Judy Greer, John Goodman and Chili Finger Directors Talk Comedy Inspired by True Events

At this year’s SXSW, attendees in Austin, Texas, got an unexpected surprise when they stopped by a chili pop-up and discovered none other than Emmy Award-winner John Goodman behind the counter. “I thought it was a brilliant idea,” he tells Weintraub, joking that he found out five minutes before donning the apron. This harebrained scheme was cooked up by filmmakers Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad, the creatives behind Chili Finger, a star-powered comedy inspired by true events.

In the movie, Judy Greer plays Jessica Lipki, a small-town lawyer who discovers a severed finger in her fast-food bowl of chili. Recognizing this as a gruesome opportunity to reclaim some control over her stalled life, Lipki blackmails the beloved chain for a cash payout to keep her and her husband (Sean Astin) quiet. This stunt soon gets back to Blake Jr. (Goodman), the founder of the restaurant, who employs an ex-Marine friend (Bryan Cranston) to investigate.

When asked about sharing scenes with fellow Emmy-winner Cranston, Goodman called it a “natural” process, saying:

“I like the way we work together because we never have before, and it felt like this is what we do every day. It was like rolling out of bed, working with him. We just had fun. I just hung out and watched him, and tried to feed off of him. It was just so natural that it just felt like, ‘Well, this is something I do every day.’”

Don’t miss the full interview with Benda, Helstad, Greer, and Goodman, where Greer reacts to being called a national treasure, the crew discusses the making of the movie, and Goodman teases his role in Tom Cruise’s Digger, plus Greer talks about reuniting with Marc Maron on In Memoriam.

00:16 - The Chili Finger crew discuss their favorite Paul Verhoeven movies.
01:46 - What is Chili Finger about?
02:12 - John Goodman shares his experience serving chili at SXSW.
04:02 - Goodman and Judy Greer on what drew them to the movie.
04:57 - Greer reacts to being called a “national treasure” online.
05:39 - Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad on working with Bryan Cranston, Sean Astin, and the ensemble cast.
08:12 - Goodman talks about working with Cranston for the first time.
09:26 - The team discuss the tight schedule and budget and the freedom to perform.
12:17 - Helstad and Benda talk about the editing process.
14:55 - Goodman discusses working with Tom Cruise on Digger.
16:48 - Greer shares how she got involved with In Memoriam, starring Marc Maron.
18:52 - The directors discuss future projects.
19:51 - The group share memorable autograph stories, including Goodman asking Chuck Berry for an autograph decades ago.

#chilifinger #johngoodman #judygreer #EddBenda #StephenHelstad

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