Transcript
Pizza, Movies, and the Art of Fart Humor (Hour 2)
Nite Lite with Pete Schwaba and Greg Bach · Wed Oct 22, 2025
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Welcome back to Night Light, ladies and gentlemen.
It is time for Act 2.
Great to have you with me on this cold blustery day here in the state of Wisconsin, wherever you are in our beautiful state.
I hope you're having a great night and hope you can let us help you make it even a little more.
even greater than it is if we can.
We'll give you some laughs, some great guests here.
We've got Craig Benzine is with me right now.
He is the director of No Packers, No Life.
I will be back with Craig in just a moment.
Coming up at 7.35, Phil Johnston, another Wisconsin-based director.
He is the director of the movie The Twits, which is currently in theaters, I believe, and available on Netflix.
Phil also
wrote Wreck-It Ralph and Zootopia and Cedar Rapids.
So anxious to talk to Phil about some of his experience as well and his experience on the Twits.
I haven't seen it, Conrad, have you seen it?
I can't, this is terrible because I got two really talented guys on tonight.
I haven't seen any other movie.
I'm limited though.
I live in the sticks.
The Twits is not there.
I would have gone and seen it last weekend, but I wasn't playing there.
And neither is no packers, no life.
But Phil Johnson will be here.
That's the next best thing, folks.
He's gonna join me at 7.35.
My question of the night is it is national tavern, is it tavern pizza day Conrad?
Correct.
Yeah, national tavern style pizza day.
So our question is, what is your favorite kind of Zuh?
I say thin crust, sausage, onion, fresh garlic, maybe some jalapenos, depending on my mood.
And light sauce.
Conrad went,
You
the meat lovers.
It's a lot of pizza.
That's like, and of course, Ollie from the North had duck
everything.
kitchen sink pizza.
Kitchen sink pizza.
I love that.
Kitchen sink pizza.
That's great.
We are going to talk about JLo.
I'm going to unload on you.
Oh, I'm winding up.
I'm gonna go after her like I did Ryan Reynolds.
I'm kidding.
But it is kind of funny.
She's had some really weird stuff.
That's it.
Let's get back to our guest, Craig Benzin.
Craig Benzin, who has stuck around.
He is on the stream from Madison, not Chicago, as I initially thought.
Wherever you are, Craig, it's good to have you on the show, though, buddy.
Thank you.
I kind of want to talk more about Ryan Reynolds, but we don't have to do that.
Do you have an opinion?
I kind of like the guy.
Well, have you seen Welcome to Rexham?
No.
That's him and John Mikkelhennie buying a soccer team.
Oh, yeah, of course.
And it's really good.
It's really good.
You might change your opinion a little bit.
Listen, my opinion on him is not acting related.
He's a fine talent.
But there are guys I'm just kind of, I just don't know that I need to see their work anymore because it tends to be the same.
And with him, it's not that Mark Wahlberg would be an example of that.
But Ryan Reynolds is sort of like, are you hawking products?
Or are you, you know, I like artists.
I like people who, and I'm not saying you can't have a side hustle, but enough with the mint, enough with the vodka or whatever you're like, just pick a lane.
You know what I mean?
That's true.
Yeah, I get it.
I get it.
And he's a talented actor.
I totally get it.
Totally get it.
I also I also have to have to go off topic again.
Yeah, Phil Johnson Johnston.
Yeah, I I've seen Cedar Rapids The his movie Cedar Rapids.
I saw it at the Sundance Film Festival.
How sweet.
So I saw So we were we were both in the same room at one time before and now we're on the same radio show.
Look at that
Serendipity, baby.
I
Yeah, I saw Cedar Rapids
in a hotel room.
So I was watching a movie about guys in a hotel room.
They were
like a
holodome or something like
that.
And also it's a great movie.
I liked it a lot.
Yeah, I enjoyed it too.
Yeah, he's very talented guys.
So it'll be good to talk to him.
I've never had him on the show before and I don't know him personally, but I'm definitely
fan.
So we covered No Packers No Life, Craig.
We covered the Driftless Pony Club, your band with a great name and at least one great song.
I'm sure I'd love to hear more.
I'll probably check that out.
But
we have a
A lot of songs.
We have like five albums.
Oh man.
