"Dance with my Bones" with Scott Thompson

We sit down with actor, comedian, writer and our first Kid in the Hall, Scott Thompson to discuss "King", the trials and tribulations of the Kids in the Hall on Amazon, wanting to be an interesting talk show guest, Brain Candy, success being as devastating as failure, the Brampton School shooting and Dance with my Bones.

Website:
newscottlandland.com
X:
@ScottThompson_
Insta:
@scottthompsoncomedy

WWTWH YouTube Channel

Laura Kightlinger
Twitter: @KingKightlinger
Insta: @laurakightlingerlives
Web: laurakightlinger.com

Daniel Webb
Twitter: @thedanielwebb
Insta: @the_danielwebb
Web: thedanielwebb.com

Transcript

0:09

A mounted Canadian Rocky. Amazing. Amazing performer. First time kickball champion. Just supernova partner. You name it. Here he is. Scott Thompson. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. We love you so. And you're on the road right now. You just were telling us earlier. Yeah, I'm in New Jersey. Had a couple of days off. I just did a show in what was a Philadelphia. Yeah, I think that's where I was. And then I have a market in New York tomorrow. Then I'm going to Atlanta and New Jersey. fantastic. No, it's where I am. I mean, Nashville, they both start with. Yeah. You're doing King is a Barry Cole show, right? Yes. Is that the right title? I don't want to miss? It's about. It's like 12 monologues and they all kind of lead up to a kind of staggering conclusion. There is kind of a there's a narrative to it. It's it's got a story to it. Like they are kind of the monologues can all live on their own. Then they all kind of come together at the end. And it has it's kind of it's the first time I've ever done a show with Buddy where there's an actual arc. Wow. That's amazing. Yeah, it's pretty exciting. Has the kids all been picked up again or. no. There's not going to be a second season. There's not. No, that was amazing. That's so still. No, no, no, no, no. Definitely not. What in the hell is wrong with them? It's crazy. I mean, honestly. Everything? Yeah. Don't even get me started, okay? Everything is wrong. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you can. I mean, I'm very open about it now. I mean, ever since I promised the boys that I would be quiet until the time was right. And now the time is right. And I can talk a little more honestly about what we went through. And what we went through is what led to this show in many. Well, amazing. Well, I think especially for like eighties and especially nineties sketch comedy, a lot of it was like hard punching and breaking boundaries of things you couldn't say or do on television, which today might reach sensitive. And so now you have these people, producers and industry people of a different generation who have a different level of activity, whereas you're like it's a completely different way and they don't know. It's like, Hello, this is what we do. Yeah, they're humorless. This is our show. But even humorless kids. That's exactly what they are. But kids in the hall have have a certain brand, I guess someone would say, But you know what I mean? Like, your repertoire speaks a certain way. And to try to counter that from an industry level like producers or censors and things like that, or to tell the kids in the hall that they can't do kids in the hall. I mean, I love to bitch about any jobs I've had in the business. So do you want to do you want to say like one? What was. Well, I'm just going to be. The truth is, with the kids and with the series, it was a very difficult experience. I mean, I'm very proud of what we did because we're just very lucky in that we're very prolific. Yeah. And so you really can't stop us, like in terms of like, I think if there's like five waves that make a tsunami and you can block one of the waves, you can even block a couple of the waves, but you can't block the actual tsunami, it will come for you. Yeah. And so what you do is when you block one of the channels, then the other ones get stronger. So when the wave eventually meets you, it's still going to be as strong as it ever was. It'll just be in a different area. So that's kind of what happened to us. We were we basically, you know, we started writing the series just before the pandemic, and then two weeks into it, the world shut down. And we had just gone back to Canada and we were all sent to our homes. And like the rest of the world. And then candidate went really, really they went really hard. And we were we didn't see each other for like over a year, year and a half. And we kept keep communicating and we didn't even know if it was going to continue. And then it picked up a year later and we got but luckily we got another writing block, which is good because they kept cutting stuff out and the censorship was so extreme we had to do so much more writing. And then, you know, and then of course, you know, the pandemic, I think made people not think clearly. ABC's. The weirdest and there we are, five old white guys and we're the devil. And that's kind of what happened. Yeah. And I was like, But I'm a gay guy. I never had that white privilege, male white privilege you're talking about. And they go, It doesn't matter. We see, Right? But you don't really. That actually is something and something really noticeable. Bit like white guys are definitely the villain right now but gay white men. villain and gay white men are the. Yeah. And no one wants to really hear like we've had our chance sort of a thing like we've had our moment. Yeah, I noticed that Ryan Murphy is really being shut down left and right. But as naturally the more I sense a little, said Scott. No, no. No, no, no, no. I know. And I'd like to get. Into I love you. So no. Okay, I okay. And do you think there's anything less. I can't speak for Ryan Murphy. I know I have that kind of power, but all I know now is they went hard on us and they went doubly hard on me. And if you watch the series, there are nobody called monologues. They weren't allowed. Wow. Which is like signature. And this is going to hurt. So you should buckle up. All of our material had to be cleared by the sensitivity committee, which is the D.I. And are you ready? Glad. wow. Wow, wow. Wow. The call is coming from. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Daniel, the call is coming from Scott. You know, there's a friend of mine who was is on the show on this show, Liz Astrof was saying she, she had a show called Pivoting, and then the then she had a meeting about it not coming back. And it was with three women all in their forties, early thirties for. I bet. It was. Mostly white. Yeah. Yeah. The executives and, and they said. To the executives. They said they said to her we are you know, our audience just isn't interested in women in their forties. It's like you're a woman, you're like who the hell is you know, What. Are you watching? Yeah, it's like, okay, like, but hearing that from women and just like you're saying, like hearing glad say we don't want a gay character on here. It's like, or like the signature gay character, but. It's not gay character. It's me. Yeah. Yeah, it's personal. It's me personally. Yeah. Are you finding on the road the audience? go ahead. I mean, it's unbelievable. This has been the most vindicating tour I've ever done, so, yeah, to just have the incredible love from the audience and to see them so ready for this kind of material, it's like, I think I might actually catch a wave. Like people are tired of this. Yeah. And people have to really understand that what's happening is it's moving from one side