Jerry Seinfeld boldly claims “the movie business is over”
As one of the most influential American comics of modern history, Jerry Seinfeld has seen culture change markedly. Seinfeld has been at the forefront of the entertainment industry for decades, and has noticed a change in cinema across this time.
While the New Yorker is best known for playing a semi-fictionalised version of himself in the sitcom Seinfeld, which he created and co-wrote alongside future Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David, he has also dipped his toes into the world of filmmaking. Famously, he co-produced, co-wrote, and starred in the 2007 film Bee Movie and is now returning to the world of features with his upcoming effort Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story.
Seinfeld will direct, produce, and star in Unfrosted. Set in Michigan in 1963, it follows the two arch rivals of the cereal business, Kellogg’s and Post, as they race to innovate a new pastry that will change the breakfast market forever. A Netflix movie, the streamer describes it as “a tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar, and menacing milkmen.”
Boasting an all-star cast, it stars Seinfeld as a boss at Kellogg’s, as well as Dan Levy, James Marsden, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer and Christian Slater. However, the most intriguing feature has to be Hugh Grant, who continues to revolt against being typecast, and this time out, plays a washed-up Shakespearean actor who voices Tony the Tiger, the iconic Frosties mascot.
In a new interview with GQ, Seinfeld has reflected on filmmaking and how movies’ cultural standing have changed over the years, with them now not as significant as they once were earlier on in his career.
“It was totally new to me. I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work,” Seinfeld explained of making movies so late. “They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.”
Elaborating, he continued: “Film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out, if it was good, we all went to see it. We all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes we liked. Now we’re walking through a fire hose of water, just trying to see.”
“Depression? Malaise? I would say confusion. Disorientation replaced the movie business,” Seinfeld added, describing what has replaced film in the cultural space. “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?'”
Seinfeld then claimed he’s lucky to have committed to enough projects to have carved out a space for himself in contemporary times, which he deems more valuable than ever. Likening being a comedian to a cabinetmaker, he feels everyone needs a guy who’s good with wood. He said: “So, the metaphor is that if you have good craft and craftsmanship, you’re kind of impervious to the whims of the industry.”
Seinfeld asserted that stand-up is now more popular than ever because it’s something you simply cannot fake. People can trust the form, as you are found out as a fake quickly if you are not up to the job. “Everything else is fake,” he concluded.
Watch the trailer for Unfrosted below.
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