WEBVTT - Lorne Michaels

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<v Speaker 1>He created Saturday Night Live and turned it into a

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<v Speaker 1>cultural icon. Lauren Michael sat down with Carlisle Group co

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<v Speaker 1>chairman David Rubinstein for a wide ranging chat for Rubenstein's

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg television show Peer to Peer Conversations and June. They

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<v Speaker 1>discussed the show's evolution from his infancy with the original

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<v Speaker 1>cast and now, how trans and comedy and censorship have changed,

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<v Speaker 1>and what it takes to create the storied program. Did

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<v Speaker 1>you think at the beginning that you were going to

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<v Speaker 1>change television history and the history of comedy when you

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<v Speaker 1>were starting that show in n I don't think I

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<v Speaker 1>thought of it in those terms. But I thought that

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<v Speaker 1>if we actually got on the air and UH did

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<v Speaker 1>the show, that the people who were doing the show

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<v Speaker 1>would stay home to watch. I thought there were enough

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<v Speaker 1>people like us because we'd all pretty much come from

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<v Speaker 1>the audience. I was probably the person who had the

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<v Speaker 1>most experienced in television, but most people it was the

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<v Speaker 1>first time that'd been on television, so most experienced. But

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<v Speaker 1>you were only thirty years old. Thirty, so the others

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<v Speaker 1>were in their twenties or yeah, I think uh, I

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<v Speaker 1>think Dan Nakroy was twenty two. I think John Blues.

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<v Speaker 1>She was twenty four. I think Gilda was twenty four.

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<v Speaker 1>Chetty was a little older than me. Why would a

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<v Speaker 1>thirty year old be picked to produce this show? What

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<v Speaker 1>was your background that enabled somebody to think you would

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<v Speaker 1>have experience to do this? I think, first and foremost,

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<v Speaker 1>there was very low stakes, you know, like late night

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't average in the prime time bradies, So it was

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<v Speaker 1>no one's real responsibility. And Carson was on five nights

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<v Speaker 1>a week, and that was doing really well. So when

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<v Speaker 1>I'd done television, and I've done television in Los Angeles,

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<v Speaker 1>both in the late sixties and then when I moved

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<v Speaker 1>back in nineteen seventy two, and the more ambitious things

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<v Speaker 1>that I would suggest or go in and meet about,

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<v Speaker 1>they'd always say wouldn't work in primetime because in those

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<v Speaker 1>days you needed a forty share of the audience to

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<v Speaker 1>to stay on the air. Forty share means was just

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<v Speaker 1>watching you, And so they'd say it won't work, or

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<v Speaker 1>we'll just work on the coast. And I was from

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<v Speaker 1>Canada and I kind of knew what was in between

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<v Speaker 1>the coast, and I thought there were plenty of people

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<v Speaker 1>like me out there, and uh, it was a different generation,

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<v Speaker 1>and if we could, we were at the beginning of

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<v Speaker 1>the baby boom. I'd worked on shows like Laughing as

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<v Speaker 1>a writer, and I've done uh well shows with Lily

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<v Speaker 1>Tomlin and Richard Pryor and uh which were always specials

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<v Speaker 1>and uh uh. And I've done enough that I sort

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<v Speaker 1>of knew how you do it. And it was a

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<v Speaker 1>question of putting together a show which was on some level.

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<v Speaker 1>UH knew why old models, you know. So I took

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<v Speaker 1>elements of various variety shows, and I knew that we'd

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<v Speaker 1>be different because we'd be doing it. So you grew

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<v Speaker 1>up in Toronto, and did you grow up and say

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<v Speaker 1>I want to be a lawyer or a doctor like

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<v Speaker 1>all nice young Jewish boys in those days. I think

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<v Speaker 1>it was my grandparents owned a movie theater, and uh.

