Bert Kreischer & More Share Tales From The Machine Red Carpet

Screen Rant spoke with the hilarious director, cast, and friends of Bert Kreischer at the premiere of The Machine about comedy and Mark Hamill.

The Machine is based on Bert Kreischer's iconic stand-up routine about his brief stint with the Russian Mob. While on a field trip with his college Russian language class, Bert partied with some Russians, only to discover they were Russian mobsters. He then helped them rob the train, including his own classmates. While this story sounds impossible, The Machine takes it to the next level with a fictitious follow-up set 25 years later. The Russian Mob kidnaps Burt and his father to help them find a piece of jewelry that was lost all those years ago during the train heist.

While Kreischer has developed an impressive reputation as a stand-up comedian, this is his big-screen debut. The Machine is directed by Peter Atencio from a script penned by Kev Biegel and Scotty Landes. In addition to Kreischer, The Machine also stars Mark Hamill, Iva Babić, Jessica Gabor, Stephanie Kurtzuba, and Robert Maaser.

Related: Mark Hamill Has Never Hosted SNL, And He Thinks He Knows Why

Screen Rant caught up with the director, star, and friends of Kreischer at the premiere of The Machine. Screen Rant spoke with Kreischer, Peter Atencio, Iva Babić, Jay Pharoah, Tom Segura, and a number of others. They discussed working with Hamil, Kreischer's acting chops, and paving the way for more comedy on the big screen.

Screen Rant: You guys got the amazing Mark Hamill to play Burt's father. Mark Hamill is a legend. I can only imagine what it's like directing him. Talk to me about what surprised you the most about working with Mark.

Peter Atencio: I think for Mark, it's the same thing. He's Luke Skywalker. He could come in and just do his own thing and not want to take direction if he wanted to. He's a legend, but he is, again, so open. He was very upfront. He was like, "I trust you to make this funny and to make my performance good." He threw himself into the role. And again, like Bert, I think he's going to surprise people too. It's a whole new side of Mark.

Screen Rant: We also know that you want to do The Machine 2 and 3. Have you already started thinking about a cast for that film?

Bert Kreischer: Oh, I've already told Mark he has verbally committed. All we need is him to be kidnapped by the cartels. That's it. He ends up in the cartels. Very static shot and it's me and the Russian mafia going to get him out. Then the next one my daughter's have to come rescue me.

Screen Rant: You're in The Machine. You play one of the villains. Talk to me about your role a little bit.

Iva Babić: I play one of the villains I play Irina, Russian mafia girl. She's here to kidnap Bert and take him to Russia with her to retrieve something that is really important to her.

Screen Rant: Talk to me about what it means for you to have a big comedy like this back on the big screen?

Jay Pharoah: It definitely does set the mark for other comedians, where we see that it can be done. Bert is the forefather of that, running that project, and giving us all hope that we can do it too, man. That's amazing, man. That's how it's supposed to be. I feel like, for a comedian to have an action-packed comedy and for it to be good? Oh, just kiss the baby.

Screen Rant: What does it mean to you that your friend Bert's gonna have his feature film debut?

Tom Segura: It's so par for the course of how Burt would do something. When he throws a party. When he cooks you dinner it's so over the top. And this is totally in line with that, but I'm super excited for him. This is an incredible thing that has come from this story.

Bert Kreischer rose to fame as a stand-up comedian known as The Machine, and in his signature set he recounts his true experience with Russian mobsters while on a booze-soaked college trip. Now, 23 years later, that trip has come back to haunt him as he and his estranged father (Mark Hamill) are kidnapped back to Russia by the mob to atone for something they say he did. Together, Bert and his father must retrace the steps of his younger self (Jimmy Tatro) in the midst of a war within a sociopathic crime family, all while attempting to find common ground in their often fraught relationship.

Check out our interview with The Machine star Bert Kreischer as well.