HOW TO: Write the Perfect Sketch (w/ Arthur Goldbart)

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Improv is such your friend on a comedy set, and you have to follow the funny. I think that as a director, the worst thing you can do is be completely married to your script. And I love writing. It's probably my favorite thing I do in the sense of writing, directing, acting. But I know that I would be completely shooting myself in the foot if I showed up to set, being like, nope, we're just doing these lines and no one's getting to try anything, or, we're not going in any other direction. The best things I've ever made, the magic has come from allowing people to play and allowing things to maybe go in different directions to what you thought they were going to go into. [00:00:48] Speaker B: Welcome to the 5050 podcast, where we've made it our mission to nurture and empower the next generation of industry talent. Through this podcast, we expand the reach of the 5050 film festival by giving an exclusive peek behind the curtain into the creative and business sides of the entertainment industry. We sit down with folks from all corners of the biz, garnering educational insight into process, production and execution. This week, we chop it up with Arthur Goldbart. This funny man, hailing from across the pond, guides us through the surprisingly scientific journey of crafting the perfect, perfect comedy sketch. Enjoy. Arthur, welcome. Welcome to the 5050 podcast. It's very exciting. Thank you to have you here. And I know we've been able to chat a couple times at various festivals, but I know you and Luke have known each other for some time now, right? [00:01:39] Speaker A: Yes, we're all friends here, you know, which is nice. This is very comfortable for all of us. [00:01:45] Speaker B: This isn't one of those, like, enemy podcasts where they kind of get on and start, you know. [00:01:50] Speaker A: Yeah. This isn't, like, a gotcha. This will be a, like, great to see you guys, and I'm super excited to be here situation. [00:01:58] Speaker B: Okay, cool. Cool. I just, I. I think it's important to, like, get that because some people come on and they're, like, ready to get roasted or whatever. And, like, this is not that kind of show. [00:02:06] Speaker A: You can do that if you want to, though. That is allowed if you are trying to roast me. [00:02:11] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:02:11] Speaker A: Luke. [00:02:11] Speaker B: Yes. [00:02:12] Speaker C: I just wanted to say, Arthur and I, we met in school. [00:02:17] Speaker A: We actually met at the 5th at the 5050 Film Festival. [00:02:20] Speaker B: Is that true? [00:02:21] Speaker C: No, that's not. That's not true. But I did that class was very much at the time when that first festival was coming to fruition. And Arthur was one of those first highlighted filmmakers. And, like, actually, like Arthur and his Friends set the foundation for the festival on the talent side of things. And like, yeah, you would be not. What'd you say? [00:02:49] Speaker A: Not that I didn't say anything. [00:02:50] Speaker C: I. I remember first meeting you, Arthur, in one of those hallways at usc and you were with your buddies that ended up being your roommates. I guess you guys had lived together for X amount of years. Yes, but I've always been so. Just drawn to you guys in such a positive way because you are such a supportive group. And that's what 5050 strives to be, is create that support network. And you guys have been to. I mean, you drove from Las Vegas for. He was White. He was in Vegas celebrating his birthday and drove back to LA for the festival this year in October. So. [00:03:28] Speaker B: Wow. [00:03:29] Speaker A: It's true. [00:03:29] Speaker C: Is a die hard 5050 guy. One day you'll make horror and. Yeah, we'll have to. We'll have to. You'll have to submit that. [00:03:39] Speaker A: It's the perfect film festival for someone like me because I like to make things with Luke and Luke runs the festival. So we'll just make a sketch together and I'll be like, you get a shit out at the festival. Right? [00:03:53] Speaker B: Yeah, you have quite the end. You just pressure him enough and he'll be like, fine, Just fine. Yeah, that's always nice. [00:03:59] Speaker A: Yeah, it's been great. And I've been. I've been very encouraging of Luke too. I always tell him that it is important for him to put his own work in the festival too, because he is a wonderful, creative, funny filmmaker. And I think it's very important that all the people who are there to support him anyways get to come and see his work and that. [00:04:20] Speaker C: And I also will say full heartedly and confidently that my work will never be in the lineup ever again after. Seriously. It's true. And I think it's awesome to get there, like. And I. It's. The festival is. Is kind of taking a life of its own and in a really special way. And it's something that. I mean, we've had those conversations, Arthur and Wyatt, just to fill you in of just like there was always kind of an awkwardness of like, well, if I. I'm the one throwing the festival and my name's on that and all of a sudden my name's also on. [00:04:55] Speaker B: It seems like it's like the Luke show. [00:04:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:57] Speaker C: I also win a trophy and then. [00:04:59] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, you give the award. [00:05:02] Speaker B: Well, they voted on it. I mean, come on. [00:05:04] Speaker C: I guess. Thank you. Yeah. No, but Arthur, I mean, we're. We're talking about sketches, obviously comedy as a theme in general. Um, yeah, but since day one, you've been making. You've been making and writing and directing and acting. I mean, you do everything, even producing. So I know you're really getting into now, but the writing seems to be hitting off. We can talk about that. But I'd love to also really dig into making a great sketch. Yeah. Because that is. I. There's that famous quote, whatever it is, like, dying is easy. Comedy is hard. I would. I would love to dig into comedy. [00:05:40] Speaker A: Yeah. I have always wanted to make silly things. I was thinking about this earlier, and I was thinking about how, like, I always gravitate towards sketch, and sometimes I even gravitate towards sketch more than I gravitate to something like a short film. And I feel like it's because, like, when you're making a short film, you should have something to say. You should make a short film for a reason. The only thing you need to do when you make a sketch is say something funny. And so there's a lot easier barrier to access. And you can kind of, you know, take that pressure off of, like, oh, this doesn't have to be a big crazy thing. This just has to make me and my friends laugh. And that has always made me feel like, oh, yeah, this will be the vein of filmmaking I'm going to love the most. I feel like coming into usc, my application, everything, it was never like, I want to make movies. It was always like, I want to make funny things and movies of the outlet which I found, which makes sense for doing that. [00:06:43] Speaker B: I love that. [00:06:43] Speaker A: So that's always been my kind of journey. And, you know, getting to make sketches, my friends, and make it feel like the good old days has always been something I've always loved to do. [00:06:56] Speaker B: Yeah. No, I'm curious how. I mean, what is that process of. Do you have a notebook where you are on the bus and you're noticing things going on and you're like, this would be funny if this happened? [00:07:09] Speaker A: Or. [00:07:09] Speaker B: Or are you working it out with. I know you have kind of a solid community around you where you can bounce ideas off of each other. Like, what is. Is there a through line with how you're coming up with ideas? [00:07:20] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that it always. I have a notes app in my phone where anytime I think of anything, I write it down and I can look back, like, hundreds of ideas in there, and one of them would just say, like, dentist, what the fuck? [00:07:38] Speaker B: That's funny. [00:07:39] Speaker A: Yeah. But a lot of them are like, I think the funniest things, wordplay always helps me. I'm like, this is this. But if you changed this word around, it's like Stanford prison experiment. Prison, Stanford Experiment. What could that be? Think about that a second. You take a bunch of prisoners and you put them into Stanford and it's like subversion, twisting things. I like parody. I mean, everyone loves parody. Parody is the easiest way to get into making a sketch. You saw something in real life that everyone takes as normal. Like, I recently made a masterclass sketch and one of my friends came up to me and he was like, I never ever