to the other. And the difference is the kids in the hall, When we fight censorship, I accept that we're always going to find censorship, always going to fight it, because there's always going to be a certain amount of people, regardless of what side they identify with, who are pills and. That's a nice place to. Put it. They will always right, They will always fill that quotient up. It doesn't matter what they call themselves, what they look like, how they identify their pill. And and that's what happened to us. Yeah. And so it was a it was an extraordinary experience because I got so, you know, there was you know, the orders would come down with like Glad wants this removed and it was mostly my material. And so I felt the entire I mean, it was a nightmare. And I just went, you know what? I kind of went, this is I don't know. It's just like almost like, how could my life have led to this? How could people that supposedly are like me are protecting people like me from people like me? You know, they are doing that by not letting me be hurt. And it was a it was incredibly difficult. But I got so I was so sad by it. I mean, I was angry, but I was I was really sad about what was happening. But I gave all that body. Yeah. And he took it and was like, What the hell is wrong with you now? Who cares what these pills think? You know, you're right. Yeah. And so I just kind of I had a profound transformation during the pandemic. I didn't cut my beautiful long hair off like. Like Daniel Day realized, but I just thought, well, you know, I. I have to accept this is where I'm at. And anger is not going to help. No one wants to see that. But so I thought, well, I'll give it to Buddy. And he just took it and turned it around. Fantastic. But now it's it's, it's like triumphant because it is universal. Now, it's interesting because I feel transformed by the experience, because I feel, in a strange way, grateful to the roadblock because having to go around it made me find even a better part of funny. Your past. Yeah. And what I like, yeah. Is what doesn't kill you. So it's been. Yeah, What doesn't kill you makes you a burden to someone. What happened? You hear me? yeah. No. No, I didn't. But I'm pretending to laugh. Is the. I new. It was. Fun. Now it doesn't. It's not worth repeating, but I'm going to. What doesn't kill you makes you a burden to someone else. That's what I like to say. That's. Yeah, that's a. No. No, but no. In your case, like you got knocked down, but it made it even better. So it was good because you had a new pathway for Buddy to say, come on. Basically I took. Yeah, but basically Buddy Cole begins the show by saying, you know, that basically Amazon didn't want me to talk directly to the camera because they believed that me talking directly to the camera might make the audience think that we were on a Zoom call and they might all start to mess. Okay. Which made complete sense to me, after all, is my cameo the only thing which somehow got me booted off Twitter? my God. that's pretty cool. Should have an only fans that that would be a hit. You really. That's like you really should do. That. You know what? If I done a body call only fans fans Amazon would have gone for? Yeah, they would have said they would have loved it. I'd go, I'm going to show my bumble. man, you don't have to look at me. Only funny. Yeah, you can. You can be. Your starfish shot. Yeah, you don't have to. Be because the censorship today is a it's not about nudity, not about sex. It's about identity politics. And those things are it was our things are changing. We were not allowed to even weigh in. And that's what's interesting is that the most the fault lines throughout our society are the places that I thrive and why I meant to be told that you're not allowed to do that. And it and it's the people that are supposedly on your side is just very bewildering. It's like before when it was the religious right. I go, Well, at least they're not my friends. The people that I. Spent any time with. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's your friends that are that have become. Yeah, it's cannibalism. And that's a difficult thing to accept. Yeah. I often describe other gay men as cannibals because there's just like this very little gay man. We can't even get into that. There's not enough time. But even in the in the throes of the pandemic, having a project like that to work on, even to be mad and frustrated with, like, creatively, like what can beacon of hope. You know, what do you know? That's exactly true. Because I would say that to myself. I'd be like, okay, I'm alone with my cats. I can't see anyone. I'm going crazy. I'm gaining weight, I'm drinking all the time. I go, but at least I have something that I'm working on. And even that's difficult and I know that there is a window. Like I went there is a window at the end of this. And that kept me going. Yeah. And so I am grateful for that, you know, and I'm glad that we had the two weeks prior. So that we could be together physically. Yeah. And but it was, it was very difficult. But, you know, I just love sketch comedy. So no matter what you do, I'm still going to do it because I just accept that there's always going to be roadblocks for sure. It's just yeah, it's more shocking when it's the people that you're working with. Yeah, yeah. You know? Yeah. And I mean, this is kind of shocking what I said. Told you it. Is. Yeah. But. And I think it needs to be addressed. People need to understand this is not good. This is not the way art is made. Yeah, it's weird. It's weird. Censorship comes in all kinds of. Yeah, it is. Yeah. Censorship. Yeah. When I first moved to L.A., I just happened to be on a show with you and, like, could not believe my life. I remember and was like, This is how Hollywood works. And, like, urges, you know, just see you running into someone like you. Because, of course, Kids in the Hall was, like, formative. And it was also something in America you had to get. Was it called the cube or something? You had to have? It was cable, but it wasn't accessible. You had to have a friend who had it. So and that's how I saw your show. It's not Quibi. No, no. 100 years. That's Quibi. No, it's exciting. It's extinct. but we anyway. But we knew Buddy Cole was the one that was like what we laughed at. That was like we would talk about It was like gay code for a while. Even we did. I will never forget we did a musical. We did Godspell, right? And there was this one kid, closeted kid. It was the best. And he had one line and he didn't know he was doing very cool, but he was very cool. He was cross legged on a pie long ago, and blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness. And then like, I mean, he just take a swig of a martini and we did that show a hundred times. And every time I was like, Here it comes. Every time I. Know we should have our martinis with us right now. He'd swing around, but he didn't know he was doing Body Call. I feel like. I feel like you really tap into a real queerness that you see audiences are, like, receptive to right now. But I feel like, Yeah, especially at the end when they realize what I'm where I'm going and when they realize what body is saying, it's I'm not even going to give it away because it's too exciting, because it's they go what? It's like a coming out again, you'll see. And I'm like, Holy shit, this is fun. I'm doing something I'm not supposed to do is and that's where. I'm going to guess you're going to come out as straight. Is that where the twist are? You receive? I didn't hear anything. I'm