Paula Pell

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. So excited about our guest today. It is Paula Pell, the great performer, writer, actress. She wrote a Nesonel. You may have seen her on AP Bio and Girls 5 Eva and the Burbs out now. But Paula and I have loved and known each other for a very long time and we are going to talk about so much good stuff. We're going to talk about how fun it is to harmonize. We're going to talk about Paula's years performing at Disney's Pleasure Island. And we're going to talk about how she really enjoys writing joyful losers and how that got her through some real complicated times at SNL. So we are going to get into it. But before we do, there's so many people that want to talk about how great Paula is. I could interview 12 of them right now, but we have someone who is kind of a new friend and a new fan of Paula's and who is working with her currently now in a new film. And that person is Kimberly Diane Kardashian, otherwise known as Kim Kardashian. Kim, Kim Kardashian, can you hear me? This episode is presented by Hilton. Guys, you know what vacation perfectionism is? It's the pressure to get your family's summer vacation booked and make it perfect and memorable. Stressful, right? Don't worry, because the team at Hilton takes care of what matters so you can exhale and disconnect. They've got over 9,000 hotels around the world, including amazing resorts and all inclusive options. So you'll definitely find this day that you're looking for. When you want your summer vacation to feel like a vacation, it matters where you stay. Book now at Hilton.com. Hilton, for the stay. Hi, Kim. Nice to see you. It's really nice to see you. Thank you so much for doing this on a Saturday. Of course. I just left the gym, so I look a little bit of a mess, but it is what it is. What did you do in your workout? I do strength training. So I have this crazy bodybuilder trainer, and we do lots of like today we did lower body squats and walking lunges. I'm feeling you because I know I have to up my weight stuff for bone density. Do you ever get a dexa scan? No, tell me about it. I actually know a portable dexa scan person that comes in a van and you lay down and each one of my sisters and my mom, we all live in the same gated community. So we have the van drive by and we all jump in the van and you just lay down and it scans your body, maybe like three minutes. And I told you all about your bone density. Ooh, I love that. You know, over, we do it once a year and just to make sure that you're still got it going on and you still have all of the bone density that is necessary. I mean, it feels like something that our moms did not know about or talk about. At all. I know. I feel like. Creatine intake. I know. There's so much stuff that we have to now take. It's a lot. Supplements. I take probably 35 supplements a day. Cam. I spread them out three times a day and I thought, okay, I can't do this fish oil right now. Like anymore, I have like pill fatigue. I have to stop these fish oil and I got my blood work and it was so evident that I stopped and I had to start again. But it is tough to take fish oil because you, when you take it, you like taste it for a long time. Pills are just so big. I know. I wish there was like an IV drip I could do every day and I would just do it on my way to work. I'm sure there is a portable, another guy in a van who can follow your car. Well, you are on your way to work on the fifth wheel, which is the movie that you're in, starring in that Paula Pell wrote. And I'm so, I was, thank you so much for talking about her today because to me, people that love Paula are people that love comedy. I have been fascinated by the comedy world and the people that I've been so blessed to meet over the last few years. And Paula, anytime I mention her name, I get a text back just genius. Yes. You know, just how we met was so funny and it was so quick and fast and it was maybe a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago, I was here filming a movie that we had an idea like the first time we spoke. And it was really crazy that someone wanted to connect us and thought this would be a really fun project. Would you guys ever want to, Kim, would you want to do a comedy and Paula, would you want to write it? And we got on the phone and she hung up, called right back within an hour with the whole idea. Wow. And she's incredible. We had the funniest day yesterday on set. What happened? So it's like Nikki Glaser, Fortune Thiemster and I in this one scene and I won't say what's going on, but Kristen Wiig is doing something. Perfect. So funny. Perfect. And we're supposed to be laughing and reacting. I couldn't control myself. Like almost peed my pants. Like just every single time, just being in a room with people that you want to be professional, you want to get the job done and you just can't control yourself because it's so funny. I can tell you are a big comedy fan. I've now gotten to meet some of the people that I've always looked up to and thought were so amazing and it's just such a, it's such a community where everyone supports each other so much. And I experienced that for my, the first time when I hosted SNL, it was like this group chat of so many comedians trying to help with my bit and with my monologue. And it was so fascinating just to see everyone's minds and to see how supportive everyone was and showed up that night when I was doing that and rooting for you. Like everyone genuinely roots for each other. And I've never seen that kind of connection and bond in any other genre in the entertainment business. Okay. So you said you had a couple of questions for Paula today. What are your thoughts for what we should ask her? I wanted to know when she was coming up with this idea for this film, is this everything that she thought it would be? To me, it feels like one of those magical, like there's a little extra magic in it that like we all knew and I think this is how it was envisioned. But I feel like there's just a little extra fairy dust over this project. And it feels really good. And does she feel that fairy dust too? And why is it important to you to ask that question to her? Why do you want her to, why do you wonder if she's feeling that too? Because it's such an exciting time and an exciting feeling. And it just feels like I just want to know if she feels the same way that I feel about it because I am really excited and passionate about it. And I don't know, maybe this maybe she's so accomplished and there's so many projects and this is just one of those and like, I think the exact opposite. Like I think the best thing about Paula is that she has this, she creates momentum. She has energy, which is what like you're talking about, as you know, you need to get stuff started. But she also, I think one of the best things about her is she doesn't forget the people in any process. Like people are as important to her as outcome. And she's a people person, you know, she really wants to connect in that way, like through the stuff that she makes. And so that magic sparkly stuff that you're feeling among each other, like, I think that's kind of, if I was to say something about her, like she is, I think she loves that stuff. I think that's why she's still doing it. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I hope she feels the magic because I feel it. And then anything else? I always wanted to know, is there ever someone that you just can't control yourself, you just see them in action and you just can't stop laughing like you physically can't get through a scene or something because you find them so hysterical. And I love, I love watching SNL. And when you're trying to get through, you know, a bit and you just, they break and they just start laughing. Like to me, that's when I really start laughing because I can feel how much fun it is. And I can see that they're having such a hard time getting through it because they just want to laugh so, so hard. And I just wonder like, who is that person for you? For her? You know, like I said, when we started, I feel like anybody who loves Paula's comedy to me means that they know comedy. So I'm, I really, it really means a lot that you got on a zoom today. Thank you. Of course. Of course. She's going to be so thrilled and excited that we talked. Okay. Thanks so much. Have fun this weekend. Thank you. Nice talking to you. Bye. This episode is brought to you by visible spring is in the air, which means it's time for some spring cleaning. We're decluttering the closets and finally tossing those mystery cords. But while you're cleaning out the junk drawer, take a look at your wireless bill. Don't fall for wireless traps, surprise fees, confusing bills and empty promises. Join visible and cut out the nonsense. With visible, you get unlimited 5g data and hotspot on Verizon's network for one flat cost, just $25 a month taxes and fees included. It's everything you need and nothing you don't. Finish your spring cleaning by ditching the carrier clutter. Head to visible.com and get started. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details. Paula, you look fantastic. Thank you. I got a full denim suit on. Is that a power lesbian mood or what? Paula, you're probably one of the guests that we've talked about the most with other guests. I was thinking today about us talking and it was like, oh, we've brought up, I mean, I'm so lucky that we just get to talk to our friends on this. It's the dream job, isn't it? It is. It's the dream job and the hours. And wouldn't it be fun to have two people doing it? You know, the two blondes. It could be called two blondes having a good hang. I mean, I'm not trying to infiltrate your good thing. But we'll talk. We've talked about, well, we talked to you on the On a Gastar episode. You very nicely gave Anna a question. Thank you for that. And I feel like anybody who knows comedy knows you. Anybody who is paying attention to who has done what over the past 25 years, they know you. And I just want to say, I want to start by saying something I say to people all the time, which is Paula Pell is the funniest people's favorite person. And you are often in a room of hugely funny people. You're usually the funniest. Thank you. I'm very competitive that way. I know I like that. I like you are a little competitive. I like that. And in a good way. And also, anybody who likes you and likes your comedy to me is like an indicator that they know comedy. You know, it's really nice. Well, it's true, Paula, because you know, I'm going to pretend to drink. Okay. Pretend to do it. I'm embarrassed about that. What do you got going on in there? A delicious water, Los Angeles water. You can taste the tap. I really appreciate that. I love, I love cracking up hard to crack up people. That was always, well, that was always our fun. And obviously with Lauren, I used to like to, I like breaking through someone who's tough, a tough, like someone's like, I'm a hard, like it's hard to amuse me. I love to find the, the little crack. You do. And you want to keep working it. And that's why like with like, especially like, quote unquote, like alphas, you're really, really good at getting them to laugh. Getting, well, I was new a few times when I was little in school and I hated people that were on immediately when they were new of like, hi, I'm so and so. Yeah, what do you like? Oh, I like this to it. My biggest fear was that I would be that kind of person. And so, because I never like inauthentic love coming towards me. I don't like when people are, you know, I just like to believe that it's, it's real. That it's not going to hurt me on the other or they're making fun of me or something. So answering your question that I created in my head, did I ask one? You didn't. But it's that feeling like with Lauren is, is just like, I want to feel more comfortable with him. So I'm going to sit on him, which is what I used to do. I was going to talk about this later, but let's talk about it now. We can talk about it later. You used to go in. This is three hours right? You guaranteed me contractually because I said I'm not driving over here, not getting on the 405 for an hour. I know how fast that goes. Well, we all know the pods. I know it's important. Do you consider yourself a Midwest girl? Even though, Oh God, yes. Okay. How would you, how would you describe a true Midwester? Like, what are the, what are they like? A pleasant liar, a deep liar. Just like Southern women. Midwestern women usually are big liars and they, my grandma used to always go to, she loved to go have a little diner food with me and I would take her to the pine cone and over by the interstate unless I'll prove. And she would start eating the soup and I have a big Midwesters love soup to Midwestern women and she, Oh, and is this soup ever good? Oh, and how? Oh, I love this soup. Oh God. And then the guy would come by this soup is fantastic. She would talk about the soup and then as we're walking out, she would go, I didn't care for that soup. And I would look at her like, why the fuck do you do? I didn't say why the fuck to her. But I'm like, why didn't you just tell him you didn't like the soup and get a different soup? Oh, I'm not going to do that. You know, I came from that kind of people that you don't tell the truth because that's not, and what I like about it is based in kindness that you don't want to hurt people's feelings, but. Yes. You grew up where specifically for most of your, yeah, Juliet. And for people who don't know Juliet Illinois, what's that, what's that town like? I haven't been there in a long, long time. I know they have a casino. I haven't been there since they have a casino, which really revived, I think revived a Juliet. But it was a, you know, kind of a suburban town outside of Chicago, probably about 45 minutes outside of Chicago. And there's a prison nearby. So my quiz was always like, you know, where are you from? Juliet, not the prison. I always had it loaded up. It was that was the Juliet prison where Blues Brothers, did they go to Juliet? So Juliet Jake was Ackroyd's name, I think, and Blues Brothers. And when I came into my meeting with Lauren, he said, so where are you from? Or he said, tell me about yourself. And I said, well, I'm from Juliet. And he said, whether that's true or not. And he thought I was doing a Juliet Jake reference, maybe. And I didn't even know his name was Juliet Jake at the time. And I was like, well, it is true. I mean, I'll have to send them some proof of that. Because they're really raking me over the coals. Yeah. That's a little bit of a mindfuck to be like, nice try when it's true. And it doesn't even anything that you thought you were snowing them on. But we've talked about this a lot. And I love this. And I'm curious now as we're getting older, if like you, you always say that you felt as, and I know from you letting me read your journals, I've got to read Paula's journals. And is you always felt kind of like wiser than your years as a young person. I was a very caretaker. I always say born at 50. I remember I started my period at nine. And I remember telling all my friends how it works and like how to put it, you know, how to put a pad on and how to and and they gather around me. Like I was like, Julie Andrews, it's on to music and I'd be, let's start at the very beginning. There's a string and an applicator. I just would always have the in of like, I'm an older, you know, and I had an older sister who taught me to read. Patty was like incredible. She always was very nurturing to me. But to them, to my friends, I was the wise one. I had a very old soul. And I think it was because it was withering from lack of any sexual interest from anyone. So I by the time I was 15, I was like, well, I'll never be touched. So, but I was also silently and quietly looking at women and feeling weird about that. So you grew up in the 80s. You were, you were a lesbian. You