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<v Speaker 1>I think from an early age. I think if asked

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<v Speaker 1>in like the third grade what I wanted to do,

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<v Speaker 1>I probably would have said lawyer because I think that's

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<v Speaker 1>what you said, or something like that. But I would

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<v Speaker 1>have wanted to be in the movies. And did you

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<v Speaker 1>at one point say I really want to make my

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<v Speaker 1>career in Canada or at the big time is really

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States? I thought at the time it

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<v Speaker 1>was seven, was the hundredth birthday of Canada Centennial, and

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<v Speaker 1>there was a new spirit in the country and I

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<v Speaker 1>thought I'd be perfectly happy to be here the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of my life. And uh, and then UH got an

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to do a show in California called the Beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>Phillis Dealer Show variety show. And we'd written I was

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<v Speaker 1>working with a partner then Hard Pomerants, and we write

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<v Speaker 1>and perform and we wrote some stand up for various

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<v Speaker 1>for Woody Allen, Joan Rivers and people like that. Not

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<v Speaker 1>that we influenced their careers, but uh, we've had enough

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<v Speaker 1>experience and we performed. So you picked the number of

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<v Speaker 1>the famous people who later went on to great fame

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<v Speaker 1>and fortune. And then the first show goes on. Right

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<v Speaker 1>when it's over, are you convinced you have a great

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<v Speaker 1>hit forever or you're not sure? When we were beginning,

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<v Speaker 1>I've said this often, but I had all the ingredients,

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<v Speaker 1>I just didn't have the recipe. So between the first

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<v Speaker 1>show and the second show, we changed. Second show was

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Simon, third show is Rob Bryner with Penny Marshall.

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<v Speaker 1>By the fourth show, we'd sort of found the show

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<v Speaker 1>with Candy bergon. We found the show that um resembles

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<v Speaker 1>the show. So the original idea was to have a

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<v Speaker 1>cast of characters and not ready for prime time players

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<v Speaker 1>as they were caught, and a host, a different host

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<v Speaker 1>every week. Who was your host the first week the

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<v Speaker 1>first show? George Carlin? And was he so funny in

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<v Speaker 1>those days you knew it would be a hit or

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<v Speaker 1>was he talking with the different monologues that would work?

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<v Speaker 1>And I thought he was funny. The biggest controversy in

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<v Speaker 1>that first show was the network wanted him to wear

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<v Speaker 1>a suit, jacket and tie, and uh, he didn't want to.

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<v Speaker 1>He wanted to wear a T shirt. I was it

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<v Speaker 1>was not the biggest thing in my life. I would

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<v Speaker 1>let him wear what he wants. But uh, the compromise,

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<v Speaker 1>which took up a lot of time on show day,

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<v Speaker 1>was he wore a suit with a T shirt, which

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<v Speaker 1>the perfect solution. So did you have to have a

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<v Speaker 1>sensor for words that might not be appropriated? A lot

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<v Speaker 1>about a lot of discussions about what we could do

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<v Speaker 1>and what we couldn't and um and what you could

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<v Speaker 1>do at eleven thirty and what you could do at midnight.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that we sort of. You know, all those

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<v Speaker 1>phrases from the seventies, like cutting edge and pushing the

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<v Speaker 1>envelope and all that. I think we were just trying

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<v Speaker 1>to reflect life as we were living it. And also,

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<v Speaker 1>is the end of the Vietnam War nine? You know

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<v Speaker 1>what the president resigned? Uh, New York City was bankrupt.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a little window that opened where it wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>business as usual, all right, seventy five, the late seventies

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<v Speaker 1>or early eighties, How has humor changed or the people

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<v Speaker 1>laugh at the same kind of things? Are certain things

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<v Speaker 1>you can make fun of now you couldn't, or vice versa.

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<v Speaker 1>There's almost nothing we did in the seventies that I

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<v Speaker 1>could do now. Gilda Radner would not be able to

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<v Speaker 1>play Rose Amazona, Dana. John Belushi would not be able

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<v Speaker 1>to play Japanese. Uh, Garrett Morris doing news for the

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<v Speaker 1>Heart of Hearing would have been making fun of a handicap.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's it's just all values change. And then I

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<v Speaker 1>always say that between the movie Arthur and the movie

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<v Speaker 1>Arthur to alcoholism became a disease and no one wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to laugh at drunks anymore, whereas for two years they

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<v Speaker 1>left drunk. So let's take people through how the show

