S2: #76 - The Pod With No Name

Summary

Podcast Summary: Smosh Mouth – S2: #76 - The Pod With No Name

Release Date: August 19, 2020
Hosts: Ian Hecox, Courtney Miller, Shane Top, Damien Haas

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1. Introduction to "The Pod With No Name"

In episode #76 of Smosh Mouth, titled "The Pod With No Name," hosts Ian Hecox, Courtney Miller, Shane Top, and Damien Haas embark on a revamped podcast format inspired by their former show, What a Show. This new approach emphasizes a more relaxed and discussion-based atmosphere, allowing for deeper engagement with listeners' questions.

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2. Navigating the Entertainment Industry: Expectations vs. Reality

A significant portion of the episode delves into the hosts' personal experiences within the entertainment industry, contrasting their initial expectations with the harsh realities they've encountered.

• Shane Top reflects on the misconception of the "big break," stating, "I always thought there was a concept of like a big break... But I didn't expect that nothing's guaranteed and the struggle is constant forever" (07:14).

• Ian Hecox shares his early experiences, highlighting the relentless nature of acting: "90% of your work as an actor... is just literally sitting around" (19:14).

• Courtney Miller discusses the evolution of her perception, initially skeptical of Hollywood's reputation but growing to understand the persistent struggles faced by those in the industry (08:43).

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3. The Hierarchy and Challenges of Production Roles

The hosts examine the often-overlooked abuse and sexism prevalent within production hierarchies, especially towards roles like Production Assistants (PAs) and directors of photography (DPs).

• Courtney Miller emphasizes the unchecked abuse: "There's a lot of abuse that's just excused in the industry... especially male-dominated" (00:31).

• Damien Haas recounts instances of sexual harassment on sets, highlighting the emotional toll and the lack of support for those in lower-tier positions (17:00).

• Shane Top adds, "It's oversaturated... you really do have to love what you're doing and be fine with working a restaurant job to support that" (10:51).

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4. Creative Processes and Content Generation

The discussion shifts to the creative aspects of producing content, brainstorming ideas, and the dynamics of collaboration within the Smosh team.

• Damien Haas shares his excitement about the new podcast format, emphasizing the freedom to explore topics without time constraints: "We get to just really talk and that's right" (05:07).

• Shane Top and Courtney Miller explore the challenges of pitching ideas, balancing personal passion with audience reception, and the emotional investment required:

  • Shane: "I have to sort of translate what is needed and what is not... sometimes I'm like, oh, by the end of it, I don't think I really..." (37:43)
  • Courtney: "It's really hard... because it's so personal" (37:48).

• Ian Hecox discusses the importance of flexibility in content creation, citing examples from their sketch work: "But with how many we have to do... we often shoot more than one Try not to laugh in a day" (44:24).

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5. Introducing "Shoot Dude": Analyzing Listener Stories

In a new segment titled "Shoot Dude," the hosts read and react to listener-submitted stories involving awkward or cringeworthy customer service experiences.

• Alana's Story: Alana recounts a humorous yet tense situation where a butter knife incident at a restaurant led to a misunderstanding, resulting in complimentary drinks to avoid legal action.

  • Courtney reacts: "I'm more sorry that this guy can't hang, but I have learned a valuable lesson in comedy. Make sure you know your audience. Shoot, dude." (60:20)

• Hosts' Reactions:

  • Damien Haas and Ian Hecox dissect the customer's unreasonable demands, labeling the behavior as a "functioning Karen" (61:40).
  • Shane Top criticizes the "customer is always right" mentality, advocating for setting firm boundaries: "We have to keep coming up with so many ideas... I'm afraid to fail now." (63:43)

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6. Conclusion: Reflections and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on the balance between maintaining creative control and collaborating effectively. They acknowledge the emotional and logistical challenges of content creation while celebrating their collective passion for entertaining their audience.

• Shane Top remarks on the fear of failure due to their success: "We're victims of our own success... we're afraid to fail now" (47:24).

• Courtney Miller underscores the importance of teamwork and humility in the creative process: "We're all passionate about it... we all want to make the best possible thing we can" (42:34).

• Damien Haas and Ian Hecox emphasize continuous improvement and adapting to platform changes, ensuring their content remains fresh and engaging (45:21; 44:24).

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Shane Top (07:14): "I always thought there was a concept of like a big break... But I didn't expect that nothing's guaranteed and the struggle is constant forever."

• Courtney Miller (00:31): "There's a lot of abuse that's just excused in the industry... especially male-dominated."

• Damien Haas (05:07): "We get to just really talk and that's right."

• Ian Hecox (19:14): "90% of your work as an actor... is just literally sitting around."

• Shane Top (42:34): "We're all passionate about it... we all want to make the best possible thing we can."

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Conclusion

"The Pod With No Name" offers an unfiltered glimpse into the lives of Smosh members, revealing the complexities and challenges of working in the entertainment industry. Through candid conversations, personal anecdotes, and engaging segments like "Shoot Dude," the hosts provide valuable insights and relatable content for their audience. Whether discussing industry hardships or sharing funny customer stories, this episode stands out as a heartfelt and honest exploration of behind-the-scenes life.

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Timestamps Reference

• [00:31] Courtney Miller on industry abuse
• [05:07] Damien Haas on podcast format
• [07:14] Shane Top on industry expectations
• [08:43] Courtney Miller on evolving industry perceptions
• [10:51] Shane Top on industry oversaturation
• [17:00] Damien Haas on harassment experiences
• [19:14] Ian Hecox on acting realities
• [37:43] Shane Top on pitching ideas
• [37:48] Courtney Miller on personal investment in ideas
• [42:34] Courtney Miller on teamwork
• [44:24] Ian Hecox on content creation challenges
• [47:24] Shane Top on fear of failure
• [50:22] Introduction of "Shoot Dude" segment
• [60:20] Courtney Miller on Alana's story
• [61:40] Discussions on "Karen" behavior
• [63:43] Shane Top on customer service policies

Transcript

[Ian Hecox]

Step into the world of power, loyalty, and luck. I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

[Courtney Miller]

With family.

[Ian Hecox]

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[Courtney Miller]

Ramble. There's a lot of abuse that's just excused in the industry of, like, well, you're a PA or like, well, you're an assistant.

[Shane Top]

Too many people are really great at this. It's not even a matter of not working hard enough. It's just like, literally, sometimes things just don't happen.

[Damien Haas]

I feel like you kind of do throw a lot of your training out the window in a way, because it's like, okay, I'm gonna be a mom for 30 minutes and now I'm gonna be a 16 year old for 30.

[Ian Hecox]

Most of the time I'm reacting, I'm often doing it to a piece of tape taped to a camera with a 50 year old sweaty dude right behind it holding the boom light. For those of you just listening, I highly encourage watching this week's pod because Damien looks like Hosier.

[Shane Top]

Dude, take me to church. I think they saying that. No, my hair was just getting in my face. I've always wanted to tie my hair back into like a wolf tail thing. And so I made it happen. But it's already like, I don't know, I'm not. I'm not skilled at it yet. It's already got the like, little wispy hairs in the front and I'm like, I don't like those little. Those little wispies.

[Courtney Miller]

Was this inspired by Ghost of Sashimi?

[Shane Top]

No, I mean, I've just always wanted cool tied back hair. And so I guess I at this point have tied back hair. It's not cool yet, but no, I'm not going for a samurai vibe necessarily. I just kind of wanted to pull back my dang hair.

[Courtney Miller]

It's really cool.

[Damien Haas]

It is very.

[Ian Hecox]

It's very.

[Damien Haas]

I look like a 50s TV show host with this temporary microphone.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

Because microphones are. They just hate my apartment.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, it's because she lives. She lives near a 5G tower.

[Shane Top]

Corny is because you got so many microwaves that you just race. You're like, who can cook burrito Fastest guys.

[Damien Haas]

I think I could be a sound guy now. Like, I know how to do this stuff.

[Shane Top]

That's awesome. I used to use those for like the job that I had before. Smosh.

[Courtney Miller]

So what did you guys do this week? What fun. What fun things did you get up to without my supervision?

