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Hi, Mary Jo, and thank you for taking
the time to do this online interview. Now, on to the
questions (contributed by the many denizens of the MST3K
Discussion Board)...
Q1: Did you pattern the character
Pearl Forrester after someone you know?
A1: She's very much a
hyperbolic version of aspects of my Mom and a beloved
aunt, with a soupcon Judge Judy and Carrie Nation, with
just a hint of simply cartoony villainy behavior.
Q2: It's been said that your
favorite part of the Sci-Fi era was during the Castle
Forrester episodes. What was it about that particular
time of the show that made it your favorite?
A2: I don't know who said that
- I don't think it was me. I've never made any
distinction among eras, except to note what it was like
getting more camera time.
Q3: How is working on Cinematic
Titanic different from working on MST3K? For instance,
are the riffs written together or in separate locations?
And how often (and where) do all of the Titans get
together to film the episodes?
A3: Well, for starters, it's an
artist-owned venture, so I'm a partner - which means
being actively involved at varying degrees in all the
decisions. That's a whole different level of engagement
than showing up and writing jokes and sketches.
Secondly, we're all in different
locales: I head up the Southwestern branch in Austin,
TX; Trace is in the Minnesota office; and the others are
in L.A. So we're writing the movies differently using
the so-called "technology". As it generally works now,
we write individually, send the scripts via email, and
someone merges them. Then it usually falls upon Josh and
Frank to do another review of the movie with the merged
script to sort out the best jokes. We gather in L.A.
every three months or so to shoot a block of three
episodes, which includes rehearsing and hashing out each
script yet again.
Q4: In the MST3K days, first Frank
then later you picked the movies for riffing. How are
the movies being picked for riffing on CT?
A4: Joel and Frank have secret "dealers" whom they
meet on the mean streets of Van Nuys in the dead of
night, usually behind a row of giant Dumpsters. Eye
contact is never made and a roll of $1 bills is slipped
into the mule's hand, then a DVD is dropped as if by
accident, which is then picked up by Frank or Joel, and
each party then simply disappears into the misty
Southern California night.
It's either that, or we've got a deal
with some distributors/owners of some movies.
Q5: And who is a bigger rare and
obscure movie geek: Frank or you?
A5: Definitely, positively, undeniably, absolutely,
hands-down, no question, without a doubt, far and away,
whaddya talkin' about, forget about it - FRANK CONNIFF!
Absolutely no comparison. He's our own personal Google.
Q6: What unique insights do you
feel you bring to the Cinematic Titanic writing table,
being the only woman on staff?
A6: May I kindly suggest that
female insights are not necessarily unique, since we
represent roughly half the population?
That said, yes, the female experience
is different from the male experience. But I don't write
each movie with an agenda. I write with my personal
perspective, which, yes, does happen to be female. I do
have more than passing acquaintance with lipstick and
purses and women's issues. It's about the person,
firstly, but I do acknowledge that all of us - Trace,
Frank, Josh, Joel and myself have each experienced some
different way of being on the planet or how people
respond to us.
(But I am always curious about why the
men are never asked what it's like to espouse the "male"
perspective - the 'male' perspective just seems to be
taken as the universal experience.)
Q7: In MST3K, except for a section
of one episode (Quest of the Delta Knights), you never
got to be on on-screen riffer of the movies themselves.
How do you like being one of the riffers on Cinematic
Titanic?
A7: One word: LOVE IT!
Q8: You're in a very unique
position in having worked on BOTH Cinematic Titanic and
Rifftrax. Any chance you could try and get the other
Titans to jump on the Rifftrax bandwagon for a feature
or two?
A8: Right now, we've got our
hands full keeping Cinematic Titanic going as an
artist-owned and operated venture. It's kind of hard to
think beyond that.
