kp: Was The State your first professional job?
jlt: The first professional thing we did for MTV was a “reenactment” show called “You Wrote It, You Watch It”, hosted by Jon Stewart. MTV hired several directors for the segments. Our ten-headed beast was “one” director. We worked in a closet and were very happy.

kp: I remember that show. Jon Stewart said people had trouble remembering the “You Watch It” part. Tell us more about working for MTV.
jlt: Our “work area” (it’s where MTV shoots TRL now) was right near the Beavis and Butthead area. They were the shit at the time and kinda acted like it. I remember one time while doing our pilot, I’m editing that sketch “Ride!” and the music’s loud, and some Beavis producer storms over like a middle school principal--really tears into me. We’re rude and boisterous and we’re always playing four square and other people are trying to work here! And, yes, all those things were true, but she could’ve asked nicely. Instead, she scolds me cuz they’re having a meeting about who knows what. Should Beavis light his fart here or here? So she walks away and I flip her the bird. An hour later, one of The State’s producers comes over sheepishly and says they got a complaint and I gotta apologize to Mike Judge, who, by the way, wasn’t even there.

So me and Showalter, I think, run out to the drugstore. We get a Hallmark card, some flowers, and a horrendous, Motel 6-type framed painting of clowns playing tennis. I also write Mr. Judge a personal check for five bucks and put it in the card. I go over and apologize and deliver the goods to MJ who’s getting a kick out of the whole thing. He’s laughing, he doesn’t care about any of it. He was basically very cool to a wiseass. And he never cashed the check which was, in a strange way, kind of disappointing.

kp: If I make "Ledge Party: The Movie", will you star in it?
jlt: Sure!

kp: You know, I’m fantasy casting my Jeremy Piven/Michael Jeter buddy cop movie, but Jeter died before I could get it made. Any suggestions? Do you think you could take on Piven as the other BC?
jlt: I don’t know, we’re both cherubic.

kp: Will you play the new love interest of the ex-wife of one of the buddy cops?
jlt: I’ll play the new love interest of the cop, too. It’ll be a threesome and one of us dies in a crime of passion. It’ll be called “Heybabyus Corpus”

kp: Ouch. Have you ever met Bruce McCullough?
jlt: I met Bruce McCullough once when I auditioned for SUPERSTAR. He was very soft and timid. In a good way.

kp: Do you think he gets mistaken for you?
jlt: I doubt it, but I’ve told countless people I was in Kids in the Hall.

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