Holiday Magic with Judy Greer: Inside The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

Jen: Everybody, welcome to the show. Hello. Good morning. Good afternoon, good evening. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Hi. Hi to you. Hi. I’m. You just told me something funny that I think we should repeat for our listeners. Oh, about our male partners. Our male sexual partners. Oh.

Amy: Why? I was you could have said our significant others.

Jen: I just wanted to say I wanted to make that feel horrible to you. About Brad’s. His intake of our show. Can you. Which is very cute. First, it is cute.

Amy: He listens, and then he also watches the YouTube. Like, I think, at his desk at work. It’s like in the afternoons.

Jen: Like every week. I think so. So that dude is not just. He listens, wants in his ears and then he watches a second time?

Amy: Yes, I think so. What’s his feedback? Well, last night he mentioned that, indeed, I am difficult to hear, so I’m leaning.

Jen: Listen to the way you today are in. Oh, it cannot be close. Sure could be. I mean, you got a whole inch there to apologize.

Amy: Oh, and I can’t touch the mic because.

Jen: It zooms.

Amy: Right? Anyway, I, I’m trying I that is the consistent feedback I’ve gotten.

Jen: Okay, well, listen, you’re learning you’re a brand new podcaster, right? You didn’t go to podcast college, so everybody else doesn’t know what it’s like to have to think about your volume. Also, do they know you? You talk like this. I know you have. That’s this is your that’s your cadence.

Amy: So he did mention that it was hard to hear, but also he’s still listening. But then you said that’s not going to last.

Jen: Well you know I’m not trying to be mean you.

Amy: No.

Jen: But the thing is, he’s real precious about this right now because this isn’t your new job. And he’s like, I’m your. So I’m your supportive sexual partner that. I can’t why why am I like this? And you know, he’s like I listened and I love that question that you asked. He’s giving you like really good intent. It will run out of steam come six months from now.

Jen: He’s going to be like, well, I know that you interviewed, you know, Michelle Obama, but I just wasn’t able to listen like I just didn’t have time.

Jen: Yeah, yeah, I really was. I’ve just manifesting, that is by tipped up like guest of of wish my wish guest. And I was just saying Tyler doesn’t listen, but, I mean, we’ve been dating for three years. He’s like, it’s too much. It’s once a week.

Amy: I mean, to be fair, I didn’t listen to this.

Jen: Is a.

Amy: Very.

Jen: Great example, right? Like, you got to be, like, dialed into a show, you know, like, once you have a show that’s your show, you listen to it every week. Like we have listeners that download every episode every week. Yeah. It’s just like this. You take a picture of what we’re delighted to be in your AirPods. Delighted. Or on your desktop watching us on YouTube like Brad Harding.

Jen: Does that work? Yes. We’re so happy about that.

Amy: Sitting in, honestly, because it would, it would trick my brain into thinking I had talked to you in real life, and then I would realize, oh, I haven’t talked to her like six weeks.

Jen: Oh, yeah.

Amy: That’s just I’m not a great friend.

Jen: Oh, well, you know, that’s not that’s not the calculus. Lee’s here.

Amy: But I know that. But still, my brain.

Jen: Would say, yeah, I do, but we have such a cute guest today. Like, yeah, I have loved her for so long and so many things. But it it does. It did make the question for me before we get to it, because we’re like adjacent. We’re talking about programs and pageants and shows and such, and I am curious about your childhood experience with any of the above pageants, for example, or programs.

Jen: And these could be formal, like for example, at your elementary school or middle school or local theater, or it could be informal, like in your parents living room.

Amy: Well, certainly never in formal in my parents living room.

Jen: It’s actually embarrassing for you.

Amy: I it’s too embarrassing to even talk about that. That could have happened.

Jen: Like, even when you’re seven now. Oh, God, you already couldn’t be like that way.

Amy: I did have an older cousin, Kim, who was extroverted and, like, you know, would have been the one to organize things, but the rest of us just wouldn’t participate.

Jen: She had no underling cousins to do her bidding.

Amy: Yeah.

Jen: No. Oh, well, that’s devastating, says the oldest cousin of my family.

Amy: I know.

