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Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Paul fig I directed about nineteen episodes of

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Speaker 1: the Office. I was a co exact producer for one season,

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Speaker 1: season five, and uh, it was probably my favorite job

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Speaker 1: I've ever done working on this show. Hello everyone, and

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Speaker 1: welcome to this week's episode of The Office. Deep Dive.

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Speaker 1: Probably my favorite job I've ever done. I am your host,

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Speaker 1: Brian Baumgartner, my guest today. Is the absolutely the only

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Speaker 1: way to describe him. A bundle of joy Paul Feig. Now,

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Speaker 1: Paul was a director and a producer on the Office.

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Speaker 1: That's true, but those titles don't quite do him justice.

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Speaker 1: Paul was a core member of the team starting in

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Speaker 1: season two, so much so that when Greg starts did

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Speaker 1: working more and more on Parks and Wreck in season five,

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Speaker 1: Paul became our number one go to in house person

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Speaker 1: on set for any questions or issues that came up.

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Speaker 1: Paul was like the consigliari of the Office, you could say,

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Speaker 1: and he had a huge influence on the show, as

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Speaker 1: all good consigliaries do. But it wasn't just our show.

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Speaker 1: Paul also created Freaks and Geeks and has made tons

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Speaker 1: of fantastic comedy movies, Bridesmaids, Spy, The New Ghostbusters, so

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Speaker 1: many more. And here's the thing. Paul once said that

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Speaker 1: our casting director Alison Jones changed the face of comedy,

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Speaker 1: which is true, but Allison says that Paul, along with

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Speaker 1: Judd Apatow, changed the genre of comedy itself. Plus, Paul

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Speaker 1: is hilarious. Just check out his Instagram you'll know what

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Speaker 1: I mean. He's a super nice guy. And to top

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Speaker 1: it off, he is the most dapper man in Hollywood.

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Speaker 1: Definitely the only person who showed up for our conversation

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Speaker 1: in a three piece suit. So on that note, here

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Speaker 1: he is Paul fig Bubble and Squeak. I love it,

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Speaker 1: Bubble and squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cookie every month

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Speaker 1: left over from the NABB before. How are you? I'm good?

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Speaker 1: Are you look amazing always? Yeah? You don't make yours like?

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Speaker 1: Great to see you? Oh my god. Yes, it has

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Speaker 1: been amazingly fun. Yeah, I mean, it's thank you so much.

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Speaker 1: Oh no, this worked. Sitting down? Um, what are you

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Speaker 1: about that? You're working on something shooting pot It was

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Speaker 1: going to shoot a pilot in North Carolina, so ready

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Speaker 1: for that, and then we're gonna do a movie after that.

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Speaker 1: So very nice and busy which is nice. Yeah, what

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Speaker 1: what we're in North Carolina is a pilots Wilmington's. I

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Speaker 1: was there. I mean it's been now, Oh my gosh,

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Speaker 1: maybe it's been a little bit of time. This show,

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Speaker 1: which you probably never heard of. It was one of

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Speaker 1: those weird things. It was a drama that I was

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Speaker 1: a fan of and they called and I was like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: it was um good behavior. Oh yeah, oh that's a

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Speaker 1: cool show. Oh my gosh. It was so much fun.

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Speaker 1: And Wilmington's was great. Oh good, Yeah, that's my first

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Speaker 1: time when I was an actor at it. Back in

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Speaker 1: ninety four war I shot a movie there, Heavyweights. We

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Speaker 1: shot that, but it was that was more Asheville Henderson Bills.

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Speaker 1: It's more Blue Ridge Mountains. But I loved North Carolina.

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Speaker 1: It was one of those cases. We have this every

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Speaker 1: time I shoot anywhere. It's what we call I want

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Speaker 1: to live there. Iteas you start looking for houses, I

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Speaker 1: got to live here. Yeah, let's just start looking. Huh.

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Speaker 1: I wonder what this model money will get me here

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Speaker 1: on the ocean, and I always solve it by going, okay, now,

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Speaker 1: flash forward. It's the final day of production and the

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Speaker 1: trucks are pulling out of town and you're they're waving

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Speaker 1: like all right here I am, and it's like, all right,

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Speaker 1: what have I done? Lovely towns? But what the hell

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Speaker 1: are we show biz people are gonna do? I know? Um, okay,

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Speaker 1: So what we're talking about is The Office. And now,

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Speaker 1: six years after we've stopped film management six years, it's

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Speaker 1: by basically any measure, the most watch show on television.

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Speaker 1: Totally insane, and people come to me all the time

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Speaker 1: about it and kids, Well, that was the thing that

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Speaker 1: always blew my mind. I wrote a couple of y

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Speaker 1: A books, um, and so did these like middle school tours,

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Speaker 1: and so when I would be promoting the book, it

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Speaker 1: was kind of like, the kids are like whatever. So

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Speaker 1: I just learned to pandor completely like I work on

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Speaker 1: the Office, and they would go crazy. All they wanted

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Speaker 1: to do was talk about The Office and they loved it. So, yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's got such a relevance. How did you get involved

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Speaker 1: originally in the show. Did you watch the British version

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Speaker 1: of the show. Yeah, I watched the British version of

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Speaker 1: the show, and actually at the time the agency I

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Speaker 1: was at came to me and a million other people

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Speaker 1: who had you know, had shows and said you want

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Speaker 1: to do this, and I was immediately like, no, why

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Speaker 1: would I possibly want to do that, Like, I can't

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Speaker 1: take that on. You can only fail like as a showrunner,

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Speaker 1: right totally. It's just like it's so iconic, you're like that,

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Speaker 1: you can't you can't do it, just get away from it.

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Speaker 1: So um So then yeah, a few years later I

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Speaker 1: had heard that they were, you know, doing it. And

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Speaker 1: actually the irony was I was shooting a pilot with

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Speaker 1: Rodney Rothman called Early Bird back then, and so when

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Speaker 1: we were shooting this scene writer's room scene, it was

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Speaker 1: at the same studio where Greg Daniels was was editing

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Speaker 1: the pilot, and I remember him going like, hey, guys,

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Speaker 1: come in, come in. I'm gonna get your opinion on something.

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Speaker 1: We're trying to figure out what the theme music is

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Speaker 1: gonna be. And so he played a couple of different

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Speaker 1: songs and then the piano one came up and we

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Speaker 1: were like, yeah, that, I think that's the one that's

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Speaker 1: really good. So I kind of like, wow, I was

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Speaker 1: there at the beginning for the piano thing. That's amazing

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Speaker 1: and then wild and then and then what happened was

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Speaker 1: when he came on you know, you know, the whole

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Speaker 1: thing about how it had to be the exact script

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Speaker 1: from the British version. Remember watching it and just kind

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Speaker 1: of going like, oh, I was hoping it would be

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Speaker 1: something else. I was such a big Corral fan, and

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Speaker 1: so I kind of had this thing in my head of, oh,

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Speaker 1: I guess maybe it's not gonna you know, go, even

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Speaker 1: though it was great in it. And then and I

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Speaker 1: didn't watch the rest of the six, and then my

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Speaker 1: agent called me up next year and said, oh, you

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Speaker 1: know that shows coming back and it's you know, it's

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Speaker 1: gonna be this hot show. And I was like, well,

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Speaker 1: I don't know, you know, but I like everybody involved

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Speaker 1: so much. So then I went and watched the other

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Speaker 1: five and went like, holy smokes, this is so funny.

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Speaker 1: When I got a diversity day, I was like, this

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Speaker 1: is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. So

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Speaker 1: then I came on board for for the first full

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Speaker 1: season and um, yeah, but I was at that first

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Speaker 1: table read where they read the Dundees and all that,

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Speaker 1: and then mine was Office Olympics was my first one. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Office Olympics pretty early and in season two I think

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Speaker 1: that's the fourth third or fourth episode. I think. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So Greg told me something interesting that he on the

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Speaker 1: pilot decided that if they stayed faithful to the British script,

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Speaker 1: the network couldn't give any notes. I buy that because

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Speaker 1: they were like, well they worked over there, like how

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Speaker 1: could you? And so what what he viewed his job

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Speaker 1: on on the pilot was to create the world. It

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Speaker 1: was really brilliant what he did. I mean the fact

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Speaker 1: that you know, it was partly some of you guys

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Speaker 1: got cast. Other people were writers. He said, why don't

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Speaker 1: you be on the show, And it created that great

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Speaker 1: world for the for the docuse style, you know, the

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Speaker 1: big thing that you know, we've kind of all figured

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Speaker 1: out going into season two. You know, the first six

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Speaker 1: were trying to be very much like the British Office

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Speaker 1: in the sense that Steve Correll's character was really unlikable.

