CollegeHumor: Writing Stuff This Month

Mike Sacks: A Very Unfunny Talk About Very Funny People

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0400

In these bleak modern times, even a book devoted to comedy isn't without it's dark side. Mike Sacks's And Here's the Kicker, in which the Vanity Fair writer interviews 21 humorists (including Bob Odenkirk, Harold Ramis and David Sedaris) is decidedly serious, dissecting not only comedians' work and lives as pro joke-tellers, but their fears and anxieties, too. Mr. Sacks spoke with CollegeHumor about these grimmer aspects of comedy, including serial killers, chronic loneliness, and how telling a joke can be a lot like a diagnosing a disease.

Even though you talked to dozens of funny writers in researching this book, it aggressively favors analysis over jokes. Was there a lot of goofing around on either end of the interviews?
Definitely not. They were all serious. And they appreciated the fact that I didn't want them to be clowns. You know, just because you can write funny doesn't mean you're "on." In fact, usually it means just the opposite.

What determined the kinds of questions you did wind up asking?
It was just basically avoiding the questions they'd been asked a million times. In a lot of cases I'd come across one reference to something [in my research] and it was never mentioned again, but it was fascinating. When I interviewed Marshall Brickman, who co-wrote Annie Hall and Manhattan, I read close to 30 interviews, and in this one interview he mentioned that he almost attended Sharon Tate's house the night of the Manson Murders.

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]]> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2> <hr> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="35px"> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/user:101226"><img src="http://3.media.collegehumor.com/collegehumor/ch6/2/b/collegehumor.bf47a312f8c3b3d327c1333b4268bdca.jpg"></a> </td> <td valign="top"> Written 2009-09-23 14:00:00 by <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/user:101226">Patrick Cassels</a> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/school:857"></a> <p> <img src="http://www.collegehumor.com/artwork/icon_likeIt_noLink.gif" align="texttop" /> 9 likes </p> </td> </tr> </table> <hr />

Satan loves ketchup.

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:55:00 -0500

<table><tr><td> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/picture:1901397"><img src="http://3.media.collegehumor.com/collegehumor/ch6/0/1/collegehumor.a1171f5074ded886c591ab5134e4b288.jpg"></a> </td> <td valign="top"> <p>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/user:159934">Oxnard Montalvorgasm</a> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/school:2730"></a> </p> <p> <img src="http://www.collegehumor.com/artwork/icon_likeIt_noLink.gif" align="texttop" /> 64 likes </p> </td> </tr> </table> <hr />

The Post-Collegiate Path of the Aspiring Novelist

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:45:34 -0400

<table border=0 width="360px"> <tr> <td colspan=2> Age 21: "Now that I finally don't have to worry about finishing all this schoolwork, I should have plenty of time to work on my novel. This is great!"

Age 22: "Wow, I forgot how long it takes to beat Super Mario 3..."

Age 23: "Watching all the seasons of Lost back-to-back should help give me some ideas on how to develop my characters."

Age 25: "I'll just take this T.G.I. Friday's gig to pay the bills before my writing career really takes off."

Age 27: "You know, J.D. Salinger didn't publish Catcher in the Rye until he was 32, so I've still got a good five years to finish my masterpiece."

Age 29: "Really? You think I'm assistant manager material? Yes, I can say 'In here it's always Friday' with a straight face. You won't regret this, Mr. Johansson!"

Age 32: "I think I'm going to make the protagonist an assistant manager at T.G.I. Friday's. That's something a lot of people can relate to, right?"

Age 34: "Marrying Jennifer is going to provide me with so much more material to write about. Plus, she said her dad is going to hook me up with a cushy job at his company. I hope it's a publishing firm."

Age 34.5: It's not.

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]]> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2> <hr> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="35px"> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/user:1596776"><img src="http://0.media.collegehumor.com/collegehumor/ch6/9/3/collegehumor.d37a7ef9cdc4df6326f3e0333c14e777.jpg"></a> </td> <td valign="top"> Written 2008-07-28 23:45:34 by <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/user:1596776">Eddie Small</a> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/school:300"></a> <p> <img src="http://www.collegehumor.com/artwork/icon_likeIt_noLink.gif" align="texttop" /> 35 likes </p> </td> </tr> </table> <hr />

What You're Saying With Your Writing Implement

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 12:08:45 -0400

<table border=0 width="360px"> <tr> <td colspan=2> Clicky-Top Pen:

Fancy Schmancy Pen:

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]]> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2> <hr> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="35px"> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/user:945989"><img src="http://8.media.collegehumor.com/collegehumor/ch6/c/4/collegehumor.8879997c887ae4b37f766c44f2de531f.jpg"></a> </td> <td valign="top"> Written 2007-08-21 12:08:45 by <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/user:945989">Susanna Wolff</a> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/school:53"></a> <p> <img src="http://www.collegehumor.com/artwork/icon_likeIt_noLink.gif" align="texttop" /> 84 likes </p> </td> </tr> </table> <hr />

Best Screenplay Nominee

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:56:12 -0400

<table><tr><td> <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1750627"><img src="http://5.media.collegehumor.com/collegehumor/ch6/7/4/collegehumor.dff01ef7d64add58510bef34ff91eac3.jpg"></a> </td> <td valign="top"> <p>Uploaded </p> <p> <img src="http://www.collegehumor.com/artwork/icon_likeIt_noLink.gif" align="texttop" /> 468 likes </p> </td> </tr> </table> <hr />