WIRX “Decoding Carnivale” Call-in with Clancy Brown • 09-29-03

This is the transcript from Clancy’s radio call-in segment on Southwest Michigan’s WIRX/Rock 107.1, with John Jay and Brother Phil.

John Jay: Are you watching “Carnivale”? Please tell me you are watching that show! You have got to tune it in! It’s on HBO, Sunday nights at nine o’clock. It is a freak show, man!

Brother Phil: Crazy!

John Jay: And we will talk to Clancy about last night’s episode. We do a little bit on Monday mornings with my man, Brown, who plays Justin Crowe – Brother Justin, who is one of the main characters in the show. Understand, we’re not talking to some hacky little bit player… We’re talking to one of the stars of the show, if not the main character in the show. Him and Ben Hawkins are the two main characters in the show. So we’ll talk to him a little bit later on…

[station identification] The only station where classic rock really rocks! Rock 107/WIRX, St. Joseph/Benton Harbor.

[clip from Carnivale]

Councilman: There’s a big old empty roadhouse about five miles outside of town. Now, it’s a nice piece of land, it’s owned by Water & Power, but…

Brother Justin: No.

Councilman: Well, Reverend, don’t be so hasty…

Brother Justin: I’m not a fool, sir. I know this has nothing to do with city planning. It’s all about the migrants – the Okies, the ginks, the road-ites. It’s fine as long as they stay outside of town but, oh, don’t let them inside the city limits! No, they might get a mind to stay here and try to make it their home!

Councilman: Reverend, I think you’ve got us all wrong…

Templeton: Shut up, Ned. Now you listen to me, Reverend, we’re offering you a nice piece of property in exchange for this cracker box. Or we can exercise imminent domain for fair market value, which, I’d say, lookin’ at this place, is about, I dunno, fifty bucks and a dead cow’s fart? So what’s it gonna be?

[Brother Justin turns and stalks out of the room]

Iris: Excuse me.

[Sister Iris follows]

Iris: Justin…? Justin! Justin wait! Now, I know this place they’re talking about. Maybe we should just…

Justin: No… No! The Lord was clear. He spoke to me, Iris… He chose this place, no other!

Iris: But Justin…

Justin: NO!!!

[Templeton grabs his chest and begins to choke in the adjoining room]

Councilman: Val! Val, are you okay?

[The councilmen look panicked as Templeton begins to collapse]


Brother Phil: That’s good…

John Jay: Uh-oh… Ooder starts chokin’!

Brother Phil: Yeah…


Councilman: Get a doctor! Let’s take him outside boys…


[station identification] And now, it’s the Morning After with John Jay, on Rock 107/WIRX!


John Jay: That’s “Carnivale” from last night on HBO! It’s about 10 minutes after eight o’clock, 46 right now, 53 for the high today… You’ve got to watch this show, nine pm Sunday nights on HBO, and the star of the show is Clancy Brown, who plays Brother Justin Crowe, who choked Ooder from “Beetlejuice” with his mind last night! I think it was Ooder, wasn’t that his name on Beetlejuice?

Clancy Brown: Yeah, I think that’s right…

John Jay: I think it is, yeah. Hey, how are ya doin’?

Clancy: Hey, I’m all right! I’m all right, though, ya know, I don’t think that Brother Justin has control over things like cholesterol and arterial sclerosis…

John Jay: (laughing) Ya know, I don’t think he does either, but…

Clancy: I mean, this guy worked himself up into a lather and, ya know, when you’re carrying around that much extra weight… You gotta be careful!

John: But he wasn’t lathered up just yet, was he there, Justin? I mean, you were going on in the other room. You were the one in a lather, my friend.

Clancy: Well, I was pretty lathered, yeah, but I’m in a little better shape. You didn’t see me havin’ a heart attack!

Phil: No…

John: (laughing) You walk into the hallway, though, and you give him the “NO!” and, all of a sudden, Ooder there goes, “Plegghhk!” It’s like Darth Vader! You’re Darth Vader!

Clancy: Oh, if only…[Vader voice] ”You have failed me for the last time…”

John: Yeah, we were discussing it off the air this morning, Phil and I were, and I said, ya know, watching the show last night, I don’t know yet about Brother Justin, whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy. And I will say this, I’m not giving anything away by saying I haven’t seen too many good guys in my movie-watchin’ and television show-watchin’ history that wear the black contact lenses… I’ll be honest with you.

Phil: Right… whose eyes disappear!

Clancy: (laughing)

Phil: That, by the way, the only thing in movies and television that scares me still.

John: Yeah, right!

Clancy: The black contact lenses?

Phil: Yeah! Oh, those things just… They’re so evil looking.

Clancy: Yeah, well… Ya know… You can’t judge this show by other paradigms that you’ve seen, ya know. Ya can’t judge it by other status quo shows you’ve seen.

John: No, I know you can’t.

Clancy: Probably, if it was on NBC? The black orbs would definitely be a giveaway.

John and Phil: (laughing)

Clancy: But it’s on HBO, man, so…

John: You’re breakin’ rules!

Clancy: Yeah, we’re breakin’ rules…

Phil: John’s like, with the black eyes, “But he’s a man of the cloth… He can’t be a bad guy.”

John: Well, that’s what I’m saying. You just don’t see… Your experience leads you to believe that you’ve never seen too many good guys with the black eyes.

Phil: No.

Clancy: Well, we’re playing with that symbolism, ya know?

John: You’re pullin’ us down the primrose path on HBO.

Clancy: That’s right.

John: And one thing I did enjoy last night, too, was your little – and we heard that just a second ago – you’re talking about the Okies, and you’re whippin’ out all the nicknames for the Okies, “The Ginks, the Okies, the Dust Bunnies!” Whatever they are.

Clancy: That’s right.

John: (laughing) I was very much reminded of the scene in “Ferris Bueller” – “The Geeks, the Dickheads, the Pimps…”

Clancy: (laughing)

John: “They all think he’s a righteous dude!”

Clancy: (laughing hard) Yeah! Only you could make a connection between Ferris Bueller and “Carnivale”…

John: (laughing) I’m tellin’ ya!

Clancy: (still laughing)

John: I bet no one else has done that – drawing a parallel between Ferris Bueller and Carnivale!

Clancy: (laughing) That’s right! You gotta get online and lay that one out for everybody!

Phil: Well, they’re a lot alike!

Clancy: Oh, yeah… yeah.

John: Oh, absolutely! I’m seeing so many parallels… (laughing) Brother Justin is very much like Ferris Bueller.

Clancy: Yeah, exactly.

John: The dark side of Ferris…

Phil: Yeah, Ferris needed to just be eyeless in one scene…

John: So, we’re starting to see some more of the characters on this show. The one guy, we talked about him very early on, the carnival barker guy… What the hell is his name?

Clancy: Toby Huss.

John: That’s right.

Clancy: His name is… in the show… Jeez, what is it…? Stumpy!

John: Right, and he was like… He was the ring leader in the faith healer tent, last night.

Clancy: Yes, Stumpy’s getting fun! He was pretty funny last night, cuz he starts out with the first faith healer, he’s kinda, “Well, I was a sinful man…”

John: That was great!

Clancy: “And I loved the flesh, and indulged in every kind of urge and temptation…” And, ya know, he’s kinda low key. But that second night, he was like, “Whoo! C’mon, we’re gonna party now!”

John: Exactly.

Clancy: “That’s right, we’re gonna save some souls! Let’s heal some sick people!”

John: What would Brother Justin Crowe think of Stumpy the Faith Healer?

Clancy: He would recruit him, definitely. You gotta have a good talker!

John: Yeah, cuz he was testifyin’ up there. He did have the crowd in the palm of his hand even though he’s a complete fake and he, ya know…

Clancy: Now that’s a good question. What’s ever gonna happen when somebody who’s as sincere and earnest as Justin Crowe meets these entertainment folk types?

John: That’s right! And I think that you guys… The one thing I really believe is that Brother Justin… Well, obviously, you guys are on a collision course.

Clancy: Um-hmm.

John: Between the happenings at Mr. Chin’s and you choking guys like Ooder, and what’s going on with Ben Hawkins and his faith healing… I mean, there’s a big, big…

Phil: Confrontation comin’!

John: Yeah! There’s conflagration on the horizon.

Clancy: Yeah, I would say so! I just don’t know when it’s gonna happen!

John: Right. How long is the show, “Carnivale,” by the way. I mean, how many episodes are there?

Clancy: Well, we only shot twelve, and then they decide whether it’s good enough to carry on.

John: Oh, really?

Clancy: Yeah.

John: Well, there’s some closure in episode twelve, right?

Clancy: Well, there’s a few more questions than normal answered. But, uh, ya know, for every question answered you get three more…

John and Phil: That pop up!

Clancy: Yup, three more that need to be resolved. There’s, uh… Ah… What happens in the last show?

John: How’d you guys do against the sucky Emmys last Sunday?

Clancy: Did pretty well. Better than anybody expected! You wouldn’t know it talking to people who want HBO to fail, but they didn’t expect to do as well as they did, and I guess more people tuned in during the show than started out watching it.

John: Yeah, cuz the Emmys were…

Phil: A train wreck.

John: Yeah, it was pretty bad… Their viewership was way down, too. And. Ya know, last week I forgot to even mention it to ya. You guys were head to head with the Emmys, and I flipped like, cuz there are no commercials, I flipped over just for a second or two to check out what was going on with the Emmys, and it was just like, “Man, this is a train wreck!”

Phil: Same old, same old…

Clancy: Well, I think a lot of people did the other way around, they started out watching the Emmys and then they turned over to “Carnivale”…

John: And got hooked!

Clancy: They couldn’t turn it off.

John and Phil: Right, yeah!

John: So the bad news is, for us, is that you guys, the whole cast of “Carnivale,” you guys are all gonna be there next year!

Clancy: Ya know, that’s what my wife said. That was her excuse for watching those lame award shows…

John and Phil: Yeah.

Clancy: I don’t watch ‘em at all, I just think they’re silly. But she said, “Oh no! We gotta watch it for research!” (laughing) And I said, “Who’re you going with?”

John and Phil: (laughing) Yeah!

John: Well, you’re going! You’re gonna be there next year, let me tell ya…

Clancy: I dunno…

Phil: Or at least you’ll get nominated.

John: So you’d better start writing the speech right now, my man.

Clancy: Well, there are some folks who are definitely going, like cinematographers, and the art direction, ya know, wardrobe, make-up and props, and all those guys. It’s just too well done on the technical level…

John: Man, that show is filmed incredibly well. In fact, in mentioning that, I don’t know if there is any kind of award for opening and closing credits, but the opening credits on that show…

Clancy: They’re amazing, aren’t they?

John: Unbelievable! Ya know, last night I watched… I mean, I’ve seen the opening credits like three times now, but I watched for the first time last night – really watched – and, if you haven’t… I mean, they are stunning!

Clancy: They are stunning.

John: The inter-cutting of those images and how they turn those cards into 3-D? Man!

Clancy: Yeah, there’s some weird minds workin’ on that. Those guys can do anything. I first saw them without any credits over them. I saw them at some technical thing that we were doing, and it was as mesmerizing as any of the episodes have been. I mean, you get to see that every week. That’s pretty artful. You should get HD! (laughing)

John: Oh yeah, I know. I wish I had HD or one of them there plasma TVs or something…

Phil: Well there is an Emmy for art director or art or something…

John: I don’t know who would get that one. I think they show that one…

Clancy: I think they do have an Emmy for title credits, as a matter of fact…

John: Yeah, I think they do, too.

Clancy: I think it’s given out on…

Phil: On Saturday.

Clancy: Yeah, Saturday!

Phil: Yeah, that’s the ones they give the day before the actual Emmys.

Clancy: Yeah, somewhere in Michigan… I think they hold that, actually, in Benton Harbor. (laughing)

Phil: Yeah, they hold that one right here…

John: Right, that’s the one, like, you hear the announcement midway during the Emmy show, “The Technical Emmys were awarded by Zsa Zsa Gabor in the lobby of…”

Clancy: Yes! (laughing)

John: It’s like, holy crap!

Phil: Held yesterday morning at 5:30…

Clancy: Ah… Good ‘ol Zsa Zsa…

John: Hey, tell us what’s gonna happen. Give us a little clue what to look for in next week’s show, cuz we are supposed to be decoding “Carnivale” right now…

Clancy: We are. Okay, so… We know that Jesus Christ is on a bicycle heading to Babylon…

[“Carnivale” theme song starts playing.]

John: Yes.

Clancy: We don’t get to Babylon next episode but we’re on our way… We’re going down Highway 54 or something, I guess. It’s a good show. It’s a show that I think sort of evokes the time more than anything else because, in that show, we see what the Dustbowl is all about.

John: Really?

Clancy: A couple of the characters get separated from the carnival proper, and have their own adventures.

Phil: Cool!

Clancy: Lodz goes off with Nick, and Clea goes off on her own, and… who else? Samson goes off and meets an old friend, I think.

John: Really?

Clancy: Yup.

John: So, a lot of little side stories starting next week then.

Clancy: Yeah. I get into a beef with my church, basically, my congregation.

John: Excellent! [rings bell] Brother Justin gets into another beef!

Phil: A beef!

Clancy: Yeah, how ‘bout that?

John: You’ve been in a beef every week, dude! What are you talking about?

Clancy: But I don’t think anything bad happens, though. I don’t recall that anything bad happens to anybody.

Phil: No more black eyes?

Clancy: No… But I get very, very upset. I don’t know if you saw the previews… I’m very upset in that scene. And we sort of get the idea that, the thirties? They weren’t really the Good Old Days.

John: Right.

Clancy: That there was a lot wrong in the thirties.

John: Well, there’s clearly a whole bunch wrong with what’s going on around your little corner of the world.

Clancy: Not only in my corner of the world, but in the whole world.

John: Right, in general. Well, you’ve gotten into a beef in virtually every episode!

Clancy: Well, but I don’t go lookin’ for it! Ya know, all I’m trying to do is the right thing.

John: No, people come to you, though, and start the beef.

Clancy: That’s right! (laughing)

John: But you always seem to be the guy that finishes the beef!

Clancy: Well, exactly! (laughs) I mean, ya know, if you’re gonna start this… You know, you might as well see!

Phil: Well, in every character you’ve ever portrayed, you’ve been the one to “finish the beef,” if you know what I mean.

John: (laughing)

Clancy: Right… and where is the beef?

John: Oh, let’s not go there… I’m sorry.

Clancy: No, we won’t go there.

John: Hey, “Carnivale” is on HBO on Sunday nights at nine o’clock, and it stars Clancy Brown as Brother Justin Crowe. And I’m loving this show! I‘ve got everybody at the station here addicted to this show. Our news guy’s coming in here going, “What the hell was that all about last night?”

Clancy: So what do you do, do you like watch the first half of Monday night football and then turn on the show?

Phil: Sunday night football, you mean.

Clancy: Yeah, Sunday night football! Yeah, Monday… that’s tonight. (Let’s all remember this is 5:00 in the morning for Clancy. – ed.)

John: No, I don’t mess with sports on Sunday night, at all. I’m all about hunkering down in the Jay-bunker and watching TV.

Phil: I have to admit I flip back and forth… Payton Manning -- six touchdown passes last night.

Clancy: Oh man! He was unconscious last night!

John: And you’re excited about the Cubbies, Mr. Chicago Ties…

Clancy: I’m excited about the Cubbies. I’m excited about the dignity retained by the Cincinnati Reds AND the Detroit Tigers.

John: Nah, I was hoping the Tigers would set the record, quite honestly.

Clancy: Yeah? You wanna have that? I don’t know…

John: I don’t care, I mean, I’m not a Tigers fan, but uh…

Phil: Hey, if you’re gonna lose, lose big!

John: Set a record! That’s what I said!

Clancy: (laughing)

John: Can you imagine the tee shirts that could have been made, if they had set that record?

Phil: Yeah, or at least tied it!

Clancy: That would be shameful…

John: But they didn’t have good tee shirt printing technology back when the Mets set that record, but now? Ya know, there coulda been some smartass on the streets the next day with a kick-ass tee shirt.

Clancy: Of course, but does Alan Trammel deserve that kind of indignity?

Phil: No.

John: Probably not…

Phil: He doesn’t.

Clancy: I mean, Justin Crowe is like wandering around the dugout there, I think.

Phil: He deserves some players is what he deserves!

Clancy and John: (laughing)

John: Yeah… Hey, it’s always a pleasure talking to you, my man!

Clancy: All right, good to talk to you guys, too, John.

John: We’re gonna be on the blower again with you next Monday, if you’re available…?

Clancy: Yup, yup! Let’s do it! Let’s just keep doing it until HBO tells me to stop.

John: What if somebody calls you in for a job or something?

Clancy: A job? Well then… I’ll call ya from the job!

John: Okay! There ya go! (laughing)

Clancy: Ya know? Unless I’m on the set…

John: Yes, right, unless you’ve got an early morning taping for SpongeBob!

Clancy: I don’t think I’m ever gonna work again, see?

John: Yeah, you will…

Clancy: That’s the way actors are.