sorry. I you know, I'm a woman talking. Why should you listen? Right? Right. Well, can you lower your register so it's in a more non. I am of all people, have the deepest voice of this goddamn. Of this. Show to. You know. One of the counter tenors. I know. Damn it. I can't help it. My gain has made my voice sound like this. I worked with the dude. I worked with the straight guy, and he. He was from Michigan, so he didn't know he was a big and he was just born that way. He didn't know he would say all kinds of horrible things. And one day he had a really confirmed customer and he came up to me of all people, it goes, Why do they talk like that? It was like, Talk like what? It looks like me. Wow, baby. I know we're all in awe. That's my pet peeve when when men do impressions of their girlfriends on stage and that they. I can't do that. I can't go out with that. You know, I'm just like, so everybody's married to this how you see them? He was Southern gay guy. I was at a bar. I was at a bar. And a Tennessee Williams play. There. All Delilah's. Jesus. Yeah, Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Well, I do decline. I was it. This is not that pleasant this time of year to renew acquaintance here at Gloria's Hall. Well, I've always depended upon the company. The kindness of strangers. If you're a good damsel. And. Right, you speak about this, and I know you will be fine. That the young gay ones will. They say. I know that's the thing. Tennessee Williams, you know, he was the old gay. These two guys in Boston. I was sitting next to them at a bar and I was alone. So I was eavesdropping. And they were really they were very manly. But GROSS They were like, really ugly. But their Boston accent made them really hot. But what though? How, how, how can explain. It played Boston up. You know what I mean? They were just like they were so and just like but the whole time these two dudes were like bitching about their old ladies and it was the most, like, derogatory, disrespectful thing. And so I was like, they're horrible people, but their accents make them so kind of like, horny, like, I can't explain it. And they really commiserate hitting so hard that it made it broke, which made it gay. You know what I mean? Like, I was just. Like it came full. Circle. I just kept ordering drinks so I could hear more. So we make up set. It came full starfish. We'll make a. Hummus, but it really just seduced me. Like their misogyny slash that horrendous accent. I was into it, man. Where are you from? You're from? I know Canada, but like, where I'm. From, a town called Brampton, which is north of Toronto. But I'm like a I'm an Ontario boy. Are you like, are you in kids in the Hall? Are you more famous in Canada? How do you have a different reason? yes. Yeah. yes. What is There's a Scott Thompson Street in Calgary. Not well. I have. I have a star. I have a star and I have two stars. I have one. I have three. I have one in Toronto for the kids in the hall on the Walk of Fame. I have one in my hometown, Brampton. And then the place where I'm born in North Bay. So I have three. That's amazing. Yeah. That's great. Meanwhile, Laura showed us her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and then you got ticketed. I know you did that. What is the. Largest you do You have a star? God, no. No. And you know something? They charge $50,000. That's more than I make in a year. You have your own. And so. That's more. That's more than you have to pay for an awesome. my. Yeah. It was cheaper than it is. It's like, it's like a it's like the most expensive vanity plate that you could have. Having a star on the Walk of Fame, which is crazy. I know I'm from you and all of us are from, you know, we're all from Canada. Yeah. Yeah. Where did you guys shoot Brain Candy Otranto. That was all in Canada. Yeah. Everything was done in Toronto. We saw that movie so many times. We had to lie to our parents about what movie we were going to because they wouldn't give us money to go see it again. Do you know what I mean? It was like, we're going, Yeah, we will, because it was so nerdy to us and it was so like we it was so brilliantly funny. They had to go a few times to because there are so many things that you would miss the first time because it was subtle. And then you go, my God, yeah. When you saw brain candy, was there anybody else in the theater with Was it always in a limo? Yeah. It was very much the cool thing. We wore trench coats just in case. No, I mean, we didn't pay for snacks, but we. Yeah, I remember lying to say we were going to go see the movie Hackers. but instead we. And then we had to then sneak in to go see brain candy. What was that like? To make something to watch something evolve from like sketch comedy to television to like movie that has to be like. Well, that was a very blank. And it was difficult because we we set ourselves a really ridiculous goal. We we said we're not going to we're not going to fill it with all of our running characters because that might make it successful. So we're going to create all branding. All right. Let's put a couple of hot in the queen for one line, like, no, that would just be too easy. And we're going to make it a narrative, right? We just were like, We were so scared. But then we thought and we're going to take on the pharmaceutical. Yeah, that's what we're going to do, right? And we're going to and we're going to fill it with with gay and lesbian characters. We're going to dress as. Women like. I'm going to be a huge. Yeah, but you're a voyeur is because the pharmaceutical industry really needed to be knocked even then. Yeah, you especially now. Yeah. Who were you watching as a kid when you were getting started and stuff? Who were you into? Well, I was. I never really thought about being a comedian when I was young. I wanted to be a movie star. That was funny on talk shows. Yeah, I wanted to be Burt Reynolds. to be. I wanted to be Robert Morelli. I wanted to be someone that had stories. You. I, I, Peter Ustinov. These are people they used to come in and they were. yeah, they're great in the movies, but they're going to tell a story. Or David Niven, people like, yeah, I would go as I read The Moon, The Balloon, I went, That's the kind of life I want to. Yeah, but I never dreamed that I could be an actual comedian because I thought, well, comedians talk about their life as I know I'm gay. And I wasn't I didn't come out till much later. And I said, I can't talk about my real life. So I but I can I would watch people on like Johnny Carson. And then I go, God, they really got to tell a great story. I'll tell you, we've got people like Martin Short, those people that are just phenomenal guests. Yeah. Amy Sedaris. Yeah, I want to be a guest like Valvoline. And then I went to acting school and, you know, and I thought, I'm, I went to acting school. I wanted to be a Shakespearean actor. I wanted to do Shakespeare. I wanted to do all that stuff. I want to be dramatic. And then I then I thought, maybe I can do stand up. And then when I graduated, I did a bit. But it was very, very difficult because I was openly gay. That's when I started coming out. This is the mid eighties. You couldn't be an openly gay man and you couldn't even in comedy. Impossible. Yeah. And then I met the kids in the hall and then, I'm, I can go there. I can hide with Sam until. Until the war is over because. God, I mean, either. But yeah, that's very. That's basically how it was for me. I went, Well, there's a war and there's, you know, you can't really choose the time you're born into, but holy