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<v Speaker 1>is actually produced. On a Monday, do you recover from

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<v Speaker 1>the previous week and do you actually go to work

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<v Speaker 1>on Monday? And you know, we we everybody has to

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<v Speaker 1>show up Monday. I have a meeting which I've had

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<v Speaker 1>from the beginning of five o'clock on Mondays, which has

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<v Speaker 1>all the writing staff, all the cast, that the host,

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<v Speaker 1>people for the music department, people for the field department,

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<v Speaker 1>and um, we all gather in my office. Uh they gather.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm behind the desk, and uh, I go around the

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<v Speaker 1>room and ask everybody what their what their idea is.

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<v Speaker 1>And in your forty five years of doing this, almost

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<v Speaker 1>forty five years, have you ever had a private equity

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<v Speaker 1>person as a guest host? Not? Not, It's been just

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<v Speaker 1>we haven't done well. Maybe there's an opportunity at some point.

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<v Speaker 1>So Tuesday Wednesday you're kind of writing it. You have

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<v Speaker 1>a dinner with people. Then Thursday and Friday you do

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<v Speaker 1>dress rehearsals or we choose the show. On Wednesday, we

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<v Speaker 1>read forty pieces looking for thirteen and fourteen. Once that's chosen,

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<v Speaker 1>then the designers begin designing the sets. Then those plans

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<v Speaker 1>go out to the shop late that night and they start, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>we the film unit goes off to figure out how

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<v Speaker 1>they're going to shoot the two or three pieces we're shooting.

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<v Speaker 1>We are always assessing who has not as much to

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<v Speaker 1>do as we'd like. Uh, And so we've left the

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<v Speaker 1>opening of the show and generally one or two spots

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<v Speaker 1>open for anything that happens between night then and and

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<v Speaker 1>have you ever gotten worried that you picked a guesthouse

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<v Speaker 1>who really isn't up to the task? Yeah? And do

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<v Speaker 1>you how do you coach them? And maybe you could

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<v Speaker 1>do a better job or be ready get almost anyone

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<v Speaker 1>through it. It's an odd hybrid because you're on stage,

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<v Speaker 1>so there are lots of people who are very good

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<v Speaker 1>at that, but then there's also cameras, and also the

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<v Speaker 1>script is constantly changing up to the last minute, so

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<v Speaker 1>it takes a level of focus, and there's a point

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<v Speaker 1>which the host really just gives up and goes you

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<v Speaker 1>just have to trust it at this point that will

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<v Speaker 1>that it will all come together. So I anticipation of

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<v Speaker 1>my getting a chance to do it with you. You

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<v Speaker 1>invited me to come to one of the shows recently,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was surprised how small the studio actually is now.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a studio that Toro Toscanini conducted the NBC

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<v Speaker 1>Orchestra at one point. Yeah, it was built on springs.

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<v Speaker 1>Literally he was the NBC Sympathy Orchestra and Tuscanini was

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<v Speaker 1>that important, and rock Feller said he had been built.

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<v Speaker 1>So they put this in between floors so that the

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<v Speaker 1>subway noise wouldn't affect it. A lot of that was

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<v Speaker 1>changed when television came in, because they thought sound would matter.

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<v Speaker 1>Turns outday I noticed when I was there that you

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<v Speaker 1>were walking around the set a bit, and I noticed

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes when I watch on TV that you're staring at

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on, and um, you don't smile that much

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<v Speaker 1>when you're doing this, And and do you ever think, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>this isn't going as well as I thought, so you'd

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<v Speaker 1>tell the people fix it or do something different in

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of the show. No, I mean there's some

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<v Speaker 1>of that, but mostly it's about time. So the cast

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<v Speaker 1>are good enough that if you are running a minute

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<v Speaker 1>or too long, you can just go but they you

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<v Speaker 1>understand and they can just pick it up and go faster,

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<v Speaker 1>or else we take a page over or something. And

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<v Speaker 1>there are cases where you think you had a really

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<v Speaker 1>funny sketch script and all of a sudden people aren't

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<v Speaker 1>laughing in the studio, or the reverses where you're not

