[Louis talking to Marc Maron]
The first time I saw you was at Catch [A Rising Star] in Boston but like you didn't know me I didn't know you and I didn't like you on stage. The first time I saw you, you were very aggressive and you were in a lot of turmoil. I think you were just coming out of all this sort of Sam Kinison coke business so you exuded a huge amount of insecurity and craziness.
[Marc] Undisciplined though, like I didn’t think I was.
[Louis] You made me uncomfortable and then I met you and then David Cross, I think, said I'm going to hang out with this guy, do you want to come with me? And he told me it was you and I was like oh that guy. So then we went to the coffee connec...
It's fking tough. It's not easy. I'm a stand-up comedian. I'm a live energy guy, so I don't personally get off making an audience feel uncomfortable. I'm okay with people sitting back with their arms crossed not knowing what I'm doing, but I want all the fans to like me. So I don't like making people uncomfortable, but I know that sometimes it's good. You'll hear about a film at Cannes, "It was uncomfortable to watch, but it was beautiful. There was great acting." So if I have those elements where the audience feels on edge, I'll take that. It's compelling TV. I don't want it to be that for thirty straight minutes, but just some real, awkward, not-so-glossy moments? I'm into that.
One thing that has helped me is to try to think as objectively as possibly when you're teaching them things or correcting them. One thing I ALWAYS do when I correct my kids is to let them know I did the exact same things they did. We all make mistakes, and that's how you learn and grow. I try to be as vulnerable in that regard as I can. I also tell them that I love them as much as life itself and that my goal in explaining something or correcting them is just to make them grow and develop into the happiest, best person they can be. Even though I'm not sure how much of that gets in at 3 or 4, I think if you keep explaining things that way eventually it becomes a standard idea in their little ...
I think what might make this form of endeavour exciting for writers is that they find themselves in an environment where they’re encouraged to use their powers to explore the world, their minds and the form itself. Think about the staggering possibilities of the marriage of light, vibration and time. I think craft is a dangerous thing. I saw a trailer for a movie, I don’t want to say what the movie is, but it’s coming out soon. And it was gorgeous, it was... gorgeous. And it made me really depressed, and I was trying to figure out why.
I think there was an amazing amount of craft and skill on the part of the filmmakers in this movie. And yet it was the same shit. I know that this movie is g...
I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of getting out of my comfort zone. I think that’s what you should do. I understand the temptation if you’re an alternative comic to just do alternative rooms. Or if you were a club comic to just do club rooms. Or if you’re a white comic just to do white rooms. It’s because bombing is so humiliating that you want to avoid it. But humiliation is where the growth is. This is also like why I enjoy drinking and I don’t like pot. I feel like with drinking you have to earn it. You gotta get those drinks down.
Louis CK