Louis CK Is The Greatest Standup

23:09Dana Carvey:He's funny, too. He's casually, as a throwaway, go, well, Louie's the greatest stand-up. That's nice. I'm just telling you. You hear that a lot? It's fun to hear. Well, it feels good to hear that. Does it? Okay. Because I don't want it to come off like Merv Griffin or something. I respect that guy. He's good. He's really good. No, he just said it like it was just a fact. Like it's given. I don't know that we can talk about that, but it is sort of interesting, that story. I know you've told a lot. You can pitch your side. Well, you started being honest on stage. Yeah. And then it just went from there.

23:37Well, I want to say, though, about your show, the Dana Carvey show. Taco Bell, Dana Carvey. Taco Bell, sometimes the Mountain Dew Dana Carvey show. Sometimes. The Empire Szechuan. After Taco Bell Bell.

23:48Dana Carvey:We talked about, yeah, Jimmy Kimmel, we were losing everybody. I think actually the press was reporting that we were losing sponsors, even though we engineered it that way. We got PepsiCo to sponsor the show, and we asked them to put a different one of their brands on every week. So we were shifting. It was our idea. But the press was like, oh, I guess Taco Bell bailed. No, we switched on purpose. We had it planned. But the idea was to get a parent company that would let us have a different sponsor every week. um but anyway for me i was very young i was way in over my head for the job that i was the head writer of the show i don't think and i had no idea how to stressful it was so stress it was the most stressful time in my life in my 58 years a prime time show i'm sorry that was the most stressful job i ever had but and i was all of that stress melts away i'm left with a massive education i I got from it.

24:46Yeah. But working with you was a big deal for me. You were legendary. How old were you when we did the show?

24:54Dana Carvey:61. No. I was 40. Isn't that funny that we're... 41? We were younger than all of us. We were way younger. 40 is another light years for me. Oh, yeah. And you were the... But I loved working with you because you were... You had this great, deep, traditional background of comedy, and you were a purebred. You're just a Hall of Fame guy. You're great at what you do. Thank you. And you still are. Are we recording? Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to make sure. We just found a clip. Go ahead. So good. And you're very kind, and you were very generous with sharing your history and stories about where you'd been.

25:36And I remember one time, because I was still doing stand-up when I was on that show. Yeah. And I did my second shot on the Letterman show. And I just sort of left work and ran over and did Letterman. And I came back to work. And the next day you said, weren't you on Letterman last night? And I was like, yes, sir. Like I was just sort of like a guy that works there. Weren't you on the David Letterman show last night? And I said, yeah. And how did it go? And I said, it was good. And so you said, I want to see it. and you went and got someone to get a tape of it. And he and I sat in the office, just the two of us.

26:13Oh, and you watched it together? And he watched. He said, I want to watch it. And he watched, we watched it. And I was proud of the set. Sure. And Dana stood next to the TV and he pointed at the TV afterwards. And he said, do you understand that when I was out there doing what you're doing, being a stand-up, and if you had a set like that back in whatever, the 70s or 80s? Yeah, superstar. You would have been a huge never-to-look-back-again star. Like a Kinesan. You'd be everything. You'd walk everywhere. You'd walk in. They'd give you a standing ovation. You'd be the next guy. So I was right. Well, it took a long time.

26:50It took a long time. It took a decade. Which is okay. It's actually better that way. But anyway, that just meant so much to me.

26:56Dana Carvey:Well, I'm glad to hear that. It's true. Those are building blocks at that point. That's a very nice story. I learned a lot from you. I quote things you told me. I once pitched a joke to him. It was when we were doing my favorite bit we ever did on the show, which was Tom Brokaw recording several versions of Richard Nixon's - One of the best sketches. I was just in it. Oh, Gerald Ford, yes. Gerald Ford is dead tonight. He was attacked by a circus lion in a convenience store. So that was the joke. Oh, that was the - The joke was he was - Preparing in case he died. Yeah. Yes, in case he died. All the contingencies.

27:33Did you cover every fossil one I could throw up? Yes. Yes. So Gerald Ford died today. He was mauled to death by a mountain lion in a convenience store. And so we did it in the first take. In the second take, I approached the desk and said to him, just put a pause between mountain lion and in a convenience store. That was a good note. And he did it, and it got two laughs. Yeah, I love it. And I'm just sitting back there. I'm just doing my job. data goes like this to me and brings me over and he goes you bought me an extra laugh do you understand how powerful it is you bought me an extra laugh that's big you're valuable that was meaningful to me and i say i repeat that to young comics all the time about timing and about the

28:18Dana Carvey:class of the moment everything i like i do like helping younger comedians i enjoy it i mean with Carell and Colbert, you know, same kind of thing. They were such gentlemen, married. They're kind of conservative in that way. They were, yeah. In their real lives. Yes. And so sweet and earnest and then obviously so talented. I also loved Heather Morgan. I loved her. Oh, she was so good. She was strange and enigmatic. I put her in a movie after we did that show. And I loved her. I don't know where she is now, but she was like a groundling person. The groundlings. She was so funny. So talented. Was it Pat Nixon in a cell or something?