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<v Speaker 1>sure it's that funny, all of a sudden becomes very funny. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>you choose the pieces on wedd so you rehearse them

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<v Speaker 1>Thursday and Friday and again Saturday afternoon and costume and makeup,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you uh, you do address rehearsal, which is

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<v Speaker 1>the first time four people come in and see it

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<v Speaker 1>and whatever you thought, if they disagree, they're right. So

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<v Speaker 1>we adjust from that. Things that you thought were sure

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<v Speaker 1>fire don't play, and things that a harder piece, if

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<v Speaker 1>you play it early, it probably won't work. And so

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's where you play things running order and also topicality,

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<v Speaker 1>so you don't get people calling you from the network

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<v Speaker 1>that owns you, let's say it's nbc Z owned by Comcasting,

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<v Speaker 1>saying jeez, you're being too tough on a political figure.

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<v Speaker 1>They just leave you along. They leave us alone. And

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<v Speaker 1>the Comcast people have been brilliant because one, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think they want to be doing the show themselves, So

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<v Speaker 1>there's that, and also it's just been Steve Burke bron Roberts,

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<v Speaker 1>just unwavering support. Okay, so when you're not doing Saturday

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<v Speaker 1>Night Live, you're also producing some other television shows, so

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<v Speaker 1>you're producing late night you know, I did the Tonight

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<v Speaker 1>Show and Seth Mars, you know, a late night show.

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<v Speaker 1>But in all of those, thirty Rock is a perfect example.

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<v Speaker 1>Tina Fey was a brilliant head writer on SNL and

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<v Speaker 1>then cast member and an update she wanted to do

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<v Speaker 1>a series. We did Mean Girls together as a movie.

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<v Speaker 1>She wanted to do a television series. It ended up

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<v Speaker 1>being Dirty Rock. And what I will do is I'll

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<v Speaker 1>be all over it um at the beginning to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure that it's both on track and that's the best

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<v Speaker 1>version of what it could be. And then once it's

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<v Speaker 1>sort of uh going or going well enough, I will

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<v Speaker 1>tiptoe out of the room and go back to my

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<v Speaker 1>other job, which is SNL. So most of my focus

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<v Speaker 1>is SNL because it's compelling and because you don't know

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<v Speaker 1>what's happening minute to minute. And then with the Tonight Show,

0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.640
<v Speaker 1>WI Chimmy Fallon who also and Seth Mars. These are

0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.840
<v Speaker 1>people I've worked with and we have a shorthand, and

0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.920
<v Speaker 1>I have faith in them. Uh, and so you can

0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:11.800
<v Speaker 1>sort of see that process. So sometimes humor is so

0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.160
<v Speaker 1>funny on your show that you know you just can't

0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.840
<v Speaker 1>stop laughing, and um, they do eventually eventually. But I mean,

0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:20.880
<v Speaker 1>is there anything that makes you laugh so uproariously that

0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:23.160
<v Speaker 1>you can't control your own It's always something in the

0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:27.000
<v Speaker 1>show that I'm really proud of. And also comedy is

0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:30.800
<v Speaker 1>a it's a disruptive thing. You know, people don't plan

0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:33.880
<v Speaker 1>to laugh. They're taught when to applaud, but they're not

0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:37.439
<v Speaker 1>taught when to laugh. So there's something that's always surprising.

0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:42.920
<v Speaker 1>And when you see the pairing of really good writing

0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:48.400
<v Speaker 1>and a brilliant performance, Uh, you want when they're locked in.

