Jeff Arcuri Wants to Make Mailbox Money

6 Aug 2026 · 44 min · 17 chapters

Ask about this episode

Ask anything about it. ChatGPT or Claude reads this page and answers with the times it was said.

Connect VO and ask about every podcast you hear, including the moments you saved. Add to ChatGPT · Add to Claude

In short

Jeff Arcuri (guest) discusses taping his Netflix stand-up special “Nice to Meet You” and how he built it to feel like an interactive “personal party.” He explains why he chose an in-the-round Celebrity Theatre setup, how he used stage movement cues (e.g., gaff tape to find his “12 o’clock”), and how crowd work is integrated into the set rather than separate.

Key claims

five shows were needed because one night’s crowd (Thursday) was distracted and bathroom-seeking; the best material came from the first Friday show; editing can make two separate crowd-work conversations feel like one continuous bit; and his wife’s stage-four breast cancer story was tested and refined before taping by having a filmmaker record him discussing it earnestly.

Notable examples

a heckler cold open, “pirate ship” stage effects, and using two different “husbands brought by wives” as recurring callback targets.

Guests

Jeff Arcuri; hosts Dana and David Spade; producers Alex (Jordan Levy, Matt Schuler mentioned).

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Jeff's Special and Stand-Up Experience

0:10 to 0:38

Insights into Jeff's comedy special and the intricacies of filming live shows.

“And it's lightweight, portable and packed with enough processing power to make multitasking a breeze.”

Jeff's Special and Stand-Up Experience

0:44 to 2:01

Insights into Jeff's comedy special and the intricacies of filming live shows.

“August is a good time to reset your wardrobe.”

Jeff's Special and Stand-Up Experience

4:17 to 7:28

Insights into Jeff's comedy special and the intricacies of filming live shows.

“Not cool, not cool Even though I'm in one Remember when this was really weird And like, you know Yeah, it feels like COVID again Jeff, are you old enough To remember COVID?”

Editing and Audience Interaction

7:29 to 14:00

The challenges and techniques of editing a comedy special with audience interaction.

“And I was like, wow, because it does throw you a little bit.”

Editing Comedy Specials

14:00 to 17:10

Learn about the creative process of editing comedy specials and the unique challenges faced by comedians.

“I was with Chris Rock last night, and he said, I've done it for how many years?”

Performing Under Pressure

20:45 to 27:53

Explore the psychology of performing for live audiences and the impact of tapings on comedians.

“I mean, there can be attention to it, but you, your attitude was so, I could tell you're legitimately really having a good time.”

Navigating Comedy Special Releases

28:00 to 36:21

Learn about the complexities of releasing comedy specials and the various platforms available.

“That's still, you know, get mailbox money from Wayne's World.”

Navigating Comedy Special Releases

36:27 to 38:13

Learn about the complexities of releasing comedy specials and the various platforms available.

“Someone's been performing vigorously in the bathroom.”

Navigating Comedy Special Releases

38:30 to 39:43

Learn about the complexities of releasing comedy specials and the various platforms available.

“Yeah, my living room was completely trashed.”

Personal Updates and Humor

39:49 to 42:01

Hear about personal experiences with cancer and the humor in serious situations.

“Hey, before we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break, all right?”
Show all 17 chapters

The Anxiety of Serious Conversations

42:01 to 43:11

Explore the discomfort of waiting for serious conversations and the humor in it.

“No, it's just, that's a funny area to talk about.”

Ghosts and Their Rules

43:12 to 44:17

Discuss the humorous concept of ghosts having rules about communication.

The Movie 'Ghost' and Its Implications

44:18 to 45:48

Delve into the iconic movie 'Ghost' and its comedic elements.

“Oh, well, there was a guy that stabbed him for what happened to that movie.”

Pottery and Phallic Symbols in Film

45:49 to 48:22

Analyze the sexual undertones in the pottery scene from 'Ghost'.

“I didn't see the hair, but I saw a complete phallus.”

David's Comedy Tour and Special

48:23 to 50:15

David shares updates about his comedy tour and the success of his special.

“But my wife has been the one that's like in my ear like, hey.”

Stand-Up vs. Hollywood: A Comic's Perspective

50:16 to 51:19

Discuss the preference for stand-up comedy over traditional Hollywood roles.

“So I'm going to just enjoy this for as long as I can.”

Embracing the Stand-Up Lifestyle

51:20 to 51:31

David expresses his happiness with being a stand-up comedian amidst industry changes.

“But just a whole new audience gets to see you.”
Hear the part that matters, and keep it.Open this episode in VO. Double tap your headphones to save a moment as you listen.
Get VO free

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Dana Carvey:Back to school starts now. Get long lasting battery life on Dell XPS laptop powered by Series 3 Intel Core so you can work from anywhere. Now starting at$699 with exclusive student pricing starting at$599. And it's lightweight, portable and packed with enough processing power to make multitasking a breeze. Say goodbye to distractions and hello to more free time because you finished your work faster. Complete your setup with savings on select monitors and more must-have electronics and accessories. Limited time deals and free shipping on PCs and more await you at dell.com slash deals. That's dell.com slash deals.

0:44August is a good time to reset your wardrobe. Everybody knows this. It's before the busy autumn rush, Dana. That's right. And that kicks in. My favorite place to buy and upgrade my closet is Quince. they're all about high quality sustainable essentials built to last and designed for everyday wear they specialize in timeless staples that work harder for you ultra soft organic cotton teas premium mongolian cashmere yeah i like a little charcoal gray cashmere crunix sweater put it on repeat take it with me on the run i was blown away by how thick soft juicy and luxurious, the knit feels. It fits perfectly, easily transitions my casual day at my desk to a nice din din.