questioned masterclass until now. And now I can see how kind of crazy it actually is. [00:08:37] Speaker B: So it kind of does make you think to some extent. You know, it's like it's taking normal stuff. [00:08:44] Speaker A: Right? [00:08:44] Speaker B: Like there's something there. [00:08:46] Speaker A: Yes. Have you. [00:08:48] Speaker B: I don't know if you're a Please Don't Destroy fan, but have you ever seen one of their earlier sketches, Jazz Friday? [00:08:55] Speaker A: I don't remember that one, but I do love the Please Don't Destroy boys. [00:08:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:59] Speaker A: The one which I remember the most is the one they did when Ben gets the Doombreaker vaccine instead of the other ones. And it's just like, oh, yeah, you take something topical, you take something which everyone is doing at the time. And then you're like, how can I twist this and find something interesting out of it? [00:09:16] Speaker B: Totally. Well, Jazz Friday is a sketch where basically the premise is that it's a corporate office, like very boring sort of office, and their boss announces it'll be casual Friday on Friday, so wear casual stuff. But someone mishears that and thinks it's Jazz Friday. So he shows up with one of those hats and a keyboard and stuff and he's super embarrassed and everybody's like, what did you think it was? And he's like, oh, nothing. Know what you're talking about. And it's just like this dichotomy of him dressed up as a full on jazz musician and not willing to admit that he thought he misheard it and he thought it was Jazz Friday. [00:09:56] Speaker A: I think maybe. I don't remember which professor told me this. It might have been Barnett Coleman. Who Me and Luke had a directing class with a comedic protagonist. Pursues their objective blind. You know, you need to double down, you need to be not self aware. And like, the funniest things are always, you know, honestly, the stupidest people sometimes. [00:10:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:23] Speaker C: Can you dig into that, Arthur? Because again, as mentioned previously, like, you write, you direct and you act. Can you talk about just exactly that from those three hats. I know that's a kind of a big question, but if you can kind of tackle that. [00:10:38] Speaker A: I think it is important for me. I mean, I always. When I'm putting myself in something, I need to know that it's something that I, you know, I'm willing to pass off, like a protagonist role or another role to another actor if I feel like they're better suited. The product is the most important thing. And if I'm not the right person for the role, I'm not going to put myself in the thing. But if I feel like, oh, you know, I want to do this as a character I like and a character that I can relate to, I would like to act in it. I don't really do characters. I don't really do accents. I'm not very good in impressions. So if I feel like I'm doing an Office Style character and I want to be. And that can level between I can do straight man or I can do kind of the wackier friend. It just depends on the context I want to put myself in. But regardless of what it is, I need to believe what I'm doing. And so the audience believes what I'm doing. And if that is being the guy who's making the faces to the audience. Jim from the Office Style, being like, this guy is crazy, or if it's staring you directly in the face, like, this is the objective, this is what we're doing, it needs to be believable or else it's not going to sell. A lot of people, I think, like to rely on a bit of tongue in cheek and a little bit of wink, wink. But I do think it is really important to, like, commit. Commitment is so important. Oh, yeah, that's on, I guess, the acting side with. But yeah, it's like logic. You find the logic of the scene and. And everything and it's. And you gotta follow. You gotta pick it a thread and you gotta follow it all the way through to the end until it, like, complet unravels. That's also something which is beautiful about sketch. It's like you set the rules of the world. It can be as grounded or as crazy as you want. And with that escalation, you can take it all the way from here to here, all the way to here, all the way up to here. And you just got to be willing as the actor or the director or the writer to go all the way there. [00:12:44] Speaker B: Absolutely. Are you? I think it's interesting because what sort of character do you like to play. Do you like playing the straight man? Because from my experience playing the straight man, you actually do have to have comedic chops, because you're essentially acting as the audience surrogate to some extent. Right. Like, you are asking the questions to the character that's like, what are you doing? You know, you're asking the questions that the audience should be asking as well, and you're heightening the comedy, so. Or are you playing the wacky person who just doesn't get it? You know? So what sort of character do you find yourself playing? [00:13:20] Speaker A: I think it depends. I think I do. I think it is, as you said, I do think it's harder to play straight. And so if I feel like, oh, I have a friend who is so good at being wacky and can do the funny role, I'm so happy to put myself in the straight man position. But if it is specifically a role that I can kind of see myself doing at a more heightened level, I'll put myself in that. But I like naive characters. I like innocent kind of characters who really believe in what they're doing is cool or real. And in that sense, if I can find myself to be that guy, I can definitely go either way. There's something fun about having a character who can be straight and wacky at the same time. And in that sense, you really get to kind of show range a bit. But, like, if I'm acting with Luke, I feel like we can have a lot of fun balancing each other out. And sometimes even within the same sketch, we can be the straight man and the wacky man and switch it out. [00:14:29] Speaker B: Totally. [00:14:30] Speaker A: That is always really fun. [00:14:31] Speaker B: And it's always fun. It's always a good sort of ending tag for the straight man to finally get over to the wacky, you know? Exactly. A sketch that you guys did relatively recently was the one in the pool, which is where, you know, Luke's thinking that you're introducing him to your regular girlfriend, and then she's, like, in her 80s, you know, like, and it's a funny bit, and it's extended. And then by the end, it turns out that Luke doesn't. That's not actually the issue that he had with it. It was, like, the color of her hair or something. Right. [00:15:00] Speaker C: Why is Arthur legit? I mean, you should. Arthur, just tell that story of how. [00:15:04] Speaker A: That was a very fun sketch. Well, so after I. When I was in usc, I was part of a sketch group called Rocket Science, where we did kind of. USC is known for all of these on stage. Sketch groups. And me and a group of my friends really wanted to do digital sketch because we grew up on things like the Lonely island and like, you're from. I feel like a lot of people don't put it together, but, like, our age range, we come from the YouTube era, watching Smosh and Fred and all of this stuff that was sketch comedy. So that has been so ingrained in us. And growing up, I felt like we all were looking for an outlet to make things. And then you finally get to college and you're like, oh, my God, like minded people who want to make silly stuff. And so I did that a bit in college. And then we graduated recently, and I wanted to spend kind of that summer in the Last half of 2024 trying to make my own sketches under the title of the Arthur Goldbarts at a Little Fun Time Comedy Minute Show. And we did a handful of them. And one of them was this sketch called New Girlfriend with me and Luke. And I do like to make things which kind of come from my life and reflect my life. And I moved into a new building. And coincidentally, in that new building, there were a bunch of really cool older ladies hanging around. And we randomly befriended them. And I do like gym class with them twice a week. And all of my friends are 80 years old now. And me and Luke, Luke has been so good about, like, if I'm trying to procrastinate or I don't really know, Luke will push me to just be like, let's do something, let's make something. And so I invited him over and our friend Adam, who was coming to shoot it, and we didn't really have an idea. I had like, an idea which was like, we should just like film us sitting by the pool. And all it is is us just like putting sunscreen on for four minutes. And Luke was like, yeah, that sounds great. Okay. And so he came over and we got to the pool, and these old ladies were in the pool and they saw us with a camera. And we just started speaking to them like you do. And they were like, please, can you put us in something? And I turned to Luke and I was like, okay, that one's my new girlfriend, and I'm trying to set you up with her friends. And he was like, yes. And that was it. The whole thing was pretty much completely improvised. First thing we did, there's kind of two parts to that sketch, or three parts even. But the first part is me and Luke having a conversation, setting it up. We filmed that. Second, we just put the camera on the tripod. Adam was kind of pointing at us, holding the boom. And we got in the pool and we did like a 15 minute improvised take with these ladies. [00:17:56] Speaker B: Wow. [00:17:57] Speaker A: We sort of bullet pointed, me and Luke between us, just like, okay, let's try and hit this. We want kind of a tag and the closer to be like, we're going to go play pickleball together. Other. And that's how we get out of the pool. But otherwise we didn't really know what direction to go in. And I feel like when, you know, it's so much fun to work with someone like Luke because we are such on the same wavelength and especially when it comes to improv, we are pretty much thinking the same thing at the same time. So it was so easy. And these ladies were so funny for no reason, like you wouldn't expect. They were hilarious. [00:18:30] Speaker B: They were so into it. Like Jen. I mean, it seemed like I was like, did they hire these ladies? And also it seemed scripted. So it's almost surprising to hear that you had a 15 minute long take and you cut it down to those lines. That worked, I guess. What does that look like? [00:18:50] Speaker A: It was kind of like, yeah, so you do 15 minutes worth of riffing and that's that thing. It's like you need to commit. You need to be these characters. Me and Luke were these characters for 15 minutes. Because even though you need to be completely in the moment, you're also directing it. So you need to find a way to steer the conversation, make sure everything's going in the right way. Luckily, the ladies were amazing and got the assignment straight away. So completely just went in on it and did a great job and it made things so much easier. But you do that. You do 15 minutes. And then after that, we got in the hot tub for the first part and we were like, okay, these were the funny parts from that. We can plant all of these jokes at the beginning of the sketch so that they hit even better when they make those jokes later. So we got in and we improvised this conversation and we just. It was one camera so pointed at Luke. We did his coverage first and then off of his coverage. I just made sure to, like, remember the best I could what we spoke about. [00:19:52] Speaker B: And then your responses to his lines. You basically had to just like, watch the footage and be like, okay, I'm responding to this here and this there. [00:19:59] Speaker C: I mean, Arthur was literally on an ode to Arthur's. Gave me too many compliments. But to compliment Arthur on his own directing, obviously performance is one thing, but on the directing side of things. First of all, he thought of this in less than three minutes. Like, we're standing there ready to shoot this sketch about putting sunblock on and then leaving. And he, like, walks into this pool area, and all these old ladies know him, and automatically he's like, this is what we're doing. Which is. I've never seen anything like that. But then being able to watch playback where we're losing light on the day, right? And then it's like, okay, here are the funny bits of this. Here's what I would need to talk about. Here's what we need to hit. And then actually just being able to improv. Like, I am not a trained actor, and I definitely have had times on set, if I am acting, the rare times where I definitely tense up, because it feels very not comfortable. As simple as that. And with Arthur, though, maybe it was because you were in the scene, too, and maybe there's something to that. Maybe we could talk about that in comedy. But just being able to have an environment to play in, you know, it's. [00:21:11] Speaker B: Like a sandbox of a safe environment where you can mess up. Like, you have to feel safe enough to mess up, right? [00:21:19] Speaker A: It's very important for me. And if you're ever on a set of mine, you'll kind of see this. I like to cast my friends. I like to have my friends as my crew. It is so important to have that comfortability so that you can completely let yourself go. Like, the last thing I want on my sets is anyone feeling like they're being judged. You need to be able to feel like your input matters. You need to be able to feel like we're all having fun. Your crew and your cast are your first audience. So these people are seeing the things before the edit, before anything. And if people are laughing on set, which hopefully they are, you get a better understanding of if it's going to hit for an audience later on down the line. And so it's so important to feel comfortable for everybody on that set. [00:22:09] Speaker B: It sounds like a really great set environment. And I'm curious, are you? Because in this situation, you're writing a lot of it as you go, right? Like, you're figuring out what you're gonna put in, what you're not gonna put in. You're improvising jokes. You're trying to punch things up. Like, hey, you have the premise. In my mind, there's a laugh when the old ladies come onto screen, right? Cause it's the first reveal of the joke. But then it's about how do you punch it up and make it funnier? Like, what sort of things are there in a normal same age relationship that you can say that apply to this relationship, you know, and how can Luke react to it? Because Luke's the straight man in this situation, you know, so it's. Yeah, it's a lot of. When you're doing that on your own, it's a lot of just writing it as you go. [00:22:53] Speaker A: Yeah. And I feel like improv is such your friend on a comedy set and you have to follow the funny. I think that as a director, the worst thing you can do is be completely married to your script. And I love writing. It's like probably my favorite thing I do in the sense of writing, directing, acting. But I know that I would be completely shooting myself in the foot if I showed up to set being like, nope, we're just doing these lines and no one's getting to try anything or we're not going in any other direction. The best things I've ever made, the magic has come from allowing people to play and allowing things to maybe go in different directions to what you thought they were going to go into. [00:23:40] Speaker C: Do you. Do you feel like that magic is happening because of the preparation you're doing beforehand or. I mean, obviously if you're writing, directing and acting, which is not the case for all your stuff, but let's just say that's the case for what we're talking about. You're so entrenched in the process and you know this story so well, you know the direction, you know the vision so well and wide. And I have spoken about this in the past as well, of just like being incredibly confident with the vision leads to confidence on set, and confidence on set allows for play and looseness. [00:24:15] Speaker A: Right. [00:24:15] Speaker C: So is that kind of what you're getting at or is it really just you go on set and you're ready to toss the third act because this is funnier or something. [00:24:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I think it is so important to. You want to. You're following two different lines here. You, as the director need to make sure that your vision is being made. You do need to stay true to yourself and confident in your ideas. You need to know that at the end of the day, you need to be the most happy with the product. So you need to remember that you come in with a goal and you need to achieve it. However, you also need to remember that sometimes best idea wins and you need to kind of learn how to have those two minds about my DP or whoever I was riffing with or the actors had an amazing idea. If I feel like I can confidently, on the spot, change everything so that it gets to a product which is even better than the one I planned, we have to do it. But other times, someone comes up with a great idea and you can go, great, let's try it, we'll do it. But then, remember, I don't think it's going to work as well. We're going to run it back and go back to the original idea. But either way, I mean, it's just this idea of kind of creating this magic for me, especially when it comes to acting and directing. I don't really like to rehearse very much with my actors. I like to rehearse a little bit and I like to rehearse on set. I didn't really like to necessarily meet before because casting is 99% of directing. If you have a cast that you can trust and know are