Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini-Ep #32: Ace In The Hole and The Fisher King

Episode Date: October 22, 2015

Each week, comedian Gilbert Gottfried and comedy writer Frank Santopadre share their appreciation of lesser-known films, underrated TV shows and hopelessly obscure character actors -- discussing, dissecting and (occasionally) defending their handpicked guilty pleasures and buried treasures. This week: The cynical cinema of Billy Wilder! Sinbad shills for McDonald's! And Jeff Bridges seeks the Holy Grail! MeUndies is offering you TWENTY PERCENT off your first order at meundies.com/gilbert. That’s a special offer just for GGACP listeners. Make sure you go to meundies.com/gilbert to get twenty percent off your first order of underwear in tons of styles and colors. Our sponsor today is one of the premiere independent labels in the world, DFA Records, based out of downtown New York City and co-founded by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. DFA Records is proud and excited to release the second album from Greek singer songwriter production guru and all around genius savant, Larry Gus. His new album is entitled “I Need New Eyes." Visit the DFA online store @ store.dfarecords.com for more details and to order your copy today. and for 20% off your online order, use coupon code “GILBERT” on the DFA store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Ontario only. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please go to connexontario.ca. Today's episode is brought to you by MeUndies. Get 20% off your first order at MeUndies.com slash Gilbert. Our sponsor today is one of the premier independent labels in the world, independent labels in the world. DFA Records, based out of downtown New York City and co-founded by James Murphy of LCD Sound System.

DFA Records is proud and excited to release the second album from Greek singer-songwriter, production guru, and all-around genius savant Larry Gus. His new album is entitled I Need New Eyes. This new album sees Larry Gus moving slowly out of his sample-based roots and now using clearer songwriting structures as his starting point. His lyrics stare intensely into obsessions, anxieties, and inadequacies, while the music he makes takes on vibrant, sunny, psychedelic pop, percussive, polyrhythmic drums, and multi-layered dense arrangements. Before many critics have compared Larry to everyone from Mad Lib to Caribou to Panda Bear,

it is safe to say on this new album, Larry G Gus has truly found a voice of his own. This fall, Larry will be on tour with the DFA alumni Yacht Inn. October and November playing both East and West Coast, and West Coast, as well as a very special performance at the DFA Halloween Party at Palisades in Brooklyn, New York, Larry Guss' new album is available for sale in multiple formats, including limited pressings on blue vinyl, red vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and digital. DFA Records has been releasing music since 2001, including such iconic indie dance bands as LCD, Sound System, The Rapture, Yacht, Holy Ghost, Hot Chip, Factory Floor, and the Juan McLean. Visit the DFA online store at store.dfarecords.com for more details and to order your copy today. And for 20% off your online order, use coupon code Gilbert at the DFA store. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried,

and this is Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Obsessions. I'm here with my co-host, Frank Santopadre. Again? Yes. What do we got this week? Okay. What's up in Judaism? A movie directed by a Jew.

Okay. Starring a Jew. Wow. I walked right into this. a Jew. Wow. I walked right into this. The great Billy Wilder is the director.

Yes, an Austrian Jew. An Austrian Jew. Yeah. And the Jewish star of this, Kirk Douglas. Oh, I know this movie. This is a good movie. Yes. With two titles. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. You're absolutely right.

No stumping me, buddy. Yeah. Ten o'clock here on a Wednesday. The most famous of the two titles is Ace in the Hole. That's right. And would you like to tell the other time? I think it was the big carnival. The big carnival is absolutely correct. Right. The Big Carnival is absolutely correct. Right. And this was a movie. The plot is in, I think it's Albuquerque, New Mexico.

That sounds right. I haven't seen it in years. Where I think they shot, I think we shot A Million Ways to Die in the West. You did. With Seth MacFarlane. I was a rag. You sure were. You stole the movie from me. Yes.

And it's supposed to be that there are these coal miners, and there's a mine disaster, and a mine collapses, and one guy is trapped. And a mind collapses, and one guy is trapped. And Kirk Douglas starts communicating with him through a small hole in the mountain. And he, Kirk Douglas is a down-on-his-luck reporter who's losing all his jobs, and he's stuck in the middle of nowhere. And now this is making him important. in the middle of nowhere. And now this is making him important.

And he's now calling up his newspaper, and now they desperately want him back, and they're giving him a raise. And he's getting more and more important. The other reporters are jealous of him because he's the only one with access to this coal miner. And then slowly, quickly, actually, not slowly, but quickly, the town gets involved because they see this is a big event. And more and more people are selling stuff around.

And the entire thing becomes a carnival, a literal carnival with rides and attractions yeah and you know there's a crooked sheriff there's one guy at one point who quietly comes in and start when they're when they're doing a tv report and and he says, well, I've worked in mines, and there's an easier and quicker way than the one you're doing. And they quickly shut him up because they want this. They want to soak it for what it's worth. And everybody in the movie is unsympathetic, with the exception of that one guy in the coal mine.

And it shows how the news loves tragedy. And, you know, just the public is in love with tragedy. And it's just as relevant today. Oh, yeah. Maybe even more so than when it came out. Oh, yeah. Well, Wilder was a master of cynicism,

and that's arguably his most cynical movie. Oh, yeah. It's very dark. And Kirk Douglas loved the idea of playing a totally unsympathetic character.

Which he didn't do often. No. Yeah. So, because he, you know, he had those movie star looks. Right, right, right. Yeah. So because he, you know, he had those movie star looks. Right, right, right.

So they would cast him in heroic parts. But in there, he's like, yeah, he's unsympathetic in everybody. I haven't seen it in years. I remember liking it very much when I was on a Wilder kick when I was in college. Interestingly, there's an Andy Griffith show where Andy gets trapped in a cave. And communicates with Barney and Goober. In a previous episode, you leapt to Denver Pyle. That's neither here nor there.

But it's a terrific movie. I have very good memories of it. I love Wilder. And real film noir in that it's a terrific movie. I have very good memories of it. Yeah. You know, I love Wilder. And real film noir in that it's so down. Yeah, yeah. And I think that there was a movie a couple years ago with Travolta and Dustin Hoffman called Mad City. Oh, yes. Which was treading in the same territory.

Yeah, not as good. Was that the one, did it have Andy Garcia? I don't remember. I don't remember. But my recollection of it was that they were trying to do Ace in the Hole. Oh, yeah. That it was a similar story. Yeah, well, second Wilder film you've picked, you picked Double Indemnity.

Oh, yeah. On a previous show. I mean, arguably the greatest American director of Hollywood's golden age. Yeah. Because he could do dramas like Ace in the Hole or Stalag 17 or Double Indemnity. And then he could do light fare like The Apartment or some like it. Oh, The Apartment's pretty dark. But some like it hot.

Or The Fortune Cookie. Some like it hot or the fortune cookie. And I remember in Stalag 17, he used another director, Otto Preminger, as the Nazi. That's right. Otto Preminger was notoriously difficult to work with, they say. Even if you listen to stories of interviews with Adam West and talking about when he played Mr. Freeze. People hated him. They had their hands full with him. Yeah. Not a liked guy.

No. But he did give the world skidoo. Yeah. That one is guy. No. But he did give the world skidoo. Yeah. That one is for Drew Friedman. The Gilbert Gottfried Amazing Colossal Podcast Producer of the Month is DFA Records. Thank you, DFA Records. Be just like DFA Records and get rewarded for supporting our podcast. Head over to patreon.com slash Gilbert Gottfried. For a set amount each month, you can get some colossal benefits, such as access to new podcast episodes before anyone else, early access to tickets to live podcast tapings, exclusive video hangouts. And just added, I will record a personalized roast

of you and only you so you can share with your friends me telling you what a schmuck you are. Well, I don't have to join Patreon for that. And you don't have to pay me either because you are a schmuck. That I do for free. I want no money. That's my, I just speak the truth.

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Thank you for your generosity. And thank you, DFA Records. My film, interestingly, is also about a tragedy. Yes. This podcast. No, it's the Sinbad movie you brought up before.

When the mics were off. What was the name of that one? Run right now to see Houseguest. What was it? House what? Houseguest. Houseguest. House Guest. What was it?

House what? House Guest. House Guest. With one of the last times the tragic, what's his name, whose wife shot him? Oh, Phil Hartman. Phil Hartman. Yeah. That had to be one of those movies that, aside from being really bad,

and every character's an idiot, it's also like a two-hour commercial for McDonald's. Oh, a lot of product placement. There's a part in the movie where he's walking through the town, he sees a McDonald's, and his eyes open up wide. And then in slow motion, he's running as they're playing You Deserve a Break Today. Oh, unbelievable. Yeah, so it's a good, good film. How about House Guest, House Party, and House Sitter?

Oh, yeah. All in one triple. I was in House Party 3. With Kid and Play? Yes. You were in one of those? Yes. Because you're down with the hood.

