Mr. Media Interviews by Bob Andelman

Mr. Media Interviews by Bob Andelman


There’s nothing ambiguous about SNL animator J.J. Sedelmaier! VIDEO INTERVIEW - Mr. Media® Interviews

April 27, 2015

Today's Guest: Animator J.J. Sedelmaier, best-known for his work on 'Saturday Night Live' and 'Saturday TV Funhouse' ('The Ambiguously Gay Duo,' 'The X-Presidents,' 'Fun with Real Audio') with Robert Smigel, as well as 'Beavis and Butthead' for Mike Judge, 'Tek Jansen' for Stephen Colbert, 'Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law' for Adult Swim, and 'Schoolhouse Rock.'

 

Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with J.J. Sedelmaier by clicking on the video player above! 

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Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of sweaty cartoon characters hoping to be next in line for the J.J. Sedelmaier treatment … in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

This year’s 40th anniversary of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live†became a time to reflect back on so many great characters that came out of that show over four decades:

• Roseanne Roseannadanna

• Stefon

• The Blues Brothers

• Father Guido Sarducci

• And... The Ambiguously Gay Duo!
J.J. SEDELMAIER podcast excerpt: "Robert Smigel called and said he had this script for a superhero-type cartoon, 'The Ambiguously Gay Duo.' Could he send it over? It was the first time I ever laughed out loud at a script. I've read scripts where I could see the humor in it and what I could do with it, but this was plain hilarious. I love comic books. To make fun of them in this way was extraordinary. I had to understand immediately that they aren't gay. It's the homophobia thing that's driving it. If they're gay that's not half as fun as if they're not and everyone else is freaking out... Once you know it's Stephen Colbert (as Ace), you can't not hear him. And Steve Carrell is doing a voice, so it's very funny when you think, 'THAT'S Steve Carrell?' They were great."
You can LISTEN to this interview with animator J.J. SEDELMAIER by clicking the audio player above!

My guest today, J.J. Sedelmaier, teamed up with comedy writer Robert Smigel to create Gary and Ace, the ever-curious, ever-in-denial Ambiguously Gay Duo. What most of us didn’t know was that the animated segment was voiced by Steve Carrell and Stephen Colbert.

That cartoon was part of an irreverent series called “Saturday TV Funhouse.†Who could ever forget hearing an animated Lorne Michaels, in his uniquely Canadian way, snap “Come back with my show!†as “The X-Presidents,†“Fun with Real Audio,†“Animated Outtakes,†and the “Duo†unspooled over several seasons.
J.J. SEDELMAIER podcast excerpt: "The thing I loved about animating 'Beavis' was that it looked like Beavis and Butthead did the cartoon production! It looked the drawings you'd see on the inside of a math textbook. I think Mike Judge, at a certain point, was trying to get the drawings to be a little bit better. I didn't want the drawings to be better! We spent a lot of time trying to get it to stay crude... 'Beavis' needed to look like it was done on the fly."
Sedelmaier – who once dreamed not of being an animator but of a career in comic books, was also present at the birth of Mike Judge’s “Beavis & Butthead†for MTV, “Tek Jansen†for “The Colbert Report,†“Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law†for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, and “The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus†for USA Network’s long-running series, “Psych.â€

His studio – co-founded and operated with his wife, Patrice – also has a strong commercial portfolio, including design and animation work for national clients as diverse as NBC Sports, Adidas, Scrubbing Bubbles, and Alka-Seltzer.

J.J. SEDELMAIER podcast excerpt: "Before I got turned on by Will Eisner'