Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today's Top Comedy Writers (18 page)

On the other hand, the truth is that if you’ve got a group of funny friends and you make videos, these videos will be found. Funny or Die has workers that only look for funny videos. The studios, and the networks, they’re all looking for good comedy. It can easily be found now. So that can only be a good thing.

How would you like your movies to be remembered?

As a kid, I just loved watching the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges and seeing that kind of wild, anarchic craziness. I remember thinking, Oh, my God, someone else gets that feeling! I found that really hopeful. When you’re a kid, you just want to throw bottles against a wall. I would love it if my movies played like that. I would love it if in twenty-five, thirty years there are kids watching these movies on Saturday afternoons, and they can’t believe what they’re seeing. That, to me, would be the best—if these movies had that same kind of anarchic, crazy, head-over-feet kind of quality to them. I think the role of comedy is to break down all those barriers we put around ourselves.

Any last words of advice for those writers who are just starting their careers?

I would say that there are a lot of books out there about how to make it, how to audition, and a lot of these books talk about making connections and networking. It’s all about
who
you know. That’s actually the biggest mistake a lot of people make. It’s really about jumping in and doing it, and just starting to write, starting to make sketches and movies, and just putting them up on the Internet no matter who or where you are. You just have to start doing it—even if you’re not getting paid.

How much of success is just sticking with something? It seems that every comedy writer I know has at least one very funny friend who potentially could have made it as a comedy writer if they had only decided to take—or just stay on—that particular route.

I think most of life is just about the choices you make. I don’t think there are these special, glowing skills people have. If you or I, at age six, decided that we were going to become swimmers, I’m not saying we’d go to the Olympics, but we would have become pretty damn good swimmers. There’s no question that I had friends growing up who were funny as shit. I had a friend who made me laugh harder than anyone. I had another buddy who could have easily been a comedy writer. This guy and I created a fake newsletter in high school that we sent out to fellow students. We created a fake organization; I think it was called Children of the Constitution. It was like an underground newsletter making fun of all of the ass-kissers in our school. He ended up becoming an actuary. Another very funny friend now sells rare books.

All these guys could have made a career out of writing comedy. Part of success is just starting something, working toward a goal, and then living long enough to achieve it.

I suppose that ego also plays a part. Some sense of self-regard that says, I can do this just as well as anyone, so why shouldn’t I give it a try?

For me, it wasn’t a great burst of “I’m funny!” It was a very slow easing into it.

You usually struggle in the dark for years and years. The trick is that if you love it enough you’ll keep going. For people who don’t truly like it, those are the people who usually fade away. Those are usually the ones who say, “I wanna be famous. I want everyone to look at me.” That type of person weeds itself out at a certain point.

Is that a common sentiment you hear from wannabe comedy writers? “I want to be famous”?

It’s the most common mistake out here in Hollywood. The biggest mistake is that people go into comedy solely for the money. It’s just a dead end—always. People will ask me, “How much do you get paid?” Or, even more annoying, I’ll hear, “It’s all about who you know.” That kind of approach. I hear it thousands of times. But it’s not true. There are corporations out here that
want
to make money. If you’re good, they will find you. You could be in North Dakota putting videos on YouTube. If you’re funny, believe me, Funny or Die will find you. It’s not about who you know at all. That only happens once things begin to percolate, and that happens naturally.

There are two kinds of people in comedy: those who just really love doing it, which is how my group sort of started. We just loved doing it. We weren’t making any money. We would have kept on doing it as long as we could have gotten away with it. I’d still be doing it in Chicago. I’d be teaching improv; I’d be making twenty-four thousand dollars a year. It was never about any kind of money or fame or success. We just loved doing it. And then there’s the type of person who gets into comedy thinking, I’m going to make it. I’m going to break big! And that is not the attitude to have. There are some people who can have that attitude and still make it, of course, but most won’t.

I heard [the basketball player] Kobe Bryant talking the other day about NBA players who love the game versus those players who love the lifestyle the game brings to them. And Kobe felt that that was what separated the great players from the okay players. Athletes who really love to play are the ones who do well, and the athletes who kind of like it, but really want to be successful, well, that’s a much harder road to go down. So you just have to make sure you really love it. I think that holds true for most professions, including writing humor.

More than anything, though, I’ve found through the years that a lot of people try and set rules when it comes to comedy. The second you start believing that, you are fucked. They say, “
This
is the way it is.” But these are just general guidelines. The whole basis of comedy is surprise and shock. It has to be. So take all of the rules I just gave you and ignore them. Create comedy that breaks all of the rules. In the end, that’s the most exciting stuff. So, yeah, my last words of advice would be, “Fuck me.”

Here’s a list of movies that I find funny and that I think every comedy writer should see. Some of these movies will be obvious (
Airplane!
), others curious (
Eyes Wide Shut
), but it’s a personal list, so I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve learned a lot from watching movies over the years—when it comes to both writing and acting—and I’ve found that these films, in particular, were the most influential. I tried to keep the list to movies that can easily be found on Netflix and the like. Enjoy!

