Wait Wait goes wild on spring break

From NPR and nobody be easy Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, don't tell me the NPR news quiz. I'm the seven-time winner of the Fort Lauderdale Wet Blazer Contest, Bill Tartitz. And here is your host at the Studevaker Theatre of the Fine Arts Building in Chicago at the Studevaker Theatre of the Fine Arts Building. Thank you, Bill. Thanks, everybody. It is spring break. And just like we did in college, everyone on our show is taking the opportunity to stay home and catch up on our homework. Speak for yourself, Dweeb. I'm at a karaoke bar in Cabo. Absolutely lit on Tequila, singing Chapel Rone at the top of my lung. Okay, fine. While Bill is having fun, the rest of us are reviewing our notes from the past year or so. Delroy Lindo may not have won an Oscar for his role in the movie centers, but I am sure he was just as happy to join us back in January to talk about his amazing career. Thank you. I'm such a big fan of yours. I feel like I've seen you in movies and TV for a very long time. But I don't really associate you with one role. And I was wondering, do other people recognize you mostly for one thing or another? One thing or another. Meaning, different audience members have different references for me based on what they've seen me do. There is not one part in particular. That said, it has always occurred to me watching you in all kinds of different things that your characters have a certain quality that they all share. And I actually heard you tell a story you were on stage quite recently with your good friend, Denzel Washington. And you told a story about how early on in your career you were approached by a guy on a bicycle. I think it was like you were getting your car. And that guy seemed to nail it. So I was wondering if you could tell that story to us. So it's okay to curse on this show, right? I think people get a sense. Go right ahead. We have beefs. So I was parking my car on Park Avenue. This is many, many, many, many years ago in New York City. And a bicycle messenger passed me, young African-American gentleman. He stopped, backed his bike up, came to me and said, "Hey, man, you did actor, right?" And I said, "Yeah, brother, yes, I am." And he said, "You know what I dig about you in the movies, man?" And I said, "What, brother?" And he said, "Nobody ever **** with you in the movies, bro." [ Laughter ] And that, am I right? Guys? Yes? [ Applause ] And as I explained to Denzel, for me, I interpreted that as him having a certain kind of respect for whatever it is he had seen me do. Yeah. It's true. As we have mentioned, you and Denzel know each other for years. Students together at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where a lot of great actors came from. He says that you gave him one of the greatest bits of advice you ever got as a young starving actor. You said you could survive. What was it on a loaf of wheat bread, a jar of honey, and a jar of peanut butter? That's how I did what I needed to. The point being, that was a kind of a go-to that one could get protein and get all of the nutrients that one needed. Yeah. And I want to ask immediately, though, when you first started making money, or maybe just the first time you got a paycheck for acting, what was the good thing to eat, the first thing that you bought? OK, you will learn this about me. I'm not going to answer the question, but I will give you an answer. Oh, great. So when I first made a little bit of money as an actor, the thing that gave me the most joy was to be able to send money to my mom. As proof-- [APPLAUSE] Thank you. As proof that not only was I gavefully employed, but I was sufficiently gainfully employed that I could send her some money. You know, I don't think you're doing that well, and I would like to adopt you. [LAUGHTER] Your mother, if I'm not mistaken, was a Jamaican immigrant to Great Britain. That's correct. That is correct. So I'm assuming like all immigrant mothers, she wanted you to make a nice living. Like become a doctor, a lawyer, something respectable. It might have been a problem. Apparently, you know, when I was two and a half, I said when I grew up, I want to be a doctor, ma. And my mom never let me forget that. Right. [LAUGHTER] You promised me. And what's amazing, another story I learned about you, is that you caught the acting bug at the age of five. I did. I did. You've done your homework. Yeah, as a result of being in the Nativity play at my elementary, my primary school. That is correct. Yes. The character in the Nativity scene that you play. The Black King, bro. Yeah. [LAUGHTER] I want to talk about "Cinners," which is an amazing film one of the biggest movies of last year, which will hopefully reap a lot of awards. This is a movie, again, filled with music, brilliant music. Brilliant music. And you play a musician. Yeah. A singer and piano player. Did you have to learn? Was that talent you brought to the table when you walked on set? No, I received a lot of instruction. I had one, two, three brilliant musicians, a New Orleans-based musicians, who worked with me on my relationship to the keyboard. Right. And I also had instruction on the harp, the harmonica. So I