Latest / The Art of Costume Podcast / Saturday Night Live (48) with Costume Designer, Tom Broecker

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Saturday Night Live (48) with Costume Designer, Tom Broecker · The Art of Costume Podcast

0:12
You know, will tie the tie and then make the pattern out of
0:17
ribbon or, you know, we'll have fabric printed or silkscreen
0:21
little dots onto it or yeah. Like think it's high on TV and a
0:26
deep sigh I like, oh, man, sometimes it's like
0:42
Hello and welcome to the Arctic costume podcasts.
0:46
I am your host Spencer Williams, and thank you so much for
0:49
joining me for another bonus episode.
0:52
I'm so excited about today's episode, as I'm going to be
0:55
interviewing someone who I've wanted to talk to you for a very
0:59
long time. But as you can imagine, he is
1:03
really quite a busy person. So, I'm so excited to say that
1:07
today on a podcast, we are finally being joined by A Night
1:12
Live costume designer. Tom Broker, I am so excited he's
1:18
been following the podcast. We message every once in a while
1:22
and all the time I say like, oh, we got to have you on a podcast
1:25
one day, but Saturday Night Live is just such an incredible time
1:30
consuming show. So I'm so excited that we
1:33
finally got this time. Let's go behind a costume on
1:36
Saturday Night Live for a moment.
1:39
This show was created by Lorne Michaels.
1:42
Yes and costumes for the past three decades have been designed
1:46
by Tom. Broker you know, Tom from his
1:50
work on 30 Rock House of Cards, the recent film Bros and a
1:56
plethora of other projects. So I'm so excited for you all to
2:00
meet Tom. After this break, Tom is going
2:04
to join me and we're going to get into everything about his
2:07
process. What does a Dana life of Tom
2:10
Broker look like on Saturday Night Live?
2:12
I've what kind of coffee does he drink?
2:14
I mean, these are all important questions, and we'll also talk
2:17
about some of our favorite moments from the past season of
2:20
Saturday Night Live, especially the one with Pedro Pascal.
2:24
And the Mario Kart skit, lots of great costumes with talk about.
2:28
So, let's take a short break. And when we come back, we'll be
2:30
joined by Tom Broker. I am so excited to introduce my
2:59
friend. Someone, who I've been wanting
3:01
to talk to you for a long time, but he's kind of busy a lot
3:04
costume designer. Tom Broker.
3:06
Hey Tom, it's also you're not in New York.
3:11
If you were in New York you could come and hang out all the
3:14
time. It's funny because it's almost
3:15
easier for me to just fly to New York to hang out with you
3:18
because 100% exactly. So see if the doors now always
3:24
open. Yeah, I'm so excited to be
3:27
speaking with you. This is also an interview.
3:30
I've always been a little SNL, such a huge Big Show and people
3:34
always say like when you can do is so now it's like well what
3:37
costumes you know there's So much to talk about.
3:40
So I'm going to kind of try to break this up as best as I can.
3:43
So first, I love a server for a little background about you, not
3:47
only are you to costume designer at Saturday Night Live.
3:50
You're also a producer as well. So, what does that even look
3:53
like? So this is the interesting thing
3:56
about any. I'll digress about that talk
3:58
about SLL. But at one point, I was at a
4:02
luncheon and, and sitting next to a producer and we were just
4:06
sort of talking and and they're like, wow.
4:08
Oh wait, you're a costume designer, had a producer hat.
4:11
What does that even mean? And I was like, well, you have
4:15
to think of it in this way and this is sort of, well, I like to
4:17
think about it and no offense to other departments or anything,
4:22
but the costume designer is on most Productions.
4:26
The only person who kind of knows everything about
4:30
everything and every Department, like they know the money, they
4:34
know what's going on with the actors.
4:36
They have to know what the script is they know what's going
4:38
on. Director, they know what's going
4:40
on with production designer. You know, when it's going out,
4:43
cinematographer, they know when someone's here, or when
4:46
someone's not here, they wanted. They know what someone eats,
4:48
they know, you know, I mean, it's like all of those sort of
4:50
things about production is also what a producer should know,
4:55
right as well. Right?