28:58So her thing we did was first ladies as dogs. Yes, that's right. I think you can see it on YouTube or whatever, but it's her dresses. Who's not biting on that skin? Dresses, different first ladies. All the first ladies, but then she would find a dog that they were like, and she'd do them as dogs, and it was fucking genius. Brilliant. You know what's funny you're saying about that double laugh? I mean, Nate Bregazzi comes to mind, but when you're watching and you have an audience that's really in your vibe and they're laughing at setups, like you're getting extra stuff on your way to your big part.

29:32Yeah. It's great. When you get a good crowd and you're on your game, there's nothing like a joke turning into three. That's right. And then some tags. Tags are tricky to me. It's different. Tags are different. Because tags are, they're like extra farts. They're just like, you know what I mean? just it's just a little extra how much more how much more can we fart this out until the audience and some some audiences you can't fart that much no you can't because they they they barely buy the punchline yes and you go here's right i used to have nine tags i'm bailing right now because they didn't buy this part no right and and sometimes it's like when muhammad ali punched out george foreman uh he there's this incredible one punch and george starts falling and he and he had the next punch cocked but he never threw it that's right so he knew he's going down he watched it go down yeah but he and he kept it because otherwise he would have it would have been like tags yeah but I like a thing I've been doing on stage recently I'm on tour again now is there it's almost like a pre tag it's like they haven't laughed yet but I'm going to stop here or like this is a bad idea to say this so I'm going to say it and then stop talking it's interesting if you say something and let an example I'll give you an example which is the hardest part of every show I do and And I don't know, whatever.

30:52It'll be out there. I don't care. I'm talking about the hard, what's the worst thing that can happen to you? Like it's a subject about what's the worst thing.

31:00Dana Carvey:It's such a Louis C.K. premise. Right. What's the worst thing? Yeah. But it's already funny. So, well, because it's somebody that told me always prepare for the worst. Right. Which means you have to first decide what's the worst. What's the worst. Yeah. And so the bit I had been doing was that for me it's about it would be getting somebody be torturing my balls and it's a long bit that i'm not going to repeat here about ball torture and it's all easy laughs it's just huge daniel craig had it in casino royale i believe seated in the chair naked and yeah the ball just all ball just jokes about ball torture yeah and but one night i was doing it and i said i'm about to say for me the worst would be someone torturing my balls and i and i just said for me the worst well besides one of my daughters dying and having to tell the other one that she's dead.

31:50Yes. And then I just stopped talking. And the place just went, ugh. Yeah. And I just waited. And there's whispering. And awkwardness. One guy shrieks laughing. And everyone looks at him. And I'm just watching the room change. Awkward laugh, yeah. I'm just watching the room change. This is high wire shit, man. It's so interesting to watch a room change like that. And then... Go, okay, you done? All right, now the ball stuff. And it still kills. It doesn't hurt. The ball stuff is just the ball stuff. We all forget it happened. But there's a moment in there. This pause is the more interesting part.

32:29It's really something, something.

32:31Dana Carvey:I've done charity events where right before me is a terminal patient in a wheelchair. Yeah. And I thought, oh, man, it's over. Yeah. And they need the release. Of course they do. So bad when I go up that it's actually, you know. Well, because you live in the world with that. So it's like if you're being funny, you live in the world where people get hurt and where there's tragedy. It's all in the same world. So if you toss the salad a little bit more and let these things be next to each other more. Are you kind of, I mean, I don't know where you're, it just seems like, are you even more playful with the form?

33:08Dana Carvey:Yes. Because you already broke it in the early knots. There are so many things we don't have to talk about that nobody had ever talked about and made it work. like the guy who makes the latte and you walk away and that word comes in your head. That's right, yeah. Like, I watched that in awe. Like, how did he land this? How did you make it okay? So you broke all that. So now it seems like you're a Svengali with stand-up and playful with it because you already have your iconic... So is it more fun in a way to dance outside the lines? So it's the more you do it, the more the spectrum grows of what you can see is possible.

33:46And as long as you keep trying, as long as you're willing to be uncomfortable, as long as you're willing to have discomfort in the room. So if you always go for what you know works, that's going to get narrower. Till one day you're going to go like, I can't do this. You're bored. That's my act. Go ahead.