Jen: I mean, if you don’t think I wasn’t the director of every program, and we performed them with, like, energy and enthusiasm, as you can imagine, because, you know, my family don’t get to see a lot. So.

Amy: No, I did I, I had to participate in some elementary school things like, you know, Christmas.

Jen: Concert, Grand Ole Flag performance.

Amy: Right? One Thanksgiving, I don’t know, maybe fourth grade. Somehow I was one of the turkeys when we sang Tom, Tom the turkey.

Jen: Oh, that felt like a lead role.

Amy: Yeah, there was three of us. I don’t I don’t know why I was chosen or forced.

Jen: It was definitely a forced.

Amy: But I still remember what it felt like.

Jen: Do you know that was probably your teacher. Did you say fourth grade? That was probably your fourth grade teacher being like, Amy never speaks. I think if we put her in a turkey costume and sticker in front of the fourth grade class, I could bring her out of her shell. You know.

Amy: It was in front of the.

Jen: School. Oh, Lord. How did you get through it? That is not your Nora.

Amy: Well, I, I did get through it, too, but I still have feelings about it, so obviously. Yeah.

Jen: One time when I was in fifth grade, we had, a Christmas play in front of the whole school, and then we did it at night time for all the parents to come and it was, oh, hell, what’s the one about the Christmas ghosts? Of past ghost of.

Amy: Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.

Jen: Carol Scott. Oh, good lord, yes, a Christmas Carol. And I was Bob Cratchit wife. Okay. And, and of course, as you well know, I wanted whatever was the lead. I didn’t love being Bob Cratchit twice. But I’ll tell you what I remember is I had my Bob Cratchit was played by Jeremy and in this show, because as I was an actor, as an actors.

Amy: Fabian.

Jen: As these as actors on the stage, like we were, we had to hold hands. Oh, can you even in fifth grade like I had, like, look at my friends and they’d look at me and they’re like, oh, she’s got this hand like in my hand, be all sweaty. And I loved it. It was like the best part of being in the play.

Jen: It’s the only thing I can remember, to be honest with you, I didn’t have enough lines for my liking, but, And then, of course, I directed so many programs with my sisters and my girl cousins. And my parents were very, very mediocre audience members.

Amy: Did they have time for that?

Jen: Look, if you’re going to have four kids, then guess what you get to do. You get to sit on the brown corduroy couch and you get to watch our shitty programs. That’s part of the deal. We practiced for six hours, I choreography. At one point, I gave Lindsay an umbrella and she’d open it like at it. Just the right.

Jen: On the right lyric on the song. The bitch could not do it. And it was so upsetting, like, I, I had to keep, like, starting the program over. And this is part of the reason why they didn’t want to watch, because I’d be like, cut, we’re going to start this scene over there like, geez, since the rapture, how do we get out of this anyways?

Jen: Say it, say, oh, she just could not obey my directions. And drew was never in his too little right. By the time he came around, he was just a baby and he’s the only boy. And then we were too cool. We graduated to being too cool for our programs. But that was his loss, to be honest.

Jen: And I’m sure he’s sorry about it. Yeah, I’m sure he really has regrets. Okay, before we get to our guest, let’s do a little John. Excellent.

Jen: Because we are discussing a movie today with a movie star. Yes. I don’t know if I struggled to come up with my answer on this question, but do you remember what the first movie that you saw with your friends was?

Amy: I don’t think I do because I had to, like, I went and looked up movies from the early 80s, like to.

Jen: Jog your memory.

Amy: Because I think I saw so many movies with my cousins. Oh yeah. And like, like one parent would take all the cousins to the movies.

Jen: Count up, accept a cousin answer.

Amy: Yeah, but it wasn’t like without a parent. Just with my friends. Oh, yeah. Which is a very different experience.

Jen: I see I see how you interpreted the question.

Amy: Some of the movies I looked up from like 82, 81. Yeah, I think I saw that they were so.

Jen: Oh yeah.

Amy: Where are we sneaking into theaters to see 48 hours?

Jen: You know, it was the Wild West back then. I don’t think anybody checked. Probably not. Also, remember, like we were, there was a moment when all of a sudden PG 13 became a thing. Like, it wasn’t even a thing right when we were. I think they were just like, just give me your money, kid. Yeah, care.