John: Yeah, you’re just wandering around the house, wringing your hands, “This ‘Carnivale’ is ruining my career!”

Clancy: (laughing) That’s right. It’s the end…

John: “Nobody understands Brother Justin. I’m doomed, doomed, I tell you!”

Phil: Typecast…

Clancy: (laughing) There’s just not that many tortured preacher roles out there…

John: That’s right, I can tell you, you’d better be careful... Cuz every time Brother Justin wrings his hands and screams, people start chokin’!

Clancy: Exactly! (laughing) But look, dude, ya know, I played prison guards for a good few years there! (laughs)

Phil: Have they called you back for “Highlander XI” yet?

Clancy: That was my bread and butter!

John: Yeah, exactly.

Phil: They need to bring you back to the “Highlander” thing…

Clancy: There ya go…

Phil: Do a guest shot on the “Highlander” series.

John: But the “Highlander” thing is over, right?

Clancy: Yeah, that’s over. Man, I don’t look anything like what I looked back then. (laughing)

John: Yeah, yeah…

Clancy: That puts the lie to the whole “immortal” thing!

John and Phil: (laughing)

Clancy: I might play the Kurgan’s dad or somethin’!

John: I think we should do prequels to some of those “Highlander” things…

Clancy: Yeah, but how are you gonna justify Kurgan as a forty-four year old, pot-bellied married guy?!?

John and Phil: (laughing hard)

John: Special effects, maybe! It’s all about special effects!

Clancy: Yeah, that’s right…

John: All right, Clancy. Hey, thanks again! I really appreciate it.

Clancy: All right… My pleasure.

Phil: Go Cubs!

John: That was Clancy Brown from HBO’s “Carnivale,” Sunday nights at nine o’clock. And on Monday we Decode Carnivale, right here on Rock 107/WIRX!

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WIRX “Decoding Carnivale” Call-in with Clancy Brown • 09-22-03

This is the transcript from Clancy’s radio call-in segment on Southwest Michigan’s WIRX/Rock 107.1, with John Jay and Brother Phil.

John Jay: Clancy Brown will be calling in this morning from “Carnivale” – a crazy, crazy-ass show! [“Carnivale” theme music begins playing in the background] even the theme music from this show is weird… It is a strange HYPNOTIC program! And Clancy was just…

Brother Phil: I have to rely on you taping it for me, cuz I don’t have HBO.

John Jay: What a major, major role he played in the show last night! I mean, HUGE, like it was all pretty much about him last night.

Brother Phil: Wow!

John Jay: Probably three-quarters of the show was Brother Justin Crowe.

Brother Phil: Crazy stuff happening to him?

John Jay: Yeah, and he is a NUTCASE! The character, this Brother Justin, is a nutcase! I just… (laughing)

Brother Phil: Anybody vomiting coins on him again?

John Jay: No, no… No vomiting of coins, but there were a couple of truly startling scenes in last night’s show. And I wanna save that for while he’s on this morning, cuz I gotta get his… quite frankly, his explanation… (laughing) his explanation of what the hell was…

Brother Phil: Just a “Explain this to me, Clancy…”

John Jay: Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly it. Yeah, I mean, I want an explanation of what was going through your head when you read the script the first time and saw what was going on here? He had to be lookin’ at that goin’, “What the hell?!? Really…?” (laughing)

Brother Phil: “All right…”

John Jay: “You guys wrote this thing, you must know what you’re doing.”

Brother Phil: “This check’s gonna clear, right?”

John Jay: Yeah, the check is gonna clear…

Brother Phil: “Okay, I’ll do it then.” (laughing)

John Jay: Yeah, it is a crazy-ass show. It’s a crazy show!”

Brother Phil: “Carnivale” – Sunday nights.

John Jay: Yeah, but it is one of those shows that WILL addict you, I think. It’s gonna be along the lines of like a “Twin Peaks” thing.

:: break ::

John Jay: Man, we’ve got a guest-filled morning. We’ve got Clancy Brown from “Carnivale”… Man, what a weird-ass show!

Jim Gifford (the news guy): Yeah, that was excellent last night!

John Jay: I know!

Jim Gifford: I’m hooked in on that thing, big time!

John Jay: Yeah, my first two questions to him on last night’s show: Explain to me the twelve-year-old boy and I want to know about the bullwhip!

Jim Gifford: (Laughing) Yeah! See if you can get some insight on that catatonic woman, too!

John Jay: Yes, exactly…

Jim Gifford: She’s kinda freakin’ me out. (laughing)

John Jay: Oh, I know it! And she’s a psychic, too, and I love the way you get the one-sided arguments with her daughter.

Jim Gifford: Yeah, she’s doing a good job with that, too.

John Jay: Yeah, yeah… There’s this psychic on the show, and she just lays in bed all the time, never moves, just completely stares at the ceiling – all the time, never moves a muscle! And her daughter, who’s a card reader and psychic, as well, has a one-sided argument, cuz her mom is communicating telepathically. So the daughter will just be sitting in the trailer and turn to her mother and go, “Oh, she does not!”

Jim Gifford: (laughing) Oh, that’s good stuff!

John Jay: It is wild!

Jim Gifford: You know what has gotta be one of the toughest jobs on that show? The make-up artists, cuz they hafta make everybody look ashen and dirty, ALL the time!

John Jay: Yeah, yeah, filthy all the time. And I gotta tell ya, the Bearded Lady is creepin’ me out!

Jim Gifford: (Laughing hard)

John Jay: I don’t really like it when she’s on the camera…

Jim Gifford: Well, especially since she’s hot for the kid.

John Jay and Brother Phil: Whooo-ewwwwwww! (Laughing)

Brother Phil: It’s terrible when the Bearded Lady is hot for anyone.

Jim Gifford: Yeah, watch out for that…

John Jay: I like the blind guy, though, who’s kinda doing that “Silence of the Lambs” voice – (Hannibal Lechter voice) “Do you suppose he’s got…?”

Jim Gifford: The characters are FABULOUS in this thing!

John Jay: Yeah, it’s a great show!

::break for news::

[“Carnivale” theme song starts playing]

John Jay: Okay, you watched “Carnivale” last night, what scene are ya talking about?

Call-in from Audience: Yeah, when that guy was in the bunker, and that thing came around the corner all chained up?

John Jay: Yeah! What the hell?!?

Caller: And the bloody hat or scarf or whatever the hell it was hanging on the Little Guy’s trailer at the end?

John Jay: Yeah, what the hell is goin’ on with this show?

Caller: I just shook my head and thought, my God! (laughing)

John Jay: I don’t know what the hell’s going on with this show, but we’ll try to figure it out…

Caller: It’s got me hooked, though!

John Jay: I know it, man! Me too! All right… thanks buddy, bye-bye.

Caller: Thanks, bye!

Station Identification “Let’s go back to The Morning After with John Jay. Rock 107/ WIRX!”

John Jay: (“Carnivale” theme song starts playing) The creepy music is playin’, it’s rainy and dark outside, the perfect mood to talk with Clancy Brown from “Carnivale”…

Brother Phil: Yes!

John Jay: The craziest-ass show on television, right now… Hey, good morning, sir! How are you?

Clancy Brown: (Laughing) How ya doin’, John?

John Jay: Oh, man… Ya know, I gotta tell ya. Number one, I’m wildly impressed with the show. I’ve always been a huge fan of yours, and now… Do you know this guy… this Star Guy, Clancy Brown, is calling us on Mondays to recap what happens on this show on Sundays…

Brother Phil: Yeah, and he’s a Star Guy!

John Jay: Because it’s just so out of control, this show you’re on!

Clancy: (Laughing) And it hasn’t even STARTED, man! This is just the second episode!

Brother Phil: That’s the scary part!

Clancy: Yeah, boy!

John Jay: Now, I… I don’t even know where to start! I watched this thing last night.. And I’m telling you, who’s the critic who said… who’s the MORON who said, “Nothing happens on this show”?

Clancy: There were a few of em…

Brother Phil: Wow!

John Jay: We had suicide last night, the molestation of twelve-year-old boys…

Clancy: (Chuckling)

John Jay: Bullwhips! I mean, it’s ALL happening on there!

Clancy: I don’t think he was even TWELVE, that boy…

John Jay: How old, maybe eight?!?

Clancy: I dunno…

John Jay: God, it was the sickest thing! (laughing) And your role was just huge in the show last night! There was like… You were on like, ya know, seventy-five percent of the show last night, so a big night for you on the show.

Clancy: I’m just thinkin’ it would be a good idea to turn Brother Justin loose on the Catholic Church, that’s what I’m thinkin’

John Jay: Oh, man! Wow! How ‘bout that, huh?

Clancy: You wouldn’t have the problems you have today if…

John Jay: What happened last night was, this place, Mr. Chin’s, downtown… Brother Justin wanted this for his church. So he calls the owner… The owner and him have a meeting, and he says “You’re gonna donate this building to me, so this can be the church for the Okies, the hayseeds,” ya know?

Brother Phil: Yeah, right.

John Jay: And this Templeton guy sort of freaks out, and then… Tell me about the “It’s a Wonderful Life” sort of thing that happened there. It’s like you’re talking to Templeton, and all of a sudden, you guys are like ghosts or somethin’! It was weird!

Clancy: Yeah, well, ya know, I think it’s as baffling to Justin as it is to anybody else. But you don’t wanna piss off Brother Justin…

John Jay & Brother Phil: No! (laughing) No, you don’t!

Clancy: Cuz he’ll show you the worst thing in your life. He’ll show you the truth about… the darkest truth in your soul. And in a way it’s kinda a good thing, cuz it leads to urban reform and takes one sicko out of the world that needs to be out of the world…

John Jay: Yeah, right!

Clancy: But it’s also kind of a terrifying thing. I mean, you don’t really want to cross him.

Brother Phil: (laughing) No!

John Jay: What I really liked about last night, and I picked up on this little thing that I really loved in your character, last night on the show – was like, when that happened, and this Templeton creep comes to your place and you’re sitting there telling him, “You are GOING TO donate this to the church.” And then the scene spun around and it became that sort of “It’s a Wonderful Life” kinda thing…

Clancy: (Chuckling)

John Jay: At the end of that, ya know, when you’re back in the house and your sister brings the lemonade in? Brother Crowe was like… You know HE was just as shocked as the Templeton guy that it happened, but he acted like, “Eh, that’s what I do!”

Clancy: (Laughs) That’s right. Here, have some lemonade…

John Jay: That was so great!

Clancy: Now let’s talk business…

John Jay: Right!

Brother Phil: Mmm… That’s refreshing!

John Jay: It’s like, ya know, like when you do something that’s really cool, and you didn’t really know you were going to do it, but you try to pass it off like, “I planned that!”

Clancy: Yeah, we do that all the time, here at the Crowe house.

John Jay: (Laughing) And that’s kind of the look on Brother Crowe’s face, it’s kinda like, “Whoa! All right… Well, cool! See what I meant? Told ya!”

Clancy: Well, Sister Iris’s ice cold lemonade is just the kind of refreshment you wanna have after visiting one of the Circles of Hell…

Brother Phil: (laughing)

John Jay: (laughing) Yes, exactly! She comes in with the lemonade after the guy’s seen himself molesting an eight-year-old boy… “Oh, God! Thank you! That lemonade is JUST what I wanted! That’s gonna hit the spot!”

Clancy: Right, right! We’re nothing if not good hosts there, at the Crowe household…

John Jay: God, that was great stuff. And then Templeton, obviously, once that is out, he’s gotta take himself out – which was nice. That was a nice little comeuppance to see from our man, Templeton.

Brother Phil: Uh-huh…

Clancy: Yeah. So why is his name Carol? That’s what I wanna know!

John Jay: That’s pretty weird, too.

Clancy: And he’s got a brother named Val…

John Jay: Is that right?

Brother Phil: Wow…

Clancy: So the Templeton’s all named their boys girl names, I guess.

John Jay: Yeah, that’s pretty weird. And I like Adrienne Barbeau in this show, too! I didn’t mention her the last time we talked, but she’s doing a nice job.

Clancy: Yeah, she’s great.

John Jay: It’s been a long time sine I’ve seen her.

Clancy: She’s an old pro, and she’s held up REAL well!

John Jay: Yeah!

Clancy: She’s quite somethin’…

John Jay, Yeah, she looks really good.

Clancy: Nick just can’t seem to keep his shirt on around her! (laughing) That’s the thing…

John Jay: (Laughing) That’s right… It was a really weird show, last night. The last scene with you was you whipping yourself! What the hell was that all about?!?

Clancy: Atonement!

John Jay: Yeah, he’s got a little self-whimolation there in the ol’ room! Whook-chee!

Clancy: Well, ya know, you can feel bad about that… You can feel bad about what you did. You can feel bad about your appreciative thoughts of your sister. And you can feel bad about…

John Jay: (chuckles) Everything…?

Clancy: Motivating someone to kill themselves, I guess.

John Jay: Yeah. I gotta ask ya, as a little Hollywood Insider kinda thing, uh… Did it hurt? I mean, it looked like it hurt!

Clancy: Yeah, it did. Look… (chuckles) lemme tell you somethin’ about that whip…

John Jay and Brother Phil: (Laughing hard)

Clancy: They’d decided… This was in the script for a while, so they’re very thoughtful people – the prop masters and everybody else. And they just decided they were gonna go out and get this whip. So they sent some poor shmoe all around to all these… seedy places… to find a regular whip….

John Jay: (laughing like he may fall out of his chair)

Clancy: But most of the whips, I guess, that are used for that type of thing are… they’re not serious whips, ya know? They’re just kinda feathers… And so she finally, whoever this was, she finally found this whip and said, “Okay, this is a good one! This one won’t hurt… The leather is kinda stiff and everything…”

John Jay and Brother Phil: (laughing their asses off)

Brother Phil: Yeah, this leather whip won’t hurt you at all!

Clancy: So I whacked myself a couple of times… and THAT HURTS! And the director kept saying, “Ya know, you gotta really DO it!” (laughing) And I said, “I’m not really DOING IT! That hurts! I’m a big guy! I could hurt myself, or somebody else with this thing!”

John Jay: (Laughing) Yeah, man!

Clancy: So they did me a favor and kinda cut around me, cuz I couldn’t bring myself to actually hurt myself.

John Jay: (laughing) And it was… cuz the SOUND was…I’m sure they pump the sound up a little bit…

Clancy: Oh, sure.

John Jay: But it was…

Brother Phil: (making whip sounds in the background) Whook-chee! Whook-chee!

John Jay: You were very clearly hitting yourself with that thing.

Clancy: Yeah.

John Jay: I mean there was no shirt, and I don’t care, prop or no prop, if it’s made of COTTON it’s going to hurt!

Clancy: Well, it did hurt. It wasn’t supposed to hurt… But it did hurt, so…

John Jay: (laughing hysterically) I’m just thinking about that scene, when you filmed it the first time. Like, if you accidentally just really caught yourself with the sweet spot of that thing… Just like, ::whook-chee:: “Oh God! Jesus!!! Ow, oh!!!”

Brother Phil: “Cut! Cut! For Godssakes!”

Clancy: You got it! That’s exactly what happened!

John Jay: (laughing) “Clancy, you’re Justin… You can’t scream ‘Jesus Christ… Ow!!! Oh, Jesus, My back!’”

Clancy: (laughing hard)

John Jay: It was so… God, I thought, this show was so fantastic…

Brother Phil: Ice pack, stat!

Clancy, John Jay & Brother Phil: (all laughing)

John Jay: Yeah, absolutely… Well, we gotta come up with a name for this little bit. (“Carnivale” theme music starts up) We gotta call this like “Decoding ‘Carnivale’ with Clancy Brown.”

Clancy: (laughing) I’ll leave the marketing up to you…

John Jay: So give us an overview of, week by week, give us an overview of what happened on the show and what we should really look out for in the next one, ya know what I mean? Like key points, plot points, that you think are key to everyone understanding what IS going on in this incredibly insane show …

Clancy: Well, the key to understanding what’s going on is to keep watching.

John Jay: That’s right.

Clancy: You probably could have missed the first episode and seen this one, and been up to speed. But you can’t miss this episode, you can’t miss the next episode, and you can’t miss any of them after this. Let’s see… What happened on this episode?

John Jay: Well, we started to get a little bit more of the dream sequence. We saw that World War I bunker with the BEAR? What the hell?!?

Clancy: Yeah, the World War I bunker... Yeah! What the hell with that bear?!? And was that the bear’s costume hanging from the door of Management?

John Jay: That’s right!

Clancy: And given the coin situation, was it really hanging there?

John Jay: Exactly!

Clancy: And given the baggage situation, the baggage car that Nick looked into that wasn’t there.

John Jay: Where he found a picture of his mother…

Clancy: See, you gotta start questioning anything to do with the mystery of his father. Is it really happening? Is it actually there or is he somehow having a waking dream?

Brother Phil: Hmmm…

Clancy: But it’s all significant to it, so all these pieces are falling into place. But you don’t know if they’re falling into place because he’s actually finding them, or because it’s actually coming up from his subconscious. Although that picture that he found, that was real, cuz we saw somebody else handle it.

John Jay: That’s right!