That's
so
cool.
Do you
need
a rhythm guitar player who's really not that good?
We
already have two guitar players who are not that good.
So I don't know that we need a third.
You know what?
Listen, you don't have to shoot me down so quickly, Craig.
I'm just asking you to noodle it, put it in the
roll at X. It's just practical.
It's just practical.
I already have
two.
I get it.
All right.
Hey, so let's talk about Wheezy Waiter.
Last time you were here, I'm fascinated that you're a guy that posts videos and you do cool stuff.
We talked about fasting last time you were here.
What's new on your YouTube channel that you're kind of doing and putting the word out about?
Well,
Not a lot new I'm working on new stuff right now because I've been a little busy with the movie.
I have several Videos coming up.
I have several videos.
I have to get done coming up before the end of the year Not 100% sure what they're all gonna be one the next video I think which is gonna come out pretty soon It's gonna be it's gonna be more of just a talky video or I'm kind of talking about stuff and being silly but but the idea is
As I get older I realize a question comes up in my mind all the time is is this real or is this just me being an old man yelling at a cloud, you know like Like me being like disliking a lot how much content there is out there and and how much my daughter watches YouTube and I like
Am I just afraid of new technology?
Or is this going to damage her anyway?
Or is it just fine?
Because I think back to how many video games I played as a kid and how much TV I watched.
Was that good for me?
I don't know.
You know, that's interesting because I think I'm probably a little older than you.
And I don't remember.
I played some video games.
But we were outside all the time.
And I'm not one of those guys that said, get outside.
When I was a kid, frankly, if when I was a kid, you had all the stuff we have now, that's what I would have been doing.
We're not special.
It was just what was available to us at the time.
Having said that, I'm as addicted to my phone at my age now that as my kids are maybe more because I'm so fascinated by it, you know?
So that's a great thing to explore.
Yeah, I don't know.
Yeah.
Am I just afraid?
It's hard to tell if.
Any of my opinions are just me being an old man or not.
That's basically the worry.
Also, I need to mention something.
Since we've been talking about the band, I need to mention that I'm in another band also.
Of course you are.
I'm in another band called Violet Palms.
Oh, I like
that name too.
Yeah.
And if they heard this radio program and I didn't mention it, they'd probably be mad at me.
Violet
Palms?
Violet.
Violet Palms.
Oh, not Violet Palms.
That's a different thing.
That could be
dangerous.
Okay.
Violet.
Violet.
That's a much nicer name.
Where can we hear that music, Craig?
VioletPalms.com.
Also, two albums out there on everything.
No, VioletPalmsband.com.
VioletPalmsband.com.
VioletPalmsband.
Okay.
I play guitar in that.
I'm not the singer of that band, but that one's a little more active these days, actually.
Okay.
That's fantastic.
So in terms of your YouTube channel, if I could jump back, last time I really enjoyed our talk and what you were willing to do with giving up sugar in that, I'm kind of in the middle of that myself right now.
What eating things are you up to?
Like what have you found works for you lately or what are you sort of pursuing?
Well, coming off of five days of touring the movie around, I have not been very healthy.
I would say We're we're trying to do a little more home cooking these days as opposed to going out to restaurants getting more vegetables in our life and Nothing nothing real flat nothing real flashy though like quitting added sugar I'm trying to think of something I well I'm going a few days without coffee because I've been pretty addicted to that and That's kind of tough
Yeah, it's tough to go without coffee.
I feel pretty pretty tired, but I also had the best night of sleep last night in a long time.
So
amazing.
Yeah, that's great.
I love there's nothing like a good night of sleep.
Do you are you a Halloween guy?
Do you like scary movies?
I
Yeah, I mean, I like I'm not really super into horror.
But yeah, I love I love the movie scream.
I love several of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies and
Halloween is my favorite holiday just I think the whole like just dressing up and in a costume aspect of it.
I think my best costume I've ever had in college I was Colonel Sanders and I put a lot of time into it and everywhere I went there everyone was like hey it's the Colonel and I felt like a celebrity.
That's a shame you were married.
From the 608, Anna from Madison says, please tell Craig I saw the movie and loved it.
I did tear up a couple of times.
Ah, great.
So you, wow.
I assume good tears because there's nothing sad in the movie.
