Jerry Seinfeld, instead of standing in front of the camera, has chosen to sit in the director's chair for the Netflix film Unfrosted. In a recent interview with GQ, he went into depth about what it was like for the first time in his long career to do something completely different than acting and directing instead, and he really didn't hold back with his words.
"It was totally new to me. I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work. They're so dead serious! They don't have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea."
When asked to explain what he meant, he added:
"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."
So what does he think has replaced his interest in film?
"Depression? Malaise? I would say confusion. 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?"
Something that has instead grown in popularity right now is stand up and he went on to talk about his career in it:
"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. ... There's trees everywhere , but to make a nice table, it's not so easy.
So, the metaphor is that if you have good craft and craftsmanship, you're kind of impervious to the whims of the industry. 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."