Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
New York is looked at as the grad school of comedy.
Netflix is very protective with their information .
As long as the world keeps spinning, I'll keep riffing.
The alphabet was invented in Iraq, so it's a cool place.
In a way, you just can't predict a perfect movie for 'MST3K.'
Comedians are always narrating the story of the people. Always.
Black people have to define who we are, or others do it for us.
I can't do Christopher Walken impressions anymore, thanks [Barack] Obama.
I think we have a lot to learn from ancient cultures and different tribes.
When you're a young comedian the first thing you want to do is get a laugh.
The audience is your first collaborator with the material. If that makes sense.
The Middle East is gorgeous, but again, politically, I would not want to go there.
The only thing I've ever stolen are hours out of people's lives with meandering conversations.
If you live with a certain amount of dread for your own personal safety every day, that is anxiety.
Worry less about having to fit, and focus more on what you want to make - this will always serve you.
If you're driving down the street, you keep the neck forward. So that way you can clear out the lanes.
I'm working with a lot of legends who are brilliant who are people I've looked up to from a very young age.
I was processing a lot of different things and kind of looking over a lot of things and rethinking my childhood.
When you're working on a TV show, your schedule can be very unpredictable, which means it's harder to book shows.
Shrimp are the insects of the ocean. They're bottom feeders. So they're delicious, but they're the bugs of the sea.
I just got diagnosed with tendonitis which is such an insulting diagnosis. Just point to my shoulder and say "old."
Plenty of black people that I know have been on 'SNL,' and they haven't been utilized to the best of their abilities.
One time I was really close to Steve Martin. I was too afraid to actually go talk to him, but I'll count that as meeting.
One time, I was really close to Steve Martin. I was too afraid to actually go talk to him, but I'll count that as meeting.
Here's the best place that people can find me: go to this website called Google, and then type my name into it. So much stuff.
First of all I love Empire Records and That Thing You Do and all the movies he did from that era. He hates when I bring that up.
When I have these negative thoughts and feelings, I like to dig into them because I like to get under them and see what's in there.
I think any good standup or actor is part philosopher, part psychologist and sociologist, because you're constantly recreating behaviors.
When I'm watching Tom Servo, I don't feel like I'm in my own body; I'm just reacting and saying what the character in front of me would say.
What I am trying to do is create a space for people to explore what they want to be, as opposed to fit into a label that they have been given.
When things get stressful and crazy and you think to yourself, 'When will this get easier?' it won't, because that's what a career feels like.
I used to watch a lot of Nick at Nite as a kid, and it would play the original 'Saturday Night Live,' 'The Carol Burnett Show,' and 'Laugh-In.'
Instead of letting anxiety run you, try voicing it. Voice it in your comedy. Voice it in a script. Just voice it, and it'll help you release it.
I'll get laughs in the places I don't want them and that makes me realize the direction I want to go in. I don't mean to get too deep into comedy here.
Sometimes you're not getting the laughs you want or at the place you want but that doesn't mean it's not funny. It means you haven't explored it enough.
The audience is not your boss. They are your collaborators and when you collaborate with someone you don't have to listen to everything they think or say.
My first impression of Jane Fonda was she is a queen. She is royalty. She walks into the room - any room - and has this presence about her that demands respect.
Until recently, Hollywood offered only a handful of roles to actors of color. The majority of my opportunities have fallen into two categories: Scary Black and Funny Black.
As you go on you realize "Okay I know how to get laughs but am I saying things I want to say? Am I writing jokes that I like?" You get to a point that is that so you move on.
I think Batman Returns is right for riffs. I love it but it's the ultimate Tim Burton movie. There is so much that happens that's crazy and there are a ton of things to riff.
Being around Lily Tomlin has been great, how she treats people, how she handles herself, how she goes about interpreting her character or deciding how the comedy should work.
We are constantly consuming entertainment; we treat celebrities like role models and royalty. Sometimes destructive behavior gets ignored, or sometimes the pressure breaks them.
I read recently that I was born in Arizona. I wasn't born in Arizona. I was born in New Mexico, but I can understand why people might confuse those two Southwestern desert states.
Lily Tomlin...I used to watch reruns of Laugh-In and she was always my favorite part. She's this very unique talent and the way she does things has been a very big influence on me.
What makes a good festival, above all, is the audience. It feels disconnected when it's meant to bring in people from elsewhere and not meant for the people who actually live there.
I've always been a comedy nerd, and 'Partners in Crime' was probably more influential for me than anything else because it was not only standup, but Robert Townsend had those short films.
The smaller an audience is, the more self-conscious they are. People are always looking at each other to see who is laughing. Because the thing about laughter is that it exposes who you are.
The thing is that where I want to go isn't necessarily tied to what's going on there politically, but I think Vietnam is a really beautiful country. I think Thailand is also really beautiful.
In other places, especially in Boston, it's like a place where comedy gestates. People come out of there that are fantastic, but you have to come to New York or L.A. to quote unquote 'make it.'
I grew up on a very specific diet of certain weird movies. Of course, being black, there are more black movies in there. I'll get to bring some of those references into 'Mystery Science Theater 3000.'