knew it, but you couldn't. I knew it, but I didn't really know it in quotes until I was just out of high school. And so my best friend and I were basically madly in love with each other. And we ended up always like sleeping over each other's house during the week for the last couple years of high school in the same bed. Like just it was a very Florida high school was like so affectionate, like in the public school. And I came from like a Catholic girl's school that was so not, I mean, we'd hug each other if you know, somebody died or something. But it was just like, or if you had something on your coat, you know, let me do that and get it off. But like it was, I got to Florida and I was like, what is going on? Why is everyone hugging each other? And, but it was perfect for a closeted lesbian because we'd go to like a choir trip and we'd be just like, you know, 60, 90 each other on the bus just sleeping like I'm sleeping on her ankles and she's sleeping on my ankles. And it's just, but we didn't know at the time we did know, but we didn't know. It was like your, your soul knows, but you are not saying it. You're not acknowledging it. And then we started having all these fights at the end of high school, like a lot of dramatic drunken fights. We'd drink like a lot of white wine and big football cups. And we'd be like, I don't know, well, what do you want? Well, what did I do? It was just like fights. And then it was like, and then it just, the world broke open. And I was like, but it was a world you couldn't do that. That's what I was going to say is I think people don't really remember or understand that in our generation, I mean, I had, I had no openly gay students in my high school, not one, not one, not even the super gay ones. Exactly. Like the super gay guys where you're like, there is no doubt. Like I was saying to my kids, there was no gay and lesbian alliance in my high school. Oh, hell no. There was no openly gay teachers or students. Everything was, you know, nothing was spoken of. And it was this time where you really did have to live this secret double life that you could not share with most people that you loved. I mean, the most heartbreaking thing about it was that when we, we went to college and we ended up together for a few years in college, and then there was a big heartbreak. The most heartbreaking thing is to go home and not be able to be heartbroken young person with in front of your family. Yes. So you have to manipulate all the reason your heart broken of like, oh, she's gone away to school. And I'm not, and it's just, I miss having a friend. I miss someone to hang around with and go troll for dick. You have to like, you just have to fake it. Right, you don't get the aftercare. It's so heartbreaking because you just want to look at your, oh, I'm crying already guys. This is supposed to be lighthearted, right? But like you want to look at your mom and go like, Yes. It's my first time I have my heart broken, you know? Yes. My parents were very kind, sweet, wonderful supportive people. And at the time, if I would have had the balls to do it, I could have maybe explained it to them and they would have been loving to me. And you know, I know your family so well. And you know, you talk about your sister and your parents, you come from such a funny, like your parents are hilarious. Yeah. They're all sisters. Hilarious. You guys tease each other. You love a good joke. Like comedy was so important to you. No. Growing up. All of them. My father is truly genuinely like in his next life will be a comedy writer. He is a comedy writer. Like he is still, he's 87 and he is still so ungodly funny. My mother was having gastro problems recently when she got really sick. And I said, I texted my dad and I said, is she still having diarrhea? And he said not since Saturday and spelled it T U R D Saturday. Saturday. Like immediately. But he does it, he does it without being desperate for you to laugh at. Sure. Sure. Sure. He just does it and waits. And that's you too. I also have a really good skill of freezing and pretending I'm freezing. You want me to do it? Yeah. Okay. I'll just do it while we're talking. Okay. So I know that there was a lot of musical theater that you were into when you were a kid. Yes. I love. The only reason I had that stuff is that I was just choking on my spit. During the pandemic, I used to do it all the time on zooms and it and I would go so long and just be but like, you know, it has to be in the middle of something. You can't just like, yeah. Sure. So it's just like when you. People are going to think they're YouTube. And that'll be like, no, I'm going to I'll watch that later. You were a musical theater. Like you were doing all your plays in high school. You were like, I want to be a performer. Like, did you know anyone that was an actor? Did you think that was going to be your job? One of my biggest gifts in life was I grew up in the Midwest where I had a little teeny Catholic high school. They had the most glorious theater and music departments always. All my schools always had the most glorious and nobody had money. It wasn't like these rich schools at all. And I I was in full with orchestra Oklahoma when I was like in fifth grade, full orchestra music man, where like a full band comes in at the end with 76 Trump but like, but really talented people. But like, and when I was in eighth grade infamously with all my friends, I was mother superior born at 50 mother superior in Sunday music. And I have video and like many photos of me looking into the shaft of light like Maria, you shall be led forth with peace. It's like my pubes have not come in. And I'm like the oldest woman. I'm the oldest and I'm looking like this earthy matron just singing in my non outfit. I hear that you claim you should. Yeah, you do have like great other areas for sure. But you're too. You love sex too much. I can't do it. You can't. I should have done the nun thing. Oh wait, I did. Hi, sister Christine. She's not a sister anymore. Wait, I was going to try to drink that like a cat. You claim you claim that you're an alto, but I are you you're not an alto. I'm an alto and then I can do like soprano as a joke voice. I was talking to Anna about on a gas tire about this. At some point, what is joke voice like joke voice is voice like, you know, well, I mean, when you sing high, like alto, I'm a big blender. I love harmony. I love harmonizing those new things where you can go and just for the day harmonize with a bunch of people. I weep when I watch them like where you can go in different cities and they have that group that you learn it in one day and then you go and they're all singing like the song from rent and everyone is just walking around with their parts and they're saying that's my joy of all I grew up with a lot of choirs, a lot of show choirs, a lot of groups. And I love to harmonize. So when I did Girls 5 Eva and I was with these like insane singers like Sarah Bareilles and Renee Goldsberg. And then Busy Phillips was a great singer, like secretly. And then we would sing. It was just like to blend and sing with them. What are you been listening to lately? I'll just every so often I'll listen to, you know, I'll listen to company because I did a parody of that. Let's talk about that for a second. We're all over the place, but it doesn't matter. You did a documentary now. For people who don't know, documentary now was like a was a bunch of fake documentaries that Bill Hader and Fred Armisen and Seth Meyers did brilliantly did and John Malini was in some and wrote some. And there was a very famous one based off of the film and musical company, the making of the Broadway album. Yes. And you guys did one called Co-op. Co-op the musical. And it was a of the era. We were in that era and I was in a lane stretch type. And it was based on an actual documentary that was very iconic black and white documentary about the night that they recorded company cast album, which was a