going to deliver, that is pretty much everything. And so you can trust everyone. You can try things, you know you're going to get what you want. So then it gives you all of this ability to do all this other stuff, too. [00:26:11] Speaker B: I've heard from a lot of actors who have more like theater improv backgrounds that they also don't like to rehearse as much. Because if you're rehearsing something and you've figured out exactly the way you've said it and you've said it that many times, you're just going to say it the same way. And you want to figure out how to discover things in the moment and, you know, not be stuck with one way of saying it because the director wants you to change it or the other actor is giving a different energy on this day. Like, it is a really sort of finding out things in the moment sort of thing. [00:26:44] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. [00:26:46] Speaker C: Can you talk about casting, Arthur? I know you just mentioned it briefly and it being such a large part of the process. [00:26:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:26:52] Speaker C: Talk about when it comes to. You've made short films, obviously you've made sketches. You've made everything under the sun and working on your feature. I know. Which is awesome. When it comes time for casting, though, like, what. What does that process look like? Are you finding yourself returning to the same actors and when you are looking for new actors, like, what are you looking for? [00:27:14] Speaker A: Yeah, I definitely feel like with the specific sketches I've been doing, it's what's been. One of the best things about getting to go to USC is that I've met so many, like, funny, talented, like minded people. And you would be surprised how sometimes non actors are better actors than actors. Because I find that writers are the best actors because they're generally the funniest. Because a writer knows what they're going for. They have it completely in their head. And a lot of writers maybe have acting experience or whatever or improv experience. And I have found that I love just casting my friends that make me laugh and it just makes things so much more comfortable. I can trust everybody. And it's also a lot easier to direct your friends. Like I can be candid with a friend. You don't necessarily need to step around things with a friend. And I also feel like an actor who is my friend can be candid with me and about how I'm doing and we can have this growing conversation which feels a lot better to me necessarily than, I don't know, maybe not feeling comfortable enough to tell an actor that I want him to do it a different way. But I don't really know them and how is that my place? And yeah, from with the director mindset. I love to cast people that I know and I know can deliver because I just think it makes for me the most fun product too. Just like on set and the dynamic and everything. But going forward, I'm a huge fan of comedy. I'm a huge fan of niche comedy and I'm very in touch with like the niche stand up scene. And there are handfuls of people who are 10 years older than me that I love and think are so talented who haven't necessarily gotten their big break yet. And I've. One of my main goals getting into film has always been I really will feel like I've made it when I get the opportunity to take these people who I love and get to put them in great things and help not just my career, but their careers and everything too. And that would be like such a dream of mine going forward. Like, I would love to work with people who aren't just my friends who are actors and comedians and real people that inspire me and I really look up to and who I really feel like. I love their voice so much. I would love to get the opportunity to collaborate with them and kind of take their voice and collaborate with my voice and make something awesome out of it. [00:29:54] Speaker B: It's so interesting because I feel like we are at the point in our lives where we're still developing our own comedic voices. Right? Like we're still, especially in comedy. You could be looking at, we talked about Please don't Destroy or Tim Robinson or more traditional sketch players. Like, there are so many different comedic voices, and it's kind of just about, like, finding, like, let me try on this voice. Let me try on that voice. Let me see what fits, you know? So it's interesting. You talk about these people 10 years above us who are like, I want that person because their voice aligns with mine. Or, I would. I know exactly how to write for their voice or things like that. So, like, what. What voices have you experimented with and what. What sort of voices do you admire? [00:30:40] Speaker A: Everyone. Speaking about Tim Robinson, and I think you should leave. Everyone in his world fits. I feel aligned so well with me. I also feel as if I am. If you can tell a British person. Apologies, Luke. [00:31:01] Speaker B: Did we talk about that before? We. [00:31:02] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:31:03] Speaker B: Okay, keep going. [00:31:05] Speaker A: Okay, thank you. I feel like I grew up on Ali G and Borat and Alan Partridge and all of these amazing comedic British characters, and I've always resonated with that, but I always almost more resonated with American comedies. And as soon as I binged the office for the first time, it just set everything off, and I went through the whole complete rabbit hole. But I will say, funnily enough, the comedy which I think resonates with me the most is like Aussie and New Zealand comedy, because it is a mix between the two. It's this think about, like, what we do in the shadows, like the original movie. It is this incredibly heightened idea, the concept of vampires, but they're vampires who argue about doing the dishes. [00:32:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:32:03] Speaker A: You have this heightened, crazy characters speaking the most mundane dialogue you can ever think of. And I think that is a beautiful mix between American grandism and the mundane comedy of British. And I really, really have always resonated with that style of comedy. And I think when it comes to what I like to write and what I like to direct and what I like to make, you will see a lot of that in my work. [00:32:29] Speaker C: Where do you think you are on. On the path of finding your. Your comedic voice? Because obviously, an artist's voice is something that an artist does not find until sometimes. Never. A lot of times never. Right. A lot of artists say that, like. Yeah, it's a constant journey. It's a constant just curiosity of continuing to evolve and adapt and the whole thing. Growing with an artist. Where do you feel like you are on that journey? [00:32:57] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I've only really been doing film. I'm, like, fairly new to film. This is probably my fifth year or something doing film. I was an artist in High school, and I kind of found my way into film through video installation art. And I just tried to keep making all of my video installations and weird video stuff funny. And my professors, no one was. Everyone was like, this doesn't make much sense to us. But I eventually realized, oh, film is the thing that I want to do. TV is my greatest passion, and to be able to do the thing which makes me the most happy would be so amazing. And applied to usc, thankfully, got in, and that kind of changed my life because I got to come out to America, and I think in England, there's a lot of if you have a hobby, everyone's. In America, if you have a hobby, everyone's like, that's so awesome. But in England, if you have a hobby, everyone's like, why the fuck would you be doing that? And so coming out to America changed everything for me because I met all these people who I kind of. People I've never met before who wanted to make movies and do things and be creative and take risks and put themselves out there. And that completely shifted everything for me and made me more confident in my filmmaking. And in that sense, I had this voice I felt like, but a voice I hadn't really been able to share or show to anyone yet. And over the last four years, I've really been able to try with, like, the sketches and the short films and writing and everything. I've really been able to figure out, like, what makes me laugh and what do I want to say with my comedy, if that is. I'm trying to make a cum joke sketch because I think that it's gonna be completely irreverent and crazy. But it. But I can do it in a way which is smart enough to have your parents watch a sketch about a con joke and think, that was like, yeah, I get that. That's kind of. I understand why that was made. I do think I'm always juggling that, like, where is the line of craziness? And how do I make something