9 to 5
(1980)

1941
(1979)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
(1948)

Ace in the Hole
(1951)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
(1988)

After Hours
(1985)

Airplane!
(1980)

Amarcord
(1973)

American Graffiti
(1973)

An American in Paris
(1951)

Animal Crackers
(1930)

Annie Hall
(1977)

The Apartment
(1960)

Army of Darkness
(1992)

Arsenic and Old Lace
(1944)

Back to the Future
(1985)

The Bad News Bears
(1976)

Bananas
(1971)

The Band Wagon
(1953)

The Bank Dick
(1940)

Barton Fink
(1991)

Beetlejuice
(1988)

Being There
(1979)

Best in Show
(2000)

Better Off Dead
(1985)

Big Deal on Madonna Street
(1958)

The Big Lebowski
(1998)

The Birdcage
(1996)

Blazing Saddles
(1974)

The Blues Brothers
(1980)

Boogie Nights
(1997)

Born Yesterday
(1950)

Bottle Rocket
(1996)

Boudu Saved from Drowning
(1932)

Brazil
(1985)

Broadway Danny Rose
(1984)

Bullets Over Broadway
(1994)

The ’Burbs
(1989)

Cabin in the Sky
(1943)

Caddyshack
(1980)

Catch-22
(1970)

The Circus
(1928)

City Lights
(1931)

A Clockwork Orange
(1971)

Closely Watched Trains
(1966)

The Cocoanuts
(1929)

Coming to America
(1988)

The Court Jester
(1956)

Crimes and Misdemeanors
(1989)

Dames
(1934)

A Day at the Races
(1937)

Dazed and Confused
(1993)

Design for Living
(1933)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
(1988)

Down by Law
(1986)

Dr. Strangelove
(1964)

Drag Me to Hell
(2009)

Duck Soup
(1933)

Ed Wood
(1994)

Election
(1999)

The Evil Dead
(1981)

Evil Dead 2
(1987)

Eyes Wide Shut
(1999)

Fargo
(1996)

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
(1986)

The Fireman’s Ball
(1967)

A Fish Called Wanda
(1988)

The Foot Fist Way
(2006)

The Fortune
(1975)

Four Lions
(2010)

Gates of Heaven
(1978)

The General
(1926)

Get Shorty
(1995)

Ghostbusters
(1984)

The Gold Rush
(1925)

Good Morning
(1959

The Goonies
(1985)

The Graduate
(1967)

Grand Illusion
(1937)

The Great Race
(1965)

The Groove Tube
(1974)

Groundhog Day
(1993)

Hail the Conquering Hero
(1944)

Heaven Can Wait
(1943)

His Girl Friday
(1940)

Horse Feathers
(1932)

The Hudsucker Proxy
(1994)

I Vitelloni
(1953)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand
(1978)

I’m Gonna Git You Sucka
(1988)

The Incredibles
(2004)

It Happened One Night
(1934)

It’s a Gift
(1934)

It’s Always Fair Weather
(1955)

The Jerk
(1979)

Jules and Jim
(1962)

The Kentucky Fried Movie
(1977)

The King of Comedy
(1983)

Kung Fu Hustle
(2004)

L’Atalante
(1934)

The Ladykillers
(1955)

The Last Detail
(1973)

The Lavender Hill Mob
(1951)

Let It Ride
(1989)

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
(2004)

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
(1943)

Little Murders
(1971)

Lolita
(1962)

The Long Goodbye
(1973)

Lost in America
(1985)

Love and Death
(1975)

Loves of a Blonde
(1965)

M*A*S*H
(1970)

The Man in the White Suit
(1951)

The Man with Two Brains
(1983)

A Matter of Life and Death
(1946)

The Merry Widow
(1934)

Midnight Run
(1988)

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
(1944)

Modern Romance
(1981)

Mon Oncle
(1958)

Monkey Business
(1931)

Monsters, Inc.
(2001)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(1975)

Monty Python’s Life of Brian
(1979)

Mr. Hulot’s Holiday
(1953)

Mr. Mom
(1983)

Mystery Train
(1989)

The Naked Gun
(1988)

Nashville
(1975)

National Lampoon’s Animal House
(1978)

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
(1941)

A Night at the Opera
(1935)

Noises Off
(1992)

One, Two, Three
(1961)

Orgazmo
(1997)

Our Hospitality
(1923)

Out of Sight
(1998)

The Palm Beach Story
(1942)

Parenthood
(1989)

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
(1985)

Play Time
(1967)

The Player
(1992)

The Princess Bride
(1987)

The Producers
(1968)

Punch-Drunk Love
(2002)

Radio Days
(1987)

Raising Arizona
(1987)

Real Life
(1979)

The Royal Tenenbaums
(2001)

Ruggles of Red Gap
(1935)

Rushmore
(1998)

Safe Men
(1998)

Salesman
(1968)

Schizopolis
(1996)

A Serious Man
(2009)

Shaolin Soccer
(2001)

Shaun of the Dead
(2004)

Sherlock Jr.
(1924)

Shoot the Piano Player
(1960)

The Shop Around the Corner
(1940)

Short Cuts
(1993)

Singin’ in the Rain
(1952)

Sixteen Candles
(1984)

Songs from the Second Floor
(2000)

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
(1999)

The Squid and the Whale
(2005)

Stranger Than Paradise
(1984)

Stripes
(1981)

Sullivan’s Travels
(1941)

Take the Money and Run
(1969)

Talladega Nights
(2006)

Team America
(2004)

This Is Spinal Tap
(1984)

Three Amigos!
(1986)

Time Bandits
(1981)

To Be or Not to Be
(1942)

Toy Story
(1995)

Toy Story 2
(1999)

Toy Story 3
(2010)

Trading Places
(1983)

Trouble in Paradise
(1932)

Twentieth Century
(1934)

Unfaithfully Yours
(1948)

Up
(2009)

Used Cars
(1980)

Vernon, Florida
(1981)

Waiting for Guffman
(1997)

A Wedding
(1978)

Wet Hot American Summer
(2001)

What’s Up, Doc?
(1972)

What’s Up Tiger Lily?
(1966)

The White Sheik
(1952)

Withnail and I
(1987)

You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man
(1939)

You Can’t Take It with You
(1938)

You the Living
(2007)

Young Frankenstein
(1974)

Zelig
(1983)

Zero for Conduct
(1933)