had a lot of instruction. Yeah. Do you still play now that the movie is all wrapped into the past? No, I have. God bless them. The producers gave me one of the keyboards. I've been so busy, frankly. I haven't had a chance to get back to it. I don't know, man, if you don't practice, you may not-- Absolutely. Yeah, I know. It's true. I want to ask you this before we move to our game, which is, we understand that one of your legacies is your youth in Britain is that you're a big fan of soccer. I am. I am. Man you, right? All day long. All day long, man. You're a pretty prominent guy. Has the team honored you? Have they had you there? I mean, they have a lot of fans. But you're-- Man, they have not, and give them a call. I will. Not a man. It's only I know. Are you then very excited for the upcoming World Cup? I am. Yeah. I really, really am. Yeah. Very, very much so. I'm not sure. I don't have tickets yet. Anybody in the audience who has influenced me. To give me a call. Yeah, I'm really excited. I'm really excited. Yeah. It's a sad thing when you, someone like you, has to ask us. But. Yeah, right. Do you have any divided loyalties you grew up in England? Do you live here? Is where your career has been? Are you going to be written? Do you know who you're in? Actually, that's a really good question. And I would say the answer, do I have divided loyalties? I would say I'd like to see the English team do well. I'd like to see the American team do well. So I guess I've got my feet in both sides of the fans there. Okay. You're going to be torn if it comes down to those two teams. It will not. Yeah, I was about to say no. No way. It's not going to happen, man. No, it's not. I'm hardly a fan. And even I know that is not going to happen. Not going to happen. No. Well, Delroy Lindo, it is a pleasure to talk to you. And we have invited you here today to play a game. And we are calling it sinners meet the saints. So you star in the movie sinners as said. So we thought we'd ask you today three questions about saints. Specifically, the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. Which, if you're not a fan in this last season, 2025, improved on the prior years, 5 and 12 record by going 6 and 11. So if you answer two or three questions correctly, you will win our prize. One of our listeners, the voice of anyone from our show they might like on their voicemail. Bill, who is the great Delroy Lindo playing for? Kevin Harman of Detroit Michigan. Here's your first question. The Saints have been playing in the NFL since 1967. And for the first few decades, they weren't very good. After a one and 15 season in 1980, disappointed fans in New Orleans started calling them what? A, the New Orleans A, B, the New Orleans Taints or C, the Houston Saints. I'm going to say the New Orleans Taints. I wish it were, but it was the New Orleans A, I'm afraid. They took the S off, New Orleans A, they ate very good. Here's your next question. You still have two more chances. The Saints are credited with an innovation in pro football. What was it? A, they were the first team to hire a choreographer for their end of zone dancers. B, they were the first team to have a fan in the stands where a paper bag over his head from embarrassment. Or C, they were the first team to make uniform pants tighter to increase fan appeal. >> Am I allowed to ask for the right answer from somebody in the audience? >> You are welcome to pull the audience, but the audience is yelling B. >> I'm going with B also. >> That is B, yes, the man. >> [APPLAUSE] >> First to put a bag on his head out of embarrassment while watching a football game was named Mike Dilberto. He was a saint's fan and sometimes broadcaster. He was the first to do it, but hundreds soon followed. >> [LAUGH] >> All right, here's your last question. You get this right, Delroy, you win it all for one of our listeners. The saints at one point seem to have a rather unlikely fan who was it. A, Pope Francis, who regularly accidentally tagged the team while trying to tweet about the other kind of saints. >> [LAUGH] >> B, a very popular burlesque dancer in Nola, who changed her name to the nude Orleans saint. >> [LAUGH] >> Or see a man who remained loyal to the team despite proposing to three different women on the jumbo tron, on three different occasions and getting rejected by all of them. >> [LAUGH] >> The Pope. >> The Pope is right, yes, Pope Francis. >> [APPLAUSE] >> Without man devoted to the Catholic saints, but not very good at Twitter. He kept tagging the new Orleans saints whenever he would praise the saints of the Catholic church. Bill, how did Delroy Lindo do in our quiz? >> Two out of three is a winner which proves, don't have, it's the other one. >> [APPLAUSE] >> [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC] >> When we come back, Paula Poundstone gets called out by our celebrity guest. And we are joined by the people's princess himself. That's when we return with more of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" from NPR. [MUSIC] >> From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me the NPR News Quiz." >> I'm Bill Curtis and here is your host at the Stuttabaker Theater of