Here's my other last-second, why-the-hell-not interview of Comic Con '08.

As a fan of the internet's "Clark and Michael", I was more than happy to fill the time between Thursday's Fox panel and my Frank Darabont interview by chatting with Clark Duke, who was getting ready (or just finishing?) a panel in support of Summit Entertainment's R-rated comedy, SEX DRIVE (HD trailer here) - about which I knew approximately nothing. No worries. Iced Media's Scott Hurwitz was there to relay the film's premise (high school kid strikes up steamy online romance with seemingly hot chick, exaggerates his physical attributes to keep her interested, then panics when she actually wants to meet), so I wasn't flying completely blind when Clark sauntered over to talk. And yet I still asked him to explain the movie within a minute of starting the interview. Like that asshole Charlie Rose wouldn't do the same thing.

Calling the below a "freewheeling conversation" is a little like saying Warren Beatty "had sex during the 1960s." We discuss SEX DRIVE... a little, talk about the current state of film comedy... a little, and lament the cruel bait-and-swtich of EURO TRIP's DVD cover.... not as much as we should. As was already evident from his online two-hander with Michael Cera (I don't know if I can make that sound dirtier), Clark's a very intelligent, very clever dude; unlike a lot of comics in their early twenties, he seems pretty comfortable with who he is. Also, I like a guy who's willing to take unpopular positions - in particular, his steadfast admiration for Chevy Chase. If Clark thinks he can resurrect the career of the man Bill Murray once disparaged as "medium talent", then good for him! Chase was too great in the 70s and 80s to be relegated to guest appearances on ABC dramas. Get on that shit!

So here's a... hopefully engaging bullshit session with Clark Duke!

Beaks: So you're down here for SEX DRIVE--

Clark: I would've been here regardless.

Beaks: Yeah? Have you been down before?

Clark: I came last year for the first time, and I had a blast. I've been collecting comics since I was five. It's an obsession. This is kind of Mecca for me. So to come down to Comic Con to promote a movie, it's basically a childhood dream fulfilled for me.

Beaks: Sure. You get to go out on the panel and listen to all the screaming chicks.

Clark: Yeah!

Beaks: Mark Wahlberg said something great today. He said doing a panel at Comic Con is like doing a concert in Japan. The girls scream whenever you open your mouth.

Clark: Totally. But I feel like this is my audience, really. This is my community.

Beaks: Has stuff like "Clark and Michael" made it difficult to move freely through the convention center?

Clark: It really did last year. I guess Comic Con was pretty soon after the show had just come out. I don't think all of the episodes were even out yet. And I was very pleasantly surprised; I think the entire audience of the show must've been here, because I had a lot of people come up to me and talk about it. I haven't been on the floor yet, but I'm excited.

Beaks: Tell me a little bit about this SEX DRIVE. I'll admit, it's kind of come out of nowhere for me.

Clark: This is my first... I mean, I had a line in SUPERBAD, but this is my first movie where I'm something like a leading role. I had the time of my life down [in Florida]. I got to skip the winter and hang out down there. It's a fun movie. To me, it's like an 80s throwback; it's like one of those John Cusack/Savage Steve Holland movies.

Beaks: And it's a road movie, too, so it's maybe got a SURE THING vibe?

Clark: Yeah, it's a lot like THE SURE THING. That's what everyone says, but it doesn't have as much to do with the road trip as it does the characters and the shit that happens to them. It doesn't emphasize the road trip - maybe that's because of the movie ROAD TRIP.

Beaks: Or EURO TRIP.

Clark: EURO TRIP confused me. The cover art had Michele Trachtenberg topless, and I'm almost positive that couldn't be in the film. I don't know. I didn't see the film.

Beaks: It's not. I checked.

Clark: Atta boy!

Beaks: Actually, it's a funny movie.

Clark: But I think SEX DRIVE... it's got Seth Green, and he's always awesome. James Marsden, and Jimmy is so fucking funny in it, people are going to be astonished. You just don't expect it from him at all. He was great to work with. I'll probably never have that much fun again.