4:56
So, theoretically, The Producers, a person who knows
4:59
everything about everything on every production, right?
5:02
You gotta know a little, something about everything going
5:04
on. Correct, exactly.
5:05
And and on some level, that's also what The costume separate,
5:09
you know, most production designers are less interested in
5:14
the actors and more interested in about what color the paint is
5:17
for a couch. And so, there's a little not,
5:21
you know, that time, of course, exaggerating about all that but
5:25
but, you know, there's not a lot of like wait, as the actor here
5:29
is the actor not here. Wait, why we in our light?
5:31
But why are we at an hour behind schedule, or whatever here?
5:33
I thought they were 15 minutes late then they had to get into
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hair and makeup in it, you know? They were 20 minutes, we have
5:40
whatever. And so so that the the costume
5:44
designer to me, it's a natural progression.
5:48
And I've talked to Lou or like about this and all that sort of
5:50
stuff and just sort of as like, there is to me a natural
5:55
progression of like costume designer producer because their
5:59
brains kind of work that same sort of way in a way, right?
6:03
That was has sent. The first thing you have to is
6:05
Lou irek, I mean, she does it all.
6:07
It seems like Americans Her story and they need her, not
6:10
just design costumes and the same for you and Saturday Night
6:13
Live. So, right, right.
6:15
So it's like, you, you kind of, are you have your hand and all
6:18
different sorts of things in your, you know?
6:20
And so it's a way of creatively and intellectually, like sort of
6:26
keeping the whole thing in place, so diving into Saturday
6:29
Night Live. If my research is correct, you
6:32
have been there for a little while.
6:38
How to say numbers, we don't have to say how long you can
6:41
just say, I've been here for a long time.
6:43
With that being said, how have you seen this prestigious show
6:47
you evolve over the years? I mean, you've seen, you know,
6:50
different iterations of the cast come in and go out and, you
6:53
know, different presidencies, and you've seen a lot.
6:56
So, how was the show? Kind of evolved.
6:58
And I am stayed the same age the whole time.
7:01
Yes. So to fold the way in which the
7:07
show has changed, I think, The idea of how the show is created
7:11
and all that sort of stuff is done the same.
7:14
I think the two biggest to me over the course of my time here,
7:19
the to sort of biggest things which have affected sort of how
7:25
I think the show is done. And all of that is, when the
7:29
show started, there was much more theatrical kind of, you
7:34
know, as like doing Live Theater, which it still is.
7:37
But because As over the course of all these years Prosthetics
7:42
and makeup and hair, and RI has been trained to look at film and
7:49
Cinema and sort of expect that kind of detail on that kind of
7:53
visual quality on television. Now, you know, there used to be
7:57
a big difference between well film does.
8:00
This TV, does that film you spend 12 hours in makeup to put
8:05
all your Prosthetics and do all that sort of stuff and then you
8:07
know on SNL You have 30 seconds to do it.
8:10
And so how do we make that do it?
8:12
And so you that has been trying to create these people and get
8:19
you know get Trump to have the jowls and got Trump, you know
8:22
Anderson Cooper has bright blue eyes while giving the actor who
8:26
plays Anderson Cooper bright blue contacts because his eyes
8:29
are brown. And so the the attention to that
8:33
kind of detail, I think has changed since its first started,
8:37
right? And then Other part I think
8:39
which is changed a lot. And also, you know, has changed
8:42
in the world as well is the Reliance on taped pieces
8:49
commercials and, and the film and, and, and all of that sort
8:53
of stuff and that and the internet.
8:54
And part of that was also because the internet didn't
8:57
exist when the show started, right?
9:00
So it was just everybody tuned in everybody want, you know, you
9:04
couldn't record the show. So 1975, you had to watch the
9:07
show live. Now, you can watch the show and
9:11
a lot of different ways and a lot of different times and just
9:13
watch the whole season, like yesterday.
9:15
Exactly, exactly the way in which we have come to view.
9:21
The show is very different now, right?
9:24
And so, that kind of, I think happened during the Andy Samberg
9:27
years in that way of like the internet is something we need to
9:31
pay attention to, and that has become.