1:31Dana Carvey:I like everything I'm hearing. If you're still hanging on to worn out basics, Quince makes it incredibly easy to elevate your style with premium denim and tailored chinos starting at just$60. They managed to keep prices 50 to 80 % lower than similar luxury brands by By working directly with the ethical factories and cutting out the middleman entirely. Plus, they offer amazing hotel quality bedding and sleek travel gear. Upgrade your everyday. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash fly. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.

2:13That's quince.com slash fly. The Thursday show was like people were drunk. People didn't know you couldn't go to the bathroom. So people were like looking for the bathroom near the stage like that. There was a lot of things we messed up on Thursday. They walked toward the stage looking for a bathroom. I've had that. And they go, you go, why do you think it's up here? Somebody quoted me for over a million dollars to tape it. I'm like, yeah, that's insane. No, I'm not going to, you know, put a lien on my house to tape a special. Look at my special on Netflix. It was for the first four days. I had to tell people on Instagram, I'm like, search by my last name.

2:47don't type in Jeff on Netflix because you're going to get it was just Epstein, Dahmer it was just all the lucky guys a lot of fun Jeffries out there alright

3:00Dana Carvey:Jeff McCurry is our guest a up and coming budding stand up special on Netflix called nice to meet you and this gentleman is a guy who's up and coming but he's also out there enough to sell out like, you know, a lot of nights at the Wilbur Theater in Boston, which is very hard to fill up. Even one night, he does a couple. He did a celebrity theater in Arizona, his special where I'm from. Arizona. I've played. I love, I used to do a special there. I love it. And it's in the round. And he got to tape five shows. He'll tell us about it. And to fill it up five times. That reminds me of Nate. When Nate went there, he did four.

3:44And I'm like, you can fill that place four times in a row? Wow.

3:49Dana Carvey:What young people would say about Jeff is he's got motion. Oh, I thought it was moxie. I have moxie. I know all the young people stuff. You know about looks maxing and money maxing now. So anyway, we had a great time with him. We had a couple little technical glitches, but we edited him out. So what you're going to hear is fantastic. You're not going to hear dick. So here he is Let's do it Let's do it, light it up Jeff's in a hotel Oh he is? Not cool, not cool Even though I'm in one Remember when this was really weird And like, you know Yeah, it feels like COVID again Jeff, are you old enough To remember COVID?

4:40Yeah, I'm almost 40

4:44Dana Carvey:don't do that just hang on to those 30s man just go i'm 30 something you don't know you don't need to know anything else i'm 30 i'm turning 39 this year and i've been saying 40 since i was like 37 just to get i usually say it when i need to sound more serious about something like come on i'm almost 40 years old yeah i'm a 40 year old man yeah i do the exact same thing the minute i'm in any decade early early 30s i go i'm almost 40 and then it kept going from there i don't ever want to be surprised like fuck how the sudden was i 40 you know so you're just always kind of future i still say come on i'm a 40 year old guy you're especially great great man right now correct it's outrageously good yeah thank you i mean i loved it i mean i never did a special like that i i first of all celebrity theater that's arizona where i'm from that's where i used to see sticks boston van halen so that's a great theater i didn't do a special there but i've definitely played it and it's great i know uh nate did his there and uh that's a great in the round is a whole yeah louis too that's a whole in the round is you sort of have to get used to it i got a question before we get into the hilarity of it dana when you do it in the round you've done these they came back before the show do you want it to spin I don't think I had it spinning when I played the celebrity theater does it spin I had both they asked me and I said what did you do last time and they said it's it's fun I was like oh man I I think I will just move myself no Jeff you didn't have spinning right it was spinning no no no you just move around they could I think they do that for a lot of bands They have You get to see the whole band Which is very cool You see behind the drum set I did this thing where it kind of lifts up One side of the stage lifts up And it goes like that very subtly And then the whole center goes Up and then down Did you do that one?

6:56Dana Carvey:They press button 3 Yeah I call it a pirate ship Yeah it's like that thing And, you know, if you're killing it, if you're really hitting it, I mean, that's just the laughs go double. The Venus flytrap, you go like this and it goes. And the audience can't see you anymore. Yeah. And then the greatest thing, you say, goodnight, everybody. And it just goes under. Yeah, that's good. And then flowers are on top. But that costs like three K or something. But anyway, those are the jokes, folks, for people listening. Is that real? Those are real. There is a movement or a non-movement. I chose non-movement, not taping.

7:37But I think Nate said he took movement. And I was like, wow, because it does throw you a little bit. It's just not subtle. Not even moving was tough. I remember we recorded a bunch of shows. But the first one we recorded, and I got off with a lot of notes where I was like, I need some way of knowing where I am. because I would be like talking about, you know, I found out like a lot of gay people were on the left side. So I was like, yeah, and the gay people. And I was like, shit, where are they now? You know? And I didn't know where I was on the stage. So we figured out by putting a piece of gaff tape on the stool, we figured out where my 12 o 'clock was.

8:17So whenever I referenced somebody, I'd be like, all right, they're at six, they're at three.

8:22Dana Carvey:Oh, interesting. I went wireless. Well, why did you do it there? I mean, was it a place you'd done once? you loved it and then you wanted to save yourself right so you didn't play there for at least a year or two i assume but you knew it was where it was really good for you right well yeah well they we did it uh actually just under a year prior before i taped it and i called my agent we did three quarter round we didn't do the full we did like three quarters so i had i had a backing to me where i could kind of stay and i just had two awesome shows i did not want to get off stage They were just so fun and so interactive in a way that I'm like, I called my agent at the first show.

