He was always pretty silly, and it’s always funny first," Kroll tells EW.
(They were not.)
They also joked about the incredible fitness of 96-year-old Brooks, pretending he was off camera doing burpees.
Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz in “Hitler on Ice” sketch on ‘History of the World Part II’.Hulu
(He was not… that we know of.)
(Unconfirmed, for now.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Nick, I understand that Mel actually came to you to get the series made.
Taika Waititi on ‘History of the World Part II’.Hulu
NICK KROLL:Yeah, that’s the rumor I started and I’m sticking with it.
And so, that kicked it off.
And I was like, “Continue…” And he goes, “Mel Brooks.”
Jack Black on ‘History of the World Part II’.Hulu
And I was like, “Yes.”
And he goes… “So…” and I said, “NO.
Yes, yes, I’m doing it.”
And then called Ike and his partner David [Stassen].
IKE BARINHOLTZ:It was the exact same thing.
I’ll drive myself.
I’ll cook food for the cast and crew.
I know how to sew, what do you need?"
How do we kind of update this?
How involved was Mel in all of it?
What was his most valuable input, would you say?
SYKES:I’m sorry, he’s over here doing burpees?
Mel, geez, we’re trying to do an interview.
BARINHOLTZ:Wow, he’s got an eight pack.
No, we would constantly jump on Zooms with Mel.
I know Mel has seen the series.
Have you gotten his official review yet?
I liked the songs.
And I likedsomeof the reads."
And he also said, “And we’re gonna get some letters.
And that’s good.”
And he was always pretty silly.
How did you guys narrow down what events you wanted to spoof?
Were there any historical moments you knew you didn’t want to tackle?
BARINHOLTZ:We really went in there with a very open mind.
And we had a very broad group of writers from all over the comedy map.
And people were throwing out crazy suggestions.
Was there anything that you did want to portray, but ultimately had to cut?
One story that we worked on for a while that I was particularly obsessed with was Cuba.
SYKES:The windmills right?
Was that the one that starts with the windmill?
Couldn’t afford the windmills?
BARINHOLTZ:Right, they were too expensive and they don’t look good when they’re CG.
So we tried so many different things.
This is our best stuff.
Let’s shoot it."
It feels like everyone in Hollywood has a role in this thing.
Was there anyone you wanted but didn’t get this time around?
BARINHOLTZ:Kevin Spacey was unavailable.
Couldn’t get him.
SYKES:You’re so ridiculous.
Everyone, you know, loves Mel.
So if they were in town and available, it was an easy ask.
They wanted to be involved in it.
Kelly passed, too.
So we had a real cornucopia of good people.
Was there one moment on set in particular that you could not stop laughing at?
And it started off as like just a funny sketch kind of poking fun of removing Confederate statues.
That was the day that I think everyone just had the giggles a little bit.
SYKES:Yeah, that’s the one I’m thinking, too.
KROLL:A couple of things.
There’s just something so funny about J.B. whatever he’s doing, he’s just so funny.
The D-Day sketch of everyone puking was very funny.
Do you have more you’d like to do in a second season?
Will we have to wait another 40 years for a sequel?
SYKES:We definitely have more.
BARINHOLTZ:We could wait 40 more years.
Think of it this way…
SYKES:Okay, run it by me.
BARINHOLTZ:40 years from now.
So it’s 2063.
It’s a presidential election year.
It’s Barron Trump versus Malia Obama.
So people are really stressed out.
SYKES:People are stressed, and they need a laugh.
BARINHOLTZ:You are living in a nursing home.
You’re in a nursing home, and I work at the nursing home as an orderly.
So I’m seeing you every day.
SYKES:Okay, so we can… Where’s Nick?
BARINHOLTZ:You have your soup.
You play your mahjong with your friends.
Then you would take a nap.
SYKES:All right.
KROLL:You might have to wait another 42 years.
You know, it’ll depend on any number of factors.
But it really was such a dream come true to make the show.
And it’s a truly incredible cast and crew.
So I’m hoping we get to keep celebrating Mel, in this way and others.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The first two episode ofHistory of the World Part IIare now streaming on Hulu.
Two new episodes will drop daily, with the finale on Thursday, March 9.