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Speaker 1: And it was when the forty year old virgin came

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Speaker 1: out on that break that everybody goes like, wait, what's up,

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Speaker 1: and it's like, oh, no, he's lovable. He can be

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Speaker 1: a lovable loser, you know, and kind of be insufferable,

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Speaker 1: but he has to have victories, and so you know

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Speaker 1: that was getting seated in but it was really that

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Speaker 1: moment I think we all felt in Office Olympics when

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Speaker 1: when Steve made the decision to start crying, you know,

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Speaker 1: or yet Terry when the Metal ceremony, Remember we were

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Speaker 1: all kind of like that's it, Oh my god, and

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Speaker 1: it was just um and it felt like it just

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Speaker 1: you could feel that shift. Well, speaking of that, that

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Speaker 1: moment and the Halloween moment, both directed by you, people

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Speaker 1: have talked about the softening of him and the showing

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Speaker 1: of his humanity. Yeah. Well remember in the in the

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Speaker 1: stage directions for the Metal Ceremony, it was like everybody's

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Speaker 1: kind of laughing at him, so it was gonna it

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Speaker 1: was supposed to be this big burn on him. But

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Speaker 1: I mean it's all Steve. I mean, Steve made this

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Speaker 1: this vision to get emotional, and I remember we're just

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Speaker 1: we're else standing there like oh my good. So I'm

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Speaker 1: just rightening up, going like, go go further with it,

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Speaker 1: Go further with it. Um. It's this thing that I've

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Speaker 1: just discovered over the years because I love British comedy

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Speaker 1: so much, and Britt's really love unlikable lead characters because

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Speaker 1: then they just get to see them torn apart and

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Speaker 1: there's some sort of a come upance with that, much

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Speaker 1: like the British press to take people down. But American

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Speaker 1: audiences can't get behind it. It makes them very frustrated.

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Speaker 1: They want American audiences just want to invest in the

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Speaker 1: lead character. It's it's our the beauty of how lovely.

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Speaker 1: But a teenage country we are. We still have optimism

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Speaker 1: and all that, and so I think it's great, but

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Speaker 1: it's it's just this lesson I've learned over and over again,

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Speaker 1: but I never learned it as fully as I did

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Speaker 1: from my experience on the Office. Yeah, it's interesting because

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Speaker 1: if you look at sort of the iconic dramas that

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Speaker 1: were happening around the time that The Office was going,

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Speaker 1: they're unlikable characters that found humanity. Like if you think

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Speaker 1: of Tony Soprano or um Walter White or you know,

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Speaker 1: you have these bad bad men that find a humanity

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Speaker 1: that people somehow root for it. Did that was that

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Speaker 1: a shift or was it sort of okay in terms

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Speaker 1: of drama but not comedy here? I think it was.

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Speaker 1: I think it's the difference between more niche cable stuff

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Speaker 1: and mainstream network stuff. You know, because this is back

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Speaker 1: when you know, well you guys started before networks ruled

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Speaker 1: the roost, which is just not that way anymore. And

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Speaker 1: so I think, you know, to have that broad appeal,

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Speaker 1: you have to have this formula, right. Part of what

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Speaker 1: we've talked about is that kind of this revolution in

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Speaker 1: terms of changing the face of network television really started

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Speaker 1: with you and Freaking Geeks. Um, what I know, I'll

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Speaker 1: think full credit. I don't know if it's thank you,

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Speaker 1: Brian no, I think. I mean, you know, we talked

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Speaker 1: to Alison Jones, and Alison talked about like her affinity

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Speaker 1: from Misfits and you know, she cast Golden Girls and

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Speaker 1: Family Ties and all of these traditional network shows, and

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Speaker 1: then she talked about Freaks and Geeks being the first

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Speaker 1: cool show that she did, and that she had an

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Speaker 1: affinity you know, for people who were sort of different.

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Speaker 1: You do as well, Yeah, well, I mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: Freaks and Gigs was really my reaction to all the

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Speaker 1: years of stuff I'd watched about cool kids and cool

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Speaker 1: people in high schools, about all of the you know,

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Speaker 1: it's like soap operas. I was just like, I can't

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Speaker 1: take this anymore. Just it has no relevance to my past.

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Speaker 1: What's and it makes me feel like a weirdo, like

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Speaker 1: what group was I in? So I really just kind

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Speaker 1: of wrote it as you know, as a reaction to that.

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Speaker 1: Um no, I mean, you know there was things like

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Speaker 1: Ally McBeal and stuff that we're kind of playing in

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Speaker 1: that world. There was also the movie Welcome to the

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Speaker 1: Dollhouse that came out was was really influential for a

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Speaker 1: lot of people. And what it influenced at the networks

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Speaker 1: was they were all kind of like, we need to

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Speaker 1: get a show like that. So I had kind of

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Speaker 1: on the side written this spec pilot and it just

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Speaker 1: happened to kind of match into that, and so, um

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Speaker 1: we we chopped it around and NBC just jumped on

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Speaker 1: it in a great way. And we had one of

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Speaker 1: these amazing meetings where you come into go like we

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Speaker 1: have no notes, just go shoot it. And it's like

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Speaker 1: it was, you know, going like you you know, I

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Speaker 1: was all set for a fight of like you gotta

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Speaker 1: let us cast you know, nerdy kids. I don't want

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Speaker 1: to cast like models, and then you know, and they

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Speaker 1: were like, no, we agree. So yeah, so it was

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Speaker 1: really great and um yeah, I mean, you know, the

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Speaker 1: thing we brought that wasn't a lot of is just

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Speaker 1: the idea of like a bitter sweet comedy that's like

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Speaker 1: not a comedy and not a drama that's sort of both.

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Speaker 1: It's like real life, you know. But that's why we

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Speaker 1: got canceled. We you know, we only aired twelve episodes,

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Speaker 1: and the people at the network, we're in love with

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Speaker 1: the show, but the heads of the network just couldn't

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Speaker 1: figure it out because it just didn't It didn't do

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Speaker 1: what a normal TV show does. It wasn't it wasn't

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Speaker 1: wish fulfillment, you know. I remember them always going like,

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Speaker 1: why can't he why can't you get with the cheerleaders, Like,

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Speaker 1: we don't have a show because of the cheerleader. Wouldn't

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Speaker 1: be real life. None of our expers that were writers.

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Speaker 1: You want to bring a bunch of cool guys in, right, right, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: And then it just kind of yeah, we just you know,

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Speaker 1: did it as long as we could not. You know,

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Speaker 1: I always credit NBC for letting us do what we

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Speaker 1: did right well. And I think it's why everybody who

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Speaker 1: worked on the office has a huge soft spot for

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Speaker 1: Kevin Riley because he stuck his neck out. You know,

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Speaker 1: he wasn't there when Freaks and Geeks was there, but

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Speaker 1: by the time the Office came around and he fought

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Speaker 1: for it. Yeah, I mean, yeah, he was the champion

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Speaker 1: the toll because I know that thing was I mean,

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Speaker 1: any other person would have canceled that show after the

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Speaker 1: first six just because of the ratings. Because of the ratings,

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Speaker 1: you know, was we were in the basement of the

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Speaker 1: ratings every week ironically with seven million viewers per week,

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Speaker 1: which now we would be with the biggest show into

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Speaker 1: you totally. Um. Gregg talked about that he was sure

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Speaker 1: that the show would fail, and he talked about that

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Speaker 1: he felt like his contribution would that it would be

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Speaker 1: all worth it if somehow, in the smallest of way,

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Speaker 1: he could nudge the ship of comedy in just a

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Speaker 1: different direction, coming out of a friend's will and gret

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Speaker 1: you know, just that's something that just he found funnier.

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Speaker 1: He was like, it would have been worth it, Like

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Speaker 1: if I had just done that, well, I mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: I always say in comedy there are these moments that

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Speaker 1: everything jumps ahead, and he definitely did that. But you know,

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Speaker 1: one of the many things that was in the way

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Speaker 1: of the Office taking off in the beginning was that style,

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Speaker 1: was that docu style with the zooming camera. Now we're

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Speaker 1: so used to it and nobody talks about it. But

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Speaker 1: I don't know, you've probably heard this too. You know,

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Speaker 1: I can't watch it. It It makes me sick. I want

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Speaker 1: to throw up. It's the things go moving around. But

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Speaker 1: I always credit YouTube kind of created a world in

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Speaker 1: which we could do this because, you know, comedy before

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Speaker 1: that was very over lit, very you know, three camera looking,

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Speaker 1: or it was a movie just very you know, here's

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Speaker 1: the shots to get the shots, and it was very

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Speaker 1: joke oriented to everything was setup, jokes out of jokebody's

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Speaker 1: really snappy and all this. And because of YouTube, people

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Speaker 1: started needs so much humor in captured moments and things

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Speaker 1: just happening on the fly and that's real, and that

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Speaker 1: comedy became completely behavioral. And I felt over the last

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Speaker 1: ten years, people have no patience for jokes at all.

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Speaker 1: If it sounds like a joke, and they're still jokes,

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Speaker 1: but they can't be like, you know, snappy, snappy, clever

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Speaker 1: dialogue it has, you know, on Freaks Engage, our biggest

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Speaker 1: laughs would be you know, Martin stars going you know that,

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Speaker 1: but they see them script and back in the old days,

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Speaker 1: like you need a joke here need a punchlines and no, no,

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Speaker 1: that's the joke. And you know, one of my best

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Speaker 1: friends is is Matt Reeves who did clover Field, you know,

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Speaker 1: and people were like, oh, oh my god, I'm throwing

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Speaker 1: up and all this stuff. You know, now it looks

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Speaker 1: we see it all the time, so it looks great.

