And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on their Craft

544 Pages·2009·3.28 MB·English

by  Mike Sacks

AND HERE'S THE
KICKER
CONVERSATIONS WITH 25 TOP
HUMOR WRITERS ON THEIR CRAFT
EXTENDED EDITION
MIKE SACKS
And Here's the Kicker. © 2009 by Mike Sacks. Manufactured in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
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All interview introductions by Mike Sacks and Eric Spitznagel.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sacks, Mike.
And here's the kicker : conversations with 21 top humor writers on their craft / by Mike Sacks.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-58297-505-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 13: 978-1-58297-988-5 (EPUB)
1. Wit and humor — Authorship. 2. Comedy — Authorship. 3. Humorists, American — Interviews. I. Title.
PN6149.A88S23 2009
808.7 — dc22
2008045611
Edited by Lauren Mosko
Designed by Claudean Wheeler
Cover and Illustrations by Tae Won Yu
Production coordinated by Mark Griffin
DEDICATION
For Kate and Daphne
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A hearty thank-you to …
My parents
Ellie and John
Shimmy
To each and every one of the writers — you know who you are (hopefully)
Lauren Mosko, for the complete edit and for her kind ways
S.P. Nix, for his top-notch copyediting, fact-checking, and line-editing skills
Eric Spitznagel, for his tremendous contributions to all of the introductions
Sharon Festinger, Holly Morris, Adam Nadler, and Alana Quirk, for their
superior editing skills
Tae Won Yu, for his design and illustrations
Gabe Sanders, Amelia Kahaney, and Ezra
Ted Travelstead and Julie Wright and Skittles
Steve Wilson and Erin Mayes
Austin Merrill and Gina Rhodes
Connell Barrett
Jason Eaton, Todd Jackson, and Ian Lendler
Laura Griffin, Scott Jacobson, Todd Levin, Jason Roeder, John Warner, and
Teddy Wayne
Jason Cronic
Merrill M.
David S.
Table of Contents
Foreword, by Adam McKay
Afterword to the First Foreword, by Jim Windolf
Introduction
BUCK HENRY (Get Smart, The Graduate, Catch-22, To Die For)
STEPHEN MERCHANT (The Office, Extras)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part One:
Getting Hired as a Sitcom Writer
HAROLD RAMIS (National Lampoon's Animal House, Caddyshack,
Groundhog Day)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Two:
Getting Humor Published in Magazines
DAN MAZER (Da Ali G Show, Borat, Bruno)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Three:
Finding a Literary Agent for Your Humor Book Idea
MERRILL MARKOE (Late Night with David Letterman)
PAUL FEIG (Freaks and Geeks, Kick Me, Superstud)
IRVING BRECHER (The Wizard of Oz, At the Circus, Go West, Meet
Me in St. Louis)
BOB ODENKIRK (The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show with Bob and David)
TODD HANSON (The Onion)
MARSHALL BRICKMAN (The Tonight Show, Annie Hall,
Manhattan, The Muppet Show)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Four:
Getting Your Humor Piece Published in The New Yorker
MITCH HURWITZ (Arrested Development)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Five:
Acquiring an Agent or Manager for Your Script
DAVID SEDARIS (Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day)
GEORGE MEYER (Army Man, The Simpsons)
AL JAFFEE (Mad's Fold-In, “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions”)
ALLISON SILVERMAN (The Daily Show, Late Night with Conan
O'Brien, The Colbert Report)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Six:
Getting a Job as a Writer for Late-Night Television
ROBERT SMIGEL (Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan
O'Brien, “TV Funhouse”)
DAVE BARRY (Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex)
DICK CAVETT (The Tonight Show, The Dick Cavett Show)
LARRY WILMORE (In Living Color, The Bernie Mac Show, The
Daily Show, The Office)
JACK HANDEY (Saturday Night Live, The New Yorker)
LARRY GELBART (Caesar's Hour, M*A*S*H, Tootsie)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Seven:
Getting Your Comic Book or Graphic Novel Published
ROZ CHAST (The New Yorker)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Eight:
Getting a Book of Humor Published
DANIEL HANDLER (A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Quick and Painless Advice for the Aspiring Humor Writer, Part Nine:
