Jerry Seinfeld says the ‘movie business is over’ and has been replaced by ‘disorientation’

Jerry Seinfeld directed his film debut with the upcoming film Pop Tart, Not frosted, which is coming to Netflix. During a recent interview with GQ magazine, Seinfeld spoke about his experience directing for the first time in his career and he has some interesting things to say.

He spoke about his experience and explained that he believes the world of cinema is over. He said: “It was totally new to me. I thought I did some cool things, but it was nothing like the way these people work.

Seinfeld then added: “They’re so deadly serious! They have no idea that the world of cinema is over. They have no idea.

When asked to elaborate on that comment, Seinfeld continued on a more serious note: “The movie does not occupy the pinnacle of the social and cultural hierarchy that it has occupied for most of our lives.”

And he added: “When a film came out, if it was good, we all went to see it. We’ve all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes that we liked. Now we’re walking through a fire hose full of water, just trying to see.”

When asked what had replaced the film, he replied: “Depression? Unwell? I would say confusion. Disorientation has replaced the world of cinema.”

He said: “Everyone I know in show business, every day, says, ‘What’s going on? How do you do this? What should we do now?'”

Seinfeld went on to talk about his career as a stand-up comedian and how it differs from the movie business, saying, “I’ve done enough things that I have my own thing, which is more valuable than it’s ever been.”

He explained: “Stand-up is like you’re a cabinetmaker, and everyone needs a guy who’s good with wood. … There are trees everywhere, but making a beautiful table is not so easy. So, the metaphor is that if you have a good trade and good craftsmanship, you are somewhat impervious to the vagaries of the industry.

He continued: “The audience now crowds to stand because it’s something you can’t fake. It’s like diving off the platform. You might say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see whether you are or aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust. Everything else is false.”

The iconic comedian makes a lot of solid points here. He specifically mentioned something that rings true to me. “We’ve all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes that we liked.” I don’t see that happening that often these days.

We always quote movies from the past, but what kind of movies come out where people quote great lines of dialogue these days!? It’s rare! I can spit out memorable quotes from all kinds of movies from the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s. But now? There is no real or fresh and memorable dialogue that people quote.

Seinfeld was also asked about the series finale of his classic sitcom. Although he admits it has annoyed him a bit over the years, he doesn’t regret it.

“I don’t believe in regret,” Seinfeld said. “It’s arrogant to think you could have done something different. You couldn’t. That’s why you did what you did. But Jeff Schaffer and Larry and I were hanging out, talking about TV endings and what we thought were great.

He continued: “I feel like ‘Mad Men’ was the greatest. A lot of people like the “Bob Newhart” one. “Mary Tyler Moore” was okay. “Mad Men” was the greatest final moment of a series I have ever seen. So satisfying. So funny. And they said they sat and watched the finale of ‘Seinfeld,’ trying to figure out what went wrong. And of course it was about the final scene, leaving them in the prison cell.

I was actually okay with the Seinfeld ending! I liked how it ended because it ended with the same conversation the series started with. That was great.