Clancy: And we got the idea that Management IS actually another entity, and not just a figment of Michael’s imagination – although we haven’t seen Management yet.

John Jay: Yeah, I did like that scene when, what’s his name on the show? The little tiny guy?

Clancy: Samson… That’s Michael J Anderson.

John Jay: When he’s in the trailer and he turns to the curtain and goes, “What the hell are you up to?”

Clancy: Right.

John Jay: That was a nice little foreshadowing moment there…

Clancy: Yeah.

John Jay: I kinda dug that. And the thing is, ya know, the beauty of this show is that there are so many sort of dream sequence kind of moments, you don’t really know… You’ve REALLY gotta watch and say, okay now, is this happening?

Brother Phil: You gotta pay attention.

Clancy: Yeah.

John Jay: Right! Exactly… What’s a dream sequence, what’s not? What’s imagined, what’s real? And the show is making you question that at every single turn!

Clancy: That’s right! And what is Apollonia, the catatonic woman’s hook with Nick? Why is she so anxious to sit down with him again?

John Jay: Right!

Clancy: And then what is her relationship with the blind guy, Lodz? It’s getting very complicated, but it’s all sort of making a bizarre kind of sense.

John Jay: Yup, yup… I love the arguments that Apollonia gets in with her daughter.

Clancy: Right (laughing)

John Jay: The one-sided arguments…Just out of nowhere she’s going, “Shut up, Mother!” Whoa! She threw a coffee cup at her in last night’s show with her mind ::crash!::

Clancy: “That’s it! I’m outta here!”

John Jay: (laughing) Yeah, she storms out… That was classic stuff, right there. It’s a fun show. “Carnivale” on HBO. It’s on a nine o’clock every Sunday night, correct?

Clancy: Correct! Nine o’clock every Sunday night.

John Jay: You got pushed back, week one, because of that “Sex and the City” thing.

Clancy: Yeah, that girl show was on…

John Jay: Yeah, that chick show that’s on there. Although there’s lots of nudity on that, which is always good.

Clancy: Yeah, yeah… Nudity is always good.

John Jay: You get a little nudity on your show, too, with the Cootchie dancer.

Clancy: We did... We had a little “Cootch”… Yeah, they’re the best. That’s the best act in the show.

John Jay: I love that.

Clancy: That’s a plot thing that’s about to develop, that little triangle that’s gonna emerge.

John Jay: Pretty soon, in LA though, Clancy, it’s only on TV you’re gonna be able to see them dancing the Cootch. I guess they’re talking about outlawing the… No physical contact between the customers and the dancers at the topless clubs there in LA…

Clancy: Yeah, well… The only way I know that that’s true is because I watched Real Time with Bill Maher, and he had a comment about it. I wouldn’t know that… However, if I came over there and laid hands on YOU, I would definitely go into your mind and find that out… (laughing)

John Jay: (laughing) Exactly! I like it when they put the black contact lenses on ya. That’s gotta hurt!

Clancy: Ya know, actually, it didn’t! Ya know, it’s a funny little thing that they put those lenses in, and there’s a little hole in the middle of ‘em, but because the hole is exactly where your pupil is, they look completely blacked out, but you can see through them just fine. So it is a little weird to walk around in them…

John Jay: You ever go into like Arby’s in them?

Clancy: Nah, I’d LOVE to, though!

Brother Phil: That would be great! It would be so much fun!

Clancy: I’d like to walk in… or just go to the drive-thru.

John Jay: (howling) Beef and cheddar!!!

Clancy: BIG MAC!

Brother Phil: Free! I want it free!

Clancy: (deep, monster burger voice) I want an extra value meal… Supersize it!

(Everyone laughing)

Brother Phil: I want a Happy Meal…

John Jay, But you have no eyes!!!

Clancy: (laughing)

Brother Phil: (sweetly) But I want a Happy Meal…

John Jay: That would be so great, getting your chicken McNuggets! Clancy Brown from “Carnivale!” We’re gonna do this… Are you gonna be available for us next Monday, or are you taking off somewhere?

Clancy: Ah, I think I’ll be around.

Brother Phil: Excellent!

John Jay: You’re a good man, a good man…

Clancy: If I can’t make it, I’ll let ya know before hand.

John Jay: Super! “Decoding Carnivale” is that what we’re gonna call it?

Clancy: Do you take callers or anything?

John Jay and Brother Phil: Yeah!

Clancy: Well, ask ‘em to call in with questions, if you want.

John Jay: (laughing) I don’t like to take callers… Those people scare me.

Clancy: I don’t mean for me…

John Jay: I know… (laughing)

Clancy: I mean, to call in to give us a list of questions.

John Jay: I’m just kidding (laughing) I love the people… LOVE THEM!

Clancy: That’s in case you guys run out of questions.

John Jay: And often I do…

Clancy: (laughing)

John Jay: Hey, thanks again for joining us, man! I really appreciate it.

Clancy: My pleasure…

John Jay: You are the best! Clancy Brown, “Carnivale,” HBO on Sunday nights at nine o’clock, and when do they repeat it?

Clancy: All week… They repeat it, they just play the hell out of it.

John Jay: Which is kinda cool. I love that HBO does that. I mean, if you miss your show, you can still catch it again. I think network TV ought to take a cue from them…

Clancy: Yeah, but…

John Jay: They probably never will…

Clancy: No.

John Jay and Brother Phil: (laughing)

Clancy: You’re never gonna sell soap with a show you’ve already seen.

Brother Phil: (laughing hard) Yeah, really! Good point!

John Jay: That’s good…All right, Clancy. Thanks again, man. I really appreciate it!

Brother Phil: Yeah!

Clancy: All right, good to talk to you!

John Jay: Okay, we’ll talk to you again soon…

Brother Phil: Seeya!

John Jay: Clancy Brown from “Carnivale” – LIVE from Los Angeles, California.

Brother Phil: EXCELLENT!

John Jay: Yeah, outstanding… I love that guy!

Brother Phil: Yup!

John Jay: And that show is killer, man! It’s in Sunday night’s at 9:00… What else are ya doing? Nothing.

Brother Phil: Watching that!

John Jay: Yeah, you gotta watch that show…


To comment on this Interview click HERE

Clancy on WIRX 09/15/03

This is the transcript from Clancy’s radio-call in segment on Southwest Michigan’s WIRX/Rock 107.1, with John Jay and Brother Phil.

clip from “Carnivale” – Clancy Brown as Brother Justin, giving a sermon to his congregation: “Latter day versions of the vile plagues that rained on Egypt… The fires that consumed Sodom and Gommorah… Scourges of the Old Testament, yes, but even now, brothers and sisters, even now drought and pestilence fester in the very heart of this great land. Titanic sandstorms, the likes of which man has not seen since the days of the Prophets… And I ask myself, what are these things? What are they, if not evidence of God’s fury? What are they, if not harbingers of the Apocalypse?”

John Jay: There ya go! That’s Clancy Brown on “Carnivale” as Brother Justin Crowe, HBO’s newest series, its newest original production. And welcome to the show, Clancy Brown, live from California, where it is 4:37 in the morning, and you are quite a sport, my friend…

Brother Phil: Yes, thank you!

Clancy: Well, thanks for having me.

John Jay: It’s a pleasure and, honest to God, it’s just so exciting for me, since I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I know, and I hope you take this as the compliment it is, you’re one of the great character actors. You know, when people say, “Hey, did you see Clancy Brown last night?” a lot of people might not be able to place the name with the face, but as soon as they SEE you, they go, “Oh, my God! That’s the guy from “The Shawshank Redemption,” that’s the guy from “Bad Boys,” that’s the guy from… The list goes on and on and on…

Clancy: (Chuckling) Well, that’s good of ya…

John Jay: (Laughs)

Clancy: (More laughing) You know how to treat your guests!

John Jay: We were describing you earlier this morning as the guy who got the livin’ crap beat out of him with a pillow sack full of pop cans in “Bad Boys.”

Clancy: Yeah, yeah… My career’s just been one beating after another…

John Jay: (Laughing) Usually you’re dispensing the beatings, though! You’ve played a lot of heavies!

Clancy: (Chuckling) Yeah, every now and then.

John Jay: Yeah, one of my favorite movies, I saw it, and maybe I’m not dating myself, but telling you what my movie tastes run to, was “Shoot to Kill.” It had to have been cool to work with Sidney Poitier in that movie.

Clancy: Yeah, he had been in retirement, and hadn’t done a movie in about ten years, and ran into some tax trouble and very quickly got enough money to pay his tax bill. He did a couple of movies right in a row and figured he kinda liked it, so he did a couple of more movies after that. I haven’t seen him much lately, but what a great man he is!

