Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers talk about their hit show, Documentary Now! (Full Talk)

hi hello hello alright thanks for coming guys did a good intervention yeah thank you everyone for coming tonight this is so much fun to do this because I have to watch a lot of television for my job and I was telling Seth backstage I could not have enjoyed watching this show more it is so funny like tears running down my face so I hope that for those of you who haven't watched you go back and watch season 1 and then I watched the bunker tonight and I also watched there's another one called wan loves rice and chicken which is i mean it is like unbelievable and so one of the things that one of the things i immediately thought when i watched the show is who came up with this idea of doing this series how did this whole thing come about well three of us did yeah yeah it came from originally started this sketch the last year of bill in front around the show we did this sketch called history of punk where Fred played a punk rocker named Ian rubbish who was the only punk rocker who liked Margaret Thatcher and then bill was the bass player in the bill was the bass player and Fred went out and wrote like four really specific songs today era and then our two incredible directors who are the backbone of the show who aren't here tonight uh Rhys Thomas announced Bono they're alive they're alive yeah they they went out and shot hyper specific stuff that looked like TV interviews from that era and the next week the next Monday bill came in and said this would be I would love to do a show like this where each week we sort of spent time with a documentary and tried to tell a story and and had some emotion as opposed to a sketch yeah that's how soon so it's a pretty arch concept and and you know Hollywood likes very simple concepts yeah so I just yeah so explain the pitch how did this pitch meeting go down oh it was oh boy now it was great good fine fine baby help we were sort of on the lot in that Fred already had this relationship with IFC with Portlandia which I'd also like to point out is not the most Hollywood pitch right I want to do a sketch show specific to a city all of them are gonna be about port and then they just started throwing money at you yeah yeah a lot of money but I think it would've been a harder sell if Fred hadn't already proven that he had the vision to sort of see these things out yeah so one of the things when you watch a lot of these shows is the sort of commitment to the bit and each one and that that the sort of the ability to I mean mimic isn't even the right word but to embody the spirit of the different documentaries that you are I guess paying tribute to is pretty extraordinary and and so I'm just gonna talk about some of the ones that you have mock mimic mock does not even the right way dommage hey don't mind Jim hey doma Hodge saluted salute it yeah we won um that's how we ended that's a wrap that's how we ended yeah yeah that's for you war room oh mains so you don't you've done thin blue line swimming to Cambodia the wand likes rice and chicken is jeera is a hero Dreams of Sushi jiro Dreams of Sushi and so who how do you come up with what you're going to do who thinks of Bazin wait how do you pick we just you know I'll get in a room and we go through many different kinds and then we start to sort of figure out which ones are going to make most sense to actually shoot what will have comedy in it what are you laughing there is that thing like I'm just laughing what we're just funny yeah like I love you you're my friend and you're making me laugh there is that thing when you know Fred that you keep waiting to see if you still waited for the bit though good you really do I answer that it's the truth yes I started preemptively laughing because I'm waiting for me be like to know you're underwater and your whatever it is and you just being sweetness like you're gonna tell me you're sick one day and I was like right oh which by the way I was you know so sucky I'm just kidding I'm sorry we all other thing I would say is we try to pick different styles yeah so one of the things with this season was trying to find things that are different from ones we did last season and finding documentaries that have I mean the best ones are ones that have two great parts for these two guests play yeah so how do you decide who plays what in the bunker like who what's the discussion about his mark is I played Carville and SNL but Fred wanted to play him nob joke and I played yeah so I that one was pretty simple I mean usually it's kind of like yeah you know you look at the war room and go oh well bill play Carville egged Stephanopoulos um last season we did one about Greg gardens that sethro and that one was you know Seth cast us it was like being back at SNL you know it was just you know he just cast it as but one of the things I noticed in watching the show is that you know where is the character you might play an SNL or over the top and deliberately like over the top like you guys really play roles and in the Grey Gardens one like you've owned that role is so I can't remember her name oh yeah yes that was you know yeah yeah that was yeah she's and she has like a little break down there right yeah it's the first thing we shot I think yeah that was our very first day of shooting of the show was me doing the flag dance and the look on the crews face of like what the [ __ ] what show did we disagree yeah what are we