cow. And I know, but that's not the question you asked. You asked about Frank Candy. But it's true. Like brain candy. We just we made a lot of dumb steaks, although I'm very proud of the movie, and I know it's a great movie. Interesting enough, you know, this is the thing I've realized more and more is that all the things that I wanted when I was younger first starting out was like because I wanted look at I wanted superstardom. And I thought that would that that would solve everything. But I didn't quite realize that that's kind of a recipe for early flameout. Yeah, you know I could disaster. Yeah. And that huge success can be just as devastating as failure. Yeah. And so I think in a way, I dodged a bullet. We dodged a bullet. You mean all of us are not making it? Is that what you're saying? All of us. All of us. Everybody in this world. If we. What if we think we're stars? Well, you can still think. I still think I'm a star, but like nobody else does, because no one recognizes me anymore. So biggest ones. Why not? God, no. No. No. You just have to. If you think you're a star, you just have to put it in, you know, $50,000 if you really think it. Yeah. And then and put it in the ground. But you know what is cult? Cult success kind of guarantees longevity. No, it's. Yeah, like, I mean I haven't had that either, but I think you're right. No, I feel like. Yes, you are. Yeah, you are. Are you kidding me? When I told people here that I was, that was Lauren Kiley. You're like, my God, she's fantasy. I tell you or doesn't get it. She doesn't get it. You know that. You all do. I mean, I'm like, You guys give me the same vibe as like a John Waters kind of thing where it's like generational. There's a darkness to it. There's the but it's also just gender bending. You know, there's like a queerness to y'all's show. And I think it's elevated. It's, you know, it's subtle and thought provoking. Like, I mean, some of the shit now, I guess even stuff on TikTok, I'm like, you know, they could fart for an hour and that and then they've got 20 million followers. And I'm just like, yeah, you know, I mean. That's the thing. I want SNL like that too. I just watched they put they posted somewhere on YouTube, Jack Frost interview with David Frost, interview with Jack Benny. And then I got to be David Frost interviewing Jack. I was like, You know what? I want to see the movie. I want to see it. It turns out they were related, but. It's so slow. Like their conversation is so slow paced and there's no sense of urgency to getting a story out. And all of that. Like Shelley Winters on The Tonight Show. Another great game, right? I love her. Like because she would a she would talk shit. She would name names like all of it. my Lord. I watched one Shelley Winters last night. I don't know why I fell down on Shelley Winters. yeah, but it was she was with, I think not Phoebe Cates. I can't remember the actress. She was in the, say, the most obscure movie she ever made, but she was in Corvette Summer. I love Corvette. So it was a performing on a cruise ship comedy. blow. Dry. Just like what? What what did Shelley Winters say in that interview? yeah. Well, she was I'd say she said to the actress, she goes, I love you. I think you're great. I've seen you around, but I don't know what you're in. And she goes, Shelley, maybe it was the movie we made time. I unbelievable. I love it So good. We Sally didn't miss a beat. She went, God, Of course you were watching. Yes, did. And then Johnny Carson goes, boy, I can't believe you pull yourself out of that type. But, you know, like I used to. When do you remember Betty Davis? When she came back and she was skeletal? my God. Yeah. Smoking on the poster for the drug. I was. Still smoking. Post-stroke, still smoking dope. Still smoking. Funnier than ever. Funnier. yeah. Like unstoppable. And it was were. Who did she name? There's one guest. I think it's Joan Rivers where she's like, who's the who's the worst actress you've ever worked with? And she says, For all my money, Faye Dunaway. Yeah, that's right. Does it? Blank? Yeah. Is it Faye Dunaway? It was just pay was mean to her, too, I think. Yeah, But like. no, she was young. It was a young Faye Dunaway because Faye was young men. And then it's at this new actress, Faye Dunaway. Yeah, Yeah. What's the dollar amount she puts on it, though? She does put she's like, for $1,000,000. Faye Dunaway. Like, Ken puts money on the table. And, you know, I look at that, I'm. Sorry to say, but it seems like kind of an inspiration for, like, like me, like in terms of comedy. yeah. Just because you're like, I go look at her. She's still go, and then she's funnier than I go. It's like, This is the party. This is Buddy. Now he's in Let's party. Now is Buddy post Betty Davis. Yeah. Yeah. And just to embrace that, I think embracing the bitterness is something like the woman. You know, her teeth, her mouth was already. On this side of her face, right? And then the bitch has a stroke, and now it's like all her hair and she's still smoking and talking shit out of that side. Like it is a miracle. Even when she had, like, genuine, genuine fans, you know, kind of, you know, just falling all over her or whatever, like she was. She did some like kind of I'm I'm not sure what it was. It was like a big kind of a not not a talk show. But anyway, she I'm having a stroke right now. She said she said that she someone asked her, what would you tell this young this young artist, you know, a young, young women want to be actresses. What tips would you give them to to acting? And she said, take, take out and it's faster. yeah. No, that's in June. I heard. great. Joan said it. Right? Or is it Bette Davis? I thought it was Bette Davis. I think it's Betty. okay. Yeah. So anyway, Fountain. Yeah, I have. To come up that while I'm post-stroke. Did you know that I had I had a brain aneurysm three years ago. I had a brain aneurysm in 2020. Not Yeah. my God. I had. No, I'm so sorry. That's what. Happened. I mean, what happened? You had an. Aneurysm. Yeah. Yeah, it just may. We should dress you like Betty Davis one of the times. Like we should put you in the can, like, word askew. I wanted to after I. After. After I got out of it or whatever I wanted to have people over and just say hi. What are you? Do they. If they didn't know, I hadn't recovered, they didn't know it's an aneurysm. I so did that happen during the pandemic? It did. And Jesus. Stress induced, Can I. Say that's what's so crazy? Okay. You almost die. And then they say it's dehydration and stress. Like, I could twist my ankle from dehydration and stress. But Garret, my husband, was kind enough to actually be listening to me. Unlike most male comics with their wives, he listened to me and noticed I wasn't making any sense and took me to the doctor. And then I yeah, I had my and my brain had been bleeding for three days. She's it. Yeah. She always brags about. That a vessel just pops in your brain. Had three days. Brags about. That. I know what's the perfect amount for your brain to be good. It's like, like I'm just thinking. not at all. Sweet spot. Well, you know, there's intermittent. there's intermittent fasting and then there's intermittent bleeding. I think. Screen bloat. That's unattractive, right? No. Officially during award season. Intermittent brain, that was. The last time there was any internal blood in my body. What? We should turn this into a medical show one of these days, anyway. Do you like touring? I couldn't talk. Forever. Missing you. with. Well, I want. We will come and see you. Yeah, I