Yeah. Yo, yo.? You in one of those? Yes. Because you're down with the hood. Yeah. Yo, yo. Who's blacker than you? My tragedy film is not a Sinbad film, and it's not Carrot Top in Chairman of the Board. It's a movie, and this is funny. How many of these have we done? And I don't think I've brought up my favorite contemporary actor. I mean, I love Paul Newman.

We've talked a lot about Paul Newman. And I think, you know... Half a Jew. Half a Jew, Paul Newman. I don't think you're going to get any Jewishness here. But for all intents and purposes, my favorite leading man of the last 15 or 20 years is Jeff Bridges. Oh, yeah. Who I think is a terribly underrated actor who's made a slew of wonderful movies, and

this may be my favorite. This is from 1991 called The Fisher King. Oh, with Robin Williams. With Robin Williams. Do you know this one? Oh, yeah. And Bridges plays a kind of Howard Stern character. Yeah.

Shock Chalk, who inadvertently causes a tragedy. He eggs on a mentally unstable caller who winds up committing a crime, a murder that takes the life of Robin Williams' wife in the film. Robin Williams is introduced to us as a homeless person in the park, who we later come to know as a, we find out that he's a professor at Hunter College. And this tragedy that happens that Jeff Bridges' character is the indirect cause of causes Robin Williams' character to lose his mind and search for the Holy Grail. And that's a lot of plot. Yes.

But that's what the movie's about. It's a very original story by a guy named Richard LaGravenese. A very, very effective film. Mercedes Ruhl turns up, and in fact, she won the Oscar. Oh, wow. As Jeff Bridges' girlfriend. Do you remember the film? Oh, yes.

Yeah. And Robin Williams is just terrific in it. the oscar oh wow as jeff bridge's girlfriend do you remember the film oh yes yeah and robin williams is just terrific in it uh and there's a little groucho homage uh oh yeah he sings lydia sings lydia the tattooed lady the only thing that pissed me off there yeah is they changed it from up the hill comes andrew jackson to up the hill comes Michael Jackson, which pissed me off. Well, he just did a little bit of improvisation there. There's a beautiful set piece in Grand Central Station,

which I won't give too much away. I won't divulge too much. See the movie if you haven't seen it. It's not that obscure a film. It's a terrific film, a very original film, I think. And I think, you know,

Robert Williams did some good stuff, but I think it's his best film. I met Jeff Bridges on The Tonight Show. And I remember I wanted, when I found out he was going to be on the show, I got very excited. Are you a fan like I am?

It's not so much being a fan. I do admire his work. I mean, I liked out he was going to be on the show, I got very excited. Are you a fan like I am? It's not so much being a fan. I do admire his work. I mean, I liked when he was that country western singer. Oh, Crazy Heart. Yeah. Yeah. I thought he was better than the movie. I agree.

Yeah. I agree. I thought his performance is what holds you. So why I was really excited is I still have it in a little scrapbook, one of those scrapbooks with a plastic sheet, sticks to the page, and these little, like, paper photos. When I was a kid, me and my sisters went from Brooklyn to Manhattan on the subway, and we went to Central Park.

When that was like a happening thing, Bethesda Fountain used to be hopping and all that. Still there, Bethesda Fountain, yeah. But that used to be there. It'd be like hippies and folk singers. Oh, I see, I see. And while we were walking in the park, I was a kid. My parents, when I was about on my 13th birthday, got me a little Instamatic camera that had the little cube.

Oh, sure. Oh, yeah. The flash cube. You had to replace it after you used the four sides. And it had a cartridge that you put in that had the film. Right. And I was walking around with my Kodak Instamatic camera. Yep.

And in front of us there, we see Lloyd Bridges. Oh, no kidding. And I take out my camera. And he even, you could see, he like stopped and put his hands on his hips and smiles like he's posing. And I snapped two shots of Lloyd Bridges. Wow. So I had to show them to Jeff. So you brought them?

Yeah. I think I was more excited about it than he was because, you know, to him, it's like, yeah, I've seen my father. Oh, you were let down. Yeah. Oh, that's too bad. And so now he's in that category now with Harrison Ford, people I met who for, you know, nothing against them. Of course. I met who for, you know, nothing against them. Of course.

They were nice people, but I just can't watch their films anymore because it was an uncomfortable meeting. Oh, I see. Well, I wouldn't let that deprive you of the work of Jeff Bridges. Yeah, no, I can't watch him now. What about Fabulous Baker Boys or Fearless? And if there's a movie with Jeff Bridges and Harrison Ford together, forget it. I'll firebomb the theater that's showing that one.

