitar with?
I don't know.
I'm not that great at it, so I don't know.
It's hard for me to answer those questions.
What would you want to still accomplish in your life, work-wise or otherwise?
I'd like to get better at playing guitar with people.
Why do you hate fish so much?
Seriously, not trolling.
I hate them too.
Just wondering if your reasons match up with mine.
To be honest with you, I don't hate them.
I know nothing about them, and I haven't investigated them.
I haven't been curious enough.
The phenomenon of it, I think, sort of alienates me.
I'm kind of like, I'm not a jam band guy.
I like the Grateful Dead historically, but there's just something about the whole fish undertaking that I find...
I don't know.
I just don't.
It puts me off.
That's all.
What was my first guitar setup?
My first guitar setup was a Copycat Les Paul Deluxe.
It was a gold top Copycat.
Copycat was a brand where they do just knockoffs of, you know, famous guitars.
I can't remember what the amp was.
It was about the size of a Fender Champ.
Maybe a Music Man.
It might have been a Little Music Man.
What is the process like after you've interviewed a guest?
Does Brendan edit on his own or do you edit as a team?
No, that's all Brendan.
Have you ever thought about phone interviews with listeners who mail you?
Not really.
Thank you for being authentic.
You're welcome.
Which film did you enjoy most being a part of?
Well, I mean, Sword of Trust was kind of great.
Almost Famous was very fun, but that was my first movie.
Sword of Trust was, even though I was cranky, it really pushed me a little bit.
I don't know if I had fun.
I had a good time on Reservation Dogs, which wasn't a film, but a TV show.
Will the material performed at your later dates, i.e.
Toronto shows, essentially be the HBO hour?
Probably.
Favorite restaurants, bars, et cetera, when you lived in Boston.
Holy shit.
I don't remember.
I used to like going to Deli King.
Up at Beacon and, well, not Beacon Street.
Was it Beacon Street?
Maybe it was Commonwealth and Harvard over there by the big liquor store.
There used to be a place called Deli King.
That was the greatest Greek diner restaurant ever.
Why didn't you air the James Caan episode after he passed away?
It's still in the feed now.
We've released 800 episodes.
So it was still, it didn't need to be reposted.
What am I reading right now?
I'm reading a an advanced copy of my friend Sam Lipsight's new novel.
OK, good.
So, look, we will do these again.
All right.
I'll do more of these and maybe I won't do them in real time so I can be more thoughtful about the answers.
But keep a lookout on my social pages for when I solicit these questions.
And next time I might answer yours.
All right.
OK.