34:00Dana Carvey:It's natural. If I have a second of silence, I go, I'm not going to do it. Well, also. One second. One second of silence. Well, also, you've got trained audiences. is sometimes they yell out when I have a pause. And it's the toughest thing because you want those things you're trying or you want to just, you need two beats, not just one, you need two before something. And they get in there and you're like, That's the worst. Because when you feel that, it makes you go faster. Yeah, and that throws it off. But that's the, like I had a young guy open for me, Dan Dosimo. Very funny young kid who I saw on TikTok.

34:39Okay. And wanted to, it's the only thing I look at in these apps is stand-up because I don't know everybody out there anymore. And I saw this new voice. I'd never heard of him before. And he's from Chicago. And I was going there to play the Chicago Theater. It was actually just a couple weeks ago. So I asked him, come do five minutes at the top of the show. And it's interesting to take a guy who's just really a beginner and make him open to 3 ,500 seats in a major concert. So I watched all of his sets. And I gave him a challenge. I said, do a different set every night. You're doing three sets.

35:10three nights and he said i'll do it god to work with louis my shit is fucking bad so first show he's really killed i said great show me something else tomorrow second show second show he did 10 minutes killed second third show i said you're only doing five and i and again i want it different and the crowd was tougher the third show and i saw him and i saw him go up there like this has been going great and i saw him go whoops and then right before the end he went to a bit i'd seen before. And so... Did you spank him? I can't... You look so hopeful. Was he grounded during your set?

35:50Dana Carvey:Did you spank him? Well, sometimes, you know, if you say something really softly... That would have been a good character for you, a guy who always goes there with every information. Did you spank him? With very little energy toward it. Did you spank him? Yeah, the did you spank him guy. In case you're into it too, did you spank him? Yeah. You did? Yeah. What's my catchphrase? But I'm fascinated you're up there. Oh, so let me just finish with Dan. So I asked him what happened. Why did you go to a - Good question. He said there was a moment I felt the energy drop. I felt, oh, and you're here, you're watching, it's high pressure.

36:26I said that moment is everything. That panic. Getting past that panic without servicing it by doing something safe is going to be your whole thing. thing is if you can get past it and go i'm still gonna do something that's not necessarily a great idea because this big guy big guy's watching me asshole yeah fuck him i gotta do this thing it's important to me yeah that's gonna make all the difference for you i one thing i found out about

36:57Dana Carvey:myself is i'm just completely different in a small room because i can do one man sketches i do the world's first sociopath in ancient times you know hey where's steve i don't know what's that arm coming out of the ground it's steve i hit him with a rock am i weird i don't know there's only 39 of us on the planet so you might want to tamp that down well sometimes i leave the tent at night and i scratch myself with bushes oh that's strange you're weird aren't you so i can't do that in 3 000 seats or a corporate date but in a small room and then what happens to me if the audience is not laughing yeah i love it because i'm doing something i'm doing you mean in a small room yeah because i can sense i see them not laughing and i'm doing the most ridiculous thing and that makes me laugh but this is you know 50 years in you know yeah it's so funny when they don't laugh it's hilarious when they don't laugh yeah it's fucking it's the only funny thing in the world is an un-laughing audience.

37:57It's the greatest. It's hysterically funny. Louis C.K. plays the silence. Oh, it's so funny. Throws a party at the hotel. When you do a thing and they're just sitting there, you're just like, that's the best.

38:07Dana Carvey:But you're doing it unfamous, all this stuff, and then you're doing it famous. Yeah. Yeah, on purpose. You know, Dennis Miller, you know, and we love. Yes. So was my favorite still as one of the top guys out there. No doubt. He's such a wordsmith, and so I was opening for him. Great. And he saw me and says, why don't you come on the road same thing it's like a huge deal so i do it and then uh he goes you're from when he saw me i had done different stuff and he goes what happened and i go oh he goes where were the was the stuff i saw and i go well i had done a couple road gigs that i wasn't killing and they said you gotta some of your stuff is a little weird and so i tweaked it to think it would be stuff that would do better and he's like jesus dude he goes i liked you for that yeah he goes do that he was he goes fuck that go back to that and if it doesn't work then you're not supposed to be a stand-up but don't try to second guess it that's very good advice he goes because this isn't making you laugh no that was the greatest i was like yeah and he's like just whatever you were doing whatever your thought process was just keep doing those type of jokes and if they don't work then it's just not working but that's the stuff that i like yeah and if you can get through that like you say you push through it it somehow catches on it was such a great observation from advice because you could then you're yourself and audiences come with expectations but they they drop them in a hot second when they see you doing something interesting they go well i want to hear some jokes and then they see you being like well i don't know what that guy's doing but i'm in i'm in a weird joke where you don't get it i always go like what is what is this guy doing well the thing is there's so much potential in a moment on stage the beside beyond the one laugh that if you don't get if if you're willing if you can detach emotionally or you don't put your ego in it right that's the the most dangerous thing for a comic is like i don't like the way i feel when they're not laughing yeah because it's like being a scientist and you put in some whatever and then it doesn't, and you go, wait, but why isn't it changing into ammonia?

40:20Like you should just be studying what happens. And for me, like if I put something out there that confuses them or upsets them, I've just changed the chemistry in the room. That means I have a whole bunch of other things I can do now that are beyond that moment. Different laughs, laughs that feel different because they came after discomfort or after confusion. Yeah. Instead of just like, you know. I've been at this 50 years. I feel like I'm in a comedy school. You should go to a master's class.

40:48Dana Carvey:But that's amazing. I'm really curious of the first time you leapt to a giant room. Did you have to fight harder for being this authentic in each moment? Because Louis C.K.'s here. The big, big rooms, well. The first early big rooms. It's pretty quiet for 10 minutes when there's 20 ,000. Are you talking like a Madison Square Garden? It takes longer. You mean really big rooms. Really, really well. Well, whatever the first room where you're a little intimidated, like maybe you had to try a little harder to be your author. Well, the very first time I did a theater was I opened for Jerry Seinfeld when I was 19.

41:23And I got to open for him in a club in Boston, and he liked me. So he took me to some like thousand seat theaters. It was before he had his show, but he was already a big deal. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he took me to like five gigs, and a huge education for me. Yeah, Jerry's something else.

41:40Dana Carvey:Yes. He's a guy to study. As far as a writer, can I give you this one, Jerry Seinfeld thing I love to do? He has a new album out. It's an LP. Yeah. And it's called Paperclips Why? Sorry, I just like that joke. I don't know why. I did it for Jerry. Paperclips Why? With a big smile. Anyway, so go ahead. So you're - Do you have to work on pauses and stuff if it's a big, big room? Yeah, so I learned this from Jerry. So I opened for him, and I'm just a 19-year-old, been doing comedy for like two years. or one almost. And I'm just doing my stuff. And it was the 80s and there was more, there was people used to talk about applause breaks back then, you know, it was a thing then.

42:22That's what you wanted, yeah.

42:23Dana Carvey:So there was like people, if they really liked a joke, they would just, they'd take a long break of applause. And I was like, what the fuck am I supposed to do? I'm standing there and they're applauding. They've shut down my show. There's nothing to do. I love the physicality. Yeah, it's just like, what do I bow? Yeah, it's like three minutes into the set. So I asked Jerry, what do I do? And he said, stay in the bit. Stay in the moments. Keep inhabiting the moment that got you that applause. If you're angry and the bit is about anger and they're applauding, just stay in that. Stay in that and carry it to the next moment.

42:59It's still the bit in their heads, too. They're like, you don't just drop it. No. And I think about that now because a lot of the bits I'm doing in this tour are more about a feeling than words. They're more about conveying a ridiculous emotion, but it's real to me. So I keep, when they get, they're laughing, and I look at them sometimes like, why are you laughing at this? And that, if you stick with it, you see it, you feel it starts to actually rise. The laughter starts to turn into, and you can feel it changing and stuff.

43:33Dana Carvey:And it's because of your attitude informing it, your body language? Yeah, because you're still in it. You don't just go like, anyway, that's that. A lot of comedians have a habit of dropping their eyes down to their feet between bits. Anyway. I've got it. Sometimes I have a yellow pad and I have my stuff and I just write, stay there. That's great. And for me, if I'm, let's just say I'm doing Joe Biden or something, just stay there. If they love it, it'll be 15 minutes. That's right. Doesn't matter. That's my new idea in my head is when I'm in a bit, I want to be thinking, this is what I came here to talk about.

44:05Right. This one. Yeah.

44:07Dana Carvey:Yeah. I'm just here. This is it. So that's in the big rooms, because some of the bigger ones, it feels like you have to pump a lot of gas into the room before you can light it. And there's a lag. But if you keep your timing and you keep your... They find you. What's that? They find your timing. They do, because also you think you're 3 ,500 against one. But they each think they're one-to-one. Yeah. So you have to know that your perception is distorted. Yeah, people used to say, how is it going on TV with 20 million people watching? I go, it's probably two at a time. Yes, and they're all watching one guy.

44:47And they're just in a room with two people. It's not that big of a deal.

44:50Dana Carvey:On SNL, you're just trying to get that audience to laugh. You're not always cognizant. One thing I found interesting watching you over the years is that you do have a toolkit. You have a lot of physicality. You do a lot of act-outs. You have certain voices that you'll use. And you also have, which everyone has is some, you have a certain occasionally, you'll just let out a big smile and a big laugh. Sure. And I talked with Jerry about that, that all the greats have that moment to signal to the audience or to actually just let out release. Yes. But you have a lot of little moves you do that are Louis C.K.

