Russell Peters & Keenen Ivory Wayans – Last Comic Standing

By starrymag | August 12, 2014

Q) I was wondering do we know yet whether you guys will be back next season?

Russell: I know I’d like to be but I haven’t heard if I am or not. This is Russell by the way.

Keenen: Yes, we haven’t officially been asked yet.

Q)  Has this season lived up to your expectations that you had at the beginning of the year or exceeded them or what can you tell us about that?

Russell: I think the level of talent, I really exceeded my expectations and the public’s response really exceeded my expectations and the emotional investment a lot of people have put into a lot of the comics that may or may not have made it to this bar has also surprised me.  So, yes, everything about the show has exceeded everything I thought it would be.

Keenen: Yes, I’d have to agree with Russell. I didn’t know what to expect coming in. I did it because, of, you know, prior relationships I’ve had with people, and you know, I thought it would be fun. But, everything that has happened on all sides, I was pleasantly surprised that NBC allowed the comedians to be as funny as they were and to push the boundaries like they did. I’m surprised at the level of talent. I was surprised at, like Russell said, the audience response and investment in the comedians and it’s all been a great ride.

Q) Keenen, I’m wondering what does it mean to you being out on tour with your brothers right now and has it helped you on the show at all?

Keenen: Well, I won’t say it’s helped me on the show but it’s helped me to articulate to the comedians on the show because I’m experiencing what they’re experiencing. So, it’s very real. This is the first time we’ve ever done this and it’s been a dream of ours for, I mean, since we all started. And, so because of all the other things that we’ve done in TV and film, we’ve never had the time. So, now, this is just, like I said, a dream come true. So, we’re having a ball.

Q) Keenen, I wanted to ask you about first impressions because I remember when Lachlan first came on and you talked, you said he looked like a mannequin. And I was just thinking about that because we expect comedian somehow more to look like Woody Allen or something and be kind of short, thoughtful looking guys and so forth. So, kind of, what was your first impression of this 6’4″ guy standing up there looking like a model and how has your impression of him evolved as time went on?

Keenen: Well, my initial impression when he first walked out was, “Oh.  This guy looks like a mannequin, what is he going to do?” And that, I think is a genuine response from the audience no matter who the comedian is. Unless, you look funny, then people’s response is, “Oh boy. I know the guy,” you know what I mean? If you don’t fit in that mold, then the audience is always going to doubt you. But, what was great about Lachlan is he had that twinkle and that’s the key right there. That twinkle in the eye, knowing that you’re funny and knowing that you’re not just funny, but you’re the funniest guy in the room, and that’s what he does. And he’s very sly, I think he’s a very, not just a good standup, but crafty as well.  You’ll see in the finale. He paced himself well and he really delivers. He’s a funny guy. He’s got a big career.

Q) Russell, I wondered if you can do some standup here on the finale. They always say that you should start early with material that’s the most unusual about you, and one of the things is that you’re a comedian with roots in India – Family roots that most comedians don’t have. Was that kind of key importance when you first got started to point out some of the things that were different about you?

Russell: Well, absolutely. I mean, my whole life I was reminded that growing up in Canada, I was reminded that I was not like the other kids and they are the ones that actually reminded me that I was not like them. As a kid, you don’t know that you’re not like other people. You just assume everybody’s the same. And because I was the first Indian guy to get in this game 25 years ago, it would be ridiculous for me to ignore the holy elephant in the room.

Q) And overall, has it been a good thing for you? I mean, just giving you a lot of great material?

Russell: Its amazing thing for me. If I didn’t do it, somebody else would’ve and they might not have done it as well. So, yes, I’m very pleased with the way things went for me.

Q) I wanted to get your impressions of Rod Man over the course of the season.  It seems like he’s been very consistent, hasn’t he from the beginning to the most recent?

Russell:  He can be consistent and he’s a guy that I’ve known for about 15 years and when he first walked out on the first show, in my head, I went “Oh boy.  I don’t know how this is going to go.”  Because I’ve seen him destroy in black rooms but this is a mixed room and it’s a very different game. When he destroyed the same way he destroyed in a black room I was like, “Uh oh.  Maybe I’ve apparently have misjudged everything.”

Keenen: The first time I saw Rod Man was on the show. So, I didn’t have any preconceived ideas about him. What I liked about him was that he had this everyman kind of confusion and he was able to take subject matter and weave it into this character that took it from being jokes to personal kind of point of view. And I thought that that was – thought it was very clever and I thought he was able to get away with a lot of things because of the character that he was portraying. So, I thought, okay, this guy is – I like comedians who bring a different take on things and that’s what I saw on him. I was like, okay, I like his take and in terms of his consistency, he absolutely has been consistent. Every single night that he’s performed, he’s killed it.