Amy: But we went to the theater a lot. You did? Yeah. That was super common. Yeah.

Jen: Thing to.

Amy: You know, play the video games foreign. I was very good at centipede.

Jen: Centipede that never.

Amy: Went to the. But the first movie I really remember going to. Just with friends. No parents would have been high school, which seems wrong, but it’s like a core memory. We saw Top Gun.

Jen: Oh my gosh. But that one.

Amy: The reason it’s a core memory is because I went with my friend Sharon. Yeah. And her big brother took us. And at the time.

Jen: My obsession with the big brothers, her.

Amy: Oldest brother had a flat top haircut. Sure. And looked just like Val Kilmer.

Jen: Well.

Amy: So, to borrow a phrase from your lexicon. Yeah. No one could tell us nothing. Oh my God. Like, people actually were like, is that really Val Kilmer?

Jen: Oh my gosh, that is so exciting.

Amy: I think he played it up on purpose. Yeah, like big shiny white smile. Aviator. Did he go.

Jen: To the movie with.

Amy: You? Yes.

Jen: So it didn’t just drive you?

Amy: No, no. He went into the theater.

Jen: Did you know this was going to happen in advance? So you were prepared. You wore your best outfit. You were, like, looking cute.

Amy: I guess, to whatever degree. Sure. I could pull that off, but yes, that’s my first big. Like with friends at the theater.

Jen: That’s a good one.

Amy: Yeah.

Jen: I mean, the hunky older brother Top Gun in the theater. Yeah. Like that is you peeked, to be honest. God, big brothers factored so prominently in my psyche. And like, the elementary and middle school years, and, like, I, I almost singularly picked my friends for it. Like, who’s got the big brother? Oh my God. And do you remember ever being at a friend’s house with a hot older brother, and just the obnoxious lengths that I would go to, like, be cute and like, funny and like so mature for my age and whatever.

Jen: And like, I spent so much thought and energy on that. Those boys were never even noticing. Like they we were in there. We were white noise.

Amy: Yes.

Jen: But I was thinking that they were thinking about me the whole time, that they were listening to everything I was saying and just thinking, God, like, Amy’s friend is so funny. All my friends were named Amy, as you know. Yeah, like all your friends are named Jennifer. And so funny. So clever. Like, I can’t believe she’s in seventh grade.

Jen: You know, that’s what I thought. They were thinking.

Amy: Whereas I was thinking, oh my God, what if they noticed me?

Jen: God, that’s so true. You would think.

Amy: That I need to get smaller in the couch and put another pillow on my lap.

Amy: Or I might perish.

Jen: This is why I grew up and had a podcast. Got seven years into it and made you can be on it like it just we charted our courses early is all I did. We did. I don’t remember my exact first movie theater movie, but one of my core memories in way less awesome, 100% less awesome. My friend Rebecca Domingue.

Jen: This is when we lived in Homa, so I was somewhere between fourth and seventh grade. I was in there somewhere. My friend Rebecca Domingue had cable. Well, that was exciting. We were poor. We had three channels.

Amy: Right.

Jen: And so every time I got to go to her house, we got to watch, like, movie, like HBO. I mean, her dad was a doctor. AbbVie. And so I was at Rebecca’s house for a sleepover, and, you know, we were just unsupervised because nobody paid attention to kids back then that we weren’t. I don’t even I don’t even remember her parents ever being there.

Jen: And we watched, I guess, on HBO or I just can’t remember how this worked out, but we watched, The Shining.

Amy: Oh.

Jen: Yeah, I do. This day I can feel the terror in my bones. I just thought I just kept thinking. I just don’t want to be watching it. I just want to go home to my mom. And then, of course, I laid in her bed that night. It absolutely wide awake with terror, waiting to be murdered. So.

Amy: You know, the South from our location of Alamo Drafthouse is done like the shining. Like the hallways.

Jen: I don’t know what you mean. Like you like, oh, I just got goosebumps. Like you made it look like it.

Amy: The same wallpaper. Oh, I think there’s a giant tricycle.

Jen: Maybe, like. See? No, thanks. Weird, creepy twins.

Amy: Pass, I choose, I choose other locations if we go to the movies.

