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 means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Writer's Digest Books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236. (800) 289-0963. First edition. For more resources for writers, visit www.writersdigest.com/books. To receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter delivering tips and updates about writing and about Writer's Digest products, register directly at http://newsletters.fwmedia.com. 13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1 Distributed in Canada by Fraser Direct, 100 Armstrong Avenue, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada L7G 5S4, Tel: (905) 877-4411. Distributed in the U.K. and Europe by David & Charles, Brunel House, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 4PU, England, Tel: (+44) 1626-323200, Fax: (+44) 1626-323319, E-mail: [email protected]. Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link, P.O. Box 704, Windsor, NSW 2756 Australia, Tel: (02) 4577- 3555. 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.