Growing up as a comedian the most influential person on me was Jon Stewart. He showed that comedy could have a real tangible effect on the world. He showed that comedy could move the needle of society and that a comic can do real things and make a real contribution.
I consider myself to be doing comedy in a post-Jon Stewart world to a certain extent.
Just as Jimmy Stewart and Tyrone Power get 50 percent of the profits, so do I.
This movie 'On the Road' with Kristen Stewart - they were trying to make that movie for 30 years. She says she wants to do it, and they can finally make it. You have so much at your disposal if you're in a successful commercial film.
At first glance, Martha Stewart, queen of artfully distressed home furnishings, might not seem to have much in common with Michael R. Milken, one-time king of junk bonds.
In the days of Gary Cooper, James Stewart etc, film stars personified the better aspects of human nature.
I don't know what has caused this reawakening in academia. Obama? The GOP's assaults on science and on patients? Jon Stewart? I'm not at all sure. I just know I don't feel nearly as alone in academia as I used to. I'm feeling increasingly surrounded by fellow Ph.D.'s and by M.D.'s who seem to be taking a lot of things personally.
The lesson that any thinking person draws from the Stewart saga is that when the government asks questions, run for your lawyer and don't say a word. Had Stewart kept her mouth shut, she'd be OK.
People are treating the Stewart case as seriously as Enron when it's really over trivia.
I taped my original audition for 'Fargo' with my agency in Chicago, Stewart Talent.