Jen: No. Now I’m I’m. I’m permanently traumatized by that movie. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it again, like, I, I could I could probably rewatch it now as a grown person and be like, it wasn’t even that big of a deal. But when I was 11 or however, you didn’t have great. Oh my gosh. So all those things when like, the parents worry that their kids are going to their friend’s house and watching stuff, they’re not supposed to, they’re there.

Jen: Right? We were doing that. Yes, we are 100% or watching whatever like we could and like I it’s the first time I ever tried a beer with somebody. Dad’s beer. Disgusting. But also at a sleepover. So yeah, everybody had reason to worry. Okay. Very quickly, because we need to get to our guests. Okay. Last segment, let’s do very quick version of Rant or Rave.

Jen: I’m just going to put on the table and just go see what you say. Rant or rave? Decorating the outside of the house and the yard for Christmas.

Amy: Oh, always rave always is it?

Jen: What do you do? You know, think of this.

Amy: We don’t do anything. Oh, I fully support all the other people who put in so much effort and passion. Oh, yeah, and pay their electric bill.

Amy: Yeah.

Jen: But you don’t.

Amy: Sometimes we’ll put, like, a few lights on the house. Okay. If I insist. Yeah. Pat Harden is a very conservative person with resources. Yes. Like Planetary Resources.

Jen: Right.

Amy: And, excessive Christmas lights are a waste of electricity. Oh, he would say that.

Jen: He’s he’s not wrong. He’s not wrong. Yeah.

Amy: But we have plenty of neighbor neighbors who go all out. And Austin has, yes, amazing, eclectic. It’s true. Wild Christmas decorations.

Jen: Did you ever go down to this that, like, awesome street? Kind of around 35th Street, over by the Central Market.

Amy: 38th and.

Jen: A half. Exactly. We still.

Amy: Go.

Jen: So fine. So weird. Yeah. Every house is weirder than the last.

Amy: Yeah, like Elvis in a bathtub. That’s exactly life size, I don’t know, with a Santa hat.

Jen: You still go, God, maybe I should do that this year.

Amy: It’s fun.

Jen: It is fun, and I’m okay. I didn’t realize that we can segment out the rant or rave in this manner, because I also am a rave for everyone else. But I am not a rave for my own self. It feels like, Brad is caring about the earth. To me. It just feels like work.

Amy: It is.

Jen: It feels like this is going to take a lot of time and money. I’m going to do it, and it only gets to stay up for like three weeks. And it feels hard. I’m not even a huge indoor decorator. No, I do it, but it’s it’s limited. Like some of my friends come out with 12 Christmas boxes of decorations.

Jen: Yes. Every year. It’s insane. I like going in their homes, but I that feel stressful to me. But I will absolutely drive my kids up a lit street and just the ones that set their lights to music. Come on man, in.

Amy: Between our houses, about halfway there is one street in a neighborhood where all the neighbors coordinate, and there’s a radio station you tune in to.

Jen: Oh, fancy.

Amy: And they’re all synched.

Jen: Wow. Listen, I take my hat.

Amy: And go get on you.

Jen: Good on you. And we’re going to enjoy it from our car.

Amy: Do you make our Christmas?

Jen: That’s right.

Amy: Fun and joyous. And we don’t have to put in the work.

Jen: Oh my God, that’s my best category.

Amy: So brave. Full brave. Okay.

Jen: All right. Good. All right. Let’s let’s talk about our guests today. This is fun. You guys are going to enjoy this I’m excited. Me too. We are thrilled to welcome the incredibly talented, incredibly versatile Judy Greer to the show today. First of all, she’s got two decades in the entertainment industry, so she’s got a long list of accolades.

Jen: She has been on our screens in more than 100 films and TV shows. She’s got this secret sauce of, like, charm and quirk and wit, and then this very authenticity. Authentic. Authentic.

Amy: Authentic.

Jen: Thank you, my God, authentic way about her. That just is, like, palpable. So she has had some of my favorite roles. Let’s never forget Katie Sanchez on Arrested Development. Oh, my mom worked. I never missed an episode. She was like the best in 13 going on 30. The descendants. She’s also a writer. She wrote a hilarious memoir called I Don’t Know What You Know Me From The Confessions of a costar.