[Shane Top]

I unpacked a lot because I since I've been on the pod, you guys haven't or you guys know, but the people out in Deverelt don't know I moved. Oh, I like it a lot. I now have like an office space set up specifically for like streaming and voiceover, which is cool and separate from my room. So now I don't feel like everything I'm doing in quarantine is within like three feet of itself. I'm stoked. I'm a happy lady.

[Courtney Miller]

And in case you listen. You guys listening and can't tell us by our voices. Hello. I mean, Hecox. Today I'm joined by Courtney Miller, Shane Top, and Damien.

[Shane Top]

I'm also Ian Hecox, Damian House.

[Damien Haas]

And what's your middle name?

[Shane Top]

Me?

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

It's a secret.

[Shane Top]

Christian.

[Damien Haas]

Christian. That's right.

[Courtney Miller]

It's no longer a secret.

[Damien Haas]

Let's. Let's all like, what if we only referred to each other by our middle names?

[Shane Top]

Ruth works for your 50s style.

[Ian Hecox]

You do look like a Ruth right now.

[Damien Haas]

And welcome to the dance Time jubilee.

[Shane Top]

Welcome to the dynamite hop step.

[Courtney Miller]

You guys will have to refer to me as fuck Good a lot.

[Damien Haas]

That is not your middle name, Ian.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, it is.

[Shane Top]

It's weird. Like, I wonder if it's British if you became that way because of your middle name or if they just like, knew you would be that way.

[Courtney Miller]

I mean, it's a. It, it's a long lineage in my family, if you know what I mean.

[Ian Hecox]

Does. Do your parents listen to the pod?

[Courtney Miller]

I hope not. You know, they're actually. They're actually visiting me in like a week. So right now.

[Ian Hecox]

Background.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, No, I hope that they're not like, hey, we got. We got seven hours to kill in the car. We're going to check out your podcast and this will be the most recent one. Shoot, dude.

[Shane Top]

But your parents have to know right, by this point that you fuck real good a lot.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, I tell them all the time. It's pretty much all we talk about. I called them. I'm like. I'm like, just so you guys know. And it's never a welcome comment. They don't ever want to hear about it. But it's the only thing. It's the Only thing I know how to talk about with my parents.

[Shane Top]

I think it's important for parents to set boundaries so they don't have to hear their kids say that they are like that.

[Courtney Miller]

What I did this weekend, since you guys apparently did nothing.

[Shane Top]

Ian, what did you do this weekend?

[Courtney Miller]

I went up to the mountains into the wild, but it was kind of like glamping because they had like cabins and stuff. But it was like very limited, like power and stuff. It was a really great time. But the funny thing about, like, nature is it always sounds so wonderful. Then you get out into it and then you're like, oh, yeah, I remember why we. Why we left this, but I think it's good. I think everyone needs to spend some time out in nature to realize that nature don't really give a crap about us. Well, then let's just move on.

[Damien Haas]

I'm actually really excited for today.

[Courtney Miller]

We're gonna be trying sort of a new sort of way of going about the Smosh cast. We're taking a little bit of inspiration from a former format that we used to have on Smosh Pit called what A Show. A Show with no. A Show with no Name.

[Damien Haas]

So I'm very personally excited about this, but we basically, you know, I can really only speak for myself when sometimes we feel kind of lost on this podcast in terms of what the energy is going to be like, what we want to talk about. If you're getting. Courtney, Are you getting serious? Courtney? You're silly. Having fun with my boys, Courtney. So were trying to give a more like a cool like, just like a format. So basically, show with no Name was a very beloved show that we would answer questions to the listeners or the viewers. And it was just like kind of a very fun, discussion based show and we got to engage with our fans. And so now we get to do that. I think this is so much better because it's not being cut down to 10 minutes. Like, we get to just really talk and that's right. Yeah. And so now it's. We're gonna. Everyone's gonna have a better idea of what we're getting into every week. So I'm. I'm pumped.

[Courtney Miller]

And so today we've selected three of your questions and we. We wanted to. To make it a little more specific about a specific kind of topic. So this. So this round, we wanted to. We want you guys to ask any questions. Industry. The. The industry of entertainment. And, and if, you know, if you had any questions for us, whether it was advice or what our experiences were in the entertainment and you guys asked some wonderful questions. So let's jump into the first of three questions. This question comes from Smosh Boy. So this person says, is the industry what you expected it to be? If not, in what way does it differ from what you thought it would be like?

[Shane Top]

Okay, so there's, there's two different ways you can look at this. One for me is about the way the industry itself has evolved. Like the job of YouTuber or online personality or whatever didn't really exist when I tried to start acting back in the day. So that's a pretty obvious way. It's changed for me and wasn't what I expected, but it evolved in a very good way. But I think more of a base level. You know, I used to do lots of like on camera acting and audition and stuff like that. And when I was younger, I always thought there was a concept of like a big break. Like, I always thought that once you booked a role, that's it. Like you're going to just keep on up and up and up and up and up. And like that's what happens. You just constantly work. You just need one first. So it wasn't until after I'd done like an indie movie and then like a couple like more big budget movies with like bigger names and then had gotten a TV thing and then another TV thing that I looked around and I was like, huh? Nothing's guaranteed and the struggle is constant forever. I don't know, I definitely didn't expect it. It's a lifelong endeavor, so you got to really love it if you're going to keep doing that because otherwise it will break you.

[Courtney Miller]

Damien and Shane, your, your entrances into the industry is similar. Courtney and myself, like, we have kind of a different, kind of a different entry, different motivations for getting into it. I mean, for myself, like, I didn't plan on being in this industry at all. I just made some dumb videos and.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, you were straight up down to just work at Chuck E. Cheese forever, dude.

[Courtney Miller]

I honestly, I don't know. I don't know what I would be doing and, and I'm such a pushover that I probably would have just been like, okay with advancing in the ranks of Chuck E. Cheese. It scares me to think what would have happened if I just, if, if YouTube just didn't exist and I was just working at Chuck E. Cheese because I was just, I was taking like general ed courses and community college, which, by the way, if you're, if you're not sure what you want to do and you want to Go to college, try out community college. It's great. It's cheap. Yeah. I didn't know. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I mean, I enjoyed video games, I enjoyed movies, but I have a very, like, practical view of things. And I wouldn't really call myself a dreamer where I see like this kind of like, lofty thing and I'm like, I can do it. I'm like, no, like, let's, let's look at the reality of the situation and the reality of like, oh, I like video games, but I don't see myself being like a video game creator. You know, I enjoy them and I think I know what makes a video game good. But I'm not going to go out there and be like, I'm going to make video games. Not that I'm saying that that's a bad thing to go after. I think that's great. But it never appealed to me. So I think my, my view of the industry was, was shaped as I was exposed to it. You know, living in Northern California, we had a certain animosity towards people in Southern California, which really, which was really just the view of, of like, Hollywood, which it was like, oh, it's like very like vapid people that are like, image obsessed and are just looking to climb on anybody to, to, you know, advance themselves. And I mean, to a degree, it's true, but as I've been more exposed to it, the more it's. I understand it a little better. It's like everybody here is, is struggling to continue to make it there. There's not a, A level that I think a lot of people ever reach where they're satisfied.

[Shane Top]

Sorry, I just wanted to hop in. I really. That definitely ties back to what I was sort of saying before is like, I know so many people who are so talented, whether I met them on jobs or whether I knew them from school, studying theater, too many people are really great at this. And it's not even a matter of, like, not working hard enough. It's just like, literally sometimes things just don't happen for you. It's so oversaturated, which is, which is crazy. And so like, you really do have to love what you're doing and be fine with working a restaurant job to support that. Because if you're banking on like, fully being able to support yourself as an actor, like, you can do it, but it's, it's difficult. And I thought, I knew it would be difficult, but I was very surprised to see, like, very few of my friends, unless I met them on a job or with this I've seen actually go and be able to do it. It's tough.

