The show features four standup comedians with Vaughn as emcee, offering the film actor a chance to get up on stage and have live interaction with comedians and the audience.
The Weekly got a chance to talk with an excited and enthusiastic Vaughn about his tour, his upcoming film schedule and his general dislike of cellular phones.
What inspired Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show?
One of the comedians on the tour, Ahmed Ahmed, is one of my closest friends. He's a regular at the World Famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles. The comics on this tour are people I've seen over the years when catching Ahmed.
What's the story with the comics?
They're all very accomplished comics on the verge of breaking out and doing big stuff. Richard Pryor gave the first-ever Richard Pryor Award to Ahmed last year for his favorite young comedian. Sebastian Maniscalco warmed up for Andrew Dice Clay. John Caparulo has a TV development deal with Happy Madison (Adam Sandler's production company). Bret Ernst has been on Comedy Central's Premium Blend ... they've all been on The Tonight Show, TV and movies. These are really great young comedians.
While you've never toured with a show before, you have done other live performances? Do you have standup experience?
I have a lot of respect for standups ... it was never my calling. I would go up for open-mic comedy nights a couple of times just for fun, and I would do well, but I was more interested in doing scene work and movie acting. I did a show while filming Wedding Crashers last year where I had Jon Favreau (his Swingers costar) come out, and we improvised a bunch of stuff. Then I did a benefit show in Chicago for the AER (Army Emergency Relief), an organization that helps families who unfortunately lose someone overseas. Proceeds went to that organization. For the tour, I come out between acts. We do scenes and improvise. We'll have different guest stars, and you never know who might show up. Depending on who shows up, we'll write stuff for them that day. We'll even take suggestions from the audience and do improvisation. I like to mix it up and have the show feel like anything is possible.
You have four movies in 2005 and have many more on the horizon, yet you commit to a 30-night tour hosting this show. Are you insane?
Well, I love it. It's just a couple of hours a night where we get up on stage, and a lot of my family and close friends come with me. Peter Billingsley, who I produced a movie with and who played Ralphie in A Christmas Story, will actually be with me at the Tucson Show.
Ralphie's going to be there!
Yeah, Peter is from Arizona originally. I don't want to give away all the surprises, but Peter will be there. The tour is kind of a family circus. It's just fun to have your close friends and family with you, and to work on something you believe in.
I heard you on The Frank Show, where you expressed disdain for the cellular phone.
Not really a disdain for them; it's just that I've never owned one, although I'm constantly borrowing people's phones. It's just not my thing. ... I've tried for a couple weeks at a time, but I lose them. I don't like being that accessible. ... I think that's what it is. I think it can be rude when you're hanging out at dinner and the phone rings. I guess I'm just sort of a dinosaur. I grew up without them and never made the switch.
The Internet Movie Database has something called Outsourced listed as another project with your Wedding Crashers co-star, Owen Wilson.
That's a script that we were sent, and it's being developed, but we're not attached to it yet. Owen is actually coming out to a couple of shows. ... I think he might come out for the Texas stops. Owen and Favreau are going to do the Hollywood show.
Is the movie Head Games with director David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees, Flirting With Disaster) going to happen?
That is happening. As soon as I finish the tour, I come back to California, and we'll start shooting a week later.
Centennial Hall at the University of Arizona ... gonna cruise frat parties afterwards?
I just hope everybody from the college comes down. It's a great school, and I've been down there a few times. ... My dad actually lives up in Phoenix. I used to always go to Old Tucson for the old Western shows. In fact, I went a couple of years ago for the first time since I was a kid. No stranger to Arizona. ... I love Arizona.