9:02And I said, if I ever tape a special for anything, I want it to be here. And I'm glad I did because I was able to do crowd work and have fun with the audience. But it was definitely a bit of a bold first shot at a special just because there's a lot of things I didn't keep in mind. I'm not, you know, your first special should be on a stage that you're used to, that you're comfortable with. And I remember kind of freaking out at like, Oh shit, how do I turn around now? And I was like, figuring it out as yeah you got enough on your mind yeah for sure it's scary enough with just cameras and lights and audiences acting a little different i've done ones where i've said the same thing you'll leave and you go this place would be perfect there's one up in santa rose or somewhere i was dana and i remember we were all the burbank everybody killed and we're like this would be great it's not too huge and then you go i gotta give it space because would i ever get this good of a crowd again or maybe it's the crowd but it's very hard because you did four right four shows celebrity it's hard to fill so in a year which is good we ended up doing we ended up adding a fifth show like a thursday and they're like let's just add this as a rehearsal even if we don't sell it out and i'm like we got to record it i go if we don't record it it's going to be the one i end up wanting to use right yeah of course it'll be the best show you've ever done yeah yeah so you got

10:17Dana Carvey:to record five times you had five shots at this now how was the show that we saw like basically one show or did you mix and match a little bit it was it was 90 of it was from one show it was so i did the thursday show and then i was like i remember getting off knowing it wasn't what i wanted because i could tell by myself but also you ever get off stage and see everyone around you waiting for your reaction yeah like when you get off and then people are just like ah and you're like no and i was just i just knew it wasn't good they they already had that look on their face that they knew it wasn't great but i wasn't worried and then third friday night first show is when i got 90 we got like i cried at the end of it i was like this is it and we got 90 of the cuts from that one show and the rest of it were just every now and then like that's so fantastic that you got five shows i've only done two and i only had one one shot at it one for technical reasons and then you go okay this i only have one shot it's like you know it puts a lot of pressure on it and you feel like you got to get through things one thing i like the way they shot it and the way you use the stage the way you circled around and sometimes you'd look over your shoulder like you're referring to the people behind you you're sort of just like i know you guys are thinking this and the way you were moving it was very good i i wouldn't have anything but a plus on this special i i i don't know you know it seemed like kind of a perfect special for you watching you i don't i mean like a great set right it's just like the crowd work the way you did the crowd work you introduce a subject you might go to them you might not at some point you go to them and then you'll re come back to the subject real bit it's not just all crowd work why it's all integrated into the stuff and so i thought that was really great too you know that's amazing thank you yeah i i wanted it to to come off that way like hey it's it's i i bring people into the show i specifically try and find guys that are maybe not wanting to be into it and then i want to make them the kind of the hero of the show and and like hey it looks like you just came here with your wife but you're now the star you know and i was able to do that like everything worked out really really well um and it was funny because i was kind of freaking out that first month i got the special the first v1 i've i like went into a depression i didn't want to watch it i thought it was going to be garbage and my wife had to kind of like pull me out of it a little bit and like force me to watch it and i finally did and yeah i just started sending it to comics that i trusted and like asking their opinion of it and stuff it's agonizing to go into the edit for some people for me i just i keep putting it off and like you got to get in there And they're like, I go, just get it rough.

13:02Let me see. And then I go in. Now, yours is different because when you're, you know, for the audience, you do some crowd work and you go into the audience now for people listening. So the hard part about that is you're doing callbacks and things. And so when you're doing it with four or five different crowds, when you're cutting, it's hard to say, okay, I kept this one guy. I have to keep that runner or something, right? Isn't it a little complicated that way too? Yeah. Yeah. So there was actually a crazy edit. So 90 % of the show came from one show, but in the beginning, the editor worked his magic.

13:41So the original B1 had like every crowd work interaction. It was like a good 10, 15 minutes longer than the current version because he found a way to fit it all in. But I'm like, a lot of this is just time killer or like nothing funny came out of that crowd work. So we don't need it, you know? and i they basically what i had the way i start every show is i try and find a husband that was brought by a wife that's usually i find that target and i make them the hero and i found two different guys because i'm the i did one guy on the friday show and then another guy on like a saturday show and i use them both as the same role but the way that they edited it and they made it look like i talked to the two guys in a row like not different shows i say oh technically I entered the same end the conversation the same way with both of them but they they twisted the words up and made it seem different yeah I was able to get both guys in for callbacks the whole show because of the way they edit it and dude I was I literally asked to watch because I edit a little bit on adobe and I was like can I watch you edit what you're talking about and I was just watching him flick around and do all this stuff and I was like why did you cut that there and he goes sometimes you just feel it man and I'm like all right you're good at your job I'm not messing Well, if you can cram extra jokes, because you have some shows that are good.

14:57I was with Chris Rock last night, and he said, I've done it for how many years? 30 years? I've had eight great shows. He said, it just sounds crazy. But there's really the kind you just walk away like you got a grand slam. You walk off and you go, done. I can't beat it. I'm up as good as everyone. And then the other ones are pretty good. They vary from, fuck, there's one spot. So when you get a special, it should be the cheat code. and it seems like you're getting it because you're like i had a great thing with this guy but then saturday i agree what if we got them all in the same show i thought you're gonna say you cheated it where you talked and you heard the answer but you didn't see the guy so you gotta laugh thinking it was the same guy or something like that you know you're just talking no but you did it better yeah that's better that's great yeah they you pack it yeah they everyone involved in the team like everybody around it was really cool like i've heard from other people i'm not sure if you guys have experienced this but when they come to taping specials they'll be like hey stop we need to fix your jacket hey stop we need to fix your hair or can we run that again all right hey guys we're gonna run that again i was scared of that happening because that kind of pulls me out of the conversation like making it a conversation that i'm in control of with the audience and so i was glad where he said listen we're lucky enough to do a lot of shows i won't tell you a single thing just go do your show like you normally do your show and then i'll tell you if we're like down to the wire on things and he said straight up he's like every show you did you nailed the things without me saying it like you fixed what you said or what you were gonna who is that alex um jordan levy and uh matt schuler were the producers for this okay great i gotta say like his artistic direction with stuff like the fact that i had a heckler in the beginning as my cold open that was his idea like that was all him and that was pulled away from the thursday show because we the thursday show was like people were drunk people didn't know you couldn't go to the bathroom so people were like looking for the bathroom near the stage like that like there was a lot of things we messed up on thursday they walked toward the stage looking for a bathroom i've had that and they go you go why do you think it's up here get the fuck out of here so dana we're here to talk about Amazon Music.

