EP. 343.5 — Last Looks: Samurai Cop (w/ Todd Glass)

Paul Scheer [00:00:00] Country music, Todd Glass and a little bit of Chicago. All this and more on a brand new Last Looks! Hit the theme!

Music [00:00:12] [Last Looks Intro Song]

Paul Scheer [00:01:12] Hello, all you Lady cops, cooking Latkes. I’m your host, Paul Scheer. And welcome to How Did This Get Made Last Looks where you, the listener, get to voice your issues on Samurai Cop, and I cannot wait to hear them. And later in the show, Jason and I are going to be joined by legendary comedian Todd Glass, who is going to talk to us about his newest stand up endeavor. That’s right. It’s not a special. It is something that he hopes to do. And he needs your help. It’s called The Event of a Lifetime, and you’ll hear more about that in a little bit. Plus, you’re going to hear an exclusive deleted scene from Samurai Cop, which was in San Francisco. I love going to San Francisco, and as a matter of fact, I’m going to be back in San Francisco in just a little bit on my book tour with Adam Savage. That’s right, from MythBusters. Adam Savage and I talking about my book at Word Passage. And check it out on my website, go to PaulScheer.com. You’ll see where I’m going to be. I’m talking to so many great people. I just announced this week I’m going to be talking to David Remnick in New York. He’s slumming it. Honestly. He’s coming out to Brooklyn Brewery, with me, and it’s going to be on my release site May 21st in Brooklyn. Tickets for that are, I think are like $11. And the San Francisco event is free. That’s right. It’s totally free. And my book is coming out, so please preorder it. And if you do, you get to see all this cool stuff on my website. But if you want to wait until the book is like in the world, you can also sign up for a live virtual signing. No matter where you are in the world, you’ll be watching me sign your book. I’ll take some questions and some answers. Plus, I’ll be having special guests come in and that is actually very cheap. Only 35 bucks because the book retails for 29.99. So you’re basically get a full show, an autograph book shipped anywhere in the world. I think it’s a good deal. Although I think, you know, virtual signings are. It’s a weird thing. I never heard of it before. Anyway. Just go to Premier Collectibles for that. Again, all of this is on my website, but I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I really have, because I didn’t even tell you that person that created that amazing opening theme. Well, that’s John Cohen, and that was actually, a submission in our theme song contest last year. We never got to finish it. You know, it’s an open door policy, but we wanted to make sure that, all the songwriters will get their airplay. So we’re going to play some more reimagining, submissions for the next few Last Looks episodes. Then we’ll post the finalists on discord and let the people vote on a winner. And, you know, we might even keep our current theme song, but at the very least, we’ll just send the winner a bunch of goodies. Jason and I know this is an open door policy. It’s not just about do it and be done with it. Even though our producers would like us to do that, we don’t do things like that. It’s a constant conversation. Anyway, now that the theme song contest is closed, I guess it’s closed. I’m being told now it’s closed. No, it it’s not closed. You can keep on submitting. Who cares? We’re still accepting Last Looks theme songs. You can send them to HowDidThisGetMade@Earwolf.com, but keep them short. 15 to 20s is best. All right, like I mentioned, I am touring all over the place. Jason and I are also on the road doing improv with dinosaur. We’re going to be in Seattle and Portland. I think Seattle only has standing room only, but it’s a really cool spot, so I think you’ll dig it. Also, you know, maybe you have some friends in Chicago come out, see me in Chicago because I’ll be there with Adam Pally on May 29th. We’re just going to do some bits, talk about the book and do some signings, but it’s going to be fun. I’m trying to make these shows really, really fun. I appreciate you all coming out. But anyway, enough about me. I love about my damn book. Let’s talk about Samurai Cop, a movie that discord user Dove thinks should have had the tagline “Samurai Cop to protect and sever.” Ooh, I like that. It’s good. All right, well, we had questions about Samurai Cop, and we might have even missed a few things. Here’s your chance to set a straight. Fact check us, if you will. It is now time for corrections and omissions.

Music [00:05:03] [Corrections and Omissions Song]

Paul Scheer [00:05:28] Thank you Randy Smith, for that Jerry Springer inspired theme song I love that actually. It was really good. All right Ashwin, what do you got? “This movie was written and directed by an Iranian director who came to the US after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. So his grasp of English idioms and phrases wasn’t the greatest. This led to a lot of unintentional comedy in his films, and he insisted the actors speak the lines as written. That’s why to me the movie becomes so fascinating. It’s an Iranian American filmmaker’s interpretation of American action movies, and he doesn’t quite grasp what makes those movies work, but he recognizes the overall tropes and does bad imitations of them. It’s like he watched a bunch of 80s action movies and figured it out.” Well, yeah, 100%. Yeah. We had a black cop and white cop are partners with a back and forth banter like Lethal Weapon. You had this angry, police chief like in every cop movie since dirty Harry, and sex scenes and nudity to help sell the movie in various markets, like most 80s action movies. So yes, you’re right, Ashwin, this director was smart but should not have really, taken, you know, the, the West Wing approach. You know, he shouldn’t, you know, shouldn’t have just been like, my words are final. That’s it. Aaron Sorkin was who I was searching for, but I just went with West Wing, and I know that you got it. So I’m not going to go too far down that rabbit hole. BearNecessities3000 writes, “The end credits has the following acknowledgment. Our special thanks to the Adidas company for their help and cooperation. How exactly did Adidas help and cooperate with this film? Certainly it wasn’t with the swim attire.” You are right. Here’s my thought. They wear Adidas in the film, and maybe they were afraid that they were going to get sued and they put a thank you there, I don’t know, or somebody that like, worked at Adidas, gave him a little bit of money. Either way, I buy both. I buy both options as being 100% plausible. LovelyLisette writes “I’m a little sad. The police captain’s famous club line wasn’t brought up. It’s just so good. All right, well, you know what? Let’s listen to that quote.

