JulyDiaz

Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet joins the esteemed first timers club on this week’s Comedy Bang! Bang! Eric expertly tells us how to troll Instagram, the lessons he learned from Tina Fey & Del Close in Chicago, and why a spontaneous Z-snap might have helped him in his audition for the role of Cameron on Modern Family. Later, our favorite musical friends Victor & Tiny return with a new friend by the name of Willard “Willy” Mapleton who helps Scott & Eric with their accent work. Impress your Australian friends with this free speech lesson!

It's easy to think every piece of great art or unforgettable pop-culture is the result of effortless genius and precise intentionality. It separates the gods who create from us lay-people who like to eat cheese and can barely decide what to watch on Netflix. Take Spock's "Live Long and Prosper" hand signal. Yeah, it seems a little trivial, it's not 'Starry Night' or 'Hey Jude' or anything, but it's an icon that's lasted in the popular culture for 50 years and stands only second to "May the Force be with you" as the most recognizable totem of the sci-fi genre. Only a genius could've come up with that, right? Not really. Gene Roddenberry and company wanted the Vulcan salute to be the peace sign until Lenoard Nimoy took a stand for what was right and was like, "hey, this is dumb. I know this is coming from the dude wearing pointy ears right now, but can I just try this other thing so I don't look like the stupidest person on television?" And thank god Nimoy did that, because otherwise everyone would've thought 'Star Trek' was cheesy crap, or at least cheesier than it already was considered. So sometimes genius isn't in the intention as much as it is being able to realize a mistake, correct it and pray to god your new solution isn't as dull as the idea that preceded it. And pop culture is so littered with examples like these, there's a lone Native American man shedding a single tear over it. That much litter. So Jack O'Brien is joined on the podcast this week by Cracked's Teresa Lee and Alex Schmidt to talk about the behind the scenes mistakes and last-minute casting changes that made some movies and video games better. They also talk about some ghastly original versions of famous scripts that thankfully never saw the light of day. You don't want to know what the original description of Han Solo was (hint: it included the words "green" and "gills"). Footnotes: Article: Cracked: 5 Famous Roles Obviously Written For a Different Actor: https://goo.gl/PZD4Se Video: Cracked: 8 Times Your Favorite Actors Almost Died on Film: https://goo.gl/FTpSWN Article: Cracked: 5 Iconic Pop Culture Moments Improvised at the Last Second: https://goo.gl/5V8Tl Article: Cracked: 6 Glitches That Accidentally Invented Modern Gaming: https://goo.gl/WbOZ5 Article: Cracked: 6 Iconic Video Games That Were Created By Technical Problems: https://goo.gl/e2DBHN Article: Cracked: 7 Characters Clearly Designed for Different Famous Actors: https://goo.gl/nNrcJD Article: Cracked: 6 Iconic Movie Scenes That Happened By Accident: https://goo.gl/Q49cx Article: Cracked: 5 Amazing Performances From Actors Who Weren't Acting (Part I): https://goo.gl/W6KRf Article: Cracked: 6 Amazing Performances by Actors Who Weren't Acting (Part II): https://goo.gl/W6KRf Article: Cracked: 5 Amazing Performances by Actors Who Weren't Acting (Part III): https://goo.gl/R7Kebk Article: Cracked: 5 Amazing Performances by Actors Who Weren't Acting (Part IV): https://goo.gl/jNMCHl Article: Cracked: 5 Great Performances By Actors Who Weren't Acting (Part V): https://goo.gl/bLft7q Article: Cracked: 5 Actors Who Weren't Acting In Their Most Iconic Roles: https://goo.gl/kk5lV4 Article: Cracked: 6 Actors Who Thought They Had Made A Totally Different Movie: https://goo.gl/Wi6QWh Kyle Ayers' #RoofBreakup: https://goo.gl/KH3j3P Zach Broussard's Top 1000 Comedians: https://goo.gl/nKVn0r SoCal Comedy Fest: https://goo.gl/voRTUN

We got a hot mic this week! Gary makes a shocking private revelation to our guest Naomi Ekperigan… while the tape is rolling. Plus, dreams of fiery rebirth, drug dealer moms, and Dance Dance Revolution. Go to www.casper.com/dreams and use the offer code “DREAMS” for $50 off your next mattress purchase.

