Renowned comedian Jerry Seinfeld recently shared insights into the world of stand-up comedy, suggesting that even the best comedians can only produce about two hours of quality material throughout their careers.
Modern Stand-up
In an interview with the New Yorker Radio Hour, Seinfeld expressed concerns about the pressure on modern stand-ups to constantly generate new content, which he believes may compromise quality.
I think comedians now try so hard to be all new all the time, I think the quality suffers because none of us are really that good… Chris Rock and I have determined that a great comedian working his ass off his entire career writes two good hours, the rest is…
He also says that he may not produce any more stand-up specials for Netflix beyond his existing two, because he’s pretty careful on what passes his standards. And he says with his age, he doubts he could pull it off.
I won’t put it out there unless I think it’s of a certain quality and I doubt I can get to that in the time I have left, and I don’t like old people. Even though I’m 70, I don’t like old people.
Jerry Seinfeld’s Thoughts on Aging and Stand-Up
As Seinfeld approaches his 70th birthday, he says it’s not actually a big deal for him. Seinfeld remains committed to stand-up comedy, describing it as an “incredible, pure experience.” He draws parallels between stand-up and surfing, basically saying if you’re passionate about something you would never stop doing it.
Stand-up is an incredible, pure experience. Surfing is the great regret of my life that I never really got good at that. I did it for two weeks one time many years ago. But if you were a surfer, you would never stop doing it
However, he acknowledges the physical challenges of aging, humorously remarking that “old people don’t look good” and noting the deterioration that comes with age. Seinfeld, on an interview with GQ Magazine also said that audiences flock towards Seinfeld simply because it’s “genuine”.
Audiences are now flocking to stand-up because it’s something you can’t fake, It’s like platform diving. You could say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see if you are or you aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust it. Everything else is fake.
His First Movie
Age is just a number for Jerry Seinfeld as he still stays active and even made his first movie, called “Unfrosted.” It’s a funny movie about how Pop-Tarts were invented. He talked about what it was like to make a movie for the first time.
He said it was a whole new experience and that the people who make movies are really serious about their work, the whole experience was especially new to him as he jumped into the movie business late into his career. He also notes that the movie business is rapidly changing.
They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea… Film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out, if it was good, we all went to see it. We all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes we liked. Now we’re walking through a fire hose of water, just trying to see.
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