THE HUMAN CONDITION
Jeri Jacquin
Okay, so I am usually the one that’s up to watch just about
anything. So when I received an email from a young man about a web show, I
added it to my list of viewing. It was a crazy few weeks before I could get to
it and – I’m sorry I waited so long!
The series is called THE HUMAN CONDITION and can be found at
http://www.thisisthc.com/
and I give you that information early because I want you to WATCH IT before
you read anything else. Let the characters introduce themselves without any
help from me. Go, I’ll wait…………
By now you should have recovered from the jaw dropping
laughter and we shall continue. I can tell you that THE HUMAN CONDITION caused
me to have a double asner, you know, an anser – when you laugh so hard you
shoot whatever you’re drinking out of your nose. A single is bad enough but a
double? That’s epic!
Yes, I immediately contacted the young man who sent me the
original email with my own message:
Just a few phrases that
came out of my own mouth watching THE HUMAN CONDITION....
"what the flying
monkey sh** did he just say?"
"Arnie...you're a
dork...yes, a big whales penis type dork"
"Awwww...Kiki...I
like that name for a woman made entirely of Saudi oil based products!"
"Do they know that
very tall woman has a third leg?"
"That little
hellion spawn of satan child would be the reason I did serious drugs!"
"Oh...now that's
just plain bull***t...without the peanuts type bull***t!"
"Pap-Pap? That
sounds like a double pap smear gone horribly wrong!"
Yes Brandon
Jeri
The cast is led by Brandon Henry Rodriguez, Arnie Pantoja, and
Keith Pratt. Also part of the madness is Deanna Russo, Ryan Gowland, Natalie
Dreyfuss and Caroline Fogarty. Each of these characters brings their own unique
comedy scent to this project but I craved to know more about THE HUMAN
CONDITION.
Now, here is Mr. Rodriguez to tell us how THE HUMAN
CONDITION came to be and please gawd let there be more! Personally I’m pushing
for their own series (are you listening FX since you are the kings of twisted
comedy!) because these gentlemen are ridiculously funny and totally
inappropriate – you know – good!
Hi Brandon, it’s great to talk with you today. How are you?
Good, you?
Crazy as usual.
Crazy can be good, don’t forget that.
You have to tell me where this idea came from?
It was me and Keith and Artie sitting around one day, or
several days. We use to live with each other and we were sitting around
watching MEERKAT MANOR.
I love that show!
Right? It’s amazing, these little creature and it’s so
engaging. The fact that they can give life to these meerkats with just a voice
over is amazing. We got wrapped up in their personalities. They have all these
nature documentaries and we thought we should have a nature documentary on
humans were they focus on three humans and at the end of it they picked three
of the worst humans possible. It all went from there.
What made you decide to go the route of the Internet?
We tried the route of pitching it and getting it out there.
We had somebody that was trying to represent it and tried to set up meetings
but just didn’t do enough. We spent a year of that not being able to do
anything. We thought lets do this and see what happens. We thought let see who
enjoys this and do this on our own. I didn’t want to sit around waiting.
I think with the Internet you get a pure form of reaction, you get
direct feedback from who ever is watching.
Exactly! That’s what I like. That’s the best part. I’ve been
on channels before and the new media and questions asked like, “should I do this?”
and the person would always say “if it’s good”. What’s good? Who defines if it’s
good? We live in an age and media that you can put out anything you want and
the internet will decide if it’s good. If you make something that makes you
laugh then go and do it. Don’t listen to “unless it’s good” – good is relative.
The internet will decide if it’s good or not and just go for it.
When you created each episode with these idea, how is the
collaboration between you guys?
It’s wonderful and the greatest feeling on the planet I have
to be honest here. It is the biggest high of all highs. We get done writing a
five, six hour session and we are riding up on this plane of energy and then
come down tired. It is the greatest thing thought. We just go, spitball, spitball,
laugh, laugh, laugh, spitball saying no, yes, no, yes, oh my gawd! One of our
writing partners Sam Reed will be with us riffing and going with hours of pure
bliss. We are just three funny individuals in life who laugh at ourselves and
if we laugh at ourselves maybe other people will laugh too. That’s the only
way, whether people find it rude, funny, or what ever – we will do it.
Do you think this is your chance to push the envelope further? You
are reaching guys who will say ‘oh yea, I get that’ but you are also reaching
women who are going to say ‘oh my gawd, it’s not just me!’
Exactly! That’s the beautiful thing that we’ve had such a
nice response from all ages and from both males and females. I spoke to a
gentlemen who loved it and a girl whose 22 who thinks it’s hilarious. We try
not to bury ourselves in what everyone says. I mean there was a guy who got
made at the one episode saying, ‘you shouldn’t throw rocks at cars, that’s not
funny’. Well, we don’t really do that all the time you know.
