Comedian sits down with Student Media after show
Q: Did you have any media or reporting training before doing “Weekend Update”?
A: No, I went straight into it from improv. It was a part of the show that I always would love to do, but you really just learn from watching with something like that.
Q: Jimmy Fallon went from “Weekend Update,” and there’ve been rumors that if he were to take over The Tonight Show, you could take Late Night. Is that in the cards?
A: I’m as outside of it as you are. When I read those things in the paper, I think, “Well, that’s certainly interesting, they really should have told me.” I don’t know. I love SNL so much that I can’t imagine life after it, but I guess, at some point, I’ll have to go do something. As of right now, I have no idea what that is.
Q: Is there an actor that you like to write for the most or who brings you material that you like to work with the most as head writer?
A: Most of my stuff is topical, not necessarily cast-driven. There are some people on cast who are just so perfect at everything — people like Fred Armisen and Bill Hader — that every time you write something for them, they make it so much better. But our whole cast is super talented so it’s really fun.
Q: Many people love Stefon on “Weekend Update,” and some of them know the story behind it — that writer John Mulaney changes the cue cards during the live show, so everything is being read for the first time. How did that come about?
A: It mostly started because John and Bill [Hader] are so close, and they have that sort of relationship that you knew John wasn’t screwing with Bill or trying to trip him up. I think Bill understood that it was really playful and fun. Once it started, it was really exciting to see and for the audience to see it happen every time. They embraced it, and it’s a great thing because, obviously, they don’t show me the changes beforehand either, so I’m seeing them for the first time as well when I’m out there.
Q: What was your favorite character before you switched to only doing “Weekend Update”?
A: I did a guy named Dr. Zinger that I did a couple of times, and I was always really happy with that.
Q: Is there a specific topic you like joking about on “Weekend Update” more or less?
A: Politics always has the slightly higher level of difficulty and, so, I’m always happy when we can do that well, particularly when it’s something that’s not necessarily funny at its core, if you can deconstruct it and make it funny.
Q: A lot of the sketches go from concept to script to production to air all in one week. What are some of the challenges that go into doing all of that in one week?
A: Well, some of the bigger challenges are handled by our incredible departments — our wardrobe department, our set design department. I mean, they are the best in the world at what they do. The challenge as a writer is when you start realizing on Friday that something’s not working, you have to fix it within the boundaries of what you have. It’s not like you can all of a sudden say like, “You know what? This needs to not take place in a doctor’s office; it has to take place on a boat.” That can’t happen with only a day to turn it around. But again, what makes the show great is dealing with those challenges and the things that come out when you have to work under those conditions.
Q: Have you had a favorite band who’s appeared (on SNL)?
A: So many. Wilco’s one of my all-time favorite bands, and they were finally on. That was just so exciting for me. I mean, it’s obviously great whenever you have somebody like Bruce Springsteen on or somebody like Prince.
Q: You didn’t do the Gamecock joke. How much do you tailor your stand-up routines to the areas you go to?
A: Well, it depends. Tonight, it was fun to talk about Mark Sanford. That’s a guy that I don’t normally talk about. And you like to be aware of where you are; I think the audience appreciates when they know you aren’t just doing the same thing over and over again. But it’s hard, obviously, when you get into a place and it’s already three in the afternoon; you don’t have much time to be a local historian.
Q: Who are your favorite people who are not cast members, like hosts, to work with? I know Justin Timberlake, obviously.
A: Yeah, no, Timberlake’s great. This year’s been really exciting. Whenever you have someone with a really strong comic voice like a Seth MacFarlane or a Louis C.K., that’s really exciting. Melissa McCarthy’s coming up, and she’s like that as well. But you know, we’ve had people like Bruno Mars who has the Justin Timberlake-like skill set, which is great. And then every now and then you get someone like a Martin Short, who is as good at it as anybody’s ever been, so that was really fun.
Q: Is there anybody you want on?
A: Tom Cruise. I think I want Tom Cruise.