17:12Yep. They have podcasts. They have audio books. They have everything in one app. You can pick from, obviously, Amazon's huge. You can get any kind of books you want, any sort of audio book, any sort of music, of course. So I picked Project Hail Mary. Project Hail Mary in the movie is Ryan Gosling.

17:32Dana Carvey:You don't know him. He's kind of a friend of mine. Oh, yeah. He's kind of funny. He's on SNL. Yeah. He's great. And he's a huge star. Anyway, Project Hail Mary, this guy who reads it, his name is Ray Porter. He's a good voice. He's done over 500 of these. So it's good to have someone good. They get good people. They read it. And let's say I'm moving and I just have it on in the house because I have to unload boxes while Heather lays around in a hammock. So Project Hail Mary, first of all, it's about very interesting. He's a teacher. you know ryan gosling average guy but very smart i like that they need to put him in a spaceship and go try to fix the sun you know whatever uh yeah there's bacteria all these suns are dying he's got a fungus he has to go bring some penicillin so great story doesn't realize it's a suicide mission like we need you because you're so smart and they're like also it's we only have X amount of gas goes up there, sees another spaceship.

18:39I won't give it all away, but there's an alien on that one. They buddy up kind of turns into a buddy movie, but, uh, you know, but it's very well done and it's very interesting to hear. And you don't know what's coming. And that's a good long thing to just distract you and make you, while you're doing, you can do something else, you know? And, uh, I like these because that's something I'm not going to, I don't pick up as books as smart as I look. And everyone's like, oh my God, you're so smart. I know. Yeah, for sure. I'm not always nose in a book, which you think. So Amazon Music obviously has it covered.

19:19They have movies, they have everything. But if you want a podcast, music and audiobook app, you get on there. Your Amazon Music unlimited subscription now include access to these audiobooks. So download the app today, start listening, and have some fun with it. Think back to the classic treats that made hot days instantly better. You know, the ones you would stand in line at the pool, no matter how hot it was outside. Now, imagine taking that unbelievable taste everywhere you go. Reimagine, as a firework freeze, five-hour energy shot, this vibrant blend combines juicy cherry, bright citrusy lime and sweet blue raspberry to ignite your taste buds with a delicious

20:01Dana Carvey:flavor explosion in every bottle it's the ultimate nostalgic fruit forward experience crafted with zero sugar making it a treat you can feel great about and enjoy anytime whether you need a bright moment during a long work day a quick pick me up while running errands or simply want to spark a tasty flavor sensation, this shot fits seamlessly into your busy lifestyle. Treat yourself to a blast from the past with a bold modern twist. Ignite your taste buds with a Firework Freeze flavored 5-Hour Energy shot. Now available online at 5hourenergy.com or Amazon.

20:44I remember at one point, I just conceded. seated and i said straight out because everyone was going to the bathroom i said where are you guys going i go you know what we're not using this one guys you have any questions and i did my whole act i still did the full hour but i got that there was like a sense of relief when i said all right we're not using this one and everyone kind of laughed and then we just the show was better from there on out and i was like i need to go into the into it with that mentality every show like hey we're just having fun we're not going to use this you know yeah they're on the special too so they're probably they you know dane and i talk about this they tighten up a little bit because they see lights like oh my god i don't know if i should wear this because they think they're going to be cameras on them and they don't react just like a regular great crowd would i've gone on stage and within the first minute of a special going i can't believe i got a tough crowd on my own special like you know what i mean the gigs are going great you lead up to it you got these great crowds and the night it happens there's lights are in their eyes and they're distracted and they can't get up and pee and there's no booze or anything and they're like ah what the fuck are we doing here and then you go yeah tough they're gonna be tough some would argue that if you were to like the the worst time to see a comedian is that a special saving yeah you know if you're gonna see them for the first time it should be uh on the working it out you know i'll

22:02Dana Carvey:start well so there's there's there's lights and cameras around and they know they're part of this thing. I mean, there can be attention to it, but you, your attitude was so, I could tell you're legitimately really having a good time. And I think the five shows really helps. I do. You could have one and hit it like that, but you never know. But I like, when I watched Sandler's that one special, he taped it all over the country. And I go the first time I'm watching a performer who doesn't know he's shooting a special. It might be in the special. It might We're going to do 40 of them in different countries.

22:38Dana Carvey:You had a sense of that vibe for that Friday show of just, I'm just, I'm throwing a personal party. You know, there was no, no sense of like pushing because you'll see really good standups and their eyes are just a little bit tight, just slightly before you can tell they're not in the pocket with their set. They still got all the material they're going to kill, but it's very common. and yours didn't have that. You know what you heard probably, Jeff, is on the first... Well, you did. I usually have two tapings. I think Dana also. You have an early and late... Well, I have a technical problem with one and then I have one real shot.

23:20Right. So when I did my... For every special I've done, I do the first one and you go back and someone says, that was... You hit it out of the park. We got it. So just go have fun. It's like such psychological stuff to make you go, oh, I'm going to relax. And then later, we already won. And then later, we used the whole second show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The first one's a little off and I'm like, wait, you told me the first fucking home run. Yeah.