hot mess, but then it turned out incredible. And I listened to that. And when I got to do that with them, because they were all fictional songs, but like, Sanheim actually heard them and talked to Malini about them and was like, I love, you know, because it was, he did. Yeah. He went to some screening of it and then talked to them and they, they all, I think met him like kind of, he kind of gave his blessing. Like these are good. And he gave his blessing because they were such well done songs. Eli Boilin was so good at writing the music and and the, they're so funny. And, you know, Seth wrote some of those songs, but they're, they're all so funny. And just, I just love being able to sing and emote at the same time. Like any musicals that I grew up with, I loved the ones that you could just be in them. You know, one of my favorites. I'm not going to, I know you probably do you have to pay for songs? Well, I mean, I feel like we should do what we used to call it as an all a sound delight. Let's do a sound, but, but you can sing the regular song. The song losing my mind from follies. It's, it's like, it's those kind of songs that like Liza Minnelli would, it's, you know, sing the sing part of it, the real thing, and then show people what a sound like would be. It's, it's the sad, it's one of the saddest songs on earth. The sun comes up. I think about you. The coffee cup. I think about you. You said you loved me or were you just being kind? Or am I losing my mind? Gunshot. I'm sorry. Okay. Now can we get a sound to like, please? And then they were like, we can't do that. You're going to have to do so it would be like, when I wake up, you're in my mind. When I wake up, you're not here. My heart's cracking. You're in my mind. And then we just just off enough. Okay. Florida affectionate Florida. You get there as a high schooler. You go to Disney. Yes. You work at Disney. I work at Disney. How did you get the job at Disney, which is a job everyone must want? I got my degree in theater. I left the University of Tennessee because I barely finished. I did finish. But that's really interesting because you're such a good student and you're so smart and studious. I was also a theater student. And I, it was the 80s. And my best friend, James Anderson, who wrote at SNL for 20 years and wrote every funny thing you've ever seen. He and I were classmates and we were gay and we used to go to gay bars and dance all night. And then we would do plays constantly that rehearsed all night. And then we would have like a seven o'clock biology class in the morning. And it wasn't happening. So I was always making up in completes all the time. And my parents came for my graduation and I looked for my final. I went to the hall of science to look at my final grade the night before they all got there with my grandparents and everything. And it was an F. And I called James crying and it was pouring rain in a phone booth. And he goes, call the teacher. It's 11 o'clock at night, but call the teacher. I called the teacher and I just blubbered and he ended up giving me like a D or a C and I could graduate. I had to write a paper that night had no sleep the night before my graduation. I wrote a play paper called that I still look for in boxes called plagiarized 100% from a bunch of stuff cobbled together on microfiche. And it was called Galileo, the courage to wonder. And I came up with this theory because I read one line that he said he had a fraught relationship with his dad or something. And I was like, and it was just all about his internal world with his father and all this shit. Oh my God, Paul, I did not know that that you graduated by the skin of your teeth would never have guessed that. But I got to I got to Florida, you know, was broke as hell. A lot of my friends went to New York, like James to have the dream. And I went back to Florida and then they built Pleasure Island. And it was this nighttime crazy 80s, giant like phallic island clubs for the adults. It was brilliant. It's like your kids are here and you're sick of them and you want to go out and let it rip and get drunk with your wife and make out and every night was New Year's Eve. So every night at like right before midnight, all the drunks from all the clubs and the theaters and the comedy warehouse, which was improv, all of them came out and then there'd be these hot dancers. And then they'd have confetti, they do a big countdown. It was like Times Square. And it was so 80s and so good. And so I ended up being in the original cast of the Adventurers Club. So I was Pamelia Perkins. Once again, a matron, a comedy matron. I was 22. Pamelia Perkins, the president of the Adventurers Club, Congolouche. Oh, the other fun thing about Pleasure Island was all these guys would come. Now, this is when after I got my heart broken, I wanted to have a baby and I was like, I've never really been with a man. I've been a little bit here and there, just a little sneaky, wiki, whatever, touchy, wachy, pokey-woky, but like nothing. Haven't had the full girth. And so I was like, maybe I need to go down Penis Avenue. So I, at that club, they'd let the employees party after work for the last two hours. So when the club would close, we had like at least an hour and a half to go to these other great bars right there. So we'd be with these cute ass boys and we'd just be like, you know, a bunch of cute brits or cute like Irish boys. And now I looked literally like, you know, like, I mean, I had like a bouffant and I'm like, you want to meet us over at the thing? And then I would go in the bathroom and I would like blow out my long hair. I take all my hair down. I'd put a bunch of makeup. I'd put a bunch of makeup. I'd come out. I was still fat, but I would put all the other stuff on, bring the eye up, put earrings, lots of stuff up here. Look at me up here. And, and, and then I show up and then I started fooling around with these guys that were like these fun, like there to have fun. And they were like, she's so cool. She doesn't even really seem into me. I'm like so And I would fool around and nothing, nothing stuck. Yeah. Except the seam. And no, I'm kidding. But like nothing, you know, yeah. And so Disney was like, felt like a training ground for you. Yeah. Disney was every night you got to have a large group of people laugh at what you did, even if it was like, stupid that night or you weren't feeling it or you weren't, it's that energy that we all love that we loved at SNL that we, we all crave since we were little that we do stick in front of our parents on a couch. You got to hear humans look at you and go, Oh, she's really funny. She's, they'd laugh at you. And then I, I went over to work at Murder, She Wrote, the post production show during the day for my next job. I moved out of Disney and I just did part time there. And I pretended I was a, like in this week, in these wheels, I pretended out in some of it, you're an editor. And it was all about the making of Murder, She Wrote. And I would talk to Jessica Fletcher on the screen. So I go, you know, it was all timed. So it was like fake, but you know, she'd come in and go, Oh dear, I think we're going to do this episode you met, but we better go. There's murders. And I go, I know Jessica, well, we're going to make sure that we're going to, and you'd have to talk. And one, one day I was so hung over that I looked up at her and I turned and I went, let's see what big, I said, big old Jessica. I go, let's see what big old Jessica has to say. And then I turned like this and it was just like, I could not stop laughing like my whole, I missed like three cues. So she was just talking with like 10 seconds in between because I was just like this. So that felt like a step up. That's where I got my SNL job. Okay. So that, how do you go from talking to Jessica Fletcher to audition for SNL? Because I, that year, all those talented people that worked for SAC theater that also performed at Disney were great writers, great