[Damien Haas]

It's like, it's literally like if for anybody who hasn't seen La La Land, if you're interested in the film industry, fricking watch La La Land. Because it's. It's a beautiful movie. But also like that first musical number I remember, I think I went to a crappy theater because I didn't understand what the ensemble cast was singing. But when I listened to it on Spotify later, I was like, oh my God, this is like crazy because it's like hundreds of people all talking about the same dream, all wanting the same thing, and then you're following this girl who. It's like literally starting from nothing. Just audition after audition, I was gonna say.

[Shane Top]

But even with La La Land, like, I loved the beginning. Cause for that same reason, where I was like, wow, it's everybody in their cars, like singing and I'm like, this is barely even, you know, removed from reality. Because I bet that many people in traffic right then would really have those dreams. I think the one place where it falls apart for me is they do have the moment of like, it's another misconception that you can see sometimes where it's just like, whatever your name is. Whatever your name is. A big agent was at your one woman show, they want to fly you out to audition. And I was like, yeah, no, no, that's not.

[Damien Haas]

No one goes to one woman shows unless they're sent the Facebook invite. And even then.

[Shane Top]

And they're already a friend. Yeah, sorry.

[Damien Haas]

I mean, for me, no, that's like, dude. Yeah. I think for me, I was interested in film very early on, like when I was learning to edit. And then just every time I grabbed the family, like video camera, I just like filmed stuff. I was more. I was very interested in being a director of photography for years. And then I finally, like, I was working at a pharmacy, remember? And then when I got that internship as a pa, I was observing set and like, for me, obviously I was like, wow, the set is so beautiful. It's like lights, camera, action, and you just watch the art and it's all happened so perfectly. And then when I went as a. Because I don't count the high school stuff, because that wasn't real. It was like four of us. I was the dp, but I was being treated as a pa. It sucked. But on set, as a PA at that production company, it was like a shit show. Everything was hours behind. There was no money. Producers are yelling at each other in front of talent, in front of, like, high profile producers and people, like, while I'm just running around grabbing water for people. Like, it's. It's a total. It's a total mess. And like. But you. Everyone's doing it and they're all. We're all. You're all creating one project together. I was on very small, intimate shoots, like inside a building, like, for like a Soulja Boy music video. And then we did. Yeah. I had to, like, paint these girls to look like mannequin. Mannequins.

[Ian Hecox]

Did you learn how to. Dougie, that's. Sorry, that's.

[Shane Top]

That's wrong.

[Ian Hecox]

Wrong dance.

[Courtney Miller]

Did you Superman. That hoe.

[Damien Haas]

He did the song called Designer. You guys could look at up if you wanted.

[Shane Top]

I'm okay.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, you don't. You don't have to. He says the same word 40 times.

[Ian Hecox]

Guess that is literally. That doesn't surprise me.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, but then there was the bigger. The bigger shoots where we did like a. A thing called the Live Together fundraiser or something with AJ McLean from the. From the Backstreet Boys.

[Shane Top]

Oh, cool.

[Damien Haas]

Also for Logan, Paul was in the designer video. I had to give him a broken nose of blood. Yeah, that bigger one where I'm literally running across Disney Ranch to get the ad. Some Gatorade. Just sprinting. Meanwhile, like, producers are yelling at each other. Like, one of our producers, she would, like, cry every week. I was like, oh, my God, is this what it's like? I had no idea it was so emotionally exhausting. And it is sometimes.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, there's a lot of. And Shane, I want to. I want to hear from you. I just want to say, like. Like, there's a lot of, like, abuse that's just excused in the work, like in the industry of like. Well, you're a PA or like. Well, you're an assistant.

[Shane Top]

Like, for somebody that doesn't know, by the way, dp. Pa. Does someone want to quickly.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, yeah, direct. DP is. DP is director of photography. They basically create the vibe, the look, the lighting, and they think of the shots and stuff. And then pa's production assistant, who basically runs all the little intern, like, errands and. And, you know, handling extras sometimes.

[Courtney Miller]

But there's. There's very much like this hierarchy, and some of these people at the top can be the hugest. It's almost in a way, encouraged. And I think that's just because it was never. It was never called out before. I think nowadays it's being called out a little more. But I think, you know, my. My friend who ends up working a lot of commercials and stuff like, has to deal with this kind of behavior all the time. And, you know, a lot of it's male dominated as well. There's a certain level of sexism as well.

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[Damien Haas]

I experienced really, really weird sexual harassment on some sets. And, like, I actually had a YouTube about it, telling a story about how it happened. And, like, at the time, I didn't realize that it was sexual harassment that was happening to me. I think I have it unlisted now. So are private because I don't want to. Because it's about someone that's famous.

[Courtney Miller]

I don't know. Yeah, it's a lot. There was a guy. Yeah, yeah, I know somebody that. That also, like, she paid for, like, something. Some guy that was, let's just say, like, was in one, like, kind of big movie. Was in this, like, indie, and he was like. He's like. Let me guess your cup size. Like, yeah.

[Damien Haas]

Thank you.

[Courtney Miller]

All right. So, Shane, I mean, you're the same.

[Damien Haas]

You're.

[Courtney Miller]

You're the person that, like, I mean, I think you have been the most. I would say that you've been the most exposed to the industry, like, because you've seen. You've seen both, like, traditional. Like, you came up in, like, the traditional sort of, like, TV movie industry. You came here when you were 16, right?

[Ian Hecox]

It's crazy to think how long I've been going, but I did my first movie when I in. I think I did it in 2003, 2004 in Arizona. Mike career started pretty rapidly because I did a play and in when I was like, 11 or 12. And then by the time I was 13, I was already working on projects in Arizona, and I was able to, like, join the union and everything. And then when I was 14, I came out to LA for my first pilot season. So it was very rapid fire. And when you're 14, you have this idea of what it's all going to be. And I was telling myself, I remember back then knowing like, I'm like, I know that Hollywood's all about rejection and I'm going to be able to handle it. Like I'm going to. It's not a problem. Because you hear these, by the way, most stories that you hear about actors and their success stories, 90% of it's bullshit. Like, I'm sorry, but 90% of it I think is bullshit. You hear a lot about like they were discovered here and this is how they made their career. It's like, no, this what we say in LA is it's a 10 year overnight success. You'll like hear about their big break and. But they were doing tons of movies before.

[Shane Top]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Or tons of. Or just were acting for years and years and years before. So I came out thinking like rejection was going to happen where you're going to have people be like, you're never going to make it in this industry. But what really happens is you go on auditions, you do your absolute best and they go, thanks, see you later. And then you don't hear anything, so you have no idea if you did good or not. So you just start questioning yourself and then you become the rejection of Hollywood.

[Shane Top]

Or you prepare for 48 hours for an audition the best you possibly can. And then right when you start, they open up a fucking Tupperware, you just start looking at their leftovers or, or.

[Ian Hecox]

You, you have an audition where the director's in the room and does not look up the entire time and you're just like, oh, okay. And I remember in that audition thinking, like, I could just flip off the director and he wouldn't know. I would just, oh my God. I think that was, I think in that audition neither of them were, I think there was no camera in the room and nobody was actually looking at me. So I was just acting in front of a bunch of people who weren't. I was like, there is no point for me to be here. But how many times do you go on auditions and you know they've already cast it? You literally find out before, like your manager, agent be like, oh yeah, I hear they've already cast this role, but they need to just finish out this round of auditions or they're using it.

[Courtney Miller]

As like a bargaining chip.

[Shane Top]

Like I've definitely been the bargaining chip before. Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

So can you explain, can you explain that?

[Shane Top]

Like, well, it's sort of like if they, if they have like a bigger name that they want involved in the project and they know they want the name. The name wants to be there too, but the name is asking for a lot. They will. They will hold some auditions to be like, okay, well, we actually have three or four other people that would be perfect for this role. And then they go, okay, I'll take less. And you're just the person being like, hi. What was that thing about me being perfect and way cheaper than that, dude? Like, what?