Movie Audio [00:07:34] So why don’t we just help him and supportive him?

Movie Audio [00:07:37] All right. What do you say Cap?

Movie Audio [00:07:40] I feel like somebody stuck a big club up my ass, and it hurts. I’ve got to figure out a way to get it out of there.

Paul Scheer [00:07:47] Okay. Wow. I don’t think I even remember that line. But you know what? Knowing what we now know about translations, it. Like I get I get the intent. And I think that’s the thing. It’s, like when you’re dealing with somebody who doesn’t speak the same language. I’ve been in this situation myself. I was just in Paris, and I’m trying my best to communicate. And you get the the gist of it. And that’s what I kind of get. I get the gist. Sort of like I would get the gist of being irritated if I did have a club in my ass, and I would want someone to take it out. Anyway, let’s go to the phones. The first call is from Allison, from San Francisco. Just a heads up. Allison’s phone cuts out briefly. So the scene that she’s referring to is when the guy in the movie, randomly catches on fire. Okay. Allison from San Fran, what do you got?

Listener [00:08:39] Hey, everybody. I was at the San Francisco showing of Samurai Cop. I had purchased the Blu ray for this movie. And then one of the special features, Joe Samurai was telling, the camera, whoever was interviewing him, that for the scene where the guy was on it, they didn’t know that they were shooting that scene that day, and they just showed up, like, slaughtered this guy in, like, flame resistant cream thing, and, like, there was no preparation by the set or the crew or the cast members, and there was no fire marshal on site, and the only thing they had in case of an emergency was that, like, somewhat small fire extinguisher that you see on set, which I thought was really crazy. I can’t believe that they did that. Seems like a really high risk. But, I love the show. Still laughing about it. Thanks, everybody.

Paul Scheer [00:09:33] Yeah, I mean, honestly, the shit that I did early in my career, I mean, I was tied to a back of a mack truck on a skateboard on, the, BQE, the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. No one told me I was going to be doing that. And you know what? I did it because the job paid 500 bucks. And that’s the way independent film works, baby. All right, now let’s go to Steven from San Jose.

Listener [00:09:58] Hey, Paul, this is, Steven calling from San Jose, about the hospital scene. So they, when they sneak the bad samurai in, he’s hidden in a janitor’s cart, which, by the way, just has a kitchen, like a kitchen trashcan. And it’s like with the flip the lid that goes around in circles. Anyway, so if they came in and then they sneak him back out. But he’s dressed as a doctor. He has a lab coat on. Why is he disguised? He hides in a cart, and then when they go outside to leave, someone comes up to him to ask him a question, and he just attacks them immediately. Doesn’t pretend to be a doctor. Nothing. Just attacks them immediately. So why? Why is he even disguised? That’s what I got. Thanks.

Paul Scheer [00:10:45] Well, look, I think in some level he is trying to to be anonymous and and blend in and maybe, you know, like, yes, they had to get him in the room one way. But then when he got out, he could be a little bit more, you know, blend. He could blend in. It’s a blend. I don’t honestly, an all the things I don’t think that’s the biggest issue with this movie has. Anyway, we talked even more about that scene, during the show than you actually heard in the podcast. So before we get into a few more corrections omissions, check out this exclusive deleted scene where we do chat about that hospital scene.

Audience Member [00:11:20] Hi, I’m Christian, and, my question is.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:11:23] Well no, your name, not your religious affiliation. Guys, it’s because they went to church in the movie.

Audience Member [00:11:30] Not the millionth time I’ve heard that at all.

Paul Scheer [00:11:35] Wow. Wow. Okay.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:11:43] I got to go. I think I gotta quit the podcast. I just got rocked by Christian.

Audience Member [00:11:54] My question is, from when they, from the when they went to go cut the guy’s head off, did anybody else wonder why she was wearing a lab coat when she was supposed to be posed as a janitor?

Paul Scheer [00:12:09] Well I mean I have a lot of questions about that whole.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:12:11] When she comes out, she couldn’t be pushing a more suspicious looking thing covered in bloody sheets like.

Paul Scheer [00:12:23] You never.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:12:24] It looks sketchy.