John Jay: And he was great in that movie! I thought he just did a really, really good believable job!

Clancy: Oh, yeah! I was a young man when I did that, and I was sittin’ there watching him doing a scene, and thought I should get my schoolin’ in, and I went and watched it, and I thought, oh no, this guy, he’s lost it. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s from a different era, he’s too old to do it anymore… Then I go to dailies, and you can’t take your eyes off the guy! And then I felt like a… fool! (Laughter all around.) But at least I didn’t TELL anybody what I thought, at the time. He’s… He’s just amazing.

John Jay: Well, it’s a cool movie. I mean, every time that it comes on cable – and it’s on TBS about every seventeen minutes -- so I watch it on that… It’s got Tom Berenger in it, and Kirstie Alley – back when she was really…

John Jay and Brother Phil: (in unison) HOT!

Clancy: (Laughs)

John Jay: And it’s got Clancy Brown in it, pitchin’ guys off a cliff! You gotta love this movie! And shootin’ an old lady in the eye!

Brother Phil: Yeah!

Clancy: Well, some old ladies just GET to ya… (everyone laughing)

John Jay: And then YOU get shot in the eye by Sidney Poitier, in the end.

Clancy: Yeah, that was very smart-alecky, don’tcha think? (laughing)

John Jay: Yeah, yeah it was. It was a little bit contrived, but I liked it! I really enjoyed it. That was super good. And then, of course, you were the big, bad officer from “Shawshank Redemption.”

Brother Phil: Yeah, my all time favorite movie.

John Jay: Phil’s favorite movie…

Brother Phil: Yeah, yeah! My ALL-TIME favorite movie!

Clancy: That’s on about every fifteen minutes on cable, too.

Brother Phil: Yeah, though I can’t watch it every fifteen minutes, cuz it’s seventeen hours long.

Clancy: Yeah…

John Jay: And it’s also… in all these movies, you put ‘em on cable and they get so heavily edited. Ya know, I’d like to watch the original version, thank you very much, so that’s why I bought the DVD version.

Clancy: Ya wonder why you HAVE cable when they edit those movies!

John Jay: I know, what’s the point?

Clancy: Why can’t we just see the whole thing?

John Jay: Aren’t I paying for this? I mean, on air TV, go ahead and edit the crap out of it! Now, the new show, “Carnivale” just started last night on HBO, and it is a strange show. Even you admitted that it’s a little bit weird…

Clancy: It’s a VERY strange show. It’s even stranger than I thought it was. I mean, the stuff I do is pretty segregated from the carnival stuff, so I can watch the carnival and have a good time, cuz I’ve never seen any of it before, that aspect of the story. But even I, even I, was shaking my head, and kinda looking at it with consternation and curiosity and confusion. However, I was VERY interested!

John Jay: Were you doing, last night, when you were watching it… Well, first of all, was that the first time you’ve seen the whole thing, the final cut, all put together and everything?

Clancy: Oh, yeah!

John Jay: So, when you watched it, didja do sorta the lean back in your couch and itch your chin, going, hey, what the hell…?”

Clancy: (laughs)

John Jay: Cuz that’s what I did a coupla times. The scene with you, with no dialogue whatsoever, but you go to Mr. Chin’s, and you’re standing in front of the place, and all of a sudden there’s a snowstorm, and then it’s raining blood on you…

Clancy: Yeah.

John Jay: And then the crucifix appears in the neon sign, and we’re back to sort of daylight… I know it’s gonna make sense for me eventually…

Clancy: (still chuckling)

John Jay: But, WOW!

Brother Phil: A lot of people are second-guessing that last puff they took!

Clancy: We’ll explain that eventually. But we got a few reviews that said, “This is really boring and nothing happens.” But you just said it! You just said, I’m walking in front of some bordello when suddenly it starts snowing, then raining blood, and then the sign explodes and there’s a cross, and I fall to my knees, and then everything’s back to normal… NOTHING HAPPENS in this show! (laughs)

John Jay: You’ve got an old lady rippin’ money off outta the collection plate, then puking coins!

Clancy: Right! But NOTHING HAPPENS in it…! (laughing)

John Jay: That was the twisted scene from hell!

Brother Phil: (laughing)

John Jay: We just ran that scene on the show about fifteen minutes ago, because I HAD to have Phil see this thing…

Brother Phil: Yeah.

John Jay: He watched the Bears on TV last night…

Brother Phil: Well, I HAD TO… I do the sports on the show, so I have to do my own kind of research, and it just so happens the Bears were getting their asses handed to them by the Vikings last night, and I had to watch that.

Clancy: So that was pretty weird, too!

John Jay: Now are you from Chicago?

Clancy: I went to school in Chicago and spent some time there, so I have a soft spot in my heart for the Bears, although I was heartened to see that the Reds beat the Cubs, cuz I’m an Ohio boy…

John Jay & Brother Phil: (razzing) Okay…Oh, all right… Whatever… Yeah, well…

John Jay: Yeah, we’re working on getting the Cubs into the post-season here, now don’t jinx us in that.

Clancy: No, no, no… I’m very happy for them. Ya know, the Reds aren’t in it, so I’m actually hoping they get in it, too.

Brother Phil: The Cubs are working on NOT making the playoffs right now.

Clancy: NOBODY wants to win the Central. That should be obvious by now.

John Jay: It’s unbelievable… So, yeah, we saw the scene with the woman puking the dollar coins, which was completely strange.

Brother Phil: And what happened to the coins?

John Jay: Yeah, they just disappeared!

Clancy: Yeah, they just disappeared! So, did it really happen, or was it just a trip into her mind, or…?

Brother Phil: You’ll have to watch next week.

John Jay: Or is Brother Crowe just goin’ nuts?

Clancy: Right! That’s true, too! Could he just be insane?

John Jay: Now, you had the same dream last night on the show, though…

Clancy: Yes, we’re sharing the same dreams, that’s our only connection right now, between Ben and I, is that we have the same dreams, the same subconscious imagery going on. And that’s actually the only thing that’s going to connect the stories for a while.

Brother Phil: Wow! Okay.

John Jay: And the imagery… is disturbing, to say the least.

Clancy: All right…

John Jay: And stuff that I feel like, as a watcher of the show, I need to pay really close attention to.

Clancy: Well, that’s where I have the advantage. You DO need to play close attention to it, but I know what every one of those images mean, so…

John Jay: Yeah, cuz you’ve got this big muscular guy with this huge tree tattoo on him, and you’ve got a bunch of World War I battle scenes, you’ve got some prissy looking guy in a tuxedo… I mean, it’s like all over the map!

Clancy: Yeah…

Brother Phil: I like Amy Madigan, too.

John Jay: Oh, I love Amy Madigan…

Clancy: Yeah, she’s the greatest…

John Jay: She’s super.

Clancy: She’s a Chicago girl…

John Jay: She plays your older sister, right?

Clancy: Yes, indeed!

John Jay: Iris Crowe.

Clancy: She may or may not be older…

John Jay: Oh, may or may not be older…

Clancy: (chuckling) She’s my shorter sister.

John Jay: And then you’ve got, of course, all the carnival… the carnies.

Clancy: All those carnies…

John Jay: And then you’ve got that little guy, the little short guy, Michael Anderson, from “Twin Peaks” – Backwards Talking Man…

Clancy: Yeah, he’s great! He’s a very smart fella. He’s one of the best things about the show, I think.

John Jay: And then one of my favorites, I think this guy is hilarious, is Toby Huss as Stumpy Dreyfuss, although we didn’t see him much last night.

Clancy: Oh man, you wait till later on in the show… He shines!

John Jay: Is that right?

Clancy: Yeah, that’s his family there that do the Cootch Show – his daughter and his wife.

John Jay: Is that right?

Brother Phil: I love that guy…

John Jay: That’s really cool. And ya know, I gotta do this before my youngest son takes off for school, cuz I wasn’t even aware of this… You’re on “SpongeBob SquarePants”!

Clancy: (Mr. Krabs voice) That’s true, sir!

John Jay & Brother Phil: (Breaking up with laughter)

John Jay: Who do you play on SpongeBob?

Clancy: (Mr. Krabs voice) I play Mr. Krabs, and I only do it for the money!

(more laughing)

Brother Phil: That’s great!

Clancy: (Mr. Krabs voice) I coulda been a great Shakespearean actor! But, you know, you gotta do whatcha gotta do…

John Jay: How did you get that gig? How does the guy that beats the crap out of people in “Shawshank Redemption”… How does a guy with your pedigree end up on “SpongeBob SquarePants?”

