Since the early ’90s, writer-director-actor David Wain has been one
of the premier ambassadors of absurdist, intelligent, random comedy on
TV and in feature films.
A founding member of The State, whose comedy show aired on MTV from
1993 to 1995, he is also a member of the comedy troupe Stella (with
fellow The State alums Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black) and the
director of the cult classic Wet Hot American Summer. He also
helmed last year’s hilarious Paul Rudd comedy Role Models, and
is the creative force behind the award-winning Web series Wainy
Days.
On the eve of the long-awaited release of The State on DVD, I talked to Wain about the groundbreaking show, his
movies and future projects.
Hi, David Wain. Do you remember the correspondence we had earlier
this year? (See Mailbag, Feb. 5.)
I sure do not, but I love the fact that we had one.
I’m the dummy who wrote about the Stella guys being justifiably
grouchy on the autograph line after their show. You wrote to us when
you saw the article.
Oh, yes … of course I remember. Now I remember. It’s all good.
Actually, you are not supposed to read your own press. What are
you doing?
Show me anyone who doesn’t.
It was online for, like, two minutes, and you caught me!
See?
When was the last time The State was available in
its entirety?
When it was last on TV in 1995. There’s never been any
merchandising. There’s never been any version of it out except for one
kind of really lame VHS compilation. It just had some random sketches
thrown together. That’s literally all there ever was.
There were a lot of delays getting the DVD into stores. Did that
have something to do with having to remove music by Smashing Pumpkins
and other bands due to DVD licensing rights—sort of like what
held up the DVD release of WKRP in Cincinnati?
The delay actually had almost nothing to do with the music. The real
answer to questions about the delay is a lot less sexy and less
interesting. The DVD was simply caught up in random, bureaucratic
paralysis for no particular reason for many years.
When you were writing for The State, was it like the Monty Python
situation, where there were writing cliques? Or did you all just sort
of throw ideas into the pot?
It really wasn’t so “cliquey.” We would divide up in different ways,
depending on what the topic was. We certainly bickered and fought
constantly, but it was just part of our process. It was only after The
State split up in ’97 that there was the group that went off and did
Reno 911, and the group that did Stella. But we still all work
together in different ways all of the time.
So, there’s no acrimony? I noticed that the cast stayed the same
throughout its four seasons. That’s a minor miracle.
The State formed four years before we got a TV show. We were at NYU,
and we knew that if we were going to get anything done with this, we
needed to stay committed. It’s a large group, and it’s amazing that we
did it. The same exact 11 people from the beginning of The State just
did a live show in San Francisco this past January.
Yes, your reunion at Sketchfest … will The State do something
like that again?
I certainly hope so. … As with Stella, it’s just a matter of
scheduling.
The State members like Joe Lo Truglio, Kerri Kenney and Ken
Marino are ever-present in your movies. Speaking of Marino, I just want
to give a shout-out to Diggers, a very fine film he wrote
and starred in (with Paul Rudd).
I think it’s too bad that most people haven’t heard of
Diggers. It’s a fabulous performance by Paul Rudd and an
incredible ensemble. Ken Marino was great in it.
It was a dramatic effort, something sort of off the map for you
and your cohorts from The State.
It was a story from the heart that Ken wrote and, originally, I was
going to direct the film. The movie came to fruition at the exact same
time as our Stella series on Comedy Central, so I couldn’t do it, but I
stayed on as producer.
I did see your Stella show in Berkeley, Calif. Please tell me
that wasn’t some kind of farewell tour. Will we get some more Stella in
the future? Perhaps the rumored live DVD?
I hope so. My Stella partners (Showalter and Black) are doing their
Comedy Central show (Michael and Michael Have Issues), which
debuts on July 15, and I’m currently directing a pilot for Fox. We all
stay busy, but then we always like to get together when we can and do
Stella. Who knows? Maybe we’ll do a tour this winter.
I remember originally seeing Wet Hot American Summer in a theater, and thinking, “Gosh, that was pretty funny.” Then,
about a week later, I was driving around, thinking of random stuff in
the film, and just started laughing. I’ve since gone back to watch it
many, many times, and now regard it as one of the five funniest films
I’ve ever seen.
That’s nice … thank you! I love it … I’m a big fan of my own
work as it is, because I’m self-involved. I’m very pleased, and
couldn’t be happier, that Wet Hot has sort of lived on and is
part of the comedy canon for so many people, and that so many people
have watched it so many times over the years.
Have you heard of others having this sort of delayed reaction to
your work?
I’m both happy and sad to say that seems to be what happens with
most of my work. The average viewer tends to think anything I’ve done
is good-to-not-so-great when they first see it. And then the second and
third time they see it, they start to get really excited about it. It’s
like keying into fine wine or something.
Wainy Days, your Internet show (davidwain.com), is the funniest show
anywhere right now. I’m rather impressed with your “Sunday Bloody
Sunday” drumming (during Episode 30). I had to watch it multiple times
to confirm that it was you.
I can confirm that it was me playing. I’ve always been a hobbyist
musician. I’m definitely a frustrated wannabe rock star; there’s no
question about it. I played in bands growing up and in college and
stuff. And then, obviously, I became a comedian, or whatever I am. But
I’ve always kind of wanted to—and still want to be—a rock
star. The one thing I’m probably better at than anything else musically
is the piano. But, again, I’m really just a hobbyist. In fact, I’m
actually redesigning my Web site as we speak, and I’m going to put up
some very embarrassing music recordings that I did.
There were rumors of you directing the next Fockers movie with
Ben Stiller. Were any of those rumors founded in truth?
There was some talk about it, but I don’t think there ever was a
real possibility that I was going to do that. I am currently directing
a pilot for Fox called The Station, and Stiller is the producer.
It’s a pilot, and who knows if it will ever be seen? I also have quite
a few possible features on the way. … (I’m) not quite sure what will
be the next one to shoot, but a lot of things are in the hopper.
Do you have any parting words regarding this new DVD set for The State?
The only thing that anyone has ever asked me when I’m out among the
fans over the years is, “When is The State coming out on DVD?”
So I feel like a part of my identity is going away now that that’s not
something I’m going to get asked everyday. We all worked hard on the
DVD, and I really hope the fans enjoy seeing all of the extras. I think
it’s a nice DVD. Do you have it?
I sure do!
(Sadly), I don’t.
Check out an expanded version of this interview on The Range:
The Tucson Weekly‘s Old Pueblog at blog.tucsonweekly.com.
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2009.