the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, theaters say-go. >> Thank you, Bill. Thanks, everybody. So like I said, we are on spring break and we are spending the time reviewing our past work, just in case anybody gives us a pop quiz on it. >> If that happens, I'll just sit next to you and copy your answers nerd. >> [LAUGH] >> I hope you get tested on our conversation with Ray Seahaw in the Star of Better Call Saul and Florebus because I have practically got it memorized anyway. What can I say, I'm a fan. >> So much so, in fact, that Peter Asker, if it was true that in Better Call Saul, she went from being a supporting player to a star because creator Vince Gilligan liked her so much. >> I mean, I don't know all of the inner workings of it. I do know that they told me after the fact that they weren't sure how long I would be there. If I would just end up being the one that got away to Jimmy or some mythological thing that he wished he had risen to. I do think they enjoyed my performance, but I also think they realized it was a very good storytelling tool. >> Right, you could have just admitted to sucking up, but that also was a lovely story. >> [LAUGH] >> Better Call Saul, for the people who don't know, was as prequel to Breaking Bad and your character Kim Wexler is not in Breaking Bad. So like every other fan of Better Call Saul, I was terrified every episode that you were going to get killed, right? >> That was I. >> Well, that was the question, cuz I wondered, was it like in the sopranos where every actor famously would open the script that week wondering if that was their number had come up? >> Yeah, exactly, I mean, I'm thinking the Game of Thrones people hadn't even worse. >> Yeah, sure. >> Yeah, Patrick, my good friend Patrick Fabian and I would just, the first couple of seasons, I would say we would get our scripts and just call each other flipping through and just go, I'm not dead, I'm not dead. >> [LAUGH] >> And he didn't tell me that he knew he was going to die in that last season. I got surprised reading the script and we all, Bob and Patrick and I lived together for most of the seasons of shooting and I ran upstairs. I was like, I can't believe you kept us from me, and you didn't even kept it from his wife who watched it while I watched it when it aired and was like, what? >> This isn't my situation or it doesn't sound like kids, but I can't imagine being in a marriage where you're like, how does she react when she sees you? >> I was just thinking that, just watching to see if there's like an unconscious grin, right? >> Yeah, just like, check, did you just giggle? >> [LAUGH] >> We have to talk about Clurbis, which I love and I'm just so excited and every episode comes. One of the things- >> Thank you, I hear Paula won't watch it. >> Yeah. >> It's not that I won't watch it, I- >> [LAUGH] >> Listen, I love Ray C. Horn to death and I would watch anything you were, I would watch like a cleaning product commercial with you. But I don't know how to do streaming or any kind of paid television. So I watched Better Call Saul so many times that I know so much more about it than what any of you are saying. Because I watched it on DVD, so if it doesn't, if it doesn't come out on DVD or there's not like a puppet show version of it, I don't- >> I'm gonna buy you an Apple TV and then paint it to look like a VCR. >> [LAUGH] >> It could also come out on VHS, Ray cuz I still have a VCR. >> I was just with Vince this morning doing an interview, told him I was coming on. He says hi, he also loves this show. And literally said Paula, he's gonna find out if there's a way for us to make VHS tapes of the show. >> Thank you. >> In addition to being a huge fan of yours, I respect you immensely because you spent a lot of times in the trenches in theater and doing what work you could. And I wondered if you knew at this juncture what your first listed credit on IMDb.com is. >> What does IMDb say? >> IMDb says your first credit as a professional actor was playing the tutorial sorceress in the magic, the gathering video game. >> [APPLAUSE] >> That was a very early job, yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. And so in the original game, in the original life, it was software of the game, of the card game, but it came with a tutorial. And on the back of the box, but it would be like a teeny tiny window on your screen would be the tutorial about how to navigate through the game. And me and actually, Reggie, we were playing Sorcerer and Sorceress. And it was so low budget that they didn't have shoes, but they wanted us to look like we were wearing kind of gladiator. Sorcerer boots or whatever. So we're just wearing tube socks with electrical tape in Chris Cross fashion. >> Wow. >> [LAUGH] >> Yes, so if you look carefully at gladiator, that's what Russell Crowe wore. >> [LAUGH] >> That's right. >> On YouTube, you can watch the whole thing as I did if you are a, if you are a Ray Seahorn completist, it's out there for you. >> [LAUGH] >> Well, Ray Seahorn, it is such a joy to talk to you, and we have in fact asked you here to play a game. We are calling it this time. >> It's Christmas Carol. >> [LAUGH] >> So as everybody on earth in Pluribus knows, your character's