Chelsea Peretti Talks "First Time Female Director" | Awkwafina On “Kung Fu Panda 4”

You're listening to Comedy Central. My guest tonight is.

Our comedian, an actor who wrote director the new film, first time female director. Please welcome Chelsea Baretti. The people, the people love you.

The people have spoken.

You're very beloved.

Is this your vibrate Yeah, weird question. I think I saw an ad on Instagram for this.

Yeah, we tried to keep all guests happy. Project's first time female director. Yes, film, it's also you're also you're also a first time female director.

This is going good? Can I get the regular host? We said each other?

Look yeah, yeah, you know, look at us going at each other. Now, director, you had a really Larry David could be enthusiasm, but my style very handmade? Was that intentional? Is that lack of budget?

I'm trying to spur him to come after me because I'm a big fan of Runnie Is. I just want to say that I.

Really am No, I am a huge No. We we never met, but you are very nice to me over the pandemic idea over over Instagram. And I was a huge fan of yours, watching your comedy specials. And I love your music album that you released pre pandemic. It was about coffee.

Yeah, It was a coffee concept album, one of those.

Yeah wow, you did during the pandemic, A pandemic problems.

It was pre pandemic. And then when the COVID happened, I was like, why did I spend the last eight months of my life making music about coffee?

What a waste? No? No, it was a funny album. I love music, and you got film right now. And what's interesting to me many things is that I mean you, but you'll stand up comic. Yeah, you're starting these comedy clubs and all that right.

Here in these city streets.

Right here on the streets. Man, when you do comedy, you're in, especially when you're starting out, you're in a ba full of like drunk people if you're lucky, sometimes above empty if.

You're lucky, usually it's a bar full of drunk men.

Yeah. And then and then you moved into directing a movie. You know, how you get the that that skill set it must be.

It really took was decades. So if you have decades to spare, you too might be able to do that. I know. But I wrote for TV, I wrote for Parks and rec and Amy produced this movie.

So don't just say Amy like Amy, Yeah, I know you're on first name basis, but it.

Would be weird if I always called her Amy Poe.

On this and is that is she the one who kind of like champion usually is?

Yeah?

Right?

So I mean, how did how did this project come about? Because it's very meta. I don't want to like misdescribe this. It's very meta. Kind of your first first time director directing a play in the movie and then in real life, your first time female director directing the movie.

I mean I was, what, that's pretty accurate, all right, Yeah, that was a good description.

But what what was the you know, inspiration for this?

The inspiration well, I challenged myself to write a fake excerpt of a play at UCB Theater in Los Angeles, which was a southern rural drama and it was a fun night. It was very silly. We did a really pretentious Q and A afterwards, and and then I was like, could I make this into a movie? And so that's kind of the origin story, if you.

Will, right, And that's that's how you started. And you know, people who don't know making movies is very hot. I mean, forget the making it, just trying to get it up and going.

I tried to get Ronnie. I actually tried to get him for my movie, and I was told he's offer only that that's when an actor thinks they're too good to audition. So I was like, whoa, whoa, this one hurts, this one hurts.

Yeah, by but I am a phone you are, yeah you are? So why didn't you make offer? How did you get Why didn't you make an offer?

Well?

I was waiting, good follow up question, make the offer, I'm offul only make the off too late? Actually technical, you can reshoot. You can do reshoots, yeah, you can.

What I want to offer you is the lead.

Yeah, well yeah, I'll take the lead. We'll redo it. This is good, okay, But so it's uh and you debuted it last year.

I debuted it, and.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry that make a minor grammatical mistake in one of my three languages.

I'm sorry, you white feminist, I don't really care.

Well, I'm a minority in America, so I don't know who. I don't know who wins here if we keep going at it, I think white people, white men wait, no, white men wait. If we keep fighting, white men are going to win. So we got you gotta get on board this shot.

You gotta down on board this.

That's kind of boarding promote the movies. Yeah so you yeah, when do you debut it?

Friday? Friday, March eight.

Yeah, but you got into the festival.

I got into Tribeca.

Yeah, which is hot. It's hot to get in Tribecca. The Karents just walk into Drybeca has to be a good movie, No you can't.

Yeah, this is a hot crowd.

This crowd is hot and yeah, yeah hot, a little old and uh yeah, a little bit, a little bit. I appreciate it, but let's call it what you know. And they've been waiting on in the New York range so that I really appreciate them waiting all that. That's a compliment. Thanks for being so old and waiting out. Yeah, and they love you.

You're sweet street with them a tender rapport.

Yeah. Yeah, So Tribeca was great, That's what I know. You're understanding it. But it's hot to it's hot to get into the Tribeca film that h achievement.

I got a fake tan for it. Yeah, very classy. And then now it's a premiering on Roku March eighth. Yeah, so I'm excited and I hope people enjoy it.