performers. And I, they had a theater and I would go and do characters at their theater sometimes on sketch night. I wasn't an improviser. I was, you know, I never really have had improv training ever in my life except theater. Sure. And every day at Disney. That's true. So I did these characters and then that got to SNL. Wow. And then I'm sitting in the dressing, I mean, green room with all the people that worked at Murder, She Wrote, Post-Production. And I was sitting there waiting for the next, them to load the next audience and, and everything was a corded phone, of course. It was like somebody's calling you and I answered the phone. It was my local agent that I had done commercials for and stuff. And she was like, are you sitting down? And I said, and, and she said, Lauren Michaels wants you to come to New York and, and meet him. And I was like, is it, what is it? Like, is it an audition? Because I mean, spent my whole life, you know, tape recording SNL, doing Roseanne, Roseanne, and Dana in high school for my school assemblies. Like I was so SNL. And they were like, no, it's not an audition. And I was like, what, what is it? And I just got off the phone and they flew me there that week for two nights or one night. And I just got there and was terrified. And I went in and he was like two hours late. And I sat down with him and he started talking like we had been talking already. Like he started in the middle of a sentence. And that's why the show is, you know, a Phoenix rising. And this year we're going to rise again and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, rising above my body. And at one point I remember saying to him and Steve Higgins, I am a lot more boring here than I usually am. I just remembered like calling out because I was so scared. And so, and he had already disdained my, you know, telling him I'm from Joliet. So I was a little off. You were basically hired without knowing and no one told you you were hired, which is what SNL writes. So then they just said, I think, I think we, and then I left. Lauren notoriously does not hire or fire. And then I caught, and then they, you know, Steve Higgins was like, okay, we'll figure, you know, we'll call you. It has to be in about four days, five days. I went and gave my cats and my dog to my mom and dad. I ran and called. Like it was the most, I remember crying in a closet and calling my nieces and nephews and crying and being like, oh, you know what? And they're like, can you take us to the opera? Like they didn't know New York city. Like it was so exciting, but it was terrifying. And I remember my mom just finally looking at me and going, what is the worst case scenario? And I'm like, I fail at a place that I've worshiped my whole life. And she's like, but then you do. And you had the experience, you got to go there. Wow, Paula. So they saw your characters and they were like, we want her as a writer. They didn't really make it clear why you were coming in, but you knew you were coming in for writing and not performing. But you were a performer. What is it like to like, and obviously you're a performer who's writing all the time. You're creating these characters. But back then, especially, I feel like the lines are way more blurred now. But when you get to SNL, you kind of get like put into a category and you're put into the writer category, even though you are this super strong performer who's been performing. So what was that adjustment like? Well, I don't want to assume, I've heard here and there little things and who knows, because we've all been in there when they're picking people and it's like so random. So I mean, not random, but like there's reasons that you don't think are the reasons and all this. But I do suspect that I was a big lady. I was a big plus size person. There was just not that in any TV, anything. Like there wasn't, you know, there were starting to be Roseanne Barr, like people that had more real looking bodies. But I was just not of the aesthetic of that place whatsoever. This was late 90s, mid 90s, mid 90s. So it was 95. And I just, I do suspect that it wasn't even like, oh, no, like, but her writing, like I like her writing because that fits with us. Did you ever talk to anyone at the show about that specifically? I mean, I really was such a good Catholic girl of a rural follower when it comes to when an actor who, because I had only acted, I got there and told them, I'm not a writer. Even though I'd written like short stories and different, I don't know how to do, I don't know how to do on any of this. I really, I was so afraid to ever show any desire to perform. And it's why I'm so gloriously happy to be able to perform later in my life because I finally let that out of the cage of that shame. The shame and it also, the shame and the shine right next to each other. Oh, I like that. The shame and the shame because you might have been feeling that, right? Like, I just want to be grateful for what I have, but your shine just, it, without you even trying, like it could not be dimmed, like you there, you became the performer that you are now because it was such a strong, undeniable thing. People put you in sketches because they knew how funny you were, you were funny in the room. You just like, with that to your point, you didn't say, fuck this, I'm not going to write, I only want this. You took the opportunity, you did an incredible job writing for other people and you slowly knew and believed in yourself and others saw what kind of performer you are. Well, I felt like everything, and it was, it was a bigger picture of codependency and caretaking that in my life, in my whole life, I was making the pie and then giving all the pie away. Okay, so for people who don't know who are listening, and we talked about this a little bit with Anna and we've talked about it with Rachel and talked about with Tina and we talked about it with Seth and we talked about, but like Paula Pell has written some of your favorite sketches, including Bobby and Marty, The Culp's, including Debbie Downer, including the cheerleaders, including those actors. Of course, of course, but the actors get all the credit. They do, they always, it's like whoever is saying the lines, people assume that they've written the lines. And as we, I mean, people understand that there are writers on that show, but the public facing cast always gets the first kind of love, amount of love. Appalachian emergency room, Tony Bennett talk show, all this stuff. When you're writing, what was the first time you wrote something and you were there where that terror went away a little bit, where you thought, okay, I might not get fired, okay. Well, there's two kinds of terror because I was in that era of recurring characters. And I was lucky enough to get in that first year with Will and Cheri for cheerleaders and with Anna and Will for, for Bobby and Marty. And they were so up my alley. I was the person that tried out every year for cheerleading, never ever made it, worked on my backhand springs in the summer. And then I would, because I was fat, and I would stand with holding everyone's purses during the basketball games. And I knew every cheer and all my friends were cheerleaders, like all of them were on the squad. And then I'd be up there like a dance mom, like, but once again, a matron at 12 going, you know, and gathering them around to talk to them about life. Do you need a cough drop? And so the idea of, I loved writing joyful losers. That was my favorite thing is someone who is joyfully living their life, what they want to do. And that, because when I read that journal, that's what I was, you know, I, I got a new, I got my rock tumbler and I have, I changed the grit and my amethyst is looking gorgeous. My God. And I was like a Victor, like a crazy broad as this little person, like talking about what lights me up, my plants, my stuffed animals, all those things. And when I got there and met them, they were my people. Like I would cry laughing