‘Wet Hot American Summer’ Director David Wain, 20 Years Later!

The Last Laugh

The Daily Beast

Comedy Interviews, Comedy, Interviews, Tv & Film, Society & Culture, Tv, Movies, Film

4.6 • 661 Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2021

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Director David Wain thought his career was over when ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ bombed at the box office in July of 2001. 20 years later, the film has become a full-blown comedy classic thanks to the exploding celebrity of previously unknown cast members like Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler and the fierce dedication of fans who made sure it would live on forever. On this very special episode of the podcast, Wain reflects on the wildly difficult process of putting the movie together, reveals some of the future stars who didn’t make the cut and how its initial failure and ultimate success has affected his prolific career as a comedy director.

Follow David Wain on Twitter @davidwain and Instagram @davidwain

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This was the exact moment I knew I would always be obsessed with wet-hot American summer.
0:07.0	You guys, I'm really gonna miss this place.
0:11.0	Me too.
0:12.0	Hey, let's all promise that in 10 years from today, we'll meet again,
0:17.0	and we'll see what kind of people we've blossomed into.
0:20.0	Yeah! What time you want to meet?
0:22.6	You mean ten years from now?
0:23.6	Yeah.
0:24.6	Let's meet in the morning so we can make a day of it.
0:27.6	Okay, so what is it? Is it like 9 or 930?
0:30.6	Well, let's say 9. That way we can be here by 9.30. Well, no, why don't we say 930 and then make it your beeswax to be here at 930?
0:38.2	We're all going to be in our late 20s by then. I just don't see any reason why we can't be
0:41.2	places on time. Okay, then. It's settled. 930 it is. All agreed?
0:46.4	Agreed. Great. Because I have something at 11.
0:55.5	This is the Last Laugh.
0:57.7	I'm Matt Wilstein from The Daily Beast, and I can't quite believe that it has now been
1:02.6	20 years since my guest today, David Wayne, directed what has slowly become a full-on
1:09.2	comedy classic.
1:11.2	When Wet Hot American Summer first hit a very small handful of theaters in July of 2001,
1:18.3	the two biggest stars in the movie were Janine Garofalo and David Hyde Pierce.
1:23.3	Back then, no one had ever heard of Bradley Cooper or Elizabeth Banks. Amy Poehler wasn't
1:29.2	on SNL yet, and Paul Rudd was years away from becoming part of the Marvel universe.
	...

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