Comedy Samurai Quotes

“Control, to a large degree, is an illusion. Luck occurs in that nonrational realm between complete control and complete letting go.”
― Larry Charles, Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter

“The key is surviving the obstacle course of your mind.”
― Larry Charles, Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter

“There is ultimately no laugh greater than the laugh that is wrong, but you can’t help it.”
― Larry Charles, Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter

“When I walked into the apartment, the phone was ringing. It was Jack Burns: “I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that we’re getting back to you quickly…” My heart sank. “The bad news is, you’re hired.”
― Larry Charles, Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter

“There was some small talk. They spoke positively about my material. I told them that I had brought a new piece just for the meeting. They were impressed. Jack took the pages from me. Jack, as I would find out later, was considered one of the great cold readers. He would read the new sketch out loud playing all the parts and see how it sounded. He began and almost immediately I wasn’t happy with his reading. This was a crossroads moment. Before he got to the end of the first page, I stopped him. I don’t know where I got the temerity, but I told him that he was reading it wrong. I reached out and took the pages back from him and volunteered to read it out loud myself. They didn’t stop me. This could be a gamble, a roll of the dice I might regret my entire life. Instead the sketch killed. They loved it. They seemed very happy. But it was show business, and I was still wary. The meeting was almost over, and I took another big leap. I actually said to them, pretty much verbatim, “Thank you for seeing me, I understand how these things work, and it’s okay if I don’t get the job. All I ask is that you let me know. Don’t leave me hanging. Just tell me one way or another. Don’t drag it out. I can take it.”
― Larry Charles, Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter