Ringing Endorsement: Cinematic Titanic's J. Elvis Weinstein and Trace Beaulieu
The homegrown movie mockers spill the beans on their favorite local haunts.
Cinematic Titanic's Joel Hodgson, J. Elvis Weinstein, Mary Jo Pehl, Trace Beaulieu, and Frank Conniff
Humans have mocked wonderfully dreadful B-movies since the invention of the camera, but nobody has made it an art form like the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The award-winning cult comedy series, which merged pop-culture and robot puppeteering with remarkable dexterity, got its start on Twin Cities television before making the jump to national fame. Today, the MST3K crew is scattered all over the country, but founder Joel Hodgson and the core group have reunited as Cinematic Titanic, a likeminded “riffing show” that releases new material direct to DVD (and available on its website). The latest DVD gives the smackdown to a Filipino-made groaner called Blood Of The Vampires, which drops March 19. (Local fans may recall that Cinematic Titanic road-tested its riffage on the vampire flick at the State Theatre last October.) Decider took a cue from the corporate world and organized a conference call with two original cast members: Los Angeles-based Josh “J. Elvis” Weinstein and Trace Beaulieu (who now lives in Stillwater, Minn.) to talk about homesickness and steak worship.
Decider: Since you both started out in Minnesota, do you have romantic notions about it?
J. Elvis Weinstein: I really do. It was such a great place to start doing stand-up, particularly in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when there were a ton of clubs and audiences who were incredibly patient with young comics. Among the comics themselves, there was a huge amount of community and support. I mean, Joel asked Trace and I to do Mystery Science one day after a writing group [that] a bunch of comics had at the Uptown library. We would meet once a week and help each other with jokes. I don’t think there were a lot of [other] cities where comics were helping other comics be funnier.
D: Does that kind of community still exist today?
JW: I get the sense. I know at Acme they’ve done a great job of nurturing young comics.
D: You guys were quite young when you started doing stand-up.
JW: I started when I was 15 years old, at a place called the Ha-Ha Club on 28th and Hennepin. Which is where I met [the other MST3K] guys.
Trace Beaulieu: I was already an old guy.
JW: You were in your 20s.
TB: Yeah, but I lived hard. [Laughs.]
D: Does it get debaucherous when you guys are in town together?
JW: If I’m there and Trace is there, there’s a good chance you’ll find us drinking martinis at Manny’s before or after the steaks come down our gullets. We are steak aficionados and have eaten in many cities around the country, and Manny’s still ranks among the very top.
TB: And their move to the Foshay was, I think, brilliant.
D: So, Manny’s is something of a ritual for you guys.
JW: It’s a temple of meat as far as I’m concerned. So I approach it with a certain reverence, probably—but no [ritual]. Pretty much just drink and eat.
D: Where do you refuel on Twin Cities nostalgia?
JW: The Green Mill on Hennepin is usually one for me; it was our original Uptown comedy watering hole.
TB: [Living in Stillwater] makes Minneapolis feel like going to the big city. But I tend to go right back to where I went before. I tend to go to the familiar.
JW: I’ve been away for about 17 years now, and I still feel right at home when I come back. Always look forward to hanging there.
TB: And I missed it so much I had to come back [after 11 years in Los Angeles].
J. Elvis Weinstein: I really do. It was such a great place to start doing stand-up, particularly in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when there were a ton of clubs and audiences who were incredibly patient with young comics. Among the comics themselves, there was a huge amount of community and support. I mean, Joel asked Trace and I to do Mystery Science one day after a writing group [that] a bunch of comics had at the Uptown library. We would meet once a week and help each other with jokes. I don’t think there were a lot of [other] cities where comics were helping other comics be funnier.
D: Does that kind of community still exist today?
JW: I get the sense. I know at Acme they’ve done a great job of nurturing young comics.
D: You guys were quite young when you started doing stand-up.
JW: I started when I was 15 years old, at a place called the Ha-Ha Club on 28th and Hennepin. Which is where I met [the other MST3K] guys.
Trace Beaulieu: I was already an old guy.
JW: You were in your 20s.
TB: Yeah, but I lived hard. [Laughs.]
D: Does it get debaucherous when you guys are in town together?
JW: If I’m there and Trace is there, there’s a good chance you’ll find us drinking martinis at Manny’s before or after the steaks come down our gullets. We are steak aficionados and have eaten in many cities around the country, and Manny’s still ranks among the very top.
TB: And their move to the Foshay was, I think, brilliant.
D: So, Manny’s is something of a ritual for you guys.
JW: It’s a temple of meat as far as I’m concerned. So I approach it with a certain reverence, probably—but no [ritual]. Pretty much just drink and eat.
D: Where do you refuel on Twin Cities nostalgia?
JW: The Green Mill on Hennepin is usually one for me; it was our original Uptown comedy watering hole.
TB: [Living in Stillwater] makes Minneapolis feel like going to the big city. But I tend to go right back to where I went before. I tend to go to the familiar.
JW: I’ve been away for about 17 years now, and I still feel right at home when I come back. Always look forward to hanging there.
TB: And I missed it so much I had to come back [after 11 years in Los Angeles].