Paul Scheer [00:12:27] But by the way, you are replacing a trash can in a way that no one would ever replace a trash can. And then you would think that that guy would be in the trash can, but he’s just next to the trash can.

June Diane Raphael [00:12:41] I will say, this is where the movie succeeds to me, because when when she walked in, I thought, okay, she’s there to cause some trouble. But then when she opened up that cart and he popped out of the side of it like it was like he was in like a sidecar or something. It was so strange.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:13:03] It was like in Ocean’s 11, where they smuggle the acrobat into the safe. Yeah.

June Diane Raphael [00:13:07] It was just so shocking.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:13:09] Except it’s Robert Zadar who even his giant head comes like, boom!

June Diane Raphael [00:13:16] It was so surprising. And yeah, I thought about the costumes, Christian, for a long time that specifically the costumes in the, in the setting of the hospital, because everybody who worked in the hospital was just in the same white long lab coat. If you were a nurse, you wore that. If you were a part of the janitorial staff, you wore that.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:13:41] And again, this hospital is an apartment building.

June Diane Raphael [00:13:44] That’s right.

Paul Scheer [00:13:49] All right. Welcome back Todd Glass. Coming up in just a little bit with me and Jason. And we also are going to announce next week’s movie. But you know that. Anyway let’s go back to the discord. Dax Odiva writes “I did a little searching for the actress that plays the love interest Jennifer, who Paul said vanished after making the movie. She is credited as Janice or sometimes Janice Farley. If you type Janice Farley model into a search engine, you will find several pictures and posters of the 80s. She is from, Reno, and she was a runner up at the Miss Nevada pageant. And the last source I found is a newspaper article, from 1994, saying that she renamed herself Justine to follow a career in country music.” Well, look at this. This is Justine. That is amazing, because I think someone at the show said she became a real estate agent. Can we find some of Justine’s music? Wayne Melton wrote the article. What do you know, Wayne? You can also check out, the discord to see this great picture of this article. And thank you for that research. Bat Zoro writes, “The Dave Matthews Band has a song called Samurai Cop. It’s named after the film, but actually has nothing to do with it. Here’s a clip of Dave Matthews, talking about the film and his song in an interview on Sirius XM.”

Interview Audio [00:15:01] Samurai cop is an A-list B-list movie. It’s not well executed by any means. There’s no great performances in it, but it’s so perfectly bad. I’ve watched that movie, maybe more, almost more than anything else, and I feel like because I’ve talked about it quite a bit, I feel as though it’s I may have had something to do with the making of the second one, which happened 30 years after the first, but maybe not. I named the song Samurai Cop because Samurai Cop was playing in the background while I was working on it, but it has nothing to do with Samurai Cop. It’s just a cool name. It’s like the coolest name. In fact, it has. It couldn’t have less to do, with a samurai cop than it does. It’s like a lot of the songs on the record. It’s a, you know, it’s about love, it’s about common ground. It’s about things that bring us together. And that’s really what it is. But I called it Samurai Cop because that’s a cool name. Maybe that would convince someone to pay attention to it.

Paul Scheer [00:16:00] You know what, Dave Matthews, I like you, but if you’re going to make a song called Samurai Cop, make it about Samurai Cop, you would make a great samurai cop song. And there’s still time. Rocket Wesker writes “I think many of the indoor scenes were shot in either the director’s house or home. This explains why we see, the good and bad guys gingerly opening windows instead of straight up breaking them, despite the fact that they’re conducting a raid.” You’re right. That is actually really interesting. This also explains why the martial art trophies covering one of the living rooms it belong to someone, maybe a stunt guy who was like, no, no, no, you’re not breaking my windows. And I’m not taking down those trophies for your movie. 100% agree with you, Rocket Wesker. Very good observations. But you know what? Even though that was a good observation, I don’t think it’s a winning observation. There are so many great corrections and omissions this week, but there could only be one that is best. And that truly is our Detective DaxOdiva, who figured out that Janice Farley became Justine. And now we must find her music.

Music [00:16:57] [Winner’s Song]

Paul Scheer [00:17:17] If you have more information you want to send us the songs, hit us up at Discord.gg/HDTGM Or call us at 619-PAUL-ASK. Now before Jason joins me to talk to Todd Glass. I want to remind you that every Monday we rerelease an old How Did This Get Made episode back into our feed. You know that. If you subscribe to the show, you’re getting them in the feed. This week’s Matine Monday was sky captain in the world of tomorrow. Next week will be Shaquille O’Neal’s genie comedy classic Kazaam. And, we love that you’re listening to him. And you can always request ones that you want. All right, so let’s get into some Last Looks, and maybe I’ll have the Action Jackson 5 play us in.

Music [00:17:53] [Just Chat Song]

Paul Scheer [00:18:09] Well, Jason, I am very excited because we have one of my favorite people, a great stand up comic, the great Todd Glass, joining us today on Last Looks.

Todd Glass [00:18:19] Hello, hello. Good to be here. How are you doing, Paul? Jason?

Jason Mantzoukas [00:18:22] Thrilled to have you, Todd. Thrilled to have you. One of the greats.

Todd Glass [00:18:25] Thank you. I appreciate that.

Paul Scheer [00:18:27] Todd, I have to tell you that your TikTok brings me more joy than anything I. I save them, I show them to other people, and it’s this. It’s you. But it is also this heightened version of you just being the kind of a a weird dude. There’s weird stuff afoot.

Todd Glass [00:18:47] My nephew always. And it’s not like I’m trying to act like it’s not me, but some of the stuff he goes, Todd, that’s just you. But you play him as this crazy guy, but he goes, I know you dry your sink out before you go to bed. So. But, yeah, during the during the pandemic, I found TikTok. I had time to really delve into it, and I really liked it. And my friend Caleb signed. He said something I was thinking, he goes, Todd, TikTok is really all about you. Like you. I go, oh, that’s what I thought. You know, meaning, meaning, meaning you could do things you could do and the videos and you could do anything on Twitter, but it just seemed more my style. And, I got this other guy, Chad Maxwell. He has a, you know, like 500,000 on TikTok. And I thought his videos were funny. And I met him through a friend. I said, would you help me, like just the the shoot and stuff? And he did. And and ever since I’ve just had a ball. It’s it’s a lot of fun.

Paul Scheer [00:19:41] They’re always kind of like the cameras placed in weird spots. So it’s like, you know, around a fire pit or it’s like, it feels like we’re capturing these moments, you know, of you admitting that you killed somebody or, you know.

Todd Glass [00:19:55] He said it was like a Snapchat type of thing. It I didn’t even understood it when he first said it. And it’s funny that those took off. I do a lot of, you know, I’ll show stand up sometimes. I do a lot of those. Those do well, pretty good. I go, I don’t understand what you mean. He goes, well, the thing is like, what were you what had you been saying before that people that are with you took out their phone and started secretly recording you, and they’re always hiding it behind a bottle. You know, they’re always they they don’t want to let me know they’re recording me. It seems to be every situation.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:20:23] So instead of people telling on you, you’re telling on yourself?

Todd Glass [00:20:27] Yeah, yeah. And it’s not always really bad. It’s just absurd stuff. But the whole, the whole style of it to be creative. And, you know, it starts to make a difference at the clubs already. I, I don’t have a ton. I have like 250,000, which is more than I had a year ago. Yeah.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:20:45] That feels like a lot of people.

Paul Scheer [00:20:47] Yeah. It’s a lot.

Todd Glass [00:20:47] It’s a lot enough to start a comedy clubs that you see a presence of it, you know.

Paul Scheer [00:20:52] Well, what I like about it too is you’re not necessarily the person that I would think of to be a TikTok star, meaning that you’re not like an 18 to 24 year old who is out there creating content, you know, which which I think is honestly, that’s even more impressive that you’re able to build that kind of an audience in doing like comedy content on tikTok.

Todd Glass [00:21:11] You know, if, if and look, I’ll make this so short, the part that you think I’m going to turn into a social conversation, I won’t because I’m, I’m even tired of hearing myself talk about that. But look, the thing about doing comedy that’s great is you can do whatever you want. This is not a dissertation, what anybody should do. But if if all you talk about is how everything sucks now and kids are dumb, no, you’re not going to go over there and find an audience. But I don’t feel I have to jeopardize what I do at all to connect with a younger audience that still goes out to see comedy. And and honestly, TikTok has not been ageist at all because, yeah, although the majority of people are younger, of course, that’s with any newer shape of social platform. There’s people all over the gamut doing very well on there and a lot of comedians.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:22:00] And it’s like a it’s a tool. It’s a tool that you can use however you want to use it. I feel like there’s a lot of people who can decry all these things, but they these are tools that are able to be used in, in, in ways that are there generating exposure, generating an audience. And it sounds like you’re seeing it in, in clubs and that’s that’s the deal.

Paul Scheer [00:22:19] Yeah, I, I do it, I do it too. But people kind of look down like, oh, you got a TikTok. But it’s like, but it’s just of chance. And I think Jason, like the reason why we started podcasting was because we liked that vibe of what the improv shows were like. It’s as fun as work together and just fucking around. We’re having a good time that it’s kind of disposable.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:22:35] If you like. Yeah, it felt low stakes in a way that like when we started this 14 years ago, it felt like, yeah, the equivalent of getting up and doing a show at UCB, like, okay, that was fun. And then it just keeps growing and growing and growing. And then you’re like, oh, this is impactful. This thing has generated a whole other audience for us. And that’s wild.

Todd Glass [00:22:56] Yeah, I think people make fun of it. You know what they’re not making fun of, you know, when you’ve been doing this a long time, you start. You come to these beliefs almost through, like, like a detective. And it’s not that they have a problem with TikTok, a lot of people, it’s anything new. This is vines. This was Instagram, this was podcasting. It’s anything new, and I get it. Learning new stuff is hard. But it’s it’s just not anything new. They don’t really have. What do they have a problem with? Hey, there’s this vehicle. You can do fun things. They can be serious, they can be silly. They can be really kind. And you shoot funny videos with your friends and you can post them. Oh, what am I going to do with that? Yeah. Well, you know, thanks. I think I think so I think.