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Speaker 1: You don't have a problem with that. Yeah, Greg and

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Speaker 1: Ken kappas Matt and Randall. You know, one of the

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Speaker 1: things that they talked about was the idea that everything

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Speaker 1: is harder makes it better. Well, I mean it was

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Speaker 1: absolutely brilliant that he decided to get a real documentary

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Speaker 1: crew to shoot this. I mean, it's honestly, I'm doing

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Speaker 1: a pilot right now that I'm just completely copying what

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Speaker 1: he did because somebody like Randall and Matt, who were

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Speaker 1: so brilliant, they are writers, they are actors, they are

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Speaker 1: producers in the way that they do this because they

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Speaker 1: have the ability coming from that world to see the

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Speaker 1: scene like they've never seen it before every time they

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Speaker 1: shoot it. And as a director, it's my absolute favorite

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Speaker 1: way to work because it's all about performance and it's

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Speaker 1: also all about kind of we're the audience, the cameras,

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Speaker 1: the audience going wait what he said that, and like

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Speaker 1: and kind of zooming in, and their ability to know

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Speaker 1: when to zoom in on somebody is just you know,

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Speaker 1: people go, oh, do you direct? That's like no, I

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Speaker 1: don't like occasionally going oh wait, hold off, or like

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Speaker 1: maybe pull wider here, but in general, just like you guys,

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Speaker 1: do what you're gonna do, and then we'll kind of

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Speaker 1: see if we want to change it. But cent of

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Speaker 1: the time you're just like, man, they don't nailed it right,

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Speaker 1: so smart. And you know, I've said before this and

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Speaker 1: through this process that every shot there was always a

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Speaker 1: discussion about where the camera was, not in terms of

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Speaker 1: getting the shot, but in terms of intention behavior character.

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Speaker 1: Is the camera in the same room, Are the character

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Speaker 1: is aware that it's in the room. How does that

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Speaker 1: change their behavior knowing that it's there? Yeah, totally. I

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Speaker 1: Mean That's why I've always had a hard time watching

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Speaker 1: reality TV real reality quote unquote, because I just go,

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Speaker 1: everyone's on camera. They know they're on cameras, So I'm

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Speaker 1: not watching normal behavior. I'm watching them playing to the cameras.

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Speaker 1: And so the fact that they harness that it makes

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Speaker 1: the comedy so much better because you know, and we

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Speaker 1: always you know, they scripted it out a lot of

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Speaker 1: the time, but it was always like, when's the spy shot?

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Speaker 1: When do we want to catch people where they have

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Speaker 1: no idea they're on camera. We're seeing the real person

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Speaker 1: versus people that are very aware of the camera. And

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Speaker 1: it's such a part of the writing, it's such a

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Speaker 1: part of the storytelling that, you know, the fact that

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Speaker 1: they used that and and really played into it is great,

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Speaker 1: even down to things like, you know, the the idea

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Speaker 1: that on the Talking Heads, anybody who had kind of

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Speaker 1: a bright future got to be against the window that

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Speaker 1: looked out to the streets, and everybody who was stuck

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Speaker 1: in the place got you know, the office behind them. Yes,

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Speaker 1: John Krasinski, are sorry, Jim being towards the women, Pam

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Speaker 1: exactly being toward the window. You know, remember coming in

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Speaker 1: the first time. You know, the first thing I ever

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Speaker 1: did when I was directing was the Talking Heads. You

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Speaker 1: just started the day with the Talking Heads, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I came in and got all this whole thing, like

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Speaker 1: really interview people, and I did, and you guys were

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Speaker 1: so nice you put up with that. I asked all

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Speaker 1: these questions before I get to the scripted thing, but

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Speaker 1: it was just it was fun. I mean, for me,

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Speaker 1: it was just this. You know, I played with improv

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Speaker 1: on camera before, but not to this Dan, you know,

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Speaker 1: because I worked on the Arrested development, which was so

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Speaker 1: much fun. Those scripts are so dense that even though

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Speaker 1: we would do let improv, it just wouldn't get used because,

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Speaker 1: you know, because of the way they wanted to cut

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Speaker 1: the show. So you know the fact that Greg I

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Speaker 1: can never say enough stuff about Greg Daniels. He's just

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Speaker 1: so brilliant and I learned more from him and I

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Speaker 1: think anybody in the business. You know, the fact that

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Speaker 1: he had the confidence to let us throw out storylines

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Speaker 1: because we would stumble upon an improv. You know, in

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Speaker 1: Halloween is is the classic one with that thing which

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Speaker 1: is Dwight, you know, looking like the you know, the

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Speaker 1: the Emperor, and we were just like, this is so funny,

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Speaker 1: and that he went for it, you know, that's so great. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's a great example. Yeah, of just a story that

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Speaker 1: is funny and let's let it play out as long

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Speaker 1: as it's a moment. You know, like I recognize that

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Speaker 1: he oh god, he looks like he's from Star Wars

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Speaker 1: and then then you will do it, Michael or whatever

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Speaker 1: you're saying. I said, yeah, totally. Um, I can't remember

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Speaker 1: if we were if we did this. By the time

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Speaker 1: you were there, it started to peter out because the

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Speaker 1: shoots got more complicated. But one of the things that

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Speaker 1: Ken Kappas did and we did, I know, through the

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Speaker 1: first season was the thirty minutes of busy work. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: so coming in and ultimately he wanted and you know,

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Speaker 1: Greg wanted it to feel like we had been there,

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Speaker 1: that we had been sitting there. So even us being

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Speaker 1: there for thirty minutes, it's like your chair feels different

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Speaker 1: than if you just sit down, which I just I

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Speaker 1: think is so interesting. Yeah, it's fascinating. I Mean, one

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Speaker 1: of the things I love about Ken is like he

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Speaker 1: doesn't even say action. He just goes go ahead, And

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Speaker 1: which is great because there is that thing and I

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Speaker 1: when I do my movies and all that I've I've

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Speaker 1: purged it out of what I do. Even i'd still

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Speaker 1: call action, but there is something about it leads up

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Speaker 1: to this like okay, but yeah and go and it's

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Speaker 1: it's a big event. That's why I always just go

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Speaker 1: like go again. Go again, go again, to get people

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Speaker 1: out of that thing of like here it comes, they've

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Speaker 1: just redone your makeup that never is rolling and go.

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Speaker 1: And so the thing on the office was always that

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Speaker 1: the cameras never turned off until we finished a scene.

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Speaker 1: So we just kept rolling, just kept going, moving around. Also,

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Speaker 1: the thing that that they were doing, and I think

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Speaker 1: Ken started this too, is just saying, like all day,

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Speaker 1: everybody has to be here all day just because we're

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Speaker 1: in the office. Who don't know who we're going to

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Speaker 1: see in the background because the camera is gonna be

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Speaker 1: moving around, you know. And that carried on for a

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Speaker 1: couple of seasons, and people well started getting more successful.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, but to a certain degree. It

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Speaker 1: was there throughout I mean, you know, even later and

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Speaker 1: there were scenes that were taking place at the reception

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Speaker 1: area and Steve Carroll was sitting in you know, I mean,

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Speaker 1: as Michael Scott was sitting in his office there in

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Speaker 1: the background. No, I mean, it definitely happened. But but

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Speaker 1: who drew the short straw in that whole series? It

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Speaker 1: was poor. He was the only when we saw through

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Speaker 1: the window. He was the only person that we saw

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Speaker 1: when we do the talking heads that looked into the office,

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Speaker 1: so he had Felis somehow escaped rememby asking for some

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Speaker 1: Phillis to come in a couple of times, I might

425
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,760
Speaker 1: see your hand right. Just one other questions sort of

426
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,600
Speaker 1: on this topic is, you know, basically, how do you

427
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:12,800
Speaker 1: feel like the fact that there were ordinary looking people,

428
00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 1: um that that and the fact that we were all

429
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:20,679
Speaker 1: essentially unknown, how did that contribute to you think to

430
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,960
Speaker 1: creating that world. Well, I made it much more relatable.

431
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:25,879
Speaker 1: It's funny because I always say, like, you know, we

432
00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:27,960
Speaker 1: always try to go you know, like, let's just cast

433
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,120
Speaker 1: really normal people. The minisome he gets on camera, they

434
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 1: do become appealing. It's just a natural thing that happens.

435
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,240
Speaker 1: So again it goes back to this docu style. I

436
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,000
Speaker 1: think that is just the key to everything because it

437
00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:44,879
Speaker 1: takes all the grandiosity out of the filmmaking process. You know,

438
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 1: when you get your close up and you're in a

439
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,160
Speaker 1: movie or TV show and you get a close up,

440
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:52,159
Speaker 1: we're tracking around you. It just becomes an event. It

441
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,439
Speaker 1: just eventizes little moments in life. And the fact that

442
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,280
Speaker 1: if everybody's sitting there and we're kind of at this

443
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,600
Speaker 1: sort of high angle because all the cameramen stand up

444
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,359
Speaker 1: generally unless Randall's on his pootie scooty what you called it,

445
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,880
Speaker 1: sitting on this little thing with wheels. Um, we're seeing

446
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:08,600
Speaker 1: it the way if we would just walk through the office,

447
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,280
Speaker 1: that's how we we'd be watching it. And that's why

448
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:12,439
Speaker 1: I think with the zooming in on people, it's just

449
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,080
Speaker 1: like you as an audience, go oh, I would focus

450
00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,000
Speaker 1: on that person, and somehow in my brain I would

451
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,240
Speaker 1: actually zoom in on them because your eye kind of

452
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,760
Speaker 1: does weird things that you don't realize as you're taking

453
00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,280
Speaker 1: in details. And I think that's all contributed to making

454
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,680
Speaker 1: it feel just normal. And what then you can do

455
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:32,920
Speaker 1: when you have this thing of everything feels very real

456
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,320
Speaker 1: and everybody's under playing because also nobody on the show

457
00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:40,000
Speaker 1: is playing big. But if something big does happen, it

458
00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:42,199
Speaker 1: is in a real world context, so you can get

459
00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,320
Speaker 1: away with it. So you know, there's some pretty absurd

460
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,720
Speaker 1: stuff that happened on the office, but you just go like, oh,

461
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,320
Speaker 1: that's funny. You don't go if it had been shot

462
00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:52,520
Speaker 1: in a standard movie way with like you zoom in

463
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,520
Speaker 1: and a wide lens you did this, and that you'd

464
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,040
Speaker 1: go like, no, that's dumb, you know, or that's too much,

465
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,120
Speaker 1: but in this real life context that makes it all

466
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,840
Speaker 1: feel real and and so um yeah, you know, but

467
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:05,880
Speaker 1: you guys were all very very appealing. Yes in our

468
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,960
Speaker 1: own specific way, yes exactly. You know. I've always said

469
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,480
Speaker 1: this about especially it's more about like three camera kind

470
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,200
Speaker 1: of stuff, but it really applies to the best TV shows,

471
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,399
Speaker 1: the most popular comedies ever, which is it's generally in

472
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 1: one place. That's why cheers work so well, you go, oh,

473
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,000
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go visit my friends in this place that

474
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,440
Speaker 1: I feel very comfortable. And so that's what the office had.

