Roseanne Barr & Page Hurwitz: Last Comic Standing

By starrymag | May 14, 2014

Q) Roseanne, can you just talk about why you decided to do the show this season?

Roseanne: I just thought it would be really fun. And when I heard that Keenen Ivory Wayans was one of the judges and I really love him. I like Wanda a lot too. And, you know, so I thought it would be fun to work with some really, you know, great comics and get right in the middle of stuff that has to do with standup comedy.

Q) For both of you, can you kind of talk about how the formats going to be this year? Because I know it seems like it’s going to be a lot different.

Page: Roseanne is often quoted as saying, “I have no idea how this show works.

Roseanne: I kind of don’t. But it’s good, though.

Page: It is. The biggest, I mean, the biggest change the viewers will notice – right out of the gate – is we didn’t do open call auditions year. In previous seasons they went around and did open calls in various cities. And people off the street would come in and audition. This season, Wanda Sykes and I did the casting in advance of the show. We picked 100 top comics from around the country. And then we had them come to L.A. And they performed in a big theater venue – for what we call our invitational round. And they performed for the judges. And then it was up to Roseanne, Keenen and Russell Peters to decide who would advance in the competition. So that is the biggest change. So we have a new invitational round to the competition. Then the second thing is that we brought back doing challenges which had been done in previous seasons. However, we did the challenges this season in a way that they were really focused on comedy and in stretching the comedians, in terms of their skillsets – having them try their hand at sketch comedy – – do a little improv. They did a roast. They did things that they would probably do in their careers as they progress. So instead of putting comedians into wacky situations, we really wanted to put them into situations that they might face as comics going forward. And we think that they’re really terrific. So that, also, is a change this season. And beyond that, the other big changes that the judges are making all of the decisions this year, in terms of who keeps moving forward in the competition. In the past, America would vote – – through a phone vote or a text vote. This season the judges have made all the decisions. And we think they’ve done a great job.

Q) Roseanne, reality shows, they’re kind of becoming a variety of types of judges. There’s kind of a supportive judge and a tough love judge. And we were just wondering, what’s your judging style on the show?

Roseanne: Intelligent.

Page: That’s true.

Roseanne: I didn’t like, try to copy somebody else. I’m just me. And I’m a big fan of comics and comedy, as you may know and writing. I just give my honest opinion, as I have done for all these many years – when it comes to writing and comedy. I don’t think I fit into your paradigm there.

Q) How do you think you would have fared on a show like this when you were starting out in standup?

Roseanne: I would’ve won. I did, in fact, win the Denver Laugh Off.

Page: She would’ve.

Roseanne: And that is what, kind of, propelled my career. And I did a number of other untelevised comedy contests. But I think I would’ve really worked really hard. Or else I wouldn’t have – that’s what I like about these comics because they’re prepared. I wouldn’t become part of any contest unless I was really prepared and thought I could win. And that’s what I think we have here. We’re seeing who’s prepared and who isn’t prepared. And that’s like the most exciting part to me. But, of course, I have to say I would’ve won. Because, I mean, you have to have that kind of self-confidence being a standup comic.

Page: True.

Roseanne: You have to really believe in what you do and that you’re the best at doing what you do. And so we’ve seen a lot of people on this show, you know, come in like that but – and falter. But the ones who want it the most, are the ones who make it.

Q) Roseanne, Ssometimes when we’ll watch comics from old TV shows – say, in the ‘50’s or the early ‘60’s, the humor translates and sometimes it doesn’t. Because times change. Over the time that you have been involved in standup, do you think things have changed with comedy? Does a standup now have to do something different totally then they did in past year or how has it changed over the past 20 years, or so?

Roseanne: Well, there’s so many different kinds of standup and so many different kinds of clubs – and people like that. I was thinking that it was pretty static and kind of boring, actually, over these last few years. But becoming a judge – – on this show – – and seeing people who are actually actually writing jokes that I’ve never heard before. It’s kind of exciting. I’ve never heard these premises in so many of my favorite comics – who are competing. I’ve never heard this, particular, kind of writing. And it’s very brave. And it’s cool. So that brought me back into comedy. I went to the comedy store. And I saw these incredible comedians. I have never seen anything like it. I feel really old. It’s a whole different world. It’s like that when I need my computer fixed; I call my 13 year-old grandson. It’s a whole other world. And it’s exciting just to watch it. I’ve been seeing. Keenen and I were talking about it. It’s like; this is like comedy coming back. It’s like a re-birth of comedy. Not just on this show – but certainly including this show – but all over the place. Yes, there’s a whole different everything. It’s exciting. It’s kind of like punk-rock.

