Paula Pell

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Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hanks. So excited about our guest today.

It is Paula Pell. The great performer, writer, actress.

She wrote a lesson. Now you may have seen her in AP bio and girls 5 evo and the burbs out. Now, um, but uh, Paula and I have loved and known each other for a very long time and we are going to talk

“about so much good stuff. We're going to talk about how fun it is to harmonize.”

We're going to talk about Paula's years performing at Disney's Pleasure Island. And we're going to talk about how she really enjoys writing joyful losers and how that got her through some real, um, complicated times at SNL. So we are going to get into it. But before we do, there's so many people that want to talk about how great Paula is. I could interview 12 of them right now. But we have someone who is kind of a new friend and a new

fan of Paula's and who is working with her currently now in a new film. And that person is Kimberly Diane Kardashian. Otherwise known as Kim Kardashian. Kim Kim Kardashian. Can you hear me? This episode is presented by Hilton. Guys, you know what vacation perfectionism is. It's the pressure to get your family's summer vacation booked and make it perfect and memorable. Stressful, right?

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So you'll definitely find the stay that you're looking for. When you want your summer vacation if you feel like a vacation, it matters where you stay. Book now at Hilton.com. Hilton for the stay. Hi, Kim. Nice to see you. It's really nice to see you. Thank you so much for doing this on a Saturday. Of course. I just left the gym. So I look a little bit of a mask, but it is what it is. What did you do when you're workout? I do a strength training. So I have like crazy body

builder trainer and we do lots of like today we did lower body. So squats and walking lunges. I'm feeling you because I know I have to up my weight stuff for like bone density. Do you ever get a dex dex dex dex dex de scan? No, tell me about it. I actually know a portable dex de scan. Or sit and that comes in a van and you lay down and each one of my sisters and my mom, we all live in the same gated community. So we have the van drive by and we all jump in the van

and you just lay down and it scans your body maybe like three minutes and it tells you all about your bone density. Ooh, I love that, you know, over we do it once a year and just to make sure that you're still got to go in on and you still have all of the bone density that is necessary. I mean, it feels like something that our moms did not know about or talk about at all. I know. I feel like routine intake. I know. There's so much stuff that we have to now take.

It's a lot. Supplements. I take probably 35 supplement day. Kimmer. I spread them out three times a day and I thought, okay, I can't do this fish oil right now. Like any more. I have like pillow fatigue. I have to stop these fish oil and I got my blood work and it was so evident that I stopped and I had to start again. But it is tough to take fish oil because when you take it, you, you like taste it for a long time. Hells are just so big. I know. I wish there was like an

easy trip. I could do every day and I would just do it on my way to work. I'm sure there is a port of another guy in a van who can follow your course. Well, you are on your way to work on the fifth wheel, which is the movie that you're in starring in that Paula Bell Road. And I'm so, I was, thank you so much for talking about her today because to me, people that love Paula are people that love comedy. I have been fascinated by the comedy world and the people that I've

text back just genius. Yes. It just, how we met was so funny and it was so quick and fast and

“it was maybe a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago that we're filming a movie that we had”

an idea like the first time we spoke and it was really crazy that someone wanted to connect us and

thought this would be a really fun project. Would you guys ever want to Kim, would you want to do a comedy in Paula, would you want to write it? And we got on the phone and she hung up called right back within an hour with the whole idea. Wow and she's incredible. We had the funniest day yesterday on set. What happened? So it's like Nikki Glaser, Fortune, Feemstone, I and this one scene and I won't say what's going on, but Kristen Wig is doing something. Perfect. Oh, funny. Perfect. And we're

supposed to be laughing and reacting. I couldn't control myself. Like almost peed my pants. Like

“just every single time just being in a room with people that you want to be professional, you”

want to get the job done and you just can't control yourself because it's so funny. I can tell

you are a big comedy fan. I've now gotten to meet some of the people that I've always looked up to

and thought were so amazing and it's just such a community where everyone supports each other so much. And I experienced that from the first time when I hosted SNL, it was like this group chat of so many comedians trying to help with my bit and with my my monologue. And it was so fascinating just to see everyone's minds and to see how supportive everyone was and showed up that night when I was doing that and rooting for like everyone genuinely roots for each other. And I've never

seen that kind of connection and bond in any other genre and the entertainment business. Okay, so you said you had a couple questions for Paula today. What are your thoughts for what we should ask her? I wanted to know when she was coming up with this idea for this film, is this everything that she thought it would be? To me it feels like one of those magical, like there's a little extra magic in it that like we all knew and I think this is how it was envisioned, but

I feel like there's just a little extra fairy dust over this, um, projects and it feels really good and does she feel that fairy dust too. And why is it important to you to ask that question to her? Why why do you want her to why do you wonder if she's feeling that too? Because it's such a exciting time and an exciting feeling and it just feels like I just want to know if she feels the same way that I feel about it because I am really excited and passionate about it. And um,

I don't know, maybe this maybe she's so accomplished and there's so many projects and this is just

“one of those and like I think the exact opposite, like I think the best thing about Paula is that she”

has this, she creates momentum, she has energy, which is what like you're talking about, you as you know, you need to get stuff started. But she also, I think one of the best things about her is she doesn't forget the people in any process, like people are as important to her as outcome and she's a people person, you know, she really wants to connect in that way, like with through the stuff that she makes and so that magic-y sparkly stuff that you're feeling among each other,

like I think that's kind of if I was to say something about her, like she is, I think she loves that stuff. I think that's why she's still doing it. Yeah, yeah. I just like I hope she feels the magic

because I feel it. And then anything else? I always wanted to know, is there ever someone that you just

can't control yourself, you just see them in action and you just can't stop laughing, like you physically can't get through a scene or something because you find them so hysterical. And I love, I love watching SNL and when you're trying to get through, you know, a bit and you just they break and they just start laughing like to me, that's when I really start laughing because I can feel how much fun it is and I can see that they're having such a hard time getting through it because they

like I said, when we started, I feel like anybody who loves Paul's comedy to me means that they

“know comedy. So I really, really means a lot that you got on a Zoom today. Thank you. Of course, of course.”

