January 16, 2025 • 9 mins
Comedian Beth Stelling dropped by the KBCO studios to talk about the fire devastation in Los Angeles and the thrill of working as a "punch up" writer on other people's scripts.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi. Yeah, my guest this week is my friend, comedian
Beth Stelling. She's so funny. She joins me on the
Brett Sonders Podcast. It's nice to see you again.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's great to see you again.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You're so funny. I was just watching one of your
latest specials and you were talking about forming your own religion.
Oh yes, And dudes, when you visit their place, what's
in their pillows?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I've got just a single cashew one time.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
That's really disgusting.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I love a snacker and I.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Can absolutely relate to your thoughts on sugar addiction because
that's my thing.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Same.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I just got off of xanax. I was on it
for years and I have substituted sugar. Yeah, and I
cannot think of a healthier, happier substitute.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Has it been good?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Like, because you know, sometimes stuff stops working for you.
So you said, I'm going to get off xanx And
has it been a positive change that's going on?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Thank you for asking. My doctor decided it would be
a positive change.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
I loved it. Why do you have any on you?
I'll pay.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I guess it's a knockoff kind it's skittles.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I guess skittles really are the compromise between Xanax and sugar.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Now you mention it, I can give you all purples,
but it's going to cost you.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Listen, you're based in Los Angeles. Was your home affected
and if not, I'm sure you know people who have
been affected.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Definitely. Yeah, that's the exact answer.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'm very thankful, very feeling, very very grateful to be
in a safe zone. Of course, I saw, you know,
waking up on I guess it was last Wednesday morning,
just a you know, apocalyptic looking across my window, all
the smoke from it would have been the eat and fire.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And then seeing more pop up.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I can see Griffith Park from my place, and seeing
that that fire pop up and actually get put out
in the same time, and then just the smoke. Basically,
Wednesday I spent So the point is my safe, My
house is safe.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I'm very grateful.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah, Wednesday, I spent probably two and a half hours
cleaning up my area of brush, debris, ash stuff that
had fallen because I was mainly affected by the windstorm
that night. Because obviously that's it created a blowtors basically,
which is why it was spreading so fast. But yeah,
I lost power and that's about the worst thing that
happened to me, which again so grateful. And I do
(02:17):
have friends that have unfortunately lost their homes and we're
all just sort of doing our best to be helpful.
You know, my best friends in law has lost their house,
so it's a matter of just like sort of rebuilding,
a lot of Amazon packages coming to the house just
to get some essentials. And my best friend Melwelch as
a comedian, actually came up kind of on the Denver scene,
(02:37):
but it was her father in law who lost their
house and he used to wear my merch like three
times a week, and he's kind of one of those
people that didn't.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Grab anything when they evacuated.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I don't know if he felt like sure, I mean,
I'm sure I would do the same thing. Yeah, we
didn't grab much. Yeah, And so my task has been
re ordering old merch for him. And then I realized
maybe his wife's actually going to be that, you know
what I mean, Like she was sick of seeing my
merch three times a week and finally it burned and
now I'm like new best stelling merch and she's like, no.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
So your friend's wife found silver linings for the scenario,
and you're going to destroy that silver possibly understand possibly
what can we all do to help?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
I think people are posting a lot of great sources.
It sounds like from for the most part, say you
have friends in LA. The best thing would that you
know have been affected. A lot of people have been
saying obviously cash is best in the sense that you
could venmo people. I'm someone even though I'm not, I
don't know. I always am a little wary of gofundmeans
if I don't know the person, because I'm like, I
(03:41):
hope this it would be the greatest tragedy. This is
some random person and the money's not going to people
who need it. So I think, really people that you
can see, there's some cafes and organizations like the Altadina
Girls and stuff where you see exactly what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
To just make sure you're donating to something that you
know is working.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I donated to Saffron Cowboy, which was basically a it's
called family and Friends.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I don't want to mix it up. It's a cafe,
but the point is.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Out of that cafe, they've been offering free makeup, free clothing,
just for people to be able to start over, because
you know, you think about leaving your house on a
trip without anything, You're like, well, I need clothes, I
need the odorant I need and you're.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Just left with nothing. Yes, it's devastating. Did you see
where Whitney Cummings has been walking around her neighborhood with
a wooden sword to try and fend off people who
might rip people off.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Oh so she also has just recently got off Xanax.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
One of the things that has been really bothering me
is there is so much suffering, so it should bother
all of us. But every once in a while they've
interviewed someone whose house was spared and they say, thank God,
it's God who did this, who saved my house. I
think it was a hose, And I think to myself,
that's really not a very sensitive thing to say that
(04:57):
everybody else.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Literally it's true, and the reason everyone around me's house
is well, they j walpt in litter, they don't pray,
run Yeah, yeah, they didn't ask for forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
That's why I'm ready to sign up for your religion,
because I'm sure that your religion. Beth Stelling at the
Comedy works through Saturday would be more forgiving of other people.
I was reading that you're a punch up writer. So
you've worked on projects they bring you in to make
things better, to make things funnier. Yeah, so Titanic, I mean.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
What was my first work?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah? Eight, I know.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
I would actually saw that in theaters with my grandma,
uh huh, which I can't say was a good memory,
only because I mean, it was a great movie.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
But I remember the sex scene and being uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I've never seen Titanic. Oh well, because one of my
parents was screaming at me because I hadn't seen it,
because that was the thing to do when nineteen ninety
seven was. I can't even remember that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, probably something like that.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I'm not seeing it.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You didn't want to. You were bucking, Yeah, you were
bucking the trend, taking it to the man. I will
not see type. So tell us about projects that you
have worked on that makes them better. You know, that's
spelling makes things funnier. I try, and then sometimes I
will say that I'm grateful to have done it enough
times where sometimes my boyfriend Adam I will be looking.
(06:15):
I don't know, you know how you end up sometimes
just scrolling like Amazon.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Or sometimes or every night.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Netflix or whatever you're on.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Who I mean, like, I guess we just watched scrolling
this whole time. But anyway, sometimes we'll be scrolling, I'll
be like, wait, I recognize that movie, and then it'll
have like four stars, and I'll be like, I think
I did fun joke on it.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Four stars out of five or ten of five.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Well, that's pretty good, that's true. Is that bad? Maybe
it's lower.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Anyway, I will look at it and go like, I
think I worked on that as a distant memory, you know,
just go through and I'm trying to think about anyone's
that the Bad Guys movies, those cartoons, which are very fun.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Sure, I'm trying to think of stuff that'sopped out recently.
We're like, oh, I wrote some jokes on that.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Well, that must be a great feeling. Do you actually
get credited in the project or are you.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Like actually specifically sign your rights away. There's like a
writer's guild.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
A contract that you sign that says like, I will
not I forego my credit on this. I'm operating in
the form of like a round table or yeah, I
don't know, higher assassin.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
That would bruise my ego, I would be there.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
There are times where I absolutely wish my name were
in it. I mean, I don't know, No nobody can
take away and be being able to say, like, oh
I wrote on that, I'm known for punch up or
whatever it is. But yeah, I guess credit wise, if
they go to my IMDb to see what I did
do it on, it's not going to be there. So
Club two things are coming to my mind right now.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
How many Marvel movies have you saved?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
All of them? Though actually I should just say none.
Don't people like those lately?
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I mean I was like the Titanic thing, I was
ahead of the trend on those.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah, I don't know. It's one of those things where
there have I did do.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
For example, if I'm like on set I'm doing punch up,
that's a little easier if you're there to get credit
or to at least attempt to. So, Like one of
those would have been years ago Good Boys, which is
that movie Universal film that came out.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I was on set.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Oh sure, I remember that movie.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Yeah, so I'm credited as associate producer. But that was
something we kind of had to fight for because you know,
my jokes are in there. My jokes was in the
worldwide trailer. But Jean Stepnitzky and Lee Eisenberg wrote the movie.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Takes a lot to write a movie. I'm coming in
and just adding flavor.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well, again, the money must be nice, but I think
the people should know that That's Stelling is literally everywhere.
Now we just never see you.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, I'm buying the scenes now your partner is here
with you.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Adam Adam, Hello, Adam Adam. Adam is Adam a comedian.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Too, he's a director.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Now that's a good move for yeah, right, because two
comedians in the same relationship that would be problematic.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
It has been for me in the past, Is that right? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I mean, look, of course I've dated some very funny people,
but yeah, I wouldn't recommend it.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
That's Stelling Comedy works downtown this weekend. Nice to see
you again, Great to see you. Thanks for having me.
I'm glad you listen. What do you say? We meet
back here next week On The Brett Saunders Podcast.
Hi. Yeah, my guest this week is my friend, comedian
Beth Stelling. She's so funny. She joins me on the
Brett Sonders Podcast. It's nice to see you again.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's great to see you again.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You're so funny. I was just watching one of your
latest specials and you were talking about forming your own religion.
Oh yes, And dudes, when you visit their place, what's
in their pillows?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I've got just a single cashew one time.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
That's really disgusting.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I love a snacker and I.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Can absolutely relate to your thoughts on sugar addiction because
that's my thing.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Same.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I just got off of xanax. I was on it
for years and I have substituted sugar. Yeah, and I
cannot think of a healthier, happier substitute.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Has it been good?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Like, because you know, sometimes stuff stops working for you.
So you said, I'm going to get off xanx And
has it been a positive change that's going on?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Thank you for asking. My doctor decided it would be
a positive change.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
I loved it. Why do you have any on you?
I'll pay.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I guess it's a knockoff kind it's skittles.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I guess skittles really are the compromise between Xanax and sugar.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Now you mention it, I can give you all purples,
but it's going to cost you.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Listen, you're based in Los Angeles. Was your home affected
and if not, I'm sure you know people who have
been affected.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Definitely. Yeah, that's the exact answer.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'm very thankful, very feeling, very very grateful to be
in a safe zone. Of course, I saw, you know,
waking up on I guess it was last Wednesday morning,
just a you know, apocalyptic looking across my window, all
the smoke from it would have been the eat and fire.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And then seeing more pop up.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I can see Griffith Park from my place, and seeing
that that fire pop up and actually get put out
in the same time, and then just the smoke. Basically,
Wednesday I spent So the point is my safe, My
house is safe.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I'm very grateful.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah, Wednesday, I spent probably two and a half hours
cleaning up my area of brush, debris, ash stuff that
had fallen because I was mainly affected by the windstorm
that night. Because obviously that's it created a blowtors basically,
which is why it was spreading so fast. But yeah,
I lost power and that's about the worst thing that
happened to me, which again so grateful. And I do
(02:17):
have friends that have unfortunately lost their homes and we're
all just sort of doing our best to be helpful.
You know, my best friends in law has lost their house,
so it's a matter of just like sort of rebuilding,
a lot of Amazon packages coming to the house just
to get some essentials. And my best friend Melwelch as
a comedian, actually came up kind of on the Denver scene,
(02:37):
but it was her father in law who lost their
house and he used to wear my merch like three
times a week, and he's kind of one of those
people that didn't.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Grab anything when they evacuated.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I don't know if he felt like sure, I mean,
I'm sure I would do the same thing. Yeah, we
didn't grab much. Yeah, And so my task has been
re ordering old merch for him. And then I realized
maybe his wife's actually going to be that, you know
what I mean, Like she was sick of seeing my
merch three times a week and finally it burned and
now I'm like new best stelling merch and she's like, no.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
So your friend's wife found silver linings for the scenario,
and you're going to destroy that silver possibly understand possibly
what can we all do to help?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
I think people are posting a lot of great sources.
It sounds like from for the most part, say you
have friends in LA. The best thing would that you
know have been affected. A lot of people have been
saying obviously cash is best in the sense that you
could venmo people. I'm someone even though I'm not, I
don't know. I always am a little wary of gofundmeans
if I don't know the person, because I'm like, I
(03:41):
hope this it would be the greatest tragedy. This is
some random person and the money's not going to people
who need it. So I think, really people that you
can see, there's some cafes and organizations like the Altadina
Girls and stuff where you see exactly what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
To just make sure you're donating to something that you
know is working.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I donated to Saffron Cowboy, which was basically a it's
called family and Friends.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I don't want to mix it up. It's a cafe,
but the point is.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Out of that cafe, they've been offering free makeup, free clothing,
just for people to be able to start over, because
you know, you think about leaving your house on a
trip without anything, You're like, well, I need clothes, I
need the odorant I need and you're.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Just left with nothing. Yes, it's devastating. Did you see
where Whitney Cummings has been walking around her neighborhood with
a wooden sword to try and fend off people who
might rip people off.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Oh so she also has just recently got off Xanax.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
One of the things that has been really bothering me
is there is so much suffering, so it should bother
all of us. But every once in a while they've
interviewed someone whose house was spared and they say, thank God,
it's God who did this, who saved my house. I
think it was a hose, And I think to myself,
that's really not a very sensitive thing to say that
(04:57):
everybody else.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Literally it's true, and the reason everyone around me's house
is well, they j walpt in litter, they don't pray,
run Yeah, yeah, they didn't ask for forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
That's why I'm ready to sign up for your religion,
because I'm sure that your religion. Beth Stelling at the
Comedy works through Saturday would be more forgiving of other people.
