Jerry Seinfeld says the movie business is dead, but he’s a cabinetmaker in a chaotic entertainment landscape
Comedian and television star Jerry Seinfeld spoke with GQ in anticipation of the release of his upcoming Netflix movie “Unfrosted,” a look at the invention of Pop-Tarts. (Hey, don’t laugh, “Air” and “Blackberry” both received rave reviews, and even “Flamin’ Hot” ended up with an Oscar nomination; this is the trend right now.) The 69-year-old Emmy-winner and Grammy-nominee is the director, co-writer, and co-producer as well as star of the project and, surprisingly, this is the first feature film with him in the driver’s seat as the creative force, unless you count “Bee Movie.” (He’s kept it mainly to documentaries and cameos, like in his buddy Chris Rock’s “Top Five.”)
“They’re so dead serious!” he said about people working in film production. Then he added a little zing: “They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.”
The man behind “Seinfeld” and “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” and perennial touring comic elaborated, “Film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out, if it was good, we all went to see it. We all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes we liked. Now we’re walking through a fire hose of water, just trying to see.”
When pressed about what has replaced cinema in the cultural conversation, he quipped, “Depression? Malaise? I would say confusion. Disorientation replaced the movie business. Everyone I know in show business, every day, is going, ‘What’s going on? How do you do this? What are we supposed to do now?’”
He then pivoted to, well, not so much brag but explain why he feels he is in a good position to weather any trend-shaking storm, thanks to his career in stand-up. “Stand-up is like you’re a cabinetmaker, and everybody needs a guy who’s good with wood. … There’s trees everywhere, but to make a nice table, it’s not so easy. So, the metaphor is that if you have good craft and craftsmanship, you’re kind of impervious to the whims of the industry.”
Seinfeld recently made an appearance in the final season of his old chum and “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David’s show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (not his first), and has tour dates in California, Nevada, Kentucky, and Louisiana through May before hitting Australia (!) and Singapore (!!). He’ll be back in the U.S. in July, with gigs booked across the country through October. With “Curb” and “Unfrosted,” he’s in prime position to compete for multiple Emmy Awards this year.
PREDICT the 2024 Emmy nominees through July 17
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions