1st July 2016 | for Creatives | artist integrity, writing, Ricky Gervais, feedback/criticism/rejection, creative freedom, comedy writing |
"I think that most people who take offense are offended because they confuse the target of the joke with the subject of a joke. If you deal in taboo subjects—which I do, for a very good reason—just to bring up any subject that makes them feel comfortable and they straightaway assume it is 'wrong.' Well, it's not wrong. 'You haven't listened to the joke,' you know? People say to me, 'Is there anything you shouldn't joke about?' The answer is, 'No, it depends on what the joke is.' They wouldn't ask you, 'Is there anything you wouldn't write about?' You'd go, 'No, I could write about anything. It's what you say that counts.' Exactly. And the same with a comedian. You can joke about anything. It depends what the joke is and what side you come down on, where you land, you know?"
"The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.)"
"Whatever it is you do, my advice is simple: Don't let anyone tell you no."
"As an artist, you want as many people to see your work as possible with no compromise. .... I don't want to .... have it watered down, and follow a soap opera, and have all the edges filed down and have someone interfere. .... Delivering the exact thing that I made ... that's so important to me, you know, that's, I said, the ideal of the most beautiful and purest thing. And it's how little it can be ruined from your brain to the observer. And that's the way you do everything yourself, really, because, you know, I've probably only produced and directed to protect my writing, the idea, you know?"
"The reason I deal in taboo subjects is because it's more exciting, and because I also think that a comedian's job isn't just to make people laugh, it's to make them think. And I think that if you take them through territory they haven't been before, they're quite nervous, but when they come out the other end, 'Wow,' you know, they had the best rollercoaster ride ever because it was a bit scary and they didn't die. And that's the lovely thing, you know? (Laughs.) That's better than a gentle ride that you knew you weren't going to die on, but it wasn't that good either."
"Writers are not here to conform. We are here to challenge ... That's our job."
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