0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.480
<v Speaker 1>When people are made famous but by your show, and

0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:55.560
<v Speaker 1>then they go into a great fame and fortune beyond

0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:57.520
<v Speaker 1>your show, they ever call you up and say thank

0:13:57.559 --> 0:13:59.560
<v Speaker 1>you very much for everything you did for me and

0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:01.559
<v Speaker 1>I could have done it without you, or they forget

0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:05.040
<v Speaker 1>to do that. I think there's very strong feelings on

0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.920
<v Speaker 1>both sides of it. We did when we did the

0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:13.480
<v Speaker 1>fortieth anniversary UM a couple of years ago. I think everyone,

0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:16.600
<v Speaker 1>all the people were invited who had worked on the show,

0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:19.560
<v Speaker 1>plus people who hosted the show, and I think when

0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.520
<v Speaker 1>people looked around the room and saw all the different

0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:26.120
<v Speaker 1>generations of people who have done it, it was people

0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:29.920
<v Speaker 1>realized that what we've done was important. And recently a

0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.600
<v Speaker 1>couple of weeks ago, Adam Sandler I was hosting the

0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.120
<v Speaker 1>show and he did a song about Chris Farley and

0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:38.800
<v Speaker 1>I did a lot of work with Chris Farley, and

0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.560
<v Speaker 1>UM and Adam and he were very close, obviously, but

0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:45.520
<v Speaker 1>what happened was he was doing this tribute and he

0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:51.200
<v Speaker 1>looked around the studio and crew were the same crew,

0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:55.040
<v Speaker 1>The people in design were the same people, and you

0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:59.320
<v Speaker 1>sort of set up people cheering up and you realized, Um,

0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:04.760
<v Speaker 1>it's just an important thing. And in that on that stage,

0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:10.000
<v Speaker 1>in that room, UH where everyone has been working forever,

0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:13.920
<v Speaker 1>UH just had real power. Are there things you would

0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:16.160
<v Speaker 1>like to do with the show that you haven't done yet?

0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:20.520
<v Speaker 1>I think the show just continues to moreph I mean

0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:22.880
<v Speaker 1>the last since the last election, it's been much more

0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:28.240
<v Speaker 1>political because the audience can follow it. There are times,

0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:32.080
<v Speaker 1>you know, there were times in the mid nineties were

0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.440
<v Speaker 1>if you'd ask one of the cast members who the

0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:39.520
<v Speaker 1>Senate majority leader is, they wouldn't know So one year, Lapel,

0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:41.680
<v Speaker 1>you're wearing a pin which is I guess the Order

0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:45.320
<v Speaker 1>of Canada, and that signifies that the highest honor you

0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:47.560
<v Speaker 1>can get as a Canadian citizen or something like that,

0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.480
<v Speaker 1>you could be elected Prime minister. I suppose. I think

0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:54.120
<v Speaker 1>people would rather have that. So now you've received that

0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:57.200
<v Speaker 1>as a in you're a Canadian and American citizen, yes, right,

0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.200
<v Speaker 1>but you've also received the highest civilian honor that our

0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.440
<v Speaker 1>country can give, which is the Presidential Medal Freedom. So

0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:05.840
<v Speaker 1>what was it like, President you got it from President Obama?

0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.960
<v Speaker 1>What was that like? Thrilled when I got the call

0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:13.760
<v Speaker 1>telling me that I was to receive it. Um, I

0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:17.720
<v Speaker 1>was in the middle of working out and it wasn't okay,

0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:19.800
<v Speaker 1>And then I sort of took it in and then

0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:23.440
<v Speaker 1>I went, oh, belly, Gerard had called me, said, and

0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.720
<v Speaker 1>we'd appreciate you're not talking about it. So there was

0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:29.840
<v Speaker 1>a month where I knew I was getting it before

0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.000
<v Speaker 1>it was going to be announced, and I took it

0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.960
<v Speaker 1>very seriously about not talking to people about it when

0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:36.920
<v Speaker 1>you are as prominent as you are, and eve been

0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:38.520
<v Speaker 1>doing it for as long as you have been Cany

0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.280
<v Speaker 1>young people in their twenties who might be writers say

0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.200
<v Speaker 1>this is very funny, and you say no, and they

0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:45.720
<v Speaker 1>argue with you, or they when you say no, I think.