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

So weird. I think my overall, like, the revelation was just that the industry is so much lamer than you would think. I remember showing up to my first day of a set in Arizona, and this was a SAG movie. Like, this was a not big budget, but this was a big production. It wasn't a student film of a movie. And it had some actors from mad TV in it that I knew and I was big fans of. And so I was like, oh, this is going to be awesome. I show up to my first day. I get there at 6am there's no AC. It's in the middle of summer, so it's just blazing hot. There's no trailer. We're just like, me and a bunch of other actors are just in this crappy room at this elementary school that's, you know, empty. But. And I sat there and I waited around from 6am till 6pm and they never actually needed me that day. And that happens all the time.

[Shane Top]

Yep.

[Ian Hecox]

I would say 90% of your work as an actor, not in YouTube but in traditional media stuff, 90% of your job is just literally sitting around. And that happens still. Like on Goldberg's. I'll show up at 6:00am. I call time will be 6:00am there's been times where I'll show up at 6:00aM and we don't start shooting a scene I'm in until, like 3:00pm like, that just happens and you're just kind of like, yeah, that just happens. That's just the way it goes.

[Damien Haas]

Do you bring stuff to do?

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, I always bring. It's the dumbest. Like, do not go to set without a book or without. Like, we have iPhones now. What sucks is on set, there is. I don't have service in my trailer, so. It's brutal. It's. But. But yeah, it's just lamer. And, like, sets are not glamorous. And I know, like, people say that the best way I can describe a set is it feels, it smells and looks like the inside of a Home Depot.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Like, that's really. That's really what it looks like. Like, whether it was Disney or whether it's It's a network show or anything. It feels like the inside of a Home Depot.

[Courtney Miller]

I remember that. My trailer. When we shot Smosh, the movie, we got. We got. We just got a trailer, but it was like. It was like A. Like 10 by 10 on the inside. Like 10ft by 10ft, maybe max. And it seemed like it was built. This trailer was built in the 70s. It still had, like, the shag carpet, the star wagons. Yep.

[Shane Top]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And it just had this musk. And it was summer, so it was like I. I didn't really have any choice but to, like, stay in the trailer, but I was like, I feel like I'm inhaling mold and other microscopic organisms that probably will damage my health. I was very grateful to have a trailer because obviously not everybody gets that. But also, that's. But it was just so funny because that was my first experience with, like, whoa, I'm getting a trailer. Cool. And I'm like, oh. I mean, no, this is great.

[Damien Haas]

But I was gonna say, one thing I learned from, I guess Smosh specifically is every time you see a scene with food, usually the food, like, it looks delicious and edible. Every time we film scenes, it's usually like, cold food that we should not eat for the most part, unless it's a scene where we specifically need to be eating. And the food is like. Like, Taylor will just put, like, beans and this other potato thing together. And you're like, yeah, this is a side. This looks like a meal. And then, dude, the budgets on some of the music videos that I worked on, like, they literally. This company. I don't know, it was literally, like, fyre fest, but production company. Where. Like, where was the money? They would, like, one time, the budget was so low that the catering.

[Shane Top]

They.

[Damien Haas]

First. They had me try and call a ton of. I was. I was a second. Second ad. Just a glorified PA on this freaking production. But they had me try and call restaurants and ask them to give us food for free.

[Courtney Miller]

What?

[Damien Haas]

Like, restaurant after restaurant?

[Ian Hecox]

That's how restaurants work.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah. And they're like, well, tell them it's like a chair, a music video for charity, so. And use the celebrity's name. But I'm like, that doesn't, like, make it sound better. I try.

[Shane Top]

Why would you use the celebrity's name? Which means that there's more money attached to the project, maybe?

[Damien Haas]

I think it was just. Yeah, exactly. And I think it was just them, like, thinking that they didn't have to deal with it. So they were just like, yeah, we can try and Finesse it. So they had to do it.

[Courtney Miller]

That's so shitty.

[Damien Haas]

Obviously couldn't. But when it came to the shoot day, literally lunch was catered like, like weak ass, little like street tacos and rice.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

And literally there was barely enough, like they wanted everyone to take like one or two, maybe two street tacos, like little guys and some rice. And there were film people there being like, no, I'm taking what I need to eat. And like, it was rough.

[Courtney Miller]

I think one of the important things, like if. If people listening, if you're ever going to like create like a little indie film or something. I think the most important thing is if you're not going to be paying people for their work or not be able to pay them enough, the most important thing is to feed them. Like, don't. Don't order like a pizza and be like, here you go. Like, no, like, make sure that they're. They're at least well fed. If they're going to put in the time and work for your project and you can't pay them, which is understandable because it costs a lot of money to make stuff. At least make sure that they're fed.

[Ian Hecox]

And also inform them of what the set is going to be like. Yeah, I've. I've had it underplayed a lot and then showed up to film something for a friend for free. And it ended up being a way crazier endeavor.

[Damien Haas]

Yes, I know the1 you2, you guys have talked about.

[Ian Hecox]

That's all right. I had a weekend where I didn't. I was doing two short films in one weekend and I didn't sleep. I legitimately did not sleep the whole weekend because I was bouncing back and forth between sets. I'd film one short film during the day and then go to the other one at night. And I was thinking I would. I was thinking I'd be able to get a little bit of sleep. But the night shoot, which was supposed to end at like 6pm until 4am of course, and then I had to be at the other shoot by 7am so, like that I. But on the note of like the food on, like on set, when you see like food in a scene and it being cold and awful and not real in scenes when you're filming, it's so much less glamorous than it looks when you see it. Like what you're seeing is a show that's been edited and the lighting has been changed in the editing process and, and everything. A lot of times you're never doing a scene like you would do it on stage where it's two people and they're really engaged with each other. Most of the time I'm reacting, I'm doing it line by line. And I'm often doing it to a piece of tape taped to a camera with a 50 year old sweaty dude right behind it holding the boom mic. Like, it's, it's, it's way different. Yeah, it's.

[Shane Top]

That was one of the hardest things for me by far because I, you know, I would take acting classes and I came from a theater background and it was always very focused on like, you know, really breaking down the scene bit by bit, finding every little nugget of information you can about your character. Living with that, let yourself live with that in your home, just in the darkness. Thinking about it, like doing all this work and then auditions and filming are both. So. Not that that you have to find a way to translate all that actor stuff that you learned. Try to keep the principles kind of and then just throw it out the window. Like, auditions are literally like, they'll read a piece of paper and be like, all right, I'll read Mary across from you. How could you say that? I'm leaving you. And then you have to like, you try to respond to that. Like, I guess I'm going to have a real connection with your. Nothing.

[Damien Haas]

Oh my God.

[Ian Hecox]

Meanwhile, you're also trying to, like, you have a specific mark you have to stand on and if you move an inch, you're out of focus. So you got to be standing completely still. How you are, like, where you're turned, like it all matters. So you're then trying to act genuine and real while also controlling all of your movements. Movements and where you're looking.

[Courtney Miller]

And also generally with like movies, they're not shooting in chronological order either. So you might, you might do, you might do one scene where all this stuff has happened to you at this point to your character, and you're going on to like page 58, which was like, would be like an hour into the movie. And then like, okay, let's move on to this scene. And all of a sudden it's the intro to the movie.

[Shane Top]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

And it's like, oh, wait. Oh God, what am I doing? What, what am I, what's my character doing? Like, what are.

[Damien Haas]

That's what's crazy about sketch. Are like doing sketch shows like what we do. I feel like you kind of do throw a lot of your training out the window in a way, because it's like, okay, I'm going to be a mom for 30 minutes and now I'm going to be a 16 year old for 30 minutes. So it's very. You have to be like very versatile in that way of being able to like mentally step in and out of stuff.

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[Ian Hecox]

Purchase necessary VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21/ terms and conditions apply. It's definitely weird though, because when I shot Dear Lemon Lima forever ago, that was the first time I was like a big part in a movie and would be there for like a month. And my first day I had to shoot one of the like later on scenes of the movie of like a, like. So a bunch of stuff has led up to that point and it's weird watching the movie and you know, the first half of the movie, I'm like, okay, I'm proud of how I did here. But that's because I'd been on set for two weeks when we shot the first scene of the. The first scene of Dear Lemon Lima, I believe was the final thing I shot on Dear Lemon Lima. So I'm most proud of the very first five minutes. And then there's parts in the third act where I'm like, oh yeah, I was rusty there because that was early on.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, that's the thing.

