More On:
Jerry Seinfeld
-
R.I.P. Hiram Kasten: ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘7th Heaven’ Actor Dead At 71
-
Rob Schneider Resurrects Will Smith Oscars Slap Drama As He Goes Off On The Actor: “He’s Really An A**hole”
-
‘Seinfeld’ Alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus Tells ‘Live’ About The Nurse Who Called Her “Elaine” When She Was Giving Birth To Her First Child: “Can You Believe That?”
-
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Not-So-Subtly Takes Aim At Jerry Seinfeld’s “PC Crap” Comments: “Being Aware… Is Not A Bad Thing”
Ahead of his feature directorial debut on Netflix, Jerry Seinfeld weighed in on the state of the film industry after his experience helming the Pop-Tarts comedy Unfrosted.
“It was totally new to me. I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work,” he recently told GQ. “They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.”
He continued, “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.”
Seinfeld then said that film had been replaced by “depression” and “malaise.”
“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 said.
The Seinfeld star noted that he’s already cemented a unique position for himself in the industry, however. “I’ve done enough stuff that I have my own thing, which is more valuable than it’s ever been. Stand-up is like you’re a cabinetmaker, and everybody needs a guy who’s good with wood,” he said.
![Melissa McCarthy Jerry Seinfeld Jim Gaffigan Unfrosted](https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Melissa-McCarthy-Jerry-Seinfeld-Jim-Gaffigan-Unfrosted.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=300 300w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Melissa-McCarthy-Jerry-Seinfeld-Jim-Gaffigan-Unfrosted.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640 640w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Melissa-McCarthy-Jerry-Seinfeld-Jim-Gaffigan-Unfrosted.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1280 1280w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Melissa-McCarthy-Jerry-Seinfeld-Jim-Gaffigan-Unfrosted.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=885 885w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Melissa-McCarthy-Jerry-Seinfeld-Jim-Gaffigan-Unfrosted.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1284 1284w)
The film industry may not be doing so well in Seinfeld’s eyes, but the longtime comedian has noted that stand-up comedy is experiencing a unique boom.
“Audiences are now flocking to stand-up because it’s something you can’t fake. It’s like platform diving. You could say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see if you are or you aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust it. Everything else is fake,” he said.
Seinfeld’s star-studded feature Unfrosted is a comedy about the creation of Pop-Tarts.
Seinfeld directed and co-wrote the film, which has a stacked cast of comedy stars attached, including Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr, Cedric the Entertainer and Amy Schumer.
Unfrosted premieres on Netflix May 3.