It's Jerry Seinfeld. Thanks for asking.
This is what I've heard: when the network executives tried to push Seinfeld into a more conventional sitcom--everyone sleeping with everyone else, presumably, followed by someone getting married and having twins--Seinfeld would say, "I don't have to do this. I can go back to doing standup."
The beauty in this is that he wasn't bluffing. He would have been perfectly happy to go back to standup, just as he was perfectly happy to do the show, on his own terms.
If you've seen the movie Comedian--a documentary about standup comedy, Seinfeld's in particular--you may remember a scene in which a young comic is bemoaning his lack of success. All his friends are established in their careers, he complains, while he's spent years working as a comedian, and what does he have to show for it?
Seinfeld puts a stop to the whining with a simple question: Is there something you'd rather be doing?
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The agent contacted me a few days ago to report that there's been "some interest" in the two-novel package.
"But they have some questions," she said, and one of the questions was: do I intend to keep writing?
Seems like a funny question. Why would I stop? Why would I write at all if there were something I'd rather be doing?
1 comment:
A better question: can you be stopped?
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