Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Have you had the chance to watch it?
But nobody else in the film had to talk about it.
That left all the others to talk about his work and his influence.
When youre on with Seinfeld and all those people, you expect that.
Plus its not about me.
I was just fortunate to have a 30-year-plus relationship with my colleague and friend.
I introduced myself to him, and he asked me what I was there for.
I told him, I wrote a little piece.
Could I send it to you?
And he said, What is it?
I said, Its a little film calledCaptain Catholic.
It had two commercials, one for spray-and-pray holy water and one for holy Eucharist cornflakes.
I want to stay in this business!
I cant do that.
But next time youre out here in L.A., give me a call.
I did Garry Shandlings specialAlone in Vegasas well.
If you saw the documentary, you saw what Seinfeld and all the other comics said.
Everybody looked up to him.
There are two comics that are benchmarks, and we know who they are: Pryor and Carlin.
Id always initiate the shows we filmed with the song Start Me Up, by the Rolling Stones.
I said, This is unusual.
So I went and knocked on his dressing room and said, Whats up, George?
He goes, Are you going to play that fucking stupid Rolling Stones song again?
He waited 30 years to bust my balls!
I said, Yeah, Im going to turn it up extra loud for you.
Twenty-two years passed between the first special you filmed for George and your last.
It was all about the work first, not individual preference, which is a fine line to draw.
With George, it was always about whats best for the show.
It was about feeding the monster that demands attention.
It never got personal.
When we said, This isnt working, we didnt add for me at the end of it.
We mightve said, This isnt working, and I dont know why.
We also both got older and better.
It was a whole new point of view.
It was also the first live HBO stand-up show and my first live stand-up show.
But then I got calm after a while because it became autopilot, and I went into gear.
Every time I worked with him, I got better.
When the big moments come, you want to get movement; you want to get the money shot.
When I did the first show, I did it on 35-mm.
There were eight cameras, and I had to cut it all together.
The advantage I had is that I knew the act before I did the show.
I went to the Comedy & Magic Club and watched the routine.
I knew all the subjects that were coming up, so I could make changes on the fly.
Plus I didnt do it alone.
I had help from Beth Einhorn and Gene Crowe, my assistant and third directors.
It was a graveyard set.
I thought it was a strange request.
But he wasnt well at the time.
It makes me wonder.
Carlin has so many enduring bits.
Go watch his specials he said it 30 years ago!
You want the guy to walk out at 98 years old and do jokes?
Its totally fucking selfish.
I want him around, too.
But I dont want him to have to be a comedian anymore.
I just like having him around.
We were comrades in arms.
But heres the disadvantage they have when it comes to being revolutionary: Weve been so inundated with shit.
What is new to us now?
Do we have a climate problem?
We had it before too!
We had a crime problem back then we still have a crime problem!
So if youre a comedian, what are you going to talk about that we dont already know?
You want to talk about transgender people?
Okay, but it better be smart and brilliant because thats not new, either.
Theres so much information were bombarded with every day.
Just go watch George on YouTube.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
