Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast
More What You Hear Weekday Afternoon's on the Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Love having comedian, actor, television writer, author and musician Paul
Riser on the last time we had him on, he
was bringing his comedy show through Ada, and he's in
a new movie called The Problem with People, and Paul,
I guess it's the best described this new movie as
a different kind of fish out of watertail.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yeah, yeah, yes, it's it's a movie I p okay.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
So I play.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
A guy from New York who gets a call out
of the blue from a guy in Ireland who claims
to be my cousin. He actually is, and the backstory
is that we are the third generation of two guys
who one hundred years ago two brothers who had a
falling out, and the two sides of the family have
had this unspoken feud and he reaches out to me
(00:58):
to try and put an end to it and bury
the hatchet and invites me over to beautiful Ireland to
raise a glass in friendship. And it goes wrong, and
it goes bad because we are flawed individuals, and that's
why it's called The Problem with People. Because it seems
no matter how well you're in you know what, however
good your intentions are, we all find a reason to
(01:19):
be suspicious of the next person. And so it's a
really it's a really fun comedy calumni and myself and
Jane Levy and a wonderful Irish cast and beautiful countryside
of Ireland. And at the heart of the movie is like, Wow,
why do we have to be fighting? Is there a
way that people can perhaps not be as bad as
(01:40):
we are?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
And so I I.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
You know, it seems to me people are really responding
to that piece of it, which is very nice to see.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
When I first saw the title, I thought, is this
another one of your books? Because you know that's what
it sounded like. It sounds like another one of your
Rye observations.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Well, you know what, people the phrase I realized I
say that all the time. You know, you're driving and
somebody cuts you off. What is the problem with this?
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Go?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
What is people? It's like, oh, there's the name the
problem with people? Because we're never going to quite solve it,
but we keep trying.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
As far as the ethnicity is concerned, I mean, this
is you're you're as new York as New York gets.
I imagine that I am New.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
York, but you know, New York is a very there's
a huge Irish population in New York. Sure, And and
and at the heart of the movie is one and
the older guy, the grandfather in the movie says, you know,
why do we fight. We're all the same. We all
came from the Ultimately, we all come from the same place.
If you go back far enough, and it's like, yeah,
whatever it is, you're gonna find. You know, you may
(02:41):
live in different countries, you may have different beliefs, different religions,
but like, really, are we that different? Not really, not really,
So I've always had that belief in This movie is
sort of a fun just dances around that that premise
of like there's really no reason. We all want the
same thing. We all want to live and be safe
and have our children be safe. It's like, let's see
(03:03):
if we can get together and stop fighting. So this
is a comedic take on trying to solve the problem
with people.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Problem with people is the movie Call Meanie with Paul Riser,
who is the actor, television director, and author and musician
that is joining us. Now you've been at this for
quite a long time. Do you ever find yourself turning
into your dad or turning into the angry man across
the hall?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Oh yeah, yeah, you know. And it's funny. One of
the things that made this movie where cale Meani is
a wonderful actor that some people, you know, you might
not know his name, and you look at his face
go oh yeah, yeah, I love that guy. And we
had never met until we started filming. And one of
the things that we got along so well, and we
(03:49):
played together so off each other so well. And part
of the thing is we're both kind of like the characters, like,
we're decent guys, we're nice guys. We can both be
charming and friendly, and we're both really cranky, and we
both can be irritable and set off by something stupid.
It's like, that's what these characters are. These guys, they're
(04:11):
not bad people. You're rooting for both of them, but
oh why why are they at each other's throat so quickly?
And that's just how we are. But yeah, you know,
the New York and Irish thing. I grew up in
New York, and frankly, when I write something, I don't
know how to write myself anywhere else. I've tried to
write set something in Los Angeles, where I live. I
(04:32):
don't understand it. I go back to New York and
you know, and the story is. The backstory is that
their great grandfathers were two brothers who were finding their
way from Eastern Europe on their way to America, stopped
in Ireland to get a boat, and then one of
(04:53):
them meets a pretty girl and says, I'll catch up
with you, and then he never does. So one of
the brothers goes to America, one of the other one
stays in Ireland, and that's how the family got split,
and the brothers were both angry with each other for
not being together. And so yes, so I think if
you trace us all back, we all do come from
(05:13):
the same place. We all have so much more in
common than we have differences. And this is a funny,
hopefully funny, sweet movie about those differences and the problems,
the problems with people.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
The problem with people is the movie. And it also
stars Paul Riser. Call Meenie. I mean, when you need
angry irishmen, when you need drunk irishmen, when you need
quintessential Irishman, you need to cast call meanie.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah, he is the guy. And Amos said, how'd you
get call Meenie? I said, you know, you call Ireland. Yeah,
he picks up the phone. That's how that's how big
he is.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
He's the guy and he does it so well it
doesn't seem to mind it. Yeah, no, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
And he's walking around Dublin with call Meani. It would
be like walking around you know, the Bronx with janiro Hey.