so stupid? It's smart or so smart it's stupid. And I love to play in that space. [00:35:26] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, it can be a stupid topic, but you can do it in a smart way. Meaning it can. What's funny about the cum sketch is not the cum. It is the social awkwardness of the situation. Right. It's about a guy who doesn't understand the norm and is misunderstanding things. So, like, that's where the comedy comes from. It's not the vulgarness or whatever it may be. Yeah. [00:35:52] Speaker A: I will say I Would quickly like to say, though, if anyone is ever struggling with making a sketch and they don't know where to go with it, and they're trying to think of what's funny. Little bit of a cheat code. Bodily functions are always funny. [00:36:10] Speaker B: Always funny. [00:36:10] Speaker A: They are always gonna hit always. And blind ranking number one, vomit, because it is visual, but it's also audible. Like, you don't need to actually see the vomit for it to be funny. You can just hear it. And also, it is so, so divisive. Most people have vomit phobias. So you can make something which people can't watch or people are gonna love because the person they're sitting next to can't stomach it. Absolutely. Number two, come because of how vulgar it is and how uncomfortable it makes everybody. I think that it is awesome because you can try. You got to try and find a way to make something which no one wants to talk about. Like, I've screen. I've screened calm sketches in front of a hundred people, and it's like, how the hell are you supposed to react? And if you can get a laugh out of that, you're doing something right. And then you just go down the line, piss, poop, blood. All funny. [00:37:17] Speaker B: I love it. Have you ever seen waiters who are nauseated by food? [00:37:22] Speaker A: Yeah, classic. I mean, that if you look at. [00:37:25] Speaker B: It, it's a perfect example of that. Right? It's just like someone about to throw up. That's the whole sketch. [00:37:31] Speaker A: And if you look at kind of the history of that and you look at, like, the Dana Carvey show, you see this national treasure, who was Dana Carvey on snl, which is the. Which has kind of become the most mainstream form of comedy and wasn't quite there at the time, but it obviously was supposed to be for everyone. He was making Church lady and all of these characters that anyone, your grandma, anyone could. Could watch and enjoy. And he decided to take a risk and bring together all of these great minds and writers and actors and make this show, which got canceled before the first season even finished. But it's such a time capsule, and it's so brave, and it stems so many amazing people's careers. You have Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert. You even have Charlie Kaufman in the writers room, which is, like, insane to think about. [00:38:23] Speaker B: Louis C.K. i think was in the writer room. [00:38:25] Speaker A: Louis C.K. and then it just goes to show that sometimes, even if you are in a completely comfortable space with comedy, it is important to take those risks and take the dive and try something for you back. Because even if it doesn't work. I'm sure if Dana Coffey looks back now, he doesn't regret doing that because of how much amazing stuff came out of it. [00:38:49] Speaker B: Absolutely. And also, imagine if that was able to be on Netflix, you know, like, yeah, we're in an era where shows are able to find their audience and they're a lot more accessible. Or if it was on YouTube or something like that, you know. [00:39:01] Speaker A: Yeah, not. [00:39:02] Speaker B: Not to say that it would be on YouTube, but it's, you know, like, Netflix is a global. Like, things go viral and shows pick up traction in a completely different way. So, like, I do think it would be huge nowadays. [00:39:15] Speaker A: Yeah. YouTube is so powerful. I mean, the Internet is like, it's completely made things accessible. And, you know, I. I kind of shake my head a bit when people go, you can just make something on your iPhone and you can put it out there, whatever. And it's like, sure, you can, but you can. I mean, you can post things. You can post anything you want. You could post a photo of your toe right now and add to a thousand people and see what happens. And that was the scariest thing for me at the beginning of all of this. I was really scared about, like, I'm gonna be posting. I'm gonna be putting myself out there. It's like, I'm pretty. Like, one of the sketches is me, like, pissing for four minutes. [00:40:04] Speaker B: Yes. [00:40:04] Speaker A: It's like, I'm literally. Not literally, but I'm kind of showing my dick to the world, and that's terrifying. And it's, again, coming from somewhere like England. I wasn't sure. I was scared. I was like, how are people going to react to this? Are people going to support me? Or they're just going to be like, what the fuck is this guy doing? And I think my biggest advice to anyone who's thinking about posting and making sketches is that people are wanting to see the stuff you want to do. People do want to see what you're getting up to, and people do want to see what you have to offer. And I think it's really important to remember that and be able to let go and just be like, okay, I made this. It was mine. Let me just give it out to the world and just try and forget about it. Just hope for the best. And I think more times than not, if you can really show that you've put a lot of heart and effort into it, people will feel that and they will react positively. [00:41:02] Speaker B: Absolutely. And another piece of advice that I have is, on the other end of it, Nobody's looking at your work and being like, ew, that's awful. I'm never gonna watch that person again. Like, that's the other fear, right? Is that, like, people. I'm gonna put something out there, and people are gonna find it not funny, you know? [00:41:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:19] Speaker B: And it's like the people who will find it funny will far outweigh and deem the other, you know, quarter of the people insignificant. At the end of the day, it's harder said than done, though. I mean, I've definitely struggled with that in the past. There's a big intimidation factor, even. I'm sure we had similar experiences. Like, I went to nyu, and there's a zillion sketch and improv groups there, and they can become hierarchical and political in a lot of ways. And it's like, it's definitely a huge scene. Especially, I can't imagine coming from a place where you weren't doing sketch comedy or you barely knew how to pick up a camera and do anything. Was there an intimidation factor? Coming from England to USC and seeing, like, oh, my God, like, fucking. Will Ferrell went here, and Kyle Mooney and Good Neighbor started here. Like, it's all these people who are legends now. You're like, should I just give up? Like. Like, what. What were those thoughts going through your head at the beginning? [00:42:20] Speaker A: I think that for me, I think a lot of people talk about. Not Stockholm Syndrome. [00:42:28] Speaker B: Imposter syndrome. Yeah. [00:42:31] Speaker A: Yeah. With me, a lot of people speak about Stockholm syndrome. [00:42:33] Speaker B: They do talk about that. [00:42:34] Speaker A: A lot of. Yeah, a lot of people speak about imposter syndrome. And I feel like a lot of people feel that way forever. [00:42:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:42] Speaker A: I think for me, instead of it being like, what the hell am I doing here? Why would they let me in? Questioning myself the whole time? It was more like, this is a shot in the dark. I don't even. I haven't really done film before. This is the thing I've decided I want to do. What better place to do that? In the place where Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell, and all my heroes were born. And I think when I got in, rather than being like, why am I here? I was just so grateful that I did get to be here, because, again, I wasn't going to go to an American college. If I didn't get into USC or nyu, it would have been just somewhere back home doing whatever it is that I was going to be doing. And so I feel like I was just so excited to learn and become kind of the filmmaker that I feel like I've got to today that it completely trumped all of the imposter syndrome. And it was more like, okay, even though technically I'm at the bottom, because there are people who've been doing this for 10 years, their whole life, five years before me. What if instead of feeling like, oh, I don't know how to do this, I learn from them? We came into USC at such a weird time. It was Covid era and first semester was just on Zoo. 8 hour time difference in my bedroom in London. And it was like, sucked. But then second