Comedian Chris Gethard (Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People) was introduced to musical theatre when, as he puts it, he played Conrad Birdie as a "prepubescent, feminine eighth-grader." Flash forward two decades and Chris met Lin-Manuel Miranda in rehearsals for a This American Life live show. "This guy is genius, this is next level," he remembers thinking. He joins Travon to discuss seeing the original cast of Hamilton, what lyric he sings to make his wife laugh, and what he likes about "Dear Theodosia."

Prince Tomblain has infiltrated Shrike to spy on the Baron and Dark Lord. It's time to hear what he's learned. Arnie: Arnie Niekamp Chunt: Adal Rifai Usidore: Matt Young Tomblain Belaroth: Steve Waltien Mysterious Man: Tim Sniffen Craig: Ryan DiGiorgi Producers: Arnie Niekamp, Evan Jacover, Ryan DiGiorgi Editor: Ryan DiGiorgi Theme Music: Andy Poland Magic Tavern Logo: Allard Laban Audio Assistance: Jason Knox Production Assistance: Garrett Schultz Special Thanks: David Herman

Golden Globe nominees Casey Affleck (Dan Klein) and Viggo Mortensen (Kelly Hudson) break down this year’s awards crop on a cinephilic Hard Nation! Viggo gets emotionally and physically revealing when he shows off his rows of tiny teeth, while Casey’s favorite city will surprise absolutely no one. Plus: Mark identifies strongly with Florence Foster Jenkins.

Happy New Year! Ben Schwartz & Horatio Sanz aka the New Year Bros. are back! Ben, Horatio, and Scott meet Gringo Starr, make songs a little more sexy, and share their New Year’s resolutions. Then, author Shelly Driftwood returns to tell us about his past hanging with porn stars, his recent break-up, and getting into the music industry. Plus, a brand new Closing Up the Plugs Bag theme!

Jimmy Pardo (Never Not Funny) wouldn't dream of entering the Room Where It's Happening without the foremost Hamilton expert in his life: his 9-year-old son, Oliver. The father son-duo discusses getting hooked on Hamilton together, how they manage the occasional curse word in the soundtrack, and the thrill of getting a tour backstage at the Chicago production of Hamilton. Plus, a very enthusiastic sing-along to "I Know Him."

Finally, the conclusion of the Best of Comedy Bang! Bang! 2016 countdown with special co-host Paul F. Tompkins is here with your Top 3 episodes of the entire year and your number 1 on the Best of CBB Live 2016. Thanks for listening and Happy New Year!

Running the gauntlet with Matt Iseman.

Mike Pesca (The Gist) and Ben Kissel (The Last Podcast On The Left) join Negin to digest President Obama's farewell address, Donald Trump's first press conference since July and Meryl Streep's Golden Globes remarks. Plus, Mike offers his one-sentence take on Rex Tillerson.

The very talented director Pam Fryman joins Ronna & Beverly to chat about being an intern for The Mike Douglas Show in high school, her love of working How I Met Your Mother, meeting her husband while working on Hollywood Squares, and much more. Plus, the ladies tell us about their trip to St. Barths and read some of the beautiful cards they’ve received from their lovely listeners.

Join Casey and Danielle in the nook with a verrrrry special yet somewhat unlikely housewives fanatic Michael Rapaport. He enlightens us on why Meryl Streep couldn't handle the role of Ramona Singer and why Mariah needs to give up on the leotards. Danielle shares some tough feedback from her high school days as a passionate/loud/manic songstress.

This week: James Wong Howe! Movie tag lines! The cinema of Peter Yates! And the Coen brothers send up Raymond Chandler!

Noah Oppenheim is a writer, Emmy-winning television producer, and Executive-in-charge of the Today Show. Noah joins Franklin to talk about working as a senior producer for Hardball with Chris Matthews, being a senior producer for The Today Show, moving to LA to pursue writing, writing the screenplay for Jackie, and returning to The Today Show.

The "Man of a Thousand Voices," comedian and impressionist Rich Little joins Gilbert and Frank for an hour of memories and anecdotes about his legendary showbiz pals and co-stars, including Jimmy Stewart, Dean Martin, Don Rickles, Frank Sinatra and Jack Benny (to name but a few). Also, Rich dubs Ernest Borgnine, George Burns takes a phone call, Johnny Carson takes his revenge and David Frye lays down the law. PLUS: The Velvet Fog! "The Caine Mutiny"! Carnac the Magnificent! Ed Sullivan introduces Little Richard! And Gilbert "dances for Fred Astaire"!