name is Carol. So we thought given the season, we'd ask you about Christmas Carols. Answer two or three questions, one of our prize, one of our listeners, the voice of anyone. They might choose giving holiday greetings on their voice mail. So Bill, who is Ray Seahorn playing for? >> Alex Johnson of Seattle, Washington. >> All right, first question. Just this year, a famous person tried to put their own trademark on a new Christmas Carol. Was it A, Tyra Banks song, Santa Smys? [LAUGH] B, Dwayne, the rock, Johnson's, can you smell what Santa is cooking? [LAUGH] Or C, Rick Astley's, I'm never gonna give you gifts. [LAUGH] >> Okay, I'm going with A. You're going to with A, Tyra Banks song, Santa Smys, Your Right. >> Wow. [LAUGH] >> Name by the Washington Post is one of the five worst Christmas Carols of the year. So, all right, that was very good, an instinctual, and very good, all right. Next question, in 1953, a child singer named Gaila Peevy recorded and released a song called, I Want a Hypopotamus for Christmas. Big Hit, what was the result? A, the response to the song was so negative, so you eventually became a nun and took a vow of silence. [LAUGH] B, stuffed hippos were going in the black market for $5,000 in today's money. Or C, somebody actually gave her a hippo. >> I think C. >> You're right, it was C, yes. [APPLAUSE] It was a huge hit, she sang it on the Ed Sullivan show and somebody gave her a hippo and she eventually donated, said hippo to the Oklahoma City Zoo. Okay, you're being perfect at this as you have been in all things. Here's your last question, John Denver put out a Christmas album once, Rocky Mountain Christmas. Which included which of these less than merry Christmas songs. A, please daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas. [LAUGH] B, my gift for you is my love, parentheses, because that's all I can afford. >> [LAUGH] >> Or C, poisoned by the mistletoe. >> [LAUGH] >> Wow. >> [LAUGH] >> I'm with A. >> You're going to with A, again, please daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas, you're right again. >> [LAUGH] >> What is? >> [LAUGH] How are you pressing? Yeah. I totally think people better carelling should add to that John Denver song. Yeah, I think it'll bring some issues to the forefront. I think it's good. I think honesty is what we need. Bill, how did Ray Seahorn do in our quiz? She was perfect. She got him all right. Ray Seahorn is nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Pluribus. I am betting the first of many sessions on the nation. I'm going to stream it on Apple TV now. It's amazing. Don't read a word about it. Watch it. Ray Seahorn, thank you so much for being with us on Whitway. Don't tell me. We're such big fans. Thank you guys. This is a dream come trail. Thank you. Thank you. It was for Michelle. It's such a wonderful show. Take her by. Love you, Ray. Everybody loves it when their friends do well, right? Which is why we were so happy when our friend Andy Richter had an amazing run on the most recent season of dancing with the stars. And we were even happier when Andy joined us live on stage in Phoenix in December. We were delighted to see our friend Andy Richter on this season of Dancing with the Stars in which he inspired a whole lot of supporters online to call themselves. Thank you. Fandies. Key and his dance partner Emma Slater lasted far longer than most expected into the competition with Andy being dubbed by the judges the People's Princess. We are delighted her highness could join us here on stage in Phoenix and director welcome back to Whitway. Don't tell me. Thank you. Thank you. So, and I should say, it wasn't the judges. It wasn't the judges. It was just somebody online started calling me the People's Princess. Okay. Yeah, which is incredibly flattering. It really is. Yeah, yeah. I really am hoping for a TRF for Christmas. Why not? Yeah. So I have to ask, were you dancing with the stars had been around for a while? Did you always want it to be on it? No, quite the opposite. It always seemed like a terrifying prospect. And then I didn't work very much for a little while. And it seemed kind of a good idea. Yeah. Did you seek them out? Did they call you? No, no. It was way back in April. I got an email from my agent saying, you know, they've offered you this. And I've told it before my first instinct was, say no and don't tell my wife that they ask. Right. Like just because, you know, and then a minute later, I felt like I have to do this. And so I said, yes. And then, as it got closer, I just thought, oh, I've made it terrible to stay. Tell me about your dance experience and expertise before this all began. I'll just tell it to you in an anecdote that my wife reminded me of when I said yes to dancing with the stars. For our wedding, my only requirement for our dance was that the song be the shortest one possible. Right. Because I just, I wasn't comfortable. I mean, I can dance. So, what was the song? What was the song? Was it like the boot-up tone from Microsoft Windows? What was it? Yeah, it was just my ringtone. Yeah. And so, what was the preparation? So, like, you show up and say, I've been to the gym. I've been doing my cardio. Yeah. You start