I had a similar experience backstage at The View. I had my uncle went to high school, grammar school, with Alec Baldwin's father, Alec Baldwin Sr. Oh, yeah. And he gave me some report cards and things of Alec Baldwin's father. And I thought, this is going to be a big deal deal i'll pull this out in the green room at the view and i'll show it to him and he was grateful and gracious but completely completely non-plus exactly i've seen pictures of my dad before yeah exactly like jeff bridges was with me i feel your pain my friend but uh yeah i could go on and on about it. Oh, and it was a terrible thing, too,

because I wanted to tell him the story about how it was me and my sisters, and I was a little boy, and we travel into Manhattan. And when I started into that story, he goes, yeah, yeah, like, hurry it up. This just keeps getting worse. worse yeah it was so terrible he was very nice to me when i met him yeah so is that does that mitigate this at all no

no he was nice you could see his movies i can't and i had an uncomfortable meeting with John Turturro. Okay, lay it on me. Oh, also, this was at the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary. And I always liked Quiz Show. Oh, yeah. I don't know if I'll ever recommend it. I love Quiz Show. Because John Turturro's in it. Mario Cantone's in it. Oh, yes, yes.

He talked about that. And I remember, so in this I this was recently I went over to John Totoro because I wanted to talk to him about how I love that. And and and he I don't know, he might be one of those actors uncomfortable in his own skin. It might be that, you know, a lot of those like the De Niro thing where you can't talk to him or approach him. Yeah. If they've got a script, they're fine. If they, if they have to look at you in person, they can't do it. So he might be one of those guys, but at any rate, I had taped a quiz show and that evening,

first thing I did when I got home was erase quiz show, and that evening, first thing I did when I got home was erase the quiz show. You really take these things personally. Yes, yes. And so I'm never watching another John Turturro film. Is there a possibility that Buscemi got to him after the Steve Buscemi? And that was the problem with John Turturro? That your reputation preceded you?

Yes. But you were beloved that night at SNL. I've seen the pictures. Yeah. All the people that volunteered to do the show that have never done it since that night. That was a successful night, wasn't it, Dara? Oh, yes. Everybody wants to get into the act.

Yeah. All right. So the two movies from a year ago. I apologize for bringing up Jeff Bridges. I didn't know I was going to lead you down a traumatic path. The two movies are? Don't talk to me. It better not be Raiders of the Lost Ark.

What about Bo Bridges? Have you had any issues? Never met him. It better not be Raiders of the Lost Ark. What about Bo Bridges? Have you had any issues with him? Never met him. Oh, no? But trust me, I was thinking maybe I could still show the photos to Bo, and he would like them. So I'm guessing between the Totoro trauma and the Bridges trauma, you're definitely not watching The Big Lebowski.

No, no, no. I will never watch that again. That one was at your hands. Yes. So the two movies are The Fisher King and... Ace in the Hole, also known as The Big Carnival with Kirk Douglas. See you next time.

Before we leave, we wanted to remind you that you can get 20% off the world's most comfortable underwear. MeUndies.com slash Gilbert. What are you waiting for? Go there right now. Are you there? I'm not kidding. MeUndies.com slash Gilbert. You'll thank me.

Hi, Gilbert and Frank with a little extra correction here because every time there's any kind of a screw up or confusion, everybody starts tweeting angrily. Yeah, you people are obsessive. Yes. Unlike us. So you had named the movie with John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman. Oh, I was saying how Mad City, which is a John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman movie, was kind of kind of had echoes of Wilder's Ace in the Hole. And then I started to confuse it.

And I said, oh, was that Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia? Right. Which was not that movie. No, that was a movie called Hero. Yeah. With Chevy Chase and Gina Davis. Right. That was that was a I'll be kind and Chevy Chase and Gina Davis. Right. That was a, I'll be kind

and I'll say an homage. Yes. To Capra's Beach on Doe. And there's even a scene in it where Andy Garcia is about to jump off the roof of a building. Right. Yeah, with Gina Davis

and the Barbara Stanwyck part, and I think Chevy is the, if I recall correctly, is the newspaper editor. Ah, yes. Sort of in the James Gleeson kind of part. Yeah. You got your movie that ripped off Wilder confused with your movie that ripped off Capra.

Yes. And I think where James Gleeson has that famous line, he goes, the people talking. Beat that, Norton. That's it. Gleeson and Norton, as you pointed out on the previous show. Okay, so save us your tweets on this one. Colossal Obsessions Colossal Obsessions