Selling Your Movie Script to a Studio Executive
BRUCE JAY FRIEDMAN (Stir Crazy, Splash)
DANIEL CLOWES (Ghost World, Esquire, New York Times Magazine)
Canned Laughter: A History Reconstructed
Recommended Reading
Foreword
by Adam McKay
There are a few ways that you, the reader, have come to this book. Either you
hope to someday write comedy professionally and want to see how the “masters”
do it, or you are a comedy fan and want to read some funny stories from funny
people. Or you are friends with someone interviewed within, or maybe you even
hate someone within and want to see if they come off as much like an asshole in
print as they do in real life. Or you work for the FBI or CIA and are forced to
scan books for potentially inciting or dangerous content. Then there are those of
you who are trapped in a flood or hurricane and the only book that is within
reach is this one. So, you read this book not so much for its content but for its
affirmation that human interaction is possible even as the water rises and your
faith erodes. Lastly, there are probably one or two people out there who are
mentally ill or under the influence of methamphetamine and are using this book
as a bible to decipher the signs of the impending end-time — or “Ragnarok,” as
it's referred to in Norse mythology.
Only you, and you alone, know which of these paths have led you to hold this
book at this very exact moment. And yet, no matter the reason, I encourage you
to take a deep breath to give thanks for the knowledge you are about to receive.
Each of the writers interviewed here has devoted his or her life to making people
laugh or smile. Some call these people “comedy writers” or “humorists” or,
within the business itself, “guffaw generators.” My twin and I call them “chaba
honloos.” In general, and in the United States in particular, comedy writers are
not usually met with a great deal of legitimate literary respect. They are admired
for making a living on their wits, or even praised for their earning power, but
unless a writer's work appears on the pages of The New Yorker — which, in
fairness, a few of the individuals within have — or drifts into the realm of
“satire,” accolades are rare and celebrity almost nonexistent.
Why is this, you ask? The answer might be that this genre of writing needs to
provoke a bodily response: a laugh. As we all know, the body and all of its
emissions (fluids, sounds, gases, the occasional kidney stone) have never
officially made the domain of “high art.” They exist on the periphery. And yet,
interesting and subversive voices have always come from that murky area far
beyond the world of “high-end” literary circles. Case in point: George Meyer,
Bob Odenkirk, and Buck Henry are dirtbags by Paris Review standards. But I
would argue that The Simpsons, Mr. Show, and To Die For are all works that
understand our culture and its narcissistic obsession with fame, greed, and other
weighty matters better than — or as well as — anything written by Martin Amis
or Jonathan Franzen.
(Note: In order to make that last statement, I am depending heavily on the fact
that Mr. Amis and Mr. Franzen will never be within five miles of this book. If by
some freakish chance either of you is reading these words, I am terribly sorry.
You are literary titans. I made that previous and ridiculous claim because I'm
writing for the riffraff, and I hope to see you both at Elaine's on Tuesday! Good
cheer, chums!)
So, if you're reading this book to find out “how they do it,” you've come to the
right place. There are five or six pie charts, three or four formulas, and one dance
mat that will show you precisely where to place your feet and hands. More
important, look at this book as an invitation to see some great writers finally put
on a three-piece suit and load up a cigarette case and then try their damndest to
provoke a bodily response. Again, hopefully a laugh — and not bloody urine to
signify a kidney stone.
Adam McKay is a writer and director of movies such as Anchorman, Talladega
Nights, and Step Brothers. He was head writer of Saturday Night Live from
1996 to 1999, and a founding member of the improv-and sketch-comedy group
Upright Citizens Brigade. He started the Web site Funny or Die with Will Ferrell
and Chris Henchy and is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post.