Everybody knows them. Everybody feels they own him. They're they're
not own and that their family.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
There's just an easy going this So it was a
thrill to to to be with, to have him, you know.
And one of the things that made me so happy
is as a writer, he said, you know, whenever I get.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
A script that's written by an American and writing Irish
countryside or Irish movie, he goes, it's usually every cliche,
you know, the top of the morning to you, he said,
and leprechauns, he goes, and you didn't go anywhere near that,
And it.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Sounds like actual people in Ireland and that made me
feel I was very proud of that. It's like, okay, great,
we we missed every minefield we could have stepped on.
And uh, the fact, the fact that it felt authentic
to him meant the world to me.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
So you had you had a hand in writing it
as well.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, I wrote, Yeah, there was this a movie. I
had this idea a long time ago, and uh, and
I would periodically pick up a pen and start writing it.
And I thought maybe I should write it with somebody.
I found this young writer named Wally Marzano Lesnovitch, the
longest name, I'm not even fit on a jersey.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
And very Irish too.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Yeah. Yeah, non Irish guys writing in Irish movie. But
that was part of it, Like we weren't claiming to
be Irish with like, yes, I'm getting my character gets
himself to Ireland with no idea why or why he's there.
But what was the question?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
See, we were talking about writing and get here anyway. Yeah, okay,
all right, yeah, but see what happens when that's one
of the problems with people. We just start talking with people.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
And it's in theaters now and you can watch it
at home. You can watch it on your Amazon and
Hulu and your Apple TV, and you can enjoy it
in the comfort of your own pajamas.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Paul Riser, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee
Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live
weekday afternoons from five to seven. An iHeartMedia presentation
This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast
More What You Hear Weekday Afternoon's on the Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Love having comedian, actor, television writer, author and musician Paul
Riser on the last time we had him on, he
was bringing his comedy show through Ada, and he's in
a new movie called The Problem with People, and Paul,
I guess it's the best described this new movie as
a different kind of fish out of watertail.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yeah, yeah, yes, it's it's a movie I p okay.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
So I play.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
A guy from New York who gets a call out
of the blue from a guy in Ireland who claims
to be my cousin. He actually is, and the backstory
is that we are the third generation of two guys
who one hundred years ago two brothers who had a
falling out, and the two sides of the family have
had this unspoken feud and he reaches out to me
(00:58):
to try and put an end to it and bury
the hatchet and invites me over to beautiful Ireland to
raise a glass in friendship. And it goes wrong, and
it goes bad because we are flawed individuals, and that's
why it's called The Problem with People. Because it seems
no matter how well you're in you know what, however
good your intentions are, we all find a reason to
(01:19):
be suspicious of the next person. And so it's a
really it's a really fun comedy calumni and myself and
Jane Levy and a wonderful Irish cast and beautiful countryside
of Ireland. And at the heart of the movie is like, Wow,
why do we have to be fighting? Is there a
way that people can perhaps not be as bad as
(01:40):
we are?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
And so I I.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
You know, it seems to me people are really responding
to that piece of it, which is very nice to see.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
When I first saw the title, I thought, is this
another one of your books? Because you know that's what
it sounded like. It sounds like another one of your
Rye observations.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Well, you know what, people the phrase I realized I
say that all the time. You know, you're driving and
somebody cuts you off. What is the problem with this?
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Go?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
What is people? It's like, oh, there's the name the
problem with people? Because we're never going to quite solve it,
but we keep trying.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
As far as the ethnicity is concerned, I mean, this
is you're you're as new York as New York gets.
I imagine that I am New.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
York, but you know, New York is a very there's
a huge Irish population in New York. Sure, And and
and at the heart of the movie is one and
the older guy, the grandfather in the movie says, you know,
why do we fight. We're all the same. We all
came from the Ultimately, we all come from the same place.
