I think much of this website is based on things people might be too embarrassed to talk about with their partners. That is one of the things that makes Bobcat Goldthwaits new movie, Sleeping Dogs Lie, so emotional and real. It is a story of a young newly engaged schoolteacher [played by Melinda Page Hamilton] who feels that it is time to tell her fianc her darkest secret. That nearly seven years before in college, on a whim, she gave her dog a blowjob. That secret tears her family apart creating much sadness and is also very funny at the same time.
Check out the official website for Sleeping Dogs Lie
Daniel Robert Epstein: I just got the DVD for Windy City Heat. I love that movie.
Bobcat Goldthwait: I got sucked back into the Windy City Heat wave.
DRE: Oh really? How?
BG: Well, Johnny Knoxville was on Adam Carollas radio show and told Perry [Caravello] that he was starring in Windy City Heat 2. I told Perry that Im not doing the movie without him and now Spike Jonze is set to direct it.
DRE: Did Perry ever figure out that it was a joke?
BG: He definitely knows that theres a Punkd element, that he did get pranked, but this world is still very real to Perry.
DRE: I thought I might see him in a cameo in Sleeping Dogs Lie.
Besides the dog sex, did any of this movie come out of personal experience?
BG: Yeah, I didnt have a relationship with a woman who blew a dog but most of the characters are based on people I know.
DRE: As a stand up comedian you were always very honest and this seems like an outgrowth of that.
BG: Thanks. The journalist that was in here before you asked me, Are you Ed? Then I realized, Yeah, I guess so. I am Ed. But I also think Im the other character, John, sometimes. What interests me is making people feel uncomfortable with honestly.
DRE: Do you believe in total honesty in a relationship?
BG: No, the message of the movie is that honesty is overrated and I think that in order to be kind you shouldnt burden other people with stuff you do all by yourself. [laughs] I think it makes people feel better sometimes but I think it might make the person confessing feel better but then this other person now has this weird image of you.
DRE: Weve seen a lot of your weirder or embarrassing moments on TV and in movies. Is there much left for you?
BG: [Choking laughter] I dont know. There is stuff in my act where I say something that was really honest about myself that made everyone uncomfortable and those would be the bits I really liked, that I couldnt wait to get to.
DRE: Sometimes those times didnt pan out for you.
BG: Well, no [laughs]. Sometimes it was like, Hey, you ever notice when you? Everyone was like, No man. Youre all alone on that one. That would be bad times.
DRE: [laughs] I spoke to Brian Posehn a few weeks ago about his album and he said this movie was the most low budget thing hes ever worked on.
BG: Yeah, this is about as ghetto as you can get. [laughs]
DRE: Was that the only way you could get this movie made?
BG: Yeah, we shot this in 16 days, using all our friends and we got the crew from Craigs List. We were breaking and entering and all that stuff. I didnt send this script out to many places. I had a manager at the time who said, Im not sending this script out because Im afraid of what people are going to think of your mental health.
DRE: Yeah but it has such emotion in it. I thought it was going to be funnier than it was, but it was so real. The best scene is when the two main characters are driving away from the parents house with the dog in between them.
BG: That was the scene that I would use when I was trying to pitch the movie to friends.
DRE: I thought it was amazing but I love being made uncomfortable [laughs].
I never see Jack Plotnick in dramatic roles.
BG: I didnt even know Jack too much from stuff. Everybody auditioned for that role and in the auditions after they would smoke meth they would turn into werewolves. All the people that auditioned for that role outside of Jack perceived that character as a villain because he was on drugs but I never saw him that way. I always saw him as super sad. Jack came in after the auditions were completely over and the casting people had gone home and the video camera was gone. Hes about an hour late and he goes, Hey, can I audition? I was like, Ok. He was great because he was so sad when he auditioned.
DRE: Was it important for Melinda to be as beautiful as she is? If she was really ugly people would be like, Oh well, she blew a dog, so what.
BG: [laughs] Yeah, she looks like a dog sucker. She had to be perfect and I hope that people will see how she comes off.
DRE: What did she read in her audition?
BG: She auditioned with the scene in the car where she tells him her secret. I was really frightened that she wasnt going to do the movie because when I saw her do that, she was a million things all at once. It was funny and it was sad. I was nervous that an agent or somebody like that would have talked her out of it. Or Brian Posehn would have got to her and said, Listen, this thing is so low budget. [laughs]
DRE: Windy City Heat was shot on video.
BG: Yes except the actual movie is shot on Super 16.
DRE: How did you like shooting Sleeping Dogs Lie on video?
BG: I like the idea that you can really make a movie equivalent to the way you can make a play. I know that eventually everything will be done on tape but I hope I can make another movie on film.
DRE: Was Tom Kenny just not available for this?
BG: [laughs] I almost had him come in. Since he wasnt in it, I felt weird. But I almost had him come in and do the voices for the TV shows they were watching.
DRE: Then you would have to pay that real voiceover money [laughs].