working on and and doing that flag dancing that and cut never by going okay that was good they're like and um there's a raccoon and everything yeah so crazy but when you were doing that I knew we were in good shape yeah cuz I was like he was just so perfectly committed to it so how much of that was scripted and how much of that is just improv fully scripted yeah everything is scripted by Seth Meyers that's a real testament to sess writing we did not change a single word in them and Wow that's not entirely true because one thing was we were walking in the house just doing a walkthrough and there's that the scene where bill falls through the floor bill we were just walking in and bill said oh you know I do this thing where I can make it look like I fell through the floor and I said oh that'd be great I'll write it in and it was that was another thing where the crew was like what the [ __ ] what you said then they had to figure out how to shoot a guy's falling through the floor and landing on I was like no no it's really simple and simple yeah and Rhys our director was saying well how are you gonna do that and I was like I'll just open up final draft and I'll just put it in there no no shoot it yeah just it's easy and then you just put remark revision as soon as I'm walking and I just dropped to my knees and then I dropped to my knees a guy shoots a bunch of dust up in the air and as the camera turns they cut and then they it's a different shot running down the stairs and then were but I was anybody you you saying that that was when you knew is okay I wasn't on set for that and so the first thing Reese and Alec sent me was that falling through scene and I just remember watching that saying oh this shows give me so much fun to do yeah um so how which of the three of you who was good at what how do you sort of divide and conquer and putting this show together since you all have things uh mr. Hayter now get in okay I will say Fred we've had a we have a musical episode this year about a band we had a board about a band last year with the blue jean committee and those wrote all those songs wrote an album worth of songs yeah tonight this band test pattern which is based on stop making sense and Talking Heads they played it late night and so they did a song and it was great it was so it's so catchy and they're not comedy songs they're just really good songs and we have Talking Heads fans out there so it's in that style yeah and bill I will say is sort of our resident Sinha file and that it's impossible to find a movie that bill hasn't seen not just seen but already has developed an opinion on so when we're playing a good way he already has a take on it so especially when we're coming up with movies Bill's incredibly helped with finding those and then and just like SNL then we all go off on our own like bill will write some and fred will write some I'll do some and then people like John Mulaney who also helps out in the show he'll go write some yeah John wrote the John and I wrote The Thin Blue Line parody last year and then John and I wrote two episodes this season and no it's it's and then gained together and just reading them out loud is so much fun and you know it's interesting because you know it's just like SNL you doing it and then midway through the season both seasons one episode was too expensive or it didn't work and so the I doesn't lie the thin blue line one Seth and John and we work we work on that like over the weekend like basically Friday we went okay we're going to do thin blue line and every cool and then they just turn to the cruise like go watch thin blue line that's what we're doing on Monday and then we wrote it and then Monday's showed up and started shooting it so that that's where I think we again we come from an SNL background where you can write something back quickly and we were very lucky that we ended up with a crew that was so that role agile and could get with the craziest story is on the ideas in line which is the thin blue line parody they the directors hired a courtroom reporter to try to mimic the style right art if the artists the courtroom artists and it turned out that it was that artists had also done the fitting blue line it actually done the patient in blue line I said it in the middle of production was like oh you know I did that like what do you mean you did what is always layer up I don't know this is of it I really made them with some dummy here bill has a great disdain for art so I don't like artists people paint down here I love it I love it oh so sorry weirdy railing Hitler um so I wanted to spend a second talking about the late eagles document yes you did which I thought was genius and so it's a thank yous of you who haven't seen it it's called gentle like tell me Dylan's soft gentle and soft the blue jeans Mooji committee bill awesome one of my favorite observations about the Eagles documentaries when they start using each other's bad name last names oh yeah yeah went Don Henley it when he's on good terms with people he's like well dawn which means Don Felder David which means David Geffen but when he's suing them become mr. Geffen and mr. Felder like well mr. Felder and mr. Geffen didn't find fit like this guy Wow I'm just imagining those guys at home watching like dude that was so long ago relax well mr. Geffen good NAT so so you wrote all the songs for that yeah with John's Burnie with yeah yeah yeah Don Smith doesn't matter they're gone dirty thank you listen he's in our test and