If you go back far enough, and it's like, yeah,
whatever it is, you're gonna find. You know, you may
(02:41):
live in different countries, you may have different beliefs, different religions,
but like, really, are we that different? Not really, not really,
So I've always had that belief in This movie is
sort of a fun just dances around that that premise
of like there's really no reason. We all want the
same thing. We all want to live and be safe
and have our children be safe. It's like, let's see
(03:03):
if we can get together and stop fighting. So this
is a comedic take on trying to solve the problem
with people.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Problem with people is the movie Call Meanie with Paul Riser,
who is the actor, television director, and author and musician
that is joining us. Now you've been at this for
quite a long time. Do you ever find yourself turning
into your dad or turning into the angry man across
the hall?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Oh yeah, yeah, you know. And it's funny. One of
the things that made this movie where cale Meani is
a wonderful actor that some people, you know, you might
not know his name, and you look at his face
go oh yeah, yeah, I love that guy. And we
had never met until we started filming. And one of
the things that we got along so well, and we
(03:49):
played together so off each other so well. And part
of the thing is we're both kind of like the characters, like,
we're decent guys, we're nice guys. We can both be
charming and friendly, and we're both really cranky, and we
both can be irritable and set off by something stupid.
It's like, that's what these characters are. These guys, they're
(04:11):
not bad people. You're rooting for both of them, but
oh why why are they at each other's throat so quickly?
And that's just how we are. But yeah, you know,
the New York and Irish thing. I grew up in
New York, and frankly, when I write something, I don't
know how to write myself anywhere else. I've tried to
write set something in Los Angeles, where I live. I
(04:32):
don't understand it. I go back to New York and
you know, and the story is. The backstory is that
their great grandfathers were two brothers who were finding their
way from Eastern Europe on their way to America, stopped
in Ireland to get a boat, and then one of
(04:53):
them meets a pretty girl and says, I'll catch up
with you, and then he never does. So one of
the brothers goes to America, one of the other one
stays in Ireland, and that's how the family got split,
and the brothers were both angry with each other for
not being together. And so yes, so I think if
you trace us all back, we all do come from
(05:13):
the same place. We all have so much more in
common than we have differences. And this is a funny,
hopefully funny, sweet movie about those differences and the problems,
the problems with people.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
The problem with people is the movie. And it also
stars Paul Riser. Call Meenie. I mean, when you need
angry irishmen, when you need drunk irishmen, when you need
quintessential Irishman, you need to cast call meanie.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah, he is the guy. And Amos said, how'd you
get call Meenie? I said, you know, you call Ireland. Yeah,
he picks up the phone. That's how that's how big
he is.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
He's the guy and he does it so well it
doesn't seem to mind it. Yeah, no, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
And he's walking around Dublin with call Meani. It would
be like walking around you know, the Bronx with janiro Hey.
Everybody knows them. Everybody feels they own him. They're they're
not own and that their family.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
There's just an easy going this So it was a
thrill to to to be with, to have him, you know.
And one of the things that made me so happy
is as a writer, he said, you know, whenever I get.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
A script that's written by an American and writing Irish
countryside or Irish movie, he goes, it's usually every cliche,
you know, the top of the morning to you, he said,
and leprechauns, he goes, and you didn't go anywhere near that,
And it.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Sounds like actual people in Ireland and that made me
feel I was very proud of that. It's like, okay, great,
we we missed every minefield we could have stepped on.
And uh, the fact, the fact that it felt authentic
to him meant the world to me.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
So you had you had a hand in writing it
as well.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, I wrote, Yeah, there was this a movie. I
had this idea a long time ago, and uh, and
I would periodically pick up a pen and start writing it.
And I thought maybe I should write it with somebody.
I found this young writer named Wally Marzano Lesnovitch, the
longest name, I'm not even fit on a jersey.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
And very Irish too.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Yeah. Yeah, non Irish guys writing in Irish movie. But
that was part of it, Like we weren't claiming to
be Irish with like, yes, I'm getting my character gets
himself to Ireland with no idea why or why he's there.
But what was the question?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
See, we were talking about writing and get here anyway. Yeah, okay,
all right, yeah, but see what happens when that's one
of the problems with people. We just start talking with people.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
And it's in theaters now and you can watch it
at home. You can watch it on your Amazon and
Hulu and your Apple TV, and you can enjoy it
in the comfort of your own pajamas.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Paul Riser, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee
Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live
weekday afternoons from five to seven. An iHeartMedia presentation
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