Q) So he can get away with talking about saggy breast and ugly babies and make people like him, right?

Keenen: Exactly. Exactly, because it’s coming from – yes. It’s coming from this character and once you buy the character, he can talk about anything.

Q) Do you think that comedy now is softer than it was when you guys broke in? I mean, Joan Rivers gets in trouble every second day for saying something and I honestly can’t gauge anymore because I don’t know what’s controversial and what’s not. There’s always going to be a group that says it is and there’s always going to be a group that says it isn’t. So, can you talk a little bit about the current state of comedic discourse and do you think it’s reflected in the contestants and on the show?

Russell: Well, I think the public and the media, you know, whoever dictates what political correctness says are the people that are really almost trying to ruin comedy. Comedy is about people saying things that everybody’s afraid to say. Comedy’s the last bastion of freedom of speech and Americus always bragging about our freedoms and our freedoms and the rest of the world once our freedoms and they don’t like our freedoms. And our freedom of speech is the last – we don’t have that anymore. We have to word everything so carefully now that it actually makes our job far less organic because we can’t speak the way we need to speak. And I think the younger generation of comics that comes up with that and, which is great for them because they come up wording things a certain way and writing a different way, which adds to a new element of comedy. But, there will always be the old cards like myself, and Keenen, and Roseanne who don’t care about political correctness and say what we need to say.

Keenen: I think it’s a comedian’s job to defy political correctness.  I think that’s why people come to see you. You’re supposed to be the guy who says what no one else will say, and that’s why people laugh. So, I think there’s always been political correctness. There’s always been conservatism. I mean, when I did In Living Color, we were at the height of conservatism, it was the Reagan era. And it was just my job to come in and, you know, say all the things that nobody else would say and I caught hell.  You’re not a good comedian if you’re not catching hell, so I don’t think that in terms of what you said about being able to gage it, you shouldn’t even try. You should just go out and say it.  Be funny, and the audience will you know. As long as they’re laughing, you’re in the zone.

Q) Do you think that maybe social media has sort of, in a way, has almost hurt it and a bit because you’re always going to get a reaction to anything no matter what you say, and extreme reaction. So, it’s harder to understand where you’re at?

Keenen: Here’s where social media and the Internet has hurt art, period, is that people invade the creative space. So now, you got cameras in comedy clubs and places where comedians are working out material.  And then it’s being presented before it’s been formed.  It’s like my brother Shawn has a great line where he says, “It’s like judging a baby based on the sonogram.” It’s just being formed. You know, you can’t sit there and go,  “Ooh.  Look at the head on that boy.” So it’s the same kind of thing with comedy. It’s like there are places that the art form is to be developed before it’s presented to the main stage and as long as you have people coming in and invading that space you inhibit creativity that way.  I think there’s certain places where it just doesn’t belong.

Q) Could you each tell me maybe your favorite moment through the season, your favorite memory?

Russell: For me, it was the night where Monroe Martin and Joe Machi have to go head-to-head and we really couldn’t decide and we made them do, I think it was, three overtime rounds. Was it three, Keen?

Keenen: Yes.

Russell: Three or four, it was something crazy. But, we really genuinely could not decide as to who won that night. That was my moment, one of them.

Keenen: I would say, to me, that was one of the more exciting moments because that made the show real.  That made the competition real.

Q) Russell, I’m wondering what your presence on the show has done to increase your visibility in the United States?

Russell: I was pretty much an invisible celebrity in America. I was a celebrity but it was not celebrated. It has definitely increased my profile, I would say.  If you watch the show, then at least my face. You may not know who I am or what I do, but you’ll at least know my face by now. And it’s little things like that.  I’m big fan of walking before you run, so no rush. There’s no finish line of comedy. You can do this for the rest of your life.

Q) Do you prefer a small room over an arena or a big theater?

Russell: Yes, I mean, I like to switch it up all the time. When you’re doing – see, I’m getting ready for an arena tour about 10 days after I finish Comedy Works, I will be performing in arenas again. So, I like the intensity of doing six shows in three nights or eight shows in four nights. And then that makes you sharp. And you’ve got the audience right there so if you want to mess around, you can mess around. If you want to run your side, you could run your set. So, you got a lot of freedom in the clubs that you don’t get in the arena us. But, I’ll never stop doing clubs because you’ve always got to get back to your roots no matter what you’re doing.