I was reading that you're a punch up writer. So
you've worked on projects they bring you in to make
things better, to make things funnier. Yeah, so Titanic, I mean.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
What was my first work?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah? Eight, I know.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
I would actually saw that in theaters with my grandma,
uh huh, which I can't say was a good memory,
only because I mean, it was a great movie.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
But I remember the sex scene and being uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I've never seen Titanic. Oh well, because one of my
parents was screaming at me because I hadn't seen it,
because that was the thing to do when nineteen ninety
seven was. I can't even remember that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Yeah, probably something like that.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I'm not seeing it.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You didn't want to. You were bucking, Yeah, you were
bucking the trend, taking it to the man. I will
not see type. So tell us about projects that you
have worked on that makes them better. You know, that's
spelling makes things funnier. I try, and then sometimes I
will say that I'm grateful to have done it enough
times where sometimes my boyfriend Adam I will be looking.
(06:15):
I don't know, you know how you end up sometimes
just scrolling like Amazon.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Or sometimes or every night.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Netflix or whatever you're on.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Who I mean, like, I guess we just watched scrolling
this whole time. But anyway, sometimes we'll be scrolling, I'll
be like, wait, I recognize that movie, and then it'll
have like four stars, and I'll be like, I think
I did fun joke on it.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Four stars out of five or ten of five.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Well, that's pretty good, that's true. Is that bad? Maybe
it's lower.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Anyway, I will look at it and go like, I
think I worked on that as a distant memory, you know,
just go through and I'm trying to think about anyone's
that the Bad Guys movies, those cartoons, which are very fun.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Sure, I'm trying to think of stuff that'sopped out recently.
We're like, oh, I wrote some jokes on that.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Well, that must be a great feeling. Do you actually
get credited in the project or are you.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Like actually specifically sign your rights away. There's like a
writer's guild.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
A contract that you sign that says like, I will
not I forego my credit on this. I'm operating in
the form of like a round table or yeah, I
don't know, higher assassin.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
That would bruise my ego, I would be there.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
There are times where I absolutely wish my name were
in it. I mean, I don't know, No nobody can
take away and be being able to say, like, oh
I wrote on that, I'm known for punch up or
whatever it is. But yeah, I guess credit wise, if
they go to my IMDb to see what I did
do it on, it's not going to be there. So
Club two things are coming to my mind right now.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
How many Marvel movies have you saved?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
All of them? Though actually I should just say none.
Don't people like those lately?
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I mean I was like the Titanic thing, I was
ahead of the trend on those.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah, I don't know. It's one of those things where
there have I did do.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
For example, if I'm like on set I'm doing punch up,
that's a little easier if you're there to get credit
or to at least attempt to. So, Like one of
those would have been years ago Good Boys, which is
that movie Universal film that came out.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I was on set.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Oh sure, I remember that movie.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Yeah, so I'm credited as associate producer. But that was
something we kind of had to fight for because you know,
my jokes are in there. My jokes was in the
worldwide trailer. But Jean Stepnitzky and Lee Eisenberg wrote the movie.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Takes a lot to write a movie. I'm coming in
and just adding flavor.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well, again, the money must be nice, but I think
the people should know that That's Stelling is literally everywhere.
Now we just never see you.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, I'm buying the scenes now your partner is here
with you.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Adam Adam, Hello, Adam Adam. Adam is Adam a comedian.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Too, he's a director.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Now that's a good move for yeah, right, because two
comedians in the same relationship that would be problematic.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
It has been for me in the past, Is that right? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I mean, look, of course I've dated some very funny people,
but yeah, I wouldn't recommend it.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
That's Stelling Comedy works downtown this weekend. Nice to see
you again, Great to see you. Thanks for having me.
I'm glad you listen. What do you say? We meet
back here next week On The Brett Saunders Podcast.
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