475
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,639
Speaker 1: And it's funny as the seasons went on, they were

476
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 1: always trying to get out of the office more and

477
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,040
Speaker 1: I was always kind of like, let's not go too

478
00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,120
Speaker 1: much because I love being in this place now. It's

479
00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,639
Speaker 1: my happy place. So that you know, that's what you

480
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,760
Speaker 1: had going for you. But then with this new style,

481
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,640
Speaker 1: which the funny thing was at that time sitcoms were

482
00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,040
Speaker 1: trying to break out of their three camera thing. And

483
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,200
Speaker 1: so if you watch there was occasionally watch a sitcom

484
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,159
Speaker 1: and they kind of put some shot in or they

485
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,359
Speaker 1: do something. But let's be tracking down the hall and

486
00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,320
Speaker 1: you're like, wait, what's happening? You know this is not

487
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,439
Speaker 1: normal and it would distance you from it, but you

488
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,560
Speaker 1: guys have the ability to just have this freedom with

489
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:30,240
Speaker 1: the cameras. Right. Backing up slightly, you mentioned Diversity Day. Um,

490
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,840
Speaker 1: you know, I think that we've talked a lot about

491
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:34,560
Speaker 1: I don't know what you want to call them, but

492
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:41,040
Speaker 1: issue episodes. That sounds so like very special episode. That

493
00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 1: wasn't the intention, but you know, talking about really from

494
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,159
Speaker 1: our second episode and Diversity Day, beginning to talk about

495
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,880
Speaker 1: difficult social issues in a way that some would say

496
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,480
Speaker 1: hadn't been done on television since All in the Family,

497
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,600
Speaker 1: in terms of looking at race, but looking at it

498
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,080
Speaker 1: in a different way with a protagonist who was the

499
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:03,359
Speaker 1: one kind of stirring the pot. Yeah, a lot of

500
00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:06,359
Speaker 1: people have said it, and Steve himself said he wasn't

501
00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 1: a bad guy. It was it was just he wasn't

502
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,040
Speaker 1: woken off. Yeah, he's not savvy enough and he The

503
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,320
Speaker 1: great thing about Steve's character, you know, I also think

504
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,240
Speaker 1: Archie Bunker is like one of the greatest characters, possibly

505
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,199
Speaker 1: the greatest character I've ever been in comedy. But there

506
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,560
Speaker 1: are people who are just convinced they're right Also when

507
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,879
Speaker 1: they say something terrible, it's like, what what did I say?

508
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,320
Speaker 1: What did I say that's so terrible? It's that weird

509
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,040
Speaker 1: innocence of thinking get away with it that that really

510
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,760
Speaker 1: makes the difference. You know, there's no malice in that person.

511
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:39,239
Speaker 1: But you talked about unlikable leading men um, you know,

512
00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,440
Speaker 1: being a very British thing. But it's funny like when

513
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,320
Speaker 1: you look at a television history and you bring up

514
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:48,879
Speaker 1: Archie Bunker again, another sort of unlikable leading man. Yeah,

515
00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:50,960
Speaker 1: very much so. I mean, you know, that's one of

516
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,760
Speaker 1: the most challenging characters to be on TV. I think,

517
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,080
Speaker 1: you know, people try to replicate that so many times,

518
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,400
Speaker 1: and it just that was so specific to the time. Ironically,

519
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,840
Speaker 1: I almost like, I think almost we're even more divided now.

520
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:04,320
Speaker 1: I don't even think you think you can pull it

521
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,520
Speaker 1: off because everybody's so self defensive. But back then there

522
00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,840
Speaker 1: was ability to even though everybody passions were high. You

523
00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 1: needed that that steam relief for whatever, to to get

524
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,560
Speaker 1: these ideas out there. And also, you know, surrounding that

525
00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 1: shows just brilliant because it's the wife who's just a saint,

526
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,480
Speaker 1: and then the overbearing son in law who's too far

527
00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,480
Speaker 1: the other way, you know, and then the daughter is

528
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:28,480
Speaker 1: kind of caught in the middle. So if you kind

529
00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:33,400
Speaker 1: of present a fair and balanced mixture of opinions, then

530
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:34,760
Speaker 1: you can have fun with it. And then if you

531
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: again take the malice out of it, unless you need

532
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,600
Speaker 1: a villain, then everybody's just kind of misguided. Then it

533
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:47,000
Speaker 1: becomes about the appealing nous of the people playing those roles.

534
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:48,840
Speaker 1: And I don't mean looks or anything. I just mean

535
00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 1: do you inherently like them? And you you inherently like

536
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,359
Speaker 1: Steve because he is just he's so funny and also

537
00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,359
Speaker 1: just you know, he thinks he's doing the doing the

538
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,840
Speaker 1: right thing, and you can't. It's hard for Americans at

539
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,080
Speaker 1: least to get mad at that. Right. Where do you

540
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,439
Speaker 1: think that he fits in Michael Scott sort of in

541
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:14,240
Speaker 1: the history of comedy leading man in television. I mean, honestly,

542
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,359
Speaker 1: it's a real close race between Carol O'Connor and Steve Carrell.

543
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:22,320
Speaker 1: For me, I've I've lamented this before, and whenever I

544
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,399
Speaker 1: say it, sometimes it turned the press remembers that this

545
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,200
Speaker 1: didn't happen, that Steve Carrell never won an Emmy, never

546
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:32,760
Speaker 1: wanted and it makes me mental and you know Alc Balden.

547
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:34,720
Speaker 1: I love him. He's the funniest guy in the world.

548
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:37,680
Speaker 1: He's he's great. But you know that was a showy

549
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,640
Speaker 1: part and Steve's part. I mean people would say it

550
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,600
Speaker 1: to me, you like, well, but he just shows up

551
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:44,400
Speaker 1: and he just it's crazy, and it's like, are you

552
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,800
Speaker 1: fucking kidding me? You know, first of all, if you

553
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:48,440
Speaker 1: know Steve, he's not crazy at all. He's one of

554
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,560
Speaker 1: the most even tempered, smart guys I've ever met in

555
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,840
Speaker 1: my life. But for comedy be good, it's gotta look easy.

556
00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:55,760
Speaker 1: If it looks sweaty and it looks like people are

557
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,320
Speaker 1: trying too hard, it's terrible. But then when you do

558
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:01,160
Speaker 1: so great that you make it so real, people like,

559
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,800
Speaker 1: well you're not doing anything. So at some point you

560
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,720
Speaker 1: just go awards mean nothing and screw it, let's just

561
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:08,720
Speaker 1: throw it out. But the fact that there's a comedy

562
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,520
Speaker 1: Leading Man category and he can never win it is

563
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,920
Speaker 1: it's crazy. And I really think Academy, do you you like

564
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,520
Speaker 1: the President's Award or whatever where you give somebody who's

565
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,800
Speaker 1: been not taken care of give him that Emmy and

566
00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:25,520
Speaker 1: should be like five ft high. Yeah? Yeah, Um. When

567
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:29,760
Speaker 1: I was talking to Rain, I said to him, the

568
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,680
Speaker 1: comedy duo of the two of them together, you reference

569
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:38,560
Speaker 1: the Halloween episode two. They're just so fine, They're just

570
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:43,040
Speaker 1: so funny, and there's just it's these two archetypal characters

571
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,800
Speaker 1: in the way that they fit together was just brilliant. Yeah,

572
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,920
Speaker 1: and there's not I mean, there's not really a parallel

573
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:50,959
Speaker 1: to them, because it's not Laurel and Hardy, you know,

574
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,440
Speaker 1: and it's not abbonic Ostello. Because of that exactly what

575
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:58,200
Speaker 1: you're saying. It's this weird they need each other, but

576
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 1: Michael doesn't want white acceptance, and it's it's really I mean,

577
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,880
Speaker 1: but you know, such credit to Rain. I mean, what

578
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,200
Speaker 1: an amazing character he pulled in to be a character

579
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:13,560
Speaker 1: that could have been so over the top arch but

580
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,360
Speaker 1: there is a humanity in him because he's just that

581
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 1: guy that we all know who's just like striving and

582
00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,240
Speaker 1: wants it and wants it so much and tries to

583
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:24,200
Speaker 1: kind of throw everybody else out of the way, but

584
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,840
Speaker 1: he's still sensitive. And Yeah, it's really I mean, you know,

585
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:31,360
Speaker 1: in Rain, it's the greatest guy too well, and part

586
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,240
Speaker 1: of why the show is so popular. I think that

587
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:39,760
Speaker 1: Dwight shrewd, this character full of contradictions that don't make

588
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:44,440
Speaker 1: any like heavy metal, dungeon and drag it like all

589
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 1: of these weird things. But they're so specific that that

590
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,400
Speaker 1: is actually what makes it universal that people like like

591
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,200
Speaker 1: see that it's a real character, a real person. Yeah,

592
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,200
Speaker 1: I mean, because characters are all specifics. You know, when

593
00:30:58,200 --> 00:30:59,880
Speaker 1: you get in trouble, when you're writing something as you

594
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,000
Speaker 1: just kind of have this general kind of feeling of

595
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,800
Speaker 1: what your character does, and you know it's really going

596
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 1: through that laos agree list of like specifics. What is

597
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:09,920
Speaker 1: their religion, what do they believe in? What are the

598
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,640
Speaker 1: are they afraid? You know? What's their favorite food? Those

599
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,000
Speaker 1: things make up who we are if you think about it.