Jen: That’s so clever. That’s so funny. And we are so excited to talk to her today because she plays one of the lead roles in her latest project, which I am personally thrilled about because I have easily read this book easily. 30 times, she plays one of the lead roles in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which is coming out this holiday season, so we’re to talk to her about the movie and her experience on it, and even more where we’re on all things Judy.

Jen: So we are delighted to welcome Judy Greer to the show.

Jen: Hi. Hi, Judy. I’m Jen. This is Amy.

Amy: Hi.

Jen: Welcome to our show. We don’t wear shoes. We sit cross-legged. It’s fine. Oh, I love that.

Judy: I’m so jealous. I am in a skirt and Spanx because. Come on. And I’m wearing is.

Jen: Yeah, yeah. God, we literally just said, oh, poor Judy, she’s in it, man. Like, she’s in the deep end right now. I’ll just have one after another.

Judy: You know, it’s so easy when you love what you’re talking about. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, it gets tricky.

Jen: I’m not going to lie. Oh, my God, that is so true. But even after like, the 15th, I was just telling Amy I do back to back interviews whenever I have a book release and it’s a book I love, I, I wrote it, I, I’m in it. I meant to write it on purpose, but like by the 25th, you know, interview.

Jen: And they’re like, tell me about your book. I’m like, I don’t even know. I just read it. I guess there’s.

Judy: Words in it and yeah, you know, have it on paper or on your phone. Right?

Jen: Right. Exactly. Well, we are so, so happy to meet you. We love you. Yeah. We absolutely love you. We love you in everything. We’ve loved you and everything. Like you’re just a super star. Thank you. You are. And now you’re in arguably, one of my favorite stories of all time. I read this book 50 times when I was a kid.

Judy: It’s good. Right? I mean, it’s precious. It’s so good. I love this book. It is so beloved. I am such a dork. I had no idea. I don’t remember reading this book. I’m not saying I did. I don’t remember it. And like everyone I know is like, oh, we used to do it every year at my church, or it’s my favorite book, or we read it every Christmas.

Judy: My family does. Like I just I can’t believe it. I feel like I was born under a rock.

Jen: Oh my gosh, you accidentally got starred in like a beloved national treasure of a story. How wonderful for you. Listen, sometimes good things happen.

Judy: Usually.

Jen: Oh, yeah. I was just. Amy and I were just talking, and I’m like, the. The people are going to rush to the theaters to see this, I am included. We’re so excited to talk about it. Before we get to it, we’re just wish Amy and I were just going through, like, everything you’ve ever been in that we cherish.

Jen: And the list is so damn long. Like.

Amy: So long.

Jen: It’s so long. I’m like, if. If we only had Kitty from arrested for the rest of our lives, it’d be enough. That’d be enough entertainment for me. I’d be satiated. Oh, like.

Amy: Well, Kitty. Plus multiple characters on Archer. I did name one of my dogs Archer.

Jen: Oh, my God, you did? Amy. Oh, well, we name our.

Amy: We name our pets after Texas counties, but I always try to find, like an alternate double down. Yeah. So, Archer. Yeah.

Jen: That’s so perfect.

Amy: Such a.

Jen: Good dog. Perfect.

Amy: But also great show.

Jen: Yeah, this is a great show. You’ve had so many like hell. I mean, when you just look back over the last 20 years, do you. What is it? So it’s. This is an impossible question. Why am I even asking this? But what is like a huge highlight of your work and the roles you’ve gotten to play and the people you’ve worked, whatever it is?

Judy: Gosh, there’s been there’s some that like, have become highlights, like obviously 13 going on 30.

Amy: Right.

Judy: It was a huge moment for my career getting cast as Lucy slash Tom. Tom was like a really big deal for me at the time. And then it’s just kind of become a massive highlight. I mean, the friends I made on that movie, how much fun we had making it like how beloved it is, which obviously, you know, I can’t help but hope that that will be the same for this movie.

Judy: Best Christmas pageant ever. But, that was a big one. And then another sort of milestone moment I remember was, I was the biggest, biggest Alexander Payne fan. I was obsessed with the movie Citizen Ruth starring Laura Dern, one of his first movies. It might have been his first movie. Yeah. And and so then when I got cast in The Descendants, yeah, that was that was a big moment for me because it was like, I, I got to do something that I never thought was possible, like I had been wanting to do it.