Paul Scheer [00:23:38] There’s always this like energy sometimes from certain people in our lives that like, well, if you show yourself trying anything like you put some energy and effort into it, it’s sort of like, like it almost makes them feel bad that they’re not putting energy and effort into something.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:23:53] And I think, yeah, everybody becomes calcified in the way that they do a thing. You know, the way that I do my thing is this way. It’s it’s I go to these clubs, I do these shows, I do it this way. And then anything that comes in and says, oh, you could also do it this way or this way or this way or this way. There’s either the people who are like, I’ll adopt that and go with the great that too. I’ll do that too. Or there’s people that are like, no, the way it has been done in the past is the way it should be done. And I’m going to keep grinding, you know. Right?

Todd Glass [00:24:22] Well, you just hit the nail right on the head and look, I’m not I try to motivate my friends to do it like I’m the same way. I didn’t want to. It was hard to figure out the platform. That’s why, you know. Well, technically and creatively, I try to give this guy as many shout outs as I can because I love them. Chad Maxwell. So he took care of that end of it for me. Where I don’t have to worry about it. Yeah. Once you have 500,000 people, you make a lot of mistakes. And all he does now, he takes all that stuff. He learned 500,000 people later and he throws it over my way. When to post, how to caption. There’s so many little things, but but I it is a lot of fun.

Paul Scheer [00:24:56] And that is not your your main gig. Obviously you are one of like we said, one of the great stand ups. I loved your last special on Netflix. It’s called Act Happy. You can watch it whenever, but we’re not even here to talk about that because you have truly this big idea, this event of a lifetime is what you’re calling it. And you are. You’re basically trying to crowdfund a real experience, a stand up night. But it’s going to be bigger. But it looks wonderful. There’s you can look on your website, you can see the video, but tell us a little bit about The Event of a Lifetime and why it came up and how you’re doing it and all this sort of stuff.

Todd Glass [00:25:37] Thank you. And I’ll, I’ll sort of bark through it real quick because I think I have it down sort of pretty tight. But it is there is a 4.5 minute highlight reel on, on, on YouTube. Todd Glass, The Event of a Lifetime and, and the guy did a really good job of capturing it. But here’s the long story short. So I’ve been using the band, like you said, since you even that that, my special. After that special, you know, you relax because you’re not shooting a special. I went on the road and it sort of. I didn’t always bring the same band, but I the bit, it got tighter and tighter and tighter and then more bits. I mean, the guts of it are a stand up comedy show and it got pretty tight. And, you know, I always realized there were a lot of missed opportunities, even when I was doing just a regular show. Comedy clubs, the music plays there, being seated. Oh yeah, the lighting, you know. So this just went to another level. I have a saxophone player playing in the street before they even get there. So if they’re if they’re there and half an hour early before the doors open, I mean, before the doors open, I, the saxophone player playing outside the two of the band members play as they’re being seated. I mean, the show has started in a big way. When you get into the room and it’s not just shitty little. You know, I don’t mean to insult jazz, but you know what I mean. They’re not just tinkering. It’s it’s it’s going strong, you know, and sometimes, you know, the doors open an hour before the show. So. And then after the show, I try to have an ice cream truck. Or if we can’t get a truck to pull up, we’ll have, like, hot chocolate and cookies in the lobby. And then the band goes out there and plays. So it is a very, very tight, well orchestrated machine. And this year I toured without the band because I wanted to get my stand up as tight as it could fucking be, and I’m almost done. I’ve always tried as a performer. I always like comedy. So. And, you know, because of that, I did pretty well. But now I go on stage like I have something to prove. Like I didn’t want me to be the problem with this show not being successful. So every slice of this show I have really worked hard at really worked hard, harder than I’ve ever worked my entire career. And here it comes. And this explains a big part of the budget, is if I go to New York and just do it, it’s nothing’s going to happen. So a lot of the money comes from in bringing in the big dogs when it comes to a PR firm and a campaign like when a play is opening up in New York, you know, that’s the type of money you need. If you’re not, you know, you can throw 20,000 at it. That’s really not going to do, unfortunately, shit. You know. So it’s still to get a robust marketing budget, along with the, up the tech, the tech of it and the lights of it. But it’s to do a run in New York, maybe for a month and, or two weeks.

Paul Scheer [00:28:18] It’s like you’re doing a residency, right? It feels to me like you’re doing like.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:28:21] It’s Prince at The Forum. It’s Prince at The Forum.

Todd Glass [00:28:25] And the thing is, it is a stand up show. So if you’re craven, stand up. And I say that because I know what it’s like to want to want to go out and see standup, you know, you see your favorite standup, even in a good comedy movie. Forget about a bad comedy movie, just a really good comedy movie. You don’t get as many laughs in that as you do a well-oiled comedian doing an hour and 15 minutes. You know, we know a lot of guys go out there. They it’s a it’s a lot of laughs per minute.

Paul Scheer [00:28:51] Well I’m kind of thinking about it in the way and I don’t want to put words in your mouth. It’s like when you see Bruce Springsteen on Broadway, he is going to play these songs, but it’s elevated. You’re getting a different experience. You’re still getting a Bruce Springsteen concert, but it’s it’s going to give you this. It’s a it’s a different thing. It’s so you’re you’re going for something that is.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:29:14] It’s personal. It’s like there’s a personal element to it. It isn’t just. You’re asking. It sounds like Todd, you are asking for not just an audience that is reactive to what you’re doing. Just passively listening, but is proactive, is engaged. They are on board. They are part of the process. And that’s that’s exciting.

Todd Glass [00:29:34] Exactly. And and it just look it doesn’t it’s sort of easy to understand music. Everyone loves music. So you’re taking in everybody who loves stand up. You’re just taking them. Putting them together. Like when the music’s playing as people are being seated. When I say the night has already started in a big way, you walk into a room and I don’t have the whole band out there, but some nights I’ll put like keyboards, drums and trumpet instrumental. People come in and sing for an hour. They’re like, where are we? That’s why I have it’s so dark, so people forget about the world. So it’s just a stand up comedy show with a lot of production. And by the way, it’s it’s not going to be on Broadway. We just want it to be in New York, presented in New York. And. And one more thing really quick. I apologize for going so long with this.

Paul Scheer [00:30:16] You’re not. This is great.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:30:17] That’s why we’re here. We’re here for this, Todd.

Todd Glass [00:30:20] Thank you, thank you. And it melts my heart. I really appreciate it because, you know, I really want to make this happen. And, the crowdsource over at Seed and Spark, which is, they’ve been awesome. Seed and spark. I’ll say it again. The goal is, once I have the funds, I don’t want to go to my comedian friends and ask for money. Of course nobody would. But once I have the money, then I will go to some of them and have them present me. Like I won’t mention names now, because then they’re all get nervous. I’m going to call them as soon as I have the money. But five people and all the advertising present Todd Glass and if two people pay for it, let’s say two people go, you know what? What do they call those? They they invest money in stuff, benefactors.

Paul Scheer [00:31:03] Yeah. Okay.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:04] Sure, sure.

Todd Glass [00:31:05] So they get to have their name. Not everybody would have to be a most two people we can squeeze in there. Or one person. They could have their name.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:13] Is that part of the campaign? Because I know there were campaigns in the past that I know of where where if you donate a certain amount of money, you get a credit in, in the special or you get, you get some element that is. Yeah. I’m now a, you know, a producer or by name, in name only or whatever.

Todd Glass [00:31:30] Yeah, there’s there’s, exactly there’s there’s stuff in there different, you know, one is like I do an hour show, which of course, it’s not for each individual person, but, an hour show from my studio with the band, just for the people that give this amount. And one of the high one of the two or high tier items are name the band after you or your business.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:48] Oh, that’s great.

Todd Glass [00:31:50] For the night. Just for the night.

Paul Scheer [00:31:51] Gosh, that’s great.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:53] I love that. That’s a great one.

Todd Glass [00:31:55] It is a high it’s a high end item, but the biggest one is because obviously we can only put one name on the billboard. If you pay for it all, you get to have your name and all the advertising with some, you know, really cool people. So if you’re out there and you’re a benefactor and you go, you know, I want to attach myself to a project that’s got some cool names on it. That’s not a lot of money for some benefactors.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:32:15] Yeah. If you want to walk by a marquee in New York City that has your name presents Todd Glass, that’s pretty rad.

Todd Glass [00:32:22] Sarah Silverman or John Mulaney. Patton Oswald. That’s right. Now those guys are like, oh, yeah.

Paul Scheer [00:32:27] I love it.

Todd Glass [00:32:28] And I don’t have confirmations from those people yet. I’m just listing people that I really love.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:32:32] Oh no no, they but they are already calling and they’ve already said yes.

Todd Glass [00:32:37] Oh, shut up.

Paul Scheer [00:32:43] I mean, can I ask, like, I get that, I get that you’ve been doing this on the road and you really loved it. Like what? What made you. This is a very I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone basically come up with an idea like this. It’s like not Broadway. It’s. It is like, what made you feel so impassioned about doing it and staying in one location and being there for a while, like, what was behind it? Anything. Or is it just the one?

Todd Glass [00:33:10] I wouldn’t mind touring with the show, obviously. But residency to me is attractive because, you know, residency 100% goes into the creativity. In other words, all your time, 100% of what you spend on working on your show. When you have a residency, it’s all creative. There’s no moving. There’s no changing hotels. Every time you do something like that and you can do it and still do a good job. I’m not implying if a show moves around, but if you have residency, it’s easier to get a show tighter.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:33:35] It sounds like you’re saying comedians who tour on the road are cowards.

Todd Glass [00:33:38] Hey, let me tell you, I’ve been doing that with this show for five years, and like I said, I would want to tour.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:33:46] Oh, no, I’m with you. Yeah, we just tour. We just did a tour in the UK, and it was a lot of moving and as, as, as a middle aged guy, I’m like, I cannot do a show, get on the road again, a show, get on the road again. That’s that’s too much. I like posting up somewhere. What you’re pitching sounds great.

Todd Glass [00:34:03] Yeah. And like I said, I would because you get to visit some cool cities. Also, I wouldn’t mind touring with it as well, but the idea sort of came from I would see these music acts and, and what they can get out of an audience, you know, like it’s. And I was in, a city. We were talking me and the musician and we talked about when he found musicians and I said, when I found comedians, I found my people like it gave me a life. And it really does. Like, I really like comedians. I get along with most of them. And even if I disagree with them socially, I like them. And so he said the same thing. And I’m like, can you do tonight a song, for once in a lifetime, I, I have someone who needs me. You know, that song for once in my…And I go, can you do a version of that and just dedicate it to all the comedians Todd’s met over the years, and he I go, there’s a version of Sammy Davis Jr doing it on YouTube. I go find it. He fucking shreds it. Shreds it. So he copies. He, he does a version of it. He even gives homage to it. And he did it. And I mean, at the end of it, it was I mean, it was it was everywhere. He wasn’t just dilly dally. It was. He shredded it for two minutes. I said, do a two minute version. They’re there for standup. And then at the end, boom, trumpets blaring blackout. And the crowd. It was like you just gave them an hour and a half of a show, and I thought, I need to do this on. I need to turn this into something. And I was going to different cities. I’d bring one guy, but I get a local drummer. But once I use the same band, night after night after night, that’s when the show took off. That’s when I’m like, yeah, you.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:35:41] What you’re describing is a show, you know, like it’s a show where when people walk in, it’s not just like, oh, we sit, we grab a drink and we wait for the guy to come out and tell jokes. What you’re pitching is exactly right. You come in, there’s already music. The stage is set. You are already walking them through the events that are going to lead up to you coming and telling jokes, but this show has already begun, and that’s a much richer experience than just everybody just kind of bullshitting around until until somebody says, yeah, put your hands together for Todd Glass. You know?

Todd Glass [00:36:11] And by the way, it’s already fun to go out and see stand up comedy. I don’t want to act like I’m saying. It’s one of the most fun things to do. Right.

Paul Scheer [00:36:21] Yeah. I think what kind of goes back to what we started from, which is like the tiktok of it all, like with the pomp and circumstance, we’ve gotten into this thing where we strip everything away. Right. And I watch that video the first time it was, oh, I feel like this is a show I don’t see. Like these are the shows that my parents saw. They would go and see a show and it was like there was a band. There was there was a night out. And right now it’s like, and you know, we’d look for and I’ve done these shows to you show up and what you were wearing. Yeah. You get on stage. Maybe you’re reading from a notebook, whatever you’re doing, you know, there’s this we we’re pairing it down and that feels more intimate. But why not go backwards? Like we want people out of their house? We want to make it a bigger event. And I think it’s a cool way of saying it’s the same thing that you’re getting. Everything’s the same. But what was wrong with that? The show, what was wrong with the show? And I think that that’s really awesome.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:37:10] Like if you’re pulling people, there is such a I think especially, post pandemic and all the, all this stuff, it takes a lot more energy. I feel like, to get people out of their houses and into a theater. And so to pull them out with not just the promise of it’s going to be a fun stand up show, but like, it’s going to be a larger production. This is something well thought out and that you are going to be surprised by. Not just the surprise of funny jokes, but we’re putting on a show, a proper show that’s that’s in something worth like getting a babysitter for or coming in from the suburb. Whatever it is, if you’re in new Jersey, you’re going to come into New York to see this this Todd Glass show. It’s not just some show. It’s. Not just you going up at the cellar. You’re going to be putting on a show.

Paul Scheer [00:38:00] And you get to be a part of actually making it. And that’s the cool thing. And that’s what we’re talking about here too, which is like, you can go to Todd’s page, you can watch the video, but then also, you can get involved with Seed and Spark, which is an amazing organization. They do this. I’ve been involved with Seed and Spark, for a bunch of different projects. They do a lot.

Todd Glass [00:38:18] They’ve been amazing, They’re amazing.

Paul Scheer [00:38:19] I just love what they do to help creative people make creative projects. And I just, I love this idea. And for people who are a fan of you, I love that you’re just going to them and saying, help me do this thing.

