Hey all the new STELLA: LIVE IN BOSTON DVD comes out tomorrow (Tues). You can order now on amazon! Here's a review from EXCL..

Stella: Live In Boston
Directed by David Wain
By Philip Brown


          Any list of the most underrated comedians and comedic troupes over the last decade would have to include a special spot for Stella. Comprised of former members of MTV's The State, Stella is a surreal three-man comedy act that practically defies description. Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain have been performing under the Stella moniker since the late '90s in live acts that typically involve the three comedians bickering onstage in suits before showing bizarre short films starring themselves, a big name guest star and a dildo. It's a simple act but damn it, it works.

          The trio, having been perfecting their live show for quite a while, walk smoothly onto the stage for their hour-long Stella: Live In Boston performance. Showalter, Black and Wain make fun of each other and the audience, play out a few planned scenes, toss in some obviously improvised material (leading to some onstage giggling) and then throw in a funny short film involving a magician and Michael Showalter's birthday.

          It's a hilarious hour that has plenty of Michael Ian Black's gleeful mugging, Michael Showalter's hipster pop culture references and David Wain's deliberately cheesy anti-comedy. Stella is a great live act but it's a shame that ten years after the group started that's still all they are able to do. The short-lived Stella TV show on Comedy Central was one of the most bizarre and hilarious things the network has ever aired but despite the group's cult success there was no season two and there will probably never be a movie. It's sad but as long as the group can still get together for live shows at least that's something.

          Stella: Live In Boston proves they can still weird-out audiences and make them laugh, even if it's only in a live setting. The DVD features selected shorts from Wain and Showalter's respective web series (Wainy Days and The Michael Showalter Showalter), which are hilarious, but so easy to find on the net that it seems unnecessary to include them. It would have been nice to see some of the original Stella video shorts on this disc but given all the copyrighted music on those shorts, that's likely never going to happen. (Shout! Factory)

And here's a little preview:

Just so you know, MySpace friends, much more frequent updates are to be found from me on Twitter and on my new Facebook page

ok?
GREAT!
xo
dw

I've been in California for the last five weeks and my arms are just totally exhausted.  I think that's how that one goes.  Anyway - I'll be glad to head back east to my home base of New York City A.K.A. New York. 

But before I go - I'll be joining my fellow State-mates Kerri Kenney-Silver, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon at LASER BLAZER for a little DVD signing meet'n'greet sort of thing. 

Please just don't touch me or try to kiss me.*

Info is at the Laser Blazer website. Back in the day this was THE place to get Laser Discs.  I think it may still be.

ALSO - I'm proud to announce that the STELLA "LIVE IN BOSTON" DVD will be coming out in less than a month!  We did this at the Wilbur Theater this past winter and it includes all new uncensored live Stella material as well as our new short ("Birthday").  Pre-order it on Amazon! 






*unless you want to

I mostly talk about The State and how it got started, and a little about Role Models and some other stuff....

Hi folks sorry I haven't updated this blog in a while.  I have to admit I've been having more fun doing tiny little Twitter posts so that's you'll find more frequent thoughts & updates. Anyway I'm in Los Angeles right now - just finished directing a Fox pilot called "The Station" - with an amazing cast including John Goodman, Justin Bartha, Rob Huebel, Whitney Cummings and many more.  Produced by (among others) Ben Stiller.  You may never see this pilot, but hopefully it will be picked up for series, and then you will!  Lots of other new stuff in process and I'll have news soon. 

Meanwhile the DVD of "I Love You Man" comes out tomorrow - be sure to check it out!  Here's my little (criminally) deleted scene:

I came to NYU in 1987 from Cleveland, not really having more direction in life than wanting to be in the same city as Woody Allen, Saturday Night Live and the Muppets.  By the middle of my 2nd year, I was a member of a sketch comedy troupe called The New Group.  I was so blown away by the other people in the group.  I thought they were the funniest people I'd ever met, and decided I wanted to work with them indefinitely.

By the age of 21 my dreams of being on SNL had been supplanted by wanting to get our OWN series - which somehow, we did.  Now renamed The State, the eleven of us were given cameras and editing equipment and we ran around making jokes and having fun.  The State MTV series was the launching pad for the eleven of us to continue on to write and direct and act in movies and TV together.  We've been doing it for over twenty years.  That's only eight years less than R.E.M.  (I'm the Michael Stipe of The State, only a little less bald and a little less gay.)

Now after years of ridiculous red tape, you can finally get The State on DVD.  We busted our asses on this set - we did commentary on every episode, found tons of extras, promos, interviews, unused sketches, etc etc.   The set has been getting amazingly glowing reviews, but who cares what the critics think?  Honestly if even half of the people in this country bought the DVD set, then we'd sell 152 million copies, which isn't half bad.

So I asked my Twitter followers for their favorite food, and promised I'd take the first twelve (no more no less) to create an brand new recipe, calling on my skills as an award winning chef.  I hope you will get a chance to recreate this in your own kitchen, as visitors to my home have been cooing all day over these divine bites of goodness.

Yummy Twitter Treats
This is a great recipe to try any time you have a hungry group that is up for a good time.

2 hamburgers (with lettuce, cheese, tomato, ketchup, on soft buns)
2 beef soft tacos
1 bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
1 slice of beef pie
1 slice French toast
2 chicken burritos
1 large serving meat lasagna
6 steamed shrimp dumplings
4 strips bacon, uncooked
Live giant eel
yogurt, granola, bananas - pureed
9 mini avocado rolls

First make sure the cereal is in a ceramic bowl with whole or 2 percent (not skim!) milk.

Open up one the hamburgers and place the beef pie on top of the patty, giving it double beef flavor.  Now take this assembly and place it in the middle of the other hamburger - now you have a very large ungainly beef-pie hamburger.  Set this aside, we'll be using it later for the sauce.

Put the beef soft tacos in a preheated (400 degrees) oven until they melt beyond recognition, then pour the resulting mass over the shrimp dumplings, in a baking pan.  Use the chicken burritos as rolling pins to flatten out dumpling/tacos then press the burritos into the mixture.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Cook the bacon on a double-touch grill (George Foreman, etc.), drizzling the pureed yogurt/granola/banana mixture on it throughout.  Keep the grill on and carefully shove the lasagna in there without lifting the lid.  If food squeezes out the sides of the grill, catch it in your hands (warning, will be hot) and shove it back in the front.

Now take out the grilled mass and daintily lay it on the French toast.  Surround this with the avocado rolls, placed in a circle. Now take the taco/dumbling/burrito mass and dice into sticky cubes, which are then sprinkled generously on the yogurt/banana/lasanga/granola/bacon mixture.

Now take the hamburger/beef pie and put in food processor, high speed, for 30 seconds.  Pour this delicious meaty sauce on top of the cubes, for an extra flavor boost.

Finally take the live giant eel and slice him (live) down the middle.  Careful he will squirm.  Once cut in half he'll eventually die.  At this point squeeze each half like a lemon, letting the eel juice lightly accent the hamburger/taco/beef pie/french toast/burrito/lasagna/dumpling/bacon/yogurt/granola/banana/avacaco roll preparation.

Finally for a sweet crunchy contrast, dig a hole in the middle of everything with a spoon, then carefully pour the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (which hopefully has now softened slightly in the milk) down that whole.

Slice like a pizza and enjoy.  Serves 11.

Viola, and bon appetite!

PART 2 of "Rochelle" - the startling, rocking conclusion! 
WATCH THEM BOTH

Just watch it!

About 13 years ago, I did a commercial with Kerri Kenney, Ben Garant, Michael Showalter & Michael Black.  And by the magic of YouTube here it is...