A Quote by Paul F. Tompkins
There's something strange about comedy requests. I guess if you enjoy something, why not hear it again? But there's something weird about it being live, when the person is there, and asking them, "Hey, do this thing like you did it, but make it seem like you're making it up on the spot.".
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Something you hear a lot is that feminism dead. But if feminism is dead, why do people try so hard to kill it? Something just isn't making sense there. So I think when young women hear like, hey, someone's trying to get something over on me, you know, someone's trying to deliberately keep me away from a movement that could make my life better, I think that really resonates with them.
I like reading for things. I've shown up for jobs before where I haven't read for them, and there's something kind of intimidating about that - where the first words they'll hear from me are when they call "action." There's something about actually going in and earning a part and going, like, "Okay, they really liked what I did, and so I'm on the right track."
When I see something I end up making a song about it and that's the way it is. There have been plenty of times when I've been in the studio and they were like, "Hey, why don't you make a song about such and such," and I just can't. I've gotta have it in my heart.
I think one of the hardest things to do in film or TV is to make something feel real, which is weird because it's about being a person, and life is something that everyone making films and TV can relate to.
The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid, in retrospect I see that that was meaningful, and I felt close to him in that way, but at the time I just thought it was fun to draw, and that's all it was. I think that's what's weird about life and about making art. You have to talk about it later. I guess I should be prepared to talk about it now. That is why I'm here. But again, pass.
I guess the biggest thing I had to get used to was people staring. At first it was like, 'Am I wearing something odd? Is there something on my face?' It was kind of weird because when I go to the grocery store, people, they're not necessarily coming up to me asking for a photo, they just... look at me.
I don't know what would be antithetical to do on the other side, maybe a Tyler Perry movie or something. No, there are very few comedies that live in between that. Or you're doing some kid thing like a Jim Carrey movie with animated something that's like that. Yeah, I've wanted to do them. I like doing them. I did Talk to Me. That was pretty much a comedy.
There's so many variables in comedy. Comedy is not this thing that's a performance like a play. It's really an interaction with every single person in the room. And if there's a weirdness in the room for any people, be it something the comedians did at the top of the set or be it the mixture of the people isn't right, something can go awry. So it's really great to see you proven wrong about someone.
Chefs think about what it's like to make food. Being a scientist in the kitchen is about asking why something works, and how it works.
Distilling is such a strange and arcane art, still. Not quite a science yet, but when someone's making something weird, I like to know about it.
I think there's something to the millennial sentiment of being, like, 'I'm great.' But I think there's also something really amazing and powerful about being, like, 'Oh, hey, I'm awesome.' It's a fine line. But I think it's possible to be both, to not be the most annoying person in the world, to still be very intriguing and fun to watch.
In making a web video series number one, you need to have a script that you think is really funny, and it's true to yourself. I think some people use things as a stepping stone, and they want to please people and show them, "Hey, I can do hip guys in Judd Apatow style," and it's not true to them. If there's something you know about, like motorcycles, do something about motorcycles first. Do something that's really true to yourself and find a voice, and make the script as good as possible.
This is why improvisational music and comedy is so inspiring: You are seeing something being born, and that energy, there is no substitute for. These songs, most of them, are about a minute old when you hear them.
There's something so naked about being on stage as a musician. I think about that even with standup comedy or something - like, 'This is it, this is what I got.'
There's no point in making something if you're not falling in love with the people you're filming and you want them to really enjoy you being around. It would be weird if, when you're making a film, you don't think it's going to be the best ever or the worst ever - I guess it goes from one feeling to another.
You're just trying to be yourself, and for me, playing soccer is being myself. One day, you're one person on a team. The next thing people are asking your opinion about things you're not an expert on. Because they recognize you, they think you must know something about something - which isn't necessarily the case.
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