By November, 1964, detective Phil DiNatale was closing in on a prime suspect, Albert DeSalvo, who had a long record of sexual assaults. DeSalvo was already in custody, in fact, at Bridgewater State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he was undergoing psychiatric evaluation. But while the police were gathering evidence, DeSalvo was confessing to a fellow inmate, George Nassar, that HE was the Boston Strangler. In this episode, host Portland Helmich visits George Nassar in prison to learn more about DeSalvo’s confession. She also meets DeSalvo’s attorney, F. Lee Bailey, who rose to prominence in his defense of DeSalvo, and who changed the course of the Boston Strangler investigation by getting to Bridgewater and DeSalvo one day ahead of the police.

Comedians Brittani Nichols and Ariana Lenarsky, hosts of Brand New Podcast join Andrew to talk about New Year’s resolutions, the Golden Globes, La La Land, and much more. As always, leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

On the first of three very special Star Wars trilogy episodes of I Was There Too, Matt is joined by Anthony Forrest who plays the sand trooper mind-tricked by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Mos Eisley roadblock who said 'These aren’t the droids we’re looking for,' in George Lucas’ 1977 film Star Wars. Anthony tells us how he was cast as the sand trooper after also being cast as Luke Skywalker’s friend Fixer in the deleted scenes from the film, not being able to see a thing in the helmet, and getting to work with Lucas, Guinness, and Hamill. We also hear tales of rubbing elbows with Roger Moore in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me and getting to see John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their 'Bed-In for Peace' campaign. Later, top secret guest Starship 1 returns to talk more about her audition for Star Wars: Episode 8. Plus, a classic Star Wars Superego sketch!

Recorded live from the world famous Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles, Robert Kirkman of The Walking Dead and Emily V. Gordon of The Meltdown with Jonah & Kumail join Paul and Jason to discuss the 2009 Neveldine/Taylor film Gamer. They’ll cover everything including Gerard Butler’s way to get a car starting, the Michael C. Hall dance sequence, Terry Crews baring all, and the potential Ludacris cross-over with Fast & Furious. Plus, we settle the really important parts of the film during Audience Q&A! Get yourself a BB-8 “What Is Its Mission?” T-shirt or Tote Bag over at http://howdidthisgetmade.bigcartel.com Where to Find Jason, June & Paul: Paul, Jason and June appear in a new animated pilot BAD GUYS on Adult Swim watch and vote here http://adultswim.com/misc/pilots/ Paul’s new comedy Filthy Preppy Teen$ is now avail on the FullScreen and you can see June and Paul in their old show NTSF:SD:SUV:: on HULU. Paul also appears on Fresh off the Boat on ABC. June stars in Grace and Frankie on Netflix, as well as Lady Dynamite alongside with Jason. Jason can be seen in How to Be Single, Sleeping with Other People, and is still indeed in The Dictator.

The hilarious Rhea Butcher of Put Your Hands Together and Wham Bam Pow joins Paul, June, and Jason to discuss Runaway, a movie that is 1984 to the max! They’ll cover everything from the box robots with guns, Gene Simmons’ intense stare, and Tom Selleck’s kissing endurance. Plus, June shares how she had a real existential crisis possibly caused by robots. San Diego: How Did This Get Made will be LIVE at the House of Blues on Saturday, August 1st! Get tickets now for both shows here: http://concerts.livenation.com/venueartist/82551/2104335?c=LNSM_CT_SanDiego_HowDidThisGetMade_twt_ad_070915 People of the internet: Check out June in Grace and Frankie available on Netflix, all the episodes of NTSF:SD:SUV:: on HULU for free, and ScheeRL on YouTube here:

Writer and go-getter Lily Drew joins Deanna and Emily this week to tell us about the LA club scene, people faking the funk on social media, and the future of VR (virtual reality).

Join guest host Samm Levine as he sits down with actor/director Rider Strong (Boy Meets World, Cabin Fever). Rider chats about starting theater at age 5, becoming a slave to his hair, and discovering that swords don’t make comical “swoosh” sounds.

Rapper Micah James joins Jensen and guest co-host Intuition to talk about the importance of connecting to a live audience while performing, Chicago rapper/hip hop artist Noname, rapper Thed Jewel, The Love Witch, how we were late on scented candles, and much more.

How horny are high school marching band kids? Is it appropriate for a boy to dye his hair in the girls bathroom? This week’s caller drank a sh**-ton (sorry Sally) of coffee and raises these very important questions. She also uses her practiced ‘compassionate teacher’ voice on Chris, and gets him to open up about his feelings on creativity, fame and success.