9:34
So, let's start investing in these kind of viral.
9:38
Is to make comedy not just live ways to make comedy, right?
9:43
That's so fascinating. So that was I would say.
9:45
Like those would be sort of the two things I think and just as
9:50
you do more, you are expected to do more, right?
9:55
As you produce more each week, you're asked to produce bigger
10:01
better more. This, that whatever I probably
10:03
doesn't help that you raise the bar, every single chain.
10:06
What'd you just say exactly every area, every day?
10:08
You know every every week you do one more thing so you have to
10:12
make a 10% more the next week. Yeah.
10:15
Maybe you need to like occasionally throwing like a bad
10:17
episode of just don't worry. I'm not going.
10:26
I really want to get into the technical process of Saturday
10:29
Night Live. This is what everyone wants to
10:30
know because I don't understand how you and your team do it.
10:33
Pull together so quickly. I always think of back when Maya
10:36
Rudolph or the vice president-elect Toot that
10:39
happened hours later. Costume breakdown, many guest
10:44
stars, the Nicole Kidman, AMC suit, like things look so
10:48
realistic. Like you just saw that political
10:51
figures figures musical numbers. So, just the big question, how
10:56
does, what does a Dana life look like for Tom Broker and his
10:59
team, how does this come together?
11:01
I imagine you don't have a lot of prep time.
11:04
That gets like that's about it. Yeah, exactly.
11:07
Yeah. That that basically has two
11:12
things about the you just mentioned two things and I will
11:14
quickly say those and then I'll go back to your question that
11:18
Maya Rudolph. Kamala Harris said that I think
11:20
was the first time people actually fully fully understood,
11:24
that SNL was live, right? And what that, that sort of
11:28
thing of wow. How did that happen?
11:31
I remember being on my couch and looking at my roommate and being
11:34
like, yeah, the first time I literally people wear it though.
11:38
That was real time. People were texting me going.
11:41
What? Wait, did someone and that it
11:44
would be like wait, did someone just drive down to Delaware to
11:48
get that? Did you guys know in advance did
11:51
all that sort of stuff? And I'm like, no we didn't know
11:52
any of that. We were able is real time of
11:55
cool looking at it real time and then had instantly figure out
11:59
how to change adapt to whatever. And so there's been a lot
12:03
written about that and you know but but that was a real time
12:07
moment of like, oh wait, You have an hour to do what and to
12:11
create what and have it be from 0 to on air and an hour and that
12:17
was pretty thrilling wild. That actually don't look too
12:21
quickly. And, you know, sometimes we have
12:23
the the advantage of being able to, you know, edit things in a
12:30
good way to sort of get things or or we know tricks to get
12:34
things to look a certain way and that actually The silver stripe
12:40
of that particular fabric that we ended up having to recreate
12:43
the Michael Kors thing because we couldn't find the exact suit.
12:46
Was that as actually, silver glitter, puff paint, that was
12:53
still no silver Sparkle lines. So, yes.
12:56
So I could go running my room right now and start making mine.
12:59
I never sent. You can literally become Nicole
13:02
Kidman by the, what is the day? You know?
13:07
Like, The thing about day at SNL, I like to say is learning
13:14
how to drink a lot of coffee exist on.
13:18
No sleep, and don't attach to anything because at any given
13:24
moment, you're going to have to be you're going to have to pay
13:26
that to something else. I see in that way of, you know,
13:31
the writers are rewriting every day.
13:33
And every every sketch gets Rewritten and Rewritten and
13:36
Rewritten, and we thought we thought so, You know, so you
13:39
start Thursday morning, I start with my team and we base
13:43
everything on our conversations from read through Wednesday
13:46
night, and dug into the writers and dug into that.
13:49
So, Thursday morning, we talked and we, you know, develop what
13:53
we're going to do and how we're going to break everything down,
13:55
and who's going to do what it was in charge of doing this.
13:57
And that and then through the day, as the day is going, the
14:01
writers start rewriting things and start changing things.
14:04
And then, you know, you you start Thursday morning.