600
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,280
Speaker 1: I mean, you know that that's It's like how many

601
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 1: times you meet somebody you really like them, then you'll

602
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:20,800
Speaker 1: find out one thing and you're like, wait, what you know,

603
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,120
Speaker 1: either suddenly you don't like them because of it, or

604
00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,720
Speaker 1: you feel really bad for them, or you know. So

605
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,360
Speaker 1: it is that that attention to detail, and that's a

606
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,840
Speaker 1: great thing about the television series is that you have

607
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,240
Speaker 1: week after week to keep establishing these things and to

608
00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:37,480
Speaker 1: surprise people with you know, oh, I thought I knew

609
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,200
Speaker 1: exactly who that person was, and you go like, oh

610
00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,280
Speaker 1: you think, you know, check this out. And that's what's

611
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:44,640
Speaker 1: brilliant about it. I've gone to movies because I get

612
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,560
Speaker 1: more of a stomach gig thinking about having to do

613
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,240
Speaker 1: stuff week after week, because I'm a little more of

614
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:53,200
Speaker 1: a singular task person. So that's why I when a

615
00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:57,320
Speaker 1: show is consistently great week after week, year after year,

616
00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,719
Speaker 1: it's like a magic trick or something, and you know,

617
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:02,960
Speaker 1: in and just you know, hats off to those those writers.

618
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,160
Speaker 1: I remember just standing watching them from the other side

619
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,320
Speaker 1: of the room going like that is the most brilliant

620
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,600
Speaker 1: group of writers. Like you'd be hard pressed to put

621
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:15,240
Speaker 1: together a gang like that again, you know, and and

622
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:17,920
Speaker 1: everything they came up with was brilliant. And I would

623
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,120
Speaker 1: just sit in that writer's room and just going, wow,

624
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:22,400
Speaker 1: you know, it's marvel. You know, it's the case. I

625
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:24,440
Speaker 1: try to pitch a joke and they kind to look

626
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,120
Speaker 1: at me like okay, you know, like suddenly dad in

627
00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,720
Speaker 1: the room like pitching some shitty, old hackey joke and

628
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:35,640
Speaker 1: they're like, okay, well I heard um, as it's been

629
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,240
Speaker 1: explained to me. Like in a writer's room, you really

630
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,560
Speaker 1: have the people who start and they're really good at story,

631
00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,800
Speaker 1: and then you know they're the senior there. Then you

632
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:47,920
Speaker 1: hire in the joke people, and then eventually the story

633
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,920
Speaker 1: people leave, and then you just have the joke people

634
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,120
Speaker 1: kind of running the ship, but they're not as good

635
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,360
Speaker 1: as story. But I mean, when you think of a

636
00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 1: Gen Silata and Paul Lieberstein and Mike Shure and Mindy

637
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,600
Speaker 1: and Gene and mend and b J and yeah, uh no,

638
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,920
Speaker 1: I mean that that's really that's smart. I never thought

639
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,720
Speaker 1: about it that way, but it's completely true. People didn't

640
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,360
Speaker 1: have a specific thing they did that they were known for,

641
00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:17,080
Speaker 1: and I think that is really smart because then everybody

642
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:21,320
Speaker 1: brought a depth of story and funny to everything they

643
00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:23,480
Speaker 1: were pitching, you know, and again sitting around that table

644
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 1: and hearing the pitches, you know, when they were going

645
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,480
Speaker 1: through and punching up a script or whatever. That's why

646
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:31,200
Speaker 1: when I would pitch like a joke, it just like

647
00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 1: hit like a lead balloon. I'm just pitching like a

648
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,520
Speaker 1: funny word or a funny word play. It's like, oh god,

649
00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:38,280
Speaker 1: but I learned so much on that, Like, you know,

650
00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:39,960
Speaker 1: it came kind of came out of that whole experience

651
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,880
Speaker 1: of my years. They're going like, oh, you know, behavioral comedy,

652
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 1: this is how it works. It was weird. That's what

653
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:45,280
Speaker 1: we used to do on freaks and gigs. But I

654
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:47,560
Speaker 1: would get in this setting of a half hour thing

655
00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:50,360
Speaker 1: go like, oh, you gotta be more jokey and and

656
00:33:50,400 --> 00:34:13,400
Speaker 1: so you know, they what a brilliant group. Many people

657
00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:20,560
Speaker 1: believe the greatest episode of the Office is Dinner Party, Uh,

658
00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:23,480
Speaker 1: that you directed and you were not supposed to direct it.

659
00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:25,800
Speaker 1: Somebody else is supposed to direct it. And then the

660
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:28,480
Speaker 1: writer's strike happened. But I remember I had been given

661
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:32,080
Speaker 1: the script to Survivor Man, I think was the one,

662
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,360
Speaker 1: and I remember going like, oh, I like the script,

663
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,799
Speaker 1: Oh my god, can I please have dinner Party? And

664
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:38,640
Speaker 1: it's like, well, it's already been promised that somebody else.

665
00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:40,879
Speaker 1: It's like oh no, So I mean I've literally try

666
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,480
Speaker 1: to figure out like how I could subvert it or whatever.

667
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,960
Speaker 1: And then the writer's strike dropped into our laps in

668
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,080
Speaker 1: a horrible way, and that was what a terrible time

669
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,360
Speaker 1: that was. But it just happened to work out that

670
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,160
Speaker 1: when it came back, it was available for me to

671
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,520
Speaker 1: do because I think he was busy, and um, it

672
00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,160
Speaker 1: was one of those things you just read and go like,

673
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,160
Speaker 1: oh my god, this is the funniest thing I've ever read.

674
00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,640
Speaker 1: But it's also what I love because it's so cringe e.

675
00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:06,799
Speaker 1: This is just going to be like excruciating, but that's

676
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,759
Speaker 1: my favorite kind of comedy. But if you remember, I

677
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,640
Speaker 1: think it was probably when it aired, probably our most

678
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,759
Speaker 1: hated episode. I mean, people did not like it because

679
00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:20,480
Speaker 1: it made them so uncomfortable, and I remember being very

680
00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,080
Speaker 1: surprised by that. But the feedback was coming out, you know,

681
00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:25,919
Speaker 1: on the website, and we were just getting really bad

682
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:28,480
Speaker 1: feedback from it. So I'm so happy that now it

683
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,880
Speaker 1: sorted itself out and it really taught me something I

684
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:34,479
Speaker 1: didn't realize before that, which is the hardest part about

685
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,600
Speaker 1: just you know, when you have a movie out or anything,

686
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:38,480
Speaker 1: if you have any kind of track record, people know

687
00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:40,279
Speaker 1: what you do, you've got a voice, or they're used

688
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:44,200
Speaker 1: to stuff that you've done. That the biggest impediment to

689
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:47,960
Speaker 1: people enjoying something is the fact that it exists, and

690
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,879
Speaker 1: they have to get used to it existing, and so

691
00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,320
Speaker 1: you know, they they're used to the feel of the office,

692
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,279
Speaker 1: which is fun and definitely has cringe e stuff in it.

693
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:57,799
Speaker 1: But so then when this thing comes up and you're like,

694
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,359
Speaker 1: we're just gonna dangle you in the wind and make

695
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,960
Speaker 1: you feel so uncomfortable that they're like, well, I can't,

696
00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,200
Speaker 1: how dare you do this to me? But then when

697
00:36:07,239 --> 00:36:09,279
Speaker 1: they watched and then they've gotten that out of their

698
00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,040
Speaker 1: head and now they know it exists and they go

699
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:12,799
Speaker 1: back and watch it again, then you go like, oh

700
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:14,479
Speaker 1: my god, this is the funniest thing I've ever seen.

701
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:20,440
Speaker 1: And that episode is so obviously driven by that cast,

702
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,600
Speaker 1: and um, how funny they are, and this is one

703
00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:26,320
Speaker 1: time we're putting them in a setting outside of the office.

704
00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:29,320
Speaker 1: Worked so great because it was a setting that meant

705
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,160
Speaker 1: so much to one person. I mean, I think I

706
00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,560
Speaker 1: still I don't think I ever laugh as hard as

707
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,160
Speaker 1: when we did the thing of Michael giving the tour

708
00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:39,879
Speaker 1: of that living room with that little TV and then

709
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:43,200
Speaker 1: the then the shitty table, and it just it was

710
00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,279
Speaker 1: that was just such a team effort between Steve as

711
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:49,760
Speaker 1: a performer, in between Randall and I and Matt figuring

712
00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:51,080
Speaker 1: out like you think you're on a big TV and

713
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:52,400
Speaker 1: you pull out in this tiny thing, and then how

714
00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,279
Speaker 1: do we whip over to that hitty table. Oh my god,

715
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,279
Speaker 1: it's just so funny. But the thing I take away

716
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:00,560
Speaker 1: most from that episode was, and again the genius of

717
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:04,960
Speaker 1: Steve Correll, the big breakdown they have about having a baby.