[Shane Top]

Like the focus is never put on performance. Like it is nobody's priority. They want to get something on camera. But like all the things that you hear about inside the actor studio of like, how did you get inside the character's mind? Like, well, I spent three months in a cabin learning how to live. You're like, that's not a thing that happens. Unless you are Daniel Day Lewis. You can do as much work as you can on your own. But like, even in voiceover, it's gotten better since the voice actor strike in SAG like a few years back. I won't bore you. Remember, like, I was the voice of teenage Master Chief in the animation of the Fall of Reach. I didn't know it was Halo until I get to the room and they were like, so Damien, do You like do you know Halo? And I'm like yeah. I know Halo. And they're like great. You're John. Teenage Master Chief. This movie is about teenage Master Chief. And I was like. So like I feel like I did an okay job but it didn't want to give me three days to research. So I could give some stuff subtext. Do some character work.

[Courtney Miller]

But like some. But some voice actors don't even know what they did a voice for. Right? Isn't it?

[Shane Top]

That's why some.

[Courtney Miller]

Some are kept so confidential that that's no longer legal. That's no longer legal.

[Damien Haas]

I thought it was still legal. Wow. Cuz I remember you'd talk about that.

[Shane Top]

You do have to be told. It's only in the past couple years that I like.

[Courtney Miller]

Is that why all the Elder Scrolls games are so poorly voiced? Or is that just cuz they pull the programmer out from and just shoved a mic in their face?

[Ian Hecox]

All right, Greg. You're doing it all.

[Shane Top]

I think Skyrim has great voice actors.

[Ian Hecox]

I think we should have Greg from it. Why do you think I should do it?

[Damien Haas]

Should we move on to the next question?

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. We're. We've. We got really caught up in that. I feel like we could do more.

[Shane Top]

It's all your fault, Courtney. Why would you.

[Ian Hecox]

The industry is not as cool as you think it is. That's. That's the lesson.

[Shane Top]

But we're happy to be here. Don't get very happy to be here.

[Ian Hecox]

It's just a job. It's literally just a job.

[Courtney Miller]

And in a lot of ways it's all about saving as much money as possible because this shit's expensive and it don't last.

[Ian Hecox]

It never. You're always on a timer.

[Shane Top]

I got two more years of being beautiful and then that's. I'm done.

[Courtney Miller]

So this next question comes from Just Surge Den. I don't know how to say it. I don't think that's the name this person asked. Does it ever become difficult trying to come up with ideas for different channels? Also when trying new content are there times where you hesitate putting it out because you don't know how it'll be received? I mean we've gone through a lot of different ways of sourcing ideas and coming up with ideas throughout the years. And they all comes. They all come with their pros and cons. Like I think when. Because we. A lot of times we do do like a brainstorming session where we all pitch our ideas and then we all kind of like pitch in what we think about the other person's ideas. And what happens is like in those situations, what. What you do get is you get a lot of immediate feedback. You get everyone's ideas so you don't have any sort of blind spots to the content. The downside of that is it becomes content by committee, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but suffers a lack of specific perspective.

[Damien Haas]

A lot of our best ideas sometimes have come from those big rooms though. Like. Like when the. The second. I just remember the moment Sarah said Spelling Bee Kimi Wax. That's all she said. Everyone was like, oh my God. Like, straight up, you're able to like get a feel in the room. That was the era where we were like, what do we want to make? Like, because I feel like defy had times where they're like, let's make content that is shoppable for brands. So when they had the era of one hour, song machine, Whoa, Nature show and Smosh Lab, they wanted, you know, they were like, oh, well, it was just hitting different types of shows. It would be. It would be like brands can pick where they want to put their stuff.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, they were creating content verticals.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah. And granted, like, it was a cool experience. Like, those are the most polished, high production value looking shows we've made to date. But it didn't end up working. And at the end of the day, a lot of us were exhausted and it wasn't like worth it emotionally lately. Like when Shane came up with Face Jam, which later became Eat it or Yeet it, it was an idea that it was so different from what it is now. But everybody could see that there was like potential in this idea that Shane had. And I remember days and days of people just sitting in a room trying to work the rules and how it would. How it would work in the video, how it would come together. And I remember I opted out from eating foods very early in that process. But eventually it became something that we liked. And then even the first episode is pretty different from the final, like the most recent one because we're fine tuning and polishing, like how I host it. Because, like, I didn't even really understand that I was going to be hosting the show until we were doing the thing. I was like, oh, damn. Okay, cool.

[Courtney Miller]

Shane thoughts or Damien? That's.

[Shane Top]

I've always had a little bit of difficulty coming up with content to pitch, to be honest with you, because I think I always sort of come into things a little bit late. Like when I joined Smosh Games, I was like the last person to do that back in the defy days. And so I, you know, I was like, I've got all these ideas like, what if we do this? And they're like, well, that's actually similar to a show we've already done. I'm like, okay, great. How about this? Yeah, we did it last week. Okay, cool. Then what about we, you know, do the show that I already know exists? But we tried this game. Well, we, you know, we've tried a game like that before. It didn't really work out. Well.

[Damien Haas]

We're not gonna do it. So it can feel defeating in a.

[Shane Top]

Way, a little bit, but it's. It's defeating, but it's also just more, like, sobering. It's like, you know, other people have had good ideas before, and they came before you, so it's. It's a matter of, like, having to sort of translate what is needed and what is not. And I find that when. When I come up with ideas, sometimes I'm just focused on, like, this would be fun. Right. But I'm not very good at asking the question, like, why would someone watch this? Or what's the difference? And why does it matter? So, like, I find that if I do come up with, like, a show concept, it's usually workshopped and very much changed by other people throughout the process, which is. Which is a necessary thing that happens to everybody. But, like, I find that sometimes I'm like, oh, by the end of it, I don't. I don't think I really. Yeah, you're that much like.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, totally.

[Courtney Miller]

It's. It's hard to let go of a baby, Right?

[Shane Top]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Where you have. You have this sort of solidified vision of what you think the show should be, and then other people come in and say, no, I think it'll be better this way. It's. It is really hard to. To let go of it. Even if. Even if you allow yourself to acknowledge that, okay, maybe that idea is better, it's still. It's still hard because it's so personal.

[Shane Top]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Something that you. That you thought of. So I think it takes a lot to be able to be willing to let other people enter into the process and.

[Shane Top]

Sure.

[Courtney Miller]

And. And futz around with it.

[Shane Top]

It's a thing that has to be learned. It's a. It's a new type of teamwork that I hadn't experienced before. And I think, because it was a little bit humbling, not in a bad way. I think I'm less outward with my ideas now because I'm really, like, I want to make sure this one counts. I want to make sure this one is actually good to bring to the forefront. And not just me being like, I don't know, what if we do this? You know?

[Courtney Miller]

And Shane, I feel like. I feel like so many of. So many of your ideas. A lot of. A lot of, like, sketch ideas that you've, like, brought forth. They always have, like, it's always, like, this really hilarious premise, and you're. You're like, you're always so excited by it. And they're like, okay, go. Go make a sketch. And then. And then I feel like it always gets to, like, page three. And then it's like, ah, I don't know.

[Damien Haas]

That sounds like me.

[Ian Hecox]

I think that used to be more so the issue. But I mean, like, at this point, I've written and done a couple sketches.

[Damien Haas]

It's peanut butter.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

I mean, when it strikes. When it strikes, it strikes. And when it. When it. It'll often, like, I'll have an idea, but then writing out an entire sketch and getting that third beat can be tough. The problem is it's hard for me to write when I'm not super passionate. And that's something that, like, writers are better at. Like, Monica Infinity and Kurt are better at writing as, like, a job. Like, they won't be inspired, but they'll be like, yeah, but I'll finish this. This script, because that's my job, and I'm not good at that. If I'm not super stoked and laughing at what I'm writing, I kind of just stop. Like, I need that. And that's. That's just because I'm such a, like, impulsive writer, and I'm. I'm writing like I'm performing, you know, as opposed to writing like a writer.