She's going to be so thrilled and excited that we talked. Okay, thanks so much. I'll find this weekend. Thank you. Nice talking to you. Bye. This episode is brought to you by visible us, spring is in the air, which means it's time for

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“Paula Pell. Fantastic. Thank you. I got a full denim suit on. Is that?”

Ooh, you're powerless. Be in mental health. Paula, you're probably one of the guests that we've

talked about the most with other guests. Well, I was thinking today about us talking. I was like, oh, we've brought up. I mean, I'm so lucky that we just get to talk to our friends on this. Um, it's the dream job, isn't it? It is. It's a dream job. And the hours. And wouldn't it be fun to have two people doing it? You know, two blondes. It could be called two blondes having a good hang. I mean, I'm not trying to infiltrate your good, your good thing.

Um, but no, it will talk. We've talked about what we've talked to you on the Onigastar episode. You very nicely gave it on a question. Thank you for that. And I feel like anybody who knows comedy knows you. Anybody who is paying attention to who has done what over the past 25 years they know you. And I just want to say, I want to start by saying something I say to people all the time, which is Paul Apel is the funniest people's favorite person. And you are often in a room of hugely

funny people. You're usually the funniest. I'm very competitive. I know I like that. I like you are a little competitive. I like that. And um, and in a good way. And also anybody who likes you and likes your comedy to me is like an indicator that they know comedy. You know, it's really nice to hang me. Well, it's true, Paul. Because you know, you're going to pretend to drink. Okay. Pretend to bear us about that. I, um, what do you got going on in there? Delicious water. Los Angeles water.

You can taste the tap. I really appreciate that. I love, I love cracking up hard to crack up people.

That was always our fun. And obviously with Lauren, I used to like to,

I like breaking through someone who's tough, a tough, like someone's like, I'm a hard, like, hard to amuse me. I love to find the, the little crack. You do anything. You want to keep

“working it. And that's why, like, with, like, especially, like quote unquote, like, alphas,”

you're really, really good at getting them to laugh. Getting, well, I was new a few times when I was little in school. And I hated people that were on immediately when they were new of like, "Hi, I'm so, so, yeah, what do you like?" Oh, I like this to it. My biggest fear was that I would be that kind of person. And so, because I never, like, inauthentic love coming towards me, I don't like when people are, you know, I, I just like to believe that it's, it's real.

That it's not going to hurt me on the other, or they're making fun of me or something. Yeah. Answering your question that I created in my head. Yeah, I did I ask when you didn't, but it's, that feeling, like, with Lauren is, is just, like, I want to feel more comfortable with him. So, I'm going to sit on him. Yeah. Which is what I used to do. I was going to talk about this later, but let's talk about it now. You can talk about it later. You used to go, this is three hours,

yeah, you did, you did me contractually, because I said, I'm not driving over here, not getting on the 405 for an hour. I know how fast that goes. Well, we all know the pods. Well, I know it's important. Um, you're a mid, you could, do you consider yourself a Midwest girl,

what, what are they like? A pleasant liar, a deep liar. Just like Southern women,

Midwestern women usually are big liars, and they, my grandma used to always go to,

she'd love to go have a little diner food with me, and I would take her to the pine cone and, over by the inner state, unless I'll prove, and she would start eating a soup, and I have a big Midwestern's love soup to Midwestern women, and she's, oh, and is this soup ever? Good. Oh, and how? Oh, I love this soup. Oh, God. And then the guy would come by this soup is fantastic. She would talk about the soup, and then as we're walking out, she would go, I didn't care for that soup.

And I would look at her like, why the fuck do you talk? I didn't say why the fuck tour.

“But I'm like, why didn't you just tell me you didn't like the soup and get a different soup?”

Oh, I'm not going to do that. You know, I came from that kind of people that you don't tell the truth because that's not, and what I like about it is based on kindness that you don't want to hurt people's feelings. But yes, you grew up where specifically for most Julia. Yeah, Julia. And for people who don't know, Julia, Illinois, what's that, what's that town like? I haven't been there in a long, long time. I know they have a casino. I haven't been there since

they have a casino, which really revived, I think, revived of Julia. But it was, you know, kind of a suburban town outside of Chicago, probably about 45 minutes outside of Chicago. And there's a prison nearby.

So my quest was always like, you know, where are you from? Julia, not the prison. I always had it

loaded up. Was that was the Julia prison where Lou's brothers? Are they going to Julia?

“So Julia Jake was Acroid's name, I think, in Blues Brothers. Right. Right. And when I came”

into my meeting with Lauren, he said, so where are you from? Or he said, tell me about your yourself. And I said, well, I'm from Julia. And he said, whether that's true or not. And he thought I was doing a Julia Jake reference, maybe. And I didn't even know as name was Julia Jake at the time. And I was like, what is true? I mean, I'll have to send them some proof of that. It's been really raking me over the calls. Yeah, that's a little bit of a

mind-fuck to be like, nice try when she's trying. And it isn't even anything that you thought you were snowing a man. But we've talked about this a lot. And I love this. And I'm curious now is we're getting older. If like you, you always say that you felt as, and I know from you letting me read your journals. I've got to read Polish journals. And um, is you always felt kind of like wiser than your years as a young person. I was a very caretaker. I always say born at 50,

very, I remember I started my period at nine. And I remember telling all my friends how it works. And like how to put it, you know, how to put a pad on and how to, and they gather around me, like I was like, Julian Anderson's son of music. And I'd be, let's start at the very big. There's a string and an applicator. And I just would always have the, the end of like, I'm an older,

yeah. And I had an older sister who taught me to read. Patty was like incredible. She always

was very nurturing to me. But to them, to my friends, I was the wise one. I had a very old soul.

“And I think it was because it was withering from lack of any sexual interest from anyone. So”

I, by the time I was 15, I was like, well, I'll never be touched. So I, um, but I was also silently and quietly looking at women and feeling like you grew up in. So you grew up in the 80s, you were, you were lesbian, you knew it, but you couldn't. I knew it, but I didn't really know it in quotes until I was just out of high school. And so my best friend and I were basically madly in love with each other. And we ended up always like sleeping over each other's house

during the week for the last couple of years of high school in the same bed. Like just, it was a very Florida high school was like so affectionate. Like in the public school. And I came from like a Catholic girl school that was so not. I mean, we hug each other if, you know, somebody died or something. But it was just like, or if you had something on your coat, you know, let me do that and get it off. But like it was, I got to Florida. I was like, what is going on? Why is everyone hugging each other?

