Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Lake Bell. Yes, Denny, Oh, I'm very excited Lake Bell.
Welcome to the Vinie Penn Project. Can I tell you something? Okay,
I'm on vacation this week. I'm off. I came in.
I came in today just to talk to.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You, Vinny. Thank you appreciate.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Now. I don't want you to get it twisted either.
I am. I am a fan way back all probably
ever since What Happens in Vegas, some big fan of yours,
although I did realize until recently you warm some director's chairs,
and you did on one of my favorite mini series,
Pam and Tommy. That was so well done. Yeah, yeah,
congratulations on that. That was lost timing. Did you direct
(00:42):
the yacht episode because that had to be a challenging episode.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
No, I directed number four and number seven. Yeah, it was,
you know, of those eight episodes, it was just really
really fun and wild and crazy. It was during COVID,
so you had, you know, us directing so much kind
of debaucherousness and like you know wild, you know, wild
(01:08):
wild scenes and all with kind of you know, mass
fun and you know, SOVID protocol.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I'll tell you I think they're a real love story.
I mean, I didn't expect to spend two and I
don't want to lose you know, I don't want to
spend too much time on this, but I always did. Uh,
they're both I think single right now. There's a nineteen
eighties part of me because I was an eighties kid
that wants them to find their way back to each other.
And I think that the series, the series kind of
did a good job of showing what divided them, what
(01:37):
he wasn't getting, that she was going through. I thought
they both did an insane job there.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Oh, they're tremendous performance beasts, Dan Lily.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
James unbelievable, And I just thought the show did do
a good job of showing Seth. Rogan's the one who
came off quite villainous in that whole thing, if you
ask me. But we are here to talk the Chair
Company now. First of all, I don't even know where
to begin. It's a huge hit. It's a runaway hit.
(02:09):
The season finale is this coming weekend. I want to
ask you, like, the most recent episode ends with you
dancing with your husband, the insane Tim Robinson, Like, how
do you not start laughing? He's making these weird faces
in the mirror. Please tell me that was a stand
(02:30):
in and that wasn't It couldn't have been you. You
would have been laughing. You know what.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
It's I think the on the pilot. Here's what I'll
say on the pilot. When we first, you know, we
shot the first episode and I thought, oh my gosh,
how am I going to keep a straight face? This
is really challenging because he is I'm playing the straight
woman to someone who very is extraordinary comedic performer. And
(03:01):
I find him, I personally just lake finds him so
sort of unique and extraordinary, and I am kind of
in awe of how he you know, how he kind
of digests words and then deposits them. You know, it's
like a really fun, unique thing to watch. So, you know,
(03:23):
I initially there were times where I did break and
I'd have to look away from camera or what have you,
you know, And but I think that I started to
as we started to shoot the series. I was like
I got that muscle back to kind of you know,
I got used to his rhythms, to his cadence, and
(03:44):
I could be like, Okay, I'm seeing how I can
get through this without breaking. And so, you know, I
think that always happens when you're on a series too,
you start to kind of you're in the river, You're
in the flow of it.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, and that interesting you put it that way too,
because you know, I love I think you should leave.
He's a very unique voice in the world of comedy.
He's a very either you're gonna love it. And it
seems like many do you already got season two coming.
I'm surprised, Like I've got a nineteen year old and
a twenty two year old them and their whole crew,
(04:21):
like people that age are like getting this bizarre humor
of his too. But I you know, I love it.
I think you should leave. And when I heard you
got cast as his wife, I'm like, oh, she's hilarious.
But you're totally not given any You are the straight woman,
like you said, like your character is not comedic in
(04:41):
this show.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, it's interesting. It's you know, I think being a
straight woman is part of the cocktail of what it
is to make a great comedy. So even if you know,
if it feels like wow, it's like there's I wasn't
give then you know, it's like, oh, why is Lake
not doing hard comedy here? I think the the truth
(05:07):
of it is is like, in order to be a
great straight person, you do need to know comedic rhythm, right,
and so you fit into the puzzle. Like I think
that it feels really satisfying to fit into the comedic
puzzle of what the Chair Company is. So it's like
(05:28):
I kind of take it like a like a almost
I feel like an essential feature to bolster and create
the world of the comedy because it's like I think
also as a director and a writer, it's like I
understand what the import is and how to do it
(05:51):
to be a really good straight person because it's like
you need that to foil, you know. And so in
the same way that what I think makes Chair Company
unique to other hard comedy sketch stuff that he did
Tim Robinson is that it is steeped in this that
he created this very real world, you know. And Andy Deng,
(06:14):
the director, did an excellent job of sort of holding
that and making sure that everything feels accessible and universal
so that we can feel even more cringey and more
relatable in it, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Yeah, And so many of the peripheral characters are hillised.
This most recent episode, the guy who's like I thought
I could will things into being, you know, just and
what you got just him calling the dog baby. I
don't know how he kept a straight face. Interestingly about
your character card that was actually mark every time he
(06:52):
says the word baby, I.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Was like, I'm going to publish myself in the face,
like I don't know how to, like, how am.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I going to do? And then the dog bites and
he's talking about the rabies, the ra he's just the character.
