You've only recently began playing Vegas, but would you ever consider permanently headlining a Strip show one day? You could be our next Rickles …
Holy crap, yeah, some day if I'm lucky. I'm gonna check out Bette Midler's new show when I'm there; that will be awesome. I saw Elton John's show, The Red Piano, and it's amazing. Elton John is as great as he ever was, and then with each song are these super-trippy David LaChappelle movies that are nuts.
The Joint at the Hard Rock is a bit off-Strip, and unlike The Mirage and House of Blues shows, you should be getting more of your own fans out, as opposed to tourists just wandering in off the street. The way George Carlin dealt with similar situations here is well-known, but is making comedy palpable for the masses ever justified? How would you react if you were ever asked to tone things down?
I would just pass on the gig. I don't know how to adjust. Telling me not to do something is like telling me to do it. Not because I have some problem with authority or anything, it just dangles in my head and I get obsessed. As for my show, I don't know that it will be much different from when I was at the Mirage and stuff. It will be a little different; some new jokes and some jokes that are the same but I've honed or added. It's a real slow, gradual process for me.
In hindsight, would you have said anything different about Britney at the VMAs? How did you deal with the backlash, if it was worth dealing with at all?
Ugh. I was put on right after Britney. Whoever I was following I would have to do jokes about to segue into the rest of the jokes. I was expecting to follow the blow-out performance she has always had at the VMAs, and it wasn't until the next day online that I was able to see her part of the show. If I knew what we all know now about her, I wouldn't. I think she is truly sick and needs help and it's heartbreaking. It seems like there is not a single adult around her with her best interest at heart.
Having already achieved a highly successful career as a comic, scored your own TV show and released your Jesus Is Magic film/DVD, what else is on your aspirational checklist? Is there an ultimate dream gig or goal?
No ultimate goal. Just to continue doing my show which I enjoy so much, continue stand up, and look for opportunities to play characters that are layered in one way or another. Should I be giving funny answers? I'm sorry!
Congrats on the whole "Fucking Matt Damon" viral awesomeness. How did Jimmy take the "bad news?" And, uh, how is Matt in bed … on the floor … on a towel by the door …?
Jimmy loved it; he was so surprised! And Matt: what a mensch. He was so game and made the day so fun. I'm such a giant fan of his acting and got to know him a bit. He's a good, good guy.
Any hint as to what's going to be on the horizon for The Sarah Silverman Program now that the Strike’s over?
We started back Wednesday and it was great, but we have a lot of catching up to do. It's hard because we've had such shitty momentum and the strike really made it comically bad. But we're writing 10 more now, and hopefully people won't forget about us completely by the time we air again in the fall.
Any other thoughts you'd like to get out there?
Just a shout out to Jimmy's Aunt Chippy there in Vegas: Hey there, Chip! When you gonna stop smoking those skinny cigarettes?
February 23, 8 and 11 p.m., $34.50-$92. The Joint, 693-5000.