Tag Archives: Jason
Jay and Silent Bob’s Jason Mewes talks drug addiction, cannabis and laughter
If laughter is the best medicine, then Jason Mewes is quite healthy these days. We caught up with Mewes, best known as best known as the talking half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in advance of tonight’s live taping of their successful (and hysterical) weekly comedy podcast, Jay and Silent Bob Get Old at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado.
For fans, it’s basically Mewes and Smith as two dirty-minded teenagers stuck in the bodies of men approaching middle age, complete with fart and poop jokes. Probably not too different from you and your friends on any given Friday night after a joint or two.
The duo are in Colorado this week recording for an episode of the podcast dubbed, appropriately, the POTcast. I had a chance to catch up with Mewes about the show, his addiction to oxys an cocaine, and his undying love for cannabis–even if he’s not smoking it these days.
“Our podcast is something we started nearly two years ago, talking and telling behind-the-scenes stories behind our friendship. We’ve known each other for 25 years, so we’ll talk about stuff that happened twenty years ago and stuff that might have happened a week ago,” Mewes said over the phone earlier this week. “We talk about everything and put it out there and try and make it entertaining. Like the first time I had a threesome, or the first time I woke up next to some random girl and had crapped my pants.”
For the rest of our interview with Mewes, head over to our sister paper Westword.com. And to check out Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, click over to their Smodcast page and spin one up. Snoochie Boochies.
More links from around the web!
‘THQ had every chance to survive’ Jason Rubin says
The THQ fallout is over: everything that could be auctioned off was, and everything else has either been downsized or left to mire in bankruptcy proceedings. Former president Jason Rubin told MCV that THQ was largely responsible for its own undoing.
“I think it is incorrect to attribute THQ’s predicament with overall changes in the industry,” Rubin said. “To be sure, all triple-A publishers have been under pressure, but THQ had every chance to survive had it not made massive mistakes.
“Unfortunately, the mistakes that were made long before I joined, like the incredible losses attached to uDraw, massive wasted capital in the unpublished MMO [likely Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millenium Online] that was cancelled, sticking with children’s and casual titles far after mobile and tablets had killed the business, bad, late, or otherwise inferior titles like Homefront, and a generally haphazard and inefficient approach to deal making, left the company with too much negative hanging on its books.”
Rubin said he had hoped to preserve THQ with a planned bankruptcy leading to a sale to Clearlake Capital Group. This would have wiped away the company’s debts and left it largely in one piece. However, the publisher’s debtholders objected that the deal would not produce nearly as much cash as a piecemeal sale of its assets, and they were right.
Many of THQ’s franchises and studios went to eager new homes, but Rubin considers it a “failure on his part” that he was not able to save the whole Vigil team. He is pleased, however, that Crytek scooped up Vigil’s core developers to form its new Austin studio.
“I made many calls to potential buyers, effectively begging them to take a look at Vigil during the process, but there were no takers. As I have also said before, I think that is a result of timing, and confusion over Darksiders’ quality and sales rather than an indication of the value of the team. When Crytek asked casually about Vigil after the auction I was incredibly happy to be able to put them in contact with Vigil. I am very happy for [studio boss] Dave Adams and the team and wish them the best.”
Jason Sudeikis on The Stash
Saturday Night Live‘s Jason Sudeikis stops by the HIGH TIMES office to discuss some of his favorite musical moments from the show. Don’t miss this special Stash interview with HT managing editor Jen Bernstein.
HIGHTIMES.COM –
THQ’s Jason Rubin on bankruptcy concerns
THQ has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but its president Jason Rubin says it’s not so much of an ending for the studio as a chance for a new beginning. Rubin explained the deal with private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group to fans, stressing the plan is for THQ as they know it to remain more or less the same.
Rubin expressed confidence in working with Clearlake Capital Group. While it’s not a sure thing Clearlake will be the firm to purchase THQ, as the company’s assets are open for bidding as part of Chapter 11 proceedings, the arrangements have been made.