semester, I fortunately made a handful of friends over zoom and I was just like, can we move out? Let's move to la. There had been some people who did it before me in the film school and they were staying at this apartment building. We were like, let's move here. And even though we still won't be able to go into class, we can bubble together and it would just be a better experience. And we did it. And I got to have a semester crash course into how to make movies. Because at that part of the semester in film production, you had to make like eight movies over the semester and all four of us had to make eight movies. [00:44:50] Speaker B: So you're all helping each other on everything. [00:44:52] Speaker A: Yeah, weekly, like weekly we would make four movies. And, you know, I had a friend who was way better at the camera and he had a Sony and he told me how to use that. And then friends who had made other things and then I found that, like, I got to come in and with the little experience I had, I understood how to try and make something funny. And so I. [00:45:16] Speaker B: You're providing a skill set that other people lack in. You know, it's. You all balance each other out. [00:45:22] Speaker A: And that was just kind of like the most valuable part for me because then going into the next semester when everybody got to school, it was like, all right, I fit feel like I'm closer. And now I just have to ride this way now and back myself. And that's the thing. You kind of come in being like, I have to do this all myself. But you don't. Film is all collaboration. If, like, I still not confident shooting, I'm not very good with the camera, but that's okay because I'm not a dp and I know incredibly talented people who I'm friends with who do know how to use the camera. So I invite them over and I have them come shoot. And it makes things a million times better for everybody and it gives another person something fun to put on their reel. [00:46:04] Speaker B: Dude, I just Flew to New York with Adam and we shot a promo sketch. Like, it's. We're using all, you know, Luke made the intro, and it's really important to find those people who know how to do that stuff and have their own equipment and things like that. It's a very real thing, especially out of school. [00:46:22] Speaker A: One of the best things I ever did, which I. It is. Comedy is nice because it doesn't necessarily need to look amazing. Like, the cinematography is one of the lower things of importance in a sketch or a comedy short film or. Or anything. However, one of the best things I ever did was invest in a Sony FX3, because now I just have a camera which is this big. That is a cinema camera, which footage you can technically sell to Netflix or go anywhere. And I have it and I own it, and I can just go and shoot my sketches at a high quality, and they can look good and they can look professional without really much lighting or anything. They don't look like a movie, but they look way better than what I was shooting on before. [00:47:11] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:47:13] Speaker A: And I feel like it just takes you to another. It just elevates you. I personally have a lot of respect for people who make kind of TikTok and Instagram content and shoot on their phone and things. I find that some of my favorite things that I watch daily are shot like that. But I personally am more inspired and come more from the idea of wanting to do more traditional media. And so I personally want to make my things, you know, shoot it on a camera and make it look a little more elevated, just because it's like, I've graduated with a film degree. I might as well try and use it so that. Definitely. But I mean, it's like, that's not smart, you know, I should be shooting on my iPhone. I should be making clips, and I should be subtitling if I want to go viral, if I want people to see the things. But I'm at a point right now still where what makes me feel the most fulfilled is if I have a horizontal 4K video. [00:48:11] Speaker C: We talk a lot about the time when it's. It's. It's necessary to. To take the bridge from short films to features or short films to that first pilot or sketches to that first pilot, etc. I. I also look at sketches as comedic shorts. Right. I think you've proved it to us easily. Maybe you don't see it, but if, like, the first thing you said being like, you know, short films, you have to have a message you want to be saying Something and it's like, well, sketches are, from the way you look at it, with so much intention and care and passion. It's like, that is absolutely a comedic short film. With that being said, would love to jump into knowing when it's time to make that leap, that big step from again, shorts to features. I know you're working on stuff and share what you can share, but a lot of people talk about you just got to take the leap. Is that true or is it really. There's a moment where you're like, you know What? I made 10 shorts. Is there a number of shorts you're supposed to make? Talk about that. [00:49:16] Speaker A: I think you have to have a real audacity. You have to be like, yes, I can make a movie. Even if you can't make a movie. Yeah, you'll see that a lot of actual real big time directors who have made it have always pushed for just go out and make something. And I'm very much about that too. I think there never is a good time unless you make one. It's a lot about faking it until you make it. And if you look to your friend and you go, let's make a movie. And you go speak to your friends who are producing, you go, you want to make a movie? And they go, okay, if you start convincing the world that it's happening, then maybe it'll start happening. I think that also there is no harm in trying to write a movie, because if you write a movie, you can also submit it to film festivals, you can submit the script to script competitions and you don't necessarily have to make it. You can also get accolades in that way. And if you have writing to your name, let's say a cool agent or a manager or someone awesome that you meet at the 5050 festival is like, do you have anything that we can make? You can be like, oh, yes, I have this pilot and I have this feature. And that's something I definitely want to get better at. You know, I love to write and I have written pilots and I've written movies and I would just like to continue doing that next year and to have more. Because what the sketches do for me is post college. It gives me an outlet to make. I love to create. I want something physical. I want to make things and I want to put them out there. But I think it is equally as important to continue to do the of imaginary things like outlining and actually writing and having a PDF document. And even if it isn't real in the world yet, you have to have things waiting for when the, when the opportunity strikes. And making that jump, I do really just think is like, even though I've said like the sketches, script doesn't have to be perfect because you can allow improv, you can allow whatever. You should not, not in my opinion, start making a movie unless the script is incredible. The script needs to be the most important thing in your mind at the beginning of everything. And just when the script is ready, then I think you're able to move forward and start thinking about, okay, let's see if we can make this thing. [00:51:47] Speaker B: Or even having six ideas or six treatments or whatever is a great idea. As you said, being prepared for when that moment strikes. You can do a lot in sketch comedy and you can gain some sort of following and people can, you can have your video shown to someone else and it's funny. And then the moment your video is shown to an agent or manager or even an executive at a, at a studio or a production company, they're going to ask, okay, what else does he have? You know, I, I, this is already made. I, I already, I can't make any money off of this or whatever their goal is, or I can't build a career off of this because I need to know what else they've done that I can go and sell. And it's not necessarily that they can. So if a manager looks at your work and they're like, I can sell this. It's not necessarily that they're even going to sell that script, it's that they're going to sell you off of that script. So it's that they're going to see that script and be able to send it to all of their friends who are the decision makers in Hollywood. And they're like, okay, great, like this is a great sample. We have this IP that is in development that we have this angle on that we would love to hear their take on. And like that's sometimes the route. So it's so important to like be over prepared and invest in yourself in all the ways. [00:53:04] Speaker A: I like the sketches and I like putting myself in them because I'm