23:48Dana Carvey:Scam. I mean, to some of your peers, your friends, guys in your world, I was just doing a thing with Adam Ray last night when he talked about you in very positive terms. That's great. Doing this Dr. Phil thing and I wonder Oh, nice. Yeah, it was funny. I was just out there and he's doing, you know, his thing is very, a great crowd in a small club, Oxnard Improv. But anyway, like when your generation is shooting specials, do people, how is it different? Like does everyone shoot five or was yours, is that unique? You got five tapings or? No, that's, that's crazy. Our, our goal was, was like hey i'd love three you know and we luckily like you know we could say it was for netflix so we put it on sale and it sold really really well and then we thought hey you know we need to make the money back because the specials you lose money on them um the way the deals are kind of set up now where you're you know you're they're paying you for a special once you deliver right yeah yeah some say for the people at home sometimes people pay it out of their pocket and put it on if they can't sell they put on youtube still can do well some people do it and then sell it to a streamer after the fact they pay for it which is pretty expensive and then sell it and some people get the money from the streamer keep some and use the rest to produce it so yeah you You went the way where you make it and then sell it.

25:23Is that what you said? No, we, so basically they, they offered, Hey, do you want to make a special for us? Okay. For Netflix. And then they give you, it's, it's, it's public knowledge. I think I've talked about it on a couple podcasts. It was the two for two deal or whatever, where it's two years. You get, they get the special for two years for$200 ,000. And obviously it takes more than that to tape a special. And I went like low end. I got quoted. Somebody quoted me for over a million dollars to tape it. and i'm like oh yeah that's insane no i'm not gonna you know put a lien on my house to take yeah also you have to let me interject what we're saying dame and i are saying about one show two shows one night is because of crew and unions and if you even do one show on thursday they're like well that's a whole another day if they got a clock in catering it's just like certain rules you're going to pay a chunk for each day.

26:17So they try to get everything into one day and you get two days, you got three days. So you must have invested in yourself, which is great actually. Yeah. I said, let's just do it. Like, that's why I was like, Hey, just pay them for the extra day. Like we'll figure it out. And, uh, I kind of, I kind of like this system though. I mean, some people would say, yeah, it'd be easier the way like comedy central used to do it where they'd be like, all right, let's film five specials in one show. in new Orleans or wherever and we'll get it all we'll take care of everything we'll pay you each twenty thousand dollars whatever it may be and then that special is ours and now there are comedians that can't get their own material back because you know it's owned by you know Viacom or whatever um so that is kind of cool that we get the ownership back as part of the initial deal is that in two years I can then flip it onto YouTube and for free not even monetizing it or I can do whatever with it.

27:11It'll be mine again. You know, two is pretty quick. I would think it would be longer. I didn't even know. I don't know where mine are. I got to ask Alex. I don't know.

27:19Dana Carvey:You answered my question. So it's, it's a, it's fantastic system that you're going to own that in two years. It's great. Yeah. I didn't think they can offer you another lease. Like if it does well enough, like, or whatever they can, Hey, they can do like a six year lease or something like that, which that'd be great. I'd like that to get paid again for something I already did. I'd appreciate that. Mailbox money. I like that free money out of nowhere. Yeah. You guys got a lot of that random residual money? Dana doesn't like money.

27:55Dana Carvey:The only thing I got lucky with was Wayne's World 1. That's still, you know, get mailbox money from Wayne's World. The first Wayne's World. Why not two? It was made so cheap. to everyone everything got into we satirized kind of selling out in the first one where we wore all the gear and it's really sad that people then the second one we kind of did what we sat in the first film the money came in i walked on the set and wayne and garth had this layer like this five hundred thousand dollar layer we were rich and there are statues of stalin out front it's like too much money uh for comedy sometimes you know but run and run and gun but in in the early days we uh you'd try to get up front your people try to get you a bunch of money and then they would just own it and they would tell you what to do kind of and how many shows you could shoot so this is sort of uh very satisfying to hear this other way that people are doing it more control you know yeah yeah i think we're taking that movie busboys it's going on hulu in august and then we get it back at some point so it's kind of the same thing with a movie because we paid for the movie so they get it i think it's for maybe two years again something like that 18 months and then either could re-up it or we can take it over to tbs and push it between Grown Ups 1 and Joe Dirt.

29:26Whatever's on TBS that day, Ben Schwarmers. I love it though. No, that's great. So this is very interesting. I think people are learning about specials from you because it's just sort of a blur. People are like, oh, that guy's got a special. Why is it on Hulu? Why is it on Netflix? Why is it on Amazon? I've done one Amazon, Comedy Central, and then two other places. Oh, HBO in the old days. yeah and then one more but they're kind of floating all over the place and i will say comedy central was seen by the least including dana dana kept trying to watch he's like i can't get it i can't find it i can't i try to get on their website and log in and sign up i couldn't find it hard to get and i'm like this should not be the way it is it should be so don't make it

30:12Dana Carvey:like indiana jones or something the crystal skull we're trying to find it yeah oh yeah you should look up my special on Netflix. It was for the first four days. I had to tell people on Instagram, I'm like, search by my last name. Don't type in Jeff on it in Netflix because you're going to get, it was just Epstein, Dahmer. It was just all the money. A lot of fun Jeffries out there. And your last name is hard to say in the time. I didn't remember how to spell it when I was looking up today. And I'm like, wait, how do you spell that? Yeah, neither did the Laugh Factory. I clicked in on Dahmer accidentally.

30:54Dana Carvey:I just watched her a few minutes and it was surprisingly funny. He does crowd work too. It's not as good as your special, but it was surprisingly had some pop to it. I don't know why I don't know this. Does Netflix allow clips or would that be later? Why don't I know that? Is Netflix going to clip it and put it out there? They gave me a bunch that they collaborated on. Okay, so that's good. Our team hired people. They just basically cut it into that format for us. And it's Netflix as a joke. Yeah, it's the first time I ever let somebody else edit my stuff. Every clip I posted before that was edited on the road.

31:38So I was like, I hope it does well. And they both did better than any of my clips. And I'm like, all right, time to give up the editing. They know what they're doing. Well, that's good. They also look so polished and they look so good. Those Netflix specials look great. and I don't think they will accept one that doesn't look great. If someone films it and wants to sell it, you have to spend money because Ted and the gang over there, Robbie, they don't want to have some shitty looking one camera in the back of the Ontario Improv. Which Jeffrey Epstein did his special, by the way, dude.