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. What was the most challenging thing you had on this on this project?

Not not being able to get you in there? I really was.

No asking me was the biggest challenge.

Yeah.

I love how you you named it first time female directors. Like, if anybody gives a bad review, is that like like just sexist? Right? Yeah, it's automatic trap. Right.

That's what I'm always trying to set up is some sort of infrastructure like that. But it is weird, like any title you think of, you think of the snooty reviews where they say like something like, you know, they always use the title to slam the movie. Yeah, first time female director, right, I don't know, maybe it's harder.

Yeah yeah, well yeah, well there's no reason to slam the movie because I watched it. It was great. Thank great job, I super funny, very original.

Thanks just scanning your eyes if you're.

Telling yeah I am.

It's a weird time because it's like everyone being like, oh, I love the movie.

I'm like this, Yeah, you see this is the com That's how I know you're a comic. Yeah, because comics can't take compliments. Trust, you can't take that. You can't tell tell me a nice thing about myself.

I love you.

I don't believe that. I don't believe that.

Well, you know what's funny is my dad loves you too. And he was like, we're at dinner, and he goes, I love this comedian. He's emotionless. And the weirdest thing is, I go, is it this guy? And I pulled up a picture of you. I'm like, do you mean Rachel? Because that was the joke, but I guess I didn't hit No.

I appreciate your dad knowing me as emotional as that, not the Asian guy. That's great. Great, mister Pardi, thanks so much. Yeah, well, Chelsea, thanks so much for being the show man. I can't wait. This thing is coming out Roku channel March eighth, please take it. Give you a watch. Chelsea Paridi. Everybody, she's awesome. My guest tonight there's an Emmy nominated actor and comedian who starts in the new film Kung Fu Panda four. Please welcome the

It's good to see you guys.

Yeah, good to see you again. It's great so what's this one? Is what comand when you came out? Yeah, they did. It was even louder when I came out. So Kung Fu Panda four Man.

Yeah yeah, good movie, great movie.

I agree. I think it's amazing. Yeah you know I'm in that movie too.

Oh yeah, right, yes, you are in that movie. Yes, you are in that movie.

Yeah, I'm in that movie too.

So in that movie. You are in that movie?

You once you uh you know you're doing all this press for it.

Yeah, I've been doing a lot.

No one's asking me any questions about that movie. Why do you ask me some questions about this movie? I'm in the two asked me some question about you want to ask you? Okay, okay, so let we do it. Good, Okay, I'm gonna go out. You're introduced you as a guest. Okay, just read that and you can ask me some questions. All right, you're gonna go out. Yeah, just read from that. Okay, just read that. Come on, all right, and then interview me about this movie.

Yeah, okay, okay.

Guest, wait, okay, go okay.

Wow, that's so nice.

My guest Tonight is a towering figure in comedy and icon for all Asians, a colossal acting talent who deserves his own action franchise, and my personal hero who I'm honored to even breathe the same air with.

Please welcome Ronnie Chang.

Yeah, that.

Trainers. Okay, here we go.

I prepare some questions for you in case.

Your voice acting is so realistic.

Did you go to Juilliard or something?

Oh? I'm glad you asked that. You know, I just think that sometimes with voice acting, you want to, you know, be as natural as you can. So I'm kind of proud to say I didn't have any formal training in it. I just, you know, I just think authenticity is the key to a good animal uh animation.

Yeah, yes, yes, one hundred percent that I mean. This year we saw actress take on some incredibly challenging roles with Stilian Revie or Chillian review and As Oppenheimer, Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein, and Ronnie Chang as fish in Kung Fu Panda four.

How How do you yes, yeah, keep it going, keep it going, keep it going.

How do you prepare to take on such a big role?

Well, you know, I've been kind of eating fish my whole life, so I feel like I knew what this character would really tastes like, and I kind of, you know, I channeled that into I tried to put a little bit of fishiness into you.

Live inside a Bird? Yes, and spoiler alert.

Yeah, I live in a Bird character. You know, it's actually the second marine character developed your in Kung Fu Panda franchise. Really, that's bigger, that's biggures to Uh. It's had to show on the aquatic animals and on end. But while we figured it out.

This is this is the fourth project you've done with me. How does it feel to always be below me on the call show?

You know what?

Great?

I didn't forget that what he says, all right, anyway, this is the fourth project we've done together. We have We've done so much cool stuff together. We have, yeah, done crazy occasions, We did shang together, we did Kung Fu Panda Panda. It was the other one that's you were on my show, Yeah no, from Queen's on Comedy Central Looks. I was on that. I forgot that was on that show that was on my own network. Yeah, yeah, thanks for having me on that, by the way, thank

What do you mean? I mean? I was from here?