till five in the morning writing those things with them. But the other thing you have to get there is to prove that you're actually good by yourself. And that is a terrifying thing. Because you can always hide behind those characters that once they're hit, you got that to ride on. It's the best thing ever. And my very first one I remember was doing Wilfred Brimley with John Goodman. And I wrote it. I used to do this thing where I was the last one almost always at writing nights. So it was like, Yes, the Paula stayed the latest. So one night I wrote John Goodman as Wilfred Brimley. And he was on a fake course. And because it always used to make me laugh when he was a big guy. And he would, I mean, Wilfred Brimley was a big guy, but then he'd do this commercial for this, this like health stuff. And he'd be like, I take care of my blood sugar. And I was like, no, you don't. And so I, I had him say like, you know, I take care of my blood sugar. Well, I don't. And it was just this slowly descending conversation in this commercial. And John was so funny. But it killed at the table. It absolutely killed. And it was the first time I could really look and go, I deserve to be here. Because I didn't feel like I deserve to be there. I didn't think, you know, I would, and then if I was writing with other actors, it's like, yeah, but they're so funny and they're so good. And that was the first time I said, you are a writer, like you sat down and you wrote words that no one else saw because they all went home and they could, they could read this. I mean, they, they read this and they laughed. How long did you write for SNL? I wrote full time for like 18 years. And then I started slow, you know, I did that slow exiting out where I did like, I came to Lauren and was like, I'm going to do half the season spread out. So I would do like one or two shows, then I would have a break for a while. It was really trying to get away from the team. But it was slow. And Lauren, you know, the one of the things I love the most about him is he, he doesn't want people, he doesn't want his family to leave, you know, and then you are the long, do you know that you are the longest tenured female writer in SNL history? Female. Oh, yeah. Cause I was going to say James beat me by two years on the writing side, but yeah, female. That's, that's really nice. Isn't it cool? Why haven't I gotten a plaque for that? And before I get off SNL, two things. One is Debbie Downer. Yes. Most fun ever. I mean, that first Debbie Downer is, we've talked about it, the anti-depressant of all anti-depressants. I remember us all standing in one of the dressing rooms, just looking up at the screen and just, we could not believe it was like a house of cards falling down, but it was the best house of cards. And we just wanted to go on and on and on. And I mean, you created a cultural language. Like, people use the term Debbie Downer now as if it was just, it was on my soaps the other day. And I was like, good Lord. It was. What soap are you watching right now? All the CBS soaps. Love them off. You ever want me on there? I'd love to do an art. Oh my God, you should definitely run a soap opera. That would be so fun. Yeah, yeah. That would be so fun. Okay. So we've worked together on so many things after SNL. We worked together on Sisters, an incredible movie that you wrote that is like, you guys were incredible. And Tina got to play some versions of you and your sister and, and, and read my actual journal in a bathtub. They were in the bathtub reading pages from my actual journal. It was beautiful and so fun. And that shoot was so fun with Ike and John Cena, your buddy who loves John Cena. He loves you. I love John Cena. I know. I see him to this day. I have a couple ideas for John Cena. I'm going to hit him up for. I have some. He is, he just, and that shoot was just, um, and Kate, there were so many fun people that came in on that. Diane Weast and James Brolin. James Brolin playing my parents and. Do you want to tell the story about when Barbara came by set? So my mom has lived to like worship Barbara Streisand her whole life. I took her to the millennial Millennium concert that was supposed to be Barbara's last concert. And that was at the Milan. That was like 2000, whatever. Right. 2000, right? Yeah. Yes. And I spent all this money to fly her to Vegas to go to that concert at like New Year's Eve. It was this huge surprise. And I took her and then she comes to Sisters married to James Brolin. She comes to Sisters the day before my parents came to set to visit from Florida. And if I would have known, I would have like immediately flown her there. But, um, you know, I sent pictures, which is like, great. She looks cute from this blurry picture. I don't know if you remember, my parents happen to be there. And in a different way, you're flying my parent, you're flying your parent, your mom out to Vegas. I'm always telling my parents, I'm not going to fly you out to Vegas. Okay. I'm doing the opposite. Vegas is their Streisand. Well, they're always like, why don't you take me to the Academy Awards? And I'm like, relax. Right. So my parents arrived on the set and my mom was like, oh, James Brolin is here. I wonder if Barbara Streisand is going to show up. And I go, Barbara Streisand is not going to come to our set, mom. Give it a break. Like, let it go. And she just came to visit. She is. And she was the cutest. So cute. So cute. And she, I just remember when I would get up to go to anything, she'd go, are you going to the, you go into the craft services? She goes, just give me a little play to some. Just give me, just give me a little something. I don't care what it is. Just a little something. And I'm like, that's fucking Barbara Streisand. I mean, a star is born with Christopherson and her is like, I know every moment of that movie. I used to lay on the shed carpeting and ball and sing to that movie and not ball sexually, like ball. Yeah. B-A-W-L. But we've worked together on Wine Country on Parks and Rec on Sisters. You have been more and more, like you said, in front of the camera. You got a new show on Peacock called The Burbs. Yes. I'm so excited. Yes. Which looks so fun. So fun and creepy. Tell me, like what, you're, you love to be part of an ensemble. I mean, you are, you, you are a leading lady in every way, but you also love that juicy ensemble thing. And Kiki Palmer. Kiki Palmer leads the pack. Julia Duffy, Mark Proch, Kapil Tallwokker, and Jack Whitehall, who is also in the movie. I'm shooting, we're shooting that Janine and I wrote. And they are so funny and so weird. Like their characters have so many twisty, weird secrets. I've never done this kind of genre. I've never done a mystery, murdery, like some things are serious, some things are funny, you know, because we grew up with comedy or drama. You know, you're either watching ER or you were watching, there was no like in between. Can we talk about Kiki for a second? So unbelievable. We just did the press, press for it in the premiere for it. And she can just, she can just lead anything and just be the kindest, funniest, most energetic. And then she's like in here and makeup, getting like elaborate stuff done while she's doing like a podcast thing, also talking to a choreographer about a music, choreography for the music video she's doing for her album that's coming out the next week. Like I would just look at her and go like, I get excited and a two year old child. I know she's a pro. She's so great. I was getting my hair blown out. And I a couple of weeks ago, and I just looked up at the TV and they play them, you know, they play the movies on the screen at the hair place. And it was her and Akilah and the bee and she just held little braces and she was just, she was such a great actor. I was just watching her do this whole monologue and I'm like, Oh my God, she was just cooked when she was born. Like it was just, I don't want to skip over the fact that you were getting your