[Courtney Miller]

Because. Yeah, because if you. If you get, like, this idea, you'll. And. And you're passionate about it, you bang out a whole script in a matter of, like, a few hours. And it's something that you can't really pull yourself away from until you're done with it. Right?

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. Kids on bikes. I wrote in, like, four hours, you know, and, like, we had a few during the shutdown, obviously. Damien and I wrote that peanut butter sketch and then make.

[Courtney Miller]

There was one. Yeah.

[Ian Hecox]

Yes. And then there was a dream.

[Courtney Miller]

Sorry.

[Ian Hecox]

There was the Mandela effect there. The butterfly effect 1 or Mandela effect 1 that I wrote, that I just wrote in, like, an hour or whatever. Like, some of them I'll just. I'll have the idea from start to finish, and others I just have the idea of like, oh, that's a funny premise and I'll start writing it and then I'll be like, how do I end this? And that's where I stall.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, I feel that pain.

[Courtney Miller]

I heard that we're going to try something where you kind of have a lot of these, like small, like, kind of like one joke ideas. And, and pretty soon we might be trying to find a way to shoot those where we don't need a whole sketch. It's, it's just based solely off around like one sort of joke.

[Shane Top]

That's something I pitched a year ago. I did it.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. I mean, yeah. I mean the, the issue is like, because of the way that YouTube is, it's like they don't like, you can't really benefit from like a one joke video or like a short sketch.

[Shane Top]

What if the benefit is a child's laughter, Ian?

[Courtney Miller]

Indeed. But now we have the benefit of other platforms and certain platforms are shorter than other. Or maybe we have other formats where you can fit in small, small sketches.

[Shane Top]

Oh, no, I get so, yeah, sorry, that's.

[Ian Hecox]

What are you saying? We're just gonna go shoot some tick tocks?

[Courtney Miller]

I don't know. I don't know. But, but I think it's, I think it's great. I think everyone kind of has a different process with the way that we, we go through ideas and. Yeah, there's no, there's no one way that we all come up with ideas and deal with ideas. I think some of them are more personal and we work them out ourselves and some of them are brought to committee, like Shane's face jam, which then became eat it or yeet it, which like, involved, like sometimes like our ideas. When we're all pitching ideas and then pitching alterations of ideas, it could get like kind of heated because some people are like, wait, wait, no, then we do that thing. No, but what if we did this?

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, we get excited.

[Shane Top]

We do.

[Courtney Miller]

And it's like. And some feelings get hurt. But at the end of the day, what we have to remind ourselves of is like, well, the reason why we're getting, why we're getting so heated about this is because we're all passionate about it. Like, we're all excited to do this thing and we all care about it and all we, all we want is to make the best possible thing we can.

[Shane Top]

But what, what do you do when you are the smartest person with the best ideas and your way is the right way?

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, you're talking about me.

[Shane Top]

People aren't listening to you. Yeah. Man, I'm asking, what do you do when you are the smartest person?

[Damien Haas]

There's a lot of ego checking in the entire creative process. Like, because, you know, like, I remember very early on when I pitched every vine ever and I like kind of put in tropes and then like the script is made. And then like, I remember on set one day I like walked in on a scene because I was upset that it wasn't the way it's supposed to be. And the director did not like that with reason. And like, I was like, but it's not. And like, it took me a long time at this job to let go of that. And like, I wouldn't have been able to let go of that if I was didn't have like this team that was like, hey, this is how we are going to work together. Like, because on Pitt I wasn't able to pitch an idea on Pitt for years. Or like, I mean Sketch, we kind of was a little more collaborative, but Pitt was like very much already handled by a solid team. So.

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[Ian Hecox]

Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No PURCHASE NECESSARY VGW group VOID where prohibited by law 21/ terms and conditions apply I think what's nice is we have so many different channels and shows that there's different areas where we can kind of get more control. I mean, you know, it comes to sketch, obviously it's always a team effort. You'll pitch something, but then by the time it's done, it's nothing. No sketch on. On May on the Smosh channel is any one person sketch. It's always a team of people who came up with jokes and everything within it. But what's nice is like with try not to laugh. That is us just like on your own, like doing a thing. And so a lot of times if I have really insane jokes, I'm like, well, I'll do it there. Like that's where. Because also I can fail. Like it's not as big of a deal, but I Will say, it's tough. It's tough because we have to keep coming up with so many ideas.

[Shane Top]

It is tough, too, because I feel like sometimes there's, like, this fatigue in a way. I feel like I used to have way more try not to laugh ideas. And I used to, like, go in and be like, I don't even need an idea. I'm gonna look at a problem, be like, oh, I know what to do with this. Ah, I'm gonna be crazy. And like, now sometimes I'll just be backstage and I'll just see, like, a baseball bat, and I'll be like, I get. I'm. I'm baseball man. No.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

What's wrong with that? What's wrong with I'm baseball man?

[Shane Top]

I mean, you're already baseball.

[Damien Haas]

He's a big fan of just diving in with. With nothing written down.

[Courtney Miller]

Nothing.

[Ian Hecox]

And see me, I'll be up the night before working on jokes.

[Courtney Miller]

Gus with Gus. You have to be, right?

[Ian Hecox]

Oh, yeah. That I had planned for, like, months.

[Damien Haas]

We got to treat every person in this Sassy.

[Ian Hecox]

Sassy Leg Johnson. Sassy leg General. I had that written out. That was a monologue that I had written out in my phone. And you bet I was practicing that in the mirror the night before.

[Shane Top]

Sassy leg.

[Ian Hecox]

Sassy leg General. I was literally practicing it.

[Shane Top]

Sassy leg Infantry. I'm sorry, cuz. If a promotion happened, I want it to be acknowledged on video.

[Ian Hecox]

Well, he is the Sassy Lake General.

[Courtney Miller]

The leader of the Sassy Leg Infantry.

[Shane Top]

How did I not know this?

[Ian Hecox]

But I do that because it's tough, man. In the moment, it's obviously paid off. Totally. But with how many. With how many we have to do. And we often shoot more than one. Try not to laugh in a day. So that. That's a bunch of jokes that you got to come up with, and that's tough.

[Damien Haas]

I can't knock you, Ian, because, like, almost all of my best jokes have come from no plans, off the cuff stuff. Like, Boneless wasn't even what it was supposed to be. That monologue was just supposed to get into the main bit, which was like, my recording of the radio. And we literally. I was just like, I don't know. He'll say some random stuff. What's random stuff? Okay, what's his name? Boneless Steve. No, let's just go with Boneless. Like, whatever. And then it, like, it never goes the way you planned it. Sometimes it goes worse, sometimes it goes better.

[Shane Top]

I think in a way, we're, like, victims of our own success. With the show a little bit because I think we're afraid to fail now. You know what I mean? It's okay to not make someone laugh, but now we laugh at each other so much that when it doesn't happen, it feels like. Like it, you know?

[Courtney Miller]

This one comes from Billy Tinson. What is the process of directing a sketch for a big YouTube channel? Are more Smosh members wanting to direct sketches? I think. I think the quick answer to this is, is that we always throw out the. The opportunity to direct a sketch. It obviously takes more effort because you got to figure out what the shots are going to be and. And be responsible and. And have a vision.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, I mean, I. I just had my meeting and a couple hours ago with. With Brennan and had to. We. We went through scene by scene on a sketch that there I was asked if I was excited about it. I said yes. They said, do you want to direct? I said yes. And then we went through the whole script of what the shots were. And if I have, like, ooh, I think it'd be really cool to have this one shot looking up at this person and we all. We write it down. Actually just got a binder for myself because I want to be a little more, like, have everything out in front of me.

[Courtney Miller]

Crazy look more pro.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah, it's.

[Courtney Miller]

It's a lot of, like, figuring out how to do a joke in a short amount of time in a way that doesn't require a lot of reset. It's not too messy, not too expensive, and doesn't make anyone uncomfortable.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah. I mean, because we used to not give a shit about whether it was messy or not. Like, we've had some messy scenes. I mean, pretty early on, I had to jump into a pool of water and get, like, fake blood splatted on me.