BG: [laughs] But that doesnt mean that were not going to keep working together. In fact, thats what I said to him the other night at the premiere. Im like, Alright, now we got to go make a movie. On the new Spongebob CD, he and Andy Paley did all the comedy and music on it. I hope Tom took me seriously because I was like, Ok, lets go write something.
DRE: What inspired this script?
BG: I know it sounds so pretentious and Id have to dope slap me if I heard me saying it but I think it was the premise of unconditional love. It was hard to come up with something that a guy couldnt get past. But I also needed something that was that another person wasnt involved in because then that other person would have to be addressed. I just wanted to make sure there was no emotional attachment.
DRE: Were you already visualizing how you were going to shoot scenes as you were writing it?
BG: The majority of the script had no stage direction but that first scene is the most specific Ive ever been. In fact, it was dirtier and I had no intentions of even shooting it dirtier but I wanted to scare away anybody who would have a problem with what we were doing. So the first couple of pages were actually dirtier and then I just took out the stuff that made it that dirty and Melinda was like, Phew. [laughs] She was very glad.
DRE: I remember in your standup act years ago you said, You know, Im going to be 50 years old doing a Police Academy 30 or something like that and now theyre talking about doing a new Police Academy one.
BG: Eight.
DRE: I read Hugh Wilson might be doing it.
BG: Oh really? Wow. Maybe itll be the prequel. Maybe itll be like George Lucas and it will be shot on tape [laughs].
DRE: Youre probably going to get a call just to see if you want a do a cameo. Any interest?
BG: You know what, if you had asked me that even a few months ago, Id say, No way. But if something like that ever did happen and I didnt show up then I would be kind of an asshole. Anybody thats actually really into Police Academy, would think, What is he? An artist or something? Its like when the Brady Bunch gets together and Marsha holds out.
DRE: I just heard that Crank Yankers is coming back and it will be on MTV2. Will you be directing anymore of that?
BG: Yeah, Crank Yankers is coming back and Jimmy [Kimmel] and I had already talked about me going back and directing. Im still in Kimmelot. Jimmys the don and were all just sucked into it.
DRE: Do you ever want to do standup again?
BG: No, I dont have any desire to go back and do standup but Id like to keep making movies. Hopefully Shakes [the Clown] and Windy City Heat and this movie are all different so I want to keep doing. I really would love to go, Ok, now Im doing my war picture or now Im doing a musical. Im sure they would have my spin.
DRE: I think with this movie we really know your spin. You do really weird movies.
BG: Right. For a war picture I want to do a really gritty, WWII epic but use all kittens and cats. So theres like a Hitler kitten. [laughs] Siamese cats over Pearl Harbor. Just this huge epic with all these kittens.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official website for Sleeping Dogs Lie
Daniel Robert Epstein: I just got the DVD for Windy City Heat. I love that movie.
Bobcat Goldthwait: I got sucked back into the Windy City Heat wave.
DRE: Oh really? How?
BG: Well, Johnny Knoxville was on Adam Carollas radio show and told Perry [Caravello] that he was starring in Windy City Heat 2. I told Perry that Im not doing the movie without him and now Spike Jonze is set to direct it.
DRE: Did Perry ever figure out that it was a joke?
BG: He definitely knows that theres a Punkd element, that he did get pranked, but this world is still very real to Perry.
DRE: I thought I might see him in a cameo in Sleeping Dogs Lie.
Besides the dog sex, did any of this movie come out of personal experience?
BG: Yeah, I didnt have a relationship with a woman who blew a dog but most of the characters are based on people I know.
DRE: As a stand up comedian you were always very honest and this seems like an outgrowth of that.
BG: Thanks. The journalist that was in here before you asked me, Are you Ed? Then I realized, Yeah, I guess so. I am Ed. But I also think Im the other character, John, sometimes. What interests me is making people feel uncomfortable with honestly.
DRE: Do you believe in total honesty in a relationship?
BG: No, the message of the movie is that honesty is overrated and I think that in order to be kind you shouldnt burden other people with stuff you do all by yourself. [laughs] I think it makes people feel better sometimes but I think it might make the person confessing feel better but then this other person now has this weird image of you.
DRE: Weve seen a lot of your weirder or embarrassing moments on TV and in movies. Is there much left for you?
BG: [Choking laughter] I dont know. There is stuff in my act where I say something that was really honest about myself that made everyone uncomfortable and those would be the bits I really liked, that I couldnt wait to get to.
DRE: Sometimes those times didnt pan out for you.
BG: Well, no [laughs]. Sometimes it was like, Hey, you ever notice when you? Everyone was like, No man. Youre all alone on that one. That would be bad times.
DRE: [laughs] I spoke to Brian Posehn a few weeks ago about his album and he said this movie was the most low budget thing hes ever worked on.
BG: Yeah, this is about as ghetto as you can get. [laughs]
DRE: Was that the only way you could get this movie made?