Q) About six months or so ago, you sort of – very publicly – said that you were through with television and you weren’t going to do it anymore. I’m wondering, is this show an exception to that rule or have you reconsidered?

Roseanne: Well, this isn’t a sitcom. I meant developed scripted stuff.

Q) But there’s something different that appeals to you about doing this judging thing?

Roseanne: Yes, it’s like I’m watching some really incredibly talented people. So that’s easy. And I’m not having my brains racked over the coals. And I’m laughing. And I’m getting awesome craft service and nice outfits. And the company’s fantastic.

Q) Well, often times when we see people become first time judges on shows like this and I’m thinking about Howard Stern, for example. We get a whole different side of them.  And we learn something new about their personality. And, maybe, understand them in a way that we never had before. What are we going to learn or understand from seeing you in this role?

Roseanne: That I’m a mouthy bitch. People may not have known that.

Page: I would just like to say, having watched a lot of the footage that we shot, I think one thing that is so great – and there are so many things that are great. But one of things that’s really great is seeing how passionate Roseanne is about standup. And I don’t know if people – or certainly now a days – if people know how passionate she is. And that comes through in her criticism and her advice. And that’s been really great for us to see. So I think that might be something new. I mean everyone knows Roseanne’s one of the best comedians of all time.

Roseanne: Well, thanks, gees.

Page: Well that is true. And it’s seeing, though, how passionate you are about it – as a craft – is really something great to see. We love that.

Roseanne: Well, I’m passionate about writers and talents. And especially, when you combine those two things and you get a standup comic with a real voice of social criticism. I mean we haven’t seen that for 100 years. It’s awesome.

Page: Yes, it’s true.

Q) Roseanne, you’re on social media. Are you looking forward to getting the instant feedback after this show airs from viewers?

Roseanne: Oh, they might. Yes, you never know what’s going to happen on Twitter. You never know. I don’t really know if they’re qualified to be judges of it. But I hope it makes them laugh. And I hope they appreciate the art form.

Page: Well I think – yes, I think us having the judges make the selections – this season – has been really terrific. And so, I love that what Roseanne just said about, “Hopefully, we’ll make people laugh.”

Roseanne: Oh I think they’re going to have a lot of laughs. I think they’re going to see a really good show. And then I think they’re going to see some good – sometimes brutal feedback. I’ve never seen anything like it on TV. So I hope they’ll enjoy it. But they’re not part of the judging process – if that’s what you meant. I like when they enjoy what I do, though.

Q) And we know that you’re a fan of politics. Do we get to see a number of comedians on the show this season that have political humor?

Roseanne: Yes, it’s pretty amazing.

Page: Yes, when Roseanne mentioned, already we do have a lot of comics who are making social commentary – so have something to say.

Roseanne: I mean these are like – some of them are legitimate, social critics. That you’d think, “Oh my god, this person needs to go on, you know, for CNN – or something. I mean they’re funny and measured. But like I say, I am very impressed with the writing – so impressed. Aren’t you, Page?

Page: I am. And we’ve seen some of them who’ve performed several times – and already in the competition. And every time, they deliver. And it’s something unexpected. And they’re brave. They’re not afraid to walk the edge – to sometimes cross over that edge. It’s pretty good stuff. I think that also is different – I think – this season.

Roseanne: Well Page, you and Wanda have totally redefined this show. And you’re really helping to support the great art and craft of standup comedy. And that’s really – I’m really happy to be – I’m happy that you asked me to be on here.

Page: Well we are thrilled that you said, yes because when – I mean, not to have a public love fest, but it really is true. Wanda and I wanted to do this and do it differently because we are passionate about it. And we thought that the timing was right. And we couldn’t imagine doing the show without you, Roseanne.

Roseanne: Well you’re sweet. But I have to say, I’m blown away, every week. I’m sitting next to a bodhisattva. I’m sitting next to Keenen Ivory Wayans.

Page: He’s amazing. He’s brilliant.