0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:47.960
<v Speaker 1>You know, it's three o'clock in the morning. You see

0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:51.840
<v Speaker 1>two writers in the hall. I mean, uh, sure, And

0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.560
<v Speaker 1>in the seventies it would have been seamless, but now

0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.560
<v Speaker 1>it's they just stopped talking as I get closer. But

0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:06.119
<v Speaker 1>I think if suggest an idea and I'm thinking, well, uh,

0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:09.159
<v Speaker 1>we've done that eight or ten times. I wrote it

0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:13.800
<v Speaker 1>three times. It's never worked. But if you ever said

0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:18.320
<v Speaker 1>it won't work, they think, well, he just doesn't get it,

0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:23.960
<v Speaker 1>which is infuriating, and but they have to be able

0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:27.399
<v Speaker 1>to write it and hope springs eternal that maybe this

0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.560
<v Speaker 1>time it will work. So there's no idea that somebody

0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:35.040
<v Speaker 1>brilliant isn't able to figure out and pull off. So

0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:39.800
<v Speaker 1>we're always just hopeful on that front. So today, as

0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:43.359
<v Speaker 1>you look at next season and so forth, are there

0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.119
<v Speaker 1>things you would like to do with the show that

0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:49.400
<v Speaker 1>you haven't done yet? I think the show just continues

0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:52.240
<v Speaker 1>to moreph I mean the last since the last election,

0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:57.000
<v Speaker 1>it's been much more political because the audience can follow it.

0:17:57.280 --> 0:18:01.959
<v Speaker 1>There are times, you know, there were times and the

0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:04.640
<v Speaker 1>mid nineties where if you'd ask one of the cast

0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:07.960
<v Speaker 1>members who the Senate Majority leader is, they wouldn't know.

0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:14.440
<v Speaker 1>So politics becomes obviously post Watergate, politics is very important

0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:19.480
<v Speaker 1>into the Baby Boom generation remained important, uh, and then

0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:23.400
<v Speaker 1>in in good times it sort of recedes. So we're

0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:25.880
<v Speaker 1>always just doing what the topical it might be politics

0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:29.320
<v Speaker 1>right now. It is. So if somebody said, I really

0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:31.080
<v Speaker 1>want to be like Lauren Michaels, I want to be

0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:36.400
<v Speaker 1>a successful producer master of television. What are the qualities

0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:40.320
<v Speaker 1>that this person should have hard work, smart, good sense

0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:42.560
<v Speaker 1>of humor, and able to how to get along with people,

0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:44.879
<v Speaker 1>motivate people. What are the qualities you think really are

0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:49.879
<v Speaker 1>the most important ones. I think that what I wouldn't

0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:54.840
<v Speaker 1>advise anybody on it, but I think that leadership in

0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:59.879
<v Speaker 1>this particular field, uh is the ability to change your

0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:03.800
<v Speaker 1>mind and quite often change your mind. So if a

0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.760
<v Speaker 1>better idea comes in, uh from a first year writer,

0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:11.080
<v Speaker 1>we'll go with that. And it's a culture that thrives

0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:15.920
<v Speaker 1>on that, So it isn't status or hierarchy to determine it. People,

0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.960
<v Speaker 1>people that the audience is dying to see in the

0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:22.960
<v Speaker 1>cast can end up in one piece because the pieces

0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.760
<v Speaker 1>got chosen, and they were chosen. Everyone's heard them play

0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:31.600
<v Speaker 1>it read through, and so uh, there isn't a week

0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:36.760
<v Speaker 1>where someone's not seriously unhappy. And it's not fun walking

0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:41.400
<v Speaker 1>past people just have you've cut their piece because we're

0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:44.439
<v Speaker 1>running along and that's the piece that got cut. But

0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:47.880
<v Speaker 1>there's always next week, and I think you just keep

0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:52.800
<v Speaker 1>moving forward and you just try and create a culture

0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:56.560
<v Speaker 1>where everyone feels they're heard. Thank you for letting us

0:19:56.640 --> 0:19:58.400
<v Speaker 1>talk to you, and thank you for never making fun

0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:00.400
<v Speaker 1>of private equity and all the shows and you've never

0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:03.720
<v Speaker 1>made fun of private equity, which is a good thing, right, yes, yes,

0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:05.959
<v Speaker 1>it is a good thing. Thank you very much more

0:20:06.000 --> 0:20:07.280
<v Speaker 1>than welcome. Thank you for having me