he's just good at putting it all together and making it make sense and it also instrument wise with you know we have to get wanted to be accurate so instruments are a thing of you know the 70s making sure that those are the right amps keyboards guitars or so many little details that we wanted to get right so that was one that had interrupted you septums no you didn't Jesus here we go again I'll see you in the car buddy Oh bro okay so you also got Cameron Crowe yeah the nicest guy in the world by Sponsor man yeah hey hey hey Testament like so daryl hall Oh anymore Kenny Loggins yeah so the fascinating thing to me was my kind of common my dental McDonald's I didn't catch him he doesn't do like the interviews he's gives you a ward out at the end Oh at the rock and roll oh yeah okay he was remember he did the band names member yeah we had this bit that they had to cut where we talked about the Chicago scene and we list off I think like a hundred band names and then at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame we made Michael McDonald do it so there's footage somewhere he'd be like they came to Chicago seen the bands of the time the tutti frutti zn7 greasy grinder the boat and it just goes on forever and he did it a really good sport and then we cut it I said them's the breaks oh so how do you you know that how did you get everyone involved in that pretty that's I wasn't - I think yeah yeah PP just like oh we just go to our producers and go get their own home right yeah I think that's I like daryl hall I like Tara home in there just tell Cameron from hey tell Cameron Crowe II want to go to his house and behind him um rat records and we want to go into his record room I heard he has a record room I want to go on the record film it come shoot a cheetah cheetah declared it shoot it I don't want to hear it I don't I hear it only here to make it happen Iceland book it did I stutter Iceland yeah Iceland get out of map I'll show you where it is it's Iceland my friends went there before college they went back back Oh some of it though like the amount of detail in that one in particular but all of them that you pay to you know making these seem authentic like the album cover the old old concert footage old photo shoots like you explain a little bit of how that production happens well I think there's one coming up this year that's based on kid stays in the picture which have you seen that documentaries all still photos yeah and so you two had to do I mean basically got something like oh well over like three thousand photos for this and so we had just keep getting changed yeah different eras so we would do this and we would get changed come back to take a break you know things yeah like what why and every day I would have a dark 1950s and then it would end in the present day and I would have old makeup on and then wigs and then wigs picture of us having a drink and that's it and they go change I'm like that's it rented out this whole ballroom just for that yeah and they're like yeah baby because we got that mouth that I have seen money is Imani something different something different I'm at a bang-bang it's all in cash it's all cash it's the only class so on and later on she literally throw it at you yeah they go mean to go here's your money yeah and you all right all right cool thank you last time Rasta crew guys crew get down here all right Gaston all right thank you so while most of these seem to be all marshes as we're calling them the the one that struck me is not necessarily being that wisdom drones they are the hundred or elf ching ching ching gone you're done hmm so like is that and so this is the one that's a parody of vice and and there they keep setting Journalists down to find el chocolate this el chapo style figure and they all keep getting killed and it's very very funny yeah I it's so great watching that I was so impressed because each bill and Fred play three different specific [ __ ] yeah it's show that's the level they're at is I'm gonna be this kind of [ __ ] I'm gonna get killed I'm gonna come back is this kind of yeah different people yeah and anything cheese and my furry thing was doing the video because those vice guys all talk you could tell they're reading stuff and it's like that's when we went down to North Korea it was pretty crazy Dan we went down to Texas he was wild so when you do one like that do you do hear from anybody and by oh yeah I it was really positive that I wont honey we did not like that no they were great about it I thought uh we're friends with most of them yeah so yeah that was uh I mean as much as it seems like kind of a parody it's still in its own way a tribute absolutely yeah we just wanted something more current because we had the silent movie one and you wanted it to like one of the kids - yeah turn in the Millennials yeah so uh you know that's one of the things that when I was watching I was wondering you know how do you how do you make this show accessible to people knowing that documentaries are the smallest you know smallest form of entertainment in Hollywood a great public place no product placement product placement social social language documentaries in a documentary smallest form of entertainment check pander name-drop yeah um a little bit of cursing bloody in coca-cola coca-cola no no I I know it is a thing that's that's a real testament I have see for us to come in and be like okay you know the movies that like not a lot of people watch we want to celebrate those