“The movie business is over”: Jerry Seinfeld’s Devastating Comment Leaves Hollywood Stunned (He’s Right)
Stand-up comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld is popularly known for portraying a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the successful and widely celebrated sitcom Seinfeld. The comedian-actor not only starred in the show but also co-wrote the show with fellow comedian-actor Larry David.
The actor has also been a part of projects, including the reality series The Marriage Ref and Bee Movie, and is also the creator and host of the series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Jerry Seinfeld is regarded as one of the greatest comedians of all time who specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld’s recent comments regarding the movie business have left his fellow co-actors and comedians stunned.
Jerry Seinfeld says ‘disorientation’ has replaced ‘movie business’
Ahead of the release of his directorial debut, Unfrosted, stand-up comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld spoke to GQ about his experience working behind the camera. The actor was asked why he chose to debut as a director with a movie that is going to showcase Kellogg’s and Post Cereal competing with each other to see if they could produce a revolutionary breakfast pastry in 1963. To which he said,
“Because they wouldn’t put me in Mad Men. I love that kind of comedy. I love office comedies. I love stupid people in suits. And it was COVID. I had nothing to do. So I got talked into it. It wasn’t my idea. Seinfeld wasn’t my idea either. I keep getting dragged into things and surrounded by the most amazing people.”
The actor was asked about his experience working on his first movie as a director, to which he said,
“It was totally new to me. I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work. They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.”
The comedian further explained that movies no longer occupy the pinnacle of the social and cultural hierarchy like before. He explained that back in the day, whenever a movie was released, the audience would watch it, discuss it, and quote lines and scenes from it. But now, things have changed, and everyone is trying to walk through a firehose of water, trying to just see it.
Upon asking what, according to him, replaced the movie business, Jerry Seinfeld said, ‘disorientation’, adding that everyone in the show business is asking what they are supposed to do now.
Jerry Seinfeld describes being in stand-up comedy as being a ‘cabinet maker’
The actor, who is all set to make his directorial debut, noted during his conversation with GQ that he has done enough that he has his own thing, which is very valuable to him. Jerry Seinfeld said being in stand-up comedy is like being a cabinet maker, adding that everyone needs a guy who’s good with wood, i.e., someone who is good with his or her craft and craftsmanship.
He mentioned that being a director felt like running a ranch in the West, pointing out that it’s kind of a mess where stand-up is just pure experience, which is why he’s so addicted to it. The interviewer asked the actor who created Seinfeld if the finale of the series bothered him all these years, and he said that it did a little bit.
“I think it’s arrogant to think you could have done something different. You couldn’t. That’s why you did what you did. But me, Jeff Schaffer, and Larry were standing around, talking about TV finales, which we thought were great. I feel Mad Men was the greatest.”
Jerry Seinfeld explained that they all sat down and watched the finale of their series, trying to understand what went wrong, and noted that it was obviously about the final scene. He lastly added that he does not like doing something at a mediocre level.
Unfrosted is scheduled for release on May 3, 2024, on Netflix.
