Jay Chandrasekhar made a name for himself acting in and directing movies like Super Troopers and Beerfest with his comedy team Broken Lizard, whose most recent produced project Freeloaders came out last week. In addition to his movie work and standup, though, Chandrasekhar has guest directed episodes for a handful of critically acclaimed fan-favorite TV series including Arrested Development, Undeclared, Happy Endings, and Community, where he's directed some of the series' best episodes ("Mixology Certification") and one of the most talked-about moments (Chevy Case emitting the N-word on set).
In light of Freeloaders' DVD and online release, I talked to Jay Chandrasekhar about ensemble comedies, the difference between directing [...]
Whenever I am asked what my favorite television show of all-time is, I try to change the subject. To insult the many comedies and dramas that could make a strong case for the singular honor by not evoking its name would be tragic, and I may make a fool out of myself to the individual I'm having a conversation with by uttering the "wrong" answer and unknowingly conveying that I am a gigantic moron (human interaction is the worst.) When pressed, I used to say Community, the comedy that managed to lovingly comment on seventy years of television with clever satire and great silliness in a respectful manner while simultaneously [...]
Community creator Dan Harmon's whirlwind tour across America with his live show Harmontown is in progress, and at a show in Brooklyn last night, Harmon and guest Jason Sudeikis prank called Chevy Chase, who, like Harmon recently parted ways with the NBC sitcom that brought them together. Harmon had invited Chase to appear at the Harmontown show, explaining to the audience, "I texted him, 'I'm doing my show in Brooklyn tomorrow night; are you in New York?' and three hours later, he texted back the word country." Dan Harmon then proceeded to call Chevy Chase on speakerphone, holding his phone up to the mic. When Chase [...]
Admit it, you've always wanted to hear Chevy Chase rap. Yes, Chevy Chase released a musical comedy album back in 1980, and the self-titled record is available streaming in its entirety below, thanks to Archive.org. Believe it or not, the album's not great, and Chevy Chase's biggest contribution to music is still that song he plays on the keys when trying to woo Judge Smails's niece in Caddyshack.
The album is embedded in its entirety after jump:
Director and superest Super Trooper Jay Chandrasekhar was on Sklarbro Country today and he told a story about Chevy Chase being classic Chevy Chase during the filming of Mixology Certification:
The bits are in three parts: beginning, and move along, and payoff. … So I said, "All right, Chevy, it's time to shoot the second part of the bit," and he goes "eh, you don't need it." And I'm like, "Yeah, yeah we need it, we need it." He goes, "Nah, don't worry about it, you don't need it." And I'm like, "Yeah, well, we shot the intro, we shot the payoff, we kind of need the move-along section." He goes, [...]