Beaks: Did you guys do a lot of riffing like they do in the Apatow films?

Clark: Oh, yeah. We had three weeks of rehearsal and, more or less, rewrote all my dialogue. I improv the whole movie. They left pretty much all of it in. There are a couple of things in particular: there's a scene in the film where it stays on a wide establishing shot, and I'm still talking. It's obvious I'm just riffing because there's no coverage, and they, like, left it in. I was so satisfied.

Beaks: You think that's the way comedy is going now? Everyone has seen how well it's worked for Apatow. It's like, "Yeah, we've got a script, but just come on in and do your thing."

Clark: Yeah. I think that's why you hire a comedic actor. You want someone who elevates and adds to the material. I work on this show, too [Greek], and it gets kind of frustrating because they don't encourage that as much. It's TV, and there's such a strict time limit with how they cut it. But [in film], that seems to be the direction it's going, and that's fine by me. That's the root of all my heroes: Chevy Chase, Belushi, and all those guys.

Beaks: Chevy Chase?

Clark: Chevy Chase is my hero, man.

Beaks: Really? That's not a very hip thing to say anymore. I mean, he was incredible back in the day, but he's treated like a punch line now.

Clark: Yeah, but his stuff on SNL and his movies in the 80s... they still hold up. I want to bring him back. You know what it was? Chevy Chase and the original SNL guys were cool. It seems like that's missing from comedy now, that you can be funny and cool. Even in stuff coming out right now. Chevy Chase was cool. And he was hysterical.

Beaks: He had that smug distance that somehow worked for him.

Clark: Those guys were like rock stars. Comedy was on the edge in the way music was. I'm so drawn to those guys. And, you know, Ricky Gervais and Larry David. I'm mainly just ripping off Ricky Gervais. (Laughs)

Beaks: Rip off from the best! But I like that you say the SNL guys were rock stars. I kinda see you guys as indie rock stars. It's shifted.

Clark: That's a pretty good analogy. The underground comedy guys are like Death Cab for Cutie. But Death Cab is huge now. Maybe we're like... I don't know...

Beaks: The New Pornographers?

Clark: But Porno's pretty big now. They're played at Starbucks. We're the Davendra Banhart's. But we didn't date Natalie Portman.

Beaks: Pity.

Clark: I actually know Davendra. He's a very sweet guy. It was the strangest thing: he came up to me and said he was a fan of "Clark and Michael". We saw him at this mexican restaurant, and we were like, "Holy shit, it's Davendra Banhart!" But then he's like "Due, I love 'Clark and Michael'!"

Beaks: Saved you the awkward, "Dude, I love your music!"

Clark: (Laughing) Exactly. Like "I love 'Cripple Creek'!" (Pause) Not "Cripple Creek". That's The Band. I love The Band. I'm sorry, I'm way off topic here.

Beaks: No, that's good. Keep it loose. But I'm impressed. You're throwing out references that... I mean, most guys your age wouldn't be talking about The Band.

Clark: Most of the stuff I love was over with before I was born.

Beaks: Is that a parental influence?

Clark: No. (Laughs) Not really, dude. They're not that hip.

Beaks: Back to the idea of improv dominating film comedy, do you think it's here to stay or do you think it'll run its course?

Clark: If you're being realistic, most trends do run their course. But maybe it'll be something like method acting, where it just completely took over. I don't know how you could go back to broad, non-naturalistic comedy after this. It would just seem really forced. I don't know. It remains to be seen.

Beaks: Well, that's when the next Noel Coward pops up.

And that's pretty much it! Maybe we can do something more substantive with Clark when SEX DRIVE junkets in September. I'm sure he'll be totally up for it after reading this.

SEX DRIVE is currently scheduled for wide release on October 10th. Perhaps I'll be done transcribing Comic Con interviews by then.

Faithfully submitted,

Mr. Beaks