Jon Lovitz has been entertaining the masses for decades through movies, TV, and of course, through stand-up. With his newest venture “Lovitz or Leavitz” on his own Jon Lovitz Vodcast Network, Jon is now coming straight through your computer in video form interviewing some spectacular celebrities. Taped live from The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club & Podcast Theatre at the Universal City Walk, Jon's ventures never seem to stop. Well, that is until this Friday and Saturday when he'll be stopping by the Irvine Improv to drop some hilarity on all of us. And before all of that, we were lucky enough to get Jon to slow down for a chat about all of his endeavors and more!
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OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): Tell me about the Jon Lovitz Vodcast Network. So it's “vodcasting” not podcasting huh?
Jon Lovitz: Yeah I guess now they call it a vodcast and we have three shows right now. One is called FYI Sports Talk with Robert Fick and Dmitri Young where they talk about things like baseball and their friends. They just did an exclusive with Lenny Dykstra right after he got out of prison. Then we have a show called Talking Marijuana which is about medical marijuana and making it legal. They talk to politicians and doctors. My show Lovitz or Leavitz has had performers on like Krista Allen, Gary Busey, Steve O, Dana Carvey, and Heather McDonald. At the end of the month my club is going to be doing Gene Simmons from KISS so I'm really excited about that. So those are the three shows we have now and we'll be adding more. It's doing well and you know, it's fun starting a new adventure.
I don't want to get too much into it but, what's going on with whole “name blame game” with your Vodcast?
Well obviously the idea that I stole the name “Lovitz or Leavitz” is beyond absurd and that is what's happening. I stole my own name? It's such a blatant falsehood and lie. I mean, my dad would say Lovitz or Leavitz back in the 1930's. It's ridiculous, it's my name! The fact is, the only people that I have trouble with are people that are always fighting others. It's just not true and it's a smear campaign with comments. It's probably the same person leaving the comments anyway and then creating a new account to leave more. The ironic thing is that the more it goes on, the more listeners we get so it's actually helping in a weird way. It's backfiring because it doesn't make any sense.
Ahhh the good ol' Internet trolls. Well I hope it all blows over soon for everyone's sake. Off of that and onto the green screen beach setting you have in the background of your vodcast. If you ever switch it up, I vote for puppies playing.
[Laughs.] I think puppies would be distracting but I like the beach. I think it's fun and it's very relaxing. It's kind of like taking a little vacation. Then we also do it from the club in front of a live audience and the energy of it goes way up. Like when I interviewed Gary Busey live it was really great. I've known him for a long time and he's really funny but then he gets very spiritual and gets “out there.” It's very entertaining.
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I watched that one because of course you hear Gary Busey and you're like, I gotta see what he's going to do!
Yeah when I was interviewing him a lot of the stuff I didn't really get. But then when I listened to it again, he was making a lot of sense. It's interesting because he's a real genius or something. I think he has a photographic memory because he remembers everything in detail. People think he's out there and crazy but he's not, he's like super brilliant. It's like it takes a few days to digest and then all of the sudden, he's making sense. He says things in a humorous way and it seems kind of wacky but it isn't.
Not crazy, but crazy intelligent. I can dig it. How do you like being the interviewer instead of the interviewee?
I like it because people would say to me, “What do you like about being famous?” For me one of the best parts was getting to meet everyone you wanted to meet. I'm always curious and I'm a fan of theirs like anybody so you get to ask them about whatever you want. That to me is really fun. Like, I know I'll be asking Gene Simmons about what it feels like to be up there on stage with a rock band playing in front of 60,000 people. Most of us don't know because we are fans! That's what interests me. Also I want to know how he came up with the idea and how he keeps it going. It's incredible what he's done. Anybody who's had a long career is really smart. It's really tough to do.
I hear ya. Interviewing people you are fans is one of the best jobs ever. I absolutely live for it.
Oh yeah it's so fun. I think everyone is a fan of different people so when you get the chance to pick their brain it's really exciting.
Oh for sure! So I hear you play a bad guy in the movie Bula Quo! I can picture you playing kind of a creeper, no offense, but I can't imagine you as a bad guy.
I think to play a bad guy you just act angry and depressed. That's what I did. I also talked a lot lower. Making this movie was a lot of fun. Bula-Quo! is about a real rock band called Status-Quo from England. They're huge out there! They're huge everywhere except America really. Stuart St. Paul made a script and we did it in Fiji. The two main guys Rick and Francis are really nice guys too. It's kind of like “A Hard Day's Night” but now the people are in their 60's. It's just funny and silly, I had a really nice time making it.
Well I know Irvine is no Fiji but, will you be bringing some music to the Improv this time around?
Yeah I play the piano and sing funny songs. You know, I make fun of myself, sex, religion, and politics. That's why the show is rated-R.
Jon Lovitz performs at the Irvine Improv on August 9th and 10th, 71 Fortune Drive Irvine, CA 92618, (949) 854-5455. For tickets go to www.Improv.com. Also be sure to check out Lovitz or Leavitz, see who'll be at The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club & Podcast Theatre, and follow him on Twitter: @RealJonLovitz.
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Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.
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