But your character it does seem from the penultimate episode
of season one, to be key to this whole damn thing.
What can you give me? Like I said, I came in,
I'm on vacation, plus I got a little bit of
a stomach ache, and I came.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, I'm doing great, You're doing great.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And I came and it came in. So you could
like give me something like about the finale, break some news.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You know, Yeah, I can't break I.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Got you heard me say, the stomach ache, the vacation,
I love.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
The guilt tripping, trust me, it's terrific. Getting ready for
the holidays. You're doing great. Yeah, listen, I think you know,
I can't really reveal much, but yeah, she's you know,
Barbera's is integral to to the Ron Journey, you know,
(07:58):
and I think that his part of what the whole
stakes of of of Ron Trosper's mysterious, dangerous, you know,
sort of mining for the truth. The stakes of it
is that he has this loving family and he has
(08:19):
his wife who is yes, you know, has a company
that's starting to find some legs and there are you know,
it's opaque, like you're not quite you're starting to kind
of see the clarity of of what's really going on.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And the big takeaway, of course, the big takeaway, of
course is you don't shove Lou Diamond Phillips. Nobody shoves
Lou Diamond Films. But you did. You did get a
season two, right, you just have? Yeah, congrats. I'm surprised
in the sense that it doesn't seem like a story
(08:58):
that can continue on with that title The Chair Company.
So I'm intrigued to see how you'll pull that off.
But everybody I know is talking about it.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I know. I think that in itself is part of
setting the viewer up for something different, where it's like
the Chair Company. How can the plot of this series
be that a guy sits on a chair, it breaks
and he goes on a conspiracy theory at you know,
eight episodes, You're like, I can't even I didn't realize
(09:27):
I needed to see all of those yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
In life, and he was right, there is something to it.
That's the most gratifying thing about it is and I
think relatable is he wasn't a madman. There actually is
something to all of this, and I can't wait to.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Find out or is you know, It's like and then
you're or there might be something to it, and then
it's like you're on the ride, you know, and then
it's like, now you're just in his brain, You're in
this world, you're with these people, you know them. Well,
let's go, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, I love it. Actress, writer, director, knockout Lake Bell.
I appreciate you taking the time from coming on. You
didn't give me anything to go with the stomach ache
and everything, but I'm still going to be tuned in
for the Chair Company. I was only joking about the
stomach ache, trying to get something some sizzle here for
Sunday Night. I can't wait to watch the finale and
(10:23):
continued success.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Thank you so much. Hey where the sizzle? Where the sizzle?
Speaker 1 (10:28):
That is true? Well done?
Lake Bell. Yes, Denny, Oh, I'm very excited Lake Bell.
Welcome to the Vinie Penn Project. Can I tell you something? Okay,
I'm on vacation this week. I'm off. I came in.
I came in today just to talk to.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You, Vinny. Thank you appreciate.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Now. I don't want you to get it twisted either.
I am. I am a fan way back all probably
ever since What Happens in Vegas, some big fan of yours,
although I did realize until recently you warm some director's chairs,
and you did on one of my favorite mini series,
Pam and Tommy. That was so well done. Yeah, yeah,
congratulations on that. That was lost timing. Did you direct
(00:42):
the yacht episode because that had to be a challenging episode.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
No, I directed number four and number seven. Yeah, it was,
you know, of those eight episodes, it was just really
really fun and wild and crazy. It was during COVID,
so you had, you know, us directing so much kind
of debaucherousness and like you know wild, you know, wild
(01:08):
wild scenes and all with kind of you know, mass
fun and you know, SOVID protocol.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I'll tell you I think they're a real love story.
I mean, I didn't expect to spend two and I
don't want to lose you know, I don't want to
spend too much time on this, but I always did. Uh,
they're both I think single right now. There's a nineteen
eighties part of me because I was an eighties kid
that wants them to find their way back to each other.
And I think that the series, the series kind of
did a good job of showing what divided them, what
(01:37):
he wasn't getting, that she was going through. I thought
they both did an insane job there.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Oh, they're tremendous performance beasts, Dan Lily.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
James unbelievable, And I just thought the show did do
a good job of showing Seth. Rogan's the one who
came off quite villainous in that whole thing, if you
ask me. But we are here to talk the Chair
Company now. First of all, I don't even know where
to begin. It's a huge hit. It's a runaway hit.
(02:09):
The season finale is this coming weekend. I want to
ask you, like, the most recent episode ends with you
dancing with your husband, the insane Tim Robinson, Like, how
do you not start laughing? He's making these weird faces
in the mirror. Please tell me that was a stand
(02:30):
in and that wasn't It couldn't have been you. You
would have been laughing. You know what.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
It's I think the on the pilot. Here's what I'll
say on the pilot. When we first, you know, we
shot the first episode and I thought, oh my gosh,
how am I going to keep a straight face? This
is really challenging because he is I'm playing the straight
woman to someone who very is extraordinary comedic performer. And
(03:01):
I find him, I personally just lake finds him so
sort of unique and extraordinary, and I am kind of
in awe of how he you know, how he kind
of digests words and then deposits them. You know, it's
like a really fun, unique thing to watch. So, you know,
(03:23):
I initially there were times where I did break and
I'd have to look away from camera or what have you,
you know, And but I think that I started to
as we started to shoot the series. I was like
I got that muscle back to kind of you know,
I got used to his rhythms, to his cadence, and
(03:44):
I could be like, Okay, I'm seeing how I can
get through this without breaking. And so, you know, I
think that always happens when you're on a series too,
you start to kind of you're in the river, You're
in the flow of it.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, and that interesting you put it that way too,
because you know, I love I think you should leave.