Roseanne: His commentary and the way he sees – I mean, of course, he discovered a lot of great performers and comics on his shows and movies.

Page: In Living Color, yes.

Roseanne: And I discovered a lot of talent too. But, man, his feedback is like – I’m always like, let Keenen go first. And then I go, I agree with Keenen. He’s just a brilliant – his systematic – the way he – it’s just amazing.

Page: It’s like professorial.

Roseanne: And also, it’s so funny. I mean Russell Peters – we need to mention him too because I never even heard of the guy, to be honest. And they’re like; this guy is like the Beatles. And so I went on YouTube to – I mean he’s playing on like 70,000 seat arenas. And is right now, like, kind of in a Russell Brand thing. He’s real new to the United States. And that guy is so funny. It’s like non-stop. He’s feedback is – he gives feedback like a standup comic – – joke, joke, joke. And I mean there’s nothing on earth that he doesn’t have a joke for. It’s amazing. And it made me like – go, “Oh this is so cool to be back in this arena.”

Page: It’s a great panel for those reasons. It’s like everyone brings something different to the table. And it’s such a nice combination.

Roseanne: But you’re doing all this other stuff. Like, I mean, you’re doing like these packages on the comics, themselves. Kind of reminds me of American Idol, a little bit. But then, you’re putting them in other arenas – besides the standup arena. It’s just like you’re putting them in other arenas – which is cool.

Page: Yes, because we wanted for them to be, you know, a step toward, you know, a big career. And so we want to try and challenge them by giving them opportunities to do some of these things. Like do a roast. Be on a talk show. Do sketch comedy – stuff that they’re going to have to do, as they progress. And it’s been awesome. The comics have loved it. They’ve all said, this has been so much fun. We never would’ve had a chance to do this. So that makes us proud. We’re really happy about that.

Q) Page, you’ve got such a wide variety of diversity on the judges and working with Wanda and everything. How is that? It just seems like a great team.

Page: Well I think it’s funny. People always talk about diversity and striving toward diversity. For, you know, Wanda and I don’t even think about it. It’s just comes naturally to us. We like working with really talented people. We like working with really funny people. And those people come in all different forms.

Roseanne: But I do think that because Wanda is an African American woman, she has a different definition of things than just the average television producer. And I think it’s very needed and very exciting.

Page: Yes, I mean, that’s true. Yes, I think that’s very true. I mean she brings a different life experience to the table. And I think as a producer that that’s really important. But what I meant is really, it’s not like a chore for us. Like, oh, we’ve got to go find different voices. That’s how we produce everything we do. And it makes for a better show. And we love it. It’s a much more enriching process. And the product that we feel is always better. So we’re thrilled because we have such a great cast of judges and a diverse group of judges and our host, of course, J.B. Smoove – who’s hilariously funny.

Roseanne: I never heard of him either. That’s how isolated I’ve been. But when I saw that guy doing his MC stuff, I was amazed. I’ve never seen anybody doing that much physical comedy. It’s just amazing. I never saw anything like it. It’s great.

Page: It is. He’s got such great energy. There’s also diversity in style. Like he’s very good at improv and off the cuff. Like, he’s really terrific. And so I think. And all three judges too – have very different comedy styles. So it’s really nice. It’s just, sort of, an embarrassment of riches.

Q) You mentioned that you had moved over to an invite-only format with the comics. Why did you decided to do that for this season?

Page: Honestly, to cut to the chase. We can go around the country. And we can have people come in off the street and do that for hours and hours. But really, we have three terrific judges who – the best of the best. It’s like why are we going to waste their time with people that are walking in that have never done standup before – done it for a minute. We wanted this competition to be the best. So we spent a lot of time looking at thousands of comedians – literally, just me and Wanda – and wanted to get the best people in and in front of these judges. And we think that it’s elevated the level of performance and competition and makes for a better show .

Roseanne: I think that your next year is going to be fantastic. I think you’ve lit a – you’ve plugged something in. And it’s just going to keep rolling. I really think that.

Page: I hope so. We hope so. I mean sure. I’m sure there are people that are going to say, “Oh we miss seeing the guy in the chicken suite or the train wreck stuff. But we just didn’t want to make that show. This to be the best examples of standup. for this season, we just wanted to shoot for the highest we could. But – and that’s not to say, if there was a guy in a chicken suite who was hilarious, maybe we would of picked the guy in a chicken suite. But you know what I mean. It is just sort that like train wreck – spectacle stuff.

