I've now interviewed Bill Hader twice, and it is a particular pleasure, because he loves to talk about his hometown.
He called me last week in advance of "Adventureland," his new comedy opening on this week. Look for a full interview in Friday's Scene section.
Here's a preview of what to expect. It seemed only natural, as he plays an amusement park manager in the film, to ask him about Bell's and the Tulsa State Fair. He was only too happy to oblige.
"The Zingo made me afraid of rollercoasters. I still will not, to this day, get on a rollercoaster. You would take a turn on Zingo, and you’d feel the whole rollercoaster lean to the right, and, oh, man. I remember like the summer of 1989, there were Batman themes everywhere (with the release of the Tim Burton film) and they had a Joker mouth painted on the rollercoaster entrance...."
"I remember more the fair that came each October, and that eye-opening feeling of realizing, when a friend’s older brother told us, that all the games were rigged so that you couldn’t win. That was such a man-behind-the-curtain moment, like, Hey, these guys are lying to me, and I’m a child," Hader said, laughing.
"I do remember going one time into the haunted house, and a buddy of ours jumping out of the cart and hanging out in the haunted house. That just seemed like the funniest thing, his terrorizing the people."
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