45:26Dana Carvey:moves that are little act outs. Are you aware of these? Some of them I would try to get rid of. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Just change. Yeah. Like I have a voice I try to get off of. I have a voice that when I hear it, I go get out. What is it? Is it sort of. It's this guy. That guy. Yeah. And he's trying to explain and he starts cracking because he doesn't think you're getting it. And he's really upset. But inside he's going like, what are you doing? Stop it. So and maybe it's an age thing. I'm trying to be this guy. Open the throat. I go on with hot tea. I open my throat. yeah i'm talking like this and i'm talking yeah i'm a human being and i'm talking yes in the moment right i'm not chasing a moment or running away from one i'm in it and if i start to feel like i'm chasing i go okay okay all right get back into it take a second anything i got a question about your it's interesting ticket master thing when did you go from i always thought it was so interesting you've got to be the first guy to do it where you sort of everything's run from louis ck everything's run from emails it just you didn't need anyone after a while right and did did you get any blowback from ticket places or would you say no more ticket master i'm just gonna well it was back when the first thing i did was sell my own special on my website oh that was a big deal because i was doing a special each year i was filling uh theaters i was i was only doing stand at the time and um i was loving it it was like the height for me and i could do two hours it was crazy and uh and i could fill any place i asked to play and i saw so i wanted to do a special and no one was doing them sometimes that happened back then there was no netflix then and hbo had quit it they were just like we don't like a lag yeah you don't want to go to comedy so you don't want to go to something too small no and it was there was nothing around and i thought well i'm i'm one of the top guys like it's i'm some people's favorite yeah so like whatever i'm in the alds i'm in the division league series fair yeah yeah statement and uh so uh how do i use that leverage uh well what would happen if i sold it myself what if i created a whole a store for one product and sold this thing by myself.

47:46And I got, I hired some guys that do that. And they interviewed me about how I wanted the store to look. And I thought about all the things I hated about shopping for things, like having to put in all your address and make them your best friend. I said, just tell them they can buy it and they'll never hear from me again. And just drop your email if you want to hear from me, you know? And so I did it and it made a shit ton of money right away. And then I had all these emails. And so I was able to, when I toured, I was able to blast out and sell tickets. And then I started looking at things like Ticketmaster and the fact that a lot of my tickets were getting sold for like$1 ,000 on StubHub and stuff.

48:28And that was a drag. And people on Ticketmaster were paying like$12 on top for extra fees. And the tickets were a lot. And I always charged less than other comedians. I used to look at what is Kathy Griffin and Jim Gaffigan's price and go a little under. That was my – That's how I priced my tickets. Of all people. A little under those folks because I respect those two. Yeah. And I thought I just want to be an easy ticket to buy. That's all. Yeah. So – but that made me more easy to scalp like it was a better investment. So my fans – anyway, this is a long story. I don't want to take this much time.

49:07because it's so interesting to me that that happened. And that's what Theo's been talking about when we were doing this movie. He's like, why don't we do like Louis and you just buy it? I think it's a good idea. It works if you already have a following, which you guys obviously have. It's risky. And I go, I don't think people have done it. Maybe they've done it with movies. I go, should we be the first? I mean, I go, let's watch someone fuck it up and then go, oh, here's what they did wrong. Now we do it. That's right. But to be first is tricky to do. It can be. And I had confidence because I was selling so well and because I had an audience that wanted to see me.

49:41For sure. But then I started thinking about how Ticketmaster has the emails of everybody who buys your tickets. Those are the Glengarry leads, you know? Like they have the emails and they can contact everyone who has seen you, but you can't. And so we found a ticket company called eTicks who would do exactly what Ticketmaster did for$12. and they charged like 50 cents. And they make it white label, which means it looks like it's your company. And so we decided let's just do that. But then we learned that Ticketmaster has a large monopoly on this stuff and that they pay theaters to not use other, they pay them a premium to not use other companies.

50:26Start finding that shit out. Which is smart for them to do. And I didn't have a problem with Ticketmaster, they just, they had a lot of power. And I just, so I created an alternative. Our tickets were way cheaper and we hired people who were ex-scalpers to keep our stuff off the secondary market. It cost a lot of money to do this. So I made like a quarter that tour of what I would have made. But you put it in place. And it was fun. It was so fun to do this. And I never had a, I never was anti-ticketmaster. I'm a capitalist at heart. You weren't full Pearl Jam. No, I just was like, let's see if there's another way.

51:02and sometimes we would find a room that didn't have a Ticketmaster partnership and we would engage them and then they call us back and say, Ticketmaster found out we were doing it. But we made that room a bunch of money. Do you four wall rooms? Do you rent rooms? I did back then, but now I just don't have that kind of leverage now. Now I use Ticketmaster. I let them charge. I'm just one of the guys now. That's what Pearl Jam did. Eventually, it's too overwhelming. It's too much to worry. Yeah. And you don't have the time to do it. No.

