Ben squeezes into the VHS vault that is the Found Footage Festival (FFF) headquarters in NY with Joe Pickett—half of the FFF comedy duo who quit his job to follow a dirty country singer for four years, turned stolen instructional videos into a 20-year comedy empire, and once declared a half-naked woman painting ceramic clowns "the greatest moment in VHS history." Joe walks us through his filmmaking suicide pact with Nick Prueher, explains why Larry Pierce's "I Like to (BEEP)" changed everything, and reveals the dark truth about JINGLE BABIES. From sleeping on floors for a full year to getting sued in federal court for morning show pranks, Joe's path from documentary filmmaker to comedy archeologist proves you need to be willing to sleep on couches in order to finish what you start. We're surrounded by 14,638 tapes (no doubles), a giant Bart Simpson mask, and a signed GROWING PAINS poster that survived the New York subway. Plus: his new doc is so illegal you have to sign an NDA just to watch it.
Discussion links:
VHS PARTY LIVE! (2026) | DIRTY COUNTRY (2007) | CHOP & STEELE (2022) | AMERICAN MOVIE (1999
) | SHERMAN'S MARCH (1985) | WINNEBAGO MAN (2009)
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Found Footage Festival HQ
02:42 The origin story: Larry Pierce and dirty country music
07:41 Quitting jobs and the suicide pact
11:17 Following weirdos for four and a half years
15:28 How Found Footage Festival started as fundraising
19:56 South by Southwest premiere and audience award
24:19 Greatest hits from the VHS vault
29:13 What makes bad things good
34:24 Lightning round: American Movie as gateway drug
40:00 Advice for aspiring filmmakers: sleep on couches
45:00 Video Filmed for Life—the illegal documentary