Q) Keenen, I can’t help, but think of the story you told while I’m watching “Last Comic Standing” with you saying that you had seen your “Tonight Show” appearance in recent years and how that kind of reignited your passion for doing stand-up. I was wondering if that had any impact on your decision to do show or the way you’ve approached judging the show?

Keenen: It definitely had an impact on my decision to do the show because as I told you, me after seeing the journey was all about getting back to your smile, right. So, to have an opportunity to come and watch young people who are in that zone right now who are pursuing their dream is – just reminds you. It just puts you back in a greater emotional state because the pursuit of a dream, there’s no greater high than that. And to see them go on and do well and move onto the next round. It’s like; you see that in their eyes, you see that joy. And like I said, it’s infectious. So, it definitely is part of the experience.

Q) How do you think you would have done as contestants on Last Comic Standing when you were just starting out in your careers?

Russell: I think I would’ve failed miserably. In all honesty, I mean, maybe in the early stages of my career, I might’ve had that zeal that you need to move forward but I’ve often been a wordy guy who may take a little bit more time then I need to get to the punchline, as you can tell by the answer I’m giving you right now.

Keenen: Yes, I think I would’ve been a warrior. I don’t know how I would’ve done but I would’ve been a warrior.

Q) I was wondering has it been tough to judge other comedians or is that just something that comes naturally for both of you?

Russell:  Well, as a comic who still hangs out in the clubs and stuff, I know you don’t want to judge other comics but, you know, it’s comedians nature to automatically question anything that’s presented in front of us. I wouldn’t say, I don’t know for comedians or just people that question life and everything around us. So yes, it is difficult but at the same time, it’s kind of natural.

Keenen: Yes, I don’t really feel like I’m judging. I feel like when I’m watching them, I’m not really putting their thinking this person is good or bad. I’m sitting there thinking, oh man, this guy needs to hold the mic closer to his face or that joke would’ve worked better if he had done this, that, or the other. So, the way comics work in the club is if Russell where to go on and I were at the back of the room, I’d be watching Russell not from the standpoint of judging him but, oh I got to give him this note. Oh, he forgot to do this. I’m vicariously performing. And,  you get a lot great tips from fellow comedians because when you come off stage, they will give you those notes. And so, that’s kind of the mindset that I have when I’m watching the show. I’m not really judging them, I’m performing by vicariously.

Q) Is there any one person that looking back he would’ve love to see in the finale but maybe because of a tough matchup, they got away too soon?

Russell: For me, would’ve been Joe Machi and Rocky LaPorte, But then, if you were to go right back to the beginning, there was a guy named Joe Zimmerman who I still to this day regret not getting put forth on the show to make it through to even challenge further.

Keenen: Yes, there were a couple of guys in the very beginning who I know we’re great standups like (Wilson) that I wish I had done another set so that they could have moved further into the competition.

Q) We’ve been able to see throughout the series, little snippets of your deliberations from week to week and I’m curious to know how, as we got to the finale, how much you balanced how a comedian can fit into the mold of a sitcom star because of the network development deal versus just plain who’s the flat out funniest each night?

Russell: Well the thing is we had to consider that, but it wasn’t just that they were getting a sitcom deal, they were getting a development deal too. It might’ve been a sketch comedy show. It could’ve been Roseanne, or it could’ve been “In Living Color.” Who knows what they wanted to do? So, we couldn’t look at it just from that aspect of will they make a good sitcom. We have to look at it as are they be presentable? Will they be consistent? Do they have enough point of view to create a vehicle for themselves. I think Keenan can answer this better because he’s more in that world.

Keenen: Yes, but I think Russell’s right. We consider their point of view but it always came down to who was funny. Funny came first and then it was, if it was a tie between two people we would say well who do you think really has another five minutes. Who do we think really if they won this competition could have a show built around them.  So, then we’d have those discussions but it always was funny first.

Q) So, in other words, “Funniest wins?”

Russell: Yes.

Keenen: That’s clever.

Q) Did you pay close attention to Marlon’s show which also has its season finale this week?

Keenen: I have. We watch it on the road together

Q) Which came first by the way, you signing up with Last Comic or him getting the deal with TBS?

Keenen: I think they happen simultaneously actually. But, he didn’t ask me.

Q) So, going forward for next year, how would you advise comedians since Last Comic has already been renewed for next season?

Keenen: I mean, now that the show is on the air, I think there’s – next crop will kind of get that you have to put your best foot forward. Don’t try to save it. The key is to win. So, you go out there with guns blazing and if you make it, now you start to get strategic. You know what I mean? All right guys, a lot of guys who should have moved forward didn’t because they held back.

Russell: Oh, absolutely. I mean, and I understood their plan of attack, but a lot of the veteran guys that came into the very first episode but never moves forward, the problem is – things like boxing to me. If you can’t teach at 12 round fighter, you can’t tell a 12 round fighter to fight one round. We don’t know how to do that. We only know how to extend it out. So, it’s easier for the younger guys with the little, maybe a few years less on them to make those changes. But, when you’re a full-fledged headliner and you travel around the country or the world and you’ve got a certain set way of doing your stuff, it’s a tough edit for you.

Keenen: Right. You don’t know how to do five minutes.

Russell: Yes, you genuinely don’t know how to do five minutes.

Keenen: You know how to do five minutes when you first start, because that’s all you got. So, it’s true. It’s hard once you have an hour, it’s hard to do five minutes.

Q) The final three comics are also different and I was wondering does that make your job tougher as judge because they are so different?

Russell:  I think the more different they are, the better it is. You don’t want three people that are exactly alike because then you’ll be like what’s the point of watching this.

Q) Watching Alingon Mitra has been amazing.  What do you think it is about him that has resonated so well with the viewers?

Keenen: We actually thought he was great. So, it’s not surprising.

Russell: He was a very funny kid and he crafts great jokes and I think that just resonated with people.

Keenen: Yes.  He’s very smart. You can tell, this guy is brilliant. Just in the competition that particular night his set wasn’t the strongest.

Q) Keenen, I wanted to go back to something you said, that you were pleasantly surprised that NBC allowed the comedians to be funny as they were and push the boundaries. I’m just wondering what do you think of the state of comedy on TV these days?

Keenen: Honestly, I think comedy on TV is – there is some great comedy on TV.  I say, TV in general is great nowadays.  I think movies is where we’re suffering but TV is a great medium right now.

Russell: TVs great.   I don’t know if network TVs great, what TV in general is great.

Q) Why do you think the movies are suffering?

Keenen: Because comedians aren’t doing comedy.

Q) We talked individually about two of the people, but we didn’t really talk individually about Nikki. So, I was wondering if both of you could kind of talk about Nikki, first impressions of her and if she’s evolved –  kind of what you think of her.

Russell: Nikki Carr is one of those ones whose name I didn’t know before the show. I didn’t know much about her and when she came out, I always have my – no matter who comes out in front of me, I always have some sort of – I don’t know if I’m a cynic, but in my head I try to figure it out before they say anything. And, she was one of those people who surprised me every turn she took and I continuously get surprised by her – pleasantly obviously- she’s just one of those people that connects with people and her material is great.

Keenen: Yes, I would have to say I immediately liked her. She reminded me of, like, a female Bernie Mac. I am immediately was taken by her charm, and her presence and just her love of making people laugh. That was infectious and definitely made me a fan.  Where I always had my question was, “Does she have another five minutes? ”  And, surprisingly, all the way to this finale, and even in this finale, it gets competitive.  I mean, these three guys battle it out and of all three, she’s the one that I’m nervous for.

Russell: I have this weird nervous – because there’s a vulnerability about her and it’s one of those things where you think, I think she might crack and she doesn’t.

Keenen: No.  It’s awesome. She’s awesome.

Q) Can you give us an idea of what else is going to happen in this finale?

Russell: In all fairness, I haven’t seen the final episode, I just remember shooting it.  So, I think a lot of people don’t really understand is that – because people will come to me on the streets and ask me about the show and they’ll talk about the comics backstory and as a judge, we never saw the backstory.  All we saw was the comics doing comedy in front of us.

Keenen: Well, I’ve seen everything, Russell.

Russell: I’m sorry.

Keenan: No, I’m kidding.  I haven’t seen anything. It’s a battle.  They battle it out.  It’s a great finale and you’re going to – all three of them – what you’ve seen before the finale, has not been their best.  So, all three of them have saved their best for last.

Russell: Yes.  Every time they were spent, they weren’t.

Q) There was an announcement that there might be some In Living Color specials. Where does that stand? Is it ever going to happen?

Keenen: I know nothing about that. I wouldn’t be opposed to it. But nothing is in the works right now.

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*