Todd Glass [00:38:31] I appreciate that. And, just, you know, sometimes you wonder, you don’t even need to say this, but but, but I’ll say it like, you know, it’s not even like I thought, what is comedy missing? It’s just really, like, I enjoyed doing that, like, oh, we should play cool music here. And I sat around with my friend one night and I go, you know, I talk about, oh, well, they’re in the street. That’s a missed opportunity. Well, they’re seating. That’s is the only thing I’m missing because I want to count from if they get there half an hour before the show, that can start the clock. Two. Now I can go till after the show if they stay and have ice cream in that. But she goes, what about curating a playlist so if they bring the cookies home. And the hot chocolate, by the way, I put in a in like a cup with it’s not the water is not in it. So they can go home and have their cookies and hot chocolate. So the cookies and the chocolate are to bring home. So she is you can curate a playlist that’s, I go I fucking love it. So not only does the show start two blocks before they get there, not just like, oh, I’m just saying it. Oh, it starts like it’s some line in two blocks before they get there if they’re walking and then once they’re home and I’ve gotten some Instagrams, “Todd, our hot chocolate and cookies made it home. We’re listening to your music”. And as you it’s in the end of that video. So you know, I really and then again, this is the most important thing. And then I’ll shut up. It’s a tight, tight, good stand up show. You know.

Paul Scheer [00:39:51] Well I love it. And we’re not talking about the most important thing is like. And you do it naked, right? The show is nude.

Todd Glass [00:39:55] I do, I do, you do it naked. I’m doing anything I can to help, put people. I don’t know if that would help, but that’s if you.

Todd Glass [00:40:01] That’s the that’s the upper tier reward. If you if you really come in with that money, you’re that’s, that’s that.

Paul Scheer [00:40:08] They can be naked or they can request that you are.

Todd Glass [00:40:12] I don’t know, I don’t know if I could suck my gut in that long.

Paul Scheer [00:40:16] Todd, this is amazing. If you’re a fan of Todd and you should be, check out his Netflix special, and then, and then.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:40:23] That’s that’s that’s a great special. And. But what, the special before that, too. Is that still up somewhere?

Todd Glass [00:40:30] Yeah. That’s, Todd Glass Talks About Stuff and that’s. Yeah, I think up at Netflix as well.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:40:34] Great.

Paul Scheer [00:40:35] I love it.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:40:36] Two fantastic specials. If you are.

Todd Glass [00:40:38] Thank you.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:40:39] Into this. You’ve got it. Please take some time and watch these specials and I’m certain and your TikTok, it sounds like.

Todd Glass [00:40:46] TikTok, Instagram and yeah. And thank you Jason, Paul. Thank you so much. I really appreciate, you know, letting me come on and talk about this. And also, like I said, the quick response, it really goes a long way when someone gets right back to you. I haven’t seen you in a while. You were like, I think like so quick you got right back to me and I yeah, I appreciate it.

Paul Scheer [00:41:06] No, I, I love it. I’m glad that you’re here ToddGlass, ToddGlass.com. Thank you for being here.

Jason Mantzoukas [00:41:12] Dynamite.

Paul Scheer [00:41:12] To support Todd’s Seed and Spark fundraising campaign, just click on the link in this episode show notes the campaign runs through May 15th. All right. It is now time to finally announce our next movie. Next week we’ll be going from long haired fuzz to no hair buzz. That’s right. The next episode is our first international show, the 2024 Jason Statham action film The Beekeeper live in London. Here’s a breakdown of the plot. One man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he’s revealed to be a former operative of the powerful and clandestine organization known as The Beekeepers. Rotten tomatoes gives this film a 71%. Too low for my liking, and since the show is recorded in London for our review, we turn to Ed Power from the UK’s Daily Telegraph, who writes “30 years ago, The Beekeeper would have starred Jean-Claude Van Damme or Dolph Lundgren, while the villains boots would have been filled by Rutger Hauer or Dennis Hopper. If he had to pay for another divorce.” You know what, Ed? Who cares? Let’s talk about this movie and how great it is. We got Jeremy Irons as the bad guy. You got Statham as the good guy. I think you’ve positioned this wrong. Anyway, let’s take a listen to the trailer for The Beekeeper.

Trailer Audio [00:42:27] Repeat after me. I will never steal from the weak and the vulnerable again. It’s going to be a fine.

Trailer Audio [00:42:31] Okay, thanks.

Trailer Audio [00:42:34] There’s a beekeeper with a special program outside the chain of command.

Trailer Audio [00:42:38] When the system is corrupt. I correct it. Stolen millions from people who work hard all their lives.

Trailer Audio [00:42:47] We have laws for these things.

Trailer Audio [00:42:49] Until they fail. Then you have me.

Trailer Audio [00:42:53] The Beekeeper. Out in theaters January 12th.

Paul Scheer [00:42:56] You can stream The Beekeeper on fuboTV and MGM plus, or you can rent it on Apple TV, YouTube, or Google Play. And separately, I encourage you to check out Hoopla and Kanopy, which are digital media services offered by your local public library that allow you to consume movies, TV, music, audiobooks, e-books, and comics for free. All right, people, that is the show. That’s it. Please rate and review it. It helps. And if you listen on Apple Podcasts, make sure you are following us. Visit us on social media @HDTGM. And a big thank you to our producers Scott Sonne, Molly Reynolds, our movie picking producer Avril Halley, and our associate producer Jess Cisneros, and our engineers Casey Holford and Rich Garcia. We will see you next week for The Beekeeper.