dancing. You start being taught or routine. Do you get assigned a partner in your case, Emma? Yes. I was lucky enough to get Emma Slater, who is an angel and really an amazingly talented person. An amazing choreographer. She understood me. She understood how to teach me. Right. Because I don't enjoy being pushed. Right. The hard line kind of thing, I just say, "F this goodbye." So, I need to be treated, you know. And also, she's very fun. And she also, the part of her genius, was that she said, "Oh, and by the way, every day we're going to make two or three TikToks." Uh-huh. And I, very quickly, she would point and say, "Look how many views this guy." And I'd be like, "1.3 million?" Right. That's what. And that number has never been connected to me other than for taxation purposes. I watched a lot of your dances. And I'm saying this with complete love and respect. Speaking as a man, that for good reason has not danced in public for 25 years. But it kind of seemed like your job was to stand still and watch with amazement, while your partner did amazing dance moves sort of around you. Well, Andy, Andy, don't let him do you like that. But, but, but, and he was the charming part. You made a lot of very expressive faces. Yeah. As you watched her. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no. I, do you make it sound like, I mean, you weren't tireless. Yeah. I moved from one point to the other, and there was footwork that I had to remember. Really? Yeah, okay. Yes! Yes! I learned to cha-cha. A fox trot, you know, I pulled off a fox trot. So, yeah. Yeah. And it, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I, and it, by the end, too, I was with each new week's dance. I would learn it in one rehearsal. But it was like, I did have the ability to do that. Yeah. I can, I can remember. Yeah. Wow. You look at me out. You sort of learn a lot. There is like, thank you. I, I tried to emulate the real dancers. Because I would do the dance that we were doing that week and think, ah, I really nailed that one. I really got it. And then we would look, because we'd recorded on our phones, and I'd look at it on the phone. I'm like, look at that old man stomping around. It's waiting in his arms. Yeah. I would try to, I tried, you know, in different times to sort of emulate the sort of more sort of fluid movements. And it's, you know, I was a rhino in a gazelle context. I'm never going to be a gazelle. Yeah. The people's princess. Well, Andy Richter, it is always such a pleasure to have you on her show. And as always, we'd like you to play a game that this time we are calling "God of Dance." So given your performance on "Dancing with the Stars," we thought we'd ask you about somebody who was really good at dancing, Gene Kelly. Answer two or three questions about the legendary song in "Dance Man" and you will win a prize for one of our listeners. Also, who is Andy Richter playing for this time? Emma and Barry Kipness of "Prescott Arizona." Not far from the point. All right, you ready? Gene Kelly went from being a dance instructor in Pittsburgh to one of the biggest movie stars of all time. What was among his many secrets of success? A, custom made motorized tap shoes. B, pants that were one size too small to accentuate his butt. Or see, whatever the music you heard watching him on screen on set, he was always dancing to the same song "Home on the Range." I think it's the butt pants. You're right. And if you've ever seen him, you'd know that's true. Not only did he have his pants made a little tight, he would sometimes make sure his male co-stars pants were a little loose. Okay. Kelly went on after his own career on screen to be a director. He directed the movie "Hello, Dolly." And the star of that film, Michael Crawford, said that he got the part after Kelly said which of these to him. "You remind me of a young me before I knew how to dance." B, quote, "We can shoot somebody with talent from the waist down and edit it in." Or see, quote, "We're looking for an attractive idiot. My wife thinks you're attractive and I think you're an idiot." Boy. I think maybe the third one. The third one. Yeah, about the wife and the idiot. You're right. You know this business. You know these people. That's exactly what he said. And he has kind of an attractive idiot in the film, so it works out. All right. Last question. You can be perfect here. Gene Kelly and his wife hosted these massive parties for his famous friends in Beverly Hills. And a mainstay of those parties was what? A, Kelly's toe-tap and punch, which was just as it turned out, grain alcohol and red food coloring. B, Kelly challenging any guest there for the first time to a dance off. Or see a cutthroat version of charades that could last for 24 hours straight. It's gotta be the charade. It is the charade, man. He's been to his Hollywood parties. 24 hours. 