AFF Panel Recap: David Wain

Photo from David Wain’s official website

The Victorian Balcony, one of the more misleading-named locations in Austin, is accessible only by taking the stairs up to the second-floor mezzanine of the Driskill Hotel and waiting for a special elevator to take you back down one level, where you are deposited in a windowless (and yes, Victorian-styled) square room that feels like a set from the mansion sequence in Eyes Wide Shut. Shortly before introducing himself, writer-director David Wain gave directions to a woman named Meg on his cellphone. She received a very warm reception upon her arrival.

Wain is perhaps best known for directing the cult classic Wet Hot American Summer and working on the short-lived Comedy Central series Stella--both of which, Wain didn’t mind telling us, were “financial disasters.” (Released in 2001, Wet Hot American Summer just managed to turn a profit this year, through DVD sales.) Wain was in town to promote his Paul Rudd-Sean William Scott comedy Role Models.

“It all started back in 1969,” Wain began. “I went to New York University, not because of the school but because I knew I wanted to live in New York. Because of Woody Allen. And the Muppets. And SNL.” He got his start in comedy with a troupe called "The Sterile Yak", whose “B Team” wound up creating the hit MTV sketch show The State. When Wain realized that The State was infinitely superior, the Sterile Yak disbanded and Wain begged for a spot on the winning team.

The State did everything on their own for their first assignment at MTV (for which they were paid $300/week), which led to a pilot, which led to a TV show, which led to the possibility of having a TV show on CBS in direct competition with SNL. They did one Halloween special, which nobody watched, and the deal fell apart (“I watched it!” one audience member enthused). After a stint doing “Stella” as a live show, he began his directing career with Wet Hot American Summer.

Talk also turned to Wainy Days, his online film series, and the state of indie film financing and distribution (“The whole model needs to be rebuilt from scratch”). Self-effacing and garrulous, Wain had a lot of fun with the audience, insisting everyone introduce themselves before asking questions and generally coming off like the New Yorker he is. And when it was time to go, the Victorian Balcony turned out to be a lot easier place to leave than it was to find.

Wainy Day Episode 1