Clancy: (this time in his own voice) Ya know, I had a daughter a few years ago and decided I wanted to stay in town, so I started exploring voiceover stuff and just fell in love with doing animation, doing cartoons… That was another weird show, I couldn’t make head nor tails out of it, but I went in and met the fella, and did a couple of funny voices for him.

Brother Phil: That would be great.

John Jay: It’s gotta be kinda weird being involved with that, because “SpongeBob” has turned into a phenomenon.

Clancy: Unbelievable! It’s unbelievable money that they make for Viacom. Millions of dollars!

Brother Phil: SpongeBob clothes…SpongeBob EverythingPants, is what’s going on right now! NudiePants, DoctorPants, whatever…

Clancy: They’re even getting bids in from designers!

John Jay: Yeah! The thing is that it’s not just kids!

Brother Phil: I know!

John Jay: I mean, I think the show is funny, and I know a bunch of adults that won’t miss it. And they have the SpongeBob slippers that they wear around the house, and I see perfectly sane adults walking around with SpongeBob key chains!

Clancy: (Mr. Krabs voice) Yes, well, ya know, SpongeBob, he’s a talented young man. But he couldn’t match my “Julius Caesar,” I’ll tell ya that right now!

John Jay & Brother Phil: (laughing)

John Jay: Ya gotta do me a favor and say hi to my son, Trace, as Mr. Krabs…

Clancy: (as Mr Krabs) Trace, this is Mr. Krabs. Go into your father’s wallet and send me every piece of money that’s in it! Send it to Mr. Krabs at Bikini Bottom – and I’ll be your friend FOREVER!

John Jay & Brother Phil: (laughing)

John Jay: That’s good! Excellent! There we go! There, now I’m a hero for five minutes, anyway…

Clancy: (laughing)

John Jay: You helped me be a hero for five minutes. Ya know, he got sent home from school for wearing a “SpongeBob NudiePants” tee-shirt!

Clancy: Oh, my goodness.

John Jay: I’m not kidding ya.

Clancy: (as Mr. Krabs) Well, we’re EDGY…

John Jay: We live in the Midwest, Clancy. My kid got sent home for “SpongeBob NUDIE Pants!” IT’S A SPONGE!!!

Clancy: (Mr Krabs voice) But we’re edgy, though…

Brother Phil: Right, the people at school obviously don’t understand that, you know, it IS a sponge!

Clancy: (in his own voice) Hey, I’m from the Midwest, too, man. We’re all good people, sometimes a little misguided, sometimes take things a little seriously… But don’t mess around with our children, see? We’ll even look out for your children FOR ya.

Brother Phil: Yeah, that’s the problem.

John Jay: Right, ya know that sponges don’t have genitalia! Let’s not really worry about it, all right?

Clancy: (Mr. Krabs voice) That’s right… But he does have butt cheeks!

Brother Phil: Yes, he does!

John Jay: What is THAT?

Brother Phil: A sponge with butt cheeks…

John Jay: Why does a sponge have butt cheeks?

Clancy: (in his own voice) I dunno! Ya know, why do they have campfires in the middle of the ocean?

John Jay: I know, I know! I love it! I saw an episode where there was like actual live action.

Clancy: Oh yeah, they do that a lot.

John Jay: Where the squirrel comes up out of the water or whatever…

Clancy: (laughing) Yeah!

John Jay: And she’s got the little helmet on. The squirrel’s always got the little deep sea diving helmet on.

Clancy: Right.

John Jay: That is funny stuff… Absolutely funny stuff! Now you’ve got all the episodes of this new HBO show, “Carnivale,” done for the first season…

Clancy: Right.

John Jay: And you still don’t know what’s going on?

Clancy: I SORTA know what’s going on, but I don’t know how it’s gonna end up. I mean, I know what goes on in this season. See, this is like a novel. I mean, I like to say it’s an epic story told in great detail. And you’ve read like the first chapter, which is kinda just exposition and descriptive, and you’re not really gonna understand anything in the first chapter.

John Jay: I gotcha.

Clancy: But boy, oh boy, it gets deep and complex, and a lot of stuff happens as we go along.

John Jay: Well, I like the fact that the show is on… number one, on HBO. I don’t think that there is another network that does more risky programming than HBO does.

Clancy: Well, there would be a lot more jokes if we were on another network.

John Jay: Oh, God… Yeah, there’d have to be.

Clancy: There’d be a laugh track on the show.

John Jay: There’s just so many strange programs that HBO will take on and make successful because of the, I think, probably the creativity they give the people, and the freedom they give em to do things right.

Clancy: Well, that’s for sure. And I also think that this show got under the skin of a lot of the executives. They just… They became “Carnies” really, they just kinda wouldn’t let it go. And they pound through it, there’s a lot more involvement with the executives of HBO in this show than any other show.

John Jay: Well, that’s evidenced in the website they gave you guys. From the very start, before the show had even been on the air, the website is unbelievable!

Clancy: Yeah?

John Jay: I mean, it’s really, really detailed, and they’re very obviously passionate about the program.

Clancy: They’re very passionate about this show, and thank goodness. Cuz I think you’re right, if the weren’t…? (laughing)

John Jay: You’d be in trouble…

Clancy: You’d never see us.

John Jay: That’s right, you’d be in serious trouble. So, kudos to HBO and to the people you’ve got involved in that show. It’s great stuff! Clancy, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you getting up so early in the morning and calling us and chatting a little bit about this program…

Brother Phil: Mmm-hmmm!

Clancy: No problem! Let’s do it again!

Brother Phil: Good!

John Jay: I am a big, big fan! And I am very proud that I have gotten the opportunity to chat with you. And good luck with the show! I hope it is a HUGE success!

Brother Phil: I’m sure it will be…

John Jay: And that you guys are able to do another season. Make sure they don’t kill off your character toward the end of the show.

Clancy: Oh, no… (deep, scary voice) I’m not going ANYWHERE…

John Jay: Oh, good! We just got a scoop! Clancy survives!

Clancy: (long, evil laugh)

John Jay: Brother Justin survives season one!

Brother Phil: Excellent!

John Jay: Clancy Brown from HBO’s “Carnivale.” Thanks again, man…

Clancy: Thanks Phil, thank you, John…

John Jay: I really appreciate it. I really appreciate it. Have a great day, man!

Clancy: Take it easy.

John Jay: Go get some sleep.

Clancy: All right, you bet.

John Jay: Bye-bye. That’s Clancy Brown from HBO’s “Carnivale.”


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CBFC Interview with Clancy Brown

Gearing up for the “Carnivale” Premiere

Interviewed by Beth Blighton • 9/6/03


[WARNING: CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS! Do not read this article if you do not want to hear possible plot points! Answers stated within the context of this interview are solely the opinion of the interviewee.]


CBFC: So we’ve been seeing the previews for “Carnivale” and, of course, everyone is starting to speculate on what everything means… And a couple of us are wondering if you are the Tattooed Man – at least in the previews?

Clancy: Well, ya know, they did shoot some tattoo of me, and they shot… They had three different tattooed men. So it might be me, or it might be one of the other guys. They don’t really know who the Tattooed Man is yet… They’ve just decided that the tattooed man is the “Tattooed Man.” I don’t know what the Tattooed Man represents, I really don’t…

CBFC: That’s okay, cuz enough of us will be sitting around soon enough, asking each other, could he be this? Could he be that? A few of us have had that conversation already.

Clancy: Nah, hopefully, that’s what everybody is going to be doing soon. And, ya know, I do it, too. I don’t know why they have the Tattooed Man there, so I… I mean, it’s startling and it’s interesting.

CBFC: All the art references on the tarot cards that they’re showing, I think, are going to be an interesting source for speculation, too. If they continue on with the things they showed in the previews, at least, it will gives everyone a chance to try to identify the art they’re showing and try to read possible meanings into it or whatever.
So how was it working with Amy Madigan, as your sister on the series?

Clancy: Oh, that was great!

CBFC: That looks like a really interesting character… They look like they have kind of a scary relationship, he and the sister.

Clancy: Oh yeah, it gets really twisted!

CBFC: Oh, I bet!

Clancy: I can’t tell you anything about it, but Amy’s like the greatest. She and I kinda figured out that we’ve done three pictures together – the most I’ve done with anybody. Anybody! So it was great to see her. First of all, she’s such a terrific actress. So that’s good. Second of all, she’s like one of the guys, she’s fun to be around. And thirdly, she’s really supportive. There’s not a mean bone in her body, and she’s always telling you you’re doing a great job. And then, when I drive home and I’m feeling good about the compliment I got from Amy, I realize that’s she’s driving home to Ed Harris – who can do anything better than anybody else! So, she’s just a good egg.

CBFC: I always felt that “Female Perversions” would have been a lot more interesting if she had been in the starring role.

