Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has declared that the film business is no longer the commanding force it once was in our society and culture. In an interview with GQ magazine to discuss his new Pop-Tart movie, “Unfrosted,” Seinfeld expressed admiration for the unwavering dedication of his colleagues but noted a crisis permeating the industry.
Asked what he thinks has replaced film, Seinfeld responds: “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?”
Another pull from the interview mentions a “very funny January 6 parody,” which interviewer Brett Martin calls “a little surprising, given how apolitical [Seinfeld has] been.” The scene isn’t in the trailer (below), but will doubtless do the rounds when the movie is released in early May.
But the 69-year-old stand-up and sitcom actor refused to get drawn on the question, instead pivoting to October 7 and antisemitism in America: “Well, I’m Jewish. And you grow up learning about antisemitism, but it’s kind of in a book. It never crossed my mind that people would look at me as anything other than, ‘I like this comedian. I don’t like this comedian.’ I think most Jews of my generation never thought about antisemitism. It was from history books. And then it was something different. It was something different.”
“Unfrosted,” a comedy based on the development of the Pop-Tart and the intensifying rivalry between Kellogg’s and Post during the early ’60s, features Seinfeld alongside Melissa McCarthy. Amy Schumer plays the head of Post. Seinfeld is credited with writing the script, marking his most significant film project since his role in the 2007 animated comedy Bee Movie, where he was a writer, producer, and lead voice.
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