There are certain constants in the universe: death, taxes and that every week someone will post a two thousand word thinkpiece about American comic superstar Amy Schumer. She is easily the most talked about comedian in the world right now. She stars and runs her own Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer, she made Time's Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, she’s hosted the MTV Movie Awards and won a Peabody Award - and now she has written and starred in her own movie Trainwreck. Here is the Full Interview:
Those are your notes? They look like little football plans.
Yes. I have a one year old and I let him right the notes for me.
I have the world’s worst handwriting. You have a one year old? Girl or boy?
Boy. He decided to wake up at 4.30am this morning.
So did I. Am I your baby?
Yes you are.
Is making your baby laugh is your favorite thing in the world? I have a little niece and making her laugh – there’s nothing I love more.
What’s your favorite tool to make her laugh?
When she’s getting changed she starts crying, so I duck down and then I pop up and go, ‘BAAAA!’ and she thinks it’s the funniest things in the world. She likes to stand up in front of you and fall back, and she just thinks it’s hilarious. Are you teaching your baby any signs?
He’s already kind of talking….
What? At one? Whatever, genius baby.
He sits there and goes, ‘bye bye!’ And I’m not even gone yet.
Maybe he’s telling you something?
When you started the process of making this movie, I’ve read there were three things movie studios want you to do.
When I found out they wanted me to be in the movie, they were like, ‘we need you to do three things. Be yourself, have fun, and stop eating food.’ And I went, ‘excuse me?!’ They were like, you’re going to be doing nude scenes! Do you want to take off your shirt and scare everybody, or do you feel like, ‘wassup, mother*ckers!’
The thing that is great about brand Amy Schumer is it’s all about body positivity, and sex positivity, and that’s super rare.
Isn’t that sad? It’s so revolutionary that someone who isn’t a size zero to say, ‘yeah, I do think I’m f*ckable.’
When you went to Comedy Central and said you wanted to do Inside Amy Schumer, did you say, ‘this is what I think the point of view of our comedy should be?’
No, it was just what we think is funny. But that is so inherently a part of me that it just comes out. It wasn’t a choice, it’s just how I am, how the head writer Jessie Klein is.
Was there a moment you realised that’s what you were going to become known for?
I thought that but for my R special Mostly Sex Stuff. I thought this was stand-up that I didn’t grow up hearing; a woman speaking about this stuff. I’m sure it was out there, but it didn’t reach me. So I thought I’ll be this for people.
There is that moment where female comics, not necessarily of their own making, become spokespeople for feminism. Are you comfortable with that role?
Yeah. I think people don’t know what feminism means. If anyone’s not for women’s equality, they should be in jail. I think people think it’s man-hating angry meanies, but it’s not. It’s just equality. It’s so weird. I don’t even know what that model’s based on, because the feminist movement, those chicks were awesome, and they weren’t actually burning their bras or any of those things that we started to imagine they were.
I loved your Star Wars front cover. And Mark Hamill said he’s excited about the prospect of you doing Episode 8. If you could play any Star Wars character, what would it be?
Jabba the Hutt. Just gain so much weight. I’d love it. Stop bathing. Maybe I’ll just do that.