want to see the show. Where? So where can we. We're going to plug this again at the end. But can we come and see you? Well, if you're in New Jersey. Nashville. You're Nashville next. Week of Nashville or. Or Atlanta. Yeah. really? Okay. I feel like we could do one of them. I love touring. I love, like, performing. I've seen Kids in the Hall live. I saw you guys at Moon Tower a few years ago. I saw I got twice. yeah. Couldn't get enough of it. And the audience love you guys. It was the wedding, too. We wear our wedding dress for you, and. And the curtain goes up. yes. And now that that wedding dress, Amazon wouldn't allow that, which is so nice. They called it transphobic. See, here's the thing. It's like I cannot. I believe you, but they don't know that that's what kids in the heart, not the kids don't know anything. But they when you guys when the curtain came up and the five of you were in these kind of like goth, it's very, I don't know, Victorian wedding dress white dresses and they're holding these All y'all did at the beginning held a pose right before anyone says anything. They just hold this pose and the place is going nuts. And liberal. Austin, Texas. Yeah, we just did. I guess two or three weeks ago we were at Sketch Fest in San Francisco and we did two nights of the kids in the hall. Then I did the third night. KING you did gets fest. So it was quite something WAS yeah, it was quite a win. Probably the first night we did Kids in the Hall, like Unplugged, but we did a lot of our sketches, all kinds of sketches, but without any real bells and whistles. Not a lot of wigs or costumes. Just a just like almost like an old school Rivoli show. And it went really well. The next night we did the band material and we did all not all that. A lot of the band material from Amazon things. We basically did things that people have censored us with all through the years. We started with like stuff that the CBC censored, HBO, HBO censored. We, we started with things where the kids in the hall censored each other. And that that was the it began with we started the show and it was great. The audience went crazy, but we began with the show with the very first piece that I'd written for the group called The Rectum Vagina Challenge, which was parodying like the Pepsi. The Pepsi Challenge. Yeah. And and basically I built a little box that had like round holes and then vagina shaped hole, you know? I don't know, you know. Don't look at me. I certainly don't know. I don't look down there. And I would go in the shoes and it was a man on the street thing. What I would say, man, if you are going to and it was also parodying the Stovetop challenge, which is people comparing stuffing that was put in the bird and stuffing that was dumped on the stove. And so we would get people on them. And that was this thing where I would get people on the on the street and I go, Man, if you were going to offer your husband at home, rectum or vagina, you would go all Hilton's vagina. And then I would have up and then I would have and they would stick their cocks through the hall of the fuck them. I'd go, okay, try the next door. And then he got all this is the one. And then I would go, What did you choose? And I'd pull it up and go, You chose. Wow. And then it's like, Ladies, nine out of ten men choose. And so. And the kids in the hall did not want me to do it. And it wasn't homophobic a little, but it was mostly because it went against our rules, which we didn't do parody. So that's one. And then. And then? And then. But we did all these and then the Amazon material we did. I did a Buddy Cole monologue that wasn't allowed. He all we did all these sketches that we'd written that just killed. And it was the beginning of this vindication. I went, Well, I knew they were wrong because the only true arbiter of what's funny is the audience, right? The only ones that matter. And it just has been it's just this tour has been wonderful for me because it's like I'm getting my mojo back. Yeah. And that's what this show is. It's Buddy Cole basically claiming his crown. Amazing. Is that what you get recognized for the most? Do people immediately conflate Scott Thompson with Buddy Cole? Yes. Yes. And quite often they'll put a picture of of Buddy. They'll say it's me. And that used to bother me, but I don't care anymore. Yeah, I'm like, okay, that's fine. Because I realize that's only my own internalized self-loathing because I'm going, I'm not that bad, but that you're hardly a big butch cowboy. You're not. You're not your, you know, your pickup truck, your long hair flowing in the way. I assume your pickup truck is is a convertible. It's got a moonroof. That's what I always say. I guess people can't believe I. I drive a pickup truck. I say, Yeah, I believe it or not. Yeah, I'm a top and I drive a truck, read it and weep. Yeah, that's exactly. That's like buddy. Buddy of Buddy confesses to the audience that he's a top. And that's the. Shocking. I mean. That's when people walk out that's what they that's they'll the out. it's not it's. The last straw. I tell you, it's not a show unless you people I think it's important to walk people. To Canadians love guns the way we do here in the United States. In a different way. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of it's a fallacy that Canada is a country that doesn't have guns and guns everywhere. Lots of people have guns. And in rural areas, lots of people do. But we like rifles. okay. We like long got it. Well, you know, here's the thing. We don't like pistols. Yeah, partly why I bring it up. There was a mom who was arrested for her son's shooting of kids in the school, but she gave him the gun. The gun. And I think, like, not even as an homage to Hemingway, who, you know, his mom left him a gun. Would you give a kid a gun? I don't have kids, but I know I would never, ever give a kid it again because it's not a gift. Really. It's a suggestion. Yeah Yeah. No, actually. Yeah, isn't it? And it's also it's it's very passive aggressive violence from the. Yeah. Well, you know, like the gun thing is easy because I don't know. When I was young, I was in a I was in a mass shooting. So I got a very different feeling about what. You really were feeling. Yes, I truly was. Wow. Are you kidding? Can we talk about this or do you want to talk know? Yes, you can. You brought it up and you can talk about where. So I have a very I have a very personal relationship to that kind of wild. Where were you? So was it just at home? In school? It was a. School. Just your parents are. You can get in. It with you. Just your family? No. The boy behind the boy behind me shot up my class when I was 16. Are you shooting these? So we'll go. Well, that's why you're a comedian. That horrible. Yes, that's actually that. You've stumbled upon my origin story. Well, he was somebody that you you were in class with at the time. I was on my way to class and I was a little late. Wow. And it wasn't that class. But that's what he shot 16 people and three times. And you felt like you could have been part of that. You would have been killed? Well, I was because I had I had a teacher that saved my life because I was running the class. And it all erupted and I didn't understand what I was seeing. I'd never seen I'd never seen guns before. I'd never I'd never like, never seen that. I'd blood before, but not like that. Wow. And I didn't really accept what was happening because I was too young and I'd never met these sorts of things that never happened before. This is the very beginning. This all began really a long