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Oh, listen, our so glad you joined us, but we get this gonna be a real quick episode because our net's got a pee. I gotta take a leak so bad. I'm gonna do the episode and then you're gonna pee or you want to see you're gonna pee and then we're gonna do the episode. You're gonna pee now away. I tell you what, I'm gonna run out during the music. Yeah, and then during the music, I'll be paying right now. It's an all new spark. Okay, I got something. I got something. Ready? Here we go. Sean's got something. Hang on. Why doesn't look like you're reading off a cue card? Are you reading off cue cards today? Are you talking about? Do you have to, if you're flip your camera around? It's got you imagine Scotty's just like dropping them. Just like Wally, who we mentioned, we haven't mentioned in Wally over at SNL. He was the greatest cue card guy of all time. Who is the brother of a spike? A spike first. Yeah. Wait, what? Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know that. We've talked about Wally before. He's the one. Yeah. And Super night. Wally. Wally. Wait, I got something like about, you know, for Christmas a month or two ago, whenever Christmas was. Sure. Scotty got me this. It's called Wubles. The Wubles learn to crochet. Kit. Yeah. That qualifies as a present in your house, huh? Yeah. And it's everything's in this box. And you know why he got you that instead of because he got sick of saying, shut up. Shut up. So he just thought, fuck, he'll be distracted. He just, and then I don't have to say, spend my day going, shut up. Shut the fuck up. What? Now you're busy being quiet and knitting and he's got a couple of weapons around now. They come with the kit just in case you start to run your mouth again. Right. But it isn't that good. Wait, Jay, didn't you say you used to crochet or something? No, my sister did. My sister used to have a knitting. True. No, I said, no, my great grandmother did. Back in the home, said, my great grandmother did when they were just, you know, you know, trying to wait the winter out. They, she did. That's what I think I always meet now. That little starter kid is unopened. Did this been I know because I sense Christmas. I know. I know. She know, you know, my mom, my mom knits a lot and she knits the kid's sweater. This is true story and she knits the kid's sweater. It's for Christmas and stuff. She just sent some new one. Why wouldn't it be true? And I know. I know. And she would love to knit you boys a sweater. So would you both like a cardigan or a v-neck or a crew neck? I like a v-neck. I like Alex. Ask Alex nicely and she'll do it. Alex, Alex, can you please make me a v-neck? Something that I can wear when I play golf with your son. Don't make it a turtle neck because I can't pull those off. And I know, I know very few people that can't. Thick or do you want to kind of, thick or kind of thin? You know, good. But then, okay, Johnny, I would like, I would like a crew neck for me, sin. But for Jason, can the Vee go all the way down to show some of his cleavage? You look pretty much. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, both. But you want a crew neck, Sean. I want a crew neck, Alex, please. Yes. And maybe Alex maybe put in some sort of a catch pouch, like a kangaroo catch pouch for Sean, just for the promise. That's yeah. And you guys want like some Canadian, you want a little Canadian flag on it or like, no, no, no, thank you. I would do that. Don't say so quick like that. But an American flag. Okay. Jesus. I'll do like a nice little tiny maple flag. That'd be cool. Like in a corner of the back or something. You know what? The Canadian, actually, if you think about it, this is a good tie-in to our next guest. You like Segways. You like Segways? I think you just did the Segway right there. Let's get right into it. We're into a Segway. Oh, yeah. As a Canadian, he's somebody who's been making me laugh and also making me feel like, wow, this is so great that somebody Canadian who's from where I'm from can do this. It's on to high level. So it's inspirational. This is going to be a funny and I want we've only sort of passed really sort of said hello kind of once. And of course, he was just as gracious and had good vibe and kind of spirit that you could feel as I thought he would be in addition to being super super hilarious. And once I start listing his credits, you're going to know who it is. But suffice to say that he created a show that won nine Emmys one year, which is the biggest ever four comedy in one year, including picking up two of his zone. He comes from his background in comedy is like of the highest order from just, you know, his credits are comedies that are just enshrined in the Mount Rushmore of comedy, whether it be sketch or film. And then he went on to TV to create this series that he created with his son. They did this series for about seven or eight seasons. Let's get some making him wait. Great. You gene levy. Good Lord. You gene. He is. Gentlemen. How are you? How are you? Better now. I know. I feel like jumping out of a cake, but I there's no cake. Eugene, I'm going to I'm going to see you for dinner tomorrow. What? Yes. Fantastic. Boy, if I've never seen a look of shock before, neither was shock. And I've never seen a look at that dinner. How can I get out of this on someone's face? Sean, where's this dinner that he doesn't know about? It's that Martin. Where are you valiant tomorrow? Oh, at Marty's. Oh, yeah. No, I don't valet. Eugene, I got to tell you, man, you know, as a Canadian, as a fellow Canadian, I'm just, first of all, I love that we're having yet another person who is part of the incredible production of God's Bell in Toronto from 1971 or whatever it was. The greatest cast that opened it. They're open at the Royal Alexander and moved up to the, I think, the Bayview playhouse, Bayview playhouse with the greatest cast of all time. Wait, is Bayview kind of small or I don't know that? Well, it's kind of out of the Lisa. It was it was a smaller theater in a section of the city that that was not what you would call the theater district. No, no. I'm not sorry. I'm not sure what what the district was, but, but it was a theater that we got to move into because they they kicked us out. They only had us in the Royal Alex for three months. It was only booked over the summer, right? When they're when when everything is kind of low key there. Yeah. So we had to be out in September. So they found this other theater and we were there for the for another year. But, um, and remind us remind us, Eugene, yeah, who else was in the cast? Remind us. Yes. Okay. Well, Victor Garber, of course, was our was our Jesus. Yeah. And he, he, he only played in the show for a month because they hired him to do the movie. So as soon as we opened the show, he was only in it for a month and then he got to go to New York and and then shoot the movie. Sure. And so, uh, Andrea Martin, of course, was was in that show, but Andrea didn't get hired initially. Um, and there was another girl that got hired for that classic day by day song. Day by day. Call her the day by day girl. I'm sorry Eugene. Sorry, really quick. And really, should we have to wrap up? No, no, no, I was just going to say if, if, if, share, if share sang day by day, it would be dobado. Okay, go ahead. He's got to read when it comes to that. He's got to get it out. Uh, so anyway, this girl got pregnant and they they had to let her go. And so there was an opening and I was friends with Andrea at the time. So I, um, I called her to say, uh, you know, we have the, the, the director's having a party tomorrow night. Why don't you come to the party and just bring your A game? Okay, because, you know, you, you, they're looking for a replacement. And she did. And she was hysterical that night. Of course. And the next day the director calls in New York and says, you know, we, I think I found the girl and, and, and, and there you go. Andrea got in. Marty short, my good friend from Hamilton Ontario. We went to school together. And I talked Marty into coming in and auditioning for the show because I had auditioned for it. He was still writing his final exams and McMaster University at the still is, by the way. And I, I said, well, he works a little slower. Yeah. Not true. So he was in it. Um, um, um, um, um, Guilter Radner. Oh, all in the cast. Dave Thomas. Uh, Dave Thomas was in it. He was in the, um, uh, what, uh, Marty likes to call the B cast. It was like when, when everybody left after a year, they brought in a new cast and Dave came in as the new cast. I see, I see. I see. And not Dave Thomas from Wendy's just for listening around. Not, not that. That's it. I was. Dave Thomas was a great way to, the great. It was, it was, it was, it was great. It was a great, it really was a fun time. And, and the great thing is we're still friend. We're all friends. I know. We came friends back then. And we're still friends. And was it because of that that you started second city? I see, oh, that's my good expression. I see how did SETV all those same people end up, or a lot of those people end up in SETV? What was that migration? Well, we were very fortunate in Toronto back then in 72 because these were kind of bigger American productions that were coming into town. And we happened to hook like with Godspell was coming in from New York. So we, you know, we auditioned for it. We, Marty and I, you know, got in. There were like probably 500 people auditioning for the show. And, and we, and both of us got in. And again, when Godspell ran its course, second city moved up from Chicago to open a Toronto branch. And so, you know, we all went out and auditioned for that. Eugene, with all of these, all these folks being such elite, comedic minds at that time from that region. I mean, I bet you've been asked this question a million times. So, I apologize. What's in the water? Yeah. Can you attribute it to anything? Was there, was there a, was there a, a, a leader, a tonal, comedic tonal leader that kind of freed all you guys up to kind of do the same hilarious take on things? I think I might have been the leader. Yeah. Sure. Like the leader. No, I'm, that's not true. I, you know, the odd thing is, I'm not, you know, I've never been the biggest, the biggest thing I've had to deal with in my life is being introduced as comedian Eugene Levy because I'm not, I'm actually not a, not a comedian as, as so far 20 minutes into this, you guys can attest. You know, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've always gotten my life through characters and everything else, but as a, as a, as a human being, I'm not, you know, I don't consider myself. I don't, I don't kind of look through that comic prism the way, look at life through that prism the way stand-ups do, you know, everything. Sure. Has to be funny. So, but you love improv and bits and stuff like that, right? Yeah, you are all like that. Sure, because you can still get to do it through character. Yeah. Yeah. The scariest thing for me ever performing was playing anybody close to myself and then I would just like really just climb up and say, why am I doing this? You know, but, you know, give me a mustache and some, you know, slinky glasses and a hat, no? Well, the slinky glasses, you just have to attach to the frames you have now. No, but I get that. I feel the same way when people sort of say, well, sometimes say comedian and I'm like, well, I'm not a comedian. I'm not a stand-up. I didn't come up through that. I didn't even, I mean, at least you were in second city, so you were doing sketch comedy and then you did SETV, which was, you know, filmed sketch comedy. I didn't even do any of that either. So, I, but I, I get that when people kind of slap that on, you're, and you're like, well, I don't really think of myself as a, as a, as a comedian. Although, man, I got to say you, Gina, I've gone back and looked at so many. And if, you know, I've actually grew up with SETV. And again, as a Canadian and growing up in Toronto, I, I, you know, we were so proud that we had SETV came from Toronto and we were so, we looked up to you guys. So, you guys were the, the people that I watched and, and we was able to go like, these guys did it. I mean, you know, not if these guys can do it. We can do it. We looked up to you guys. Well, you know, when you're starting anything in Canada or Toronto, the way we did, you, it has to, like for example, SETV was, you know, we started when SNL came on in what, 75. We came on in 76 because Bernie Solens, who owned the second city theater back then, you know, which is said, well, you know, we're losing all our people to SNL because SNL was kind of, you know, half second city and half lampoon basically when they started. So, all our, all our people are going to be going to SNL. We should start our own show. So, we came up with the, you know, SETV, second city television. And, you know, our, while they were the toast of Broadway in New York, you know, we had our budget was $7,000 a show when we, when we started SETV. And it was only a Toronto show back in 76. And an SETV, in second, in SETV, it was you, Catherine O'Hara, John Candy, Marty Short again. Again, it was all of these other people that are now just known as comedic, you know, was Martin Mollapart of that? No, no, no, no, no. I'm at, I'm at Martin Moll when we were, when we were working on, well, anyway, I kind of wanted to won, but I met him on a movie. We were both doing a thing called, are you nervous about serving prison time or something? Yeah, we've all been locked up. Well, it's actually, it's actually a funny story, but it was already, we were working on a one of those, you know, Richie Rich things back years ago. Richie Richie. And, you know, Christmas wish or something. Richie Rich in the Christmas wish, I watch it every year. I was playing a guy, I was playing a professor, professor keen bean, and I was playing, I was a, that was kind of a Brit, and a big mustache, and very, very excitable. And I was playing him like that with a mustache and glasses. And we were on a break on the set one day, and I'm sitting beside Martin, and looked at him, I said, Martin, what are we doing here? Paying bill. And he said, hey, it doesn't say asshole on the check. So, I, that's really funny. That was, that was meeting Martin, but no, Martin was not a part of that, but it's, but it's like I was saying in Toronto, you know, and back in the early 70s, that's like Dan Acroid and, uh, girl named Valerie Bromfield and, you know, and John Candy, right? So I mean, they said, these, these, these were, these people were just, I mean, that was kind of the scene, uh, back then, and eventually everybody kind of hooked up either on Godspell or, or on Second City. And we will be right back. We get support from visible. So guys, you know how hard it is to plan something, right? So right now, I'm working on, uh, planning a game night. It's super fun, but it's like a lot of work, and I'm excited to do it, but it's a little overwhelming, just like planning anything, right? And I know Valentine's Day is coming up. Oh, God, it's a plan. Something's like, being scottied, you're like, can't we just watch TV? Like, I don't know. It's like, it's hard to plan anything, isn't it? So why would I want to be on a kind of like family plan? You know, when it's hard enough for one person, could you imagine everybody chipping in and doing it? I don't know. It's, it gets crazy. So today's episode is sponsored by Visible who wants to simplify your life by separating your phone from your family. Visible offers their best rate all on one line, not four lines, not three, not even two, just a one line wireless plan with unlimited data for $30 a month, taxes and fees included, all powered by Verizon. Switch today at Visible.com and get 20 bucks off your first month when you use code SmartList20. That's SmartList20, a special offer for smartless listeners, offer ends March 31st. New activation offer code required for data management practices learn more at Visible.com. Additional terms apply. SmartList get support from Diet Coke. Throughout the whole year, not just Valentine's Day, Diet Coke reminds you to love what you love. So this holiday embraces the spirit of investing in the most important relationship you have, the one with yourself. Self-love is anything, but selfish. Diet Coke has been loved for its crisp, refreshing taste for over 40 years. So if you need confidence to make a bold move this Valentine's Day, like taking yourself out to dinner or heading to a movie solo, Diet Coke is the fuel to unapologetically make that move. Diet Coke is the inspiration to stay true to doing things your way and to love what you love. I know Valentine's Day is an everyone's favorite. Like, why does dinner or flowers matter more on February 14th and the other day? I don't get it. For me and Scotty, every day is Valentine's Day. So we don't do anything. Do you know what I mean? However, don't forget to fill your own cup up, especially if you're single or not necessarily looking. And for us, that cup is a glass of Diet Coke. If you need to pick me up to help you make a bold romantic gesture or simply take yourself out of date, Diet Coke is the ultimate partner. So my friends, embrace love this Valentine's Day with Diet Coke and love what you love. SmartList is sponsored by BetterHelp. You know, I'm going to talk about when I feel my best self, when I feel my best self, I am at home and I'm in the safe space of my relationship with Scotty. And I can just kind of talk about almost anything. But there are certain things that I like to talk about with a therapist that makes me feel my best self and it helps me get there, right? So because when you're at your best, you can do great things. But sometimes life gets you bogged down and you may feel overwhelmed or like you're not showing up in the way that you want to. So working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of you. Because when you feel empowered, you're more prepared to take on everything life throws out you. So like I have therapy in two hours, right? It is true from the time I'm recording this. And I know I always feel better afterwards because those certain things that I can't talk to Scotty about or anybody like a friend that I keep for myself. But I know it's safe to talk to a therapist about it because you know, it's not going anywhere. It's just a conversation between me and her and we get I get a lot done with that. I get it out of my head and into hers and it always, always helps. So if you're thinking of giving therapy, you try better help is a great option. It's convenient, flexible, affordable, and entirely online. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists any time for no additional charge. If you want to live a more empowered life therapy can get you there. Visit betterhelp.com slash smartless today to get 10% off your first month. That's better help help.com slash smartless. And now back to the show. When did you first work with with Christopher Guest? Well, I first encountered, well, listen, Chris was I was a fan of Chris's from the National Anodas, you know, when I'd listen to the radio broadcast. And I knew, you know, Bill was on Bill Murray was on that and Guilda Radner and Ben Paul Schaefer and Harold Ramos. And they, you know, but there was a guy who did voices and characters that just blew me away. And I kept thinking, who is this guy? He had the most incredible voice, you know, that kind of deep, nasally kind of thing. And his characters were insane. And I laughed so hard. And found out that this, this guy's name was Chris Guest. And then I met him on a Billy Crystal special in the mid 80s, 85. But we didn't work together. But when he was on camera, I made sure I was on set that day. And I would just sit and watch him. Yeah. And try not to laugh and blow the, you know, blow the take. I got to work with him again in the late 80s directing one of Marty's specials. I'm Martin Short goes Hollywood. And Chris was on that working with Marty. And they played two gossip columnists and basically improvised their entire rant on camera. And again, it was still the funniest footage that, you know, I, I have to date. So cut to mid 90s. I get a call in Toronto. And it's Chris Guest on the phone. And he said, I'm thinking of working on a movie. Would you want to, would you want to work on it with me? And I, you know, and my heart was kind of palpitating over the phone because I, I mean, I didn't know him. I just worked, you know, I can. Yeah. Huge. And that movie was, well, the movie turned out to be waiting for Guff. I'm sorry. I said, you know, I've got a cabin up in the, I, I, I do hoe and, and, you know, we can go up there and work. And I thought, Jesus, what am I? You know, I don't know this. I, I I try to get me away for the weekend. No, but working in a cabin, working on a script. What happens? It's a duck tape. What's going? What happens if it doesn't work out? What happens if it's, you know, a nightmare? How do I get to the airport? Right. How did he present that project? Did he say it was all going to be improvised? Or that there was going to be some sort of a loose script or not? No, he, at the time, he just said, oh, I'm thinking of putting it together. Would you want to help write it? And so I said, what's the worst that can happen? If it, just, if it's, if it doesn't work out, I just got to the airport and fly home. And that's it. So I went there. I flew there. And from the time he picked me up at the airport to the time we got to the cabin, I was laughing so hard. And, you know, and I had him laughing as well. And we, we started working on this thing. And I knew from spinal tap. Listen, when I saw spinal tap, I was so envious of anybody that was in it. It was the most brilliant thing I had ever seen. Could for you for being honest that you were envious. A lot of people would say, I love that. I love that you saw you were envious. No, I was envious. Listen, my good friend Paul Schaeffer was in it. And he's not even an actor. Right. So Eugene, you know, I have to tell you, when I went to go see, waiting for Gough Moon, it first came out half, I forget the year that it came out. But this is a badge of honor. I'm about to say half the theater walked out because they didn't understand that it was improvised. They didn't get the comedy. And the other half of the theater was like crying laughing. I mean, and so it was just interesting. Was this in this country or like far east? This country. And then as people caught on and realized, oh, this is an understood, the comedy understood the improv. It became this huge, huge hit, you know, but for my sister Tracy, a lot of it's improvised, right? So it's not a script with with specific dialogue. Yeah. It was just an outline, saying like, this scene will be about this. And yeah, yeah, Sean, it was just like in Illinois, you could probably hear like the 300 ounce mountain Dew's hitting the ground as people stomped out. I'm going to say stomped out with thunder down. But it was really kind of a unique different style of comedy that people didn't see before. And I think people didn't get it. And now they do. So in the mold of spinal tap, this is what Chris was putting together with waiting for government. So, you know, we did we put together a very, you know, detailed outline. We, you know, we lay out the story. We lay out all the story points seen by scene so that it moves. Yeah. You know, otherwise it's like, it's just a free for all of improvisation. And like, you know, you're in trouble. And, you know, you can't pay an editor. You have to have an idea, you have to have an idea of where you're going and what your objective is. Yeah. So, so we laid everything out. But what and and if we had some funny lines, we would put them in the script if we thought it was funny, but but we didn't hold anybody to saying them. We just, we put that in. But more or less, how the information came out was up to the brilliant cast. So the script would basically be this, this is what the scene should be about. This information should be revealed in this. Yes. Yes. Korky walks into rehearsal very upset because he's, you know, one of the great characters of all time of all times. It really. And you know, it's so funny. Catherine, I was just talking to Catherine here the other day. And she was telling me because I was like, how when you made those movies, I was asking her, did you guys not just break up laughing constantly? Because I would have been on the floor. And she goes, that she told me, I don't know if it was that or best in show where she, you did, she said, I she did something, somebody did something that made you laugh so hard, but you didn't want to ruin the take. So you crawled out of the scene on your speaking being on the floor. Yeah. That was that was in Goughman. And that was, of course, Korky. That was Chris. And he had this, you know, you remember the dance movie had with his pants on backwards. Yes, of course. He would kind of, yeah, that's the thing with, yeah. And that got me every time. And I just could not stop laughing. So there's a scene in the movie where he's teaching us choreography. And he, and every time he makes this move, I go crazy and I start laughing. So I work my way to the back of the group. So I could hide behind them. And then I was actually still gut laughing so hard that I dropped to my knees. And I crawled off the set so that they could keep shooting. And nobody, you know what I mean? It's a group scene. It didn't matter. That's the stairwell. That's so good. But that troop that you guys cultivated curated, all those actors, you guys went on to do a few movies together. How many? I mean, I wish you guys would just keep going and going. Might be wins, best in the show, Goughman for your consideration. Wow. You know, it occurs, it occurs to me, Eugene, that you, if you think about it just occurs to me, like looking back at starting with God's bell. And then second city, SCTV. And then working with Chris Guest and that whole crew that you really, it seems to me, and you can tell me if you, if this is right, that you enjoy working and collaborating within an ensemble, that you get a lot out of that process. And you really, and you really shine in an ensemble. It really, you know, even, even the show you did with your son, which I want to get to with Dan, that you love being part of almost like a troop each time. There's a, there's a similarity there that you create a community. Do you, do you enjoy that? Does that make you, does that invigorate? Oh, yeah. Well, of course. I mean, yeah, it, it, it, it, it, to be a part of it, yeah, it energizes you. You've all had that experience. I mean, you guys, you know, will and grace must have been like that arrest a development must have been like that. Yeah, super fun. You know, it, it's, you enjoy watching other people. Yeah, doing their thing. Yeah, it's, you know, yeah, and it's infectious. One plus one makes three. Yeah, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's insane. And it's, and it's kind of fun. It's fun work. Those movies were, were fun work because you never really know what, you know, what's going to happen. When we did government, my first scene, even though we were writing it and I knew it was an improvised movie, my first day of shooting, when I got to, where Austin, we were shooting in Texas, Lockhart, Texas actually was the town. We got there and I'm, I'm ready to shoot my scene. I go in and then I say to Chris, um, so where do you want to rehearse? He said, what do you mean? I said, well, where do you want to go over the scene? Where do you want to, where should we work it out? What, what do you mean? Yeah. I said, just to rehearse the scene, he said, no, the cameras are there. Um, we're going to be doing it on camera first take. First take. I said, Oh, oh, okay. So we do it just on camera. Yeah. Okay. No practice. And that, you know, but that, that becomes a very kind of joyous experience because you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know what people are necessarily going to say. How they're going to say it. What's going to happen? And it's kind of, and holding it together is, is kind of a key thing we learned over the move over the number of movies that as much as you want to laugh like we did in government because it was just so much fun. It was like kids, kids at school, you know, doing a play. What, what, what is your secret? Do you have a, do you have a secret trick not to laugh? I, I mean, I, I like to drive of nail into my, my fingernail into my leg. Well, I want to hear, I want to hear Eugene's trick because I know what Jason's real one is. Go ahead, Eugene. I, I wouldn't, I, you know what the thing is, I think, I think it's just bearing the brunt of how disappointing it would be if there's a great take happening. And you blow it by laughing. Right. And when you're improvising a scene, you will never get that exact moment again, you know, it just won't happen again. Right. Right. Right. So if you're the one that blows it, you're going to have to go back and do it. And are you going to get the same thing? Probably not. So there's a moment that's gone. So just the guilt factor alone. And it wasn't your moment, but by definition, you know, you're laughing at what someone else is creating and you're wrecking their creation. Yeah. Sometimes, you know, it's, if it's my moment, there's a possibility I might laugh. Right. Yeah. Because I, I surprise myself. And I, I, I can't really hold back. I mean, great. If you say, and it's my moment because I, because I'm my biggest fan. Yeah. And, and I enjoy my work. I enjoy my work. Yeah. We'll be right back. We'd like to thank Helix for supporting the show. So I talked about this before. I got the Helix Dusk Lux mattress, not only before the comfiness of that mattress, but I like saying the name Helix Dusk Lex. But what I love about the Helix Dusk Lux mattress is that my dog, my dog Ricky, sleeps on the bed and spra, like he's a hundred pounds the dog. And he spreads out everywhere. And it's, I always, always worried right when I got the mattress and the dog. I was like, Oh, God, I'm never going to sleep. We both, you, you can walk in any night and find both of us snoring, like crazy. Like, so it's not just for me. It's actually Ricky sleeps great on the bed too. 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This is their best offer yet and it won't last long with Helix better sleep starts now. We're brought to you in part by Zip Recruiter. So in honor of Valentine's Day this month, it's kind of like important to factor in all the things when you're trying to find the right person and there would be in the right relationship. You do look for personality or humor or obviously attraction or loyalty or trust or similar life goals and values like all that stuff. Too bad there's not some sort of technology that can easily find the right person for you. But if you're hiring there is technology that can quickly help you find the right person for your open role. Zip Recruiter's matching technology. And right now you can try for free at ziprecruiter.com slash smartless. How does ziprecruiter help you meet desirable candidates? Well ziprecruiter uses smart matching technology to identify the most qualified people for a wide range of roles. If you see the one, ziprecruiter makes it easy to send them a personal invite so they're more likely to apply to your job. Want to really catch their eye? Ziprecruiter offers attention grabbing labels that speak to job flexibility like urgent training provided remote and more. Find candidates you're crazy about with ziprecruiter. Employers love ziprecruiter. In fact four out of five employers who post on ziprecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. See for yourself. Go to this exclusive web address to try ziprecruiter for free. ziprecruiter.com slash smartless. Again, that's ziprecruiter.com slash smartless. ziprecruiter the smartest way to hire. And now back to the show. I would like to know I would like to talk about what we're not talking about, which is Shots Creek, which I know this is all the build up. Well, you created a show when I sensations with your son with your son Dan. And it's one of the greatest comedies of all time now. And I've been sitting here since you got on. I want to talk about it. And how do I want to know how it happened? And because I love Dan Dan's like such a he's you. He's like sweet, normal, hilarious, funny, great like outgoing like everybody loves him. Everybody loves you. So how did that happen? And how can't confirm because I haven't met him yet, but it sounds right. He seems. Well, why don't you mean it would love to get your take on him? Yeah. And if you let you know what you think of his son, too, that'd be nice. I'll put it up on my blog. What a fucking dick. What is your name? No, he's done. He has I have to say my both my kids have all the talent that the dad didn't quite have. But yes, I'm going to be. He's really quite quite amazing. And we started this thing. You know, when he said, do you want to work on a show? I, you know, I said, yeah, yeah, that would be good. I didn't I never thought that would happen. Yeah. So, but that was good. And it was watching it was like watching him. No matter what happened, I it was the experience of doing this with him that I thought, okay, this is probably a once in a lifetime thing. Yeah. Just make, make, you know, make the most of it. Enjoy it. This is great. Never thought it would happen. And, and so we start working on this. And then, you know, I, I had a one point. I had a nightmare. I woke up in a cold sweat thinking, what if he doesn't have it? Sure. Sure. At what point? I mean, we're going to keep working on this idea. Face replacement. You told Marty. If I know that he doesn't quite have what it takes. Yeah. How long are we going to keep working on this as a project? Or at what point do I sit him down? And do I tell him he just doesn't have it? Sure. Yeah. It's a tough call. You know, or do we, or do we just keep working away? Yeah. It's like, well, when will some media, you know, where he's kind of deluding himself. Right. And, you know, you think Sophie had a choice. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Wow. So I decided. But, but anyway, his work was, his writing was great. His ideas were great. And so that never really happened. And when we got to the point of starting the show, he really, really exploded in terms of performing, in terms of writing, and then his producing skills in his well. I mean, it's so, you're doing so funny. I remember watching just from the first episode, the pilot episode, all the way through that, especially that first season, just getting to know and seeing all these moves and seeing how funny it wasn't just saying, God, this is so good. And what, but what was the moment that maybe, maybe not even through your own lens? Do you remember kind of somebody else that you knew or respected when you worked with and, and, and they were exposed to the material or to the show? And did anybody stop and say to you like, Hey, Eugene, hey, this is really good, man. You guys are onto something really. Did you, do you remember a moment like that? I remember, uh, probably around the fourth or fifth episode. It was one of the shows. Listen, I was thrilled to death when I, when I saw the shows coming together. Yeah. And I knew it was good. And then around the fourth or fifth show, I, I knew it was really good. This is something that is really interesting. This is something that is working on so many levels to me and, and a lot of it had to do with the cast, you know, just picking the right people, picking the, just the perfect Alexis. And of course, Catherine was always our first choice for Moira. I mean, Catherine, Catherine is so incredibly. I mean, what an unbelievable sort of generational talent in the Catherine of Hera and, and then the great and, and, and, and, and, and Murphy, so great, and your daughter Sarah and all these people. I mean, it was just every piece of it worked. Now, so you do this series with Daniel. Tremendous success. Tremendous. You guys, tremendous. You sell it around the world. You guys do really well. And you make it with the CBC, as your partner CBC, and pop down, down here in, in, in the States. But, you know, it's a great deal for you guys. And you guys get to control the property a little bit more because you have this split deal and you're able to do, and just really, a really great story of success. And you guys put yourselves on the line to do it. You shoot it up in Canada. Where were you shooting in the middle of nowhere? Are you in Sarni or something? No, we, our studio is in Toronto. Okay. That our location was about an hour north of, of Toronto. But yeah, we, we had, we were four, what town, what town was that? What town was that north of Toronto? It's a town called Goodwood. Sure. Goodwood. Sure. Yeah. I could have placed it. Yeah. You remember that? That's Sean's, you know, but Sean's website is, don't you have a website that's similar to that? It's a rating, it's like a rating website. I forget what it is. Anyway, I forget what it is. It's really good a lot of uploads. But you're up there. You guys go up there. You're shooting this thing in Toronto. And you really kind of bet on yourselves in a way, right? I mean, you guys, well, to be honest, we're just doing the show. We, we, you know, we, the idea that we got the show on the air was, was it? That's all we cared about. Right, right, right. We finally did it. We got a show on the air. That's so good. And then the show was you're doing the best job you can on the show. And fortunately, you know, we were getting very few and then eventually no notes from the network. Yeah. So yes, it's, it's, it's, it's always fun when the inmates can run the asylum. Well, they CBC, what notes are the, I mean, they, who are you guys paired with? You were right after the beach comers, I think I forget what the, the beach comers, forgot what you got paired with. Yeah. That goes back a while. That goes back a while. I know, but listen, executives are doing their job and they feel like they have to do their job. So they're going to, you know, they're going to come in with, they're going to come in with notes. Actually, you know what? The CBC, I like those people up there. They've been very, they're nice people. Good save. Thank you. But I mean, honestly, once again, I mean, you guys did so many great seasons and you did, and you won all these accolades and so well deserved. And, and I'm just, well, you could have been happier now. Sorry. You were, I was going to say, you were very, you've been awfully kind. Well, you were, you took part in our best wishes, a documentary had just very lovely things to say about the show. Well, I love that was. I'm a big fan. I'm appreciated that. I'm a big fan of yours and your son Daniels and your whole family. And you guys have done an awesome job. So, but then now you're doing this new show for Apple Plus called the reluctant traveler. Yeah. Which is, I love your face because you're like, yeah, I get the sense that you are legitimately a reluctant traveler. Yeah. I don't, I don't love traveling. And, and, and when they, you know, when they called me about this, but, you know, originally they, they had pitched a show about hotels. It was called Room with a View. And I got a call for my agent saying, you know, they, they want you to Apple want you to host their interest. And you hosting a show about hotels all over the world. And I went, oh, wow. Okay. That's interesting. So it's a show about hotels. I love, I love a good hotel. Sure. But you're doing a lot of traveling. And then there's cameras. So you got to, and then you're doing, so there's some talking involved. And, and then you have to talk to people. And you've got to generally be, yeah, kind of, you know, interesting, which I'm not in real, in real life. But I don't consider this real life. So I, so I said, well, thank, thank them very much. But I honestly think they have the wrong guy. There's probably somebody who's much better at this than than I am. So at this point, you're being the reluctant host. Nice. Sorry. I mean, the reluctant host. Yeah, sorry. I'm just being generally reluctant. Reluctive in general. Yeah. Meanwhile, you, you, you, you turning it down, and they were like, he's the perfect guy. Well, what happened was they, they could, they, so they call back again saying, we, you know, they really want to talk to us. I said, what, yeah, I honestly, I don't understand what the point is. I, okay, you know, what, I just set up the call and I can tell them myself, you know, because this is, so we, we set up the call and I'm saying, I'm telling them why I, I just, you know, I'm not the guy. I don't love, you know, I, yeah, I don't love my, my, my food palette is quite normal. I'm just to meet and say it as kind of, I'm not into fancy thing. It's traveling. I don't really love sightseeing wars. Me. I, I'm not big on water. I don't get me near water. And so, and I'm hearing laughs. And I'm getting laughs. And I'm thinking, well, this is great because I'm, I'm actually getting, I'm making my point. And it, I'm keeping it light. And, you know, it's not a heavy little. Do you realize you're casting yourself? That's right. They get off the phone. He nailed it. I found out after and the two, the exec producer and the executive from Apple, they said, the producer said, that's the show. It's not about forget hotels. That's the show. It's the guy that doesn't want to travel that's doing all the traveling. So then they call back and they, they pitched that. And I, I got, I mean, I got that, you know, because I can't pretend to be the traveler that I'm not. Right. Right. But if I'm the traveler that I am and I'm on camera, but nevertheless, but it necessitates you now traveling. And so you've been doing that? How many? Yes. Oh, it's been, it's been really great. It's been quite a phenomenal show to do. So they try, we've been to eight locations around the world went to the Maldives. You know, when am I going? When, when am I ever? When would I ever go to the Maldives? Best place, best place, worst place. Yeah. We did go to, we did go to Venice where I've never been, but I've been to Italy. So I love Italy, I adore, I love Italy. I just, you know, anywhere in Italy, I absolutely love it. So you've been, I mean, this is great. What an unbelievable career. You've done, honestly, you've just, you've done so much and you continue to do so much. And, you know, I was just thinking, every time I meet people like you, Eugene, who work with the same people and work with your friends your whole life, I always think about how lucky you are. And then it reminds me of how, I was thinking this morning as I was coming down here to record, knowing that I was recording you and I was thinking, I'm so lucky. I feel the same way. I love these guys. And, and I get to do this. And what a, what an unbelievable privilege, you know, yeah. Well, it's the hottest podcast. That's true. I don't say you got, right? You're doing, you're doing, you're, you know, because it all comes through what you're, what you're talking about is, is coming through, you know, your, your affection for each other comes through. Yeah. And how you rip each other apart comes through as well, which is, which is, well, how can you again, how pretty easy? I mean, these guys are just complete fools. Also, great fun. Eugene, thank you so much. Just continue, continue success. My friend from one Canadian to another, keep her going, eh? Thanks for so much amazing stuff. And, yeah, just all the best, man. And congrats on the new show. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks. Yes. Hope it works. It's good to meet you. I'll see you tomorrow. Nice to meet you. See you tomorrow, Sean. Yeah. Take care, guys. Bye, but I you, Gene. Bye, bye. Huh. So you guys carpool to Martin's dinner tomorrow, Sean? Oh, you used meat there, which is probably, I'll probably swing by pick them up. I was just thinking that if I was in town, you, oh, you'd be there, you'd be there setting up probably right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, setting up. Yeah. I'm going to work there. Are you dick? I'm tearing down. How great would it be if I just, if I just did catering at Marty's house? By the way, I haven't, I haven't talked to you both since, uh, uh, who killed, who killed Santa murderville. Oh, right. I know. And I'm sorry to the listener. This is probably a couple of months later. But it's want to say congrats, Willie. You, you, you, you guys, you and your whole team they're put together a really great show. Right. Feedback. I'm getting from people just loved it. Yeah, everybody I know. So I loved it. Right. Yeah. Over the top about it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What was drunk? They weren't high. They weren't. They're sober, smart people. They didn't have guns held to their head. No. Yeah. Well, I listen, I think both of you guys at the time and, and, and I'm so lucky again that, that, uh, that I get to do it. Again, that's been kind of been on my mind the last couple of days. I'm like, you know, I posted something about it. Um, not reluctantly, but you have to do it. You know, as part of, you know, your thing, your feet, your feet. And that's, they pay you to do. And they send you stuff. They're like post this and you're like, yeah, and I get to look and I'm looking at the outtake stuff. And I'm looking at the three of idiots that we get to do this thing. And it's like, it's not a job. And I was thinking about it again, like with Eugene. And, and, and in fact, you know, it's not, I'm not putting on the same level as, as Chris casted by any means. So please, you know, hold back on your shit comments. But, you know, we got to do this thing where we got to mess around. We had a loose idea of what the script was and kind of worked. And then we got to kind of fuck around and have fun. Well, why don't you keep that going? Let's keep it. Let's keep this trip going and do it for each, each sort of, like the next should be who killed the Easter Bunny. We have that time for spring. And then we, and then we, you know, and I just play all the characters who get killed. You get to be the bunny. Yeah. And you get killed. How would the Easter Bunny die? Uh, if, if Santa died from a sharp candy cane, the Easter Bunny would die from Salmanilla. Salmanilla? Yeah. Or, or, or last rated by a, by a rogue egg shell. Come on, it's got to be different. I don't know if somebody pointed out to me. In this truth, the East, the bunny's got a basket full of eggs. Right. Yeah. What happened with the, yeah. Oh, maybe that's how he died. Um, that Eugene Levy is just so, also, And it was just going to say like, how do you, what are the odds of like the God spell thing? All that troop of people. Then that troop of people goes on in second city. Then that troop of people plays together in all those Chris guest movies. Yeah. And it's just like this tight circle of friends that stay together and make stuff. That's like a dream come true. And there hasn't been, I mean, I'm sure that there are plenty incredibly hilarious, talented, comic actors coming out of Canada since then. But never in that same kind of flood that came out during that era, right? I wonder what that was. Very concentrated time of and of incredible talent. Well, I have to say this and I'm not just saying this well, but you, Mike Myers, Jim Kerry, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, like all of these people that come from there. It's weird. It's like what? All those people. And like he said, in addition to the other people who left and went to SNL, yeah, like in that time, think about and by the way, including Lauren who created SNL. Right. So in that mid to late 70, like right in like 75 and then 76, which incidentally was the America's. By Centennial. By. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh. Smartless is 100% organic and artistically handcrafted by Rob Armjurf, Bennett Barbaco and Michael Grandterry. Our next episode will be out in a week wherever you listen to podcasts or you can listen to it right now early on Amazon music or early and add free by subscribing to Wondry Plus in Apple podcasts or the Wondry app. Hey, I'm Aresha and I'm Brooke and we're the hosts of Wondry's podcast, Even the Rich where we bring you absolutely true and absolutely shocking stories about the most famous families and biggest celebrities the world has ever seen. Our newest series is all about the incomparable diva Whitney Houston. Whitney's voice defined a generation and even after her death, her talent remains unmatched. But her incredible success hit a deeply private pain. 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