Not Only Murders: What’s Really Happening in that Building with Executive Producer John Hoffman
Los Angeles, CA (November 21, 2023): “Only Murders in the Building” Executive Producer John Hoffman is this week’s featured guest on Hollywood at Home with The Creative Coalition. In this captivating episode, Hoffman swings open the grand front door of the most alluring apartment building of our time, delving into his experiences of collaborating with Hollywood’s brightest stars – Hollywood legends Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez – and iconic guest stars Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Mel Brooks, Matthew Broderick, and more.
Hollywood at Home is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/only-murders-in-the-building-how-it-came-together/id1521900273?i=1000634757631
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from Hollywood at Home featuring John Hoffman:
On Steve Martin’s inspiration for “Only Murders in the Building”: “He’s a real aficionado, loves the British ones, loves the Austrian, the Swedish one . . . he’s deep in it. and so anything that I’m pitching him from the writers room – he usually comes up with a frame of reference, and he remembers them, like very, very encyclopedically.”
On Selena being the third wheel of the trio: “[She] had come up as someone who could audition for us, and we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ And then, lo and behold, we met with Selena, and she exposed herself as a true crime person, herself . . . she had just been to Crime-con with her mother.”
On Marty Short and Steve Martin – a couple of besties: “Marty came in right from the beginning. Steve had said he could imagine co-creating this series with someone, and he wasn’t sure about acting in it until he said, ’Well, maybe if Marty did it . . . maybe I’d be in it too.’ So it was really the appeal of that. Steve’s never done a television series before [and he said], ‘Well, I know what days will look like, I love to hang with Marty.’”
On writers’ room love: “It’s the sweetest space and everyone now, of course, knows each other. It’s been a lot of love given to the show, which only helps the feeling in the room and, and you get more motivated each season. It’s amazing, but it’s not typical. It’s a great mix of very experienced television people, mixed with playwrights, mixed with novelists, mixed with mystery specialists. The show does so many things – it’s working on many crazy tonal shifts and various levels of drama, comedy, and mystery.”
On Matthew Broderick playing himself: “I [told [Matthew], ‘You’re playing yourself,’ first. And then he immediately went to, ‘How awful am I?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, no, no, you’re not awful. You’re annoying.’ And then he was like, ‘I like that.’ That was the way in, and that was a sort of sweet, funny homage to himself, which he really rolled with.”
On a miraculous effort to secure Mel Brooks as a guest star: “Billy Rosenberg – our Hulu exec – had just ‘History of the World, Part II’ with Mel. In a matter of a day, we were on a FaceTime with Mel; he had all of his lines down, solid as a rock comedically, and we’re all stunned watching him on FaceTime. We did three takes and we got everything we needed.”
On Shirley MacLaine: “I said, ‘. . . just got a text, Shirley landed in New York.’ Steve just stopped and said, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to get to do scenes with Shirley MacLaine.’ Every day on set, she was hysterical. I mean, she’s telling really funny stories from back in the day and present as well. And, she’s not shy about saying what she thinks. . .a firecracker on set every day.”
On working with Tina Fey: “She’s as solid as they come. She walks in, and it feels as though you’re in such good hands, and there’s someone so efficiently expert at what she’s going to do, and she hasn’t got the plan, but she has questions that are focused on both things that she’s thinking. I love any actor who comes in, and they’ve already figured out the things they need clarified. So the questions come – boom, boom, boom – I love that [she’s] been thinking about that already.”
How do you give a note to Meryl Streep?: “‘Holy smokes, I’m looking at Meryl Streep right now . . . how do I give a note to Meryl Streep? And, that’s the beauty of Meryl Streep, is that she quickly tells you, ‘Cut it out.’ She has a sense of herself.”
More about Hollywood at Home:
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “Hollywood at Home” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Previous guests include Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Alan Cumming (“Schmigadoon!, “The Good Wife”), Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Middle”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Willie Garson (“And Just Like That…”), Colman Domingo (“Euphoria”), Kerry Ehrin (“The Morning Show”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Ken Olin (“This is Us,” “Thirtysomething”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Grace Caroline Currey (Shazam!), and Alfre Woodard (Clemency, “Luke Cage”), among others.
More about The Creative Coalition:
Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization of the arts and entertainment community. The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns, including #RightToBearArts, to promote the efficacy of the arts. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
Media Contact:
Lauren Peteroy
Lauren.Peteroy@scenariopr.com
C: 424-303-3861
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