32:08Dana Carvey:Where does it? Where does it? Where does it? Where does it? Where does it? Jeffrey Epstein did his at the Ontario Improv, but Dahmer did his at the Comedy Store in La Jolla. I thought it was Punchline, San Francisco. Punchline. No, it was funny bones. But yeah, we're in a clip world. I mean, we'll get some clips sometimes that will go millions. It doesn't really count toward our business model or downloads. Because I'll watch a lot of clips too, you know, just this clip. So you'll probably get millions and millions. And so as far as the special, what, you know, what the press is kind of teasing out is your wife's breast cancer and that whole relationship with her.

32:50Dana Carvey:So, and I thought you navigated perfect, but that was like, you know, obviously Dana, what if you're the one telling him right now? I'm sorry. I have to tell you.

Read the full transcript

33:06Dana Carvey:It was cool. The way you handled it is very, you know, it was sweet emotional and it also you you got laughs out of the whole process and you know so that yeah that was kind of what the muse talk to that yeah uh that was pretty tough because that was um i actually had uh there's a filmmaker in new york called matt salakuse he does a lot of um uh like in documentary and indie projects for a lot of comedians um in new york and i had him follow me around for like the month or like the three weeks leading up to the special and he recorded me i did a residency at the wilbur theater in boston and so he recorded me going there every night and running the hour and then running back to the notebook and like walking my dog and then taking care of my wife and like running and doing all this stuff for the week and i remember it was at the wilbur theater when i was i was having a hard time figuring out how to to bring up the cancer, how to bring this up in the middle of a set, in the middle of a clown show.

34:07Why am I doing something so serious? And he eventually, he had the camera rolling and he's like, just talk to me about it. Like, how would you tell me? And I just told him earnestly and and he recorded it and he's like, just say that. And that's how, wow, what I ended up saying was I, the first time I like days prior to me taping the special, I was telling him on camera, like I just couldn't get it or laugh I just tried you know and I was crying talking to him about it and he said just say that that's real just say that and so we ended up using that and that was like that was like a real thing and it was fresh like that's why it was I'm not cringing at me tearing up a little bit because I'm like that was still a new sentence to me if I had been touring with that for two years and then I got that part and again I was like and then the hardest part guys like yeah it would be harder to sell i wouldn't have been as emotional about it if i was you know i'd repeated it 300 times you know so it worked out really really well it's just then you get a

35:07Dana Carvey:chance to try it out with audiences before you tape so you know where the beats are kind of you know yeah oh yeah and you you know that you're gonna they're gonna take that ride and then it's gonna you're gonna go up again at the end the bit at the end was really funny you know the sperm bank david does a little bit hey listen speaking of repeating things 300 times i think i'm going to go to a set tonight what are you what are you going to open with i'm just thinking of that's a funny way to talk about your act i did this about 300 times no uh is that wild though it is it is funny when you start i just look at it as just no one did that we didn't have cameras i don't know it's just sort of nice that you're going to the wilbur theater and i guess he had a single camera on you kind of, but you're just seeing it, what it feels like ahead of time, you know?

35:59Dana Carvey:And I don't know, I, we didn't, there were video, I don't think we had video cameras when I went to the first one, but it's, uh, it's great to see why it was so good. The amount of work you put into it, you know, and the care to, and then the five shows. So it's really cool. Thank you. Thank you. This episode is sponsored by Blue Chew, the number one brand for better sex. Well, well, well. Well, well, well, well. Someone's been performing vigorously in the bathroom. And what could be responsible for all that stamina? Could it be... Blue Chew? A chew? Well, isn't that special? My, my, my. What would the grumpy old man say?

36:53Dana Carvey:In my day, we didn't have arousal boosting tablets. We had a cold shower and a firm handshake. We liked it. Well, guess what? We didn't like it. Bloop shoe is better. Take the tablet, you idiots. What about hands and friends? What would they say? I love the lead-ins. hear me now and believe me later blue chew is here to pump you up yeah you flabby little girly man lying there like a sad little noodle blue chew turns that noodle into a muscle a muscle? it is not a muscle technically but with blue chew it will perform like what now go make love and do not embarrass Hans guys Guys, come on. Blue Chew Gold is better sex.

37:46Dana Carvey:And a tablet, they combine four ingredients into one powerful solution. Two ingredients get you hard physically, and two support arousal and desire in the brain. It works fast, and it lasts. Have a complete experience in the bedroom with Blue Chew Gold. Look, there's a reason Blue Chew is the number one brand for better sex. Experience it for yourself at BlueChew.com. And we've got a special deal for our listeners right now. When you buy two months of Blue Chew Gold, you get the third free with promo code FLY. That's promo code FLY. You'll receive an additional 10 % off plus free overnight shipping on your first order.

38:26Visit BlueChew.com for more details and important safety information. We thank Blue Chew for sponsoring the pod and the bedroom. Fall's right around the corner. Is it? Yeah, it is. Yeah, my living room was completely trashed. After a busy summer. Oh, I heard that. And I desperately needed a home refresh. You know, jumped on Wayfair, found the Havenstone leather sectional. Ooh, nice. Which, you know, kind of zhuzhed up the place. I'll admit I was nervous about buying a major piece of furniture online, but seeing the real customer photos and reading through the millions of verified five-star reviews gave me total confidence before ordering.

39:10When it arrived, quality blew me away. It's durable, comfortable, exactly what I need. Built to handle real life. That's right.

39:18Dana Carvey:And if you want extra peace of mind, you can shop Wayfair verified pieces, which are hand-fitted by product specialists using a 10-point inspection, testing material quality, and build time. It helped me create a space I love without overspending, giving me top-tier style on a realistic budget. Join Wayfair Rewards today to get 5 % back on every purchase and start saving on your next home upgrade. Head to Wayfair.com and shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com. Wayfair. Every style, every home. Wayfair. Every style, every home. Hey, before we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break, all right?

