Always a Bridesmaids Director - An Interview With Paul Feig

Jordan Hoffman: I know it was painful, but do you think the fact that Freaks and Geeks got yanked added to its legend?

Paul Feig: Totally.  There’s moments where you’re like, “I wished we’d gone longer.” And other moments where you go, “Oh God, we might have fuc*ed up the second season.” So it’s definitely like the James Dean of TV shows.

Jordan Hoffman: What was your favorite Martin Starr memory?

Paul Feig: Everything he ever said!

Jordan Hoffman: Favorite memory on set?

Paul Feig: When he thought Cindy Sanders couldn’t tell if she farted when she got off the chair. I remember when Patty Lin and I were writing that scene, and I would just be in hysterics just thinking about it. Envisioning how he was going to do it, just moving his butt around in the chair trying to make the sound again. And so when he did it, it was even funnier than I had envisioned, Patty and I weren’t allowed to be on set because we’d just crackup and ruin the take.

Jordan Hoffman: Freaks and Geeks was such a great ensemble, and I have this platonic ideal of Joe Flaherty, from SCTV and its great ensemble, sort of a father figure to the kids on set.

Paul Feig: Well, he wasn’t around many of the kids, because other than Nick, who would occasionally come in, but Linda and John loved him. He was also like the fun dad, he was just so funny, and he would just crack them up at the table, that was the thing, them breaking all the time.

Jordan Hoffman: Were you an SCTV fan?

Paul Feig: Fanatic, fanatic, that’s why I just couldn’t believe that we got him. That was my ritual with my best friend Mike. Every Friday night we’d stay up; We’d get a bag of Funions and six pack of beer. We were watching it back when it was a half-hour long.

Jordan Hoffman: One of the best Flaherty moments, from the 'University Challenge"-style sketch called "High-Q" was when Flaherty with this dopey pipe said “ If I’m wrong, I’ll eat a bug.”

Paul Feig: I’ll eat a bug, oh my God yes...Oh I know that one. We quoted that when I was working on Nurse Jackie a lot, my A.D. was a fanatic for that too, we would say that all that time, and one day he called and he had found it on Youtube. And we were watching it on his iPhone and laughing so hard and getting in trouble with the crew.