Within the past four years Doug Benson has released 3 comedy albums, a feature-length documentary, dozens of episodes of his acclaimed podcast, Doug Loves Movies, and toured the country an endless number of times. This summer he completes work on his next film, The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled, and releases his newest album, Potty Mouth. So maybe think twice about who you’re calling a stoner.
Within the past four years Doug Benson has released 3 comedy albums, a feature-length documentary, dozens of episodes of his acclaimed podcast, Doug Loves Movies, and toured the country an endless number of times. This summer he completes work on his next film, The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled, and releases his newest album, Potty Mouth. So maybe think twice about who you’re calling a stoner.
What are the details around your 4th CD, which comes out August 30th?
I record a CD every year on 4/20, because that’s the date when I can get a good crowd to show up for the tapings. I do a couple shows, and we use the best stuff for the album. This year’s entry is called Potty Mouth. Because I swear a lot. And for another reason.
As a long-time podcaster, where do you see as the role of the comedy CD versus a free or paid podcast?
I like doing them in addition to my podcasts, because they represent a year of touring with my act, whereas the podcasts feature little to none of my stand-up material.
You seem to have been on a never-ending tour lately. How do you manage all of these projects while embarking on an ambitious tour?
I arrange my tour schedule in such a way that each week I come home to L.A. for at least a day or two to work on that stuff.
One of your latest projects is a new feature-length film. Your last film, Super High Me had the premise that you attempted to smoke weed everyday for 30 days, whilst being filmed, a play on the Morgan Spurlock film Supersize Me. What is the premise of The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled?
I figure ripping off Spurlock worked, so I’m going to stick with it. His latest film is called The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and it’s about using product placement in a movie to fund a movie about product placement. Trippy stuff. So my new film is about me going on tour to raise money to make a movie about going on tour. Hence the name, Greatest Movie Ever Rolled.
What is the status of it? How will you be releasing it?
It’s been shot but we haven’t begun editing it yet. We filmed 8 shows over 10 days, so there’s a lot of footage to sort through. Not sure when it will come out. Is “someday” a good release date?
Do you still have time to do stuff like ride roller coasters in your downtime?
Yes! I just went to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, OH and had a blast. They’ve got like 47 roller coasters, each one crazier than the last. Ok, 15. But that’s still a lot.
What affect have your prolific twitter and the Doug Loves Movies podcasts had on your live shows and career? When you started doing them did you anticipate this?
My live shows are now filled with Twitter followers and podcast listeners. And I love it. It’s great to have people in the crowd who are engaged in what I’m doing, rather than just coming to see “comedy.” I didn’t anticipate it at all, I just podcast and tweet because I enjoy it.
Well, did you ever expect that Leonard Maltin and Johnathan Lithgow would appear on your show?
No. But they both have children who are fans of my stuff, so that’s how they got coerced into participating. Leonard, as it turns out, isn’t very good at The Leonard Maltin Game. But Lithgow is great at it!
Have you seen the concept of magnet cities change as a result of the proliferation of the Internet, which makes it easier for those looking to start a career in comedy to come from anywhere?
Yeah, I suppose one could start anywhere. If I could have a podcast, anyone can.
What other advice do you have for those looking to break into the comedy world?
You gotta really want to do it. There’s so many opportunities for rejection and humiliation. You gotta really like doing it to get through that stuff.
You started your career as an extra in TV and film. Is acting still something that’s of interest to you?
Yeah, but the universe seems to be telling me to stick to stand-up and podcasting. For now, anyway.
For people who’ve only heard your podcasts, what does the format for a Doug Benson live show look like? How do you determine if a city is prepared to play the Leonard Maltin Game?
My stand-up shows have so many podcast listeners in the crowds that I’m pretty much forced to play the Len Maltin Game from the show. So my opening act does his time, then I tell a bunch of jokes, then at the end I bring the opener back up and we play LMG with members of the crowd. In Richmond my opener is a hilarious dude from New York named Rob Cantrell.
Is there anything that you try to do in every town that you visit?
Get some rest.
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Doug will be appearing at The Hat Factory on Friday July 29th. Doors at 6:30, show at 7. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Nametags are encouraged for the Leonard Maltin game.