Yeah, raised here. I love I love you know, bagels and pizza.

Oh no, but sorry, watch you, I have asked a question better. I meant, like, you know, you had your family restaurant here, right?

Oh yeah, right, yeah, my yeah, we had the first Chinese restaurant in Flushing was called Lums. It was my great grandpa, my great grandpa, Jimmy Lum came over in the nineteen forties and and then it kind of went out of business and in the eighties.

Yeah yeah, great Riagonomics.

And then.

But what was you You grew up in that restaurant?

I didn't.

I grew up in a restaurant because then they had an offshoot. After Lums closed, my grandma opened a new one. And so I grew up like in the restaurants, like I would eat that would.

Yeah, yeah, so very much in the in the in the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I ate like a scoop of MSG one time, like just like literally literally it was crazy.

It was crazy.

It's like a crazy it was not Yeah, Okay, maybe I try that some of them too. This yeah, yeah, yeah, well this this new I got. I got to spent at least something I got talked talking about this movie a little bit. You're you play a collac.

Okay, sorry, Corsack, call sack fox. You're mispronouncing it.

Is that real animal, beautiful Asian fox? Yes, you play a beautiful Asian fox in yes, yes, yeah, there you go. That's what you look at it.

Go for that.

And I don't know if I spoil it, but it's a pretty important role in this because not only are you the second lead, you know, something happens in this movie that you know, really it really will change the franchise whatever I think. Yeah, I don't know if you can talk about that, but you want, you want to. You can't say what's gonna the spoiler alert? Yeah yeah, Ok.

Well, well I think I think the movie is just this one.

I watched it a lot.

I was a fan of it, and I'm a huge fan of Jack Black, who's you know, like kind of reprising this role.

Yeah, I mean like he's he's really the real deal.

And and so I think it's now speaking to I think the adults that that kind of watched it and you know, them moving on and stuff like change and stuff like that.

Yeah, that's great. Okay. Should we kind of really lost steam in this one after Yeah, once we started being too sincere, we got lost. Yeah, okay, when we're doing the bid, it was mean to me lessons here, No, no, no, it's okay, what all this out the way? We'll go from well edit, Well, okay, i'll give you. I'll give you something for YouTube, just okay. So what was it like working with Jack Black?

It was so good?

I love.

I love I love him.

Are you really asking? We'll use it to say, we'll cut out all the stuff that's bad. Only these people will know. Yeah, okay, we'll cut out everything. We'll start an interview from here.

Yeah.

So what was it like Welcome to Jack Black?

Working with Jack Black? Is I mean, are you kidding?

No? No, I'm not. Do it. Just do the press thing so we can go home. Do the press thing, do the yeah, just say Jack Black's great, movies great, And you know, I was like, yeah, just go just go into press mode. Going to press mode. Okay, what's it like looking at Jack Black?

You know what, Ronnie?

It was so good and I and Kung Fu Panda for you, especially so good in it.

I hope we can hope we can sell a lot of stuff. Animals in that thing.

I don't know.

Because you would be interest because you have to open the whole bird's mouth.

Yeah, my stuff animal is actually like two figures in one. Yeah. Also, you know Jack Black interesting his mom. His mother was one of the women who contributed to the NASA Polo program. She coded the programs that let men go to the moon. Yeah, so you know, way to go Jack Black's mom. Not just not just the physical genius. You know, I got to meet him at the premier because I'm not famous enough to hang out with you guys in the studio.

You were in the TikTok with them, you got.

In the teich the premier. Yeah, I met him at the first at the movie premier. It was very nice.

It was nice to see you there.

Yeah, you were nice to see me there. Yeah. And he's just such a ball of energy, you know, it's like a physical genius. It's very hard to keep up with him.

Like, I mean, he's so funny.

Yeah, he's super funny, very energetic. Also a bunch of other Asians in this movie. Yes, James Hong, No, I meant that sincerely, James Hong's names home. Yeah, legend legendary James Hong. He's like ninety four. I think he's still in that.

Yes, I mean he's he We were at the grove and we went up the trolley and he and he like, I can think he was doing a bit, but he was like, oh no, there are stairs.

But then he I think he was jokingly ran up them.

Oh yeah.

He's like so sprightly, so much energy.

Yeah, yeah, unlike some presidents I know. Yeah, yeah, he's still going very strong. And when you hear his voice acting in the movie, you're like, this dude doesn't sound on you, foy or this guy sounds like you know.

I think he was the best.

I think he was the best other Asian actor other than in the movie.

Other than other than.

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah is incredible.

All Right, Okay, you know what, let's end this so we can go home. No, no, it's very good to see you, man. You'll, honestee, the best. I've known you for so long. You've always been very clearer than me. Kung Fu Panda always in theaters nationwide on Mache Everybody. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts.

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