yeah and but I love them yeah we documentary dan bill is fine coming out this year is five coming out is you you see wiener I'm documentary Dan loamy whole new Hertzog she straight to iTunes no no it is hard you know when you talk to them it is but they you know they're really cool with us doing it I will say it's the bet it's probably the best time to do a documentary show I'm not saying it's better than making a superhero movie but it is like people there are more documentaries now then I got four and they have unpaid Netflix and even ESPN's doing documentaries and there's all this stuff that people I feel like have more patience for the idea and I actually feel like the best movies I've seen I've been documented like lately that OJ Simpson documentaries like one of the best things I've ever seen yeah I thought I was unreal what are there are there once you have crossed off the list that you wouldn't do um I like the jinx and all that yeah the jinx and the big it's too long a story yeah anything case we try to think of that didn't really work uh staircase and then things that are kind of like funny like Spurlock or Michael Moore they already have the comedy in it yeah but then you know there are obviously plenty of documentaries about things that are way too dark yeah you would never do well so Ken Burns was in the green room just now and he was screening his Holocaust documentary yes yeah you would probably won't have a tape yeah guys hear me out hear me out he was great he comes downs like you guys that's sad I'm not yes so disagree and everything you do what's the word sweetie baby where you go why you matter like hold on a minute hold on this is all you man I specifically sounds so eerie yeah and it's like and his kid sons like pop pop come on pop we got to go we got a card game at McCoy's pop gotta go super long hair yeah super long hair Reds but we wouldn't touch the Holocaust yeah but let's get political which Holocaust Oh which one not today no no we're on 92nd Street friend 90 seconds not me hopper we're Upper West uh log on to our long gone man log on to our machine calm truth Fred or red dot work Fred Armisen was shot by Bill Hader funny man but a Fred Armisen is dead he was shot outside hiding their wives fred Harrison's had his last laugh because hey laugh all the way to the grave he does all these in a row the fish use whatever you like just pick one oh we had a guy these are all these are all gray these are all funny um so that's brilliant Helen Mirren how did that you have an Oscar winner as best so I cannot believe we have Helen Mirren doing the show I mean she's so cool about it and we she had hosted SNL so we got to meet her there and I was walking down a hallway at an event with her and she said oh I do you if you see Fred tell him how much I like Portlandia and I said oh we actually have a new show we can we asked you to do something I wasn't sure and she's doing she was on Broadway so she used her one Monday off and season one to come like you have no jokes no jokes no jokes told her you have the this may only work if you do it the way you would actually do a show that was real and she immediately got it and Wow committed yeah she was our fect because the worst thing that happens at SNL when you have a part like that is usually when you tell it to host they want to have bugs yeah and they say hey to play it straight than one of jokes but she got it you're watching documentary now when I watch it still it's really her oh my oh my god every time she's like hello I'm Helen Mirren I just start laughing I'm like how the hell did she agree to do and then we just thought oh she won't do season two immediately yep of course yeah we had to pay a lot more I'll have Raisinets please Oh Raisinets you that's right spread the word I'll have a raise in it um so speaking of awards and Helen Mirren's Oscar you are nominated for an Emmy yep so right and and Portlandia is also competing against documets rue um I think I think we'll get get it and we didn't quote me I guarantee it Kings own it you're Jesse I guarantee it god I all right oh oh oh I dare you man Fred funny man Fred Armisen struck by lightning yeah God appeared today at the 92nd Street Y Fred Armisen is a hit by lightning Road he was waiting outside the 92nd Street Y for a walk Fred Armisen well we join you along with me we do know all of the Emmy people and they're friends of ours were just like Oh so we recall the Emmy yeah it was like hey man you know we work really hard you know we'd like it we'd really like it like I got right I'll see what I could do for her what's it called documentary documentary what hey don't worry don't you worry congratulation congratulation graduations in advance what sighs Thunder rings yeah what's up let me see can you hold something like this yeah let me too heavy yeah hold it all right your big Hemi people for people who live here they don't necessarily appreciate how insane people are about winning awards in Hollywood so can you just give them some color of the significance of this I don't for us the significance was I know this sounds cliche but the shows so small first getting nominated really was great I don't think we have an expectation that we're gonna win this Emmy yeah and which is the best way to go into it yeah for real it's true there I've been at Emmys before where I thought I was gonna win and I didn't and that's way worse than this it's awful and I had a camera on you too and you're like oh here it comes yeah