time ago. And I began to really in my small town. And so I didn't quite understand what was happening. So when it I, I heard it and I remember hearing the shots, but I'd never heard gunshots before ever, really. So I didn't I thought it was just firecrackers. And and then I kept going and then I smelled gunpowder. And I never I just thought it was, you know, fireworks. And then and that's when I saw blood. And I went, This isn't good. And then people ran by me and they yelled, He has a gun. And I was very I was just about to turn the corner where he was. And then a teacher saved my life. He grabbed me and threw me into a classroom where I hid for the next 45 minutes until we were released by the police. Holy shit. But so I'm very I have a very personal relationship to this. Yeah. So I have been this has been this is a kind of a wound that's that erupts all that. That's a wound that keeps coming up. So I was going to ask like. I have to have dinner with him, but for 2 seconds. Scott, do you. Know I can't believe you asked for it. No darling. No, I was just going to ask you to move back because I am losing the end of your flight. Thank you. It's got to been shot. Is this. Okay? Well, you. Know, one of my jokes is I just. I'm doing stand up about it now, and I. And this is it. Like it's actually very dark. It's very. Yeah. When I finally got home, when my finally got released and I eventually made my way home, my mother had I have come from a family of five boys and there were two of us in school and my mom had been waiting for hours for me to come home. And it was it's not like today. There was no she she didn't run out onto the lawn and embraced tears, seated stood behind the screen door, looking at me with her hands on the hips. Because I'd taken so long. Yeah, well, you took a long time. And I'm like, well, and I want I thought she would, like, hug me and, my God, my baby's home is going, Why didn't you call me? I go, Well, I didn't say we don't have cell phones. It's a seven. But, you know, and she was at times, but I was like, she didn't want to show it. She just was like, well, your brother got home and I was like, well, I was so worried that I was hiding under it. Yeah. And then she says to me and my brother, I have two brothers and they're playing basketball in the in the carport. Right. And they're like, and I, I was upset. And my brother goes, What are you upset about? You didn't get shot. I know, I know. My joke is that I wasn't physically wounded, but I'm I'm I'm covered with emotional woo. I'm still they're not like like scars, like, I suppose scarring. I go, yes I don't have any physical scars, but I'm covered with emotional scars. But they don't get you lay. They just make you better and better. Yeah, but this is what my mother literally said to me when I said to her, Where's Dad? So the shooting happened.

11: 42:20

38 a.m. and I didn't get home till about three. And I said to my mom, Where's Dad? I assume she called my dad and he'd come home and she said to me, Your father's at work. And I went to work. And she said, Well, of course he's at work. I said, Well, why didn't you call him? She says, Scott, I'm not allowed to call your father at work unless it's a call because it wasn't an emergency. Because I wasn't actually. You were not hurt. That's unless it's an emergency. How different the world has. That's how much we've changed. Yeah. Wow. And we were back in school, and. That was my next question. They hadn't even they hadn't repaired anything. It happened on a Wednesday with they gave us Thursday and Friday off. We were back on Monday and, and my teacher was two dead in my class. He was dead. She was dead, two wounded, and no one ever there was no counseling. No one did anything for us. We had a teacher that babysat us, was near the end of the year was May 28, and they just kind of people were so traumatized by it that they just kind of pretended it didn't happen. And now you cut to many, many years later. I have been working on I have a screenplay with I've written about it called It's inspired by it called Dance with My Bones, and I've been working on it for over 20 years. Wow. I started writing it the day after Columbine because Columbine, really, I hate that word triggered because I hate it. But it did open up the wound again. Wow. And that's when I it's interesting. Can I tell you the story? Yeah. I want to know. Scott, I wanted to ask you first that did anything happen with the kid that did the shooting? Did he. Kill himself? He did shot. He blew his head off. But, you know. Yeah, but here's the thing, you know? So what happened to me and my movie? I've been working on it for a long time, but it finally I finished it during the pandemic when I went again. More good that came out of this dark time because I finally I finally could finish the screenplay because I couldn't. It took me it's taken me almost 25 years, two over 20 to write this because I had to first of all, the writing process, I had to separate myself from the actual story, right? I had to make it fictional, right? Because it's not a memoir. I want it to bring people in. And the original, when I first started writing it, it was very much like what you would do for a psychiatrist where they'd say, I want you to write down everything that happened. So I was very adamant about trying to be truthful to everything, but I realized I was just really trying to honor everybody that had gone or people that had been hurt because we were so we were emotionally hurt. And no one understood that then. Yeah, but then I realized that was no way in Sure. And I had to fictionalize. And, and, and it all began because the day after the night of Columbine, I, I had a dream. And I usually dreams, usually tell me what to do. So this dream I was partying up to no good and up to no good. And there was a knock at the door and I went to the door and it was my teacher, Mrs. Wright, because I can't even say her first name. Because you didn't call a teacher by their first name unless you were going to shoot them. Then you could use their fighting rap. She she, she, she would sleep with them, you know, or sleep with them. Yeah, that's right. That's, that's for another podcast. So that would be she actually she looked you and she said, What are you doing? I said, Hey Mrs. Wright, how you do it? And she said, She said to me, Scott, I want you to dance with my bones. And I woke up and I wrote it down. And the next day I started writing, Wow. And now because this whole movie and now it's in development, fantastic. And I'm hoping I hope to do. I hope to direct it. Yeah, that's amazing. That's the angle. Great, great, great. I'm going to direct this movie. That's amazing. You have you done directorial things before? Is that something? You know. I directed Little Blood Short little shorts and stuff like that? No, never know. But I this is probably the only film I'll ever direct. I don't even know if I'll even ever write another screenplay because it was so difficult. Although I learned so much about how to write a screenplay because I realized halfway through the process where it was Bruce McCulloch help me, he said, Scott, this is really riveting, but it's your story and it's I know this is what happened, but you have to fictionalize it. And then I would hear her say to me, as with my bones, I didn't say, show my bones, dance with them. So that gave me permission to to make it a story. Yeah, right. Yeah. So, like. Like my stand by. It's my stand by me. Honestly, that is a fascinating shoot. Like the word dance. Like, it's