And, but it was perfect for a closet lesbian because we go to like a choir trip and we'd be just like, you know, 69 each other in the bus just sleeping. Like I'm sleeping on our ankles and she's sleeping on my ankle. So it's just, but we didn't know at the time. We did know, but we didn't know. It was like your your soul knows, but yeah, are not saying it. You're not acknowledging it. And then

drunken fights. We drink like a lot of white line and big football cups. And we'd be like,

I don't know. What do you want? What have I do? And it was just like fights. And then it was like, and then it just the world broke up. And then I was like, but it was like, well, you couldn't do that.

“That's what I was going to say is I think people didn't don't really remember or understand that”

in our generation. I mean, I had, I had no openly gay students in my high school, not one, not one, not even the super gay ones, like the super gay guys where you're like, there is no doubt. Like I was saying to my kids, there was no gay and lesbian alliance in my high school. Oh, hell no. There was no openly gay teachers or students. Everything was, you know, nothing was spoken of. And it was this time where you really did have to live

this secret double life that you could not share with most people that you loved. And I mean, the most heartbreaking thing about it was that when we went to college and we ended up together for a few years in college and then there was a big heartbreak, the most heartbreaking thing is to go home and not be able to be heartbroken young person within front of your family.

“Yeah. So you have to manipulate all the reason your heart broke kind of like, oh,”

she's gone away to school and I'm not, and it's just I miss, I'm having a friend. I miss someone to hang around with and go troll for dick. You have to like, you just have to fake it, you don't get the aftercare heartbreaking because you just want to look at your, oh, I'm crying already guys. This is supposed to be lighthearted, right? But like you want to look at

your mom and go like, yes, it's my first time I have my heart broken, you know, and my parents were

very kind sweet, wonderful supportive people. And at the time, if I would have had the balls to do it, I could have maybe explained it to them and they would have been loving to me. And you know, I know your family so well, and you know, you talk about your sister and your parents, you come from such a funny like your parents are hilarious. Yes. Your sister's hilarious. You guys tease each other.

“You love a good joke. Like comedy was so important to you. No, growing up. All of them. My father is”

truly genuinely like in his next life will be a comedy writer. He is a comedy writer. Like he is still. He's 87. And he is still so ungodly funny. My mother was having gastro problems recently, even she got really sick. And I said, texted my dad and I said, um, uh, she's still having diarrhea. And he said, not since Saturday in spelled it, T-U-R-D. Saturday. Like immediately, but he does it. He does it without being desperate for you to laugh. Sure. Sure. Sure.

Just does it in ways. And that's you, too. I also have a really good skill of freezing and pretending I'm freezing. You want me to do it? Yeah. Okay. I'll just do it while we're talking. Okay. So I know that there was a lot of musical theater that you were into and yes, I love. [laughter] You know, the reason I had those stuff is that I was just joking on my spot during the pandemic.

I used to do it all the time on zooms. And it, and I would go so long and just be, but like, you know, it has to be in the middle of something. You can't just like, yeah, sure. So it's just like, when you, people are going to think they're YouTube and they'll be like, no, I'm going to watch that later. You were a musical theater. Like, you were doing all your plays in high school. You were like, I want to be a performer. Like, did you know anyone that was an actor? Did you think

that was going to be your job? One of my biggest gifts in life was I grew up in the Midwest where I had a little teeny Catholic high school. They had the most glorious theater music departments.

Always. All my schools always had the most glorious. And nobody had money. It wasn't like these

rich schools at all. And I was in full with orchestra, Oklahoma when I was like in fifth grade. Full orchestra music man. We're like a full band comes in at the end with 76 drum, but like, but really talented people. But like, and when I was in eighth grade, infamously with all my friends, I was Mother Superior born at 50 Mother Superior in Sunday Music. And I have video and like many photos of me looking into the shaft of light. Like Maria,

who shall be lead fourth with peace, and it's like my pubs have not come in. And I'm like the all of this woman, all of this fucking woman. And I'm looking like this earthy matron just singing

areas for sure. But you're too, you low sex too much. I can't do it. You can't. I should have done

“the non thing a way that I did. He says to Christine, she's not a sister anymore.”

Wait, you're going to try to drink that like a cat. You claim you claim that you're an alto, but I, are you, you're not an alto? I'm an alto, and then I can do like soprano as a joke voice. I was talking on about on a guest, I were about this. At some point, what is joke voice? Like joke voice is voice. Like, you know, well, I mean, when you sing high, like, alto, I'm a big blender. I love harmony. I love harmonizing those new things where you can go in just for the

day harmonize with a bunch of people. I weep when I watch them. Like, where you can go in different cities, and they have that group that you learn it in one day, and then you go, and they're all singing like the song from rent, and everyone is just walking around with their parts, and they're singing. That's my joy of all like I grew up with a lot of choirs, a lot of show choirs, a lot of groups, and I love to harmonize. So when I did girls five out of it, and I was with these like

insane singers, like Sarah Borrell, and Renee Gullsberg, and then busy Phillips was a great singer, like secretly, and then we would sing. It was just like two blend and sing with them. What have you been listening to lately? I'll just every so often I'll listen to, you know,

listen to company because I did a parody of that. Let's talk about that for a second.

Like we're all over the place, but it doesn't matter. You did a documentary now. For people who don't know, documentary now was a bunch of fake documentaries that Bill Hader and Fred Armeson and Seth Meyers did brilliantly did in Jamalini, was in some in wrote some, and there was a very famous one based off of the film and musical company, The Making of the Broadway album. Yes. And you guys did one called co-op. Co-op the musical, and it was a

of the era. We were in that era, and I was in a lane-strich type, and it was based on an actual documentary that was very iconic black and white documentary about the night that they recorded

company cast album, which was a hot mess, but then it turned out incredible. And I listened to that,

and when I got to do that with them, because they were all fictional songs, but like, Sunheim actually heard them and talked to Melania about them, and I was like, I love you know, because it was

“he did. Yeah, he went to some screening of it, and then talked to them, and they all, I think,”

Matt him. Like kind of he kind of gave his blessing. Like these are good. He gave his blessing, because they were such well-done songs, Eli Bolin was so good at writing the music, and they're so funny. And you know Seth wrote some of those songs, but they're they're all so funny, and just I just love being able to sing and emote at the same time. Like any musicals that I grew up with, I loved the ones that you could just be in them, you know, one of my favorites.

I'm not going to, I know you probably do have to pay for songs. Well, I mean, I feel like we should do what we used to call it as no a sound. Let's do a sound. But but you can sing like this, the song losing my mind from follies. It's like, it's those kind of songs that like lies in Manalee, would, so can you sing the sing part of it, the real thing, and then show people what a sound I like would be. It's the, it's one of the saddest songs on earth. The sun comes up. I think about you,

“the coffee cup. I think about you. You said you loved me or were you just being kind?”

Or am I losing my mind? Good shot. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Okay, now can we get a sound to like, yeah, so if we were in a format and then they were like, we can't do that. You're going to have to do, so it would be like, when I wake up, you're in my mind. When I wake up, you're not here. My heart's cracking. You're in my mind. We're just just off enough. Okay, Florida, affectionate Florida, you get there as a high schooler. You go to Disney. Yes. You work at Disney. I work at Disney.

How did you get the job at Disney, which is a job? Everyone must want. I got my degree in theater. I left University of Tennessee because I barely finished. I didn't finish. Okay, but that's really interesting because you're such a good student and you're so smart and studious.

wrote at SNL for 20 years and wrote every funny thing you've ever seen. He and I were classmates

“and we were gay and we used to go the gay bars and dance all night and then we would do plays constantly”

that were rehearsed all night and then we would have like a seven o'clock biology class in the

morning and it was no parking. So I was always making up in completes all the time and my parents

came from my graduation and I looked from my final. I went to the Hall of Science to look at my final my final grade the night before they all got there with my grandparents and everything and it was an F and I called James crying and it was pouring rain in a phone booth and he goes call the teacher. It's 11 o'clock in night, but call the teacher and I just blabbered and he ended up giving me like a deer a sea and I could graduate. I had to write a paper that night had no sleep the night

before my graduation. I wrote a paper called that I still look for in boxes called plagiarized 100

“percent of a bunch of stuff cobbled together on micro-efficient and it was called Galileo the courage”

to wonder. And I came up with this theory because I read one line that he said he had a fraught relationship with his dad or something and I was like and it was just all about his internal world with his father and all this shit. Oh my god Paul, I did not know that that you graduated

by the skinny teeth would never have guessed that. But I got to I got to Florida, you know,

was broke as hell. A lot of my friends went to New York like James to have the dream and I went back to Florida and then they built plagiarized and it was this night time crazy 80s giant like phallic island of clubs for the adults. It was brilliant. It's like your kids are here and you're sick of them and you want to go out and let it rip and get drunk with your wife and make out and every night was New Year's Eve. So every night at like right before midnight all the drunks from

all the clubs and the theaters and the comedy warehouse which was improv all of them came out and then there'd be these hot dancers and then they'd have confetti they'd do a big countdown. It was like time square and it was so 80s and so good. And so I ended up being in the original cast of the adventurers club. So I was Amelia Perkins once again, a matron, a comedy matron. I was 22. Amelia Perkins, the president of the Adventurers Club. Kondalush!

Oh, the other fun thing about plagiarized island was all these guys would come. Now this is when

after I got my heart broken I wanted to have a baby and it was like never really been with a man.

I've been a little bit here and there. A little sneaky wiki, whatever. Touchy, wiki, wiki, wiki but like nothing. Yeah. Haven't had the full girth. Right. And so I was like, you know, maybe I need to go down penis avenues. So I at that club they'd let the employees

“party after work. Oh my god, that's what I was supposed to do. Yeah. So when the club would close,”

we had like at least an hour and a half to go to these other great bars right there. So we'd be with these cute ass boys and we'd just be like, you know, a bunch of cute brats or cute, like Irish boy and now I looked literally like beer. You know, like, I mean, I had like a bouffat and I'm like, you want to meet us over at the thing and then I would go in the bathroom and I would like blow up my long hair. I take off my hair and I put a bunch of makeup. I'd come out. I was

still fat. But I would put all the other stuff on, bring the eye up, put earrings, lots of stuff up here. Look at me up here. And and and then I'd chop and then I start fooling around with these guys that were like these fun like they're to have fun. And they were like, she's so cool. She's doesn't even really seem into me. I'm like silly. And I would fall around and nothing's stuck. Yeah, except the seam and no, I'm kidding. But like nothing, you know, yeah. And so Disney was like,

I felt like a training ground for you. Yeah, Disney was every night. You got to have a large group of people laugh at what you did. Even if it was like stupid that night or you weren't feeling it or you weren't, it's that energy that we all love that we loved it us now, that we all crave since we were little, that we do stick in front of our parents on a couch. You got to hear humans look at you and go, oh, she's really fun. She's they'd laugh at you. And then I went over to work at Murder She-Rot,

the post production show during the day. For my next job, I moved out of Disney and I just did

some of it. You're an editor and it was all about the making a Murder She-Rot. And I would talk

to Jessica Fletcher on the screen. So I'd go, you know, it was all time. So it was like fake, but, you know,

“she'd come and go, oh dear, I think we're going to do this episode you met. We better go,”

there's murders. And I go, I know Jessica, well, we're going to make sure that we're going to and you'd have to talk in one day. I was so hungover that I looked up at her. And I went, let's see what big I said, big ol' Jessica. I go, let's see what big ol' Jessica has to say. And then I turned like this and it was just like, I could not stop laughing like my whole, I missed like three cues. So she was just talking with like 10 seconds in between because I was just

hanging over church signals this. So that felt like it's where I got my SNL job.