718
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:08,280
Speaker 1: You know, it happens at the door, and it got

719
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,440
Speaker 1: very dramatic, and you know, it's really like I was like,

720
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:13,960
Speaker 1: oh my god, like Steve's really killing this and it's

721
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,440
Speaker 1: so dramatic. But then we all kind of went, Okay,

722
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:19,520
Speaker 1: it's gotta be funny. So I just remember going to

723
00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:22,520
Speaker 1: Steve going like, it's so good, what can you do

724
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:24,759
Speaker 1: to just kind of make it funny? And that's when

725
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:26,799
Speaker 1: he did the whole snip snap, snip snap that thing.

726
00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,319
Speaker 1: Do you know how many times v sector he has

727
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:31,880
Speaker 1: in that just like falling apart, And then they be

728
00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:36,160
Speaker 1: punching in on Krazinski, who just found the funniest moment

729
00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:40,120
Speaker 1: to when he reveals the thing and just John it

730
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:42,280
Speaker 1: just takes that little look to the camera and Randall

731
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:44,319
Speaker 1: crashes in on him and it's the funniest. I think

732
00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:47,280
Speaker 1: that's possibly the funniest reaction shot in the whole history

733
00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,360
Speaker 1: of the Office. Um oh, I'm just I'm so proud

734
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:53,320
Speaker 1: of that episode. And and it was it was just

735
00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:55,400
Speaker 1: so fun to put together. It was also fun just

736
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,440
Speaker 1: to go in and figure out because I I was

737
00:37:57,480 --> 00:37:59,799
Speaker 1: the first person to shooting Michael's condo when he bought it,

738
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:02,799
Speaker 1: So then going in and going like what did Jan

739
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:05,720
Speaker 1: do to this place? And that was just a blast

740
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:08,680
Speaker 1: that they just let us completely, you know, go wild

741
00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:12,560
Speaker 1: with kimonos on the wall and in the big the

742
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:15,640
Speaker 1: big Andy warhol of Jan, which we never we never

743
00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:18,560
Speaker 1: feature it just there and you go like, oh my god, yeah,

744
00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:24,040
Speaker 1: yeah exactly. Um So in season five, you came on

745
00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,360
Speaker 1: as a co executive producer, right, and that was really

746
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:30,479
Speaker 1: about I mean, it came out a function of well, one,

747
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:33,359
Speaker 1: how great you are and two that Greg was sort

748
00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:37,680
Speaker 1: of stepping away and beginning to go work on Yeah, yeah,

749
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:41,719
Speaker 1: how why did you decide to do that? I loved

750
00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,879
Speaker 1: you guys so much? And it was really that when

751
00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:47,640
Speaker 1: the opportunity was presented to me, I remember thinking like,

752
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,680
Speaker 1: this is gonna be like the greatest schooling I've ever had,

753
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:52,120
Speaker 1: you know, And that was I said. One of the

754
00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:53,759
Speaker 1: things was I want to be I'd like to be

755
00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,160
Speaker 1: in the writer's room too, which they definitely wanted. Um,

756
00:38:57,200 --> 00:38:59,400
Speaker 1: you know, it allowed me to go into helpful I was,

757
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:02,760
Speaker 1: but I was in there. Um yeah, I just really

758
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,240
Speaker 1: wanted to be more and more part of that show.

759
00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:08,640
Speaker 1: I knew that how great it was, and obviously by

760
00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:11,000
Speaker 1: that point it was a hit too. But you know,

761
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:14,200
Speaker 1: I couldn't get movies made, which was all I really

762
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:16,200
Speaker 1: wanted to do. But since I couldn't do that, I

763
00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:20,959
Speaker 1: was like, I'm sitting with this amazing gift. I really

764
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:22,640
Speaker 1: want to just be a part of it. And and

765
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:24,520
Speaker 1: you know what what happened with you know, when Gregg

766
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:26,399
Speaker 1: brought me on too, just like a lot of people

767
00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:28,719
Speaker 1: had in their contracts that they were going to get

768
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,040
Speaker 1: to direct an episode, and so he really wanted to

769
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,759
Speaker 1: be there to help people. And I love that, you know.

770
00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:35,560
Speaker 1: It was so I got to you know, be with

771
00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:37,520
Speaker 1: Steve Carell when he directed his first episode, and I

772
00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:40,080
Speaker 1: also got to be with you know, you know, some

773
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,120
Speaker 1: of our editors when they were doing it too, and

774
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:43,560
Speaker 1: it was it was fun, and I also got to

775
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:45,439
Speaker 1: spend more and more time on the set, which I love.

776
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:49,279
Speaker 1: Like I will fully admit, the one thing that I'm

777
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:53,000
Speaker 1: really sad about is I was not allowed to direct

778
00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:58,600
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl episode because I think the network wasn't

779
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:05,400
Speaker 1: thrilled with the Christmas episode, the Meredith's um Moroccan Christmas. Yeah, exactly.

780
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:07,200
Speaker 1: I think that they had some issues. So I remember

781
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:10,080
Speaker 1: being kind of penalized because I was kind of like, well,

782
00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:12,440
Speaker 1: of course I'm the in house director, I get to

783
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,720
Speaker 1: do the hour long one, and then you know, I didn't,

784
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:18,719
Speaker 1: and I remember just being very upset, and then it

785
00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:23,360
Speaker 1: won the Emmy for the Directors. But he did a

786
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:28,280
Speaker 1: great job, I mean, amazing job. Um you also directed

787
00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:33,400
Speaker 1: um Niagara. Um, how how did you find out ultimately

788
00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:35,960
Speaker 1: how that the wedding actually played out with the other

789
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:39,080
Speaker 1: wedding in Niagara, etcetera. Well, I mean it was you know,

790
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:41,279
Speaker 1: first I was so excited to get to do that one,

791
00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:42,880
Speaker 1: and you know, the first time we ever think we

792
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:45,080
Speaker 1: ever went on location to do anything on the show,

793
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,279
Speaker 1: even though all the stuff we shot at you know

794
00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:50,759
Speaker 1: that's supposed to be there was actually in uh the

795
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:56,640
Speaker 1: smokehouse right right block away from my house. My actual um,

796
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,160
Speaker 1: you know, I mean one of the greatest honors for

797
00:40:59,239 --> 00:41:02,040
Speaker 1: me was also getting to do the Proposal, which which

798
00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:04,160
Speaker 1: was the most expensive shot we ever did in the

799
00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:07,280
Speaker 1: show's history. That was the very first episode of that

800
00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 1: that season, and we basically blew the entire budget for

801
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,080
Speaker 1: the rest of the season on that shot, which costs

802
00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,160
Speaker 1: I mean like a half a million dollars because it

803
00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:18,759
Speaker 1: filled a CG and and all this anyway, Um, but

804
00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:21,080
Speaker 1: so yes, when we got to the wedding, it was

805
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:24,759
Speaker 1: very emotional. It was weird because we're gonna shoot on this,

806
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:26,239
Speaker 1: you know, the Lady of the Mist or made of

807
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:29,520
Speaker 1: the Mist thing, So that just brought so many logistical

808
00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:31,680
Speaker 1: things that you're kind of like, it was hard to

809
00:41:31,719 --> 00:41:34,279
Speaker 1: kind of invest in the emotion of it at first

810
00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,160
Speaker 1: because I was so worried, like, are we gonna get soaked?

811
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:38,239
Speaker 1: Are we gonna you know, it's a camera gonna screw up.

812
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:41,040
Speaker 1: But it wasn't until we got in the editing room.

813
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:42,920
Speaker 1: It was Claire, you know, Claire edited, and I was

814
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,880
Speaker 1: there with her when we decided we were going to

815
00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:50,239
Speaker 1: intermix the dance number with the wedding, and we just

816
00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,359
Speaker 1: burst into tears. I mean, I just got I still

817
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:56,759
Speaker 1: get I get so emotional watching that because it's so beautiful,

818
00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:58,800
Speaker 1: the way that it goes back and forth between the two.

819
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:02,640
Speaker 1: But it's all so I'm jumping all around, but there

820
00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:04,839
Speaker 1: was so many things in my head when we put

821
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:08,319
Speaker 1: that episode together, that dance number, which came out of

822
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,200
Speaker 1: the blue. I mean, do you know the whole backstory

823
00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:12,799
Speaker 1: on you know what was originally Originally Greg had this

824
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:15,359
Speaker 1: insane idea that was hilarious that the Dwight was gonna

825
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:18,960
Speaker 1: d ride a horse over the Niagara false and we

826
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:20,640
Speaker 1: were just like, I don't know, I don't we want

827
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:24,239
Speaker 1: to kill a horse on Pam and Jim's wedding. And

828
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:26,200
Speaker 1: he kind of fought for it and fought for it

829
00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:29,400
Speaker 1: and then finally gave in. And so it was a

830
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:31,719
Speaker 1: very last minute thing. We had like like a day

831
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:35,520
Speaker 1: or two, and that wedding video was all over the internet.