not. It's seasonality. And I didn't. I didn't know it's dance with me because she was my English teacher, right? It was my English class and she was the first person in my life that had ever truly seen me because like, in a way, because she was very young. She was 26 years old. She was just married. She'd just started her career. I they say she was pregnant. I'm not exactly sure really what really happened, but she was my English teacher and I was a kid that did very I was smart and I got into a lot of trouble. What were you to? Everything. I never shut up. I was. I was a class clown. Yeah, Yeah. But I was really good in English, and I was an incredible reader. Like, I was a real bookworm. And I did well, like, I was the top student in English, but I was also the top student in being grounded and expelled. I was never expelled, but I. I was constantly having detentions. Yeah. And so being disruptive. She would say to me for being disruptive, I was just disruptive. And she said to me, and meanwhile the guy is sitting behind me. He's the real dust. Yeah, I don't know. I But he was quiet, right? It's and he sat behind me like we were. It was really it's quite something. This guy is kind of haunted me my whole life. Most teachers make such a huge impact or can make a huge impact on your life. Yeah, mine was Mary Brickley, who I still am in touch with and. I she, she was also the drama club person and so I she cast me in the first play, which was I was Penny Sycamore and you can't take it with you. Wait, I was in. I was the uncle and you can't. Take my place. I was the. We would have gone to the prom together because. Yeah, we were totally. Like a prom date. In. The end. Anyway, just. Went to Uncle the. Yeah. Because we were both, we were both in the play together. Anyway, I was in that. She said, and it made me laugh. She said she was going through a really hard time and because I was always trying to be funny that we'd go into the auditorium and I was like, I don't at 14. And I'd say, I love the smell of the theater water. And do you think I think teachers do like a wink, wink, nod, nod to, sorry. I want to, but no, I want to talk about your awful teacher that was that used to that used to point. You outed me. Yeah. I was going to say, I think you said your English teacher, like, noticed you or like, I think. Well, yeah, because I didn't finish what you. No, no, no, it's not. Basically what happened was if I had his attention, what she would do, what she would say, Look at Scott, Write me a poem. If I like the poem, I'll let you out his class. I'll let you go early. So I would write poems for her. I never written it. And I when I write a poem, I dashed off a poem and she'd go, okay. And so that was it. She started me writing and I thought, maybe I can write. And so this whole this whole thing is for me. I have to show her that she, her, her faith in me was not misplaced. And so this is I will this movie is going to be for her even though I've changed it tremendously. You wouldn't even recognize me because the truth is, I couldn't really recreate her because I didn't know her. Because you didn't know teachers in those days, they weren't like going they weren't teachers of like today with, like the Pride flag going, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very different. Well, I was going to say, don't you think at least my experience in Texas was because the kids are not necessarily out or we weren't out. You know what I mean? Like, you were not like a 13 year old or 14 or even like a young kid who would say like, I'm gay. But I do think there were certain teachers who would like wink, wink, nod, nod. And you know what I mean? Kind of bring you under wing or. Yes. Or notice that about you. I won't say protect you, but like encourage give you a safe place to create kind of thing. Like, I don't know, Mrs. White, that was her name. I don't know. She saw that in me. But she did see someone that she thought could be a writer. I had a teacher named Mr. Potter who was a gay man. Not there. No, nobody was. yeah. Okay. But he knew and he he did something remarkable for me and people like me. He had a little light and he was also an English teacher and a Latin tie. And he had a little library at the back of the class. And there were all these books in it, like this paperbacks of all books. And he would say to people like me, he was he said to me one day, you know, there's a bunch of books back there, Scott, that I think you might enjoy. And that's when I found Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Wow. And I said, Well, because yes, go read that. And so that's when I discovered James Baldwin. And then I read another country and then I read In the Fire next time and then I read, you know, if Beale Street could talk, whatever. And it was it was him leading me to James Baldwin's. Literally a band section in the classroom. That's amazing. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Sitting in the pillar by Gore Vidal was that. my. God. Speaking of good interviews, can we talk about Gore Vidal for one second? Wow, That's the great like. The Evans-smith is that he was the he owned Texas Monthly. He was editor for Texas Monthly for ever. And he had a talk show on PBS. And he's like me, the worst interview ever. Can't can't ever like long winded questions. And then we'll let the guest answer them. That's me. But Evans-smith is the worst at it and the best thing ever was trying and just fatal futile to try to get Gore Vidal to answer anything succinctly or even Gore Vidal will not be interrupted. The man will just bulldoze through everything because his story will take 10 minutes and he needs every last second to get it out. I love that. Okay. I do, too. I love those. All those. Those were the guests I love. Like Gore Vidal. My you don't can you imagine a talk show today letting people have that kind of latitude? Like I just. Nobody nobody can talk that long. No, we're just that. maybe. They let it, like, let it simmer. Yeah. And the references and and, you know, he never he never, like, talk down to the audience. He's a bit of a snob. Right. But, you know. Yeah. Gore Vidal was a great guest. I hope when I'm old I have that that I want that that back of the throat that I want to sound like that. You know what I mean? It's like I. Want to live. I want to live in Italy, like in in a villa, like he did. Was that what he would I want? I want a villa. Yeah. He was living in Italy and I got to write a. Book on. It. And I are going to retire at the the Donkey and Mule Rescue in Ireland. We're going to, like, actually be with the animals, I think. Is that were you really? I know I can't get off of Ireland. Where is your place? Are you like Canada is home for me. That's for you. Do you Are you asking my ethnic origins? No. I mean because it's thrown out there. I wasn't, but let's hear it. I'm Scott. I'm mostly Scott. Okay. Yeah. my God. My family and I did. Or we did. My parents did. The 23 me or whatever. yeah, me too. When my great grandmother was born, 1895, I knew her, right? She lived to be 98. Why? Yes. I find that to be like. That's the biggest brag I've got, is that I knew a person from the 1800s, but she was incredible and she was totally like. Like, like you could talk to her like she was an old woman who just died of being old, but she was not like, you know, anyway, But why? Why did I bring her? yeah, She lied to everybody and said we were Comanche Cherokee, which is not true. We're fuckin Welsh. End of story. Is she, like, only Welsh? Yeah, but she's just from