They say don’t meet your heroes, but the guys fromThe Lonely Island–Andy Samberg,Akiva Schaffer, andJorma Taccone– are not only incredibly funny and incredibly talented, they’re also just incredibly nice. Their most recent project together is producing thefantasticromantic comedy filmPalm Springs, which premieres on Hulu and at drive-in theaters on Friday, July 10th. Samberg co-stars in the film alongsideCristin Millioti, with a script byAndy Siaraand directed byMax Barbakow, but beyond noting that it takes place at a wedding in Palm Springs, I refuse to tell you anything else about the film. This is one that really benefits from knowing as little as possible going in, so if the idea of a hilarious and sweet romantic comedy with a twist entices you, I highly recommending checking outPalm Springsas soon as you’re able. You will not regret it —it’s one of the best films of the year so far.
WithPalm Springspremiering soon, Andy, Akiva and Jorma were gracious enough to speak with us for an extended interview as part of our Collider Connected series, talking about their work as producers onPalm Springs(we keep it entirely spoiler-free) but also about their career in general. Going way back, we discussed their first impressions of one another when they first met as kids, and learning camera and editing techniques early on that made their first videos so funny (and impressive). We also talked about their stressful first year atSNL, and the trio detailed the origin stories behind the SNL Digital Shorts “Lettuce” and “Lazy Sunday”. They gave their thoughts onthe bracketSeth Meyersseededto determine the best SNL Digital Short ever, and whether they agreed with that bracket’s winner.
We also, of course, talked about the making ofHot Rod, which happened extremely quickly – the summer after their first season atSNL– and how even during the making of that film, they talked about wanting to create the kind of movie that people would watch endlessly on cable for years to come. And the conversation broached their tremendous second film together,Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and the difficulty of making an album and a film at the same time. The guys were also diplomatic yet candid about the odd marketing strategy to sell it as aJustin Bieberparody.
The discussion takes some twists and turns along the way, as we also talked about their overall approach to producing, whyThe Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experiencewas a “one for them” kind of deal, a status update ontheMacGruberTV series, Akiva’sRescue Rangersmovie, and how the upcoming season ofBrooklyn Nine-Ninehas been affected by real-world events.
Throughout this wide-ranging conversation it’s abundantly clear that A. Andy, Akiva, and Jorma love what they do and put a lot of effort into their work and B. Theyreallyenjoy working together. If you’re at all a fan of their Digital Shorts or their music orHot RodorPopstar, I think you’ll find this full conversation illuminating.Andif you’re a fan of any of those things, I cannot recommendPalm Springsenough. It’s seriously a legitimately great movie that will bring you much joy.
Below is a broad outline of what we discussed, and you can watch the full interview in the player above. For more of our past Collider Connected interviews,click here.
Palm Springswill be released on Hulu and in drive-ins on July 10th.
