NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Seinfeld has been responsible for more movies than you think.
Yes, he co-wrote and lent his voice to 2007’s “Bee Movie.†But before that, “Seinfeld†— where going to the movies, with or without the aid of Moviefone, was nearly as regular a destination as the coffee shop — gave birth to dozens of (fake) films. “Rochelle, Rochelle.†“Prognosis Negative.†“Sack Lunch.â€
But nearly three decades after Seinfeld was, in one episode, cajoled into bootlegging “Death Blow,†he has finally made his first film. Seinfeld directed, co-wrote and stars in a star-studded comedy about the invention of the Pop-Tart premiering May 3 on Netflix.
The film, which co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant and others, is an outlandish, “Mad Menâ€-inspired ’60s-set satire in which Kellogg’s and Post Cereal are engaged in a cutthroat race to “upend America’s breakfast table.â€
“When you see any scene of it you go, ‘What is that?’ And I was very happy about that,†Seinfeld said in a recent interview. “I like that you look at it and go, ‘I don’t know what this is.’â€
For Seinfeld, who has resolutely stuck to stand-up since “Seinfeld†ended in 1998, it’s a rare post-sitcom project, joining a short and sporadic list including the short-lived reality series “The Marriage Ref†and the popular streaming show
“U²Ô´Ú°ù´Ç²õ³Ù±ð»å,†though, returns Seinfeld to one of his abiding passions. Remember all those cereal boxes in his apartment on “Seinfeldâ€? The Pop-Tart is a particular fascination, though. In his 2020 comedy special “23 Hours to Kill,†it formed an extended bit beginning with the childhood memory: “When they invented the Pop-Tart, the back of my head blew right off.â€
For Seinfeld, the Pop-Tart has an almost mythical quality. A movie about Oreos or Milk Duds or even Junior Mints wouldn’t work, he says. But the Pop-Tart is different.
“A lot of it is the word. It’s a funny word,†says Seinfeld. “I heard Mattel is trying to do a Hot Wheels movie. That could work. Certain things really got us when we were kids, you know?â€
In a wide-ranging interview, Seinfeld discussed subjects large and small.
AP: “Unfrosted†began with an old stand-up bit of yours. Is it surprising to you that you’ve made a movie about it?
SEINFELD: It was all (“Seinfeld†writer) Spike Feresten’s idea. I did not want to do it. I did not think it would work. What’s a movie about inventing the Pop-Tart? That’s not funny. And (“Seinfeld†writer) Andy Robin came up with the idea that it’s “The Right Stuff.†And I went, “Oh, that’s funny.â€
AP: You suggested you only say you love Pop-Tarts to make the joke work.
SEINFELD: I probably just said that to make that point. But I do love Pop-Tarts. I had one yesterday. We were doing a social media piece with Jimmy Fallon and Meghan Trainor. I took I bite and I went, “This is fantastic.†What I like about it is the man-made quality of it. I love great objects that fit in your hand in a nice way. A pack of cigarettes is one of the greatest things you can put in your hand. It just feels great. Dice feel great. I like a nice spoon. I like things. (Laughs)
AP: You’ve often spoken about your dedication to sharpening and sculpting a joke. Are you still driven by that?
SEINFELD: I started a bit the other night about your kitchen sponge on the sink looking up at you going: “I don’t know how much more you think I have. I was done two months ago.†Now it’s just growing and growing into his monologue of your kitchen sponge telling you, “Let me go! Let me die a rectangle, not in pieces.†When I lock on to something like that, I just want to see how far I can go with it, how long will they let me talk about this.
AP: You’re about to turn 70. Is that meaningful to you?
SEINFELD: No.
AP: Some entertainers turn inward when they reach their 70s, like Steven Spielberg did with But maybe this is a very personal movie for you.
SEINFELD: Very much. This is my “Fabelmans.†Because I’m not interested in my life. I’m interested in eating.
AP: You’ve said you want to do stand-up into your 80s and beyond.
SEINFELD: To the end. To the very end.
AP: You still feel that way?
SEINFELD: Yeah. The only hard part of my life is the other things. People do ask me about slowing down and I go, “The work part of my life is not stand-up. It’s all the other things.†Stand-up is an incredible, pure experience. Surfing is the great regret of my life that I never really got good at that. I did it for two weeks one time many years ago. But if you were a surfer, you would never stop doing it. That’s what stand-up is for me. Feeling that energy, that natural life-force energy under you and around you, I never get tired of that.
AP: Are you thinking about another stand-up special?
SEINFELD: No, I’m not. ... I envy, sometimes, these little Italian artisans who don’t really care if anybody knows who they are or what they do. And stand-up can be like that. Any writing work is very lonely work. Stand-up, in a way, is kind of a private, lonely world. I’m going to Dayton, Ohio, on Friday. No one’s going to know what happened there. I’m very attracted to that. I’m more attracted to that than, “Hey everyone, I made a movie.â€
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To read an expanded version of this interview, visit: