Jake "Mr. Italiano" Price
In 2009 we launched JTWO.U – our internship program which later became The JTWO [INC]ubator Project. During the past ten years, we have had some amazing students come through our doors (along with a bevy of disasters), but one intern stood on the shoulders of giants and claimed the coveted title of “Intern of the Decade.”
That intern is Jake Price,class of 2017.
WHY DO YOU THINK JTWO NAMED YOU INTERN OF THE DECADE?
Jake Price : Isn’t it obvious? I’m the best. Honestly, I’m not sure why — truly. I know Jtwo has had a lot of great talent walk through their doors over the years. I’m floored, and I humbly accept this prestigious honor. Thinking about it, it definitely helps that they’ve been hearing my voice every time an intern was trained by my JTWO.U videos.
HOW DID YOU EARN THE COVETED TITLE?
JP : Can you believe that 17 people were too emotionally distraught to answer their phones when Justin Jarrett’s name flashed on screen? And if that didn’t scare ‘em off, I know a guy who knows a guy who makes peop— problems disappear.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF WE TOLD YOU THAT YOUR PRIZE FOR BEING NAMED INTERN OF THE DECADE WAS A GIFT CARD TO COSI?
JP : Ah, mi amor — Cosi. They don’t call me ”Mr. Italiano” for nothing. (I always ordered the Italiano sandwich even though it had been off the menu for over a year. I have written to Cosi HQ multiple times about this egregious typographical error.)
A gift card would make me cry. And then smile. And then cry. I live in St. Louis now, where there are no Cosi watering holes. (Don’t worry, though; I separately wrote to Cosi HQ about this issue.) All they have here is Panera. And they don’t even call it Panera. Google it. So, I’d finish crying, buy a ticket to Philly, head to Cosi, spend every last penny I’ve got (I have a job that actually pays me money now) and fly back.
WHAT ABOUT US? NO VISIT?
JP : If I have time, I’ll try to think about considering the possibility of wanting to inquire deep within myself about the truths pertaining to whether I would want to step foot in JTwo as a quick pit stop or not. So, yep, anyways. Back to what I was saying, Cosi — it’d be a classic cry-and-fly.
OKAY, HYPOTHETICALLY, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF WE TOLD YOU THAT THE COSI GIFT CARD EXPIRED AND YOUR REWARD IS BRAGGING RIGHTS INSTEAD?
JP : I quit. Wait, I can’t quit. Hire me, I promise I won’t quit. Also, Mr. Italiano doesn’t exactly do consolation prizes.
OKAY, YOU'RE HIRED.
JP : I quit. Wait, what was my pay?
MOVING ON, TELL US ABOUT YOUR TIME AT JTWO. WHAT WAS IT LIKE? DID YOUR INTERNSHIP HAVE ANY LASTING IMPACT ON YOU?
JP : Excluding the day I was forced to build a desk — punishment for being, like, ten to forty minutes late — I made TONS of great memories in my time as an intern. I discovered parts of myself I didn’t know existed. All jokes aside, I wrote and directed a PSA about relapsing from addiction. It was nominated for an award.
I remember revising and rewriting and showing Justin and Travis what I was working on. I hadn’t dug deep within myself to create something of substance before. It was always easy for me to make comedies. But JTwo pushed me beyond my comfort zone. Originally, I was going to tell this dumb story about how someone got interested in the entertainment industry. It was a light piece, it was fluffy, and it was bland. Thanks to the guidance I received, I found the threads in that story that mattered and used them to make a statement. I created something that to this day I’m so proud of.
WHAT ABOUT SOME OF YOUR LESS “SERIOUS” WORK?
JP : After ‘Relapse’, I began working on ‘Studio Life’ – an ambitious, goofy ”little” project filmed over the course of roughly four months. I could pick out any day of shooting and talk about how hard we made each other laugh, but honestly, for “just some video I was being graded on for an internship program”, it never felt like work — everything I got to do while interning at Jtwo was a labor of love.
STOP, YOU’RE GONNA MAKE US CRY. DON’T READ INTO THIS TOO MUCH, BUT YOU’RE MUCH BETTER AT THE JOKES, STICK TO THAT.
JP : Okay—
AGAIN, WE AREN’T TELLING YOU YOU’RE FUNNY, YOU’RE JUST A LOT WORSE AT THE OTHER STUFF.
JP : I’ll try to work on that? Seems kind of ironic I’m winning your award and you’re insulting me.
JUST KEEPING YOU HUMBLE. NOW, RUMOR HAS IT THAT YOU WERE BULLIED BY THE OFFICE DOGS, NOVA AND GRIFFEY WHILE YOU WERE THERE.TRUE OR FALSE?
JP : I cannot comment due to a non- disclosure agreement but please know I am still receiving counseling. I have said too much. Nova, call me.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO FUTURE INTERNS?
JP : First off, memorize every word your spirit guide tells you. He knows more than you do. Do you have an Intern of the Decade award?
Second, don’t show up thinking you know jack squat. I did. And then found out I didn’t. Be okay with being humble. Then go and make some great videos.
Third, and most important, don’t use your phone while on fire duty. Travis HATES that.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT YOUR FANS TO KNOW? ANY FAVORITE MEMORIES YOU’D LIKE TO REMINISCE?
JP : As a matter of fact, yeah, I do.
I was nearly fired because a rat was eating chocolate in the printer. Yes. This is a true story.
Back when I was an intern, there was a room that had a couple edit bays, a couch (chewed up beyond repair thanks to Nova and Griffey), a printer and a bowl filled with an assortment of those strange flavored Hershey Kisses you have to dig around in the bag to find the good stuff. I’m talking some seriously disgusting flavors like strawberry and candy cane.
So, for a week or so (about midway through my internship), I was just churning out revisions to scripts left and right, showing them to Justin for approval. On one of those fateful days, like any other preceding it, I tried to print. It wouldn’t work. I complained to Justin, Travis and Jelani. I must have asked them to come check out the printer at least five times that afternoon. I was about to take matters into my own hands; these scripts weren’t going to print themselves.
Finally, the guys came in the room as I opened the printer and found a Hershey Kiss lodged in between two spools. It seemed like there were indents, either because it was half eaten or had been shredded up by the printer. I didn’t linger on this for too long. I went to take a dump. Justin and Travis kept joking that I did it. I didn’t. I shrugged it off and went home at the end of the day. They just needed to fix their damn printer for me.
A couple days later, I showed up to work like normal and was subsequently ushered into a side room (let’s call it the non-sound-proofed, glass-walled interrogation chamber). It was just me and Justin. And everybody watching us through the glass. Justin was surprisingly stern. He asked if I sabotaged the printer. Seriously, he was not f***ing around. I was confused. They were still going on about this? I told Justin no. He pressed for an honest answer. He told me that Travis was ready to fire me. Again, I responded ‘no’. Justin said okay and we left the room. I thought that was the end of my interrogation.
Nope. Justin took me to the printer. We opened it up and saw the chocolate still lodged inside. First off, who leaves chocolate in a printer for days on end? Were they scared to touch it? Afraid I was the one who might have taken a bite out of it? Whatever. I digress.
Looking at it again, the chocolate really looked like it had been gnawed at. Travis was about to lose his s**t. Having realized I went from intern to prime suspect, I told them again — this time nervously — that it wasn’t me. I didn’t do myself any favors by (accidentally) sounding guilty.
Then, because I put literally the bare minimum effort into investigating further, I found little chocolate dots — you know, the kind that weren’t chocolate but were actually rat droppings — inside the printer and all along the wall behind it.
We started taking the printer apart to see if there were more and found a truly dumbfounding scattering of those little paper slips that come tucked into every Kiss. It was like someone had set off a Hershey Kiss paper slip confetti cannon in that printer.
All in all, I was almost fired because Ratatouille was eating and s**tting his dessert in the printer. Lesson learned: don’t leave chocolates out next to a printer, JUSTIN.
ACTUALLY IT WAS TRAVIS.
JP : Who f**king cares? That’s it, interview over. I’m moving to Indianapolis. Have a great life. Thanks for the award or whatever. Go f**k yourselves.