[Shane Top]

And that was also my first Smosh sketch, I think, where Olivia was in that box of blood.

[Damien Haas]

Oh, that was box of blood. I was sexual son.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah. I also had a lot of ton.

[Damien Haas]

Of fake blood and giant gummy worms as a zombie, while also, like, I think we kissed.

[Ian Hecox]

Kissed.

[Damien Haas]

Me and Keith kissed with fake blood. All like. Yeah, we used to get real crazy. Nowadays, mess can't really happen because we're trying to be extra safe and sane.

[Courtney Miller]

Also, we just can't have blood on videos. YouTube is very weird about that now.

[Damien Haas]

Yeah.

[Courtney Miller]

Which is okay. Like, we did. We did enough people getting shot jokes for the first eight years to last us three lifetimes.

[Damien Haas]

More and more cast members are going to be directing in the future. Like, we've Had a couple do it. Like a lot of us were co directing kind of in a way for the. For a few years. And now this has been a great year for everybody's really been able to like, just direct and get, like, just getting the experience, like even. I mean, I think Olivia recently talked about how she's down to direct a sketch soon. She like, kind of helped co direct how to not piss off Asian people and how to not piss off women.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, boy. All right. And Shane, I don't give a shit what you think about that one. Fuck you.

[Damien Haas]

He's directing.

[Courtney Miller]

Hey, Shane. Shane. What do you think?

[Ian Hecox]

I am directing for the first time.

[Courtney Miller]

I don't care. No one cares.

[Ian Hecox]

It doesn't matter what that was like. Not. We're shooting it on film and we're using only drones.

[Courtney Miller]

Hell yeah. Yeah, Drones with film drones holding iPhones with film attachments.

[Ian Hecox]

It's gonna be on vhs. You're gonna have to pick it up from Blockbuster.

[Courtney Miller]

So, guys, we're gonna try a brand new segment right now. Are you guys flipping ready for this?

[Damien Haas]

I'm sweating.

[Courtney Miller]

This is for now, we'll just call it these are my obsessions. Every person, every person is going to get one minute to rant about something that they're obsessed with right now. What's on your mind? What are you obsessed about? Courtney, let's just start with you. And your time starts now.

[Damien Haas]

Okay, guys, I am obsessed with ramen. It's just the perfect combination of pasta and soup. And I've been really working to perfect my craft on making ramen. I even tried to make my own broth the other day, starting with a chicken broth, putting some sauce in, and I'm playing with putting some foods in there. I'm actually to a point where I like my own ramen more than the ramen. I used to buy literally sometimes twice a day from a ramen place. And it's just so delicious when it's spicy and salty and you get all the nutrition of whatever vegetables you want in it. And I love food that's fun to eat. You know, chopsticks are freaking great because the way you eat is so much nicer than a metal fork clanking around in your teeth and your mouth. And it's just like sushi. You get to just nibble, little bite. It's so cute. And the thing about freaking ramen is you get to pick out the bits and stuff and eat it. And I love ramen.

[Courtney Miller]

And your time is up. Just one question. Do you slurp?

[Damien Haas]

Yes.

[Courtney Miller]

Oh, good. Good.

[Ian Hecox]

Isn't that polite? Isn't that like the polite thing to do?

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, that's. That's the traditional way. It's. It's a way of showing appreciation for the ramen. Right, Right, Kevin?

[Ian Hecox]

It's that it's good.

[Damien Haas]

He said yes.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes. Okay. Shane, would you like to go next? Good. You're starting now. Yes.

[Ian Hecox]

Okay. My obsession right now as mainly definitely today, but just, you know, for a while is Megan the Stallion, dude.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah, I agree.

[Shane Top]

So good.

[Ian Hecox]

I've been listening to her music when I work out and I feel so good.

[Courtney Miller]

Dude.

[Ian Hecox]

Bro. Courtney, this is not your turn, okay?

[Shane Top]

It's not your turn. Courtney, come on. I shut up about ramen, so.

[Courtney Miller]

Hold on, I'm pausing.

[Damien Haas]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I yield my time. I yield my time.

[Courtney Miller]

You didn't have time to begin with. You already used it. You can't yield time that you never had.

[Shane Top]

Reverse yield. Shit. Yield shake time.

[Courtney Miller]

Sorry, Shane, I stopped you at 22 seconds. You may now resume.

[Ian Hecox]

Okay. No. Megan, Thee stallion likes anime. Come on. That's so badass. When she did a magazine. There was a couple of years ago, she did a magazine cover and she dressed up as a my hero academia character for the. For the COVID So badass. And her songs are all insanely good. Like, I've listened to all the albums. They're all good. She's a badass, bro.

[Shane Top]

Megan the Stallion.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes.

[Damien Haas]

He just ran to his kitchen and screamed, yellow. The Stallion making the Stallion.

[Ian Hecox]

Yeah. I couldn't be this close to the microphone.

[Courtney Miller]

Your time.

[Ian Hecox]

Honest. Okay.

[Courtney Miller]

But that was it.

[Shane Top]

Your time is up.

[Courtney Miller]

Time's up. I can't. I can't. It's really funny watching Damien's reaction when you mentioned that Megan the Stallion watches anime. And I already knew that listening. Okay, that was great. Damien, are you ready? And go.

[Shane Top]

Give me a countdown.

[Courtney Miller]

I already. I'm already going.

[Shane Top]

3, 2, 1, go. Speaking of anime, haha. I just finished an awesome one that I've been sleeping on for years. It's called Hunter. Hunter. There's an X in the middle, but you don't pronounce the X unless you want everybody to know that you don't know what you're talking about. So it's about a little boy who wants to become a hunter. And hunter is something in this world where you get a license to basically do whatever. You can be a treasure hunter. You can go explore distant lands, you can get into whatever country you want. And that's. So it's very, you know, coveted. But it's very hard to become. And he wants to be this so we can find his dad, who is, like, one of the best hunters of all time. It's a great, great show because every season is completely different in terms of tone, and for some reason, you just like it more and more. Season four, nothing like season two, but you still love that it's part of the same show. Takes a while before it gets serious, but it's mostly like, what if that, like, happy go lucky anime boy was in a very dark and serious world? And the kind of themes that they deal with. I've never seen a show that keeps me guessing so much. It could be leading up to a huge fight for, like, 30 episodes. And that fight ends in a negotiation.

[Courtney Miller]

It's like, that's time, time, time.

[Damien Haas]

Well done. Well done. All right, Ian, you want me to time you?

[Courtney Miller]

Sure.

[Damien Haas]

You can't time yourself? That's.

[Courtney Miller]

I just want to say that. That we're all. We're all. All of our things are related to. To Japan. This. This round.

[Shane Top]

Ian likes Ghost of Sushima, so Juice Sakai.

[Damien Haas]

Ready? And begin.

[Courtney Miller]

Okay, so yesterday, or maybe the day before, I lost track of time. I came across this Twitter profile that shows all these random Japanese mascots. Now, if you don't know this, Japan is obsessed with mascots. They have a mascot for literally fucking everything. They did this. They had this Renaissance. This weird, like, Renaissance art opening, and they made a mascot based off of this one fish with human legs that's in the background of this one Renaissance painting. And it is. And they made a mascot out of it of a fish with a fish in its mouth and hairy human legs on it. My favorite mascot that I came across is this mascot. I think its name is Chitan, and it is a. An otter that wears a turtle for a hat. And it's almost like Jackass, where he runs around and does all this crazy shit. He's, like, running on treadmills, like, running into, like, boxes. He's, like, hurting himself a lot.

[Shane Top]

It's a person in a suit, by the way. It's.

[Courtney Miller]

Yeah.

[Damien Haas]

Wow.

[Shane Top]

If people don't know a mascot's. I don't know.

[Courtney Miller]

There's a weird. There's like, a weird thing with mascots there, man.

[Ian Hecox]

I love the idea of someone going their whole life and not realizing it and just being like, what's in there?

[Shane Top]

How's he. How do you get that big as an otter?