creating a brand around my name. I am Arthur Goldbar. I am the face and I'm the brain and I'm the eyes and I'm all the things behind this stuff. And it's like, okay, you look at like, what does Arthur do? You can go on my Instagram right now and there are five videos which tell you exactly what I do and exactly the kind of things that I like to make and then if you're interested in that and you're like, okay, what if the long form stuff, it's like, okay, great, now I can show you the pilot that I really care about or I can talk you through this movie idea that I have. But yeah, I do think that like branding and making sure that you as yourself is a sellable package is definitely. [00:53:54] Speaker C: Probably quite important when it comes to branding especially. I mean, you've spoken about social media and you've had a lot of success with social media. That your sketches specifically, that, that most recent or one of the most recent. Is that what, 70 or 100k now something views? [00:54:11] Speaker A: Yeah, the pissed one, which is a sketch about me peeing in a toilet after fighting with my girlfriend, is at about like 85,000 views on YouTube right now. [00:54:23] Speaker C: It's amazing. [00:54:24] Speaker A: And it's counting, it's going up every day. But I will say I'm still learning how to have people see my things and for my things to be quote unquote successful. I think that there's lots of different worlds like Instagram, I'm having 3,000 to 4,000 people watch my stuff. And it's mostly my friends and my friends friends because I'm not doing viral content, I'm not really getting viral numbers. But you learn these tricks of the algorithm, the tricks of the trade. And it's at this point I'm just trying to make things that I think are fun and good and hope that maybe eventually the numbers will come along with that. [00:55:07] Speaker B: Absolutely. So it's after college, you're a few months out and you are actively still making things and working on a feature and it's very exciting. But I'm curious, without the backdrop or safety net of USC and the, the, you know, the surrounded by like minded people all day, like, how are you sort of keeping that rhythm going and how are you keeping motivation up? [00:55:35] Speaker A: It's so hard. [00:55:36] Speaker B: It's so hard. [00:55:37] Speaker A: It's like hard. Yeah. And I'm a huge procrastinator and I made five sketches this year. I could have made 50, I could have made a sketch a week. I could have made a sketch every two weeks. But you don't because you get scared again and you get complacent or you want to. You hold yourself to a standard. Every time you post one sketch, the next sketch has to be better or at that same level. So you don't necessarily want to half ass anything. You really want to make sure. Because I do think it's important to make things, but I also think it's important to have quality over quantity. And so it's just a case of. And also, when your friends start getting jobs and the people who used to make things with you can't make things with anymore because they're all busy now. Things can get tricky. But then it's like, all right, you just have to adapt. You find your friends who are in the year below you at school who still want to shoot stuff and learn, and you're like, this is a learning experience for all of us. This is an opportunity for all of us to kind of come together and make something awesome. And, you know, you. I. You have to remember always that everybody who has decided to make something with you is doing you a massive favor. You know, it's. It's completely. You have no right to be taking this much time with anybody else. And so you just have to remember that it is so nice that everybody has decided to come and work with you. That, I mean, it's so important to say please. It's so important to say thank you. Like, I really always try and make sure that everybody knows that they're valued on my sets. I find that, like, the worst thing you can do is have people completely stressed and not wanting to be there and feeling like they can't even approach you while you're shooting because you're in this crazy zone. I think you have to be on that. You can't lose your humanity, and you can't lose those manners, because otherwise, why would anybody want to be around you? Like, it is so important to set that precedent, because then if you're a good person to work with, more people are going to want to work with you. And especially if you're making things which people like, and it's like, oh, Arthur's set was fun, and we made a cool thing. Why wouldn't you want to come back to that? [00:57:52] Speaker B: Yeah. And people are leaving your set and talking about it, and then their friends want to work with you. And I'm sure, you know, since you've been making videos so consistently, people find them funny, and you get better in your craft, and therefore, people reach out to you. Like, has that happened to you where people are reaching out to you? [00:58:10] Speaker A: It's been so much fun. It's like, I have these. My. A lot of amazing actors and people and filmmakers and people who, in SCA and sda, they see a thing and they DM you, and you're like, this is so much fun. Can I be a part of the next one? And I'm like, I'm like, I would have begged for you to be in this. This is so amazing that you are reaching out to me because definitely put you in it. And I mean, it was so crazy. Like, I was just back in London for winter break, and. And I would have never imagined just, like, walking around town and bumping into old friends and then being like, I watched the sketch. It was funny. I liked it. I was like, what the hell? Like, you're watching that and you liked it. Like, that's unbelievable. So it's, like, very cool to have that feeling of, like, oh, the validation is there, and it keeps you going. It's like, people are watching people like it, and now it's kind of good. It's like, oh, maybe people have come to expect. Expect it. So now that holds me accountable because it's like, what happens when I haven't posted a sketch in a month? People might start being like, where is the silly little thing that you promised us? And I think that is good for drive because it's like, now I have people that I might be letting down if I'm not putting things out there. It's also very helpful that, like, bouncing off things. Like, my roommate is one of my biggest creative collaborators, and we write a lot of and make a lot of stuff together, and we'll both be able to come home from work and make dinner and eat and then be like, all right, let's talk about the movie that we want to make. Let's see if we can get an hour of writing in now. And it's Sunday, and we had a nice break on Saturday. Let's spend an hour or two writing a couple pages. And that is really helpful when the person that you really enjoy bouncing ideas off is in the room next door. Soul. [01:00:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:00:04] Speaker C: You and Andrew have such an incredible relationship, too. And I, I, I, I see it firsthand. You guys are roommates and have been roommates for so many years, and, and it's so special, and it's so rare. It really is. And I know I've told you guys this before, but it's like, it really is so rare, and it's, it's really cool to see that you guys both have just found a way to evolve with one another and really to support each other throughout this journey. Journey. A lot of our listeners are in the emerging space, and a lot of them are filmmakers who are aspiring filmmakers and want to pick up a camera but don't know how, or want to make a sketch but don't know how. Seeing the time, I'D love to wrap things up with you giving a very brief, almost like pep talk to a young first time sketch director. What are you telling them? Them before they jump off? Like, what do you. What are you telling them? [01:01:02] Speaker A: I'll tell them with the motivational music playing behind me that nobody gives a shit. Which I think is a really nice thing. It's like you think that everybody is going to hate it and they're going to rip you apart, but you have to remember that like half the people are going to not even watch it and the other half are going to be like, this is so cool. You made something that's awesome. I think that is the most important thing going in. You will have in your head all of these boards bouncing around about how it's going to be perceived. But the perception is the least important part of the process. Think about the process. Start step by step. Don't think ahead too much. Start with the idea. It's the most important thing. The sketch doesn't work without a good idea. Think of an idea. Tell your friend the idea. I think that if you can get the best sketches, the best movies, the best everything, someone will laugh if you say the