Nobody dies.
Nobody falls off the top
floor of Lambo.
All right, that's good.
Thank you for the text, Anna.
Yeah, thank you.
So, all right, before we let you go, Craig, are you watching anything?
You binge watching anything you could recommend or seen any good movies?
Well,
I loved One Battle After Another.
Same.
Yeah, I think it depends on, it might depend on where you lie politically, but I loved that movie.
And I'm watching Slow Horses on Apple TV, that's really good.
The Peacemaker, also.
Oh, is that the
Cena?
Yeah, the Cena show.
You watch that, Rickon.
That is surprisingly good.
Have you watched that?
Oh, I thought Conrad, you don't watch The Peacemaker?
No.
Oh, you've such a man crush on John Cena, I thought maybe.
No, that's Dwayne
Oh, that's Dwayne.
Oh, okay.
I mixed up Conrad's man crushes.
I'm sorry.
Has he seen the Jumanji movies?
Oh, yeah.
They're
good.
They're really good.
I loved them.
Yeah, they're making another
one.
I'm with you on Slow Horses, really enjoying it.
I'm caught up.
I think a new one drops tonight, right?
Or is it Thursday?
Yeah, I'm going to watch it after this.
Same
here.
So great show.
And I will say this about one battle after another, because Rob Thomas was on, I think, last week, and he said the same thing you did about.
politics.
And yes, it's an anti-establishment type movie, but I feel like that should transcend politics.
I know there are jabs they take at the right.
They also kind of make fun of the left too, though.
They
make fun of
the woke stuff and the hippies and like, so
I mean, I, I agree.
I agree.
I don't think it's inherently a political, has to be a political movie.
Correct.
But the comments I see, it seems like there are a lot of people who take it that way.
So a lot
of sensitive people out there, Craig.
Yeah, it's true.
Hey, buddy, this is fun always.
Don't be a stranger.
And when you get your third band and four new albums out in the next month, let me know and let's talk about them.
Well, I will.
You'll be the first I call.
I appreciate that.
Thank you, sir.
Have a
great night.
Thank you.
That's Craig Benzied.
Check out No Packers, No Life, currently playing in Marcus Theaters.
When it goes to streaming, we'll have some information on that.
I still haven't seen it.
So I have to see that and I have to see the Twits.
But Craig is, and check out his music, Driftless Pony Club or Violet Poms, not Violet Poms, Conrad.
That's a different thing.
That's like UFC stuff.
Okay.
Yeah.
You ever done any UFC or cage
Is that kind of the same?
when you're done, maybe.
Let's see, let's get some tax going here.
Where are we at with tax count,
Okay, so here's Tony, the trucker says, Pete, another Chicago thin and crispy pie is Vito and Nix, my local shop.
Makes a Mediterranean, oh, I love Mediterranean pizza.
A Mediterranean pizza that is whole grain crust topped with a Greek
Herb, pesto, black and green olives, diced tomatoes, Parmesan and feta.
It's addictive.
That text is addictive.
Thank you, Tony.
That's great stuff.
I almost, I almost read Herb instead of Herb because when I read stuff like I did last night when Pardo was here, I called it Rydia.
So there you go.
So there's, do we read Laurie's text?
We'll lead off with Laurie's text.
It's coming up next.
We're going to read some more text.
We'll talk more J-Lo.
And then Phil Johnson is here at 735, director of the Twits.
It's Peachwaba and Nightlight on the Civic Media, our radio
network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
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started.
I'm Pete Schwabba.
This is Nightlight.
We are broadcasting statewide, pretty much statewide from beautiful downtown Green Bay.
Great to have you with me on this night where we talk about and celebrate what I like to call the pizza.
It is National Tavern Style Pizza Day, which got me thinking, how do people like their pizza?
That's our question of the night.
Tell me how you like your pizza, 855-752-4842, 855-75 Civic.
You can text us on the app, or if you're watching the radio on the stream, drop us a stream comment at YouTube, Facebook, or on X and give us a follow if you're so inclined.
I will say, I think Chew Ballet is better Conrad than the, what did I call him before?
The chew ballet, you know, when you're swishing food around, trying not to burn your mouth.
chew ballet?
Chew?
I don't know, is that better?
No.