Judy: That had been a goal. And so and it like, lived up to it like. Yeah, it actually, I mean, you’re like, oh, I was just so excited to work with George Clooney. And I’m like, well, I’d already worked with George years ago in a movie called Three Kings so that I was actually on set. I mean, don’t tell George.

Judy: I was like way more starstruck by Alexander Payne is.

Jen: Oh my gosh.

Judy: Totally knew each other. So I was like, oh my gosh. That was a really big moment for my career. And then, yeah, I mean like all along the way, like, I can, I could look down my whole IMDb page and tell you, like, why each project was so meaningful to me. I really feel that way. Like it’s been it’s just I mean, if I never make another movie, like I have four careers, it’s been so I’ve been so blessed and I’m so grateful and like all of the things, I take things away from each job, whether it’s like the experience, the person, the story, like the friends I’ve made, the location I’ve I’ve

Judy: gone to, it’s and I think that I’m lucky in that I’ve been able to be in a lot of different genres, and I’ve had a lot of different demographics, which, sometimes when you think about, you know, do I like people ask me a lot like, oh, don’t like, didn’t you want to be a movie star? Which is like, best of all, like, oh.

Judy: Oh, sorry.

Jen: There’s, voices. Yes. Oh, my God, he’s listening.

Judy: And I, I, I think, like, in a lot of ways, my career, I’ve been able to sort of be much more of a chameleon because of all the different roles I played. And I’ve been so lucky in that way.

Jen: Phenomenal. Outstanding.

Amy: In addition to Alexander Payne, you worked with some incredible directors. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, Clint Eastwood, my.

Jen: Guy, Clint Eastwood, I die. Gosh.

Amy: What what’s the best piece of direction you’ve received as an actress? In your career?

Judy: Oh, well, that’s a really good question. I wouldn’t have to think longer about that. It’s hard to think of one thing. Right this second, but, I know that I, I like, I like getting told to to slow down and listen, I think sometimes the simplest pieces of direction are the ones that we forget, we forget.

Judy: I forget sometimes. I know the story. I know it’s going to happen. I know it’s going to do and say. And so it’s really important. I like it when a director reminds me, like, you’re hearing this for the first time, which I’m like, that’s good. But sometimes we forget that.

Jen: Oh, my gosh, that’s such that’s great advice. Yeah, because you can’t just jump ahead because you know how what you’re supposed to be hearing. Yeah, I love this because you went on the other side of the camera too. You’ve directed.

Judy: Yes.

Jen: And I mean that’s a completely different flex, a totally different muscle.

Judy: Yeah.

Jen: Than being in front of the camera. We were just laughing about how, you’ve mentioned before that, Adam McKay actually told you to wear comfortable shoes, number one. Like, get. Don’t be cute about it. Yeah. Do not be cute about this. It’s time for New Balance. No.

Judy: Day one. I was cute and on the way from the first day of my movie, I went to DSW Shoe Warehouse. That’s right. Sneakers. Because I was like, he was right. He was right.

Jen: Yeah, he was like, that is not it, and say yes to everything. And I’m like, oh, I love that. I love the idea that it’s easier to turn a yes into a no than vice versa. Yeah. Like, oh my gosh, what a smart way to think I, I just we’re about to get to the, to the movie, which we love.

Jen: Thank you. But I just want to hear your thoughts about being behind the camera. What did you think about it? What do you want to do it again? Like, was it daunting?

Judy: Emphatically. I want to do it again. In fact, just that question reminded me of an email I have to send. Yes, yes, yes, I want to do it again. Desperately. It was overwhelming. It is daunting to think about. You get so much leeway with your first movie. Everyone’s like, oh, it’s your first movie, yada yada.

Judy: But like, now if I do a second thing, it’s like I’m supposed to know some things that I maybe don’t know. Yeah, totally. I definitely want to. And one thing I learned, is how important it is to, I think to what I, what I loved is looking at everything, looking at us as a company, like a theater company, almost like everyone is as important as everyone else.

Judy: And so we all work together like a real community, especially when you have a lower budget. It’s so hard. You have to shoot so much. You have such little time. You know, you’re working with all these actors schedules and you’re trying to get your day every day. And it’s so helpful if we all feel like we’re doing it together as opposed to like, it’s my story, it’s my movie.

