(title music)
(tape rewinds)
(upbeat music)
- Know what the format
is with this interview?
- It's not Q and A, is it?
- It is.
- Oh shit. Morisha?
- What do you got against Q and A?
- Can you make some more coffee?
- Oh, no, I had to do one the other day
and I was little sloppy for it.
I saw this guy going--
Just that realizing he would have
to make me sound for him.
(laughter)
- Hi.
- [Bill] How did you get that away from me?
Get out of here,
that's my mopping my brow material.
- [Bill] What the hell?
You! These are Italian trousers!
(growls)
(dog barks)
- [Bill] Can you take these dogs away?
- [Bill] I realize it's impossible
to have any sympathy,
and I mean true sympathy,
for people that are famous.
People usually go through a bad period
when they first get successful.
You're new and you're hot,
things go wrong,
so you're not really used to all the attention.
People treat you differently,
and then what happens
is you start taking that seriously,
and then you start becoming an ass,
and then they treat you like an ass, and then--
- [T.J.] Was there a period like that for you?
Where things were a little out of control?
- Right now.
(upbeat music)
- [Bill] One of my favorite things used to be when
in traffic in New York,
and there's a Cadillac honking
or something,
a Mercedes honking,
I used to do this all the time
before I was famous.
I would jump into the middle of the street
and say "Excuse me, there's a Mercedes
"that's got to get through here."
You know, and I would push people out of the way,
and "Get out of the way!"
You know, " Let him through!"
You know, smacking their cars and stuff,
just like "whack", you know,
you just jump into, you know?
And, you can't do it,
because now you do it
and they go "Hey, hey, hello, hey!"
"Meatballs."
The whole things is lost,
the point you were trying to make
or whatever fun you were trying to have
is sort of on your cock.
- [Bill] The money thing
is this sort of Elvis Presley thing
of buying your mother a car is great.
My mother has learned how to spend money.
I mean, she used to call and say,
"Bill, we really need a boiler."
(laughter)
- [Bill] And I, just for the hell of it,
I would say, "Well, why don't you shop around,
"and see which one.
"You know, don't blow a lot of money,
"just get a bargain."
You know, and a boiler in a house
to keep the house in the winter,
in Chicago.
So, finally I bought her an American Express card,
and the numbers she puts up
are geometric, every year.
I mean, the first year,
I think she bought a tow
when her car broke down.
The second year, she went to dinner
on her birthday or something.
Third year, she rented a condo
in Florida for the winter,
and took a couple of cousins
and friends down.
She's figured it out.
- [T.J.] Wow.
- [Bill] I mean, you know, she had nine kids.
Technically, she could commit murder
and get away with it.
So, whatever number she runs up on me
is not even a misdemeanor.
- [Bill] I know it could've been anybody,
it's just a weird, lucky thing, really.
It could've been any actor,
there are a lot of actors that are more talented than me,
at Second City,
who quit it before they even got
to a paying status, you know?
Weird luck. I had no other option.
You know, I'm still just like a punk kid, really.
You know, I'm just an obnoxious guy
who can make it appear charming.
That's what they pay me to do.
(music)
- [Bill] I'd sort of gone through
some sort of spiritual change in the late 70's,
where I sort of saw there was some other life to live.
It changed the way that I worked,
just having a different presence
and a different attention.
That's the reason I'm not the one that's dead.
Because, the attraction of the fast life
is very powerful.
Even today, I could go at any time.
Something wild can happen to anybody.
And I caution anybody that walks down
on the street, settle your accounts
before you leave the house every day.
- [Bill] The only good thing about fame that I've gotten,
is I've gotten out of a couple of speeding tickets.
I've gotten into a restaurant
when I didn't have a suit and tie on.
That's really about it.
And you can talk to girls more easily.
They will talk to you.
You don't necessarily do any better with them.
But, they will talk to you.
It's almost like being in the ladies' room sometimes,
because they feel comfortable with you,
and they will say a lot of things
they wouldn't talk to anybody
they would think of as a potential suitor.
They think of you as like some freak.
You may as well have an elephant on a rope,
you know, the way they deal with you.
(drums)
(upbeat music)
- [Voiceover] This episode is sponsored by Dropbox.
Whether you're designing, presenting,
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on any file.
Because, if you can work with anyone,
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Dropbox. All yours.
Now, back to the interview.
(jazz music)
- [Bill] I act like a jerk sometimes
and that's sort of what the product is.
And you get these people
who act like "What the hell?"
When you act obnoxious toward people,
like on a movie set,
they say, "We're ready for you."
And I said, "Oh got to hell,
"my feet hurt and my head aches."
You want to have a margarita
for lunch, you know?
And people like these little A.D.'s
and production assistants,
like, "Well, he's drinking again."
You're like, "Drinking again?
"Go to hell. All I ever do is make some movies
"that made a lot of money.
"Now, leave me alone.
"I want to have some fun."
On Ghostbusters they had somebody
Following us. Following us.
You'd walk down the street,
you'd turn around
and somebody would duck into a doorway.
(laughter)
Just to control us.
To make sure we didn't do anything too weird.
It's like, what the hell?
I didn't get in this position by being like a stiff,
sitting on the set in a folding chair.
I did it by walking around
on the streets and stirring things up.
(music)
(tape rewinds)
Subtitles by the Amara.org community