14:08
I'm doing something and say you're you're getting an outfit
14:11
for Kenan ready. Say just randomly say he's going
14:14
to play Abe Lincoln. So in the sketch Cain is playing
14:17
a blink and Thursday morning by Thursday night at 6 p.m. now.
14:22
You spent all day looking and finding all those weird stuff.
14:24
So now it's going to be, you know, Chloe.
14:28
So all of a sudden you're like having to pit you like okay
14:31
great. So just call that number.
14:38
A lot of that kind of like weight.
14:41
They've just added 10 dancing. Girls.
14:42
Okay, great. You just have to, you know, you
14:46
get used to it and that's what it is and you don't, you don't
14:52
take anything personally. It's not, you know, they're not
14:57
attacking you and and this is part of the job.
14:59
And you just have to learn to kind of be, okay?
15:02
Pivot or and I think what's great about so many of the
15:06
people I work with and or in my My on my team and all that sort
15:09
of stuff is that we all kind of have this like minded
15:13
adaptability and sort of be like, oh right.
15:16
Okay, great. So let's change it to this.
15:18
How we're going to do that or okay.
15:20
Well yes we can not can be downsized or that can be over
15:23
here, that's easy to think but sometimes the pivot is pretty
15:27
strong and it doesn't necessarily going to happen.
15:32
And so then that's a different conversation with the people or
15:35
sometimes it's like you know, all of a sudden you want to be a
15:38
cup of soup. Well, you know, while we have a
15:40
cup of soup costume for then they change the cup of soup to
15:44
like, you know, floating piece of tofu or whatever.
15:48
Any kind of go. Wow.
15:49
You sure you don't want to be compensated because I can give
15:52
you a cup of soup hopefully we can't do.
15:54
All right. You know?
15:55
I mean it's like the sometimes it's a negotiation of like well
15:58
I have three bear costumes. I know you said, you know, you
16:02
wanted a dog costume but you sure he can't.
16:04
Like, is there any way we can make it a bear?
16:06
Instead of a dog. Sometimes those negotiations
16:10
happen, you know? But it's also everyday feels
16:13
different, sounds like every day.
16:15
Every day is different, every day.
16:17
Every day is like, okay, you just start your day and you just
16:20
says, someone said you just put one foot in front of the other
16:23
and you just keep going forward and know that lunch will
16:27
probably actually happened around 4:00.
16:31
And if you're lucky and you know, and every day has a rhythm
16:38
Thursday's weren't Thursday feels very different than Friday
16:41
and Friday starts because Friday you know Friday lead finally got
16:45
the cast to do fittings like between 6 p.m. and midnight and
16:50
so that's when our fitting top and for Saturday and so some
16:53
fittings happen at midnight. Literally sometimes I'm paying
16:56
the host of midnight and you're fitting multiple people sound
16:59
like a regular TV production. It's like yeah, that's how I
17:01
like lime. I know.
17:03
Exactly know. It's like catch-as-catch-can
17:06
because it's like they'd sometimes the Actors will come
17:09
in and sometimes they won't. And sometimes they'll remember,
17:11
sometimes a bone, there's nothing ever scheduled.
17:13
It's sort of like, hey, I have ten minutes.
17:15
Can I come in and then someone spinning keen and then someone's
17:18
wedding Khloe and then I'm getting the hose in the back.
17:21
It's very like, you know. Okay, take your clothes up.
17:24
Let's try this on. I'm exhausted right now.
17:28
It's very, it's very summer camp.
17:32
Sounds like lots of coffee is mean drink and Saturday Night
17:35
Live. Yes, yes, exactly.
17:37
Control can't what's What's your go-to coffee?
17:42
I only drink cold, bro. So if you know you know but I
17:47
probably as you know you don't want to know how much is 64
17:51
ounces in a Day Too Much. I'm not really good at geometry
17:55
but that seems really small well going forward.
18:02
How much is your team sourcing compared to say, custom builds?
18:05
We kind of talked about that a little bit but so I really A
18:08
just depends on car week. It's it's you know, changes and
18:13
sometimes it's not a full build, it's more like, okay, wait, how
18:17
can we adapt this thing to be that, you know, sometimes we've
18:20
made a say, a beetle costume. And then like three weeks later
18:24
it has to be a moth like okay, wait, what?