hair blown out, because I would say that next to Tina Fey and not a competition, but I'd love to have you both in here and we can touch your hair. You have the best hair. You have incredible hair. Thank you very much. People should know this is all your hair. It's all my hair. I took very good care of my hair because when I was plus size in that era, this is not like a pathetic fact. It's a true fact. If you had good hair, it was like something that you could use because there were, there was no good clothes. It was like big shirts and leggings. That was all you had. When I was young, all the pictures of me, if I ever felt good about how I looked, it was always just right, right here, you know, because everything else I wanted to forget about. What is your relationship now to neck down? It's good. I lost some weight this year for health reasons a little bit like 25 pounds and it made me feel a lot better because I have knee replacements. So it was much better for that. But I, I lost 100, close to 100 pounds three times in my 20s and it really devastated me because I gained it back each time. I gained it back more. It was such a racket. All those diet things were such a racket. I would go into deep depression, which I'd always struggled with. I would go into that cycle of like suddenly people want to talk to me because I'm skinny and pretty looking and then like, and I'm not funny. I was not funny at all when I was skinny. Right. And so that's the only reason that I eat cream cheese on Pop Tarts now, to stay funny. But, but now I feel like, I mean, well, I think you speak to, you're speaking to a lot of people who are listening, who understand, and you're really honest and very compassionate about how that can be a lifelong struggle. And I have been on the, the shot. I've been on the shot this year on a very microdosed way that helped me a lot with inflammation, pain, everything. And it got me, I had kept gaining and again, and it got me down to this kind of like, I just want to live a long life. And so I'm now, it's not about, because I have a younger wife, she's 22. She's got, she's 42. Gorgeous, sexy wife and you're so in love. Jeanine Brito and hilarious writer, actress. Incredible writer, incredible person, incredible performer. Paula, your relationship, for most of us that know you felt like, not only a miracle to come in your life, but just like, aspirational for us to think about wanting to have a partner. It was a miracle and it taught me truly to, to stop always, you know, not believing that the happy ending can happen. And that's why I'm, the world is dark right now. And I still, no matter how sad it makes me, I, I wake up and I go, it will write itself, it will write itself, because that's the nature of life. It's, you look at nature doing it, you know, there's a disaster and then there's the green coming up. And I really do believe that, and that I saw it in real time with, with finding her. Well, when we were trying to figure out who to talk to about this podcast, who, who we should have talked to about Paula. Like, Is it Michelle Obama? Close. But no, but we were like, we, we have so many, I want you to know, I know you know this, but I just want to say it out loud. Like, I can think of a dozen people that would in five minutes notice, get on a zoom to talk to me about you. But we decided to go with your newest best friend, and that was Kim Kardashian. And the new spokesperson for skims. She, she's size inclusive. She is. She really is. And she's a sweetheart. Boy, what a. I mean, drawing the hell out of her. I know. And I really wanted to talk to Kim because two things, I don't know Kim, but I, her wanting to talk to us about you. I was like, I love this lady because people who love Paula and people, I'm speaking about you in the third person, people who love you and know the how funny and talented you are. To me, I'm like, okay, that's, that's a smart person who's paying attention. That's a smart person. And I remember you saying that you worked with her, you started to work with her and her mom, and you were like, she's really fun and easy to work with. Yes. You guys are doing a movie together. We're doing a movie together. We're mid shoot. We're like about two weeks in. And it's with a bunch of other comedy. It's a bunch of comedy ladies that we all know and love. Fortune Feemster, Nikki Glaser, Casey Wilson, Brenda Song. And she is so blending in with them in this group. And just her existing was like an inspiration for it because we knew that she wanted to do this kind of idea. And we were like, what would if Kim was just a normal person with a normal life and normal, you know, living situation. And, and she was around girls that she grew up with. Like what would be that thing? And anyone I talked to, including Lauren Michaels, when she hosted, were like, she's really nice. You know, there's, the fame is always equated with someone's an asshole. Right. And that is often true. Often true. And our next episode, which is only available on another website, the two of us will list those to you. But what I love the most about her is she's an extremely kind, gentle person, really doing a great job playing her part. What I love the most about her after all those years at SNL, having all those hosts is that she is always aware of what she's really good at and what she wants you to be great at that she knows you're good at. That's a good skill. Like let's meet, let's meet and do something fun. And that is so valuable to me at this age, because I just can't be with people that think they can do my job better than me. Oh, Paula, I can't do it. Say it again. Say it, Paula. I cannot be with people. I'm going to put the chair around while you say it. Say it again. I cannot go, go, go, go, go, go. I cannot be with people who think they can do a better job than I can in the situation that we're doing right then. Now, they might be just as good at something that I'm doing. I'm not saying I'm better than them, but when people come in, when a host would come in and they have never written something in their life and they're telling you how to write the sketch, I have done that so many times in my life with people and I'm so spiritually exhausted with it. And the first time we met with her, Janine and I wrote this movie together. We came up with it together, drinking, eating soup on a winter day. And Janine and I just started spinning it, like, wait, what if this and what if this? And then we really loved it because it had a lot of hurt and it was about female friendship. And we were like, oh my God, I love this. We ended up zooming with her. She came there. I thought she'd have an entourage of people with her on the Zoom, a lot of squares. It was just one square of beautiful Kim Kardashian just going, hey, guys, just being a lovely person. And she's been so great on the set. We have had so much fun. You're absolutely right. People who know what they're good at and also like working with people who are good at what they do, that is a skill. And also, when we were talking to her, one of the questions she has, which is such a sweet question, is also told me a lot about maybe what I sometimes forget or hopefully don't take for granted, but sometimes do, which is, she was basically saying, do you think Paula is feeling the magic, the sparkly magic of what we have? Like I am. It was basically like, and she basically said, I'm having such a good time. I'm like, I can't believe I'm there. I'm new to doing comedy, but I've loved it forever. And I'm having fun. Is Paula having fun? It was such a sweet, cute question. And the answer is hell yeah. And I am in a no-ass hole zone of joy now. This is our only weapon, is joy. That's the only thing we can do now. Okay. And so the other question that Kim had was, who is someone that you like, you know, is so hilarious that you can't barely get through a scene with them? Like who really tickles you? I like that old time, true classic, like without