Photo: Courtesy of Funny Or Die.Not many people could diss POTUS to his face and get away with it, but Zach Galifianakis went there in the newest episode of Funny Or Die's Between Two Ferns. Of course, after watching the video a few times (alright, more than a few), we have to wonder — how did Galifianakis pull off this stunt? According to Vulture’s interview with Scott Aukerman, executive producer and director of Between Two Ferns, it wasn't that hard.
Aukerman makes it sound like the process of working with President Obama was just as awesome as the episode itself. “We kept expecting [Obama’s team] to say ‘No, no, no, you can’t have that joke,’ or ‘No, no, no, you can’t be funny, it has to all be about the Affordable Care Act,’ but to their credit they really wanted it to be what it was,” Aukerman explained to Vulture. He said he was nervous about directing Obama, but found that the president and his crew were a lot easier to work with than he expected — even easier than some previous guests on the show. (Aukerman didn’t name names on that front, though.)
And, Aukerman thinks the leader of the free world had just as much fun: “I just loved how [POTUS] was going for the jugular with Zach regarding Bradley Cooper. I could tell the president was really enjoying that,” he said. For our part, we were awed by the prez's deadpan delivery and perfect comedic timing. Maybe he's got a future, post-White House, as an SNL straight man?
(Vulture)