832
00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:38,560
Speaker 1: It was kind of the perfect setup. And then when

833
00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:40,520
Speaker 1: we were shooting in that church all day, I mean,

834
00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:43,120
Speaker 1: it was so much to shoot that we were running

835
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:44,719
Speaker 1: out of time and I was like, literally had like

836
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:46,759
Speaker 1: a half hour left. I was like, I'm not, I

837
00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:48,799
Speaker 1: don't have time to get this dance number. So like

838
00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:51,360
Speaker 1: we're gonna be like maybe two takes at it, and

839
00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:54,240
Speaker 1: the first time you guys did it, it was gold,

840
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:56,360
Speaker 1: and it's just like that didn't dropped the mic. We

841
00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:57,640
Speaker 1: did it one more time but we didn't need it

842
00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:00,080
Speaker 1: because the second time, but it was really having all

843
00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:02,600
Speaker 1: those elements to work with that it just gave us

844
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:07,480
Speaker 1: enough cards to really juffle A beautiful day. Yeah. By

845
00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:09,200
Speaker 1: the way, that I don't know if you remember this.

846
00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:13,440
Speaker 1: The people walking behind Jim and Pam onto the Maid

847
00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:17,600
Speaker 1: of the mist my parents. Oh that's right, who were vacationing.

848
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:20,560
Speaker 1: And I I do remember that. I do remember that there.

849
00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:22,719
Speaker 1: Oh my god, we'll see. And I think you had

850
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:27,120
Speaker 1: met them on Company Picnic the hundredth episode. They had

851
00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:29,080
Speaker 1: come there and I think you had actually remember that.

852
00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:31,440
Speaker 1: I didn't direct that one, but I was there supervising. Yes,

853
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:35,640
Speaker 1: you're gonna parents. Um. One other question I have to ask,

854
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:39,719
Speaker 1: because you just brought it up. You directed the proposal episode. Um.

855
00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:42,560
Speaker 1: Sound or no sound? Oh, I was very I was

856
00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,920
Speaker 1: a no sound guy, very much. So yeah. Oh wait, no, no, no, no,

857
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:48,040
Speaker 1: I was a sound guy. Oh my god. No, that

858
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:52,200
Speaker 1: was That was the most contentious moment we all ever had. No.

859
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:56,480
Speaker 1: I was very nervous about it was so emotionally with

860
00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:59,239
Speaker 1: the sound. And I'm glad we did it because I

861
00:43:59,239 --> 00:44:01,680
Speaker 1: think it made you know, flash forward to Michael's last

862
00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:03,759
Speaker 1: episode much more powerful if we had done that gag

863
00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:06,480
Speaker 1: a couple of times, but we did. Their performance was

864
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:08,200
Speaker 1: so good and hearing her and going like oh my

865
00:44:08,239 --> 00:44:11,239
Speaker 1: god and all that. It just we're already dealing with

866
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:14,400
Speaker 1: so much, with all the across the you know, the

867
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:16,920
Speaker 1: highway and zooming in all these cars and all that that.

868
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,520
Speaker 1: I just yeah, I remember fighting really really hard for that,

869
00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:23,200
Speaker 1: and I think Greg was always kind of on the

870
00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:25,839
Speaker 1: fence of whether we should have done it. Um talk

871
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:29,240
Speaker 1: about one word, literally, Hey, guy who fixes the cars

872
00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:30,880
Speaker 1: for the show, come on in. What do you think

873
00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:34,200
Speaker 1: Someone told the story that he brought in a security

874
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:36,440
Speaker 1: guard and came in to watch it. He was like,

875
00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:39,799
Speaker 1: he was like, who are these guys talking? Like he

876
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,000
Speaker 1: had no idea, Like I've never watched the show. It

877
00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:48,440
Speaker 1: was just like, yes, Um. You also directed Steve Carrell's

878
00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:54,120
Speaker 1: last episode, Goodbye Michael. What do you remember about shooting that? Well,

879
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:56,759
Speaker 1: the biggest thing I remember, first of all, it was

880
00:44:56,840 --> 00:45:00,360
Speaker 1: just so emotional, But that was what was interesting about it.

881
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:02,839
Speaker 1: You probably remember this too. Every time we were going

882
00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:06,000
Speaker 1: into a scene, especially towards the second half of the week,

883
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,200
Speaker 1: it was that feeling of like this is our last

884
00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:13,240
Speaker 1: scene with with Steve this group actors, and we would

885
00:45:13,239 --> 00:45:15,040
Speaker 1: do the first few takes and it would the would

886
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:17,960
Speaker 1: be a real sadness about it, and I had to

887
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:22,200
Speaker 1: constantly go like, remember, we love Steve, we don't necessarily

888
00:45:22,239 --> 00:45:26,440
Speaker 1: like Michael, you know, and it would change the dynamic.

889
00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:29,239
Speaker 1: But I completely got it because I was so emotional too.

890
00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:31,319
Speaker 1: I would kind of falling into that and then going like, wait,

891
00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:34,600
Speaker 1: this can't be everybody's weeping because it's not going to

892
00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:36,960
Speaker 1: track with the whole rest of the show. And that

893
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:43,360
Speaker 1: also made me very sad for Michael Scott, like they

894
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:45,279
Speaker 1: like him, but they don't love him, you know what

895
00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:47,680
Speaker 1: I mean. But that's very real. You know. You know

896
00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:49,480
Speaker 1: how many times you've got people you work with other

897
00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:51,759
Speaker 1: than you go, oh I'll miss them. You're not like,

898
00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:54,200
Speaker 1: oh my god, I can't live without, you know, the boss,

899
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:56,319
Speaker 1: or I can't live with that that manager, you know.

900
00:45:57,360 --> 00:46:01,560
Speaker 1: But that was really really hard because everybody wanted to

901
00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:04,600
Speaker 1: break down. Um. I also remember, and I have a picture.

902
00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:06,960
Speaker 1: I've got to find it somewhere. I when we were

903
00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:11,040
Speaker 1: the last day and we're shooting something, I looked over

904
00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:13,040
Speaker 1: and Greg, you know that that the couch when you

905
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:15,600
Speaker 1: come in the front door there's a couch next to reception.

906
00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:19,279
Speaker 1: I looked and Greg was just literally laying flat out,

907
00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:21,719
Speaker 1: face down on the couch, just with this kind of

908
00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:25,000
Speaker 1: his hands under his head, and it just some everything

909
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:28,040
Speaker 1: up of just like, we can't believe Steve is going,

910
00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:32,680
Speaker 1: we can't imagine life without Steve Carrell on the set. Um,

911
00:46:32,719 --> 00:46:35,880
Speaker 1: it was tough. Um. The weird thing for me was

912
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:39,600
Speaker 1: that we shot the very last thing, probably three days

913
00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:41,319
Speaker 1: before the end of the episode, which was the thing

914
00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:45,560
Speaker 1: at the airport with Jenna and Steve, and that got

915
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:48,040
Speaker 1: me more than I kind of thought. I mean, the

916
00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:49,920
Speaker 1: last day got me, but I was so on task

917
00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:52,600
Speaker 1: doing that airport scene. That was when I was just like,

918
00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:54,920
Speaker 1: you know, and so it takes off the mic and

919
00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:56,840
Speaker 1: just you know, I'm actually getting choked up when I

920
00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:59,279
Speaker 1: talked about it, just seeing them, yeah, Herry going off

921
00:46:59,280 --> 00:47:00,759
Speaker 1: and you don't know what they say, and just her

922
00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:04,920
Speaker 1: hugging him, and it was just it was really it

923
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:08,680
Speaker 1: was really something. Um, but it really landed for me

924
00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:14,000
Speaker 1: just what the show was and just you felt like

925
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,000
Speaker 1: you were kind of part of history in that moment,

926
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:20,000
Speaker 1: and I I loved everybody, but I remember saying like

927
00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:22,400
Speaker 1: I'm now I'm not going to direct any more episodes

928
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:25,040
Speaker 1: because and I love all the episodes after Steve laugh.

929
00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:27,480
Speaker 1: But to me, it's just like that was the group.

930
00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:30,800
Speaker 1: You know. I almost felt like I almost had to

931
00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:33,240
Speaker 1: leave with Michael Scott in a weird not that anybody

932
00:47:33,239 --> 00:47:35,920
Speaker 1: could care, but it was just it. It put us

933
00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:39,719
Speaker 1: such a completion to everything for me that that was

934
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:44,120
Speaker 1: kind of like that was it? Weirdly, yeah, because you

935
00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:46,239
Speaker 1: didn't come back and direct after No, and I didn't.

