Neal Brennan has been a force in comedy for over three decades with both his own standup performances as well as working behind the scenes as co-creator of Chappelle's Show and writing, producing and directing with other comedians like Chris Rock, Amy Schumer and Seth Meyers. I spoke with Brennan about his new Netflix special ‘Crazy Good,’ his ‘Blocks’ podcast, the place of AI in comedy and whether billionaires can still be funny.
You used AI to generate some opening lines for your new special. What are your hopes, dreams and fears about AI and comedy?
I would like to be able to load all my material into an AI and have things generated passively for me that I can use (laughs). But I don't think you're going be able to replicate it completely. Human beings like human beings. I'm hoping it'll be incredible for medicine, scientific breakthroughs and automation. But in terms of an AI comedian — you're not going to root for the person. I don't think you want to see a new hour from me made in conjunction with a robot (laughs).
But you think it can be a tool?
If I can take what I've made and have AI farm material for me, yeah. I think Drake should be able to load in all his vocals and then if he likes something he can redo it. That is a fair usage artistically. But as someone who's written jokes for other people — I can get into the psychology of another person. I've written material for Dave Chappelle. What it took for me to be able to do that I don't think would be easy for a computer to do.
(Laughs) Does doing this interview entitle me to four more free articles at Forbes for the month?
Do you read publications like Forbes? They say athletes should take financial classes so they don’t get taken advantage of. Do comedians need that as well?
I don't know if you've looked it up but the top comedians make as much as the top athletes. I think Kevin Hart told me when he is going be a billionaire. I don't remember when it is but I know it's happening.
Does he have the date in his calendar?Like on April 6th come to my ‘I’m a Billionaire’ party?
I think he does. I was talking about this the other day. I don't need to have more money than everyone, I just want to have enough money for me. You can only eat three meals a day. You can only wear two pairs of pants a week tops. It just seems silly. Also everyone hates rich people.
Would it alienate comedy audiences if they realized how much money some performers were making?
It's a weird thing. There’s a lot of big earners. I don't think people really associate it with comedy. But it doesn't really matter how much money you have if you can still bomb (laughs) — and the audience is aware of that. I also think charisma can make them forget.
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