Judy: It’s like I’m the director, you know, and I and that’s something that I learned. And I learned also that, you have to keep your actors on set because we tend to scatter if there’s just like a quick moment of downtime, like we’ll all just go and walk in different directions. It is like herding cats. I’m sure now that I’m on a set to be mindful of that and be like, well, how long is it going to be?

Judy: Because I can just sit here.

Jen: This whole all every this, that you sound like you would be a dream, director to work for. Like, if that’s the ethos that you take on the set. Like, what a wonderful way. Like coming to work every day. Let’s let’s talk about the best Christmas pageant ever. It’s just, I mean, it really, really is. And it’s.

Jen: I love to use your word. It’s just a beloved story. And it’s had a lot of iterations. You know, obviously it came to us in a book, but we’ve seen it on it’s this is its next life. You’re giving it its next iteration on the big screen. It’s so, so fun. I also your cast mates. Come on.

Jen: I love all their just what a what a crew. Yeah. What a crew. So you hadn’t read it. So what drew you to it? Like what made you go, oh, yeah. This is going to be a yes for me.

Judy: Well, two things. The script was beautiful. And Dallas is like, his passion for the project. His energy was infectious, and it was hugely flattering to be cast as the mom in the movie that he had been wanting to make, like, his whole life. You know, so that. Yeah, I mean, he is like, you know, he’s a very, he’s very encouraging, but he’s infectious like his his passion for this, his love of this story, his love of the Herdmans, like how he feels about about telling this version of a timeless story.

I don’t know, it was like I just couldn’t say no after our meeting. And then I went back and read the book. And I think like my third reason was that he kept the book. So he kept the screenplay so close to the book. And and so I know for people like yourself who do love this book and have forever, like they’re just going to love the movie because it…

Jen: Feels like it.

Judy: Yeah.

Jen: Yeah. Oh my gosh, that’s perfect answer.

Amy: Christmas movies for us when we’re watching them just hit different. We’re in the holiday spirit.

Jen:

Amy: It’s in the middle of the holidays.

Jen: Yeah, we’re in a vibe.

Amy: Right. So when you’re filming a holiday movie outside of the holidays, how do you keep that magic or how do you summon it, at least?

Judy: Well, some beats we were actually shooting over the holidays.

Jen: Oh, my gosh, that never happened.

Judy: The hardest part about shooting during the holidays was not having time to do holiday shopping because I was on set all the time. But, yeah, we were shooting in Winnipeg during the wintertime. We actually took a small hiatus during Christmas and New Year’s, and then we went back to work to finish it. It felt like Mike Christmas time was like two months long because shooting this movie for two months, and then we stopped for the holidays.

Judy: But it was really, really fun. And also like we were in Winnipeg, it was cold. It was snowing. We were wearing, cozy. Everything was decorated for Christmas by professional decorators, like for the movie. So it was pretty easy to get into the holidays. Pretty. I think it was the perfect time. Now I need to bring a little bit of that to this year.

Jen: Yeah.

Amy: Exactly, exactly.

Jen:

Amy: And, there’s a whole lot of kids. So many kids. So many kids.

Judy: Yeah.

Amy: What was that like on set where kids are really a central piece of the whole story?

Jen: Yeah, yeah. Was it slightly chaotic? Slightly chaotic. I mean.

Judy: It was chaotic because there were so many people, but it wasn’t chaotic because all those people were kids, if that makes.

Jen: Yeah, it does make sense.

Judy: Like, our kids were amazing and it never felt like. I mean, if you get that many just actors in general in a room together, we’re a train wreck. You know, we’re I’m like, we’re going to be screaming by the end of it. We’re going to be trying to be louder than the we’re going to be making jokes. We’re going to be running off to craft service.

Judy: Like it’s really not an age thing, unfortunately. Just like the nature of actor and right now, I would say the kids in our movie made Pete and I look like the actual children, like we were the ones who were always getting reprimanded, that we were the ones that they had to tell. Be quiet and stop fooling around. And dads would always be like, you guys are supposed to be setting an example for them.

Jen: And oh my gosh.