18:27
If we do this and what are we paying it?
18:29
But the the structure of a moth and a beetle or sort of the same
18:33
so maybe we can use that under pieces and you know just slap
18:36
something else on and you know, Fabric Wings painted and so.
18:41
So there's a lot of how can we make what we need to make into
18:45
something and adapted it, some shows?
18:50
I think the first show of last season, I would say it was
18:53
probably like, 60/40 like 60/40 in terms of like, we build to
19:00
find some weeks. It's 80/20.
19:04
We are pretty good about sort of going.
19:06
Well, we can't, we can Accomplish all of those things.
19:11
So maybe if we pick that sketch as opposed of that one, that one
19:17
we don't have to build any costumes, not when we have, you
19:20
know. So sometimes there's a little
19:23
bit of a negotiation, in terms of visual, if we can do it or
19:28
not, do it. If we're building too much, or
19:30
that sort of stuff, feel like you should have a t-shirt that
19:32
just says it depends, sometimes I'm like, literally I'm going
19:38
Well, there's just like if you really want it to be great and
19:42
look, great and all that sort of stuff.
19:44
There's just no way we can do it, you know?
19:46
And and part of it sometimes the sketches really funny or
19:49
whatever but it involves a very specific trick and you're like
19:55
there's just no way we can you know like like for instance
19:59
cutting someone's hair like that's a very big if that's the
20:03
trick like doing that live and that's You know, that involves a
20:09
lot of skill level and a lot of wigs that can't necessarily
20:15
happen in the course of our show.
20:18
Now maybe if we taped that piece, we could maybe do it
20:23
because then we could control it a little better and there's ways
20:26
to shoot that kind of thing. But like that we couldn't ever
20:30
do live. Well, this season had some
20:32
fantastic moments on a kind of dive into a few of them.
20:36
One of my favorites actually was, of course, the Pedro, Go up
20:38
a sewed. I mean he's amazing you know,
20:41
come on you probably saw that coming from me honestly, I mean
20:47
it is true like some but sometimes people like you never
20:50
know. Like you never know how people
20:53
are going to be or how people you always want people to be
20:56
amazing or lovely and right. 90% of the time they are.
21:01
And then sometimes there are 100 percent, fantastic, and lovely,
21:06
and gracious, and amazing and And this guy's a together, Jill.
21:11
The woman who's in charge of the film unit Jill brain.
21:14
And Brian, they, they were sort of task, but doing this amazing
21:20
sketch. So fun, we're talking about the
21:22
Mario Kart sketch for everyone, listening Care Act, which was
21:26
young, which was it is that sketch was just like brilliant
21:30
and the way in which and and kudos to the film unit Naval and
21:35
in their ability to pull that green, Things stuff off.
21:39
And then make that whole sketch, just really be an amazing video
21:45
game. Like thing it really was just
21:47
breathtaking, and it's just a great example of costume design
21:50
to because everything, you know, there's a moment where Heidi's
21:53
look is very broken down. Like, you would see on the Last
21:56
of Us, that's exactly the Summers, I know.
21:59
So it's week. See.
22:00
All the fun elements of costume designing.
22:03
So I thought this was such a fun sketch that came together.
22:05
Yeah, it was a, it was pretty amazing.
22:07
Yeah. Typically I try not to ask
22:10
costume designers, what their favorite costume is.
22:13
So I'll just tell you some of my favorites, this season.
22:15
It's a yard because I literally get my, my Center, my standard
22:20
question to that is like, I don't have any paper.
22:22
Yeah, exactly. It's I don't even try because
22:25
it's also like I hope I haven't had my ever favorite costume.
22:29
Like, yes, I agree. Sometimes I go.
22:31
Oh, I like that costume. But but then, others are sort of
22:35
like, oh, you know, Does your mother have a favorite child?
22:41
Actually, I think she might. I make dynamite perhaps one of
22:50
my favorite costumes from this season was actually the Lisa
22:53
from Temecula. Look, it's so, oh no.
22:56
It's, I don't think this was supposed to be like The Shining
22:59
Moment of the episode but it's just taking on something life of
23:02
its own kind of resent. And and that's the thing, that's
23:05
the beauty sometimes of just doing.