51:30Dana Carvey:This is the money aspect of show business. And then the fun. You know, and like they'll go, whoa, we got you this much to play this casino or whatever. And then I go there and the tickets are like way overpriced. Too much. And then there's a few empty seats. You're like, no, I want a cheaper... They don't... We live in different parallel universes. Study. And play. Come together on a Windows 11 PC. And for a limited time, college students get the best of both worlds. Get the Unreal College deal. Everything you need to study and play with select Windows 11 PCs. Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 Premium and a year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller.

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52:22Dana Carvey:The thing that also impressed me was when you went to FX and they're like, Louie, make a show for us. Genius. And comedians will quote this. What do you have to pay me? What's the least amount you'll pay me where I just go make the show and hand it to you? Is that correct? Yeah, more or less. I mean, John Langrath, he still runs FX. It was a dialogue with him. So he was like, I'll give you$150 ,000. First, he was like, I'll give you$100 ,000 to do a pilot. And I said, the only way I'm doing that is if I hand you a DVD. You wire me$100 ,000. and I'll hand you a DVD. We don't talk between those two things.

53:00He was like, done. So we did it. I handed him a DVD. He's smart. They went nuts for it. They had a bunch of notes. I had a notes call. And then after the notes call, I called him. I said, I'm not doing that. I'm not taking notes. By the way, I did the whole call. I didn't listen to one thing.

53:14Dana Carvey:Everything a comedian would hate, you just said no. Well, because I had this, the power I had was joyful. Because of the stand-up. Yes, because he would say, well, you know, it's standard practice. And I'd say, it should be, it's smart of you to give notes, but I don't feel like it. So let's just not do the show. I'll give you back the$100 ,000. It always ends with, let's not just. Let's just not do it. Here's the money. I don't feel like it. I think you're really doing the right thing. I don't, I'm not. And he was like, okay. But then when we went to series, he, he wanted to do the show for very low again.

53:47And I would say, well, give me more. And he'd say, okay, but I got to ask the boss for that money. I'm giving you checks. I can write at my desk and no one asks. But if you want more money, you need more interference. So he kept me. That guy's a brilliant guy.

54:04Dana Carvey:So he became an ally. That's right. And he also, when I pitched, to give him credit, when I went there, he was like, I want you to do a show. And I said, I don't really need a TV series. I was on the road. And I said, maybe a sketch show. And he said, I don't want a sketch show. And he said, I want you to do a show about your family, the stuff you talk about on stage. and I said I don't I I would sell that for a lot more money somewhere else that's what I said to him and he said why what if you do a show that feels like sketches but has a central theme of your life yeah and I said uh that reminded me of Annie Hall there's like animation and I said and he goes if you want to make Annie Hall the tv show I'm happy to have you do that so he he he helped me come up with what the show was yeah and that that became an iconic and their currency yeah Their currency is ratings.

54:53It's also awards. For them, it's all awards. They want to be awards, and it just gets it. It can be a show that does nothing, but it wins, and they love it.

55:02Dana Carvey:That was another thing when that show came out. And Big Deal. It was, I'm using the term loosely, it was Woody Allen level of writing and humanity and your character. I don't know. What's your favorite Woody Allen movie? Annie Hall is a huge one. Crimes and Misdemeanors he has a bunch tied for first Crimes and Misdemeanors Husbands and Wives Annie so what's Hannah and her sisters love them all beautiful and then the early ones Take the Money and Run yeah hysterically funny yeah for sure there's one Bananas I mean fuck I love all of them every few years Paula and I will just sort of go through Woody you know right Zellig is sort of ahead of its time Zellig Zellig he's turns into like he's a chameleon and what do you call it a bananas he's in a court it's a courtroom scene right he does the whole yeah but there's this one part where he says so that he goes to the judge this trial is a mockery and a sham do you know that he says do you know that there's not one homosexual on this jury and the judge says yes there is and he goes oh which one is it the big guy at the end there's a movie that's kind of uh you you'll you'll know when I tell you, but it's something in the modern air that makes me feel so good.

56:21Dana Carvey:And it's a Woody movie. And it's a touchstone for my wife and I that we will revisit it. And that's Midnight in Paris. I didn't see it. Holy fuck. Wait, does he fly through the air with Goldie Hawn? No. That's some other city, right? It's like 2014. Is it Midnight Express? What happened with it is that he finally found the best surrogate, Woody. So Woody can't play the part. So we put Owen Wilson in. Oh, he would be good. Sort of have the same kind of rhythms. Yes. Maybe we could just live here in Paris, you know. But it's a really fun, if you're ever bored, midnight in Paris. I'll check it out.

