CL: Since the release of your album Cutting, what have you been working on?
Amy Schumer: I filmed a couple movies. One is coming out in June with Steve Carell called Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. I?ve done a pilot for Comedy Central, I wrote a pilot for CBS. I still don?t know if they?re going to make that or not. Then I?ve been touring doing stand-up nonstop and writing for my hour for Comedy Central.
When is that hour for Comedy Central going to come out?
We?re going to shoot June 23.
You have three parts in upcoming movies ? Price Check, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and Sleepwalk With Me. Can you talk about what those experiences were like?
Price Check was an indie, so it was like shooting furiously for a month ? a lot of work, a lot of late nights and early mornings. Parker Posey?s like one of my heroes, so that was so cool and she?s so nice and we became friends. I love my role in that, and that did really well at Sundance. Then the Carell movie, I?d consider it indie, but way bigger-budget and fancy and lots of famous people and a big trailer. The movie is going to have a wide release and I think it?s going to be really special. Then working with Steve Carell, I just have a couple scenes in the movie, but he was super nice and I think my part?s really funny. I can?t wait to see it.
You?re also on Jon Glaser?s Delocated with some great comedians like Eugene Mirman and Todd Barry. How did you get on that show and what is the experience filming it like?
I auditioned for that as an actress. Any acting work I?ve gotten, it?s been totally an audition. They didn?t know me in any of these things. They weren?t even familiar with me at all. I just auditioned and we improvised a lot in the audition. I booked the role and shooting was really fun. They shoot a million takes and they let you sort of play. The director will be like, "Why don?t you try this?" and you?ll be like, "Would you mind if I did this?" and they?re like, "No, try it." It?s a very free, wonderful, hilarious environment.
Your stand-up is very upfront about female sexuality in a way that I?m sure the females in your audience appreciate, but do have the men in the audience ever appeared uncomfortable?
That?s not true. Guys like it just as much as girls do. It?s only the female perspective, and it?s coming out of a female, but it?s the truth. But no, guys like me just as much as women.
What would you consider your best set and your worst set?
I always think my latest set is my best set because you?re always getting better. I just did a set on Kimmel and that was really fun. And it was such a great crowd, and it?s definitely a live show. I did shows in Vegas this weekend, and I think those were the best ever. Then I have a show tonight, and I hope that that?s my best ever.
My worst set I think was Central Park SummerStage in Manhattan when I?d been doing it about three years. I just wasn?t ready for that. It was like 4,000 people and I was with all these other big headliners and I just wasn?t ready for that. I could tell I was bombing because I could hear laughs, but coming only from my mom and my best friend.
You had also performed with Dave Attell, who is a hero of yours, and he put you on stage after him?
That wasn?t standup, that was just on Maron?s podcast, just going on stage. I was in a green room drunk, listening to a podcast taping and then Attell was on stage crushing and Attell brought me out after him, I think just to fuck with me. But I was drunk enough I wasn?t nervous and I think it went pretty well.
Have you been able to do perform with him since still?
I just filmed his show for Showtime, he has Dave?s Old Porn and I just filmed that. But yeah, we perform together all the time at the Comedy Cellar. He?s my good friend.
What other comedians would you like to work with in the future, either through stand-up or some creative project?
So many people. I?d love to work with Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy. I?d love to work with Natasha Leggero, Chelsea Perretti. Tons of people, tons of women. I think those?d be my number one people I?d want to work with right now.
You appeared on The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen and made a joke mentioning Ryan Dunn that resulted in a lot of angry responses and even threats. How did you deal with that?
It was hard ? it wasn?t fun. I just never questioned myself. I knew I was joking ? it was a roast. I really didn?t feel bad for saying anything. Maybe that makes me a sociopath, but I know I?m a good person. People were like, "She?s just trying to make a name for herself." I wasn?t trying to make a name for myself. It was just one joke that didn?t even stand out to me. I think people were confused about what it was about, so I kind of understood the response afterwards, but I was not expecting it and did not want it. I just stayed strong and focused on the people who know me and love me. I knew it was going to make me stronger, so I just kind of fought through it and stayed on the road. I?m glad I did.
Do you think some people just didn?t understand the context within which the joke was made in the roast?
I do. I think a lot of people tuned in because they?re Jackass fans and Steve-O fans who?ve maybe never seen a roast before. They love Steve-O and he looked really sad after I said that joke and they were mad at me. Then I?m a girl, and people like to burn women at the stakes. Yeah, whatever their reasons are, I don?t even feel the need to explain myself. I?m not even interested in it, you know what I mean? There are a lot of shows, a lot of television opportunities that I could be a part of that would expose me to an audience that I?m not interested in getting.
Is there a joke that can be considered offensive, and if so, is it intent?
Yeah, if it?s not funny, if there was an actual mean intention behind it like if someone?s trying to actually hurt the other person. Or I think there?s some subject matter, like I think the death of a child or a spouse is totally off-limits. I don?t know about a definition, but if there?s malintent or if it?s not funny.
Can you talk about the two pilots in your future?
The pilot I did for Comedy Central is called Come Inside with Amy Schumer and it?s like man-on-the-street with stand-up. That?s all done and we?re waiting to hear if they want to pick it up. The CBS show, I can?t talk about.
