Donald Trump Christmas Cold Open - SNL 12/17/2016
As a Weekend Update co-anchor, Michael Che helps tie Saturday Night Live to current events. Although the show has topical sketches, Update is its heart and gives the cast a way to shoot pointed barbs at even the unfunniest bits of the weeks news. Alongside Colin Jost, Che both delivers the news and acts as a foil for Updates visiting characters, a skill he sharpened during his time as a correspondent on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.
Before Che was on either of those shows, he was a stand-up working New Yorks club circuit. Thats something Che will return to this weekend when his one-hour special, Michael Che Matters, premieres on Netflix (read The A.V. Clubs review here). In it, Che riffs on everything from Donald trump, who he thinks deserves a year to really f**k the presidency up, to religion. The A.V. Club talked to Che about his special as well as the aforementioned president-elect.
The A.V. Club: Your special was filmed before the election, and in it you joke about how crazy you think Donald Trump is, saying that his presidency will be funny. Do you still feel that way?
Michael Che: I guess hes joke-worthy more than ever because hes the president. I think Donald Trump being president is more about where the country is at as opposed to it actually being about Donald Trump. It feels like going to couples therapy and really finding out how your other half feels.
AVC: You have a joke in the special where you say you think it would be fun to watch him f**k around for a year. Are you looking forward to that?
MC: Well, maybe Im naive, but I still have a little bit of faith in the structure of the United States government and thinking that one man cant ruin everything. I dont know if its just because Im hopeful or cynical, but I just dont think one man can change everything. Its just like I didnt think Obama could save the country by himself. I dont think Trump can ruin the country all by himself. I dont know. I hope Im right.
AVC: There is some comic relief to be found in the sheer amount of flailing hes been doing, just in the sense that you have to laugh or else youll cry.
MC: I dont think he knew exactly what being a president was. Just like anybody, hes not in government. Hes not a politician, so theres no way he knew exactly what a presidents day-to-day was. So I think the more hes finding out, the more hes realizing. Theres a little bit of comedy in him thinking, Holy s**t, why am I doing this? Im a 70-year-old billionaire. I could have just lived the next 10 to 20 years of my life happy and doing nothing.
AVC: Hes going to take 10 to 20 years off of his life in the next four years.
MC: With a 70-year-old persons life, it might not be four years. Of course, Im not wishing death on our president, but
AVC: Whats life like for you on the road?
MC: I dont like to travel. I go out. When you do stand up, you travel a lot. Just working out. I dont really enjoy it. I like New York. Theres nothing really like New York. Everything just becomes a worse version of New York.
I just dont like to travel. I dont like airports. I dont like living out of a suitcase. I dont like finding out where the CVS is and where the place is thats good to eat and making friends for a week. I dont like any of that stuff.
AVC: How often do you get out to work on material in New York?
MC: As often as possible. I like to go as soon as I have a bit. I just find a place to go. Thats the cool thing about working on [SNL] is that a lot of clubs will let you go up on a moments notice. Thats one of the perks. You can go anywhere in New York. Theres always something to do in New York. Theres always a place to eat no matter what time it is. Theres always a place to work, a place to drink. Its conducive to my lifestyle. I dont know how to drive a car, so I like to be able to walk places.
AVC: Do you think youll ever learn how to drive a car?
MC: I hope so, because I can afford one now so, itd be nice to have a nice, obnoxious car. Right now, I cant drive it, so its useless.
AVC: Taking driving classes as an adult is a weird construct.
MC: I would love to know how to drive. I just dont feel like learning.
AVC: When youre kid its like, Im going to take these classes. Im going to learn how to do it. Im going to sit in a car with a strange instructor for hours on end. But now, as an adult, and especially for you, probably, because youre on television, you dont want to do that. You dont want to make small talk with someone.
MC: Its not so much the small talk. I have friends that tell me theyll teach me, but once you get past about 25, 30, youre just like, Eh. I think I know everything I need to know right now. Even if I dont, Im just going to play this hand. Your thirst for learning isnt the same as when youre 17.
AVC: Do you think youre still learning things, even at 33?
MC: Im absolutely learning. Culturally, things are different. Ive learned a lot being on SNL. Ive learned a lot just being around people who grew up so differently from me, which is cool. It teaches you how to be a lot more tolerant. The bigger your world is, the more tolerant and accepting you become, because you have friends from all walks of life. You learn to be a little bit less selfish.
AVC: Your stand-up special is a big production. You built a stage in a warehouse and have a live band. Why did you decide to go with that sort of set?
MC: As a guy comedian, your special is probably the closest thing to the excitement of a wedding day. Its your first one, and you want it to be perfect, and you want it to mean something. You want it to look good.
When I watch a comedy special, I just dont want to see a guy and a curtain or just a comedian and a stool. You want it to seem like something. You want to feel like, Man I wish I was there that night. Or, Man, I dont know where they shot this. Just something more pleasing than just the jokes.
Working with Oz [Rodriguez], the director, we were looking for different places to shoot and thinking about what kind of venues could work. First he was thinking about doing a standing room, but we backed off the standing room and asked, Why not think outside the box and do it in an empty warehouse? Wed give people drinks, throw up the stage, and get some music going and make it fun. And thats what we did.
AVC: You do a lot of crowd work, too, and that makes viewers feel like they want to be or that they are there.
MC: Yeah, that was exactly the point. We wanted it to look like, Next time this guy comes to town, I want to go to that. Every special is just a commercial for the live show, I think. It makes fans want to come see you when you come to town.
Everything comes down to that. Anything you do on TVany special, any late-night appearanceeverything comes down to seeing your show live when it comes to town.
AVC: I talked to Pete Davidson not too long ago, and I asked him, Whats the biggest you want to be? Do you want to be playing stadiums? Do you want to be playing clubs forever? How big do you want to be? Do you want to have Trump supporters at your shows who might not laugh at your jokes? Whats the dream?
MC: First of all, of course I want Trump supporters at my show. And of course I want them laughing. You want everybody to think its funny.
Thats one of the things about comedy that annoys me the most from a comedian perspective. Comedy has gotten so segregated. Now its like if you dont agree with somebody, you probably arent going to like their jokes. I think comedians are starting to write for their audience and not towards the country. Go listen to Richard Pryor and George Carlin and guys like that, who were working when the country was less segregated. I know thats weird to say because it was the 60s, but everybody got the same news. Everybody got the same comedy. Everybody watched the same late-night show. It was way less segregated. Now everyone finds their own news channel and their own comedy and their own brand of humor. I want to get back to when everybody could listen to one thing, and youve got to write with everybody considered. I think the best way to do that is to really Its about you [the audience]. Youre like, Man. Thats true. Or, Boy did they nail me. Its not about ridiculing someone. Its more about looking at it in a fun way.
But to answer the question, I would love to be able to play anywhere, but to me the sweet spot is clubs and theaters, just because I feel like you lean in to tell a joke. You dont back up. Comedy lives in that area. Ive played amphitheaters, big clubs, and pool halls, and the most fun rooms hold anywhere from 500 to 2,000 people. That intimacy is where comedy really lives.
Source: http://www.avclub.com/article/michael-che-snl-trump-and-why-he-thinks-one-man-ca-246353
