Much love everyone. Reminiscing about the early days of Hollywood comedy, where it went and where it’s going. Much love @TheoVon @joerogan
— Owen Benjamin 🐻 (@OwenBenjamin) May 24, 2024
And how standup is like fighting. @jakeshieldsajj
I started thinking about this after chatting w @RealJermWarfare about if comedy is dead.… pic.twitter.com/0nSfEz91hE
TheoVon, Bert Kreischer, I always liked stand-up comedy because you couldn't fake it. The crowd didn't lie, like the laughter was obvious. I moved to Los Angeles in 2002, so I know all about the entertainment industry. And you would see like a new star pop up. I remember when Kristen Stewart became a star, and I think that she's like retarded. Like during Twilight she said, "I can't look at you Edward." Live stand-up you can't fake. Take a TheoVon. I did open mics with all these guys for years. We used to do the rainbow room where I'd have a little tiny keyboard with batteries on it and you'd wait to go 20th to do 5 minutes in front of 6 drunks, and you felt great about it. You felt like you won something that night if you got one laugh. TheoVon'd always be at the Westwood Brewing Company, there'd be this attic and he'd always be there working on his stuff telling stories. He'd be outside hustling and getting an email, you know, working, working, working and it was like a real camaraderie in it in it because, you know, can't lie on stage. It's like you get laughs or you don't. If you crush, you get respect; if you don't, you don't. Kyle Cease had same material for 8 years
19:00. I'm still innovating, like I'm not drowning in money. I saw that Nick Rekieta got arrested for drugs and guns and drinking himself. And, dude, that was money that did that. That person isn't just like a bad person. That's what happens when you get millions of dollars or money that you probably didn't earn. I'm not saying he stole it. I'm just saying are you really worth that, talking about Johnny Depp trials or whatever, did you earn that level of money? Because unearned money, unearned status, unearned knowledge, unearned wealth creates meltdowns, self-hate, self-destruction, indulgence in the flesh. And I'm not . . . Nick Rekieta . . . any one of us could have been that or could be that. Like he doesn't look like a sadist. He looks like a guy who started detaching from reality, self-medicating, over indulging, . . . full spiral. I wish him well, man. Much love to that guy. It sucks but a lot of times the Faustian reward, a deal with the Devil, is not what people actually want. But I got love for all those dudes and they did earn it, man; they did. They're not like Hollywood scumbags. They fought for every email address and every laugh and every gig, and all of it. And much love.