Q9: If you could work with anybody
in the entertainment industry, who would it be? (Other
than George Clooney)
A9: Oh, sheesh, where do I even
start? Where do I end?! Carol Burnett, Michael Palin,
John Cleese, Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Judd Apatow, Emma
Thompson, Mike Judge, Edie McClurg, Wes Anderson, Ida
Lupino would have been so great to work with! I'd be
delighted to share acting tips with Meryl Streep; I
would have loved to worked on the Ellen DeGeneres show,
The Simpsons, The Daily Show, Arrested Development and
Freaks and Geeks for starters. Rachel Maddox (using the
phrase "entertainment industry" very broadly!) You know,
it occurs to me as I consider that question that I've
worked with a lot of my favorite people who happen to be
friends of mine in the business, like all the CTers, the
RiffTraxians, and the shows and plays I've done in Los
Angeles, Minneapolis and New York. Stop me! And did I
mention George Clooney?
Q10: Which members of the MST3K
staff are also fans of Monty Python? And were Python
references encouraged or intentionally kept to a
minimum?
A10: I think we're all familiar
with their work to various degrees, and I don't recall
there ever being a moratorium or a "surge" on Monty
Python jokes.
Q11: Which major movies do you
think NEED to be riffed?
A11: Forrest Gump, but then I
have a personal agenda on that one. (And my friends at
Master Pancake in Austin just did so!); Life Is Sweet;
The Sound of Music would be a gas (even though it's a
sentimental favorite); just saw The Happening - that
needs a smackdown.
Q12: Do you think you could or
would get along with Pearl Forrester if you two ever
met?
A12: What a great question!
Yes, I think we would get along. I'd like to think I'd
earn her respect by not taking her BS and/or laughing at
her. It would be pretty fun, pretty cool to hang out
with Pearl for coffee (or more likely margaritas) but
she would not be the person I would call in the middle
of a dark night of the soul.
Q13: If you HAD to be doppled into
an MST or CT movie, which one would you choose?
A13: Another great question!
Laserblast or Overdrawn At The Memory Bank because I was
a big fan of Raoul Julia, and a huge fan, especially in
junior high, of Roddy McDowall. Or Escape from the Bronx
because at the time we did that movie I thought
Toblerone was pretty hot and it would have been cool to
be among all those men in uniform.
Q14: Do you ever watch episodes of
MST3k every now and then?
A14: Yes. I didn't for years
because I was traveling a lot, didn't have a TV for
awhile, wasn't interested, I knew I'd be my own worst
critic, and any combination of the above. The past
couple of years I have revisited many of them. It's very
interesting have ten years' perspective. I learn a lot
about what worked and what didn't. And I've laughed a
lot! I've also thought, oh, no, what were we thinking?!
But that is one of the things I loved about the show -
that, with so many jokes, and a somewhat tight
production schedule, it was always kind of skin of the
teeth, go-for-it and run with it!
Q15: An on-line critic gave a very
negative review of CT's "The Wasp Woman" ( http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/34574/wasp-woman-the/
) and his main reason was not really based on the
riffing itself but was because he believes all movies
(even Corman's!) are works of arts and shouldn't be
poked fun at (...yet apparently thinks critizing them as
a movie reviewer is OK). Besides suggesting he find a
doctor to remove that stick up his...bum, do you have
any thoughts concerning negative views like this on what
MST3K, CT, and RiffTrax do?
A15: I guess I find it kind of
baffling. I would offer that in order to have an honest
discourse on anything, you at least have to acknowledge
the entirety of the creation. You have to take it in
situ, if you will. "Reviewing" something without
acknowledging the context doesn't really makes for an
intelligent or cogent analysis. (And the reviewer's
double standard observed in the question is duly noted!)
I also disagree that works of art or
any creative works are not subject to interpretation
and/or evaluation - of course they are! And have been
since the Lascaux cave paintings! Ultimately, one is
free to watch or not watch MST3K or Cinematic Titanic.
Our lives - and our hearts - will go on!
