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Inspirations

What Somewhat Famous Person Was the Basis for Andy Dwyer?

by | June 19th, 2012

As part of the AV CLUB walkthrough of this season of Parks & Recreation, Michael Schur addressed where the character of Andy came from:

When I worked at Saturday Night Live, one of my bosses was Steve Higgins, who’s a producer on SNL and is now Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night announcer. Steve had several brothers, and Andy’s story is a little bit Steve’s story, which is that Steve and his brothers—all of whom are gigantic men—used to pound the crap out of each other. And even today, in their 40s and 50s, they still pound the crap out of each other. Steve used to come running into my office and scream at me—in [...]

Inspirations

Lend Me Your Beers: Amy Poehler Kills it at Harvard College Class Day

by | May 26th, 2011

Amy Poehler's Harvard Class Day speech is going to make you tear up. It will also give you the added gift of finally feeling completely free to embrace your love of Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigelow, which was actually a really solid film. In addition to letting her Boston out, Poehler does her best to confirm everything that a nervous college grad might be worried about: yes, everything you see in movies is real; if the Rock shows up, they're onto you; and perhaps most importantly, it's okay not to like Josh, because he is a straight-up weird.

Inspirations

New Muppet Walter Was Based On Michael Cera

by | November 21st, 2011

You know the new Muppet, Walter? The "sweet, simple character" who's a big fan of all the other Muppets' past Muppeting? Apparently that sweetness and simpleness was modeled after the sweetness and simpleness of one Mr. Michael Cera. Good to know. Now we can all prepare for the moment when a Muppet inspires us to feel disproportionate amounts of lust or derision (or other feelings people feel about Michael Cera? I mostly just want to punch him gently on the shoulder and go "believe in yourself!").

Inspirations

How Birds Inspired Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura

by | January 10th, 2011

Here's a clip of Jim Carrey's appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio from last Friday night. In it, he describes how he used birds as inspiration for his Ace Ventura character, and how his method and Anthony Hopkins' method in creating Hannibal Lecter were surprisingly similar.

Inspirations

Stephen Colbert's Northwestern Commencement Speech: "Life is an improvisation"

by | June 20th, 2011

In case the audience was afraid Stephen Colbert's Northwestern commencement speech would fall into the same dry, inspirational template, Stephen reassures the class of 2011, "I'm here to inspire you by talking about me." Colbert goes on to recall his undergraduate experience: Illinois winters so cold "your genitals could snap off like a graham cracker," the hassle of having to fax photos of your private parts to prospective dates, and his own graduation in 1986, where a lingering incomplete translated into him receiving a scrap of legal paper and a whispered on-stage apology from the dean, rather than an actual diploma.

But if Colbert could go back and [...]

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