Okay, so that how do you go from talking to Jessica Fletcher to get auditioned for SNL? Because I, that year, all those talented people that worked for Zach Theatre that also performed at Disney were great writers, great performers. And they had a theater. And I would go and do characters

“at the theater sometimes on sketch night. I wasn't an improviser. I was, you know, I never really”

have had improv training ever in my life except theater. Yeah. And every day at Disney. That's true. So I did these characters. And then that got to SNL. Wow. And then I'm sitting in the dressing, I mean, green room with all the people that worked at murder, she wrote post-production. And I was sitting there waiting for the next, them to load the next audience. And everything was accorded, phone, of course. It was like somebody's calling you and I answered the fun.

It was my local agent that I had done commercials for and stuff. And she was like, are you sitting down? And I said, yeah. And she said, Lauren Michaels wants you to come to New York and meet him. And I was like, what is it? Like, is it an audition? Because I mean, spent my whole life, you know, tape recording SNL, doing Rosanna, Santa Dan and high school for my school of assemblies. Like, I was so SNL. And they were like, no, it's not an audition. What is it? And I just

got off the phone and they flew me there that week for two nights or one night. And I just got there and was terrified. And I went in and he was like two hours late. And I sat down with them and he started talking like we had been talking already. Like, he started in the middle of a sentence. It's like kind of a lie. The show is, you know, a phoenix rising in this year. We're going to rise again and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like rising above my body. And at one point, I remember saying

to him and Steve Higgins, I am a lot more boring here than I usually am. I just remembered like calling out because I was so scared. And so, and he had already just my, you know, telling him I'm

from Joliet. So I was a little off. You were basically hired without knowing and no one told you

“you were hired, which is what SNL writes. So then they just said, I think, I think we, and then I left.”

More notoriously does not hire or fire. And then I caught and then they, you know, Steve Higgins was like, okay, we'll figure, you know, call you a test be in about four days, five days. I went and gave my cats and my dog to my mom and dad. I ran and called like, it was the most I remember crying in a closet and calling my nieces and nephews and crying and be like, you know, and they're like, can you take us to the opera? Like they didn't own New York City. Like it was so exciting,

but it was terrifying. And I remember my mom just finally looking at me and going, what is the worst case scenario? And I'm like, I fail at a place that I've worshiped. Like what? And she's like, but then you do. And you had the experience. You got to go there. Wow, Paula. So they saw your characters and they were like, we want her as a writer. They didn't really make it clear while you were coming in. Right. You knew you were coming in for writing and not performing.

Yeah. But you were a performer. What does it like to like, and obviously you're a performer who's writing all the time, you're creating these characters. But back then, especially, I feel like the lines are way more blurred now. Yes. But when when when you get to SNL, you kind of get like put into a category. Absolutely. And you're put into the writer category, even though you not and and you are the super strong performer who's been performing. Yes. So what was that

adjustment like? Well, I don't want to assume, you know, I've heard here and there little things. And I who knows, because we've all been in there when they're picking people. And it's like so random. Yeah. I mean, not random, but like there's reasons that you don't think are the reasons and all this. But I do suspect that I was a big lady. I was a big plus size person. There would, there was, there was just not that in any TV, anything. Like there wasn't, you know,

not of the aesthetic of that place whatsoever. This was late 90s, mid 90s. So it was 95. And I just,

“I do suspect that it wasn't even like, oh, no, like, but her writing, like, I like her writing”

because that fits with us. Did you ever talk to anyone at the show about that specifically? Or like, I mean, I, you know, I really was such a good Catholic. Yeah. Of a role follower when it comes to when, when a, when a actor who, because I had only acted, I got there and told them, I'm not a writer. I even though I'd written, of course, short stories and different, I don't know how to, I don't know how to do any of this. Yeah. I, I really, I was so afraid to ever show any desire to perform. And it's why

I, I'm so gloriously happy to be able to perform in later in my life because I finally let that out of the cage of that. Well, just, just, just, just the shame. The shame and it also, the shame and the shame and the shame. Right. Next. Yes. Oh, I like that the shame and the shame and the shame because you might have been feeling that, right? Like, I just want to be grateful for what I have. But

“your shine just, it, without you, even trying, like it could not be dimmed, like you there,”

you became the performer that you are now, because it was such a strong undeniable thing. People put you in sketches because they knew how funny you were, you were funny in the room. You just, like, with up to your point, you didn't say, fuck this. I'm not going to write. I only want this.

You took the opportunity. You did an incredible job writing for other people and you slowly

knew and believed in yourself and others saw what kind of performer. Well, I felt, I felt like everything and it was, it was a bigger picture of codependency and caretaking that in my life, in my whole life, I was making the pie and then giving all the pie away. Okay. So for people who don't know who are listening and we talked about this a little bit with Anna and we've talked about it. With Rachel, I've talked about with Tina and we talked about it with Seth and we talked about

but like Paula Pell is written, some of your favorite sketches including Bobby and Marty, the Colbs, including Debbie Downer, including the cheerleaders and who's actors. Of course, of course. But the actors get all the credit. They do. They always, it's like whoever's saying the lines, people assume that they've written the lines and as we, I mean, people understand that there are

writers on that show, but the public facing cast always gets the first kind of love amount of love.

Appalachian emergency room Tony Bennett talked to all this up. When you're writing what was the first time you wrote something and you were there where that terror went away a little bit, where you thought, okay, I might not get fired, okay. Well, there's two kinds of terror because I was in that era of recurring characters and I was lucky enough to get in that first year with Will and Cherie for cheerleaders and with Anna and Will for Bobby and Marty. And they were so up my

alley. I was the person that tried out every year for cheerleading, never ever made it. Worked on my backhand springs in the summer and then I would, because I was fat and I would stand with holding everyone's purses during the basketball games and I knew every cheer and all my friends were cheerleaders. Like all of them were on the squad and then I'd be up there like a dance mom. Like, but once again, matron at 12 going, you know, and gather them around to talk to them about like,

cauldron, junior cauldron and so the idea of I loved writing joyful losers. That was my favorite thing is someone who is joyfully living their life, what they want to do and that because when I read