but but it is really just I didn't do it boy will say we have an episode that's entirely about this because the Robert Evans documentary is called mr. runner up and basically build plays a producer whose entire career is dead set on winning an Oscar that's what he wants more than trying to make a like an Oscar movie that people will go see he sort of makes Oscar bait two years too late yeah like French Connection too scary for you how about the heavily focused group the plan to sell dope I guess we're gonna cut that um and how imma cut visa [Applause] planta so did not win any second cm um and do you have acceptance speeches do you oh my god no definitely not no I think if she was I pull Helen here would do it and she would just be super dirty yeah yeah I think no we would have great recent Alex our directors I think they should get they deserve a lot of credit being very sincere they deserve a lot of credit for the show so I would send those guys up but you said you have an acceptance speech no the timing is all wrong you know yeah you can't go back I can't that's one thing you learn about gone cut shut up come comedy the last the last it's really the laugh is almost like a softball that is being unraveled and you've got to sew it together hear me out hear me out the left I get a finite thing you're already when you're using a sports analogy I'm already very I know Fred disperse now he's like going the softball cake um Picasso said something interrogative shut up everybody oh [ __ ] oh they love it what was the clothes I have why'd you give it back you give her your clothes like you know the quo are Picasso's this stinks um so I want to got this no I'm saying that Picasso thing we like this we like this this is awesome so I want to go back to the bunker a second so I'd have Stephanopoulos and James Carville seeing it do you know oh yeah oh yeah you're gonna love this yeah oh this is good ah everybody back of the room attack now come back come back No ah no I don't think they've seen it Carville side right yeah he did promos for it yeah yeah oh yeah he did a funny promo for it so yeah he started I saw Stephanopoulos late last year and told him we were doing it and he had a real he's like oh well what's the take you're like [ __ ] choo choo choo choo but I would think that there's nothing in there that they wouldn't really enjoy I just called Carvalho suspected arsonist a few minutes and again we talked about this on bill was guests on my show tonight we talked about it but it's this is such a nicer Carville than the Carville we used to do an update oh yeah because that was a real cartoon character yeah he was raised by you he was raised by him I was like oh man yeah he's like I want to say something my mother real quick at home [Applause] every time I would do that you'd always go go gosh oh they're not mad and but he has a great sense he has a great sense of humor and he's always spoken very highly yeah so I think you've been asked this question all day these guys have been doing press for the show a lot of interviews today but is it you know is it a coincidence that you made that the debut no we knew it was we thought it would dovetail nice was an election year but I will say when we decided we didn't quite know it would be this election year right yeah it's weird right uh yeah we were like good on us but it wasn't the intent now right well um so cuz making art has no end table shut up let's say it's five minutes five minutes that's like an eternity um settle talk after the show III have a really great take on it but I want you out on the street man everybody over here okay this is what bill didn't want you guys to hear so if there were I'm curious if you've thought about this if there were a documentary to be done about this election season right now is have you thought about who like what would what would the approach be who is whose I don't think that you could ever have something as good as this documentary because now everything is a document there's cameras everywhere it's so great to see in this tiny little room I mean when we watch the actual war room you can't believe how low-rent all of it is and the people that basically get Bill Clinton elected it's there's no glamour or glitz to any of it and everybody's guards down and I just don't think you can make that kind of a committer again although you know Weiner is a documentary where you can't believe that guy let his guard down I know so I hope movie you're like it's like very battery yeah sure what could go wrong I just have a thing I have a problem with how long would this take a day more than a day wow you guys gonna be here tomorrow [ __ ] mmm that's not good um so William is you're part of it wishes you are in SNL this season to deal with the - Delia - you know you know I have an answer for that oh no don't do it I know one club downtown okay this is you hey are you going back to do stuff on this here oh hell yes all right absolutely you got asked I got uh I won't we had a discussion how did I not know about this you can come and just come and hang out what please come in what come out but I'm super psyched not to be there for like so yeah right yeah so but I want to ask you Seth um you know I there's been a lot said this season about how you may have actually been somewhat responsible for Donald Trump running for president yeah and you gave a incredibly brilliant vicious a speech when you were they host of the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011 