He's a very unique voice in the world of comedy.
He's a very either you're gonna love it. And it
seems like many do you already got season two coming.
I'm surprised, Like I've got a nineteen year old and
a twenty two year old them and their whole crew,
(04:21):
like people that age are like getting this bizarre humor
of his too. But I you know, I love it.
I think you should leave. And when I heard you
got cast as his wife, I'm like, oh, she's hilarious.
But you're totally not given any You are the straight woman,
like you said, like your character is not comedic in
(04:41):
this show.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, it's interesting. It's you know, I think being a
straight woman is part of the cocktail of what it
is to make a great comedy. So even if you know,
if it feels like wow, it's like there's I wasn't
give then you know, it's like, oh, why is Lake
not doing hard comedy here? I think the the truth
(05:07):
of it is is like, in order to be a
great straight person, you do need to know comedic rhythm, right,
and so you fit into the puzzle. Like I think
that it feels really satisfying to fit into the comedic
puzzle of what the Chair Company is. So it's like
(05:28):
I kind of take it like a like a almost
I feel like an essential feature to bolster and create
the world of the comedy because it's like I think
also as a director and a writer, it's like I
understand what the import is and how to do it
(05:51):
to be a really good straight person because it's like
you need that to foil, you know. And so in
the same way that what I think makes Chair Company
unique to other hard comedy sketch stuff that he did
Tim Robinson is that it is steeped in this that
he created this very real world, you know. And Andy Deng,
(06:14):
the director, did an excellent job of sort of holding
that and making sure that everything feels accessible and universal
so that we can feel even more cringey and more
relatable in it, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Yeah, And so many of the peripheral characters are hillised.
This most recent episode, the guy who's like I thought
I could will things into being, you know, just and
what you got just him calling the dog baby. I
don't know how he kept a straight face. Interestingly about
your character card that was actually mark every time he
(06:52):
says the word baby, I.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Was like, I'm going to publish myself in the face,
like I don't know how to, like, how am.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I going to do? And then the dog bites and
he's talking about the rabies, the ra he's just the character.
But your character it does seem from the penultimate episode
of season one, to be key to this whole damn thing.
What can you give me? Like I said, I came in,
I'm on vacation, plus I got a little bit of
a stomach ache, and I came.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, I'm doing great, You're doing great.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And I came and it came in. So you could
like give me something like about the finale, break some news.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You know, Yeah, I can't break I.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Got you heard me say, the stomach ache, the vacation,
I love.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
The guilt tripping, trust me, it's terrific. Getting ready for
the holidays. You're doing great. Yeah, listen, I think you know,
I can't really reveal much, but yeah, she's you know,
Barbera's is integral to to the Ron Journey, you know,
(07:58):
and I think that his part of what the whole
stakes of of of Ron Trosper's mysterious, dangerous, you know,
sort of mining for the truth. The stakes of it
is that he has this loving family and he has
(08:19):
his wife who is yes, you know, has a company
that's starting to find some legs and there are you know,
it's opaque, like you're not quite you're starting to kind
of see the clarity of of what's really going on.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And the big takeaway, of course, the big takeaway, of
course is you don't shove Lou Diamond Phillips. Nobody shoves
Lou Diamond Films. But you did. You did get a
season two, right, you just have? Yeah, congrats. I'm surprised
in the sense that it doesn't seem like a story
(08:58):
that can continue on with that title The Chair Company.
So I'm intrigued to see how you'll pull that off.
But everybody I know is talking about it.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I know. I think that in itself is part of
setting the viewer up for something different, where it's like
the Chair Company. How can the plot of this series
be that a guy sits on a chair, it breaks
and he goes on a conspiracy theory at you know,
eight episodes, You're like, I can't even I didn't realize
(09:27):
I needed to see all of those yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
In life, and he was right, there is something to it.
That's the most gratifying thing about it is and I
think relatable is he wasn't a madman. There actually is
something to all of this, and I can't wait to.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Find out or is you know, It's like and then
you're or there might be something to it, and then
it's like you're on the ride, you know, and then
it's like, now you're just in his brain, You're in
this world, you're with these people, you know them. Well,
let's go, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, I love it. Actress, writer, director, knockout Lake Bell.
I appreciate you taking the time from coming on. You
didn't give me anything to go with the stomach ache
and everything, but I'm still going to be tuned in
for the Chair Company. I was only joking about the
stomach ache, trying to get something some sizzle here for
Sunday Night. I can't wait to watch the finale and
(10:23):
continued success.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Thank you so much. Hey where the sizzle? Where the sizzle?
Speaker 1 (10:28):
That is true? Well done?
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