WWTW Interview: ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ director Bobcat Goldthwait – Pt. 1

Bobcat Goldthwait long ago abandoned the screechy voiced character who got under our skin, but made us laugh all the same, back in the ‘80s.

But his essential game plan remains unchanged.

“I was on stage … like a bratty boy going, ‘will you still like me if I do this?’” Goldthwait tells WWTW of his days as a comic. Audiences weren’t sure if he was the headliner or a homeless man who stumbled on stage by accident.

A similarly off-putting conceit plays out in his recent films.

For 2006’s “Sleeping Dogs Lie,” the main character confesses she once had oral sex with a dog. And Goldthwait’s newest film, “World’s Greatest Dad,” follows a hapless school teacher (Robin Williams) dealing with a rude teenage son who spends his downtime downloading aggressive porn.

“It’s something I do subconsciously,” the writer/director says of his film projects. “I don’t think in terms of dark comedy when I write. It’s the kind of stuff that makes me laugh.”

He sees “Dad,” just released on DVD, as a parable and a satire, although the satirical elements only kick in later in the film.

Goldthwait shot “Dogs” in two weeks using a crew he hired from a Craigslist ad. For “Dad,” he got to work with an old pal, the erstwhile Mork, in the lead role.

Not only did having a name actor like Williams help the writer/director avoid using the Internet to flesh out his crew, it gave him a confidence boost.

“It’s nice to have his stamp of approval, for him to say, ‘hey, I wanna be a part of this.’ That meant so much to me,” Goldthwait says.

He wasn‘t nervous about directing Williams – until the night before the first day of shooting.

He imagined telling Williams, “let‘s do it quieter,” and the actor saying, “I have an Oscar and you were in ‘Hot to Trot.’”

“But it wasn‘t that way,” Goldthwait says.

Tomorrow: Goldthwait talks about what “World’s Greatest Dad” revealed about himself and his emotional reaction to the film’s positive reviews.

(Photo: Bobcat Goldthwait, left, gives himself a cameo role alongside Robin Williams in “World’s Greatest Dad.”)

Related posts:

1. ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ – Goldthwait grows up … a bit
2. WWTW Interview: ‘Everybody’s Fine’ writer/director Kirk Jones
3. WWTW Interview: ‘Battle of the Smithsonian’ director Shawn Levy Pt. 1
4. WWTW Interview: ‘Battle of the Smithsonian’ director Shawn Levy Pt. 2
5. WWTW Interview: ‘Con Artist’ director Michael Sladek