John Goblikon wants to fire his ghostwriter. The problem? He is his ghostwriter

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Set us as preferred Dave Rispoli created John Goblikon to be his own person.The green goblin fronts a metal band, sells life insurance by day and performs comedy by night.

He has his own podcast, his own fans and, as far as he’s concerned, no reason to still keep the ghostwriter around.“No one’s gonna be stoked to find out it’s just a generic white guy from Florida,” Rispoli, 41, said.Goblikon’s origin story begins in the music video “No One Survives” by the goblin metal band Nekrogoblikon.The concept had the goblin going out to a bar, hoping to charm the princess.

Instead, she falls for Prince Charming.When Goblikon witnesses a physical altercation between the couple, he kills Charming in front of his crush.Brandon Dermer, the director of the short, pitched Rispoli the concept and asked him to star in it.“When Dermer’s super excited, he’s talking fast and ideas are coming at you,” Rispoli said.

“He was running me through it, and he got done and I was like, ‘Oh, you want me to play the prince?’”Before Rispoli let the prospect go to his head, Dermer answered “no” and asked him to play the goblin.Dermer handpicked Rispoli because of what he had seen him do in sketch comedy — an ability to physically transform into a new character with ease.“Immediately, I thought of Dave because not only is Dave hysterical and an improv genius, but he’s a great thespian,” Dermer said.“He’s a great actor, and I’ve seen him do dramatic acting.”Since then, Goblikon has become a fully fleshed-out character and the host of the purportedly No.

1 podcast “Right Now With John Goblikon,” a fact Goblikon encouraged me not to double-check.He has his own personality, with some shared interests with Rispoli.He’s hosting variety show “Gobliween” Tuesday at Zanies in Nashville.

He’s also the ...