and that this was during the midst of Trump's birther movement stuff yeah about Barack Obama and Donald Trump was sitting in the room you basically destroyed him in the room and he got it wait wait and he got up and left in a fury and I'm gonna run for president you are for the bucket lega by boots and that is what many people believe happen at he it solidified his his yeah come back I thought way into that night that I'd done a good job thank you oh hey captain [ __ ] thank you no I thought oh that was a good job of dinging that guy and then it seems like I gave Bane his origin story yeah like yeah the Joker you pushed him into the VAT Lenny it will it will be the I mean to his credit if it wins it's the greatest [ __ ] you to anybody if he dies a mellow how's that what are you doing now yeah I was fun five years ago on president now oh gosh don't even joke about it's making myself again sick I'm seriously getting sane so so you give all the fuzzy like starts ghost of George Washington what the [ __ ] sorry so you've done you've also stayed on him on your show yeah I'm late night and so uh this is one of the things I wonder about do you work for a big broad broadcast network do you ever get does anyone ever know nothing I know for real the network's been really great and they I have always pushed me to embrace having a point of view and yeah I can really say that they've been really supportive I mean that let's see what happens if there's a different president they might withdraw purse prick and D with if Donald Trump called you to come on would you have him up yeah I think it would be interesting television we had sort of tongue-in-cheek banned him from the show after he banned The Washington Post and other people mm-hmm but that was always there wasn't bravery to that band because of what he had no interest in going on the shows oh uh yeah I mean I said he's not going to so it's sort of a pointless question but it's a question it's a planet yeah back to the shower fires right there he made Donald Trump now are you gonna run for president right so I wanted to leave some time for questions from the audience but I wanted to just ask you one thing that I thought is a oh no one one question I thought you might have interesting comments and so when you were at Howard Stern this morning Fred you were talking about Howard brought up the or maybe Robin did brought up when you play David Patterson yeah I'm SNL and let's see and let's say you yeah I think you told Howard sturdy when a.m. New York yeah this subway joke ever had you on the cover with playing David Paterson with the cover line too far yeah um you got 50 copies of it cuz you were oh no Seth I have a comic oh okay all right okay and yeah we were moving and my wife said to me do we need all 50 of Fred's David Paterson they said we do because these are collectors items but but I'm curious how you feel you know um a lot of comics have talked about political correctness lately which can be code for lots of different things but you know Jerry Seinfeld for example said he will he won't go to campuses anymore because the climate of political correctness makes it harder to do comedy obviously there's a really you know persistent conversation about women that goes on in comedy right now so what are your thoughts about this is it you know is I don't think David Paterson is a woman I think you very much a guy had yeah I do with femininity or masculinity he's a person he's um you know I'm a male he's a male it doesn't it what there was Monica comment on it on anything I don't know if he had an assistant or a secretary here and you know a flight attendant or anything to do with that he's yes he's the governor not the governess again Oh a different time different yeah there's a little more like you know there's a little more like I but does it ever factor into your thinking when you do when you you just trust your own taste yeah and sometimes I'm right out I I don't want to be mean about anybody yeah I you know everything I mean I tried to make that a lovable character he's likable guy you know he liked it you shot it I didn't know it up and did it right okay you don't seem convinced I am very convinced I'm gonna go to questions okay various question bill you're a cutie pie you made Donald Trump okay Fred and Bill your buddy you're both very good at keeping a straight face during okay what person is never seen before in their life when you spent the last two years on the show just falling apart yeah falling apart yeah well which one of you is harder to make laugh and break character oh I'm so easy I breaks yes Lee doesn't take much not even like Fred would do Jarrett was an alumna Linda yeah the woman who would he do that typhus is your ever do this and I was a judge in those sketches right every time the camera was was wasn't on me fed would just look at me you just go I start laughing it goes both ways he made me laugh a million times that doorman sketch it did not go to air but it's online you can find a doorman sketch where where two doormen explaining Christmas to little kids and it immediately bomb moms like the audience Emilio's like nope like the minute it started and it's their last year on the show so people their beloved people want to like them and they still said nope you know we know we were bombing so bad and we didn't care that Bobby Moynihan came out and we went instead of his character we're like hey Bobby Moynihan everybody who went well he was like oh