936
00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:48,000
Speaker 1: It was not any reason like how dare you? It

937
00:47:48,120 --> 00:47:50,680
Speaker 1: just kind of it was just this really weird natural

938
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:54,920
Speaker 1: feeling of like, oh there's something, it's over. We're all

939
00:47:55,280 --> 00:47:56,560
Speaker 1: we're all we're all going. I don't know, I don't know,

940
00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:57,959
Speaker 1: I quite know how to say it. It It just felt

941
00:47:57,960 --> 00:48:00,799
Speaker 1: like there was closure for me when that happened. Yeah,

942
00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:02,960
Speaker 1: that said, I wish I kind of kind of wish

943
00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:04,520
Speaker 1: I would have done some of them after because I

944
00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:07,520
Speaker 1: missed you guys so much. I'll tell you one interesting

945
00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:10,359
Speaker 1: thing about about that episode, when she goes to see

946
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:14,440
Speaker 1: the King's speech. We Bridesmaids it was going to come out,

947
00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:16,399
Speaker 1: but it was coming out in a few months, and

948
00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:19,239
Speaker 1: we almost put Bridesmaids up on the Marquee, but we

949
00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:22,839
Speaker 1: all decided, well, what if a bombs so, so we

950
00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:27,560
Speaker 1: didn't do it. Really yeah, yeah, that's so funny. So

951
00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:33,359
Speaker 1: she almost snuck in to see bridesmace Um well, and

952
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:38,799
Speaker 1: obviously Bridesmaids was huge and brought Ellie to a whole

953
00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:42,200
Speaker 1: new level. And really then from changing the face of

954
00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:48,560
Speaker 1: television comedy, you literally changed the gender of no of

955
00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:51,799
Speaker 1: American movie comedy with that movie as well. I mean

956
00:48:51,840 --> 00:48:54,759
Speaker 1: that was groundbreaking in its own way right now. I

957
00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:56,320
Speaker 1: mean it was it was what I had always wanted

958
00:48:56,360 --> 00:48:59,680
Speaker 1: to do. I I love, you know, female lead comedy,

959
00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:02,200
Speaker 1: and you know, I would just for years, after Freaks

960
00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:04,960
Speaker 1: and Geeks and before it even pitch ideas that were

961
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:07,640
Speaker 1: female centric, and it just you know, oh, you can't

962
00:49:07,680 --> 00:49:10,120
Speaker 1: do that, you know. Okay, I guess they know more

963
00:49:10,160 --> 00:49:11,960
Speaker 1: than I do about in show biz and ifinally go like,

964
00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:13,600
Speaker 1: well wait, why can't you you know? But it was

965
00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:17,480
Speaker 1: really you know, Judd doing Knocked Up and saying to Kristen,

966
00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:19,520
Speaker 1: you're great, write your own script, and then they came

967
00:49:19,560 --> 00:49:21,080
Speaker 1: up with that that idea because I was at that

968
00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:24,120
Speaker 1: table read back in two thousand seven when it was

969
00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:27,480
Speaker 1: just you know, untitled wedding movie and uh, you know,

970
00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:29,799
Speaker 1: and then three years later we actually got to do

971
00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:34,600
Speaker 1: it right well the final um very quickly. What do

972
00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:38,960
Speaker 1: you feel like the legacy of the show is gosh,

973
00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:45,400
Speaker 1: you know, it's a show that you just want to

974
00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:47,200
Speaker 1: watch over and over again. I mean there's a few

975
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:51,600
Speaker 1: shows like that in my life. Taxi was always that way. Um,

976
00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:53,960
Speaker 1: all in the Family is always that way. But the

977
00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:57,920
Speaker 1: Office is always gonna be that because it's just comfort food,

978
00:49:58,320 --> 00:50:01,680
Speaker 1: you know, and it's a very it's so funny, but

979
00:50:01,719 --> 00:50:06,000
Speaker 1: it's so relaxing to sit with these people. The tone

980
00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:07,919
Speaker 1: of the show is very relaxed. I love the fact

981
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:10,520
Speaker 1: that we didn't have any score, no music on the show.

982
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:12,799
Speaker 1: You know, our sound mixes always about like where do

983
00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:15,520
Speaker 1: we put the phone ringing? Like we're just always placing

984
00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:18,880
Speaker 1: phones ringing in the background and it just becomes this

985
00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:25,239
Speaker 1: really low key, relaxing, happy place that you can go to.

986
00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:29,799
Speaker 1: And every episode there's something several things in it you're like,

987
00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:31,120
Speaker 1: oh my god, this is my favorite thing. Is my

988
00:50:31,120 --> 00:50:33,480
Speaker 1: favorite thing? You know, there's always you know, money part

989
00:50:33,760 --> 00:50:35,840
Speaker 1: pytheon the Holy Grails one of my favorite movies, because

990
00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:37,759
Speaker 1: every scene that comes up, you're like, oh wait, this

991
00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:39,680
Speaker 1: is my favorite scene. Oh wait, this is my favorite thing, right,

992
00:50:39,719 --> 00:50:42,200
Speaker 1: And that's what this show is, everything that comes up

993
00:50:42,239 --> 00:50:44,200
Speaker 1: because you go, like, you love these characters and you

994
00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:46,680
Speaker 1: remember these moments and you can watch them over and

995
00:50:46,719 --> 00:50:48,640
Speaker 1: over again because they're not sweaty and they're not trying

996
00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:51,000
Speaker 1: too hard, and they're not joke joke, joke, They're just

997
00:50:51,560 --> 00:50:56,279
Speaker 1: behavioral and beautiful and relatable, not intimidating, and it just

998
00:50:56,320 --> 00:50:58,520
Speaker 1: makes you feel good about your life, and it makes

999
00:50:58,560 --> 00:51:00,600
Speaker 1: you feel good about other people, you know, it really

1000
00:51:00,640 --> 00:51:03,359
Speaker 1: makes you so like, this makes you tolerant of other

1001
00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:05,440
Speaker 1: people in a weird way because you're watching such a

1002
00:51:05,960 --> 00:51:09,719
Speaker 1: such different group of folks that have no reason to

1003
00:51:09,719 --> 00:51:12,200
Speaker 1: be together other than the fact that they are trapped

1004
00:51:12,239 --> 00:51:15,960
Speaker 1: within this building in this situation much like school. You know,

1005
00:51:16,120 --> 00:51:17,600
Speaker 1: the only reason you're there because you all live in

1006
00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:21,080
Speaker 1: the same area and that's why you're there. You don't

1007
00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:24,400
Speaker 1: choose to be there, and so there's just something very

1008
00:51:24,719 --> 00:51:27,319
Speaker 1: lovely about that. And I think that you know, people

1009
00:51:27,360 --> 00:51:29,200
Speaker 1: will be watching the show for you know, as long

1010
00:51:29,239 --> 00:51:34,680
Speaker 1: as the planet exists. Well, Paul, you're I mean, seriously,

1011
00:51:34,719 --> 00:51:37,960
Speaker 1: I know this sounds so crazy, but you really are

1012
00:51:38,560 --> 00:51:43,000
Speaker 1: one of the greatest comedic geniuses that I have ever met.

1013
00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:45,960
Speaker 1: Your contribution not only on this show, but in all

1014
00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:48,879
Speaker 1: the work that you've done is such high quality. You're

1015
00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:53,239
Speaker 1: such a good caring person as well, so you're as

1016
00:51:53,320 --> 00:51:56,560
Speaker 1: smart as you are kind. So thank you one, thank

1017
00:51:56,600 --> 00:52:00,000
Speaker 1: you coming in and sitting down with me and um

1018
00:52:00,040 --> 00:52:03,719
Speaker 1: it's always always my pleasure to see you and YouTube. Brian,

1019
00:52:03,719 --> 00:52:08,160
Speaker 1: You're the greatest. Remember where we first met Arrested Development exactly,

1020
00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:10,520
Speaker 1: you were so funny and then Mitch wouldn't let you

1021
00:52:10,560 --> 00:52:15,839
Speaker 1: do your bit because you literally like like really lecherous guy,

1022
00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:18,239
Speaker 1: and so I was felt bad. So when I finally

1023
00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:20,160
Speaker 1: got to work with you again on The Office, was like,

1024
00:52:20,200 --> 00:52:25,440
Speaker 1: oh yeah, And let me just say also, everything you've

1025
00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:28,520
Speaker 1: done is so brilliant. I still laugh every time I

1026
00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:33,239
Speaker 1: think of Michael's a genius. That makes me laugh so hard.

1027
00:52:33,280 --> 00:52:35,880
Speaker 1: From that episode that's one of our most undersung episodes

1028
00:52:35,920 --> 00:52:38,879
Speaker 1: to the Surplus. So anyway, I can't stop talking about

1029
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:40,560
Speaker 1: the Office. I'm going to get out of here, right,

1030
00:52:40,719 --> 00:52:57,480
Speaker 1: Thank you. Thanks all right, folks, That is it for today.

1031
00:52:57,719 --> 00:53:01,000
Speaker 1: Thank you so much to Paul for join me. I

1032
00:53:01,040 --> 00:53:04,000
Speaker 1: know how busy you are. It is such an honor

1033
00:53:04,640 --> 00:53:08,359
Speaker 1: and a delight to chat with you, so thank you,

1034
00:53:08,640 --> 00:53:11,279
Speaker 1: and to all my listeners, thank you for tuning in.

1035
00:53:11,400 --> 00:53:14,759
Speaker 1: As always, please let me know what you thought of

1036
00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:17,480
Speaker 1: the episode from today in the reviews. It means so

1037
00:53:17,560 --> 00:53:20,359
Speaker 1: much to hear from you and that is absolutely the

1038
00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:23,600
Speaker 1: best way to reach me and my team. We will

1039
00:53:23,640 --> 00:53:29,560
Speaker 1: be back, same bad time, same bad place next week

1040
00:53:30,040 --> 00:53:43,920
Speaker 1: and have a great one everybody. The office. Deep Dive

1041
00:53:44,160 --> 00:53:48,440
Speaker 1: is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside

1042
00:53:48,480 --> 00:53:52,880
Speaker 1: our executive producer, Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer,

1043
00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:57,600
Speaker 1: our producer is Adam Massias, our associate producer is Emily Carr,

1044
00:53:57,760 --> 00:54:01,560
Speaker 1: and our assistant editor is diego Topia. My main man

1045
00:54:01,640 --> 00:54:05,400
Speaker 1: in the booth is Alec Moore. Our theme song Bubble

1046
00:54:05,480 --> 00:54:08,719
Speaker 1: and Squeak, performed by my great friend Creed Bratton, and

1047
00:54:08,760 --> 00:54:23,400
Speaker 1: the episode was mixed by seth Olandscape