23:08
Doing something, you know, sometimes you don't, you never
23:12
know if it's going to hit or do whatever, or any of that sort of
23:16
stuff. And you just, you want to make
23:20
the costumes sing for that person and Sing for the Moment.
23:23
And you're never thinking about the future of it or any of that
23:27
sort of stuff. So it, that was just like there
23:31
were certain things with that go, like she goes, I want to
23:33
have hair like, sort of like this and then I feel like I need
23:37
some glasses. And then, you know, future.
23:40
I feel like fuchsia is the color.
23:42
I feel like like I want to have bold, like, I want this person
23:46
to have a bold color. And so, you know, people throw
23:49
words at you and then it's up to you as a costume designer to
23:53
sort of you know grab every one of those words.
23:57
And you know, put them in a blender and come up with some
24:00
sort of love. So would you say that there's
24:02
kind of a collaboration between the cast members, you know,
24:06
because so much of costume design is helping them.
24:08
Find the character. I mean, unless the Nelly Pride
24:11
don't as have as much personal time to really find a character.
24:14
But as ever maybe with the host, I would say those little moments
24:17
that help them kind of get acclimated and a sauna and and,
24:21
and particularly with the host more.
24:22
So I think with the host because they're not used to the sort of
24:28
rhythm of SNL and a lot of them do films.
24:31
So they're used to a longer process of discovering
24:34
characters and that sort of stuff and and it's sort of like
24:37
and a lot of Times. They're like I don't understand
24:40
and then you give him a costume like okay, I know what I'm doing
24:43
now. Yeah, you know I got it, I got
24:46
it and I said, okay well you know also the wig will help and
24:50
you know, wall wall and it's very adaptable here and so you
24:55
know, this is where we start here and then we'll see where it
24:57
goes. And you'll be on set and sort of
25:00
be like, hey I need glasses or more.
25:02
That there is like, you know, you have five minutes to create
25:05
this character so it's very quick.
25:07
But All time exactly exactly. Were there any moments this
25:12
season that maybe we're just like something that you found
25:16
challenging or the ended up being favorite moments.
25:18
You know, maybe not favorite costumes, but something you saw
25:20
on screening like oh, they actually came out pretty cool.
25:23
Well I think no I so far I'm liking all of the I'm enjoying
25:30
all of these pictures. You're showing like I certainly
25:33
the the Elvis that that was in Journey in terms of But that was
25:39
going to be and and, you know, Sarah so little, you know,
25:44
coming up and finding an Elvis costume that had all that
25:49
beating, and all that studying. And we found we ultimately found
25:52
someone a person who rents Elvis impersonator jumpsuits in
25:59
Indiana of all places and we were able to get that and, you
26:03
know, and sort of going the dancing Coke machine, the
26:07
dancing Coke. Bottles and the sort of the the
26:10
evolution of how all of that was going to be and what that was
26:13
being to be in, you know, and Sarah.
26:15
Once again, up top with those mouth dental dams and you know,
26:23
it's always like those are, you know, Sarah's that lovely
26:26
interesting journey in terms of you know, the physicality of all
26:30
that and and is it going to work and how's it going to work and
26:34
how does the costume you know, getting that bow to sort of
26:37
reinforce that DM being stuck in the wind machine and how that
26:43
was going to be. And, you know, I'm always
26:45
enjoying a, you know, Kitty moment.
26:49
You know, it's also fun and actually back to that Elvis
26:54
costume. They Warner Brothers, currently
26:57
has one, that looks just like it from Cather Martin's Elvis
27:00
recently and it looks just like it.
27:02
I mean, the where those moments like where you have to really do
27:05
like some sort of really accurate moment that do.
27:08
Get any time to do a little bit of research.
27:10
Or is it very on the fly? Yeah, we we we do we do tons and
27:15
tons of research and we do as much as we can and, you know,
27:18
and so we sort of know some times where we can fake and
27:21
where we can't take and how to fake it.
27:23
And, you know, all of the people work here, have a beautiful
27:28
knowledge of how to adapt and change something.
