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I remember that weekend well, because my family rushed to our towns only Blockbuster to get first dibs.
The specials international success cemented Cho as a lifelong comics comic.
These are edited excerpts from our Zoom conversation.
How well do you remember shooting the special?
What were the Warfield and San Francisco like in 1999?It was really exciting.
You didnt have to worry about censoring anything.
Also, time constraints limited you to 52 minutes or whatever if you were doing an hour on TV.
I ate a lot of sushi beforehand.
I brought my dog; he was very excited to be there.
My parents came, which was unusual they loved it and were very excited.
For me, the Warfield was a very important venue.
Id seen so many concerts there, mostly music shows throughout my teenage years.
I love San Francisco because its such a classic comedy city.
We metabolize culture through comedy.
You dont know how to think about something until youve seen a stand-up comedian talk about it.
San Francisco was always very political, even with local politics.
That pink costume became so iconic …Yes!
Lionel was chosen through the process of working with Lorene Machado, who was one of the producers.
She was the booker for the Bob Hope comedy specials.
[Hope] used to do theseYoung Comediansspecials throughout the 80s and 90s, which were so crazy.
She was integral in forming this group of people who put the film together.
With her and Lionel, we bought a bunch of short ends.
Film stock was very expensive at that time.
Cherry Bomb: How did you get that song into the special?
Did you have to talk to Joan Jett?I begged and pleaded [Laughs].
[Joan] had come to my shows, and I had done a lot of shows with her.
There were a lot of negotiations with Joan, but we got it, and that was very meaningful.
Im so grateful for my long, long friendship with Joan.
Its a lot of weight.
When you released the special, did that purge from you?
Was there catharsis there?Yeah, for sure, its part of it.
I am very happy about it.
After Me Too and #StopAsianHate, its got a lot of resonance.
I should have taken it.
I wouldnt get that same price now.
I think its so funny.
To have that happen is so weird, but that was indie film.
That is how somebody like Harvey Weinstein could do what he did.
Everybody wanted to be in movies, and he was the gatekeeper for that.
That kind of stuff was so acceptable at the time.
I make jokes about it, but it really happened!
I think its just so common.
It happened to so many people.
Thats why Me Too was such a big movement.
We were acknowledging this open secret in film that had been going on since the Lumiere brothers.
Its not as if this was new; its just that nobody had ever talked about it.
You also namedGail Bermanin the special.
She was really just part of the system, and it wasnt her fault.
She has gone on to incredible success, and I think shes retired now.
But she was a good friend to me.
Shes not a villain.
I read thatAni DiFrancos Righteous Babeinspired the way that you produced and distributed it.
Is there any truth to that?Theres a lot.
When I was first understanding being gay, I wassogay.
In the 90s, you were not just gay, you were like, IM GAY!
!, like angry about it.
Part of that is you have denim shorts that you cut when does it legally become shorts?
Is it above the knee?
Im not sure when it becomes shorts, but these were actually below the knee.
That made you angrier and angrier.
I just loved that Ani was like, Well, Im just going to make my own label.
If I want to make records, I dont have to buy into the whole corporate game.
I can just create my music and put it out for my audience.
Thats so amazing, and it also changed so much.
Before, getting seen as an artist was so difficult.
This was the first artist I knew who created her own space commercially that she could really thrive in.
That made sense to me.
What you would do is four-wall a theater by buying out all of the seats for a screening.
Then you sell the tickets and keep all the profits.
We wanted grunge, we wanted indie rock, we wanted DIY.
This was the era of zines, creating your own label, small labels making names for themselves.
I would do performances before the show and after so people could watch the film.
I was tearing tickets at the door, greeting people as they came in.
So every screening of the film would sell out because it was an event.
Then I got to take it around everywhere to film festivals, which helped a lot financially.
They could just make a film on their own.
That was a very important thing for comedians to see that we had some agency.
That distribution strategy was fairly revolutionary.
And between 99 when you shoot it and 01 when it comes out,9/11 happens!
I bought a 100-year-old house, which is where I am now.
It had no electricity.
So butch I had it all wired.
In June 2001, you appeared inthe season-four premiereofSex and the City.
Thats the opposite of an indie film: a behemoth, this phenomenon.
That was a part of launching me as an actor, which was great.
I really treasure that part of my work.
It was really thrilling that people were buying and renting the DVD over and over.
At that time, we still hadnt had that much exposure to gay culture in the mainstream.
It was still very, very outsider.
You cant pull up the DVD or VHS [ofIm the One That I Want] anymore.
Any plans to bring them back or put the special out on a streamer?I would love to.
I think it would be meaningful.
That, with the filmWithout You Im Nothing, Sandra Bernhardsamazingcomedy film from that era.
That was something I looked to for a lot of inspiration.
Lets speak it out into the world.Well, speak it out into the world!
Im such a Criterion connoisseur.
My cat is named after Henri-Georges Clouzot ofThe Wages of Fear.
They would have a lot to gain by adding me to their catalogue.
It would be great to see it back in circulation somehow.
Criterion is the ideal place.
It was so new to me again, because I feel like Ive changed so much.
I was reinspired to do good work.
Youre filming a new special ofFresh Off the Bloatsoon, right?Yes.
Thats been waiting for COVID restrictions to lift.
So there is a lot to add to it.
1 film for a month.
This is a really amazing time.
I love it, especially now with the way that streaming is.
Thats actually added to the conversation of how we watch movies and how we get to see new artists.
Im also very invested in new up-and-comers.
Hes a genius, and such a calming presence on a set.
This is the new generation of Asian American comedians and directors, so Im very invested in that.