“that journal, that's what I was. You know, I got a new, I got my rock tumbler and I have changed the”

grit and my amethyst is looking gorgeous. My god. And I was like a like a crazy broad as this little person like talking about what lights me up, my plants, my stuffed animals, all those things. And when I got there and met them, they were my people. Like I would cry laughing till five in the morning, writing those things with them. But the other thing you have to get there is to prove that you're

actually good by yourself. And that is a terrifying thing. Because you can always hide behind those

characters that once they're hit, you got that to ride on. It's the best thing ever. Right. And my very first one I remember was doing well for Brimley with John Goodman. And I wrote it. I used to do this thing where I was the last one almost always at writing nice. So it's a policy the latest. So one night I wrote John Goodman as well for Brimley and he was on a fake course. And because it always used to make me laugh when he was a big guy. And he would I mean,

And he'd be like, I take care of my blood sugar. That was like, no you don't. And so I I had him say,

“like, you know, I take care of my blood sugar. Well, I don't. And it was just this slowly descending”

conversation in this commercial. And John was so funny. But it killed at the table. It absolutely

killed. And it was the first time I could really look and go, I deserve to be here because I didn't

feel like I deserve to be there. I didn't think, you know, and then if I was writing with other actors, it's like, yeah, but they're so funny and they're so good. And that was the first time I said, you are a writer, like you sat down in you wrote words that no one else saw because they all went home, and they could, they could read this. I mean, they read this and they laughed. How long did you write for us now? I wrote full time for like 18 years and then I started slow, you know,

I did that slow exiting out where I did like I came to learning and was like, I'm going to do half the season spread out. So I would do like one or two shows, then I would have a break for while it was really trying to get away from the team. But eventually it was slow. And Lauren, you know, one of the things I love the most about him is he doesn't want people to, he doesn't want his family to leave, you know. And you are the longest, you know, the longest, tenured

female writer and as you know, his female. Oh, yeah, because I was going to say James beat me by two years on the writing side, but yeah, female. That's, that's really cool. Why haven't I gotten a place for that? And before I get off SNL, um, two things, one is Debbie Downer. Yes, most fun, ever. I mean, that first Debbie Downer is, we've talked about the anti-depressant of all anti-depressants.

“I remember us all standing in one of the dressing rooms just looking up at the screen and just”

we could not believe. It was like a house of cards falling down, but it was the best house of cards. And we just wanted to go on and on and on. And I mean, you created a cultural language, like people use the term Debbie Downer now as if it was just, it was on my soaps the other day. And I was like, good Lord. It was. Yeah. What's so pretty watching now? All of it CBSObs love them all. If you ever want me on there, I'd love to do an Irish. I definitely want to see a god of

eye that would be so fun. Yeah. There would be so fun. Okay. So we've worked together on so many things

after us and now we worked together on sisters and incredible movie that you wrote. That is like

kind of incredible and Tina got to play some versions of you and your sister and and read my actual journal in a bathtub. They were in the bathtub reading pages from my actual term. It was beautiful and so fun. And that shoot was so fun with Ike and John Cena, your buddy loves John Cena. He loves you. I love John Cena. I see him to the staff a couple ideas for John Cena. I'm going to get him up for. I have some. He is he just and that shoot was just and Kate. There were so many fun people that

came in on that Diane Weeson Jamesboro. Jamesboro and playing my parents and do you want to tell the story about when Barbara came by set? So my mom has lived to like worship Barbara Streisand her whole life. I took her to the millennial millennium concert that was supposed to be Barbara's last concert. And that was at the moment. That was like 2000, whatever. 2000, right? Yes. And I spent all this money to fly her to Vegas to go to that concert. Like New Year's Eve, it was this huge

surprise. And I took her and then she comes to sisters married to Jamesboro and she comes to sisters the day before my parents came to set to visit from Florida. And if I would have known, I would have like immediately flown her there. But you know, I set pictures, which is like great. She looks cute

“from this blurry picture. I don't know if you remember my parents happened to be there. And in a”

different way, you're flying your parents, your mom out to Vegas. I'm always telling my parents.

I'm not going to fly you out to Vegas. Okay. I'm baby opposite. Vegas is there a strizen. Well, they're always like, why don't you take me to Academy Awards and I'm like relax. Right. So my parents are rived on the set. And my mom's like, Oh, Jamesboro and this here, I wonder if Barbara strizen is going to show up. And I go, Barbara, strizen is not going to come to our set, mom, give it a break. Let it go. And she just came to visit. She is. And she was the cutest.

So cute. So cute. And I just remember, when I ever I would get up to go to anything she got. Are you going to the you go into the craft services? She could just give me a little play to some. Just give me just give me a little some. I don't care what it's just a little some. And I'm like, that's fucking, I was crazy. I mean, a star is born with Christopherson and her is like, I know every moment of that movie. I used to lay in the shed carpeting and ball and sing to that movie and

Parks and Rec on sisters, you have been more and more like you said in front of the camera.

“You got a new show on peacock called the burps. Yes. So excited. Yes, which looks so fun.”

It's so fun and creepy. Great. Tell me, like, what, you, you love to be part of an ensemble. Yes, you are, you, you are a leading lady in every way, but you also love that juicy ensemble thing. And Kiki Palmer leads the pack. Julie, a duffy, Mark Proch. Kapil Talwacker and Jack Whitehall, who is also in the movie. I'm shooting that Janina and I wrote. And they are so funny and so weird. Like their characters have so many twisty weird secrets.

Yeah, I've never done this kind of genre. I've never done a mystery, murdery, like some things

are serious, some things are funny. You know, because we grew up with comedy or drama. You know, you're either watching AR or you were watching it. There was no like in between. Can we talk about Kiki for a second? So unbelievable. We just did the press press for it, the premiere for it.

“And she can just, she can just lead anything and just be the kindest, funniest, most energetic.”

And then she's like inherent makeup getting like elaborate stuff done while she's doing, like, a podcast thing, also talking to a choreographer about a music, choreography for the music video. She's doing for her album that's coming out the next week. Like, I would just look at her and go like, I get exact. And a two-year-old child. I know. She's a pro. She's so great. I was getting my hair blown out. And I a couple of weeks ago and I just looked up at the TV and they play the, you know,

they play the movies on the screen at the hair place. And it was her and a keel in the bee. And she just had a little braces and she was, and she was such a great actor. I was just watching her do this whole monologue. And I'm like, oh my god, she was just cooked when she was born. Like, it was just, I don't want to skip over the fact that you were getting your hair blown out.