Roseanne: I like that some of the comics that we’ve filmed a few shows. I just want to say, some of them are going – some of them are so good that with a little more work they can come back next year and blow the roof off.

Page: I agree. And there are already a lot of the comics who didn’t – who haven’t progressed in the competition – have said, “You know what? I just got priceless advice. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t take it.” And so we hope that they do and that they come back.

Q) I’ve always thought that with reality shows that the audience participation really, kind of, helps propel the show. Of course, you have stuff like Project Runway where the judges make all the decisions. But then you have, like, American Idol, as Roseanne mentioned, where the audience gets to be part of it. Was that a tough decision to have the judges make all the decisions and just make sure there was no audience participation? Was that a tough decision?

Page: No, sorry. It really wasn’t. You mentioned shows like Runway. There’s Top Chief. There are a lot of shows where it’s the judges making all the decisions. For us, it’s like; look we’ve got Roseanne Barr, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Russell Peters. We think that they pretty much know what they’re talking about – when it comes to comedy. So why not let the experts decide. And I think part what viewers will see this season is we’re pulling back that curtain. So that people can really see this as a craft and understand what goes into it. And why something is good.

Roseanne: But they win because they kill the audience. So the audience is part of it. It’s the laughs they’re getting from the audience, that’s how we judge. So they are part of it. It’s just that, you know no expert opinions are needed – no non-expert opinions – are needed. You want people who’ve never acted to vote on the Academy Awards. Its people who know the craft who should be voting on it. But it is about if they’re getting over and making that audience come out of their seats then. They’re going to win.

Q) But these days Roseanne, it’s being tallied as another golden age of television, especially for drama scripted shows.

Roseanne: I wouldn’t know because I’m unable to turn my TV on unless I call my grandkids. But I don’t know about that. I don’t know what night anything’s on or how to get the guide.

Q) I know Page mentioned earlier that the show is really trying to launch a comedian’s career. I know that they’re plenty of veteran headliner comedians who auditioned this year as well, as people who America doesn’t know anything about. How did you and Keenen and Russell kind of compare the veterans and the newbies?

Roseanne: We’re just comparing it like – It’s who’s hungriest, who wants it most, who’s got the balls to get out there and deliver the mail. And it’s a lot of different things go into it. But some of the professionals – some of them – a few of them haven’t made it because they’re kind of arrogant. And they’re not really wanting it. So, we’ll take somebody who infects the audience with enthusiasm over somebody who’s kind of bored.

Q) I know one of your first big breaks came courtesy of Rodney Dangerfield. With this show, do you feel any kind of compulsion to pay it forward and give somebody their own big break?

Roseanne: Yes, I like to support standup comedy as a craft and an art form and to find stars among the people who do it – so, yes.

Q) How important was – well, just – how important was Rodney putting you on his special as his wife?

Roseanne: Meeting Rodney Dangerfield was just one of the biggest thrills in my life. And being his friend was another one. And the one special I was on had Sam Kinison. Oh, I can’t remember anybody’s name. I’m too old anymore. But, I mean, he gave everybody their starts – – everybody from me, to Dice, to Sam. I mean, he had a young comedian special. And he gave us all our start – as did Mitzi Shore and Budd Friedman, I mean. So, I kind of feel like, maybe, I’m playing forward, yes.

Q) You mentioned before about how it was great seeing all these young comedians with this unusual perspectives that you weren’t use to. And you were also talking about today’s humor. Why doesn’t it seem to be translating as much as it use to into really funny sitcoms like, with Roseanne and Seinfeld and so many other great shows? Do you think that the network TV is just not allowing it to happen as much?

Roseanne: I don’t know. I don’t know about any that. But I do know there’s some really – some really good comics in this competition. And I can’t wait until people see them. Because I think they’re really going to see something new and funny and edgy and different. And like I said, I think our judging styles – they’re not like other judges you’ve ever seen. So, it’s every – it’s like so board. They’re like, “Oh, she’s Simon. And he’s Paula. I mean this is something else. And it kind of is like, hey watch this. I think it’s really good. Good TV is good TV. And TV that makes people laugh and want to come back.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*