the old days where that was the spin. You know, That was the thing she was a pretending. Yeah. my. I didn't hear. I know what you said. Yeah, I'm pretending. pretend that I've Never heard. The word never gives you, like, some clout, you know, to just say. That, like, my God, I've never heard that. That. yeah. Well, my mom, there's a rumor going on that my great grandmother that we were Choctaw part, partly because my great grandfather was on I guess it was on a reservation, but it was just because he was a drunk and the Native Americans would, would take him in, and that was it. Wow. Yeah. So none of us are Indian. It's just we we, we. Are you related to a are you related to Elizabeth Warren? Yeah. We're that type of Indian or that type of we're more related to Elizabeth Warren than actual. Yeah. Yeah, I know. It's crazy. It's just like we benefited from the kindness of native Ohio. Yeah, I like. We like all the nice that. I did my ancestry ancestry.com as well. And I thought, maybe that'll be something interesting. Although the idea of making an interesting. What Scottish isn't interesting. Yeah, it's so weird, but I'm 10% Viking. I'm kind of. Like, that's good. And why does anybody want to be, you know, and you think, that maybe there's royal blood. But the royals are more inbred than pugs. You don't want to be. That's not a good thing, because they all just slept with each other. And yeah, I'm going to I'm going to say something in pro ensign. because if it's so bad for their genes, why did the queen almost make a hundred? Like, why did they live? Wait a minute. So bad for you also. Then have you been your. God damn right. Have you been to Iceland? I had a really cute cousin, a super cute second cousin that I was very well. Anyway, there are some handsome men in. Well, second cousins. They're kissing cousins, right? Yeah. Well, I guess I think the medical term. Yeah, the medical term. I didn't get that far though. No, Iceland. They have. I mean, they're kind of inbred, but they're also hot. They're really sexy. They are like Vikings. and. Viking when I. Was a Vikings. Ah. You see every the Vikings, their DNA is everywhere. Like if you're from Scotland, like my family, mostly from like the Orkneys, like even beyond stock. You got Viking blood in you. What's interesting is that people want Viking blood because they think your. You mean rape blood makes me look Well, I mean, I don't know. I'm. I'm the Vikings had consensual relationships with people I it's we get it but I mean the Vikings I mean. They are sexy and then in Reykjavik when I was leaving the bar going home

at like 3: 58:24

30 a.m., you just saw all these, like, shirtless men running towards the bar, like getting things going at like three, 4 a.m.. Yes. And they're all are they all they're all blond, right? Blue eyes. Yeah, they I said they look like gorgeous horses. Really beautiful. Some would say blond and blue eyes are the ideal one. Wait a minute. No, stop. Right? Yeah. Hi, Laura. You know, my last name is Kightlinger, but I have nothing to do with any of that. Okay, We know I had to. Cut a guy. Have you seen that guy online? He's the big Viking, and he's got a big beard, and he's always got an ax. And he does things with the ax. Like he'll just dive off a cliff and do, like, a flip with the accent and land with the ax holding the ax up or something. it's incredible. It's hard. It's incredible. Yeah. Yeah, it's. Super. There's a guy who works out. He works out on my street and pre-pandemic he's still you know, when everybody ran outside and was like, working out because I know Jim, it's this guy forever. He flips track a tractor tire full big, big wheel. He flips up and down the street all the time, and then he has these other metal bars that he brings out and does handstands and whatever that is. But very recently he brought out a sledgehammer, which I think is funny because it looks like he's training for a crime, but he. Has a Gallagher three, he. Has a sledgehammer, and he just does this up and down the street, which I think is some form of exercise. But I also think it looks like he's training to like kill his powers. But it's just this up and down the but is so hot that. It smells like so like 1920s like strongman. He should be in a one piece bathing suit. Have you seen Houdini's legs. Have you seen that man's legs. Please? I. Believe he's so. He was said. Yeah, he's so sexy. Like, have you not seen that So. No, no. In that one. Yeah, it's unreal. I know exactly the photo. No, no, no. I mean, he never look better. It's on. It's on Scott's pillow. It's on Scott's pillowcase pillow. He's been looking at cases. He. Look, I'm from an I'm from a generation which didn't have. Right. Didn't have the Internet. Which didn't. You couldn't even there there was no there no, not even gay porn. You know, there was Playgirl. Right. You have to steal that. Right. But, you know, my God, my masturbation material back then was be the the dance section in Time magazine. And then imagine there was a dance section and I would masturbate to like Maria. sure. And the other one. And then there was another there was this gorgeous picture of Buster Keaton that I used to masturbate to. I wonder how he was very. So handsome. But Houdini was the sexiest. He was so hot and and he would wear that bathing suit. There's a shirtless photo of of Leslie Nielsen. He's, like, getting out of a costume. And I think it's worth I think it's with Angela Lansbury some or someone like that. He's stunning and you're like goofy old Leslie Nielsen like Airplane. sure. So hot. He was beautiful. Scott, we now we episodes this up was on Houdini. I was. Going through a young and I want to just make do a shout out to the young Ed Asner over. You know I don't believe. It. Yeah, I don't believe. You know what? You Google it, you'll go, okay, I'm stunned already. I can't wait. I didn't know. You were so good then. Fine. Let's get Scott. Can we get your dates? Just so this is going to come out next Monday, right? My Twitter handle is it's Will Scott Thompson underscore and Instagram. I can't remember what it is. We'll probably post it. We'll post it with the thing. I'm the same. I didn't know I had Instagram. Yeah, Garrett said. Yeah, I've been putting stuff up through my young husband. My child bride has been putting shit on Instagram for me. I need a child. Right? So is there a like you have a do you have a website or just where do people find the dates that you have a website? my God, I, I have this social media manager, Melanie. AVC She's doing a fantastic job. I'm so bad at this. But we I do have a website called New Scotland Land. Awesome. So then so people can go there and find out where Buddy Cole will be and everything's there. Yeah. And it also will keep people it'll keep to tell people about where the screenplay is, what part of the process it's in the development. And also I have an album coming out in the spring with my band, my old punk band. my God, I love that. Amazing. You have you back with that. that's so great. I'm so glad. Yeah, it was called out Congress and the album is called Valley of Song Butte. Wonderful. I'm so glad we got to talk to you. You're such an inspiration. Yeah. And you're so prolific. It's phenomenal. It's like an honor to talk to you every year. The real life. You're the real. Deal. You are the real deal. That's the truth. Thank you, Scott Thompson, this is such a pleasure. Great night. I can't wait to see you soon. I can't wait to see you both in Rio. I know I will. I will. You got to come now. I'll be there soon.