hey guys you're like who's on the show today who's oh oh Jamie Foxx enrolling Jamie Foxx is the next person has somebody else in a sense as Bobby left I went UCB yeah yeah drunk uncle so yeah I lost it completely on that uh-huh um okay dab two parts here do you have any advice for young comedians PS bill I wrote my college essay about you says Mackenzie Mackenzie Kenzie what was did you McKenzie what was the topic of the essay other than it being about Bill what what was it about what is he about [Music] oh I'm about to blow it it's not gonna be that great Mackenzie you're dreaming right now you're at class Mackenzie wake up Mackenzie wait Mackenzie hey Mackenzie we have a factory to run here sorry yes I know so what was your essay what was the topic oh oh oh oh good well Mackenzie I think you're one of the best and so to answer your question just get up as much as you can get up on stage and just do a lot of stuff Wow Mackenzie's gonna get the [ __ ] kicked out of it I'll come after you're done come over here after we're done I'll take a picture with you that only goes when it came to the rest of you no we're at Friday night and the essay at all [Applause] footnote Stephan I don't partner Mitch on your show sir [Applause] I broke up with him cuz it's like Thank You Mackenzie I'll see I'll meet you in a second but can't you sue her oh yeah I'm doing this [ __ ] at him again you can't use my name in a [ __ ] essay what oh no do you check with my people redacted what [ __ ] is wrong with you cross it out no redact my name um okay who created the intro and designed all of the versions of the documentary now logo that was our editor Micah Micah Scott Scott whatever I don't we don't talk to the crew might a gardener like the garden I can gardener and he just was like oh we kind of said what we wanted he was something like this and that's what you see you he's brilliant ass yeah amazing I will genuinely say is that there cuz I gave out an Emmy for that and it would have been last year it would have been this year but we that deserves the work he did on that yeah incredible opening credits he worked on Portlandia originally and he just really it's soaked somebody it was he really just did it on his own together and the great thing is every documentary the opening credits we had to get approval from those documentary filmmakers and it was really nice to people like Michael Moore and whatnot gave us said okay you can use rounder than me and that which was great okay first serious question answered seriously um what was your favorite SNL skit I cannot read this last word but I guess what was your favorite SNL skit and I let me see it there's there's a lot of threat okay crap oh wow well it's got your address oh that's scary all right Alan let's all result stand up walk away walk out slow everybody cool enjoys SNL and why agate and why and why Oh do okay whoever wrote this do you mean like that we were a part of or that we watched growing up now you got us reveal yourself reveal yourself I think it's I think I don't think it saying what I think it's Turkey I thought what's your favorite a snow scared turkey call turkey hey Turkey Oh Turkey it's a turkey or their like I like an island came in unfrozen came in where is my all time for yeah thank you for both of you easily easily my favorite SNL sketch ever is unfrozen came in lawyer with Phil Hartman it's just perfect it's a perfect sketch yeah hi when John McLaughlin recently passed away I thought one of my favorite sketches all-time with the Sinatra group which was the McLaughlin group but with Frank Sinatra's the haha unreal yeah it's races I got chunks of guys like you were my student like next topic Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner who would you rather nail I just qualify myself because I'd done a boat Sinead O'Connor's there knew that Uncle Fester oh it's so good okay um okay to all um who were your summer your favorite female comedians polar Oh learn my favorite older Louie Dreyfus Tina Fey can't fake Catherine Meyer go Catherine O'Hara I think is one of the great Gilda yeah Randi wig Kristen Wiig man mmm-hmm Helene me lay made loose MacArthur Imogene Coca mmm-hmm yeah Emma Jane cook unreal yeah unreal okay can can you share one or two hysterical moments while shooting share wait what we wanted to shoot now wants to shoot something and share what we're idiots um you guys did a really they did a bit for a really long time on set which was them being Barack Obama talking about his trip to LA yes hey whatever hear it let's hear it it was anyways in no sense it was so the whole time you see is dressed as the Grey Gardens ladies we're doing this Barack Obama bit like David film us and then say action we become the great and there was a cut and then we would go right back into no bombing and the crew was so sick of it the idea is that he was at the base of the Capitol Records building talking to ton of people just talking about his time and I went to Amoeba Records yeah I went down up I went down to Venice Beach we're in the sixties a band taught us that if we work hard we can break on through to the other side we did it right forever the the way you're enthusiastic now if we did this out another three hours like I visited a set of 2 broke girls oh yeah yeah oh it's a table read what's a table read from to broker very inside super inside this was making us laugh so hard but he would make his speech about bet all these people are like I guess from Haleiwa from L