“In fact, Clearlake is even providing the company the money it needs to keep working on the products as the process plays itself out,” Rubin said. “And importantly, when the purchase is complete, Clearlake has committed to invest additional ample capital to let us finish the games we are making and continue making games going forward.
“In short, they are investing in a new start for our company.”
Consumers often are not even aware of the effects Chapter 11 has on companies. Rubin pointed to American Airlines and MGM as current or former filers which are operating normally. It’s of course in Rubin’s interest to paint as positive a picture as possible of the deal, but he does a good job of making bankruptcy sound surprisingly peachy.
Rubin said the company’s upcoming releases as well as future projects were unaffected, though Kotaku had a bizarre PR experience trying to confirm whether or not Darksiders developer Vigil’s Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millenium still actually exists.
“Rest assured that the goal throughout the sale process has been to preserve our teams and our products,” Rubin said. “In short, the teams will be unburdened by the past and able to focus on what they should be focusing on–Making great games.”
Like what you’re seeing?
Sign up for the Newsletter
Here’s What You’ll Get:
- Exclusive access to the hottest gaming news
- Killer guides to make you an even better gamer
- Cool contests and hot prizes
‘SNL’ Scorecard: Jason Segel and the Muppets Get Things Started
There’s a danger in looking too forward to an individual ‘SNL’ host just because, on paper, they should excel. Too often I’ve thought, “Well, this person will obviously be great,’ only to have that person come off as flat or uninterested. Jason Segel’s name immediately jumped out as a potentially great host. I mean, yes, he was obviously going to bring the Muppets with him, that was a given. But this is a guy who has made it clear that hosting ‘SNL’ has been a lifelong dream. But Segel is a writer. Sometimes writers come to the show with ideas in mind (like Segel obviously did with “Andre the Giant Gets an Ice Cream”) that aren’t necessarily great. But, happily, Segel brought his A-game and he brought Paul Rudd because, well, why not bring Paul Rudd? On to a very happy Scorecard!
Sketch of the Night
“The Blue Jean Committee” (Armisen, Segel, Thompson, Sudeikis, Rudd, Moynihan, Hader, Gonzo, Rowlf) I still have, “Massachusetts afternoon, staying at my cousin’s place, writing love letters to you,” stuck in my head. Full disclosure: I still have, “I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house, did you get it?” stuck in my head from last season, too. But where the “sparkling apple juice” sketch was just weird (and great, to some of us), it’s almost as if Armisen refined the idea into “The Blue Jean Committee” and fixed everything that was too bizarre about the prior incarnation. Which produced two of the best quick cutaway reaction shots of the season from Moynihan and Hader. (Actually, at this point, Moynihan just absolutely owns the cutaway reaction shot.)
Score: 8.5
The Good
‘Kemper Pedic Bed’ (Segel, Bayer) I was worried when, immediately following the monologue, a repeat of Kristen Wiig’s “Red Flag” from the Alec Baldwin hosted episodes was aired. I just assumed that they didn’t have a parody commercial this week, but then they did – this! – and it was pretty fantastic. The only thing that I can think of is that, perhaps, kids who stayed up to watch the Muppets sing with Jason Segel during the monologue probably weren’t quite prepared to watch him masturbate.
Score: 8.0
“Andre the Giant Gets an Ice Cream” (Segel) This had, “Hey, guys, I’ve been doing a really great Andre the Giant impression my whole life. You know, Andre the Giant is a passion of mine. After ‘The Muppets,’ I’m going to bring Andre’s life story to the big screen, too. So, can I do it on the air?,” written all over it. Thankfully, Segel’s Andre the Giant is very good.
Score: 7.5
“Weekend Update” (Meyers, Huntsman, Kermit) The real John Huntsman stopped by because, if you’re John Huntsman, why not go on ‘SNL’ as yourself at this point? For the third week in a row, Meyers was fantastic. No more so than when he and Kermit the Frog presented a “Really?!? With Seth and Kermit” over the recent classification of pizza as a vegetable by congress. (I just hope that Meyers comes back from the short Thanksgsving week off as charged as he’s been the last three weeks.)
Score: 7.5
“Digital Short: Seducing Women Through Chess” (Samberg, Pedrad, Elliott, Wiig, Wilde) Man, this one got kind of dark at the end by the time Samberg’s eating glass, didn’t it? Regardless, the moment when Samberg concludes that he can’t beat anyone at chess and switches to checkers is more than enough to put this into the “Good.” And I did love that the quality of the video does actually make it appear like it’s from the 1970s. And, hey, Olivia Wilde!
Score: 7.0
“Jason Segel Monologue” (Segel, The Muppets) The Muppets make a surprise appearance during Segel’s song — a surprise that surprised absolutely no one. The twist comes when the Muppets just assume, with good reason, that they are the ones hosting ‘SNL.’ Yeah, it was predictable, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun. And I also liked that there was an acknowledgement of the infamous “The Land of Gorch” Muppet sketches from the first season of ‘SNL.’ (Also, speaking of the Muppets, it was actually shocking to see them as puppets with their human counterparts during the “Good Nights.”)
Score: 7.0
“Kissing Family Thanksgiving” (Segel, Wiig, Armisen, Bayer, Hader, Samberg, Rudd) I’ve addressed this before, but when your entire concept is shock value – which is fine – doesn’t making this into a recurring sketch, then, defeat the purpose? How is something shocking when you know what’s coming? Do you want to know what I didn’t see coming? Paul Rudd. Also, I’ll admit, this version of “Kissing Family” had an energy that the previous installments didn’t.
Score: 6.0
The Bad
“Regis Philbin Auditions” (Pedrad, Brittain, Ensemble) Classify this into the “excuse for each cast-member to do their favorite impression.” And some were very, very good. Zooey Deschanel! And good lord, I always forget how good Jay Pharoah’s Denzel Washington is – it’s uncanny! But, from the start, it was pretty obvious that this was going to end with Wiig’s Kathie Lee showing up… and it did.
Score 5.5
“Cold Opening: Mitt Romney Shake Up” (Sudeikis) Great concept, actually. But with an episode so chocked full of goodness, why start with this? (Especially, as I mentioned, to be followed shortly by a repeat commercial parody.) Mitt Romney is tired of being the boring candidate because he’s not getting the attention the others are – so he resorts to wearing a leather jacket and flubbing his lines on purpose. (Can I point out, once again, that we are now through seven shows and there has not been one single parody of our current President?)
Score: 5.0
“New Jack Thanksgiving” (Moynihan, Ensemble) The fact that this sketch is online right now is Exhibit A of why it’s easily the most disappointing sketch of the night. In other words: no real songs were used. Hey, early ’90s music – there’s always something to make fun of! But these parody songs were fairly lame. And I’m sure Jay Pharoah does a brilliant Keith Sweat, but, for the life of me, I can’t remember what Keith Sweat sounds like. And I owned one of his CDs! (The only thing that even made me smile in the least was Kristen Wiig playing the triangle.)
Score: 3.0
The Ugly
“Retirement Party” (Wiig, Segel, Thompson, Armisen) Something went really, really amiss here. It’s almost as if by the end of this sketch everyone was looking around at each other wondering what went so terribly wrong. Segel had a look on his face that just read, “Oh, God… and this was all going so well. We didn’t just kill all the momentum, did we?” Kristen Wiig plays the secretary of a man who’s retiring from his company and she has nothing to say. She’s adamant that she has nothing to say! According to Hulu, this sketch is 5 minutes and 39 seconds — but it felt a lot closer to 20 minutes.
Score: 1.5
Average Score For This Show: 6.05
Weekly Host Scorecard:
· Jason Segel 6.05
· Charlie Day 6.00
· Emma Stone 5.85
· Alec Baldwin 5.80
· Melissa McCarthy 5.45
· Ben Stiller 5.18
· Anna Faris 4.95
You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.
