NEW YORK 鈥� As Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee cruises into its 10th season, Jerry Seinfeld realizes that with great success also comes the potential for lawsuits. He experienced it with the Seinfeld television series, his animated turn in Bee Movie and now with his latest show.
The lawsuit comes from Christian Charles, who claims he developed the concept, and is therefore the owner of the project. Charles directed the first episode of the series.
Seinfeld says he鈥檚 not worried, though he鈥檚 hurt that the lawsuit comes from a friend.
The comedian sat down with the Associated Press to talk his favourite moments from Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (the new season debuts July 6 on Netflix), whether it鈥檚 open season on comedians after politically polarizing incidents involving stars ranging from Samantha Bee to Kathy Griffin, and why you won鈥檛 hear about his political views:
AP: Do you feel comedians are under attack these days?
Seinfeld: Not really, because there鈥檚 so many voices that they are kind of cancelling each other out. It seems to me that every single person everywhere is under attack in their comments section of whatever they think or whatever they said. To me it has no impact because there鈥檚 too many, too much noise. It鈥檚 all just noise that just drowns 鈥� everybody drowns each other out.
AP: It used to be that comedy was an escape.
Seinfeld: It can still be that. My show, I don鈥檛 do any political humour, only because I鈥檓 not good at it, and I just do stuff that I think is funny. And so, you have no idea what my politics are and I kind of like to be pure, that it鈥檚 just about what I think is funny.
AP: Tell me about the lawsuit filed against you?
Seinfeld: I don鈥檛 know if you remember my TV series 鈥� a friend of mine sued me for $100 million that I took the whole idea from him. It鈥檚 a guy who lives in Queens. When we did Bee Movie, there was a guy who said: 鈥淚 was going to do a movie about bees, so you owe us everything.鈥� It鈥檚 unfortunate when it鈥檚 a friend, and they decide to go for the money instead, and the friendship. That鈥檚 not the nicest moment, but I鈥檓 used to it.
AP: How did you get the idea for the show?
Seinfeld: It really started when I was doing the show called The Marriage Ref, which we came up with about 10, 11 years ago and it was celebrities trying to help regular people with their marriage. And so, we were shooting these things and we made a few of them. And I found that I could edit the conversation to make it funnier, that I could go into an edit and I could take 20 minutes of conversation and make it 20 minutes that was just OK and make it 10 minutes that was really funny.
AP: So, it鈥檚 the comedians more than the coffee and cars?
Seinfeld: Yes. It was really talking to comedians and having them not feel like they have to get a laugh because they have a lot of interesting thoughts. Comedians have very strange minds. That鈥檚 how they become comedians. And whenever there鈥檚 an audience, our instinct is to play to that audience. But if you get them away from the audience, they come out with other things that are interesting, that I thought people would like to hear.
AP: I think I know your favourite episode was 鈥� with then-President Barack Obama?
Seinfeld: That was. Being outside the Oval Office and knocking on the window, and like he鈥檚 just some loser single guy, and I鈥檓 another loser single guy. It鈥檚 like a Jerry and George scene where I鈥檓 going: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on? I thought we were hanging out. Come on, let鈥檚 go.鈥� That was one of the most amazing moments of my life, and he and the Secret Service allowed me to do that.
AP: What鈥檚 another one?
Seinfeld: Having the last interview with Jerry Lewis before he passed and getting to talk to him about how he writes and how him and Stan Laurel worked together on a lot of his scripts. And, you know, to a comedy geek like me that鈥檚 the ultimate, to talk to somebody like that.
AP: What about the episode with Julia Louis-Dreyfus?
Seinfeld: It was incredible, you know. I would never want to do like a conventional reunion-type episode. But for us to just sit together and talk, I think it鈥檚 nicer for the public to see that than something that鈥檚 really produced and performed.