my know why we know this also why did you go to a dealer he know he ran background he was like he told the extras where to go and in Seabrook what do I do but he didn't let a new guy like okay what do i do just what you want to do so uh we won't do I'm sorry you're like telling me I have to stagger you yeah so you go and then you go and you two are on a date and you talk to but you can't talk because an answer pay your Morrissey other man pretend like you're talking mid security guys around this he's got a headset on babe um no funny do you miss playing Obama um I don't really miss anything I just I just you know I love being at SNL so much I loved it every minute of it but I never think back like you know I want to go back in that way I just loved it and I always think more about the future you know what I mean oh all right yes I'm a lesser human it was a sign give it up it about stuff but missing is for the for emotional people and I don't have emotions like that emotion is a weakness crying because crying shows that you're falling apart so missing things you cannot go back in time you cannot that is for other people historians I'm not a historian it is it is literally dying it's literally going into death into the blackness the worst advice you won't go back for old house to visit your mom you make her meet you somewhere else absolutely my I make her reintroduce yourself today I might tell me who you are I know I know you ever tell them where you are today I'm not a little boy mom help the guard every day you go through your phone you delete every new day I need to take everybody oh god what do you want I mean we lose an hour two hours every day on set because Fred comes every introduce himself to every new day is Tuesday is Tuesday I'm learning the language there's to say it is day first yesterday all right sorry um and and bill is there anyone any any character you miss doing from the show um I miss doing Stefon that was fun working with Seth and then I miss uh there was a character I I do I used to Vincent Price on there Terry I loved doing with Fred wait Liberace I just love those cuz it made me feel like old SNL and also old sctv it just it foam it made me feel like that like to me that's like what sketch comedy felt and look like and it was it was it was just entrances lines cut two people for one line just taking care of everybody fun it just was so much fun Kristin was so funny memories you play Judi girl oh sure right you guys it was one of the first episodes Kristen Wiig worked on a show and as like oh GG garland do Judy Garland she's like yeah I go do you have any idea what she would say and she goes maybe something like you ever get the feeling like your hands I made out of sand [Applause] I was like the new girls really good new girl by like five shows um so I think we are almost out of time um but I can Xia get ready I'm gonna be a major disappointment oh dear diary never meet your heroes so I going back to the show is there anything people that you'd like to share would you like to your literary crickets ok but ok so you know what documentaries are coming up like what might you consider penc homage to down the road have you have you are you for season 3 because season 2 it's happening now season furious it's coming cause it's hardo we're always open to stuff yeah buddy make a documentary um I don't know yeah yeah I mean it's so weird it's kind of like again being at SNL where anytime I super pre-planned something it wouldn't work and see how to go in that week and whatever like you know I could blow into my room think of something but then obviously the three of us get around each other we get super silly and then something new comes up we go oh yeah that you know let's do that it was that way every summer at SNL I thought this summer I'm gonna come up with three great ideas for the next season and whatever you came up into the summer stunk by the time it was September yeah so you just kind of have to wait and do it's pretty close for two yes you would feeling right and being in the moment and stuff okay AB somber well okay well we got to do it this stupid thing should we do it yeah if you need a lift take lift I'm sorry yeah [Music] Christmas rates won't go up yep yeah uh lyft is now offering unlike uber offering up to $3,500 a week as a driver go to lift comm and sign up now JFK flat rate some lift your JFK from anywhere in New York laughs should we do and I'm sorry we have to do this radio ad yeah hey Fred hey Seth are you coming over today well the thing is I want to get there on time and not spend too much money hey guys hold on bill you got here fast I know I just got a job with lyft you guys need to ride someplace yeah hey if it's a JFK Airport it's a flat-rate so sorry [Applause] that was a project okay so good luck at the Emmys thank you thank you um thank you everybody for coming um Thank You Seth Dylan Fred thank you thank you you

Channel: 92nd Street Y

Views: 1,610,903

Rating: 4.814683 out of 5

Keywords: 92Y, 92nd Street Y, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Documentary Now!, Janice Min, Comedy

Id: 7giM-dKSOdQ

Length: 55min 34sec (3334 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 16 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/memesistential]

Who would've thought that the Ian Rubbish & the Bizarros pre-tape would be the stepping stone for Documentary Now?

[u/ChwArc]

If anyone hasn't seen the Doorman Sketch they are talking about around 39:40, watch it!