“Because I would say that next to Tina Fey and not a competition, but I'd love to have you both”

in here and we can touch your hair. You have the best hair. You have incredible hair. That, thank you very much. You know, this is all your hair. I took very good care of my hair because when I was plus sized in that era, this is not like a pathetic fact. It's a true fact. If you had good hair, it was like something that you could use because there were, there was no good clothes. It was like big shirts and leggings that was all you had. Right.

When I was young, all the pictures of me, if I ever felt good about how I looked, it was always

just right here. Yeah. Because everything else I wanted to forget about. What is your relationship now to neck down? It's good. I lost some weight this year for health reasons a little bit like 25 pounds and it made me feel a lot better because I have knee replacements. So it was much better for that. But I lost a hundred, close to a hundred pounds, three times of my 20s and it really devastated me. Because I gained it back each time. I gained it back more.

It was such a racket. All those tight things were such a racket. I would go into deep depression, which I'd always struggled with. I would go into that cycle of like suddenly people want to talk to me because I'm skinny and I'm pretty looking and then like, and I'm not funny. I was not funny at all when I was skinny. Right. And so that's the only reason that I eat cream cheese on pop-tarts now. Just stay funny. But you know, you're speaking to a lot of people who are listening,

who understand and you're really honest and very compassionate about how that can be a lifelong struggle. Yeah. And I have been on the shot. I've been on the shot this year on a very microdosed way that helped me a lot. Yeah. Information pain, everything. And it got me, I had kept gaining again and it got me down to this kind of like, I just want to live a long life. And so I'm now. It's not about because I have a younger wife. She's 22. She's 42.

Gorges sexy wife and you're so in love, Janine Brito and hilarious writer, actress, a credible writer, incredible person. She's incredible. She's the best. I mean, Paula, your relationship for most of us that know you felt like not only a miracle to come in your life, but just like it wasn't an aspirational for us to think about wanting to have a partner. It was

a miracle and it taught me truly to stop always, you know, not believing that the happy ending

can happen. And that's why I'm the world is dark right now. And I still no matter how sad it

life. It's, you look at nature doing it. You know, there's a disaster. And then there's the green coming

“up. And I really do, yeah, believe that in that I saw it in real time with, with finding her.”

Well, when we were trying to figure out who to talk to about this podcast, who we should have talked to about Paula, let's say Michelle Obama. Close. Um, but no, but we were like, we have so many, I want you to know, I know you know this, but I just want to say it loud. Like, I can think of a dozen people that would in five minutes notice get on a zoom to talk to me about you. But we decided to go with your newest best friend. And that was Kim Kardashian. And the new spokesperson for

Skims. She, she size inclusive. She is. She is. She's a sweetheart. Boy, what a joying the hell out of her. I know. And I really wanted to talk to Kim because two things, I don't know Kim. But I, her wanting to talk to us about you. I was like, I love this lady because people who love Paula

and people, I'm speaking about you in the third person, people who love you and know the how

funny and talented you are to me. I'm like, okay, that's, that's a smart person who's paying attention.

“That's a smart person. And I remember you saying that you worked with her. You started to work with”

her and her mom and you were like, she's really fun and easy to work with. Yes, you guys are doing a movie together. We're doing a movie together. We're mid-shoot. We're like about two weeks and and it's with a bunch of other comedy. It's a bunch of comedy ladies that we all know and love. Fortune Feemster Nicky Glazer, Casey Wilson, Brenda Song. And she is so blending in with them in this group. And just her existing was like an inspiration for it because we knew that she wanted

to do this kind of idea. And we were like, what would if Kim was just a normal person with a normal life and normal living situation? And she was around girls that she grew up with like, what would be that thing? And anyone I talked to, including Lauren Michaels when she hosted, we're like,

“it's really nice. You know, there's, yeah, the fame is always equated with someone's an asshole.”

Right. And that is awesome. True. And our next episode, which is only available on another website, the two of us will list those to you. But what I love the most about her is she's an extremely kind, gentle person, really doing a great job playing her part. What I love the most about her

after all those years at us and I'll having all those hosts is that she is always aware of what

she's really good at and what she wants you to be great at that she knows you're good at. That's again, it's like, let's meet, let's meet and do something fun. And that is so valuable to me at this age because I just can't be with people that think they can do my job better than me. Oh, Paula, I can't do it. I cannot be with you. I'm going to put the chair around what you say. I cannot go, I cannot be with people who think they can do a better job than I can.

In the situation that we're doing right then. Now, they might be just as good at something that I'm doing. I'm not saying I better than them, but when people come in, when a host would come in

and they have never written something in their life and they're telling you how to write the sketch.

I have done that so many times in my life with people and I'm so spiritually exhausted with it. And the first time we met with her, Janine and I wrote this movie together, we came up with it together, drinking eating soup on a winter day. And Janine and I just started spinning it. Like, wait, what if this? And what if this? And then we really loved it because it had a lot of heart and it was about female friendship and it was like, oh my god, I love this. We ended up

like zooming with her. She came there. I thought she'd have like an entourage of people with her on the zoom, a lot of squares. It was just one square of beautiful Kim Kardashian just going, hey guys, you know, just being a lovely person and she's been so great on the set. We have had so much fun. You're absolutely right. People who know what they're good at and also like working with people who are good at what they do. That is a skill. And also, you know,

it is, when we were talking to her, one of the questions she has, which is such a sweet question, is it's also told me a lot about maybe what I sometimes forget or hopefully don't take

the magic, the sparkly magic of what we have? Like, I am, you know, it was basically like, I'm, and she basically said, I'm having such a good time. I'm like, I can't believe I'm there. I'm a, I'm new to doing comedy, but I've loved it forever. And I'm having fun is Paula having fun.

Like, it's such a sweet love thing. I question. The answer is hell yeah. And I am in a no-ass

“whole zone of joy now. This is our only weekend is joy. That's the only thing we can do now.”