39:58Not just any break. This is a refreshing break with Snapple. We all know about Snapple's iconic real facts. So let's take a minute to go over some of my faves.

40:07Dana Carvey:Snapple Real Fact 455. Movie trailers used to come on at the end of the movies, but no one stuck around to watch them. I've heard that. Snapple Real Fact 831. Adults laugh only about 15 to 100 times a day, while preschoolers laugh an average of 300 times a day. Snapple Real Fact 1983. The first player drafted to play pro football never played in the league. That's interesting. Snapple Real Fact 1274. Kickball is referred to as soccer baseball in some parts of Canada. Hmm. So grab a Snapple. Take a second. Enjoy the moment. Because let's be honest, this might be the most refreshing part of your day.

40:52Snapple, make your break more interesting.

40:59And Katie's doing okay now? What's Liz? because she uh i've met her through the comedy world she was doing stand-up right for a while does she still do stand-up yeah no no she's not yeah um she's uh i told her i told her that's my job um no i uh yeah so she's she's doing great now she's she's been um uh it's a stage four so it's forever it's something that we kind of get used to but we get we keep getting good news and I like to think our good news is better than our bad news. Like we're getting more good news than we're getting bad news. So we're figuring out our liver levels, like all this stuff.

41:36And, you know, today she called me, she goes, call me as soon as you can. And I frigging, I woke up, I called her. I was like, are you okay? And she goes, I got Odyssey tickets. And I'm like, you can't do that when you have cancer. Yeah. You got to drop the, give me a hint as to what you're talking about. You can't just. Yeah. This used to be an emergency text. Not anymore. You can't. but she's in great spirits, dude. I, I, I wonder all the time. I wonder how she does it. Cause I'm like, I'd be so bummed. What were you going to say, Dana? I cut you off. I'm sorry.

42:07Dana Carvey:No, it's just, that's a funny area to talk about. Just not, not withstanding cancer. It's just funny. You have friends who, I got to tell you something, you know, it's something like he had a ham sandwich. Call me. It's like, call me right now. What are you talking about? The worst is when someone says, um, can I talk to you about something later? Or like, they don't want to do it now. And they say, can I talk to you about something serious? You've ruined everything from now to later. Because I can't think of any. By the way. Next Tuesday at five o 'clock, I have something I got to tell you. Can you be nervous till next Tuesday about what I'm about to tell you?

42:45Yeah, it's at five o 'clock. I'll tell you what it is.

42:48Dana Carvey:Well, tell me now, bitch. I like this bit about ghosts. I like to add bitch to any little thing. did you remember this bit dana where he talks about ghosts that don't have um where they have rules oh yeah i think it was just a a clip that was supposed to like because i did another podcast where i don't even know what i was talking about a lot of these podcasts are coming out and i'm like what was i doing what was i saying yeah yeah um but i think he asked me about like right it was like a podcast about morbidity like whatever he was like do you leaving like ghosts or whatever and that's when i just kind of went on a tangent i was i was high on some espresso at the time but yeah the ghost don't have rules i like the idea yeah it's funny because he's saying like they can't write you a note they can only like make a creaking noise every couple years and you go is that you grandma and then you know they can come in the form of a bird that flies overhead and you're like i need something a little more specific i mean this is nice but i would like you know it's a bird but maybe drop a note and then i'll be like hey i'm all good in the afterlife but it's all very vague all and everyone's like this was a message and you're like i don't know it could go either way on that message i don't know yeah right i'm just doing it for him basically uh i'm ad-libbing but uh no i was too i was i was just riffing with that dude it makes me want to think i want to do a bit like a bit about it especially now that you guys brought it up i feel like i might want to yeah might write something i think there is because even from what i heard the idea i was like running in my head going oh there is a lot to kind of not a lot but there's something there's something to that and it's not something that's been done to my knowledge well yeah ghosts have rules is a is just a good entry yeah ghosts have yeah that kind of gets you into the funny like ghosts have rules well they can't talk normal they have to go the voice have to have vibrato but they they could willingly go talk to you yeah i mean there's a million jokes in that but that's a nice take on that whole area i think the best take on it is the the movie ghost patrick swayze meets meets a guy that's like you gotta practice kid you know oh right yeah i love ghost yeah but he was actually doing pottery he was doing some of the things ghosts don't always do.

45:12He had to get the... What's his name? The guy that looked like... Tony? Tony Goldwyn, is it? Oh, no. That guy was a comic. Wasn't Stephen Wright, was it? Oh, well, there was a guy that stabbed him for what happened to that movie. And that guy was a comic. I'm sure Dana knew. Are we talking about ghosts? yeah the movie ghost there was a comic and a comic that was in it played like a homeless uh you know like a scary like guy and he ran up instead and then i think that's when patrick swasey walks up and he's like oh i chased the guy and but you don't know he was already dead because he got oh that was the main guy the guy that it kills him yeah good memory yeah and i was He was a comic and then he passed away A couple years later I thought he was a San Fran guy I thought Dana would know

46:12Dana Carvey:I think I know the guy you're talking about I don't have his name Did you guys think when he was doing the pottery And then they reached around And did that that was sort of Phallic kind of in a way or sexual No When the pottery jizzed All over them did you think that was sexual And it looked like I could have pottery balls underneath when the camera slips for a minute. Yeah, and there are huge hairy balls. And you're like, I don't know. I didn't see the hair, but I saw a complete phallus. And they were kind of going like that. And I thought to myself in the theater, like, is this, are they making a kind of a little toy ship or something?

