USA Today's Pop Candy Top 100 People of 2008

She's #45! Yay! I like how Whitney chose to use a pic of her with Bret. ;
)

BTW, I adore Whitney and Pop Candy and it's usually the first thing I read in the morning (after all the FOTC goodies of course).

***Possible Spoilers***

They have now posted an interview with her:

***SPOILERS (possibly)***

Kristen Schaal has several acting roles and comedy projects on her resume, but she's best known for playing Mel, the sole, rabid fan of Flight of the Conchords on HBO's cult series. (Note: The second season premieres online today at FunnyorDie.com. It airs Jan. 18.)

CandyschaalSchaal also popped up this year on a series of funny Daily Show segments devoted to "
women's issues."
This year she won the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, starred in the web series Horrible People and posted installments in Penelope Princess of Pets.

The comedian -- No. 45 on my list of the Top 100 People -- managed to find some free time to call me. We chatted about her busy year, the holidays and FOTC:

Hey, Kristen. How are you?

I'm nursing a cold. It's frustrating, but otherwise, I'm pretty good!

Oh, no! That's too bad.

The problem is, I haven't been feeling good for the last couple nights, but I've been like, "
F--k it!"
(Laughs) It's the worst week to have a cold, 'cause there's so much going on.

Well, we're talking because you're one of my top people of the year.

Oh, that's so exciting!

If you don't mind being a little reflective, do you have a favorite moment of the past year?

It was a huge year. I think my favorite moments ... most of them were out of the country. I enjoyed winning the Barry Award in Melbourne -- that was exciting. And then doing the Edinburgh Festival was pretty sweet, too. Those were huge events. And then filming the show ... yeah, this year was awesome.

The season premiere of Flight of the Conchords goes online today. Can you give a preview of what we can expect in these new episodes?

Well, I feel like the show gets even more surreal and fantastical. It's gonna be an adventure. (Laughs) I'm proud of the second season, because I do think it goes down a fantastical line. I think it becomes even more into its own than last season.

Does Mel get any episodes of her own? Are you in the spotlight at all?

Yeah, the last episode that we filmed, one of the main storylines was around Mel. And then in another episode, Mel gets to sing her own song. I won't ruin it ... you'll just have to wait to hear the magic. And Mel gets more involved, I think. You find her here and there more.

Were you nervous at all to sing?

I was excited for Mel to get her own song, but for singing I was pretty nervous. I don't consider myself a singer, and I wouldn't ever ask anyone to pay me money to sing. But they were really supportive, and they said I sounded good. But after I recorded this song, I was like, "
Wow. If there are any people out there who find me annoying, this is gonna push them over the edge."
(Laughs)

There were some reports saying this season could be the show's last. Is that true?

I'm just as in the dark as you about it. It could be true, and everyone sort of feels 50/50 about it. I don't get to know that either, which is really unfortunate, since it's my job, but yeah, I'm in the dark. I don't know.

So have you guys already finished filming?

Yeah, we just wrapped Friday night and had a wrap party on Saturday. It's in the can. I think the editing is still going.

Do you know when your next appearance on The Daily Show will be?

I don't know. I'm leaving the country for a couple weeks in January, and also it really depends on what happens in the news, because Jon Stewart is interested in having me represent the female perspective. So whenever something comes up in the news, if I can figure out a good angle and pitch it to Jon Stewart, and if he likes it, then I get to do it. I'd like to do a piece on high heels, but I don't know if it fits in the news.

Pro or against?

Against. Big time!

So what is this about your romance novel?

Oh, yeah. That is slowly in the works. I wanted to basically write short, sexy stories that are also funny with a Harlequin romance novel vocabulary that I adore. And I'm working on it with my boyfriend right now, and it's turning into sort of a sex manual. It's really been fun, but I haven't had too much time to concentrate on it because of the show. I don't know when that'll come out -- it seems like I talk about that book more than I've been writing it. But I think it could be really funny.

How are you spending the holidays?

I'm going to Colorado on Saturday, so I'll be there for, like, 10 days. That'll be my merry Christmas.

And what are some of your goals for next year?

I have a lot of personal projects, like the book. And my comedy partner, Kurt Braun and I, just sold a comedy pilot to Channel 4 in London of our web series, Penelope Princess of Pets. So that's going to be a real crash course in how to make a show, but I'm excited about it. (I hope) to make more comedy and hopefully get some acting work if it comes around ... but I'm in a good place where I feel pretty blessed. I hope 2009 is as good as 2008.

Source:

Great interview!

sargifster wrote:And Mel gets more involved, I think. You find her here and there more.

*coughmaybeshestartsamessageboardcough*

gezyka wrote:Great interview!

sargifster wrote:And Mel gets more involved, I think. You find her here and there more.

*coughmaybeshestartsamessageboardcough*

nikki78 wrote:I like how Whitney chose to use a pic of her with Bret. ;
)

I always love the Pop Candy end of year list. She always has a pretty fun mix of people.