BG: Yeah, we shot this in 16 days, using all our friends and we got the crew from Craigs List. We were breaking and entering and all that stuff. I didnt send this script out to many places. I had a manager at the time who said, Im not sending this script out because Im afraid of what people are going to think of your mental health.
DRE: Yeah but it has such emotion in it. I thought it was going to be funnier than it was, but it was so real. The best scene is when the two main characters are driving away from the parents house with the dog in between them.
BG: That was the scene that I would use when I was trying to pitch the movie to friends.
DRE: I thought it was amazing but I love being made uncomfortable [laughs].
I never see Jack Plotnick in dramatic roles.
BG: I didnt even know Jack too much from stuff. Everybody auditioned for that role and in the auditions after they would smoke meth they would turn into werewolves. All the people that auditioned for that role outside of Jack perceived that character as a villain because he was on drugs but I never saw him that way. I always saw him as super sad. Jack came in after the auditions were completely over and the casting people had gone home and the video camera was gone. Hes about an hour late and he goes, Hey, can I audition? I was like, Ok. He was great because he was so sad when he auditioned.
DRE: Was it important for Melinda to be as beautiful as she is? If she was really ugly people would be like, Oh well, she blew a dog, so what.
BG: [laughs] Yeah, she looks like a dog sucker. She had to be perfect and I hope that people will see how she comes off.
DRE: What did she read in her audition?
BG: She auditioned with the scene in the car where she tells him her secret. I was really frightened that she wasnt going to do the movie because when I saw her do that, she was a million things all at once. It was funny and it was sad. I was nervous that an agent or somebody like that would have talked her out of it. Or Brian Posehn would have got to her and said, Listen, this thing is so low budget. [laughs]
DRE: Windy City Heat was shot on video.
BG: Yes except the actual movie is shot on Super 16.
DRE: How did you like shooting Sleeping Dogs Lie on video?
BG: I like the idea that you can really make a movie equivalent to the way you can make a play. I know that eventually everything will be done on tape but I hope I can make another movie on film.
DRE: Was Tom Kenny just not available for this?
BG: [laughs] I almost had him come in. Since he wasnt in it, I felt weird. But I almost had him come in and do the voices for the TV shows they were watching.
DRE: Then you would have to pay that real voiceover money [laughs].
BG: [laughs] But that doesnt mean that were not going to keep working together. In fact, thats what I said to him the other night at the premiere. Im like, Alright, now we got to go make a movie. On the new Spongebob CD, he and Andy Paley did all the comedy and music on it. I hope Tom took me seriously because I was like, Ok, lets go write something.
DRE: What inspired this script?
BG: I know it sounds so pretentious and Id have to dope slap me if I heard me saying it but I think it was the premise of unconditional love. It was hard to come up with something that a guy couldnt get past. But I also needed something that was that another person wasnt involved in because then that other person would have to be addressed. I just wanted to make sure there was no emotional attachment.
DRE: Were you already visualizing how you were going to shoot scenes as you were writing it?
BG: The majority of the script had no stage direction but that first scene is the most specific Ive ever been. In fact, it was dirtier and I had no intentions of even shooting it dirtier but I wanted to scare away anybody who would have a problem with what we were doing. So the first couple of pages were actually dirtier and then I just took out the stuff that made it that dirty and Melinda was like, Phew. [laughs] She was very glad.
DRE: I remember in your standup act years ago you said, You know, Im going to be 50 years old doing a Police Academy 30 or something like that and now theyre talking about doing a new Police Academy one.
BG: Eight.
DRE: I read Hugh Wilson might be doing it.
BG: Oh really? Wow. Maybe itll be the prequel. Maybe itll be like George Lucas and it will be shot on tape [laughs].
DRE: Youre probably going to get a call just to see if you want a do a cameo. Any interest?
BG: You know what, if you had asked me that even a few months ago, Id say, No way. But if something like that ever did happen and I didnt show up then I would be kind of an asshole. Anybody thats actually really into Police Academy, would think, What is he? An artist or something? Its like when the Brady Bunch gets together and Marsha holds out.
DRE: I just heard that Crank Yankers is coming back and it will be on MTV2. Will you be directing anymore of that?
BG: Yeah, Crank Yankers is coming back and Jimmy [Kimmel] and I had already talked about me going back and directing. Im still in Kimmelot. Jimmys the don and were all just sucked into it.
DRE: Do you ever want to do standup again?
BG: No, I dont have any desire to go back and do standup but Id like to keep making movies. Hopefully Shakes [the Clown] and Windy City Heat and this movie are all different so I want to keep doing. I really would love to go, Ok, now Im doing my war picture or now Im doing a musical. Im sure they would have my spin.
DRE: I think with this movie we really know your spin. You do really weird movies.
BG: Right. For a war picture I want to do a really gritty, WWII epic but use all kittens and cats. So theres like a Hitler kitten. [laughs] Siamese cats over Pearl Harbor. Just this huge epic with all these kittens.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
That's one hell of a whim though.