24 hours. But sometimes it was called, it was known as the game. Yeah. We're gonna play the game. Wow. Yeah. True story. Also, how did Andy Richter do in our quiz? He danced his way to a perfect score, three out of three. You did. Thank you. There you go. Andy Richter was the people's princess on this year's run of dancing with the stars. He is the host of the three questions with Andy Richter podcast, which airs Mondays on this serious XMF. Or wherever you might get your podcast, please give it up to our friend Andy Richter. Thanks so much. Andy, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you a lot. Thank you so much. When we come back, our panelists go all out to earn their meager paychecks. And John M. Chew, the director of the Wicked Movies, explains how it really isn't easy being green. That's when we come back with more "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" from NPR. From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," BNPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis and here is your host at the Institute of Acre Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago. Peter Segal. Thank you, Bill. So we are not the only ones enjoying a deserved spring break, so are our panelists. Do you know how hard it is? To appear regularly on a quiz about the week's news sometimes for years and still never seen to know the answers to the questions Here's some proof Joy all yes Joy all the consumer electronics show was this week That's the big show where all the tech people bring out their cool new tech products for people and one new gadget caught our attention It's called the eye polish Yeah, so name of the device. What is the eye polish? The eye polish yeah, it doesn't polish things. It takes the place of a kind of polish Like for bald men's heads No No one's no one cares about that They'll be like maybe like you'd be saying to your boyfriend. Oh hold on before we go out. Let me download my French manicure I would for it's for nails. Yes, it's digital nail polish all right So I polish the product is digital press on nails you never have to paint them They display up to 300 colors just with the push of a button Wow, yep, exactly that's basically the little digital screens little digital, you know panels that the shape like fingernails that light up and Whatever color you choose and someone who bites my nails and I do I think would really help it if every time I did it I was electrocuted It's just you know when you hear about like that's the product is catching people's eyes And that's the great thing that's coming out of the world of technology It's hard to believe that the international world rules-based order is on its way out If you read that in in the paper like if that was the headline it just seems like how can we even be thinking about that? Yeah, so everything else going on living in this is dystopian or well-earned hellscape Yes, but we will have like lightbrights on our fingernails. Exactly. Right. What's a paper? Pail is this week. Oh, we read a term in the news that was new to us and you each get one guess at what it means What are clanker balls? Peter goes clanker balls Those things not in the offices that you clank and they knock into each other and they go That's That's the first thing I thought why what are the other implications? Joy-Oh, what do you think clanker balls means the type of parties Trump's gonna have in the ballroom? Rachel, where'd your mind go with it? I don't want to say right away But clanker is AI usually a term for AI you said right am I close? Okay, yeah, no, you're you're close, but that's not I'll tell you they're oh, can I guess again? Is it the things that go on the back of a truck? those are That's also a really good guess, but those are truck nuts Sorry, yeah, sorry, truck nuts with a Z so okay clanker balls Our balls that hang above a road before a low bridge to warn trucks. They're gonna crash So if any of you guess that you're right, but you're also boring Like Peter did something happen this week where it was like I think what happened this week is that the wait wait Don't tell me why writers are like oh my god. You guys have you heard of clanker balls That's what happened this week They're hanging from the bridge that's they like right in front of the bridge Yeah, so they're like a block before some amount of space before the bridge so then you they're called clanker balls because They're engineered to let out a loud clang when something crashes into them Which differs from the sound you hear when something crashes into regular balls crying There's no exit after the clanker balls. They just let you know you're about to die. Yeah It's a world of pain. No, I guess there's like enough room for you to break and then turn around or whatever Sounds like standard highway But to to your point Rachel earlier like a while back on this show We actually talked about how clanker is a derogatory slur term for robots Which would suggest another meaning for clanker balls? And if you think the idea of those clanker balls is absurd You've never taken a look under R2d - are my right ladies. So we not supposed to say clanker with a hard R Paula question for you it is spring cleaning season but this week real simple magazine warned that when you're decluttering You should not be tempted to declutter what? Well money Yeah, do you have a hint from it Peter? I do I mean you need to get this around because you've run out at home You can't ask someone to hand you some under the stall divider. Oh Toilet paper toilet paper who would