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A: What was reassuring to me was that a lot of the themes that people kept on coming back to were things that I’ve struggled with at one point or another, or thought about in one way or another. So there was this nice kind of universal quality to the stories. I don’t know if I necessarily learned anything applicable to my current life. If I was reading it 15 years ago I would probably have pocketed a couple pieces of wisdom.
Q: Can you share an example?
A: In Dan Vebber's piece, "Sex is The Most Stressful Thing in the Universe," he relates this painfully awkward story of trying to lose his virginity, and how it really didn’t go very well due to some of his psychological issues and issues with the girl he partnered with. That dynamic was not dissimilar to the dynamic I had. It was comforting to know, Man someone else was going through that exact same thing when I was going through..
Q: Were you surprised by people’s honesty?
A: In some cases, yes. Some people like Stephen Colbert really focused on the humor side and didn’t get into anything resembling real emotion. Then you have someone like Dan Savage, who chose to deal with the fundamental issue of his sexuality in "I am a Gay Man." The way he realized he was gay was that he could not force himself to be with a woman. That was a very intense story.
Q: What makes this a NOT-self-help book?
A: I really wanted to make sure the book was first and foremost funny. I didn’t want it to be cotton candy, but for me it’s more important that it’s funny and entertaining than helpful. If it was helpful and then funny, I'd be fine with it, but I wouldn’t be as happy.
Q: How did you choose the authors?
A: I did start out thinking I would ask these people of grand status like Bill Clinton and Bruce Springsteen. But then I remembered this famous quote by a longtime writer at SNL. He was always asked why the show wasn’t funny all the time, or why it was inconsistent. To which he replied: "Have you ever tried to make Wayne Gretzky funny?"
Once I got rid of that delusion that Barack Obama was gonna come through with a hilarious piece, I decided if you want to do a book that’s funny, you have to get funny people. So I went to my email address book and… Honestly, they're all people I know and have worked with before. In some cases it was people I knew of but hadn’t really worked with. But in almost every case I had a direct connection to the contributor.
Q: So this is, in a way, like a party at your place?
A: Exactly. I mean obviously the one thing about this party is it's all dudes, which is not necessarily the most fun party.
Q: Speaking of the most fun, you left 'The Daily Show' and 'Colbert Report' last summer. Was it your intention to go in front of the camera yourself?
A: I don’t have that goal at all. I enjoy my anonymity way too much. The goal is to take a little time off, finish the book and then start my own production company, Super Ego Industries. That way I can work on projects that are my ideas or with people I’ve want to work with.
Q: You've been called the Karl Rove to Jon Stewart's George W. Now Rove is said to be shopping a book around, so you've been him to the punch. Who's book is better?
A: Mine. His is meaner.
Ben Karlin is the former executive producer of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,' which won nine Emmy and two Peabody Awards during his tenure. He is also the co-creator and former executive producer of 'The Colbert Report,' and co-author of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book).' He honed his comedy chops as editor of The Onion. Karlin lives with his wife and son in Brooklyn, NY.
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A: What was reassuring to me was that a lot of the themes that people kept on coming back to were things that I’ve struggled with at one point or another, or thought about in one way or another. So there was this nice kind of universal quality to the stories. I don’t know if I necessarily learned anything applicable to my current life. If I was reading it 15 years ago I would probably have pocketed a couple pieces of wisdom.
Q: Can you share an example?
A: In Dan Vebber's piece, "Sex is The Most Stressful Thing in the Universe," he relates this painfully awkward story of trying to lose his virginity, and how it really didn’t go very well due to some of his psychological issues and issues with the girl he partnered with. That dynamic was not dissimilar to the dynamic I had. It was comforting to know, Man someone else was going through that exact same thing when I was going through..
Q: Were you surprised by people’s honesty?
A: In some cases, yes. Some people like Stephen Colbert really focused on the humor side and didn’t get into anything resembling real emotion. Then you have someone like Dan Savage, who chose to deal with the fundamental issue of his sexuality in "I am a Gay Man." The way he realized he was gay was that he could not force himself to be with a woman. That was a very intense story.
Q: What makes this a NOT-self-help book?
A: I really wanted to make sure the book was first and foremost funny. I didn’t want it to be cotton candy, but for me it’s more important that it’s funny and entertaining than helpful. If it was helpful and then funny, I'd be fine with it, but I wouldn’t be as happy.
Q: How did you choose the authors?
A: I did start out thinking I would ask these people of grand status like Bill Clinton and Bruce Springsteen. But then I remembered this famous quote by a longtime writer at SNL. He was always asked why the show wasn’t funny all the time, or why it was inconsistent. To which he replied: "Have you ever tried to make Wayne Gretzky funny?"
Once I got rid of that delusion that Barack Obama was gonna come through with a hilarious piece, I decided if you want to do a book that’s funny, you have to get funny people. So I went to my email address book and… Honestly, they're all people I know and have worked with before. In some cases it was people I knew of but hadn’t really worked with. But in almost every case I had a direct connection to the contributor.
Q: So this is, in a way, like a party at your place?
A: Exactly. I mean obviously the one thing about this party is it's all dudes, which is not necessarily the most fun party.
Q: Speaking of the most fun, you left 'The Daily Show' and 'Colbert Report' last summer. Was it your intention to go in front of the camera yourself?
A: I don’t have that goal at all. I enjoy my anonymity way too much. The goal is to take a little time off, finish the book and then start my own production company, Super Ego Industries. That way I can work on projects that are my ideas or with people I’ve want to work with.
Q: You've been called the Karl Rove to Jon Stewart's George W. Now Rove is said to be shopping a book around, so you've been him to the punch. Who's book is better?
A: Mine. His is meaner.
Ben Karlin is the former executive producer of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,' which won nine Emmy and two Peabody Awards during his tenure. He is also the co-creator and former executive producer of 'The Colbert Report,' and co-author of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book).' He honed his comedy chops as editor of The Onion. Karlin lives with his wife and son in Brooklyn, NY.
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