56:57Dana Carvey:Yeah, definitely should. Yeah. I like to guess. Before we let Louis go. Well, I want to mention two things. Before I go, I want to say something nice about David Spade. Yes. From my past. Okay. So I was a comedian in New York, and the bottom fell out of comedy, like all in one day. Like all the clubs were closing. Like 90? 90. It was 90. This was 1992. Cable TV had come in and usurped. Everything. But all the clubs closed. Everyone was. And every. So SNL had a big changeover of writers and staff cast. And so they were coming to see everybody at Catch a Rising Star. All the comedians were getting seen.

57:37And I did a showcase and it was Dave Vitello was on it. Laura Keitlinger, Ginny Garofalo, Jay Moore. Or, I mean, a bunch of people got seen that night. And I was put on first. And I hated that I was on first. But there was the club owner didn't like me very much. Jon Stewart was hosting the show. And so this is like I got no, I can't pay the rent. Like this is, I just want a writing job. I'll take anything. But this felt like the last train leaving for comedy for a lot of us. so we're gonna do the show starts because it's they're not there no SNL people are there and the show starts and and he goes you're going on first I'm like they're not gonna see me they're not here and he goes too bad you know Jon Stewart stretched as long as he could to kind of set the table try to get someone to be in the room there's an empty table oh okay

58:33Dana Carvey:there was no people to watch it's like pointless to go on yeah no one's gonna see me oh And so finally Stuart looks at me and goes like this, I'm sorry. And he brings me on and I start doing my set for no reason now. Because I mean, I'm happy that there's an audience there, but there's nobody. And then they come in while I'm on stage, like 12 people, Jim Downey, the whole bunch of them come in talking. And I'm like, this is fucking hell. David is in the group I don't know David at the time didn't know him maybe a hello once in a while a little bit but he saw me and I saw him do this oh oh this guy come here sit down he's made them all sit down and said watch him watch this guy he settled this table down and he made them watch me and I didn't get the job but the next day Jim Downey called Robert Smigel and said I'm not gonna hire this guy but you should and he gave me the i got the other last train going which was conan oh so it did work out something yeah so i appreciate it thank you because that must if that's the jay moore of course i'm glad i did some yeah something right yeah the whimsy jay moore god and keitlinger yeah because she did a year or two yeah yeah yeah that was a big night hosted four times yeah you hosted four times you're traveling the world i just thought this this is something that comedians talk about okay recently about you and i think jerry mentioned this um just again hey man do this uh he said it the family trip the family trip and you get the kids in the luggage and you put the wife in and then you walk around the car and that's your vacation that's your vacation so that is the walk from the car to your door yeah that's just such a well-observed moment and it was done so it just sticks with me and the recent one which blew my mind i guess i saw youtube or something was that you did this bit about goodwill hunting i guess you hear about that because it was like oh no what he can't what is he this movie is for 30 and yet it was completely irrelevant it was so funny the physicality of the hand you're doing him typing oh yeah yeah him him typing the movie and just doing going i'm like a really tough guy but i'm I'm amazing.

1:00:53I'm a genius.

1:00:54Dana Carvey:And I beat up everybody. But I beat everybody up. It's incredible. Yeah. And that's just funny seeing that and doing just a slightly altered voice. And you get such a long bit. I watched it before you came over this morning. And you get so much out of it. Thanks. There's a lot. Thanks. I still watch your clips. Instagram is good because they come in, like you said, watching stand-ups. You'll see new ones, but you're on there. So I see these bits, and I was trying to remember them to go when he comes in. I've got to say this. but there's too many so it's always good to see what i haven't seen yeah and i'm like this guy's still pushing these killer bits for now trying to sum up your advice it's a little bit like the emotional warfare of stand-up like if you're in a kitchen and had a drink in you with friends yeah that voice back there is not really and you're kind of telling a story that's right that's not there no you're not a future tripping pastor you're just and so to take that but have 20 000 and look at you or 300 and emotionally calm that down and just be centered.

1:01:54Well, it's saying this to yourself about every moment. This feels new and jittery, but it's okay. This isn't the last moment. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. And there's potential in this moment. Yeah. And it's going to pass. And don't – and savor it no matter what it is. So I feel that way in life. and on stage it's been helping me a lot.

1:02:21Dana Carvey:I was asked this once on one of these type of podcasts. How do you turn someone on? How do you turn someone on? I don't know how. Well, whatever you guys are doing right now is working.

1:02:36All right, do you need a blanket? How do you turn? I thought it sounds like a riddle. I thought it was a riddle.

