A&E had the opportunity to chat with the âÄúHot Tub Time MachineâÄù cast in a roundtable setting during a March 14 press junket in Lake Tahoe, Nev. Sadly, John Cusack was amiss. Highlights below. Steve Pink, 43, is the director of âÄúHTTM.âÄù He previously wrote the screenplay for âÄúHigh FidelityâÄù (2000) and directed âÄúAcceptedâÄù (2006). What was your directorial approach to âÄúHot Tub Time Machine?âÄù I tried to execute a very coherent tone. Where these guys are very real, the world around them is absurd, and most of the time it was really funny. ItâÄôs massively ridiculous; itâÄôs âÄúHot Tub Time Machine.âÄù âÄúHTTMâÄù is a tough title, right? People are like, âÄúHot Tub Time Machine? [expletive] you!âÄù We are aware itâÄôs [expletive] ridiculous; the actors were aware it was ridiculous. How does directing differ from producing? When youâÄôre directing, youâÄôre in control of the aesthetic. Trying to execute something and make it halfway decent is hard. Hopefully youâÄôre making something worthwhile âÄî in this case, something really [expletive] funny. ItâÄôs a big fat challenge, and I like it. Rob Corddry (âÄúThe Daily ShowâÄù), Craig Robinson (âÄúThe OfficeâÄù) and Clark Duke (âÄúSex DriveâÄù) serve as HTTMâÄôs wacky, vulgar, male protagonists. How does doing TV differ from film? RC: Well, one is a much smaller screen, and the other one is like, way bigger. But you can watch the bigger ones on a smaller screen, but not vice versa. Were there pranks on the set? CD: I remember one day Clooney came on set and stood in for Cusack. That was pretty funny. RC: I would take a dump in ClarkâÄôs trailer every day. CD: That was you!? I kept firing Teamsters ! Lizzy Caplan (âÄúMean GirlsâÄù) and Collette Wolfe (âÄúObserve and ReportâÄù) play the sexy love interests to CusackâÄôs and CorddryâÄôs characters, respectively. Time travel flicks tend to moralize; is yours pro time travel or a cautionary tale? LC: ThatâÄôs really funny, because, yes itâÄôs a time travel movie, but we all kinda decided on set not to think too hard about the science or if it makes any sense at all. So youâÄôre pro time travel? LC: IâÄôm pro time travel if it means you go back in time to make a [expletive] load of money. But trying to put a message in a movie called âÄúHot Tub Time Machine?âÄù CW: ItâÄôs silly.