After learning the ropes in the Boston comedy scene, Louis CK made a name for himself by writing for Conan O’Brien, David Letterman and Dana Carvey all before the age of thirty. Now only forty years old, CK, short for his Hungarian surname of “Szekely,” has received critical acclaim for his work as a professional stand-up and Emmy nominated writer, most notably with HBO’s The Chris Rock Show. When he is not getting his jokes ripped off by Dane Cook, or his own show cancelled by HBO, CK travels the world performing stand-up. He will be performing a set full of frustrating observations and potty-language this Thursday at the Center for the Arts.
Generation: February 14 will bring you to the Center for the Arts at the University of Buffalo. Is your wife pumped that you will be spending Valentine’s Day in one of the most dilapidated, rundown, rust-belt towns in America presumably gorging on chicken wings?
Louis CK: I’ve been married for ten years, so I don’t really care that much about Valentine’s Day. There is too much baby shit in my life for romance. I have a six-year-old and a two-year-old. It’s kind of nice to be out of town for holidays, and Buffalo, I like spending it with those people.
G: What is your idea of romance?
L: I would say, well…fucking somebody is romantic.
G: You are filming a new one-hour special next month. What kind of work goes into that?
L: It’s going to be a brand new hour of material. It’s something I have been working on all year in clubs and theatres, kind of putting a polish on it. Last year I did one called Shameless and that was really the first time I had sort of sat down and spent a year writing a special. Well, not sat down but, you know, so I figured out how to do it by doing that one, so this one is kind of the next step, and a lot better.
G: You have been writing for television for over fifteen years, from Late Night with Conan O’Brien, to Late Show with David Letterman; how has the strike affected you?
L: Well, I had a deal to make on a new show on CBS and the strike killed it, but that’s the way it goes. On the other hand, I really got to spend the year working on this special. I didn’t have any distraction, so that was kind of good. It gave me more focus as a comedian to not even have to be thinking about movies or TV shows or anything, but that’s for me, personally. In a way it really upset me because most of my friends over the last few years have been people who have worked for television and movies, and they are all out of work. The writers I don’t feel bad for because they are just trying to leverage for more cash, but I feel bad for the people in the crews that don’t have anything to do with it, it’s just their line of work, so I hope it ends really soon.
G: Some comedians stop performing some bits once they get broadcasted. Are you the same way?
L: That’s what I basically do. Once something gets shot as a special, I retire the material.
G: Battle of the Louies: Louie Anderson vs. Louis CK in arm wrestling. Who would win?
L: I would probably win. I don’t think he’s in pretty good shape, and I try to stay in pretty good shape. Even though I’m a little overweight, I’m still healthier than him.
G: It’s been eight years since the cinematic masterpiece Pootie Tang was released. Why hasn’t there been a sequel yet?
L: Well, why the first one? I enjoyed making that movie a lot and I’m glad people like it. It got re-cut by some asshole into a piece of shit so I don’t really care about it anymore, but Paramount hated me and hated it, and kind of held their nose when they put it out, so that kind of thing doesn’t really get revisited as a sequel. Also, it’s such a specific idea. I think I could have made another sequel by now because the movie has a lot of fans, and if I really got a fire in my belly to make another Pootie Tang, I could probably make it happen, but it’s an eight year old idea for me now, so I don’t really care about it anymore.
G: You have appeared on Dr. Katz Professional Therapist and Cartoon Network’s Home Movies. Do you prefer being represented in squigglevision as opposed to real life?
L: It’s just the same people, and that shoots in Boston, and that’s where I grew up, so I like seeing my mom, but I haven’t done those in ages.
G: A lot of your stand-up contains rather raunchy dialogue; what is the best way to use the word “cunt?”
L: It’s really like asking, “What’s the best way to use a nail or a piece of sandpaper?” It’s really just a tool.
G: The Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee just announced their line-up of bands and stand-ups that will be performing there this summer. Have you done the festival before?
L: I did stand-up at Bonnaroo years ago—it was great. I don’t think comedians and bands mix well, but we had our own comedy tent, and only people that were really big fans came to the shows and they were really nice kids, really young and enthusiastic audience, and they all seemed pretty high, but they totally focused and gave us a great show.
G: When most people think of redhead comedians, they think of Carrot Top. Has this ever bothered you?
L: No, I’ve met him, he’s a nice guy.
G: In 2004, Comedy Central ranked you 98 on a list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, just edging out Janeane Garafalo and Gallagher? How did that make you feel?
L: I don’t care, Comedy Central doesn’t know what funny is, they can go fuck themselves.
