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Needless to say, this has been edited down for length.
Ricky Gervais:Yeah, he is great.
I didnt know he started in comedy.
Hes very funny and hes very different than the characters he plays.
He also has this thing for cars because he rebuilds and races them…
Thats the other thing.
Okay, so Im scared of everything.
Im scared of roads.
Honestly, when I have a new driver, I make them go eight miles an hour.
Im scared of guns, so in this I have to jump into a jeep firing a gun.
I went on a plane trip with Louis C.K.
So fear is funny.
But Eric was going Im the best driver in the world, mate.
That means Im safe.
but I often do that.
Most of the time I write myself sitting down behind a desk [Laughs].
I try and do that in other peoples films as well.
If youre firing a gun, chances are that youll get shot in the balls.
Its dangerous if you start thinking… when comedians think theyre cool, theres a problem I think.
Have you found a good stunt double for yourself that looks like you but can still do those stunts?
Well, as I say, I dont really do anything that needs stunts.
So I have to have a stunt double if theres any driving scenes.
In my new filmLife on the Road, I did all my own things.
Not only am I not an action hero, Im not even a normal human being.
[Laughs]
You wrote a movie calledLife on the Roadeven though you dont drive.
Hes a wreck and hes going on tour, so its a double whammy for David Brent.
What started the idea of doingSpecial Correspondentsas a movie?
I dont do a lot of them and I dont do ten seasons of 22.
Look at the effects ofThe Officeand that was literally seven or eight hours of TV?
Same withExtras, same withDerek, same withIdiot Abroad, and thats all Ive done in 15 years.
I think everything I do, I seem to draw the heat.
Slightly different is enough to have people talk about stuff.
I never understood mixed reviews as a bad thing, but I venture to polarize.
I want mixed reviews.
People dont believe me when I say that.
Now, I think thats stretching it a little bit.
This is a movie, but those were hour-long TV shows.
I think Im more famous than I should be.
When you think of Netflix, thats considered more as TV even though theyre doing movies as well.
I wondered if there was interest in doing more with this idea?
No, it was actually a studio movie.
When I wrote the script and sent it offIve never had a reaction like it.
Put it on BBC2.
I dont want any interference.
Its a long ball game, and now Netflix has come along and its the best of all worlds.
They have no interference.
The skys the limit.
Its the internet, its global, so it can get connection ratings.
Also, I liked it because its the cusp.
I like, not being the first, but I like trying out stuff.
I want to do my next series with you, and he sent back, Well take it!
I actually got one of my jobs that way.
I just emailed someone saying I was interested in doing something and they responded, Okay.
Its amazing when it happens because it happens so rarely.
Yeah, well its great.
That was four years ago and looks whats happened in four years.
I mean, what a success story!
The amazing thing about Netflix is that they havent changed the genre, they havent changed the medium.
All theyve done is pander to the way people are watching things anyway.
The binge watch is what theyve got, thats what theyve given the world.
Now, I dont watch TV anymore.
Im going to save it up until I can binge watch it.
The binge watch is the dominant thing here.
Weve all got an agenda, whether its politics with a big P or just issues.
Ive never forced them.
I dont do it in stand-up, I dont do it in TV.
I never have a huge agenda.
My thing is usually social satire, so its about people.
Its much more about types.
I deal with things like ego and jealousy, and kindness, and evil.
I deal with those bigger, more philosophical and social, and emotional ideas, more than politics.
Ive never really been, Lets bring down a corporation or Lets talk about Bush.
I mean, I dont really do that.
I dont think comedy should be a platform.
However clever you give a shot to be about it.
What does that even mean?
That doesnt make any sense!
I thought I must have missed that part.
Clearly, even though it was a metaphor.
Personally, I do think the scene where he invents religion is probably quite realistic.
Spirituality is a comfort and religion is a power, its as simple as that.
Again, it was more incidental.
It was more to explore this man becoming a prophet and what he did with it.
In a way, this is a superpower as well.
With superpower, youve got something that you didnt know you had that other people havent got.
That is the theme of every superhero movie, but you’re able to do it in life.
What do they do with it?
I think wealth is a superpower.
Its something that some people have got that other people havent got.
What do you do with it?
you’ve got the option to either do good with it or evil with it.
And it can destroy you or make your life better.
I always think in those sort of terms.
What are we watching here?
and I think with all fictioncomedy or dramawe create our own villains and heroes for role-play of the soul.
Villains get their come-uppance or are redeemed, and heroes get rewarded or you feel sorry for them.
Theres lots of examples where theyre not rewarded cause they do the right thing.
Bogart at the end ofCasablancahes not rewarded, but he does the right thing.
I love the morality and the ambiguity of it.
I love things going right, going wrong.
Im fascinated with good and evil and I always have been.
And everything I do is existential as well.
But Ive always snuck that in.