I call it a food ballet, but I don't, it's like, I'm going to work on this.
I'll come back.
I want to create a phrase that goes crazy in every one of the world.
Well, it's like Pete Schwabba says, it's a food ballet.
I'm not there yet, I get that.
workshop it.
I'll workshop it, I'll brainstorm it, I'll noodle it.
Another food term.
So I talked, this just drives me crazy.
All right, I have to, Jennifer Lopez went on Howard Stern and this is also funny because it's Yahoo Entertainment.
And here's what Yahoo wrote.
Lopez appeared on the Howard Stern show last week where she made a startling confession that quickly sent shockwaves through Hollywood.
It didn't send shockwaves through Hollywood.
It just pissed off her old boyfriend.
Let's tone it down.
Yeah, who entertainment?
And entertainment rags, please.
She told Howard Stern, what I learned is that I'm not, it's not that I'm not lovable.
It's that these guys, these four guys she's been married to and other guys she's dated are not capable of loving her because they don't have it in them.
And her husbands are Mark Anthony, Ben Affleck, Chris Judd, and Ohani Noah.
She elaborated and said, they gave me all of it every time.
All the rings, all the things I could ever want, right?
Tried to give me the houses, the rings, the marriage, all of it.
Well, it really ticked off her first husband, Ohani Noah.
They were married for 11 months.
And he says she cheated on him more than once in 11 months with people that could advance her career.
Now, it's his word against hers, but she sort of started this.
Jenny from the block and he says she's playing the victim and That she begged him not to leave because it would affect her image in Hollywood and she was still climbing Kind of the ladder to stardom.
She did out of sight in 1998 But she had I don't know.
I don't think she had Jenny from the block yet, which is a terrible song but He says the problem is you you're the one who couldn't keep it in your pants.
He's talking about a woman
there?
We were engaged.
We never tied the knot.
It was one of those things I hated for music.
I couldn't be
I need a leaf right now.
work.
It's very manufactured that Jenny from the Block is such a bad song.
Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got.
I'm still Jenny from the Block.
Her ex-husband wrote, you have been loved a few times.
You've been married four times and countless relationships in between.
You've had good relationships.
Me, for example, he sounds like a very ticked off ex-lover.
So this is Anyahu Entertainment and it's sending shock waves through Hollywood folks.
So if you want to be shocked, read about this thing that's really not that important.
But just give me another reason not to like her.
Whether it's true or not, I don't know.
I already don't like her.
So I'm going to side with the ex-husband.
Oh, honey, Noah.
You know what?
She might be looking for a regular dude.
Right?
Are you kidding me?
My writing partner and I, Greg Liana, wrote a film called Dream Girl about an average meat and potatoes guy.
Jack Black, let's say, who helps, let's say Julia Roberts change a flat tire in the middle of the night.
He manages a steak and shake.
He helps her.
She falls in love with him, gets a crush because he's a regular guy.
They have a fling.
The movie starts with him getting shot down by his fiance.
He has a fling with America's biggest movie star, gives her her first orgasm.
And then she gets in the car and leaves and says, don't say anything about this.
He says, okay.
So he takes back his fiance.
She apologizes.
And then the movie star shows back up and
cannot handle the rejection.
So, sounds like they stole that.
that.
I think you could do the Jack Black roll.
For the 818 Bridget says, Detroit style sausage, garlic and lots of veggies.
Well done Bridget.
818, but going for the Detroit style, love it.
John Murray in the 608 says that I mentioned best Alfredo sauce ever.
It's a delicious heart attack on a big plate.
He is talking about, I'm reading these backwards.
Italian,
Spectacular at Canova's.
I've not had Canova's, John.
I had a lot of Madison places to catch up with.
I have my favorite restaurants there and I tend to visit them over and over.
I need to branch out.
John says, famous homemade crust and sauce by Frank Canova, the founder best thin crust ever worth a trip to the Flatland.
He's talking about Illinois counter.
Did you know that Illinois is the Flatland?
People think the continental root divide runs between Wisconsin and Illinois.
John says, hello, gents, lived in Chicago and worked downtown for the 90s and had many fine pizzas, but the best pizza in Illinois and maybe the world is served at, there you go, Kanovas, I was reading it backwards, Kanovas Pizza in Freeport, 25 miles south of Monroe.
You could go over the border, 25 miles Conrad, for a pizza.
says it's good, I believe him.
We'll see.
We'll get like a young Christian singles bus tour.
Are we caught up?
On texts?
No, we're not.
Okay.
We're coming back after the news, folks, with writer, director, and Wisconsin native Phil Johnston is here.
His movie is The Twits.
It is in theaters.
He's written many other big films.
I'm excited to talk to him, and hopefully you're excited to listen.
So stick around.
It's coming up next on Nightlight with Pete Schwabba on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Welcome
back.
I am Pete Schwab.
This is Nightlight.
Great to have you with me.
It is a Wednesday night and we are barreling through this evening.
Tomorrow night, Jason Mansmith from the Thrasher Theater
Makes the popcorn pick of the week at 635 and from chicken or the egg photography Chris Rogowski will be here in studio too So that'll be fun.
Our question of the night is what is your favorite kind of pizza?
You still have time to get in on that fun as well right now I'm very excited to welcome my next guest.
He is an incredibly talented and successful filmmaker of such films like Wreck-It Ralph and Zootopia
And Cedar Rapids and his new film, The Twits, is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
Mr. Phil Johnston joins me now over the phone.
Hi, Phil.
Hey, Pete, how are you?
Very good.
Thank you.
Nice to meet you.
And a shout out to Daniel Wheeler, Danny Wheels, as I call him, for the introduction.
Dan the Man.
Yeah.
Dan the Man, yeah.
Did you guys go to high school?
We went to, I think we met in sixth grade.
Oh, wow.
Came to Coolidge Elementary and from Lakeview.
So, you know, he came in a bit of an outsider.
I welcomed him with a warm and tender embrace.
And we've been friends ever since.
Dan's like a capital A artist.
He's a brilliant artist and a good dude.
He's outstanding and a very good dude.
And Dan, my favorite story about Dan says, in order to say my last name, which is Schwabba, properly, you have to wet your lips first.
So I found that
strange,
creepy and funny all at the same time.
He says that about Paul names because he is a pervert.
Well, we've established that.
That's
great.
I'm sorry to besmirch you.
It's a hell of a shout out.
Oh man.
Sorry, Dan.
Sorry.
I'm sure he loves it.
He's probably
creating a
sculpture right now based on this conversation.
So
I hope so.
I hope
so.
It's great to have you here, Phil.
And I'm excited to see your movie.
And I've seen a few of them already.
For those who might not
know you or know your work if they don't have kids that saw your other films or your great comedies.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I know you're from Northeast Wisconsin.
Yeah, I grew up in Nina and went to Nina High, graduated back in the 90s, went to University of Wisconsin, and then I was a TV journalist for like eight or nine years through the early 2000s or late 90s into the early 2000s and then quit.
at age 29 to go to film school, and I've been making movies kind of since.
So yeah, Cedar Rapids was the first one, then Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia.
I think there was a terrible Sasha Baron Cohen movie somewhere in the middle of that, and Wreck-It Ralph sequel, and now the Twits.
All right, so let's start with the Twits.
This just looks so fun.
I love the description.
They're these stinky people.
Tell us about the
Twits
and where this idea came from.
Well, it's based on a Roald Dahl story called The Twits, really inspired by, I wouldn't even call it an adaptation, because the book itself was just this tiny little like 75 page volume about two hateful human beings whose sole purpose in life is being nasty to each other.
And then they die in the end.
And that's it.
And I'm like, hey, that's a good movie.
Spoiler alert.
Cool.
So I use them kind of more as a jumping off point to tell a story about hatred and small mindedness.
empathy in our world today and built expanded the world well beyond what the book was and created a story in which they become mayor in their town and become very powerful.
And it's sort of ultimately about how kids deal with bad people getting a lot of power and how you kind of
Learn to deal with hateful people while not becoming that yourself is the bigger bigger idea and and there are a lot of fart jokes So you know a little something for
everyone can read pre-purchase us a couple of tickets
It's actually on Netflix.
You don't even have to go to the theaters.
Oh, I prefer the theater I do too.
Yeah way better.
Yeah,
especially if there's a lot of
farting.
It's better to see it with other people
I think
it's just hundred percent.
It really is.
I'm a purist.
So Dan's house.
Yeah.
Right.
Exactly.
So we've got Natalie Portman.
That's pretty cool.
How does that work when you get a big star like that?
Do you do you approach her after it's done?
Do you attach her beforehand?
How does what was your process like there as the director?
Yeah.
So in animate this is an animated film.
And so as as I'm
you know, coming up with a story and imagining the voices that will go along with the designs.
She was someone who I think I always had in mind for a voice.
She plays this monkey-like creature called a Muggle Womp.
And it turns out she was, she really wanted to do animation while her kids were still
of the age where they could appreciate a kid's movie, basically.
And
so
we talked and met and hit it off and she was game from the beginning.
She was in pretty quickly, which yeah, and she's been such a delight, so easy to work with, a real pro.
I can tell you got along really well with her because you called her Nat.
And I don't think you do that.
Oh, God, if I did that, that was a mistake.
I'm sorry, Ms.
Portman.
I'll be sued now.
We're not close.
She doesn't like me.
There.
But tell your friend she
does.
No, that's fantastic.
She's so great.
My biggest question for you, Phil, I figure the one that fascinates me the most is you wrote these great live-action comedies and you worked with people who are, you know, kind of a who's who in comedy movies and sketch and all that, you know, Ed Helms, Tom Lennon, all these great people.
How did you make the jump or why to the world of animation?
I don't see many people that have the talent to do that.
I'm just fascinated by it.
Um, it was, it was, I want to say it was super intentional, but actually it wasn't Cedar Rapids, you know, I was the first one that's with Ed and John C. Riley.
And as you said, some really great comedians and this Disney meeting came along where I met Rich Moore, who is a Disney director.
And he was just.
Trying to figure out what he was going to do with this video game movie and I was really into arcade games and I really like animation and Honestly, it was as easy as that we hit it off We started talking about what this movie could become Wreck-It Ralph and then you know, I don't know 10 years later.
I've worked on three of them and
I stuck with animation in part because of the stories I wanted to tell in that moment and in part because I had little kids and I thought it was cool to be able to make movies that they would be able to see and enjoy and you know now I'm shifting back into some live-action stuff now but I always want to have a sort of a toe in each world.
Always great.
What a great position to be in that you can do that.
That's really impressive and uh was it difficult Phil?
Like I mean
I don't even know how I'm a writer too.
I don't even know how I would go about that
Yeah, I mean honestly, it's it's not a million miles away from from what a live-action script would look like it looks exactly like a live-action script the biggest difference I would say in feature animation at least is that you basically make the movie like eight or nine times over the course of
a few years like so you would write a script and then the storyboard artist would storyboard it and we would cut it together in an animatic form so rough storyboards just edited together and then we'll watch that and go hey I wrote the script great I'm done right wrong now it sucks and you have to start over and so then you do it the second time and the second version is maybe a little better than the first and then a third time and on and on so
It's more that it's such an iterative process, almost like writing a ton of TV episodes, but only one of them gets on the air.
It's the final
movie,
if that makes sense.
So I think patience and just being willing to kill your darlings more is the bigger lesson from animation than live action for me.
That's really interesting.
My guest is Phil Johnson.
He is the writer-director of the Twits, which you can see now on Netflix, and it's still in theaters as well.
He has also written films such as Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia, Cedar Rapids.
Did the idea for Cedar Rapids, Phil, come when you were a journalist or when you were working TV news?
Like, I was telling a guest earlier, Craig Benzine, who's met you.
I think he met you, said he met
you, what's
on his... Yeah.
Yeah.
I watched that in a hotel similar to the hotel in the movie and I felt really funky.
That's
unfortunate.
It was like a holodome.
Yes, I wrote it as a holodome and we couldn't find one to shoot in.
Yeah, it was in part from the days as a TV news reporter and going up to northern Minnesota or whatever to cover a snowstorm and staying in a place like that.
and then after film school I shot a bunch of like industrial videos and public service announcements and I shot a conference once for some something that was not a million miles from the Cedar Rapids vibe and so I was like okay there's a real kind of low stakes Vegas type movie here where you know you go to all kind of
uh, yeah, not the most exciting place, but to this guy, it's the most exciting place in the world.
And that, that idea just kind of tickled me, I guess.
How did you get those, uh, how did you get like the cast in Cedar Rapids?
Were they part of your crew kind of off camera?
Were you in those comedy circles or was it pure casting?
I got to know Ed Helms through a comedian in LA named Owen Burke who is a UCB, Upright Citizens Brigade comedian who is a friend of mine.
And he introduced me to Ed and I actually wrote the movie for Ed.
So I went and Owen introduced us and I was like, hey, I want to write a movie for you.
And he's like, great.
And as I was
Because yeah, I think he was still on The Daily Show at the time.
Or The Office, maybe?
Yeah.
Not even, because the hangover hadn't come out.
And so as we were like prepping this thing, suddenly Ed Helms is in the hangover, the biggest comedy ever at the time.
And suddenly it's like, oh, great, we get to make this movie now, which I don't know.
I mean,
It may have happened anyway, but that certainly didn't hurt that his star just sort of exploded in the midst of that run.
Such a great movie, folks.
If you get a chance, obviously check out the Twits, but Cedar Rapids is just a gem out there waiting for you to check it out.
Phil Daniel, Danny Wills, says a question for Phil.
Was it hard for the London Orchestra to play the farts?
Oh, well, listen.
They're pros.
They're pros.
There's actually only one fart in the movie, and it's not.
We did try it with a chambasso, which is like a tuba.
It's even lower than a tuba.
And the guy nailed it.
It was incredible.
It was
perfect.
This is like taking me back.
I made a project one time, and the editor kept telling me, he goes, you've got to put a few farts in this thing.
And it just wasn't that type of thing.
And I almost didn't know how to come back.
I'm like, wow, he's on that level.
And I'm not even close to that.
What do you do?
I mean, I know.
Well, usually I'm not a big pro fart guy.
But this one, the Netflix said that you can, I think there were three in it at one time.
And then they said, you can only have one fart.
And so I just cut it a seven second long fart followed by a seven second long verb.
So it's 14 solid seconds of gas, you know, which is it's the high brow.
It's a high brow comedy we're going for there, you know, and then
they jacked up their prices more.
Yes, Phil, we have to do a really quick break.
I've got a couple more questions for you.
Can we keep you for a couple more minutes?
Outstanding.
Phil Johnston is here.
We're coming right back.
And this is Nightlight with Peach Waba on the Civic Media Radio
Network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Find the latest news, information and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website, civicmedia.us.
I'm Pete Chihuahua.
This is Nightlight.
You've got the Civic Media radio network.
We have a couple more minutes left with our guest, Phil Johnston, who is the writer-director behind the film The Twits, which you can check out on Netflix or go and have a great experience in a theater either way.
But check it out.
He is a very talented writer-director.
And also check out his film Cedar Rapids.
And he's got a whole list of films you can check out, folks.
Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia.
Phil thanks again for being here.
It's great to have you.
Do you are you when you come back to northeast Wisconsin?
I don't know how often you get back But do you have your favorite places you like to go to where do you like to go?
I
was just seeing that it's tavern pizza day or something Cranky Pats in Nina is excellent excellent pizza joint Yeah, there are a couple of a couple of bars in Nina that I've
Revisited over the years.
There's one called Gord's Gord's pub.
I think that's still open I don't know.
I mostly just hang out at my parents house.
They're both 90 years old.
Oh, wow Yeah, still going strong, but not not doing a lot of dancing anymore.
So we kind of stay at their house most
Do your kids like coming to Wisconsin?
They love it.
They absolutely love it.
Yeah
Yes, they they grew up mostly in Los Angeles.
We moved to Vancouver, Canada a couple years ago.
And so them to Wisconsin is very exotic for them.
That's great.
Of all the people you've worked with, and you've worked with a lot, I'm just going from the live action comedies, you get Joel McHale, and I know you wrote these, maybe you weren't as involved in the actual production, but Robin Williams, Jeffrey Tambor, Ed Helms, John C. Riley, Steven Root, I mean, who are some of your favorites, either from their performance or just interacting with them?
I mean, Ed is one of my closer friends, certainly, in LA.
He's just a great human.
And John C. Riley, I've now done three movies with Cedar Rapids and then both of the Wreck-It Ralph movies.
And yeah, I don't know if you can see there are a bunch of clown paintings on my wall back there, which...
His wife, he had a huge collection of clown paintings as did I and his wife.
Wasn't thrilled to have so many.
So we merged collections and I now have, I don't know, about 50 of his and about 50 of my own.
So he's
a good
friend.
Jason Manzuchus is a good friend.
Like a bunch of those just comedy kind of legends have, I feel very, very lucky to
No people that are much funnier and smarter than I am.
They deal with me.
Well, you've given them some great materials.
So I think that's really cool.
And you're right.
Those are all the... I mean, John C. Riley, talk about his body of work.
He was at DePaul when I was there.
Oh, yeah.
I didn't
know him, but seemed like a
good guy.
And Ed Helms, I don't know him either, but he's just a guy.
I wish was my neighbor.
He seems
like such a salt
to the earth, but hilarious guy, such a huge fan.
Phil, thank you so much for your time tonight.
I know you're busy getting the movie out there and stuff.
Really appreciate you taking the time.
It's been great chatting.
Yeah, thanks Pete.
Really enjoyed it.
Very, very welcome and keep us posted.
Good luck with all the new projects.
Break a leg.
All right, cool.
Okay.
That's Phil Johnson, folks.
Check out the Twits and go to IMDB and just look at his catalog of work.
They're all movies that should be seen.
He does great work.
And that was on Cranky Pats.
That's a great name.
that place, but I don't.
You should, Con.
Come on.
Sorry.
So let's finish up our text.
Our question was, what is your favorite kind of pizza?
Anna from Madison says, hi, Pete and Conrad.
I like the margarita pizza at Sugar River Pizza in Sun Prairie.
Oh, I like that name too, Sugar River Pizza.
Anna says, I like the thin crust with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil.
Wow, well done, Anna, thank you.
Conrad's mom says, my favorite pizza is pepperoni, mushroom, and black olive on thin crust with extra cheese.
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of that either
do it.
But your mom
That's very specific.
I like that answer.
Chris from Sun Prairie says, pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and green olive is the perfect pizza for me, marinara sauce, of course.
Of course, Chris.
Thank you very much.
Chris is in the 773 Conrad.
Even though Chris lives in Sun Prairie.
That can happen.
Yes, yes it can.
Adam from Oregon says famous Yeti's pizza in Stoughton has a three inch thick Yeti spaghetti pizza with noodles and meatball.
Oh, man,
seems like a lot.
piece three inch crust of just bread.
That's gonna fill you up That's why I can't do the stuffed pizza anymore Gary from Madison says my favorite pizza is the Italian carne pizza at poor We read this one at Portobello in Madison.
I have to try that place I walk by there all the time for years.
I've never tried it Conrad's dad says back in the day the best bar time pizza was fondle X Joe Fox hut deluxe pizza.
It's a it's a great
another great name
Currently, I love a fresh, thin, crust, very cheesy deluxe pizza with the right crunch.
You and your folks ordered different pizzas.
We still made it work though.
Yeah, we did.
Laurie from Hayward says, Hey, Pete and Conrad, your question about pizza makes my mouth water for a sausage and pepperoni with green olives and mushrooms in a calzone.
Interesting, Laurie.
Taking it up a notch.
There's a small pizza place in Slayton, Minnesota that has the best calzone.
You could easily feed two people with just one calzone.
Very well done.
Thank you, Lori.
And then we've got a Steady Eddie text here.
Steady Eddie says, Pete and Conrad, my favorite pizza pie, cheese, sausage, onions, mushrooms on a thin, slightly crispy crust served with a good cold brew or warm, cheap merlot.
Yeah, that's a big forget.
Yes.
No, I'm with you there.
I like that too.
But Eddie, why a cheap merlot, steady Eddie?
Treat yourself, buddy.
I'll buy you a merlot.
He says, no pizza, no life.
Well done, steady Eddie.
Do we get everybody?
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the texts.
Always fun.
Love reading your texts on the air.
Thank you to Phil Johnston and Craig Benzine.
Check out No Packers, No Life and the Twits.
And we are coming back tomorrow night to do this all over again.
And I hope you'll be here on behalf of the lovable producer Conrad.
I'm Pete Schwabba saying good night, Wisconsin.
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