get rid of all toilet paper? Get rid of your toilet paper apparently enough people are doing that that real simple had to tell you not to that's absurd Why would anyone get rid of toilet paper exactly? I mean if it's used that's different but Yeah, that's ridiculous apparently. This is a problem enough. They declared you should not get rid of Your toilet paper. This is true now. It's always been true That's why an ancient Egypt when someone died. They would wrap that person and they're left over It sounds like something that Costco's pushing. Really? Yeah, do people get to an age where they don't use toilet paper anymore that's I mean I I'd say like on my deathbed. I might roll over to somebody and say you can get rid of that toilet paper now I Finally I grew up on movie musicals a form that died out years ago when everyone realized that in real life people Don't just burst into song So I was grateful to talk to John M. Choo director of in the Heights and the two wicked movies who might have single-handedly Revived the genre, but he didn't grow up singing and dancing instead he worked in his family's legend They're a Chinese restaurant in the Bay Area 56 years later my dad's still there. He's 82 it's called chef-choose and he's there all the time We love to work and loves to eat. Wow. Yeah, and were you ever tempted to go into that business? Never not once. Not even a little bit. I wouldn't you know, a restaurant being raised in a restaurant It's great because it's a house of stories everyone's telling stories to my dad my dad's telling stories to them about me And it's the people in that restaurant because it was in Palo Alto and Silicon Valley that People from Adobe gave me software to edit with gave me cameras gave me computers So it was a very beautiful That's what I meant that you were identified pretty early is somebody with a flare. Yeah, so you went to film school and you made a short film Which got a lot of attention and I was able to find the trailer for it online oh man and It's called what when the kids are away, right? Yes Yes, if I understood correctly because it's just the trailer the idea is little kid leaves for school with all his friends leaving for school Leaving their housewife mothers. They're all sort of traditional housewives and as soon as they're gone the housewives break up into these Fabulous big choreographed musical numbers Yes, what they do when the kids are away and and and I watch this and I'm like oh my god. It was true But the twist of it the twist of the movie is at the end I'm just gonna ruin it for people at the end because you'll never find it The end of it is that this kid gets found and he starts to share his moves He thinks he's in trouble, but he shares his moves and he actually introduces new moves to them and we find out that He's actually little Michael Jackson, and that's it's the passing on of the old musical to the new musical It's from then on he knows how to do that. Wow I'm just thinking Yeah, who's very deep You were you were a dancer you studied tap dance for a long time, right? I did I mean I was forced to tap with my sister because my mom didn't we always in the car when she would take all her brothers Sisters to different dance things so I did tap with my sister I didn't want any other people at our class. So me and my sister did our local talent show our school talent show every year Wow, were you were you any good if by tapping tapping well You mean like glitter and gloves and I did this want me in my shadow with my sister and we got in a fight Right before we're doing in front of our school and my mom brought in the wood panels and my mom my my sister and I are fighting and So I and she's she's really shy and I don't sing along with her So she had to sing in whenever a whole our whole school by herself, and I'm in this big black unit heart as her shadow And so I haven't lived it down since that Really I actually still feel very guilty about that And she's never seen any movie you've ever done because she's still mad So you grew up on musicals and so you must have like been excited when you got to direct the movie version of Probably the biggest musical in the last 20 years right wicked. Yeah, I was psyched. I saw I saw wicked before was ever on Broadway when it was at San Francisco Because we had season tickets and my mom called me up. I was at USC at the time. She said come watch Stephen Schwartz's new musical so I got to watch it sort of as patient zero before anyone knew anything about it I just I just have to ask to personal reasons when you were watching wicked were there any middle? age man in the audience, sobbing at defying gravity. Did that happen at all? We were all sobbing. We were all sobbing. So I have to ask you about this, especially with the first installment, Wicked. There were so many marketing tie-ins. There was Wicked branded crocs, Wicked mac and cheese cups, Wicked Barbies, Wicked Stanley Cups, and Wicked Buildabairs. I'm assuming you own all of the flippers? Now I know who sponsors this show. Did you have a favorite one of those that they threw at you? Listen, the swiffer is pretty cool. When you go to Target and you see the Elphaba and the Lint sections and