Clancy: I agree! I think that was the whole point of that feature, that her character was the most interesting.

CBFC: Exactly, the lead was just kind of twitchy, which got tiring, and it was a lot more interesting when the story turned to Amy playing the kleptomaniac sister. And what was the third movie you and Amy were in together?

Clancy: “Laramie Project.”

CBFC: Oh, yeah! That’s right! How’d I forget that one?
But getting back to Amy’s character, Iris… She looks like she might be the power behind the throne a little.

Clancy: She is a little bit, but she’s also not so much that way. I mean, she is, but it’s very much a brother/sister relationship. It’s very family -- there’s nobody either one trusts more, and finally, blood is thicker than water. So they’re definitely a team, and… You’ll have to see what happens.

CBFC: Now, are they real brother and sister, or were they just raised together in an orphanage or a situation along those lines?

Clancy: (evil grin voice) Well, I can’t tell you!

CBFC: D’oh! (laughing) Oh, Clancy, that’s just so mean…

Clancy: (laughs) Well, also it’s that I just don’t know. It could go a lot of different ways… I could say something, but I really could be wrong!

CBFC: Or they could just up and change it on you before they’re done.

Clancy: I mean, I really could be wrong. They’ve changed it from the beginning, from what they first started out with. They’ve changed a lot of stuff around to make things more interesting and take advantage of the characters and stuff.

CBFC: It was interesting to see Ralph Waite back onscreen again as a minister. That’s some very believable casting. You’d believe him in that part.

Clancy: I think he was a minister, actually, at one point. Whether he was a seminary student or an actual ordained minister, I’m not sure.

CBFC: It’s also nice to see that they didn’t just run out and cast only “beautiful people” in every part.

Clancy: It’s really interesting in that way, that there isn’t really one typical “Good Looker” type in the bunch.

CBFC: And that the girls in the Cooch Show aren’t a bunch of reed thin models…And yet, they’re the sexy ones!

Clancy: And Amanda, I’ve seen there’s been a lot of discussion about this… I didn’t realize she was Meatloaf’s daughter! Of course, now I see it!

CBFC: Yeah, and she’s got a wonderful, interesting look.

Clancy: And Cynthia, who plays her mother, she’s the real deal.

CBFC: Didn’t you work with the gal who’s playing the bearded lady, too, in “Patron Saint of Liars?”

Clancy: Yep, yep! That’s Debra Christofferson.

CBFC: Though I think Tim DeKay is going to be somebody to watch in the show, too. I think he has real potential to kind of break out and be a favorite character.

Clancy: Oh, yeah, he’s good. He’s sort of the most “normal” person of everybody.

CBFC: Yeah, I think he’ll probably become a fan favorite.

Clancy: Yeah, he’s definitely the “beefcake” of the piece.

CBFC: In the “Making Of” special we got to see the lady with the coins spilling out of her mouth… Were there any other miracles, or not-so-nice miracles, that you got to perform?

Clancy: That’s K Callan, and she’s been around forever and ever, and she’s written a bunch of books about acting and stuff, and being in the business. She’s like the type of person who would go skydiving for her 80th birthday and jump out of an airplane or something. She’s had quite a life in Hollywood, and she’s really quite good. They kept trying to write her in. The writers kept putting her in every episode and then taking her out again because of scheduling conflicts and all of that stuff. But hopefully we’ll get the chance to see more of her.
But what other things does Brother Justin do? I basically show one character… In one episode, I ask him to donate his building, and he asks me, “Are you out of your goddamn mind?” And at that point, I show him his deepest, darkest sin – and it’s a pretty terrible sin, and he shoots himself later on. Which, I maintain that his shooting himself was not the intended result, that Brother Justin did not intend that the man go out and kill himself. But this was early on, so we had an episode where Brother Justin is angst-ing about that, but they took that part out. But I think a lot of what Justin does he does for a reason, but then there are other things that happen as a result of what he does that he doesn’t necessarily have control over, and I think that’s part of what tortures him.

CBFC: The thing that impressed me, at least in the preview, was with the Nick Stahl character – when he goes to heal the crippled little girl, and you see her healing yet everything else dying around them. It reminds me of a “Monkey’s Paw” sort of dilemma, where you’ll get your wish, but it may not come to you as the wish you’re looking for.

Clancy: Exactly. And it’s not so clear… His rules, the rules of his particular abilities are pretty well spelled out over the first season. But Brother Justin, who he is and what the intent will be about how those powers will be used is still very unclear. And somebody was asking me, “So you’re the bad guy…” And I said, “Ya know, if you’d asked me that a few months ago I would have said definitely. If you’d asked two months ago or a month ago, I would have said yeah, I think I am. But now…? I don’t know.”

CBFC: Do you think this will be a bit like “Twin Peaks” where the fans will be watching trying to distinguish between the red herrings the writers are putting in on purpose and other things that they’re really trying to say? For example, just based on the previews, the three cards they show at the end, it looks like God on one side, the Devil on the other, and the archangel Michael in the middle. Which made me wonder, if you don’t end up being the Devil himself, could it be that your character turns out to be the archangel Michael of the piece?

Clancy: Ya know, I don’t know, and I’ve talked to Dan Knauf a little bit, and they’re trying to develop the book for next season, in case they ask them for a next season, and he’s really starting to back off a little on some of the more strident positions he had about the characters. So I’m just not sure… I think overall the plot will be the same, but I think they’re constantly juggling who is what, and what is what. I think it all connects up the same, but Dan and all the writers are very proud of saying that this isn’t “Twin Peaks,” we don’t present something that doesn’t mean anything. So everything has a reference, everything ties in. It’s not going to be some dead end…

CBFC: There won’t be any red herrings dangled or dead plot points that don’t get answered?

Clancy: Right, they want to make sure that everything that’s in there ties in with the rest of the story. It seems to me like the whole story is being cast to revolve around whatever’s going to happen in the future, around season four or whatever.

CBFC: Is there anything else you can tell us right now about “Carnivale” that wouldn’t entail you being shot at dawn for spilling show secrets?

Clancy: Not really. I’d tell ya, if I could, but then I could be wrong about it. All the critics have seen the first three episodes, but what I’m sort of dyin’ to see is when we get to like eight or nine, and hear what they think then.

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Brown to co-star in HBO series
Actor portrays preacher in 'Carnivale' set in 1930s Dust Bowl
Clancy Brown plays "Brother Justin Crowe" in the new HBO series 'Carnivale."

By Steve Stout/for the Sidney Daily News

On Urbana native Clancy Brown's last television series "Breaking News," he played a hard-working, good-natured TV news producer. Brown, the son of Bud and Joyce Brown of Urbana, is the chairman of the board of Brown Publishing Co., the owner of The Sidney Daily News.

His latest TV role is quite a departure from the character he played on "Breaking News."

In HBO's "Carnivale," which debuts on Sept. 14 at 9:30 p.m., Brown plays Brother Justin Crowe, a preacher in the Central Valley of California circa 1934.

"Carnivale," according to the HBO Web site, "follows a traveling carnival as it wends its way across the Dust Bowl, focusing on a mysterious young fugitive with hidden talents who is taken in by the carnival and on the charismatic, shadowy evangelist (played by Brown) who will ultimately cross his path."

According to the Web site, Crowe is "a good man, devoted not only to his flock, but to helping the poor Okies pouring in from the Dust Bowl, which puts him at loggerheads against many of his racist congregation and townsfolk."

In the Sept. 14 pilot episode, according to the Web site, "Justin also begins to have dreams and visions. Terrible things, portending great misery, not for him, necessarily, but perhaps all he touches. Which, as he becomes famous, might well include the world."

"It's an interesting show because of the period it's set in, the 1930s, which is an overlooked time in American history," said Brown from his home in California. "The show cuts right to the heart of good vs. evil. Revelations is source material, and the Dust Bowl is the perfect backdrop for this kind of a story."

Urbana native Randy Wilkins, a set designer, also worked on "Carnivale," which will run for 12 episodes this season.

"They called me just after I had finished working on 'Seabiscuit,' and they asked me to design a battlefield trench," said Wilkins. "It's a scene that recurs in five of the first six episodes as a nightmare.

"It was great to work with Clancy," Wilkins added. "It's an unusual show. I hope it's a big hit."

"Randy did a great job building a World War I battlefield set," said Brown. "It's incredibly authentic, just like everything else that has to do with this show. The production values are stunning. This show should sweep the Emmys for art, costume design and makeup. It's very meticulous. The sets feel like being in grandma's house because it really feels like 1934."

Brown stars in "Carnivale" along with Nick Stahl, Adrienne Barbeau, Amy Madigan and others in the large ensemble cast.

For more information, go to www.hbo.com

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