That’s someone is absorbed in something that isn’t real huh?
He wanted us to take it down.
He didn’t like the rocks but the pedophile in the park is okay huh?
Obviously a pedophile in the park must be okay.
When Kristy brought this to my attention, she would never send me
something that wasn’t my twisted sense of humor. I’m watching the first episode
and knew I had to share this with others. Your narrator is amazing by the way,
equally hilarious.
The most difficult part of this entire process for us was
the narration. It has to be right because trying to fit in these right moments
of when to have this serious narration of a specific fact we had to blend it in
at the right time.
Have you met anyone that’s treated you like your character?
I don’t know if that would happen to any of us {laughing}.
I’ve already talked to two people who have seen and love THE HUMAN
CONDITION.
Tell me who those two people are so I can walk by them!
This needs to be a half hour comedy show!
That’s the dream, that’s what we want so much. We have a
wonderful director who understood what we wanted to go for and our
cinematographer and every person on set was keyed in to helping us create this.
That is the dream Jeri, that’s what we are hoping for, that the right person
sees this and thinks its funny. That would be a dream come true.
We noticed the cinematography and the set is that its so easy to get
pulled in because there is no distraction around.
That’s a shoe string budget for you.
But it makes it relatable too with the apartment and these three
friends. That makes it more, to me, creative because there isn’t CGI
distractions. I also think that’s why people turn to the internet. You give us
a story with some amazingly twisted comedy.
Thank you, Jeri that means a lot to me, Keith and Arnie.
That was super important for us. We just wanted to really get it right. It was
a money restriction shooting what we could in the apartment and down the street
at the park. We thought shooting it at the apartment to give us the feel like
it’s our real home and doing things we have done. We wanted it all to show
through on the computer screen or tablet or phone. I want people to say ‘I feel
like I know you, I could hang out with you’. That’s what we are really hoping
for so it means a lot that you say that. That’s why we chopped it up in three
parts when you talk about story. We sat down and noticed that everything was no
more than five minutes long really on the internet and we couldn’t convey a
story in that amount of time.
It wouldn’t be funny either.
We couldn’t do it so that’s why we broke it up into three
chapters. Each chapter being something we wrote for a half hour comedy but we
chopped it up with three acts. Story is very important. I’m happy you said that
about the CGI, I turned 30 this year I grew up with beautiful and amazing
puppet work and such where you can actually touch something like Spielberg did
in JURASSIC PARK and it was the first movie I saw that blended CGI with
animatronics and puppet work. It looked so seamless and flawless. Now it
doesn’t seem like it matters about a story line. It’s like NINJA TURTLES, as a
kid I believe it because I could touch it, there was somebody inside that suit
and that was beautiful. That’s what I miss so much about this business. What
Guillermo Del Toro did with PAN’S LABRYNTH with beautiful creatures and what
Jim Henson use to do. Gawd I miss that so much!
Are you going to continue with THE HUMAN CONDITION?
If people request it we will find a way. If people see it
and tell each other then sure we will find a way. If you think what we’ve put
out is pushing the envelope, we have fourteen whole episodes outside the ones
that are up right now that we love. We always said that if people enjoyed it we
would do it. There would be fourteen different human conditions and we’d love
for the audience to vote which one they would see next. We are fully ready and
into it. If the audience calls for it we would love. We hope you’ll be honest
with us too Jeri.
Well, that’s one thing you can count on from me plus I’m a little
nut so that’s a bonus.
Good! My family is the same way.
I appreciate you so much letting me hit you up about this.
This is wonderful and I appreciate that you took the time to
talk with me.
Yep, this was one of the best interviews to have, especially
when interviewer and interviewee have fun talking and don’t hesitate to laugh! THE
HUMAN CONDITION is hilarious, crazy, funny, comical, witty, a side-splitter and
asner-causing mirth!
Perhaps it’s because I crave such depravity in comedy that I
want everyone to take a moment to watch THE HUMAN CONDITION. Notice I’ve said
it in almost every sentence, it’s called “suggestive selling” from my younger
years working at McDonalds and they’ve sold over a billion so I’m going to go
out on a limb and say it works!
Having an off day? Looking for something fresh and funny?
Need to just shake your head until laughter escapes your lips? Tired of
thumbing through a million YouTube videos and finding nothing memorable?
Then take a moment to check out THE HUMAN CONDITION at http://www.thisisthc.com/.
Take a moment to tell them what you think and reach out to them on Twitter at @DudesBehindTHC. Remember, Maven sent you!