they're there. I mean, it's not a broomstick. It's close enough. Wicked swiffer. What makes sense? Honestly, no. That's a good way to get your kid to clay in the house like your kid loves. Yeah, I'm defying gravity. He is there. Yeah. I got one more question. So I watched before Wicked some years ago, you made not one, but two movies with Justin Bieber. And I'm watching the second one. I had to. It's the one that's leaving Netflix soon. And here's the thing. You designed the concert in addition to filming the movie of the concert. And including, which I thought was intensely cool, Justin's entrance into the concert in which he is, he flies in for a shadowing Elphaba, right? With these enormous wings. And I was wondering, speaking to you as a creative genius, if you have any idea that how I can improve my entrance. Because I just kind of walk out. You need the blazers. Yes, the answers. And you need your wings. You know, his wings were made of all his things that he actually knows how to do. It's built of all the things that have carried him. You know, again, I'm very deep, guys. So my wings, all the things that got me here would be standardized tests and anti-depressants. I could see it. John Chu, it is a pleasure to talk to you. We have invited you here today to play a game we're calling. That's wicked good. Since you directed Wicked for Good, we thought we'd ask you about a famously wicked good place, Boston, Massachusetts. By the way, now that I think of it, Wicked Swiffer sounds like something they'd say. Answer two or three questions correctly. You'll win our prize fund of our listeners. The voice of anyone they might choose in their voicemail. Bill, who is John Chu playing for? Joe Robbins of Seattle, Washington. All right. You ready to do this? All right. Let's go, Joe. I got you. Okay, man. Here we go. The first question. Scientists have tried to study what makes people from Boston become people from Boston. And one actual study discovered which of these findings? A, Bostonian skulls are 5% thicker than the average Americans. 15% of Boston toddlers drink coffee. Or see all Boston school districts have a unit on how to climb light poles. The one that is like crazy enough, but not too crazy, would be the coffee B. You're right, John. That's right. Here's the next question. Boston sports fans are known for their enthusiasm. During the parade to celebrate the new England Patriots first Super Bowl win in 2002, what happened? A, the crowd started chanting Yankees suck. Even though they play baseball. B, three fans were arrested for trying to throw beer bottles right into the hood of Bill Belicek's sweatshirt. Or see fans crowdsurf Tom Brady all the way from his duck boat to a nearby bar. I'm going to go A. You're right. That's what they did. Of course that's what they did. That's what I would do. Yankees suck. I got to tell you. I saw it on TV. It was wicked, swiffer. Earlier this month, Boston's WBZ News I team launched an investigative report after a man had something he'd been saving to pass on to his kids. Ripped away from him. Heartlessly. What did that man lose? A, his red socks, these and tickets located where his heckles could be heard on TV. The 1981 Pontiac Trans Am that was missing both axles. Or see 93,000 Duncan Donuts rewards points. Ripped away from it. I'm just going to go with my, what I think is just the most logical. I'll go see. You're right. That's what it was. He had accumulated 93,000 rewards points at Duncan. He was hoarding them to hand out to his children. This is only legacy and then Duncan changed the rules and they vanished. Isn't that sad? It's terrible. We had a great partnership with Duncan for good. We could get these little munchkin tins. It was great. Of course. Munchkins. Can you talk to them about this guy's points? I think we should talk to them. Come on. If you're out there. Help this guy out. Bill, how did John Chiu do in her quiz? Three right answers is wickedly good. Look at awesome. John M. Chiu is the award winning director of the wicked movies. You can stream wicked for good now. John M. Chiu, thank you so much for joining us and thank you for joining us. I cry like a baby. Take care. That's it for our own spring break edition. We'll be back next week. Tanned and nursing a hangover. But first, wait. Don't tell me it's a production of NPR and WB easy Chicago and association with urgent haircut productions. Doug Burman, Ben Neville and overlord Philip Cagodica writes our limits. Our public address and answer is Paul Friedman, BJ leader and composer and theme our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Durmboss and Lillian King. Special thanks to Monica Hickey, Peter Gwynn is the only body we'll do shots off of. Our vibe curator is Emma Choi, technical directors from Lorna White, our CFO. That's Colin Miller, our production manager is Robert Newhouse, our senior producer is Ian Chilock and the executive producer. Wait, wait. Don't tell me. This is Mike Danful. Thanks to everybody you heard on our show this week, all our panelists, our guests, our guests, scorekeeper, Alza Slade. And of course, Bill Curtis. Thanks to all of you for listening. I'm Peter Segal. We'll see you next week. NPR.