the meanness under it. Well, I feel like I saw you do versions of that all the time. And what comes to mind is especially in Lauren's office, where we would have this big meeting where between dress and air or after a read through where all of us would be packed in and Paula would come in and you just do some version of that with Lauren. And he would, he would just, he's kind of a quiet laugh or he would laugh like this. And you don't see Lauren laughing at, I mean, when you're in comedy, you almost can't laugh anymore. No, you're tired of it. And no one would make him laugh harder than you. And Paula would, you'd put two oranges in your bra. Yes, I would always put, he had oranges always in a bowl, that is little tangerines. And I would always put oranges in my bra or I would, I've done a lot of things with Lauren. And there's a picture in Lauren's office. Do you want to describe what that picture is? It's my 1980s headshot. And I think it's one of the times that I lost a lot of weight. And it's just that dreamy, it almost looks like a 80s soap, soap star. Yeah, it is very soapy. And I have my hair flipped and I have a very metallic, almost like alligator print, like, which now would probably be a, like a beautiful outfit and because everything has come back, but it's very 80s. And I gave it to him. I framed it in a very heavy, like crystal frame. And I wrote on it, I'll never forget our time in Sand Trope. And it's just this woman heavily filtered looking off. And he has it over by when everyone's sitting there picking the show. It really does look like his own lover. It looks a little like a corpse. It's just like this. But when you're new to the show and Paula would do that, it was like watching, I mean, it was like, it was like watching, how would I, how do I describe this? It was like, honestly, it was thrilling. It honestly was thrilling to watch a woman come in and just make the big honcho laugh. It honestly, Paula, it made you feel like, oh, maybe he will think I'm funny. Like it, you being fearless in those moments and earning all of the laughs and being the funniest made everybody else feel like, oh, there might be room for me here. Like there might be space for me here. I mean, if I analyzed it, I probably was always trying to get him to know that I was performatively funny because I, that was something I hid. Sure. And so for years, it was very painful for me to be in rooms and just be very serious with him. And while we worked on that and I put the joke in, okay, great. Thanks. Thanks, Lord. And just walking out and always very contained. And once I broke through that with him, I felt much better about that. You know what? I didn't get to be in the cast here, but like, he knows that I'm a funny person. And Paula, it's really interesting as we started this interview, like Midwestern girl doing the right thing. You broke, you keep breaking social protocol and you did it in that office at a time when we were all watching. You really did keep breaking barriers for us that didn't make it feel really safer and safer for us in every way. And you still do that. I hope so because now it feels so much better. And I mean, all of it is some, some's worse, some's better. But I do feel like in comedy, the women in rooms, when I go to SNL now and I see the writing staff, I'm like, oh my God, so much more diverse and like there's queer people and thank God, like it just makes you feel so much better. And one last thing I just want to say about who makes me laugh is Janine is one of those people that I never thought in a million years I would ever be with a comedy person. I might actually was not a comedy person, lovely person and funny, but like not a kind of, not by trade. But she makes me laugh in that stealthy way that I enjoy so much. I mean, the two of you guys are so, so matched comedically. I've never, I've never, because sometimes you know, like people are like, my partner is so funny and you're like, when? Now we are at three hours. Okay. As you requested. So I have two last quick questions for you. One is how are the dogs? The dogs are great. I haven't seen them in a month and a half. Janine just went home to see them. We have a, an old donkey, a very big white horse that I used to ride, Verbena and five dogs, one in a wheel cart and who hauls ass, little tiny paralyzed dog and three cats. And they're all two snakes. I'm not done. I'm too both. Are you two snakes? I was like, when did you get those snakes? I can't get other other classes of animals because they'll start eating each other. Reptiles are a whole thing. Yeah. Well, I couldn't feed them the live animals. Exactly. You have to start. And birds, I hate cages. I love birds, but I can, unless I can afford someday an aviary of rescue birds where I can walk in and they can all land on me like, you don't want something that's going to outlive you. Like a parrot will outlive you. That's true. Well, our donkey could live to be like 50. He's old. He's older now, but like, we were like our old horse. We're like, let's get her. She lost her partner horse. Let's get her a little donkey. We'll adopt an old, older donkey. And then the donkey's like 18. Oh, how long do they, 50 years? Oh, 50 years. We get the rescue old dogs all the time. And they'll call and they'll go, we did bring her to the cardiologist. And Nani is, Nino is actually going to probably not make it for a few weeks. Do you still want it? Of course we want it. A thousand good days in one day. Like let's just give him a great end of his life. He lives like seven years. Because it's too much love. Lots of expensive medications. Too much love. Too much love in medication, which is the name of my butt. Too much love. And then the last thing is, I want to find a public domain song that we can harmonize to. Yes. She's so good at it. Okay. Oh my God, I love it. What's a good public domain song? Let's see that we don't have to. That is amazing grace. Yes, it is. Amazing grace. Okay, I have a good one at that. Okay, Paula. But that's a high. Amazing. What one should I sing? I'll do the higher. So you just sing the melody. Amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saves a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see. Was great. That was so good. We did not rehearse that. We did not. It's not public domain great. It's getting cut. What is it? It costs $150,000. Okay, great. We're going to cut it. I will put $20 towards it. Paula, I love you so much. Thank you. I love you so much. I love this show. It's such an honor to be at the table with you. Are you kidding, Paula? Are you the best in the big table? This is like, I love watching this and hearing it. It's a very expensive table. It's a big honor. Paula, I love you so much. Thank you. I love you so much. Thank you for everything. Paula Pell, you're just so fun to be around. Thank you for doing that. And you know, for this polar plunge, there's just so many things that Paula mentioned that she wrote on. Great sketches that you should check out at SNL if you're looking to laugh. I want to remind you about a little YouTube show that she did, not little, big, a big YouTube show called Hudson Valley Ballers that her and James Anderson, another writer at SNL who was mentioned in this interview, worked on. Paula and James just play two jerks, two funny, lovable jerks who live in the Hudson Valley. And there's a lot of really funny cameos. Stupid people being with other stupid people doing stupid things. So check out Hudson Valley Ballers if you haven't checked that out and check out Paula on the Burbs. And keep listening to Good Hang. We love that you're here. Thanks for being here and see you soon. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weisberman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite for The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Katz Velane, Kaya McMullen, and Aleah Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weisberman. Original music by Amy Miles.