Judy: Really sorry, Dallas. But they were.

Jen: And Pete is such a shut up. I mean, oh yeah. Like just the the inmates are running the asylum. They’re for sure.

Judy: I know I did joke sometimes, like I didn’t know about Pete’s Batman character. I didn’t know that. So when he showed up for work and I met him and then him and Dallas, like, started doing the Batman thing, I thought, it’s like, what is what are they doing? Like, what are language they’re speaking? I had no idea. And then of course, I went home and was like watching them on my phone, and I was hysterical and hysterical.

Judy: But I told Pete I watched his Netflix special, the Summer. Yeah, I loved it so much. I had to call him on the phone and tell him all my favorite parts, but I was like, dude, I’m so happy I didn’t watch it before we worked together because I would have been so starstruck and nervous too.

Jen: Oh, that’s such a cute thing to say to him. Think it was so flattering.

Judy: Oh thing. And I would have just been like, oh.

Jen: I mean, truly, he is so original. Like there’s just one Pete. Like he’s just the one guy I know who, like, does what he does in the world.

Judy: His comedy is not mean. It’s like.

Jen: No, it’s not.

Judy: Funny, but it’s not mean. And I really appreciate that because sometimes it’s hard with stand ups. I think that, you know, to, to be deprecating and I guess standups are pretty self-deprecating, but, you know, to not cut other people down to make themselves look bigger.

Jen: Yeah, yeah, yeah, sometimes they punch down. Yes.

Judy: Yeah. He does not punch that. My husband never got a lot and I never remember. It’s such a great phrase. He’s probably because he’s telling me I’m punching down and then I’m, That’s a joke I am not. But to go back to the Christmas pageant, you know, in our movie, like, I think what’s so beautiful about this story is, just like the it’s it’s kind of about unity, and it’s about passion.

Judy: It’s about empathy. It’s about, being welcoming and like, I’m not saying, like, Pete, stand up special is all that. But that’s kind of what he loved about his.

Jen: Brand.

Judy: Comedy is that it fits really well with this story.

Jen: Totally. It’s going to be a runaway hit.

Judy: Oh my gosh.

Jen: Just a runaway.

Judy: Hit. You’re right.

Jen: Please, please no, it is at 100% is like we’re all going to it. We’re bringing all of our people. Everyone’s coming. Everyone’s going to love it. Okay, we can’t wait to see it. Thank you for being on our little show. We’re just delighted to have met you. I love.

Judy: Doing it. Cheering for you. Thank you for.

Jen: Cheering and cheering. Yay, Judy.

Amy: We can’t wait can’t wait.

Jen: You.

Jen: Well, if you didn’t already love that book or want to see that movie, you do now, I cannot wait, I cannot wait. This will go into my lexicon. Like my Christmas repertoire for sure. Judy Greer is darling and so very likable. And so, it was so nice to have her on today. And, let us know what you think about that movie.

Jen: Why don’t you go see it? Because those are going to be some packed theaters. I’ll tell you that right now, because everybody can see it, like you, your spouse or partner, your kids, your grandma, like everybody is going to enjoy it. It’s that kind of like, delightful Christmas movie. Okay. Thanks for being here today, you guys. We appreciate you so, so very much and love listening to you.

Jen: If you want to give show notes to us, like Brad Harden does, we accept those, on whatever you want to say. Like, you know, other people have things to offer us and we can accept it.

Amy: We can, because.

Jen: You know, Brad is going to run on the scene. He’s going to stop giving you notes, and we’re going to have to rely on other people, to come back and give us feedback. So, more to come. We’ve got a couple of really sweet episodes, this season that we are excited about and we think you’re going to love and, just a great way to finish out 2024.

Jen: So, on behalf of Amy and I, thanks for being here. And we’ll see you next week.

 

 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

48 Hours movie (1982)

Film Rating Guide

Top Gun movie (1986)

The Shining movie (1980)

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

37th Street Austin Light Display

Arrested Development

13 Going on 30 movie (2004)

The Descendants movie (2011)

I Don’t Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star by Judy Greer

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: A Christmas Holiday Book for Kids by Barbara Robinson

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever movie (2024)

Archer

Citizen Ruth movie (1996)

Dallas Jenkins

Pete Holmes