46:51And when he said it to me, more going on, he said, should we do more foreskin? Is it, is it done? You think? I thought that was an odd conversation to have. There's gotta be a movie blog. like somebody that's like actually this was representative of phallic object like there's probably yeah people that wrote that in there like someone i thought they cracked the code

47:09Dana Carvey:they're like oh my god chat gbt chat gbt right now do it do it heather and see what see what they say heather already just showed me to distract sorry distracting she showed me the guy vincent with a kind of melting face on the subway i think that's who you're talking about it looks like a dead guy yeah that's a character actor yeah yeah he was in a lot of shit always playing dead or almost dead yeah but the fucking comic finer keather i don't know cast of ghosts before we hang up we have to know this it's probably on youtube it'll be in the comments within one second and we're sitting here hemming and hawing like ball but i want to see if i want to see if Was it Rick Avilis?

47:59That sounds like it.

48:01Dana Carvey:I don't know if I know a Rick Avilis. No, it's ruined everything. Sorry. Yeah, that's him. Okay. Well, that was a fucking dud. If I saw that guy, I'd say, nice to meet you. No. You would say, nice job on Patrick Swayze, you prick. Oh, nice to meet you is the name of the special. Nice to meet you. Whoa, I didn't even see that coming. Hey. Come on. my favorite part was david just david the bagger just going no no no i know i'm going what are we doing here oh that's right yeah we got to get the name out so clever so your your special's out now you're still on the road presently yeah yeah i'm doing just uh right so kind of a mix of press and road shows but i am doing clubs for the next few to the end of the year um some theaters and then we're starting a road trip i'm doing a bus tour next year oh wow first ever bus tour because i want to do it have you gotten a sense uh that this thing is gonna you know up your tickets or up your rooms i mean is it starting to get traction already pretty big so far so yeah i appreciate that yeah ticket sales have been pretty good like i've been pretty dang lucky with that overall.

49:18Dana Carvey:But my wife has been the one that's like in my ear like, hey. I know, I'm kidding. That's David Spade. He went full of Spade. I have to be my type of human somewhere. Some older comics are kind of jealous of younger comics. Well, I'm fully jealous of literally everyone is on the podcast. So that's no big deal. So what does your wife say to you? Oh, she's been like, this is going to be big. She was telling me that it was going to do really well. And it did better than I expected it. She was expecting it to do as well as it did. So she's like, hey, this is the next thing. But the truth is, I love touring.

50:01We love stand-up because we love stand-up. A lot of people are asking, I'm getting questions like, what's next? Do you want to be in a movie? Do you want to do this? And I'm like, I literally just got to where I wanted to be. I just got to like doing standup as much as I want to, if I ever want to. So I'm going to just enjoy this for as long as I can. Cause you know, not for nothing, I'd rather be on the road than on, on, on set. I'm just more of a guy like that. I also, I've never been on set. So it's very true that there's a new wave. It's a different generation where when I came out and maybe Dana, you're doing standup, but every agent manager is wanting you to do that just to be able to get in front of people so you can get a sitcom or you can get on a movie or you can get something and it's faded out in the last five seven years where people like i just want to do stand-up and that's actually the one thing you can just make money at because you can call your own hours whether you sell a lot or a little if you're always out there you're making something instead of staying home waiting for an audition or the how hard it is to be in and showbiz is even harder in the last five years since COVID and the strikes we talk about.

51:10Like production is down. Everything's down, down, down. So you've got a great situation. And I do think that's going to blow you up. I mean, sort of coming out of nowhere, but you're not. But just a whole new audience gets to see you. And you've already got an audience, so it can only just keep adding, adding. Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. That was the big thing that the people helping me do podcasts, as the PR people are just like, we don't want to remind your audience to watch it again. We want people who don't know you, or have a new people to give you a chance. Yeah. And so I'm like, I'm learning the showbiz side of things a little bit, the more and more we do it.

51:50But I think that's also me not knowing about it is what maybe made this special good. Like was it just being myself and doing the special as if I was just doing an hour, um, it kind of worked out, you know, I'm, I'm just, I'm really happy right now. I'm scared. It's going to go away. we just wanted people to know the name of your special. We want them to come see you. And, uh, you're a funny guy. You can tell on here, you can tell them the clips and you can tell them the special. So go see him or go watch the special. And, uh, we appreciate you coming on. Thank you guys.

52:22Dana Carvey:We have people come on here and kind of take off Shane Gillis. I think you're going to really, uh, get a lot of pop from this and play bigger rooms. And then we'll say we knew him. It's not anyone who can do 15 ,000 seats in Phoenix. It's already much bigger than I feel. That's huge, dude. It's not like you're coming out of yuck yucks in Toronto or something. But this thing was really, this special was special. Wasn't that special? Yeah. You got one in there. You got one from the king. Got one in.

53:00All right, listen, if you're enjoying The Fly on the Wall, Of course Hopefully you are Click follow We don't want to be desperate But obviously smash That god dang button On your favorite podcast app Smash Leave a review A good one Leave a five star rating Nothing else Whoops And maybe even share an episode With a friend If you're watching this episode On YouTube Please Subscribe Dana What do you think?

53:24Dana Carvey:I'm going to tell you this right now Hit me now Believe me later Fly on the wall Believe it or not Is presented by Odyssey Mm-hmm And executive produced by, hold for it, Dana Carvey and David Spade. Or David Spade and Dana Carvey. We don't write this stuff. Heather Santoro, Greg Holtzman, and Leah Reese Dennis. The show is edited by Evan Cox. With production support from Phil Sweetech. Talent production and booking by Sophia Lepore.

From the publisher

Jeff Arcuri joins David and Dana this week to talk about doing comedy in the round, crowd work, and his new Netflix special “Nice to Meet You”. Also, the guys compare “mailbox money”, wonder if the pottery scene in Ghost is sexual, and Jeff explains why you should search for his special by his last name and not “Jeff”.

More from Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade

All 179 episodes
Jeff Arcuri Wants to Make Mailbox MoneyFly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade · 44 min
Listen in VO