Union Weekly: Hi Paul, thanks for talking to me today.

Paul Dinello: Thanks for having me talk to you.

UW: First off, what's the writing process like on a film like this?

PD: Well, the way we usually write, it's a lot of fun, I sort of lay down the groundwork, and then I'll meet with Stephen [Colbert] and Amy [Sedaris], and sort of improvise in character, and I'll go back and sort of hone the improvisation that we did and whatever makes me laugh. But working with those guys is really just a lot of hanging out and laughing.

UW: I bet. Did you tend to stray from the script during filming?

PD: We do a lot of improvising when we're writing and we do a lot of rewriting, usually, but by the time we shoot we pretty much stick to the script. We shot the whole film in 24 days, so we didn't have a lot of room to mess around.

UW: How was it revisiting these characters after a few-year absence?

PD: It was like visiting a crazy old aunt, you know, that's family, and you feel an obligation towards but you can only spend so much time with her. So it felt familiar, and nice, and creepy at the same time.

UW: Where did these characters come from?

PD: Well Jerri is a compilation of Amy, and this woman from this documentary about a woman in her fifties, who would go back to high schools and lecture the students. She was a former prostitute and junkie, who did, like, fifteen years of time. So we sort of based Jerri on her and some other people I know. My character, [Geoffrey Jellineck] is based on a high school teacher I had, a couple actually, two high school teachers I had.

UW: Are they aware that they're the inspiration for Strangers With Candy?

PD: No, no, I have the feeling that they've erased me from their minds. I think they were happy when I moved on from high school.

UW: What about the woman who was the inspiration for Jerri?

PD: You know, I don't know what happened to her. Someone told me that she moved back to Florida. She'd be pretty old now. Someone told me she went back to jail, she did write a book, apparently, that someone sent me, that was from the same time as the documentary, from the late 60's, and she was fighting 48 then, and she looked a little worn, so I doubt that she's still with us.

UW: From Florida huh, is that surprising to you?

PD: I know.

UW: What are some of your favorite comics working today that we might not have heard of yet?

PD: Well, Steve Coogan's [24 Hour Party People] not a household name, but I think he's brilliant. And Ricky Gervais [The Office] too, who is sort of becoming more well known. There's a guy named David Pasquesi, who's in the movie who I think is brilliant. He does an improv show with a gentleman named T.J. Jagodowski. I think they're the finest improvisers in the country right now.

UW: Why do you think that satire is more prevalent, these days, in comedy that's closer to the mainstream?

PD: Well I think a lot of it depends on the mood of the country. Comedians tend to be liberal and when the country takes a conservative turn, it's ripe to satirize.

UW: What kind of comedy were you into when you were a kid?

PD: It's a wide swab, I was a big Buster Keaton fan. On PBS they re-ran Ernie Kovacs, and Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar. Those two things were really influential. I was a big Monty Python fan, early SNL, Peter Sellers.

UW: Why do think the reviews of Strangers With Candy were sort of hot or cold?

PD: I'm not surprised. That's how people tend to react. They're either hardcore fans or they don't like it. I think that Jerri is such a distinctive character, she doesn't pull any punches, and that's sort of the tone of the comedy as well. A lot of times I think the stuff that's sort of mainstream tries to please more people, so it's sort of, nebulous. It's stuff that's melted together, stuff that's clear in its point of view. So I wasn't surprised in some people loving it and some people despising it.

UW: Do you get the sense that some people just don't get it?

PD: Yeah but I don't want to be presumptuous. I'd like to say, "yeah, they just don't get it," but maybe they just don't think it's funny. I don't want to think that I'm on a higher plane than people who don't think I'm funny.

UW: David Letterman was a producer. How did he come to the project?

PD: He was already a fan of Amy's, and they were looking to produce a film, so it happened really quick.

UW: You've been working with Amy for quite some time, do you plan on working more in the future?

PD: Yeah, yeah, we're best friends. Me and Amy and Stephen have been best friends for 20 years. I'm sure when I'm directing my next film, I'll call them and ask if they have any suggestions. So sometimes it's obvious, our collaboration, sometimes it's more behind the scenes, but we always collaborate.

UW: What kind of work have you been doing on the Colbert Report?

PD: Recently I went to Colbert County in Alabama, to open the Stephen Colbert museum to sort of save the town. It's going to be on in a couple weeks.

UW: Colbert, Alabama?

PD: Yeah, it's actually Tuscumbia.

UW: What was the reaction there to the kind of comedy he's doing?

PD: It ran from confused to, well, mostly confused. Some knew the show and were elated, and the rest were just confused.

UW: Is the success of that show overwhelming?

PD: It doesn't surprise me. Stephen's brilliant. It happened quickly, but I've thought he was brilliant for 20 years. So it doesn't surprise me that people have come along. I'm thrilled that it happened for him.

UW: Do you think it has to do with his coming along at the right time? Do you think the level of his success has to do with the mood of the country?

PD: Yeah the time is right for Stephen to poke fun at the talking heads. Bill O'Reilly has never been more popular.

UW: Do you think that comedy is tending to be a little smarter these days?

PD: I think that there are some elements that are smart and there are some that are just scatological. It runs the gamut. The Daily Show, and Stephen's show, are pretty much smart, and then you've got Borat, which I think is really funny, but it's kind of on the other side. It's a little more scatological.

UW: Do you think that one is worth more than the other?

PD: Whatever makes you laugh has worth, I think. Ultimately we're just looking to make people laugh.

UW: Working on anything now?

PD: I'm directing a film in January called Mr. Burnout, and I'm writing a script about the Pinewood Derby, but in the immediate future I'm trying to pull together this benefit for Sundance.

UW: Any closing suggestions for viewing the Strangers DVD?

PD: It's a perfect stocking stuffer.

UW: Nice.