[Ian Hecox]

So, like, what, you don't see those in the wild?

[Shane Top]

So where do they get those? This one seems to know language. He has handlers that are telling him what is. Does he still shatter giant scallops on his tummy with a rock? Is that the otter does?

[Courtney Miller]

So that was our obsessions.

[Damien Haas]

All right, now on to the best part of the whole podcast. In my honest opinion, I am a Joe. Shoot Dude.

[Courtney Miller]

Shoot Dude.

[Ian Hecox]

Shoot Dude.

[Damien Haas]

Shoot Dude. Shoot Dude.

[Ian Hecox]

Shoot Dude.

[Damien Haas]

Shoot Dude.

[Courtney Miller]

Shoot Dude. So welcome back to Shoot Dude. It's a. It's a series where you guys submitted really cringy things that happen to you and we go, shoot Dude.

[Damien Haas]

Interesting stories, like scary stories. Nothing like too traumatic. We don't want to be triggering people on this podcast, but you know, the silly stuff that you guys encounter and then we judge whether it is in issue dude or not a Shoot dude. Is this something you'd like to see?

[Shane Top]

What's up, Shane?

[Ian Hecox]

I would just like to say I feel like from our readings, the perfect Shoot Dudes are when someone gets themselves into a difficult situation where. Where they. Where they appear more guilty than they actually are. It's. It's basically a Seinfeld, curb your enthusiasm situation.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes.

[Ian Hecox]

Shoot Dude.

[Courtney Miller]

Yes.

[Shane Top]

But be warned, because historically I will call you out and tell you that I think you made it up.

[Courtney Miller]

True. So let's jump into it. This Shoot dude comes from Alana. Alana says, I work at a restaurant. She's not here. I'm reading a story she wrote to me prior. She's not listening. Alana said, go ahead. I work at a restaurant and was clearing some dirty plates from a table and I accidentally dropped a butter knife. It bounced on the ground and then slid about 7ft on the floor before it gently came to a rest next to a gentleman's foot. I roast. I rushed over to him and his lady friend. They were a couple, maybe in their late 30s, and apologized. I made a joke and said, I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to accidentally stab you. The couple was pretty good natured about it. We had a good laugh. And then I offered to bring them another round of drinks while I was in the area. My grave mistake. I went about my business and did not think about them again until three hours later when they wanted to close out their check. The gentleman told his server that that one waitress said she would comp us a round of drinks because she tried to stab me. We all thought that he was joking at first, but he continued to insist that I had, and I cannot stress enough that these were his exact words, tried to stab him and that I had promised him a free round of drinks as an apology for my unsuccessful attempt at stabbing him.

[Damien Haas]

What?

[Courtney Miller]

He. Yep. He demanded to speak to the manager and eventually the owner, who ended up just comping the drinks so that he wouldn't pursue legal action for my murder attempt. This couple had stayed at the restaurant for over three hours and only ordered two rounds of cheap wine and got one of those rounds for free. I know I should be at least a little sorry, but I make the same stabbing joke every time I drop silverware near a guest and it always kills. I'm more sorry that this guy can't hang, but I have learned a valuable lesson in comedy. Make sure you know your audience. Shoot, dude.

[Damien Haas]

Shoot, shoot.

[Shane Top]

That's a shoot, dude.

[Ian Hecox]

I feel like this guy is very bad at blackmailing because. Because he had established. And they were. No, no, no, the. The customer. Right, the customer. Customer who was saying that. Yeah, he was saying that she tried to stab him. So he had the. Obviously the owners, the managers probably didn't believe him, but they were playing along like, okay, sir, we're taking this seriously that you were nearly murdered. What are you asking for? For compensation for being nearly murdered. He doesn't ask for both rounds to be compensated. Just one round to be compensated.

[Courtney Miller]

Fellow.

[Ian Hecox]

He's a very reasonable asshole.

[Damien Haas]

I would call this functioning. Karen.

[Shane Top]

I can't stand stuff like that. I think I don't like the customer is always right. I don't like that policy at all. I didn't like it when I worked retail and customer service and I don't like it now that I'm on the other side of things.

[Courtney Miller]

I think that's gone out with the boomers. Like, I think, I think millennials and, and Gen Z agrees that the customer is not always right in your douchebag. If you believe that.

[Shane Top]

I'd like to.

[Damien Haas]

I mean, maybe, maybe just because we are decent people, so we do that. But like, you know, when a. Whenever person like, hi, I'm so sorry, it's so crazy right now. Like, how can I help you? Like, oh, dude, it's all good. You don't have to be sorry for anything.

[Ian Hecox]

I think our gen. I think our generation, and definitely Generation Z now, like, it's. It's looked down upon to be shitty to retail and customer service a little bit more. Because I remember even when I was younger, it was almost kind of like it wasn't looked down upon as much to be a jerk to customer service. It just wasn't seen that way. Whereas now we're starting to establish like, hey, that's really crappy. And I think that's who you are. How you treat waiters is who you are.

[Courtney Miller]

I think it's also related to, like, barter culture as well, where. Where like, millennials. And I think probably the same extent Gen Z, we don't want a barter. Like, we just want to get what we paid for, and we don't want to have to haggle over it. Where the older generation that was a part of doing business, like, like, oh, you want to buy that car? Well, then you need to barter for it. And it's like, what? No, just. Just pay the. Pay the price. It's what the price says on there.

[Shane Top]

Sorry. We just need to get rid of, like, allowing people to get away with stuff like that, like, anytime, unless it's really a problem, like, a real problem has taken place. I think it should be policy of, like, managers, owners of things. Like, just tell a customer, like, oh, no, get out. Yeah, you weren't almost stabbed. You're being a colossal baby. It was a butter knife and it landed near you. You're going to have to leave. Don't. Don't come back.

[Damien Haas]

When I went to go get these glasses, I was in the doctor's office waiting to get my appointment, and these two people walk up and they're wearing masks, luckily. But, like, when I came in, they needed to take my picture for my profile because it was like. It was also more sanitary than taking your ID and things like that. And also it's, like, more up to date than your old ID photo or something. And so I did that, sat down, and then this guy's like, you want my picture? That's like, why? Why do you need that? You don't. I don't need to give you that. That's. You're creepy. You're creepy for wanting to do that. And she was like, okay, well, like, we need something. And he, like, eventually gave in. And they're like, okay, now you need to sign this to acknowledge your hipaa. Like, you know, basically this law that protects your personal information from being. For the. Like, obviously, the doctor's office is not going to, like, tweet out your medical conditions or your personal information. Hipaa, like, I learned that working in the pharmacy. It protects you. And she's like, you need to sign that. You acknowledge this. He's. He was like, you didn't provide me with anything. She's like, okay, I can get you the paperwork. He's like, no, I deny acknowledgment of that rule. Like, not even knowing what he was talking about.

[Ian Hecox]

And I deny acknowledgement of that rule.

[Damien Haas]

The doctors will. These people look at people's buttholes like, and you, like, you refuse to give them a photo of you or a scene.

[Courtney Miller]

You're like, dude, it's my freedom. You can't.

[Ian Hecox]

People think they're a lot more important than they are. That's the problem. That's really the problem.

[Shane Top]

Place of feeling, no power.

[Courtney Miller]

But I think life.

[Shane Top]

So there's the second. There's a dynamic that puts you a little bit above someone else, you're like, yep, I would like the only finest.

[Courtney Miller]

Pen to sign this, but I think what we can all say is shoot, dude, please. If you have a shoot dude, please send it to [e-mail] that's s H-O-O-T d o o d smosh.com. thank you guys so much for coming on. It's lovely seeing all your faces. Let us know what you thought of this new format. I had a great time with with all y'all. Please check out our [e-mail]. oh, look at that. I got it right behind me. If you guys are watching video, rate us five stars on your favorite appy thingies. Catch the uncensored audio on Wednesdays on all your podcasting platforms and watch the video of us on Fridays. Bye.

[Damien Haas]

Love you.

[Ian Hecox]

Bye.

[Shane Top]

I'm. Goodbye, everybody. I'm going. I'm going to miss you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Ian Hecox]

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