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Neil Hamburger is the rare sort of comedian that you either “get” or “don’t get.” While some people use the tag “anti-comedy” to describe what he does, I personally find his jokes to be hilarious and spot-on. The cult following of Neil Hamburger includes a lot of high-profile performers like Tom Green, John C. Reilly, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Foo Fighters, Tenacious D – who took him out for their U.S. arena tour in 2007 – and Adult Swim’s Tim & Eric.
A unique Neil Hamburger bio-pic in every way possible, Entertainment opens up in New York City on Nov. 13. In addition to playing at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 West 65th Street) and the Sunshine Cinema 5 (143 Houston Street), Entertainment goes live on iTunes and VOD outlets that very same day. Several days prior to the release of Entertainment, Neil Hamburger performs live at Brooklyn’s The Bell House on Nov. 7 with Nick Flanagan – a similarly-brilliant, thought-provoking comic – as Neil’s opener.
As Neil was not available for Q&A, I spoke to his long-time friend Gregg Turkington, who portrayed him in Entertainment. Gregg is someone you may recognize from his roles in various Tim Heidecker productions beyond the recent Paul Rudd blockbuster Ant-Man. Besides those on-camera roles, Gregg is also an in-demand voice actor.
For more information on Entertainment, go to http://www.magpictures.com/entertainment. Neil, on the other hand, can be tracked through his “unofficial” website: http://www.americasfunnyman.com.
Gregg Turkington in ENTERTAINMENT. Photo: Magnolia Pictures
How did the opportunity to portray Neil Hamburger in a film come about?
Gregg Turkington: I had a small role in Rick Alverson’s last film, The Comedy. He brought up the idea of a feature film loosely based on the Neil Hamburger character. The two of us and Tim Heidecker went on a couple of California Central Valley writing/scouting roadtrips, and shot some test footage in the hopes of attracting financiers. Thanks to the diligence of Rick and our producers, eventually the thing actually got made.
How would you describe Entertainment to someone who hasn’t seen it yet?
G: It’s a fairly grim arthouse drama, with bursts of almost inappropriate hilarity. It is not at all a tour documentary or a concert film — it is a scripted drama about a shattered comedian on a bleak run of shows of the Mojave Desert, with a teenaged mime as his opening act. I would say that it is not for everyone. But then neither was E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.
A few years ago at a show in Los Angeles, I watched John C. Reilly quasi-heckle Neil Hamburger at a Bootleg Theater show. Are there any celebrity cameos in Entertainment that fans may be surprised about?
G: John C. Reilly plays my long-lost Cousin John in Entertainment. He’s one of the main characters — not a cameo at all. Michael Cera has a smaller role in the film as a very unsavory individual named Tommy. David Yow [from The Jesus Lizard] is a desert weirdo in a party scene, and Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow, who I’ve idolized since I was a kid, has a cameo as the tour guide at an airplane graveyard. Dean Stockwell, who I’ve loved ever since seeing him as “The Boy With Green Hair,” has a tiny role as the host of a Hollywood party. Tim Heidecker is insane in that same party scene. The great director Amy Seinmetz plays a heckler who beats me up. Tye Sheridan seems years beyond his age as the mime. Lotte Verbeek is a mysterious chromotherapist I encounter at a motel where she is doing a seminar. We really had a great cast.
For someone who hasn’t had the pleasure of seeing your buddy Neil live before, what should they be expecting from the gig at The Bell House in Brooklyn?
G: Well, you know, we always try our hardest to put on the best show possible, and to entertain all the folks who have come out to forget their problems for the evening.
Do you know if Neil has ever encountered Tony Clifton before?
G: Neil and Tony actually met for the first time, and then hung out for a few hours together a couple months ago in Whistler, British Columbia. What a night! In a fistfight, my money would be on Clifton.
Back to you, Gregg, how did your career as a voiceover artist start?
G: I had done a few very small-time things before, but the writer and actor Kent Osborne brought me in to do some stuff on The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack for the Cartoon Network, and that really kicked it all off. A lot of the talented folks involved with that show went on to create and produce their own subsequent shows, and I’ve done stuff on some of those, such as Adventure Time, or the recurring role I have as Toby Determined on Gravity Falls. It’s really fun work. It’s nice to have something I can show my kid that isn’t foul. As long as I’ve got the floor here — Kent Osborne’s new movie, Uncle Kent 2, is one of the funniest and most peculiar things I’ve ever seen. DO NOT MISS IT!
Did any of that voice work lead to your appearing in Ant-Man?
G: No, I think that came about through the Ant-Man folks being fans of [Adult Swim web series] On Cinema At The Cinema. I had a lot of fun on that! And that Baskin-Robbins scene was NOT product placement, despite what people have wrongly speculated.
On the musical end, you ran the Amarillo Records label for years and played bass in a variety of bands. Do you have any musical projects in the works?
G: I’ve never played bass in my life. But uh, yeah, I do have a couple things on the back-burner, though for the most part, I’m not doing music much anymore. Though maybe I should get back into it — this seems to be the era in which people with zero musical talent can thrive.
Will there be a “Decker Con” coming to New York anytime soon?
G: No, but we will continue to have plenty of new episodes coming to your screens.
Might the On Cinema podcast come back anytime soon? Or are you done with podcasts?
G: There might be some special episodes here and there, but I think we’ve fully transitioned into the filmed series format, which has allowed us to go down a lot of crazy little paths.
Finally, Gregg, any last words for the kids?
G: Please try and familiarize yourselves with the concepts of courtesy and empathy. I think we might be in for some tough years ahead.
-by Darren Paltrowitz