Marc Maron documentary 'We Good' producer tells all

New York Post

16 hours ago

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It's a funny thing to talk about a world-famous podcaster when they're not in the room.
A conversation about a conversationalist truly is a paradox that could bend space and time.
However, when chatting with film producer Julie Seabaugh about WTF host Marc Maron, the tête-à-tête couldn't have been a more pleasant expeience.
We spoke with the Missouri native ahead of a Tribeca Film Festival screening of her soon-to-be released documentary 'We Good,' which chronicles Maron's life, stand-up career, soon-to-be ending podcast and relationship with the late Lynn Shelton.
Seabaugh, a long-time entertainment journalist, spent extra close attention to Maron's Instagram Live after Shelton passed in May 2020. She thought that his return to comedy — which ultimately led to his sublime, deeply-felt HBO special 'From Bleak To Dark' — should be documented and began following him around with director Steven Feinartz.
'I made the master timeline of his life, went through all his podcast episodes, arranged the shoots at the venues, spent five years as story editor, plotted out what the different threads of the film were going to be and gave my sometimes harsh opinion on what should be included,' she told us in an exclusive interview.
Although we didn't have Maron in the room to set the record straight, she was more than game to answer our questions about the (spoiler!) thoroughly entertaining feature.
Does the narrative of the movie's rollout change with WTF coming to an end?
A lot of people are curious about that. My phone blew up when that happened but there's a plan and [the release] will be around the same time frame as when the podcast's ending.
This is Maron we're talking about [though]. He's going to do everything he wants on his own terms. I think we're all excited to see what the next version of Maron is going to be but he does seem to be happy settling into his old man phase.
What's it like working with Marc?
There's never a dull moment with Marc Maron. He's a highly watchable person but also a bit volatile. When you start seeing how he lives, and where everything comes from in his mind, it's rewarding on a whole other level.
He was also in my 2021 documentary 'Too Soon: Comedy after 9/11,' and will be in next year's Mitch Hedberg documentary that I'm also part of the team working on. He's not going to get rid of me that easily.
What did you learn about him you didn't already know?
He gets super emotional sometimes. After his Seattle set, one of Lynn's friends came up to him and said he knew Lynn is proud of him. We instantly see his face crumble as he takes pictures with fans.
Were there any scenes you loved that ended up on the cutting room floor?
There were a lot of scenes or moments of him trash talking comedians that didn't make the finished product.
That's what I came for.
There's still a little bit in there but that wasn't the crux of the movie. We didn't need to bring an outside controversy into something that's already a lot to deal with as a film on its own.
The movie has a lot of heavy emotion but is also about becoming the best version of yourself so maybe that's not going to include trash talking other comics.
Would you say this movie is for hardcore fans that have listened to every 'WTF' episode or do you see this as an intro to Marc?
I would say something in between.
Hardcore fans will pick out recurring themes or hobbies they already know about like Maron's cats, the music store he visits, his hikes. But for people who aren't as invested, this is a universal story of dealing with grief. It's inevitable and this is an example of how one guy did it and processed tragedy into comedy.
How much of the first shoot made the movie?
I've known Marc for years and covered him for The Village Voice, Vulture and The L.A. Times. When the pandemic struck, he was doing those Instagram Lives where he's hunkering down with Lynn and they're preparing for what's ahead.
Then she passes away unexpectedly two months in. He kept doing the Instagram Lives and revealed in real time what he was going through. I thought that was the most beautiful thing I'd seen a comic put out publicly, especially since he was sort of alone in that time and really online audiences were the only people you could connect with.
When pandemic restrictions were lifted, he had been threatening to quit comedy, which I knew was never going to happen. The Comedy Store was open about a week before he was saying on Instagram Live that he was getting jealous of the comics and would be back. So, on the night he decided to perform again, I told director Stephen Feinartz to show up with a camera and it was pretty rough.
What's your favorite part of the doc?
The joke he did in Seattle in front of Lynn Shelton's hometown crowd about 'the difference between a breakup and losing someone is at least she's not f—ing anybody.' He goes there every time. He pulls no punches. Or the time he followed Sam Tallent who was doing more scatological humor.
I'm also a personal fan of all the times his pants were falling down. That was very humanizing. Sometimes our pants just fall down. And his relationship with Lynn.
She changed him for the better. So the question was 'is he going to continue carrying her with him or will he revert back to this cranky, self-loathing self-deprecating, anxious, depressed guy that he's always been?' The film tries to be a little open-ended about that.
There are a lot of comedy documentaries at the moment. Joe list just released one. 'Pee Wee As Himself' recently landed on HBO. Colin Hanks has a John Candy doc on the way. Judd Apatow is working on one about Maria Bamford and two new Andy Kaufman features are now available. What separates 'We Good' from the pack?
Sometimes with celebrity docs, it can be more of a puff piece.
We were adamant about not doing that. There was talk at one point of making this behind the scenes material for 'From Bleak to Dark' but we were like 'no, this is a standalone story.' 'We Good' is different because we're showing someone not only at their most vulnerable but also at a terrible time in their life.
I think we really go there in a way that's going to surprise a lot of people.
How did you get into writing about comedy?
I grew up on a farm in rural Missouri. I had no idea what comedy was. In my senior year of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, I was writing about film and music.
Then, Dave Attell came at the height of 'Insomniac.' I got to interview him beforehand and then go backstage with all the other student journalists. Afterwards, we took him to the bar across the street and he got everyone drunk. I woke up on my friend Dan's bathroom floor the next morning thinking 'there's more to this comedy thing that people aren't recognizing' because, at that time, comedy was just thrown in with music or calendar listings in newspapers.
It wasn't covered in any in-depth or artistic way. So, I decided to do something about that. That's when I moved to New York. I spent a lot of late nights at the Comedy Cellar and other venues. In hindsight, it was pretty dangerous and naive to be going home at like 4 a.m. on my own.
What's next for you?
The Mitch Hedberg doc will be out with director Jeff Siegel sometime next year. I also have a memoir about Byron Bowers' earlier life out in 2026.
There's also an idea for another new documentary about the divide we're seeing in comedy these days. Especially since the pandemic when digital comedy was something that got us all through.
This interview has been edited for length for clarity.
Huge comedians on tour in 2025
Although we don't know who Seabaugh's 'guys' are — if you know, you know — here are five of our favorite comedians that will be on the road these next few months that you won't want to miss.
• John Mulaney
• Steve Martin with Martin Short
• Seth Meyers with John Oliver
• Gary Gulman
• Nikki Glaser
Who else is on the road? Take a look at our list of all the biggest comedians on tour in 2025 to find the show for you.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change