We are the hosts of Movie Sign with the Mads AMA!

HI everyone! I love you guys! Thank you so much for MST3K. You helped me and my kids through some really rough times. Thanks for getting the band back together, you may not realize how much this show means to us fans but the whole cast kinda feels like family. Frank, I love your quips on Facebook about our butthead in chief keep up the good work. Anyway my question , do you all feel rather overwhelmed by your fans? Have the cast stayed in touch over the years? I always got the feeling that there was a closeness to the cast.

No, we love all the fan support. -Frank

Yeah, the cast has stayed in touch. Except Frank and I are no longer on speaking terms. -Trace

I met everyone at the MST3K reunion and everyone was super super cool. -Carolina

Hey Frank,

I just found out yesterday that you were a writer on INVADER ZIM! What was it like writing on that show? Love you guys and your work!

Working around the designers and animators of Invader Zim was truly inspiring. -Frank

Frank, I have your book "Twenty Five MST3K Flims That Changed My Life in No Way Whatsoever" and enjoy it very much - so what MST3K film did change your life? (And to make it more difficult "Manos" doesn't count, because we all know you changed the course of world history by finding that stinkburger.)

No MST3K film changed my life. But meeting with and working with the cast and crew of MST3K did change my life. -Frank

That's it for us, folks! Thanks for all the questions and support. You can find the podcast Movie Sign with the Mads on iTunes and CaveComedyRadio.com. And if you want to chat with us on Facebook, find our FB group "Movie Sign with the Mads".

Bye!

On a personal level, what are a few of your favorite films?

Hard Day's Night, Dr. Strangelove, Citizen Kane, Sweet Smell of Success. -Frank

The Ruling Class. And all the things Frank just mentioned. -Trace

The Bedsitting Room (Trace introduced me to it). Teen Witch. -Carolina

Not Sabrina the Teenage Witch? -Frank

Will you guys ever make it to seattle? And how does carolina feel about parquet floors?

You say parquet, I say butter. -Frank

Parquet floors? At first indifferent, but now strongly opinionated. - Carolina

I'm a huge fan of the podcast and of The Mads from my first viewing of the Pod People episode in 1991. The pod is great because Frank and Trace both serve up the funny like a huge plate of hotdish for Carolina, and her laughter is, well, sublime. My question: What does Carolina think of MST3K?

I grew up watching MST3K with my brother in Mexico. I was always a big fan. When I first met Frank and Trace, I played it really cool. Right, Frank? -Carolina

Ehh. -Frank

She played it so cool, now we're the ones stalking her. -Trace

1. What are each of your personal favorite host segments?

2. Is the lab in good hands with Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt?

RE: host segments, mine is the Rat Pack Chess set. I'm a big fan of both of Patton and Felicia. The lab is in good hands. -Frank

Carolina: How did you meet Frank and become involved with the Movie Sign with The Mads podcast?

I met Frank at Sirius FM. I asked him to come over to my house to record a podcast episode. It was so much fun, next year we put together Movie Sign at Cave Comedy Radio. -Carolina

Hi there – big fan!

Sometime when Trace is in New York again, would you three consider inviting listeners to join you in seeing a new movie and discussing it afterwards?

If the cinema will allow extra time, of course.  Otherwise we can all just go out for that cream soda.

Thanks! We'll be doing a live Movie Sign with the Mads @ The Creek & Cave in LIC...soon. Date TBA. -Frank

Did you ever get dirty puppet fingers when working on mst3k?

Yes. But not from working on MST3K. -Frank

And not from holding a puppet. -Trace

Thanks for doing this! Question: How many movies do you (The Mads) have in your live riffing repertoire, and how do you determine which movie to do at each gig?

We have six - with more to come. We rotate them out depending on city. Always try to keep it fresh. -Frank

Plus we're adding "shorts" all the time. -Trace

Are there any riffs over the years that now fill you with deep sadness? And did you ever get Frank's liver out of that vending machine?

Frank's liver got stuck on the wire. -Trace

Still waiting on refund from vending machine company. -Frank

RE: deep sadness. Santa Claus vs. The Martians. -Trace

Love the podcast and hope to see you live soon. Did you guys discuss how much the podcast would focus on good vs. bad movies? I like how much of it is positive despite your background in snark.

A lot of it depends on which movie came out that week. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad, we shit on it. -Frank

We're fair. -Carolina

And I like that we don't always agree. -Trace

Agreed. -Frank & Carolina

... -Trace

Would you ever consider changing things up and doing modern/present day movies that are in theatres rather than "bad movies"?

For the The Mads show, we could never afford to riff modern movies --- what with the cost of rights. But we talk about modern movies on our podcast, of course. -Frank

Thinking about your episode on Ed Wood (and your careers in general,) it's prettt obvious that movies as a medium are particularly special to you guys. So my question is simply- why? What is it about movies that has compelled you for all these years?

Another question for Frank in particular, are you planning on doing anymore essays or blog on a regular basis? I enjoyed your book but that old blog you had on Cinematic Titanic just sticks with me as one of my favorite things you've ever done- especially pieces like "Wonderful Horrible" or "It Was a Very Good Year." Thanks for the ama!!!

Thank you for the kind words. I have more books in the works, with one being published next month. Details TBS. -Frank

I imagine when you started MST there was no way of knowing how big it would get. When did you realize that MST3k was going to keep being a part of your career/lives?

When we realized, 10 years after it went off air, that it was more popular than ever. -Frank

Movies, movies... Who has the best pastrami sandwich?

KATZ'S DELI. I heard that Trace ate more than one. -Carolina

One-and-a-half. -Trace

Thanks, there's nothing like the food rabbit hole on the Movie Sign podcast.

Thanks for the question. Now I'm hungry again. -Frank

Hello Sirs.. Ever considered riffing Trump speeches and or press conferences by Spicier? Seems like a a healthy amount of royalty-free material for weekly postings? a new youtube channel? "Trumpy does stupid things"?

That's what Twitter is doing, riffing on Trump. -Trace

Hi there, saw you in San Antonio a few weeks ago riffing "Glen or Glenda" and loved the show. Do you think, had you guys riffed that movie back in the '90s, the jokes would make you cringe in their political incorrectness?

It's possible, but even in the 90s we were very conscious of not offending oppressed groups. -Frank

I just wanted to say that you're awesome <3.

That's my kind of question. -Frank

Your username is awesome, PEPE. - Carolina

MST3K has been a huge favorite of mine since I was a kid and watched it with my dad! Now I watch it every Sunday night with my wife on PBS.

Two questions:

What's are your expectations for the most recent revival of the show and how do you think it will differ from the other three eras of the show (KTMA, Comedy Central, Sci-Fi)?

Also, what was your favorite invention on the show?

The new cast are all awesome. We expect it'll be really funny. And my favorite invention was the one where my head was in a saxophone and we referenced Coltrane's "A Love Supreme". -Frank

Thanks for the great podcast. I just have a couple of questions.

Frank, I live down the street from QED and try to attend your show when I can. How are you able to get some amazing comedian guests? Keep up the great job. Also are you ever looking for more obscure cartoons to riff on for the show?

Trace, what's the situation with Vermin? Do you have any other ideas you plan on unleashing soon?

Carolina, were you a giant MST3k fan before you met these two? Also how often were you confused with the Colombian wrestler of the same name?

Vermin wasn't my project. I was fortunate enough to be a part of that. A lot of talented people made that show. We hope to do more episodes if we get funding. -Trace

I'm still an MST3K fan. And who the fuck is this wrestler? Carolina Hidalgo is the worst wrestler name I've ever heard. -Carolina

Hey There, 'The Mads'... Big fan of your previous exploits and your current work. I hope you make your way up to the northeast at some point soon. On to the questions... There appeared to be some tension in the air around the time of the MST3K revival between Joel and the original cast, but things seem to have settled down in the meantime. Has enough water passed under the bridge to talk about how things went down with the MST3K revival, and is the MST3K fan enthusiasm translating directly into enthusiasm/ticket sales for 'The Mads' project?

Edit: Grammar

There's A LOT of interest in our Mads riffing live shows, for sure. We're selling out all over the country. -Frank

Is there a movie that you would consider both "good" and "riffable"? Or do only stinkers merit that treatment?

Personally, I like to riff "stinkers", I don't like to riff good movies. The only riff I came up with while watching a good movie was "Shut up, I'm watching this." -Frank

One time Frank and I were in a movie theater and Frank shushed somebody. I thought that was funny. -Carolina

Hey gang! @jypsy from twitter here, three quick questions: First any chance of you guys going and doing live podcasts at all? (Bring Travis for the trivia) maybe doing Godfather or something you all love?

Secondly, what movies would you all love to do but pass on for various reasons?

Finally I discovered some mst3k trading cards and other merch is coming out soon but learned (thanks to Mary Jo Pehl), the original cast doesn't see anything from the items, so I am passing on them. Is there a chance we can get some merch to support the podcast and all of you guys? I'd gladly rep some Movie sign gear!

Keep up the great podcast, between this and the Purple Stuff Podcast, my wife and I are always entertained.

We mention the Godfather every episode. But we may do an episode. Frank

All of the podcast episodes link together to form the Godfather Saga. -Trace

We invite to stitch those pieces together. - Carolina

First off thank you for everything! I havent heard of Movie Sign with the Mads but it is now on my list.

If you all had a superpower what would you want it be? And would you use the powers for good or evil?

I would be Replace-A-President Man. Because we need it. -Trace

I don't know. But I would NOT BE EVIL. -Carolina

The power to answer rhetorical questions. -Frank

Now that there is a functioning information superhighway, is it more tempting to you today to do thorough background research on a bad movie, in order to generate riffs?

We just watch the movie. We proved on the original show that you don't need the internet to have a head full of useless information. -Frank

Has anyone in the film making industry ever come up to you guys and asked your opinions/advice on what not to do in the making of a movie ?

No. -Frank

Besides MST3K, what project are you proudest of?

What are you working on outside of movie riffing?

Live riffing with Frank Conniff (The Mads Are Back). -Trace

I'm very proud of my Podhouse 90 scripted musical comedy plays that are available on iTunes. -Frank

You didn't mention the podcast....... -Carolina

Where should I start if I want to get into the music of Laura Nyro? And who among contemporary artists do you consider to be her equal?

Frank gasps Start with the album "Eli and the 13th Confession". Any of her first five albums really. Laura Nyro has no equal. Although I love Kimbra and St. Vincent. -Frank

I have that first one on vinyl. Rilo Kiley is among her only equals. -Carolina

Never heard of it, what's it all about?

Carolina, Trace, and I talking about movies. And tangents. That's it. -Frank