A biography for Scott Aukermanhasn’t been written yet.
“Your average comedian doesn't know the podcast universe, really.”
“Podcasts feature comedians being as funny as they can be in a non-censored situation. It's really akin to standup in a way. When you go see a comedian in standup, that is the most pure, unadulterated form of their art.”
“There's always something interesting about comedy teams that have the exact same energy. The one time I really noticed that was Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in 'Step Brothers.'”
“I'm a huge Bob Hope fan, up until about the late '50s. I've seen so many of his movies up until then, and they're a big influence on me and a big influence on Woody Allen, who is basically just ripping off Bob Hope for his first five or six movies.”
“I look back on our productivity in the 'Mr. Show' days, and think, 'We probably could have worked harder.'”
“I have new bodyguards ever since I got a TV show. I didn't know, but it's a lot like becoming president. They tell you every single secret, like who shot JFK. When you have a TV show, they not only tell you who shot JFK, but they assign you bodyguards.”
“What I love about comedy is breaking down the barrier between the audience and the performer.”
“At the end of Season Four of 'Mr. Show,' instead of doing another season, everyone just thought they wanted to go and do a movie. Kind of like Monty Python. Monty Python went right into 'And Now For Something Completely Different,' and everyone kind of compared 'Mr. Show' to Monty Python.”
“I probably could be a world-class screenwriter by now if I had spent the kind of work I devote on Comedy Death-Ray to that. But I do okay, in that regard. I mean, my stuff gets bought, so it's all right.”
“Doing the podcast, the whole reason to do it is just because I can do whatever I want.”
“Not everyone can be as successful a performer as myself, who gave 10 great performances the first time I ever did comedy, and then toiled in obscurity for years.”
“I remember when I first started, the first movie I wrote that didn't get made I was aghast. 'Wait a minute, that's not how this is supposed to work. You write a move and it gets made!'”
“After I did 'Mr. Show,' I was basically just a writer for a while. I was really young, and I kinda was like, wow, I'm 27 and I was already on this iconic show, and now I can just coast. But no one likes coasting, because you have to fill your day with stuff.”
“The best sketch shows are from a group of tight-knit people who've worked together for a really long time.”
“I've always been fascinated with radio and broadcasting. I did fake radio shows as a kid, where I was a DJ and stuff like that.”
“I grew up loving David Letterman and Pee-wee Herman, but as far as live performance comedy, all I knew were the Jerry Seinfeld-type comedians of the world, and that's what I thought live performance comedy was all about.”
“I guess when I was a kid I wasn't the type of person playing a lot of pranks. I was the type of person upon whom pranks were pulled.”
“I think you're a better comedian when you're in the moment and you're kind of reacting to what's happening like a real person instead of doing rote memorization.”
“I think expressing yourself and working hard can't help but have great results. Look at Zach Galifanakis. He didn't tweet. He didn't have a podcast. He just went out and did the funniest standup you'll ever see in your life. And he was rewarded for that.”
“Working on 'Comedy Bang Bang,' we're there from 10-7, and that's a pretty light day compared to most other TV shows. Other shows, it's like 10-10.”