27:32
And, you know, use the back of a shirt to be the front of her
27:35
shirt or, you know. Now a beating Them the beating.
27:39
I'm something can become the something else and, yeah, but we
27:44
do. We do side-by-sides a lot in
27:47
terms of like wait, let's see. That lapel is not the thing.
27:51
And, you know, away that that particularly in ties like
27:56
political ties. You know, if you think about it
27:59
men don't buy new ties every week.
28:01
So a lot of times those cold opening ties, we have to create
28:06
because there are five six Seven, eight years old and so
28:10
will make, you know, will tie a tie and then make the pattern
28:17
out of ribbon or you know, we'll have fabric printed or you know
28:22
silkscreen little dots onto it or yeah.
28:26
Right. Like that we get leaving on TV
28:28
and a deep sigh I like oh man, I thought sometimes that psycho
28:33
cheese When someone wants to, you know, three hours away to
28:40
the King of Prussia Mall, to get an Hermes scarf, because it was
28:44
the only one that existed in the Eastern Seaboard, okay?
28:49
For when it was during the covid, typically during the
28:52
cupboards are enduring coincide with when we had to.
28:57
I think it was the Secretary of Health, had a very specific
29:02
Hermes tie on and so, we had this in somewhere to go, get it.
29:07
Yeah. Okay, maybe this might be the
29:09
hardest question whether ever don't be too scared.
29:14
I was like, wait, what? In terms of just all of your
29:17
work on this and now has ever been a costume.
29:20
You've seen on screen that you know, maybe to you it was just
29:23
like you're trying to get out there but really just kind of
29:25
went on to take on a life of its own.
29:27
It's just like some sort of classic costume that just really
29:31
became something so much bigger than you originally imagined.
29:35
I guess, I mean, in that sort of way, I guess I would say, Those
29:38
costumes which had become apparent iconic in sort of
29:42
quotation marks. Like, you know, I don't think of
29:45
them as that sort of way, like, you know, the cheerleaders or
29:48
Mary Katherine Gallagher or, you know, Gilly or, you know, your
29:53
ladies, I'll come out for those. Yeah.
29:55
How about or any of though, you know, you sort of you just sort
29:58
of do them. And then they just kind of take
30:01
a life on their own in that sort of way and you're like oh wait
30:05
I'm like wait, maybe we should have You know, because most of
30:09
the time you're just doing it, you don't have the luxury of
30:12
like going. Well this is going to be
30:14
something. So how are we going to create
30:16
this costume which is going to last in perpetuity and like and
30:20
so all of a sudden, you're you go, oh, wait.
30:23
What I have designed that differently had I had a month to
30:27
design it versus 12 hours to design it and we sort of got
30:32
well, that's what they show is. You know, the show is that that
30:37
you throw it up there. And you know, hope for the best
30:40
that happen at any moment, you know, exactly.
30:43
Exactly. And then then you have to start
30:45
recreating the sweater that, you know, has fallen apart.
30:48
You have to find someone to knit a new one.
30:52
Looking forward to Features future seasons in your mind.
30:55
Do you ever think about what sort of costumes you want to do
30:58
essentially? How do you stay inspired to not
31:00
let this production? Bernie out, you know, you come
31:02
back each season and you want to feel refresh and create
31:05
something new. So do during your Break and
31:09
quotation marks to ever kind of, you know, keep yourself inspired
31:12
and think about what you want to do in the future or just really
31:15
happens in the moment. I guess I just really I it
31:20
happened. Like SNL happens in the moment.
31:23
You know, there are certain things like outside about.
31:26
So now I sort of go oh I would like to try that or I'd like to
31:29
do that kind of show or, you know, I want to do explore that
31:35
but SNL in particular, I its It's always more about trying to
31:40
find in hooking in with an actor or a writer and wanting to
31:44
create, then and everyday is inspiring like block.
31:48
I live in one of the greatest cities and the world and walking
31:53
down. The street is always inspiring,
31:56
you know, like the amount of the visual interest of just people
32:00
in general, walking down the street, like blows my mind.
32:04
And so, sometimes it's like, wheat, I have to remember that.
32:08
Or like you see someone you go, if I put that on camera, no one,
32:13
no one would ever believe that, you know.
32:18
And and so I have I sort of have a, you know, a running photo
32:24
thing where sometimes I'm like, wait, look, look at this.
32:26
This is who this is this character.
32:28
This is who this character should be, or yeah.
32:30
Or, you know, sort of if it's. And I hope that I haven't ever
32:35
created my vinyl costume, right? Like, I don't like if I've
32:40
created my final costume, then it's time for me to like be on a
32:43
beach. You know, even though I'm, you
32:47
know, I hate sand. But but, you know, but but it's
32:52
like life, is it all is inspiring, you know, but like,
32:56
you know, like everything we got tired and we, you know, coffee
33:00
stops doing the trick. And, you know, let them do.
33:03
Have that exactly to start out to go away.
33:07
Maybe. I need six hours of sleep today.
33:10
Yeah. You know, so maybe stay in bed,
33:12
a few more hours and get inspired.
33:15
You know, I just find the act of creativity inspiring.
33:19
So it's and I work with really amazing, wonderful people and
33:23
the people I my team here is always inspiring and then we
33:28
bounce things off of each other. And, you know, it's it's a true
33:33
collaboration in terms of like, let's play here, let's play
33:36
there, let's do this. Let's see, you know, the guy.
33:38
With them all of it. And I'm in sort of what what
33:42
happens is always on spiring. And before I let you go, you
33:46
know, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the current
33:48
Writers Guild strike at the 40th season, unfortunately came to a
33:52
little bit of a quicker end, and we would hoping we are getting
33:56
ready to have some episodes of Kieran Culkin Jennifer Coolidge.
33:59
We've talked a lot about your work with the writers and are
34:02
very crucial and essential to Saturday Night Live.
34:05
So I was wondering if you just have any parting words of
34:07
support Port for the writers currently on strike.
34:10
When you know what, we have to remember.
34:12
We actually like I always say and no matter what whether I'm
34:17
working on a play or whether I'm working on a film or whether I'm
34:19
working on TV, like we're beholdin to the word like, what
34:24
we do. We can't do anything until we
34:27
have a text in front of us, you know, unless we're doing in like
34:30
a ballet but you know, we tell stories visually, but our visual
34:36
stories are based on Text so and in order to get the text, we
34:42
have to have the Riders. So it's sort of like it's that
34:47
about misaligned ahead. It's a blank page and so
34:51
basically, you know, we can dream and do all these sort of
34:56
stuff in our and in our brains but at the end of the day we
35:00
can't do anything for the parade.
35:01
So it's very important that they get and You know figure out what
35:09
they need to make a living rooms you know so we can all make one
35:13
things and you know and and they're fighting not only for
35:17
themselves but I think on some level they're also fighting for
35:21
everybody. You know it's a it's what's
35:24
going on is very important and you know I think having just
35:29
explored a little about stuff that I think there's something
35:32
they have stuff to work out that I think is going to affect
35:34
everybody and everyone you know so so it's hopefully By say
35:39
August things can be wrapped up. I really hope so too and you
35:46
know, really support them all and their work costume designer.
35:50
Tom Broker, I was so excited to finally got the chance to meet
35:53
you. This was this is fun.
35:54
It's so great. No no I had a blast.
35:56
So now you have a standing invites us to come see the show
35:59
and hang out and watch out what happens and all the magic time.
36:03
I'm on my way in booking a ticket will probably be not yet.
36:06
I guess we got. Wait a little bit know exactly.
36:12
Thank you so much. So much fun.
36:14
And we have to do this again. Okay, I'll talk to you later.
36:21
You're out of costume. Blogcast is hosted and produced
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36:57
the best in costume design. Yeah, so just do everything you
37:19
just did but just do it again batter and funny.
37:27
That's why I said that literally why I could never become an
37:30
actor like the one or two times, but people like so do it again
37:34
and do it again. I'm like, oh no, I'm I am a
37:37
one-take person. I can't give you those eyes.
37:46
Rolls on command. That's who you are.
37:50
It just happens. Rolls on command.
37:48
That's who you are. It just happens.