Q16: Obviously you realize that
there are a lot of us out here who are so hooked on
MST3K that we thought it necessary to be part of a forum
to discuss the many intricacies of the show.
Do you find that to be…
1. Flattering?
2. Strangely amusing?
2. Disturbing?
3. Downright scary?
4. One brain cell short of nuts?
5. Two brain cells short of nuts?
A16: 2. Amusing. And, um,
definitely informative.
Q17. You've worked with every one
of the Brains and continue to navigate the waters
between the Titans and the Trax-ers. So dish some dirt
on them! Which of your esteemed co-Brains makes you
laugh the most? Who is the most like you, who is the
most unlike you? Who is a bad tipper? (and so on)
A17: I truly couldn't measure
and then distinguish who makes me laugh the most. They
are each just plain incredibly smart and funny.
Frank has a great way of being
intellectually honest about issues in a really funny
way. He's made me laugh at myself and has a great way of
showing how not to take one's self too seriously.
Joel and Josh are great about teasing
me out of a bad mood, and making me laugh about it. Joel
thinks I'm a fussy eater and tries to get me to try new
foods, and is very playful and brotherly about it.
Trace and I have been friends for over
two decades and while I did standup with the others,
Trace and I did a lot of sketch comedy show together.
Trace and I face each other on the CT set, and we often
seem to be on the same wavelength when something goes
amiss or we don't understand something - we'll catch
each other's eyes across the set and start laughing at
something.
Josh blows my mind the way he can
analyze a situation and think down the road, I, who acts
spontaneously and emotionally. Josh can summarize
handily and cannily in a single sentence what I'm
breathlessly trying to explain and might take me three
weeks. I'm always saying, "Yes! That's exactly what I'm
trying to say!" to him.
Q18: Here's some questions about
traveling around the country:
(a) Joel, Trace, and Frank were at
Atlanta's Dragon*Con 2008, but it was disappointing that
you and Josh didn't also make the trip. Any chance
you'll make it down to the South sometime? (we
Southerners are not nearly as scary as we look in the
movies on MST & CT)
A18a: "South…" could you be
more specific? It all depends where and what you mean!
I'm currently living in Austin, Texas so I'm a
Southerner myself, I guess!
(b) Any chance you'll make it to
the beautiful Pacific Northwest?
A18b: I really, really hope so.
The Husband and I received as an anniversary gift a
gorgeous book of photography of the Palouse region and
as I sat on our balcony paging through it one beautiful
morning, I was mentally packing our stuff and moving
there. And becoming a farmer. Or potter.
(c) Any plans for getting anywhere
near Florida?
A18c: It depends on which way
the state goes in the election. Okay, Obama just got
elected, and Florida went blue, so I'm there, baby!
Q19: Are there any discernible
affects from you now living in Texas?
A19: Aside from "y'all" and it
being pointed out to me by my family in Minnesota that I
now say INsurance and not inSURANCE? And I never, ever
in a berdillion years thought I'd ever say this but… I
think I might be officially sick of Tex-Mex food.
Q20: You've seen hundreds upon
hundreds of films of varying quality. What is the best
advice you can give from watching them?
A20: Depends on to whom the
advice is being bestowed. If I'm advising some of the
filmmakers' whose work we've seen, I'd advise: Don't do
it. Or do it better.
Final Question
Q21: On your respective blogs, you
and Big Bad Bill Corbett have engaged in some impressive
duels of wit. Let's say he calls you up and challenges
you to an actual duel, but you get to choose the means.
Which would you choose and why?
a) Medieval Joust
b) Ten frames down at the Bowl-a-Rama
c) Whiffle-ball in the backyard
d) Rhubarb pie bake-off
e) Fisticuffs
f) Pinochle
g) Other (Please specify)
A21: g) Other: Fencing,
conducting a makeover on someone, or having a baby.
Back to
Interview
with Mary Jo Pehl 2 Intro
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