Patton Oswalt’s improvised Star Wars filibuster from a 2013 episode Parks and Recreation is the stuff of nerd legend.
Playing a character who used an old fashioned filibuster to stop a vote by Pawnee’s city council, Oswalt was granted free rein by the show’s creators to go off on whatever topic he wanted to fill the time. What happened next was an eight-minute rant detailing his idea for Star Wars: Episode VII, one that would have used Marvel characters and Greek mythological figures for the biggest crossover event ever in movie history. It was an amazing performance. And a Michigan woman just used it at a real county meeting—and it was for a good cause.
Citizens of Livingston County, Michigan held a “people’s protest” (which we learned about at MLive.com) during a County Board of Commissioners meeting because the council had previously voted to stop airing meetings on local TV. Hoping to each use their full three minutes of allotted speaking time during public comments, the good people of Livingston County talked about things like transparency and why they can’t make every meeting in person.
But after using her first opportunity to talk in detail about hand-lettering (all while holding signs that said things like “we’re watching you”), Bridgett McDowell used her second opportunity to recite Oswalt’s insane filibuster from Parks and Rec.
At a county board meeting in Michigan, resident quotes @pattonoswalt‘s Star Wars filibuster from @parksandrecnbc until her three minutes is up. pic.twitter.com/K5cQvMesRD
— Lauren Gibbons (@LaurenMGibbons) February 26, 2019
Sorry, Patton Oswalt, but hearing her say “please allow me to finish” at a real meeting might be the funniest thing about your filibuster. But don’t worry, because this is now the perfect excuse to watch the full pitch.
Three things we will always watch: the original filibuster, any citizen who quotes it during their own real-life one, and that movie if it ever gets made.
Who can we speak to (and for how long) about that?
Featured Image: NBC