logline out loud. That is an easy way to know if you're in the right direction already before anything. And then just follow that thread. You're like, okay, well, let me try write it. Let me show it to a friend. Okay, this is working. They had a good idea. Don't be scared to say, hey, that's a great idea. Can I use that? Everyone will be like, yes, of course. And then don't be scared to invite your friends too. I think that if I put myself in the headspace that I'm back in London and I was making my first movie as my USC application film, I was really scared to ask my friends to be in it. And I didn't really ask my friends. I asked people that I kind of knew in the art department of my school who I was like, I feel like they're like minded and they kind of would get it. I think that you have to remember that your friends are your friends for a reason and they are going to support you. And like, you don't think someone wants to be in a movie? Everyone wants to be in a movie. Of course they want. Even if they can't act, can't do whatever, everybody wants to be in your movie, even if you don't think they want to. So that is a great way to kind of just like get your friends involved in your passion. Is just be like, can you play this person in the background? Or can you hold this camera for me? Or can you hold the boom microphone? Like sound is so important. Don't forget about sound. At the beginning, I didn't know any, I didn't know about sound. I went to film school, they told me it was about sound. It's like, oh my God. My. I had a professor who would say, no one's going to walk out of the cinema if the movie looks bad, but if it sounds like people were going to leave. And that's just a case of like renting or investing in a good boom mic. And that's all you need. Like you can get labs, you can do the other things, but if you've got a good boom mic and you're conscious about the sound, it's going to elevate your product completely. And now I'll watch a sketch or a first time film or a short and I'll be like, this is great, but sounds funny. And it's that one thing you want to tell those young filmmakers, like don't forget about that because it's so important. And it, then you just do it. You got to do it. Once it's done, you don't have to edit it for five years. Like you can leave that and you never have to look at it again. The most important thing is that you get up and do it. Once something is filmed and it's in the bank, then you are, you've done the thing, then the finishing touch is just like, let's make it good, let's make it happen and then let's put it out there. But if you. I think it is important to put yourself out there. I think it's all part of the process. If you don't feel ready to do that yet, I think that's okay. I think if you want to sit on things, you can. But nothing feels better than when you get that first comment. Being like, this was funny, this was great. And I think it will make it all worth it and it will make you want to come back and do it again. [01:04:57] Speaker B: There is no high like getting told you're funny or I saw you in that. I mean, and you're one step closer to becoming an expert. You know, it's down, it's a long way down the road, but you are, when whatever action you're taking, even if it feels so bad and it feels like a failure, you are one step closer to really finding that amazing success. [01:05:20] Speaker A: You have to get your 10,000 hours of dick and poop jokes in. [01:05:24] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. [01:05:26] Speaker C: I love the bit about casting friends and just like not being afraid to bring friends on. I know we spoke about this previously in the episode and, like, how you do that and keeping it in the circle, but I've never thought about it in the way of such a, like, duh, type type thing of when it comes to artistic voice and being authentic. Of course you're going to cast the people you love. What an easy, almost streamlined way of. I'm putting myself into something, so why not actually fill the project? [01:06:04] Speaker A: It's probably not necessarily the healthiest way of looking at things, but you can look at art and film as a form of therapy. It's like the things you're probably writing are things about your life and the things that you're thinking about and struggling with and everything that's plaguing you at that moment in time. So why not not get even more meta with it and bring in those people that the characters are based off of? It's a great way. Like, we made a short film last year, me and Andrew and a bunch of our other friends, and it's called the Deep End, and it's based on Andrew's real life, about when his lung spontaneously collapsed. And it's like a crazy, random thing which just happens to tall, skinny guys sometimes. And it just happened to him. And it was something which was so traumatic to him for many years. And he told it to me and I last thing, first thing I did was I laughed. I was like, that is so funny. And he. At first it's like, huh, you're right, that is funny. That is so random. It's so weird. And that happened to me. And then we made a dramedy romance movie out of it, and we took a bunch of his experience. I took that and put in, like, how would I turn this into a film? How can I add to this the dialogue and elevating and all of this stuff? And we made that, and it's like a perfect example of being able to move forward in life. That film stars his best friend from home playing his best friend from home. All the extras in the background are people from his hometown and people he went to high school with. It was such a cathartic way to take that trauma and be able to now be like, I did that. I can move on from this thing. I've made it. It's cemented, it lives forever. And now people can actually see my experience on screen. You can go on YouTube, spend 17 minutes and learn everything you need to know about Andrew. [01:08:06] Speaker B: That's amazing. I think there's no better way to end the podcast with that. Arthur, it's been a privilege, and I feel like we've gone through waves of comedy and waves of drama and everything in between, and it's been. And it's been really great. You know, I know we chat sometimes, but it's been great getting to know you more. [01:08:24] Speaker A: It's been so much fun. Thank you for having me. I do just want to quickly shout out to both of you guys because, I mean, Luke especially is such a wonderful collaborator to me. I would not be. I absolutely wouldn't be where I am today without him. Like, I wouldn't have got up and made a bunch of the stuff I made. He's in a bunch of the stuff I've made, and he's made it so good and so funny. And the 5050 festival has been like this weird place where, like, a commsketch would not get an accolade. Who's gonna give that an accolade? But 5050 is a place where we've been able to screen these silly sketches for a bunch of, like, people and agents and managers and celebrities, and it's just been like, such a crazy. It's like, you know, you come. You've come to LA being like, it's going to be like Entourage. I mean, it's nothing like Entourage. And then one of the actors from Entourage is at the 5050 festival watching your cum sketch, and you're like, oh, this is it. This is my life. And it's amazing. And it's. It's so cool. And it wouldn't. It's only possible because of people like you guys. So shout out big ups submit. I will see you there next year. [01:09:44] Speaker C: Appreciate you, man. And. And just to. To really wrap things up too, is just. I mean, the. The gratitude is clear, you know, and. And it's something you. You mentioned it briefly just how you say thank you on set, and you're always kind of being aware of that and it's true, and it doesn't go unnoticed. Like, I. I think I've said it to you probably to your face many times on set, because it almost seems like he. He's like, it's. It's a very genuine. I. I haven't experienced that until I met Arthur. And it was inspiring to see. Oh, a director should be doing that and can be doing that of, like, really going above and beyond. And you said it like, people don't have to be there, you know, like, our friends don't have to show up, you know? So it's important to have that gratitude. And it shows, man. And it's going to take you a long way as it already has. So. So thank you, man. Appreciate you. Let's definitely hop in the studio soon. And yeah, thanks for coming on, man. [01:10:43] Speaker A: Love, guys. Goodbye. [01:10:45] Speaker B: Thanks. Arthur. [01:10:54] Speaker C: Did you learn something? Unlike your mom, did you learn something in this episode? I hope so. Or not. That's what. Okay, thanks for hanging. Make sure you follow us at the 5050 Fest on Instagram. And I think we have a TikTok. I don't know. Go check it out. Okay. [01:11:06] Speaker B: By.