1:02:41Dana Carvey:I just said to them, turn yourself on. And they go, no one's ever said that. I like that. Turn yourself on. So sometimes I do try to find a way out of the boredom and the tedium of stand-up to get excited. And whether I'm altering something or stepping outside, whatever I'm doing to make myself feel joyful. Because sometimes you don't get there. Sometimes. I do think that there's a phenomenon that happens to me. Sometimes I shoot two shows to do a special. And the first show, I got too much adrenaline and the crowd's dry. So I really struggle. and then a second show I just feel great they've been out already they're a later crowd they're looser and it's wonderful I go back and look at them when I edit it I end up using the first show more because the first show I'm like on edge and I'm not happy and that's funnier I'd rather watch a comedian who's really not comfortable we as comedians want to be like we just want to be like that's me I'm mad it's going great up here but that's not fun it's not fun to watch for stand up it's not fun to watch somebody who's in the pocket and feeling really great.

1:03:49It's fun to watch somebody who's like, I don't know how to explain this to you and I kind of hate you a little right now and I want to go home. I'd rather watch that.

1:03:56Dana Carvey:Okay. That's great. I'm going to do a set tonight and apply all these techniques. Good. And there's going to be a giant, I've already made a little text, there's going to be a huge picture of you at the comedy store behind me. And I go, this is the guy who told me to do this set. And when they take me off in handcuffs, I go, oh, that's very interesting. Well, God, that's fascinating. No wonder you're still at the top of your whatever. You're at the Istanbul Improv. I'm looking at Dana, all these places you play. You're all over the world. I'm going to Istanbul, yes. Crazy. Yeah. Have you been there before?

1:04:27India, I'm always going to India. In the valley. Never been to India, never been to Turkey. I've been to Athens and Bucharest, some of the places I've been to. And they all speak English. They all, stand-up in English is all over the world now. It's a big thing. Yeah, I play a lot internationally. Well, my stuff about Ralph's work. I don't if you explain what Ralph's is yes oh you gotta give it a little of that first just a little yeah supermarket now we're in do you mind if I get a selfie

1:04:55Dana Carvey:oh no sorry well can you come back in like a few months again or whatever you want I'd be really happy to be here I could do it for another two hours that was really fun we could talk thank you Louis great to see you you're Louis CK you're David Spade yep I wrote a book it's on Amazon oh Ingram oh yeah do you have that book can we hold it up Ingram is the book you have the Ingram book yeah let's hold that up we can cut this part because the cover is really cool and the texture of the cover it's good thick I like it too did they show that to you book people are so different than TV people because TV like you're like you guys don't know what the fuck you're doing and they ask stupid questions but book people are smarter than me so like I got an email from this woman saying like I went through the book yesterday like she went through the whole book she's like I think that your original strategy for commas in the book was better than what the editor did, and I want to restore it.

1:05:49And I wrote back to her and said, I got to be really honest with you. I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Do whatever you think is best. So the cover, I showed them a cover of Grapes of Wrath that I really liked, a vintage version. And I said, this is the vibe. And they just came up with this. Good brand.

1:06:05Dana Carvey:Well, it's all how it's done, and it just looks really cool. Yeah, it's a nice job job. It just feels good. The book is Ingram. Here you go. Here we go. The gentleman joins us. Louis C.K. He's going to be at the comedy store tonight at the Ice House Tuesday. Thursday he'll be at Sir Lafson Lot in Fresno. But right now he's got a new bestseller, Louis C.K. It's called Ingram. Funnily enough. But anyway, that is – That's a cool – See how that's faded. I don't know. It's a Photoshop thing or someone painted it. Yeah. It does kind of draw you in. Yeah. So that's another – But that's full circle what we wanted to talk about.

1:06:39Dana Carvey:This is your latest achievement. Have you had enough compliments? There's the pouch full. a little more but it is impressive thank you and when I finish it I'm going to call you good I hope so I talked to Dino today on the way here he's my buddy I know there's only one Dino there's only one yeah bye bye

1:07:02hey guys if you're loving this podcast which you are be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app give us a review five star rating and maybe even share an episode that you've loved with a friend. If you're watching this episode on YouTube, please subscribe. We're on video now! Fly on the Wall is presented by Odyssey, an executive produced by Danny Carvey and David Spade, Heather Santoro and Greg Holtzman, Maddie Sprung-Kaiser, and Leah Reese Dennis of Odyssey.

1:07:30Dana Carvey:Our senior producer is Greg Holtzman, and the show is produced and edited by Phil Sweetech. Booking by Cultivated Entertainment. Special thanks to Patrick Fogarty, Evan Cox, Maura Curran, Melissa Wester, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Colin Gaynor, Sean Cherry, Kurt Courtney, and Lauren Vieira. Reach out with us. Any questions to be asked and answered on the show, you can email us at flyonthewallatodyssey.com. That's A-U-D-A-C-Y dot com.