But you know, at the end of the day, its a fun film.
Do you have toys and action figures?
No, Im not!
Ive never collected comics.
I like realism more.
Hes a billionaire thinking what can he do with it?
The same as Iron Man.
The problem with Superman is hes an alien that can do anything.
Once it’s possible for you to do that, its like… thank God for Kryptonite!
They were really silly, and he could do things like that.
They never were thinking Oh, we need to make it more realistic.
Well, I like escapism.
I really love escapism.
I love films about devils and angels.
I loveIts a Wonderful Life, its beautiful.
It was a metaphor, and Id probably like some religious films.
I watchedLimitlessagain last night and that was amazingI loved that!
Its like the ideal plane movie.
As soon as someone says, This guy is magic, likeLord of the RingsandHarry Potter, I cant.
I cant do it.
If it goes too far into fantasy, then its too much for you?
Thats personal, though.
Theyre sort of good and evil.
Ive always had this weird thing about fame, and it has gotten worse.
Now, its insatiable.
Now its gone crazy.
They didnt even say pop star; its just famous.
And now there are people who will do everything to be famous.
Its just everything for a YouTube clip.
I mean, fuck me, its crazy, its just noise.
Its people on telly going, Look at me, look at me!
Look at me, Im with a famous person.
Were dancing in fucking hats.
I mean, just make something, write something.
Write a fucking poem!
Whats happened to the world?
and they get a reputation for that.
Literally, if they have an Instagram account and a million followers, thats something.
Yeah, but it happens all the time.
Now, people who were famous for something elsesingers who want to stay relevantthey do things.
They want their YouTube clip to go viral, and I think, Why?
The internet to me… theres good and bad on the internet.
At its best, its got great shows like Netflix and things go on the internet.
At its worst, its people emptying a drawer out of a fucking window [Laughs].
Dear, God… look at me!
Ill do anything if you look at me.
Ill dress up, Ill dance!
I mean, what sort of question is that?
Will there be any celebrities here?
And when people say celebrities, they mean someone who has their own reality show.
They dont mean that.
[Laughs]
Those guys dont have time to go to parties.
Theyre too busy actually doing stuff.
[Laughs] Yeah, they may look a bit pale.
They should get a tan, look at their awful teeth!
Well, theyve been in a lab for 12 years.
They just found a cure for Alzheimers.
Yeah, but what are they wearing?
Well, it doesnt matter what theyre wearing, to be honest!
Im curious about the David Brent movie and how thats going.
Was there a lot of arm-twisting to do that again?
No, its so funny because I didThe Officeand left it, and Im not bringingThe Officeback.
I said I never would and I shouldnt.
Trump is the role model for people nowtheir ambition.
Youve got the Kardashians and youve got Trump, and thats some peoples role models now.
Ruthless in business, showing off about their wealth, their power.
Build a wall, keep em out, lets blame them.
Its not us, its them!
Okay, weve got that.
Then, he was nearly 40 and it was quite sad.
But its all wrong, and he thinks, Well, look what happened… Susan Boyle got signed.
But Susan Boyle wasnt a victory for her, it was a victory for the show and Simon Cowell.
And David Brent thinks, Well, I can do that, then.
Twitter now, Ive seen it.
We have professional trolls.
We have people who say the most horrendous things for clickbait.
Its like we reward people for just screaming anything.
you’re free to do something terrible then write a book later.
In a Venn diagram, infamy is bigger than fame at the moment.
I probably should let you go because Ive already gone over my 15 minutes by quite a bit.
Oh, no, thats alright.
I feel bad that I ranted about everything but the film!
I should say one thing about Vera.
Even though she was being cruel, it was so funny the way she did it.
And Kevin [Pollak], obviously amazing.
And we got so many good players.
Theyre nice and doing their best and all those awful suggestions.
They took a lot of takes.
I tried to make it like they were nice normal people.
But their intentions are good.
I think its a grown-up comedy.
I suppose its in the vein of something likeTootsie.
The great thing about it is that people will watch it cause its on Netflix.
Im very proud of it.
Yeah, theres no Hollywood now if you dont count Marvel.
Thats why all films are the same.
Have you been able to getCemetery Junctionon Netflix yet?
No, I dont think it is.
I just saw this John Carney movieSing Street,which really reminded me of what you did in that.
Yeah, well that was a tiny little British movie based on me growing up in Reading.
That was a little bit of a labor of love for me.
What do you think Americans would think of that?
Well, you liked it.
I think any American who was ever into the British invasion would appreciate it.
Ill ask Ted [Sarandos].
Its not like if you missed it on the Friday night, you have to wait for the DVD.
People are talking about it, and its there.
Now, obviously were back to a cinema release with David Brent.
Do we put it in a couple cinemas?
What do you do?
Its not a blockbuster, its an acquired taste.
But thats always the way.
