I have the pleasure of talking with some of the nicest, smartest, original, talented, and funniest people in the world. Paul Rust might just be the perfect example of that. Rust is an actor, writer, and comedian who you might recognize from starring in the movie “I Love You, Beth Cooper”, his role in “Inglourious Basterds”, and multiple Funny or Die videos. He is a regular at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles where he has been performing sketch and improv, and writing and directing shows since 2005. Last year he was hand picked by Judd Apatow to co-write the new “Pee-wee” movie with Paul Reubens, which Apatow is producing. It couldn’t have been a better fit, as Rust has been a huge fan of the Pee-wee character and movies from a young age. Imagine playing baseball your whole life, and your favorite team since childhood picks you on draft day. Surreal. Paul is also a member of the piano pop trio Don’t Stop or We’ll Die with Michael Cassady and Harris Wittles. Yeah, he’s one of those people: The kind that excels at such a high level from acting to music to writing to joking. Legit. Continue reading and get to know Paul a little better, and the scoop on the new “Pee-wee” movie.
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Serial Optimist: Hey Paul! When did you decide improv, as opposed to stand-up or acting, was the route you wanted to take? What led you to UCB?
Paul Rust: It was never a conscious decision, but I’m sure I gravitated towards things like improv and sketch mainly because it’s fun to collaborate with other people. When I first moved to Los Angeles around summer ’04, I really wanted to do sketch, but there wasn’t a huge scene for it, so I did stand-up at open mics for the first year – just so I could perform comedy in front of an audience. It wasn’t even really proper stand-up (more like one-man bits). Then, in summer ’05, the Upright Citizens Brigade opened a new theater in LA and on the basis of a couple recommendations; my buddy Neil Campbell and I got to do a sketch show called “LET’S GO!” there. Soon after, we were taking improv classes and really digging improv, so that’s how I eventually came to do sketch/improv at the UCB.
SO: What has improv, or maybe a better way to put it, why have people from improv like yourself, Paul Scheer, Aziz Ansari, and just that whole UCB group made it more mainstream into TV and movies in such a prominent way? I guess I’m comparing that to the 80’s and 90’s of stand-ups getting a sitcom, or that always seemed to be the goal at the time.
PR: I’d imagine you’re seeing more improvisers on TV and movies for the same reason you saw those stand-ups get their own sitcoms in the 80’s and 90’s: networks/studios like comedians who can generate their own material. When you cast an improviser, you’re essentially hiring an actor AND a writer. More bang for your buck, y’know? Plus, I think improv lends itself to a certain type of naturalism/authenticity in comedy that plays well in TV/movies (i.e. saying stuff like “y’know what?” and “um…”)
SO: How do you think Twitter, Facebook, Funny or Die, etc, have really helped in your career, and in growing an audience?
PR: Sometimes I have to take a moment and appreciate how awesome all this stuff is for a comedian (and for comedy, in general). Not only does a comedian have access to his/her audience, but they also have the freedom to do or say whatever they want. Really awesome and sort of un-precedented. Sometimes I wonder if we’ll refer to those halcyon days of Internet videos circa 2011 – when everyone was really creative and you could use copyrighted material without permission.
SO: What does a “Creative Consultant” do for a show like “Rob & Big”, which you did for 20 or so episodes?
PR: Neil Campbell and I had just got done working on Scott Aukerman and BJ Porter’s FOX pilot “The Right Now! Show” (I was a writer/performer) and while we were there, we hit it off with Ruben Fleischer who directed all the video segments. Ruben was also working on “Rob and Big” at MTV around that same time (fall ’07) and he asked Neil and I to come in and brainstorm ideas for the show. Even though IMDb lists us as working on 20 episodes, it was only for a week and if I recall correctly, we just brainstormed ideas for a single episode (i.e. different things Rob could do on a date with a girl). But it was a lot of fun working with Neil and Ruben for that week.
SO: One of these days I’ll learn to stop trusting IMDb as a reliable source. Actually, today is that day!
SO: You starred in “I Love You, Beth Cooper”. What was that experience like? Starring in a major motion picture? I mean that’s crazy.
PR: Yeah, I enjoyed the experience a lot. It was nice having a bunch of scenes in a movie – because it gives you the opportunity to craft a whole performance with a full arch and play a range of different emotions (as opposed to one scene or one joke). Plus, it was cool working in Vancouver for three months with a neat cast and crew on a movie set. I grew up in Iowa absolutely fascinated by the filmmaking process, so to see it up-close for an extended period of time was the big highlight for me.
SO: What was it like working on “Inglourious Basterds”? I’m sure you have been asked this a lot, so I apologize, but just to be involved with the best of the best, that had to be a highlight.
PR: Working on “Inglourious Basterds” was awesome too. Everyone involved was so excited to be working on a Tarantino movie (myself included), that everyday, you got to see a bunch of talented people working passionately to create a vision, which is kind of what you want every filming experience to be. Plus, it was just awesome watching Tarantino – who was/is so on top of his skills – work so effortlessly. There are probably only 5-6 living directors today who have that kind of control and possession over their talents, so to witness that firsthand was really cool.
SO: I’m excited/intrigued about the new Pee-wee Movie you are working on. Can you give away any details on that? Where are you at script wise, and has a production date been set yet? Is this going to be more in the style of “Big Adventure”? How exactly did Judd Apatow get involved, and how closely is he working on the film?
PR: Yeah, Paul Reubens and I have been working on the new Pee-wee screenplay for close to a year now. It’s been a really exciting process – just brainstorming silly ideas and gags, with an eye on making everything as fun and joyful as possible – which lends itself to a fun and joyful process. As far as details I can give away, it will be a road movie like “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” No production date has been set, but I know we’re trying to turn a first draft into Universal by mid-March. Judd got involved after he saw Paul’s “Pee-wee Herman Show” comeback in LA last spring and asked Paul if he’d want to do a Pee-wee movie together. Judd’s been very closely involved with the film (generating ideas, giving notes, all that) and his contributions have been super-valuable during the whole process.
SO: How did you end up getting picked to be the co-writer with Paul Reubens? Did you have a previous relationship with him, or with Judd? That had to be a pretty coveted writing gig. Were you a big Pee-wee fan at a younger age?
PR: I got chosen as a co-writer with Paul Reubens because I was working with Judd on a previous project (co-writing “Cheese Pizza” with the fantastic Charlyne Yi) and I think Judd saw similarities between that script and a Pee-wee sensibility, so he asked me if I’d want to do it. I jumped at the chance because I was completely obsessed with Pee-wee as a kid. I dressed up as him, memorized all the lines in “Big Adventure,” owned a load of Pee-wee merch. He was my #1 thing in childhood. And then as I got older, my appreciation for Pee-wee grew when I recognized how Paul Reubens was very much an artist who created an original character with a full world and a complete vision. Very admirable and cool. Plus, long before I got involved with this project, I considered “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” to be the perfect comedy, so to co-write the follow-up has been a daunting but thrilling task.
SO: What’s it like working with Paul? I would imagine it would kind of be uncomfortable at first, because the movies, the character, that is such his creation. He has to feel so much ownership over that. Has it been tough to collaborate or was he open to new ideas?
PR: Well, one good thing about all this is that from the beginning, Paul and I have very much saw eye-to-eye on the Pee-wee character. I think because I’m such a fan, I have a pretty good understanding of what Pee-wee would or wouldn’t do, or would or wouldn’t say, so we rarely disagree on stuff like that. Also, in our very first meeting, we bonded over things like the director Jaques Tati and old Disney/Looney Tunes cartoons, so I think our shared interests helped us get on the same creative page as well.
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SO: What was the last hip hop song you listened to?
PR: Probably some Kanye. I never listened to much hip hop until a few months ago. I grew up initially loving bands like Nirvana and Weezer. But now I’m realizing what a positive effect it would have had on my personality, if I had listened to hip hop in high school and been exposed to its confidence and self-possession – instead of white guys singing about how their lives are miserable and no girls want to date them and their ugly faces.
SO: I never looked at it that way, but that is SO true. Love it.
SO: What has been your favorite movie so far that is going to be all up in the Oscar mix on Sunday?
PR: Big fan of “The Social Network.” Best film of the year and then some!
SO: Can you end this interview with a short haiku about how you thought the interview went, and your overall feelings?
PR: I had to look up
just how many syllables
were in a haiku
SO: Honesty Haiku! Props. Thanks Paul! Big hugs!
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SO Note: Check out Paul’s website paulrust.com for all kinds of awesomeness, follow him on Twitter @paulrust, and check out his Funny or Die videos here.
*Photo by Robyn Von Swank