Okay. And so the other question that Kim had was, who is someone that you like, you, like, you know, is so hilarious that you can't barely get through a scene with them. Like, who really tickles you? I like that old time. Yeah. True classic, like, without the meanness under it. Well, I feel that I saw you do versions of that all the time. And what comes to mind is especially in Lawrence office, where we would have this big meeting where between dress and air

or after a re-through, where all of us would be packed in, and Paula would come in, and you just do some version of that with Lauren. And he would, he would just, he, he's kind of a quiet laugh for he would laugh like this. And you don't see Lauren laughing at, I mean, when you're in comedy, you almost can't laugh anymore. You're tired of it. You're most, yeah. And no one would make him laugh harder than you. And Paula would you put two oranges in your

bra. Yes. I would always, he had oranges always in a ball that is a little tangereens. And I would

always put oranges in my bra, or I would, I've done a lot. And there's a picture in Lawrence office. Yes. What do you want to describe with that picture? It's my 1980s headshot. And I think it's one of the times that I lost a lot of weight. And it's just that dreamy. It almost looks like a 80's soap so far. Yeah. It is very soap. And I have my hair flip. And I have a very metallic, almost like alligator print, like, which now would probably be like a beautiful outfit. And

because everything has come back, but it's very 80's. And I gave it to him. I framed it in a very

“heavy, like crystal frame. And I wrote on it, I'll never forget our time in San Trope.”

And it's just this woman heavily filtered looking off. And he has it over by when everyone's sitting there picking the show. It really does look like his own face. It looks a little like a corpse. It's just like this. But when you're new to the show and Paula would do that, it was like watching. I mean, it was like, what was like watching? How would I to how do I describe this? It was like, honestly, it was thrilling. It honestly was trying to

watch a woman come in and just make the big hauncho laugh. It honestly Paula, it made you feel like, oh, maybe he will think, I'm funny. Like it, you being fearless in those moments and earning all of the laughs and being the funniest made everybody else feel like, oh, there might be room for me here. Like there might be space for me here. I mean, if I analyzed it, I probably was

“always trying to get him to know that I was performatively funny because I, that was something”

I hid. Sure. And so for years, it was very painful for me to be in rooms and just be very serious with him. And while we worked on that and I put the joke in, okay, great. Thanks. Thanks, Lauren. And just walking out and always very contained. And once I broke through that with this, I felt much better about that, you know what? I didn't get to be in the cast here. But like, he knows that I'm a funny person. And Paula, it's really interesting as we started this interview,

like Midwestern girl doing the right thing. You broke, you keep breaking social protocol and you did it in that office at a time when we were all watching. You really did keep breaking barriers for us that didn't make it feel really safer and safer for us in every way. And you still do that. I hope so because now it feels so much better. I mean, all of it is some, some's worse, some's better. But I do feel like in comedy, the women in rooms. When I go to SNL now, and I see

the writing stuff. Like, oh, incredible. Much more diverse. And like there's queer people. And thank God, like it just makes you feel so much better. And one last thing I just wanted to say

about who makes me laugh is Jeanine is one of those people that I never thought in a million years.

I would ever be with a comedy person. I might act right. It was not a comedy person, lovely person and funny, but like not, not by trait. But she makes me laugh in that stealthy way that I enjoy so much. I mean, the two of you guys are so each so matched, comedically. I've never, I've never, because sometimes you know, like people are like, my partner is so funny and you're like,

One is Howard the dogs. The dogs are great. How are the pets? And then in a month and a half,

Jeanine just went home to see them. We have an old donkey, a very big white horse that I used to ride, Verbina, and five dogs, one in a wheel cart, and who halls asked little tiny paralyzed dog and three cats. And they're all two snakes. I'm not done. I'm two snakes. I was like, when did you get those snakes? I can't get other, other classes of animals because I'll start eating each other. Reptiles are a whole thing. Yeah. Well, I couldn't feed them the live animals. Exactly.

“You have to start. And birds, I hate cages. I love birds. But I can, unless I can afford some day”

an aviary of rescue birds where I can walk in and they can all land on me. Like, and you don't know

something that's going to outlive you. Like a parrot will outlive you. Well, our donkey could live to be like, 50. He's old. He's older now. But like, we, we were like, our old horse. We're like, let's get her. She lost her partner horse. Let's get her a little doggy, well, adopt an old, older donkey. And then the donkey's like 18. How long do they? 50 years or 50 years? We get the rescue old dogs all the time. And they'll call and they'll go, you know, we did bring her to the

“cardiologist. And, um, Noni is, you know, Nino is actually going to probably not make it for a”

few weeks. Do you still want them? Of course we want them. The thousand good days in one day. Like, let's just give them a great end of his life. He lives like seven years because he wants to be expensive medications too much love too much love and medication, which is the nut and name of my, and then the last thing is, I want to find a public domain song that we can harmonize to. Oh, yeah. She's so good at it. Okay. My god. I love it. Let's say good public domain song. Let's see

that we, we don't have that that's amazing grace. Yes, it is. Amazing grace. Okay. Good one of that.

Okay, Paul. Good. What's a high? What one should I sing? I'll do the higher. So you just sing the melody melody. Amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saves a rich like me. I once lost but now I'm found was blind but now I see what's great. We did not rehearse that. We did not. It's a public domain great. It's getting cut. What is it? It costs $150,000. Okay, great. We're going to cut it. I will put $20.

Paul, I love you so much. Thank you. I love you so much for doing this. It's such an honor to be at the table with you. This is like I love watching this in here. It's a big honor. Paul, I love you so much. Paul, Paul, you're just so fun to be around. Thank you for doing that. And for this polar plunge,

“there's just so many things that Paul mentioned that she wrote on great sketches that you should”

check out at SNL if you're looking to laugh. But I want to remind you about a little YouTube show that she did not live a big YouTube show called Hudson Valley Ballers that her and James Anderson, another writer at SNL who was mentioned in this interview worked on. And Paul and James just play two jerks, two funny, lovable jerks who live in the Hudson Valley and there's a lot of really funny cameos, stupid people being with other stupid people doing stupid things. So check out Hudson

Valley Ballers if you haven't checked that out and check out Paul on the burbs and keep listening to good hang. We love that you're here. Thanks for being here and see you soon. Bye! You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman and me, Amy Poler. The show is produced by the ringer and paper kite.

NLA as an eras. For paper kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Leville, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.