Quotes from Neal Brennan

Whoever is saying the joke is my biggest priority.

You know, I liken it to - when you write a joke for somebody else, it's like you - you know, like the Wile E. Coyote dynamite plunger, where he pushes the plunger down and then you see the fuse go then there's an explosion in the distance? That's like writing a joke for somebody. When you tell the joke, you're in the explosion.

It wasn't surprising to me because I've had the conversation with him personally, but Will Smith is more interesting a guy that you could ever capture in a movie or TV show.

I would like to do theaters. That's always been a dream. I think that would be a good way to tour. But for the most part, in terms of, do I want to get recognized on the street? No. There's not much I want about fame.

I think the best black screenwriter is Quentin Tarantino.

I think being honest on TV is pretty rare. So if I can be that, I would like to be.

I just realized at a certain point that no matter how much writing I did, I'm still a gym rat for comedy clubs.

I do have weird habits when I'm directing, or even think as a director, like when I move a cup, I make sure to put it back in the exact right place.

I love the fact that I can make a podcast in my house and tens of thousands of people will hear it. I also like that it's gotten rid of a lot of gatekeepers.

I get that money is important, and it's scary to think that you won't have enough. At the same time, we can set up reasonable social safety nets and take care of everybody.

Being able to write jokes is great, but you still have to get used to performing them and being on stage - and enjoying being on stage, not just like tolerating it.

Like, I feel like I'm funny, despite the fact that I keep getting rejected by people less funny than me.

I had people think I was brilliant, then 'Half Baked' bricked. They literally look at me like a homeless person.

I can always tell the demographic that will probably recognize me - white dudes, sort of skater-y hip hop white dudes, and working class black dudes.

There's nothing worse than trying to be funny and not being funny.

I love doing stand up. I think it's a really worthwhile art form. It's so unique in all the things it combines, in terms of it being philosophizing, preaching, speaking truth to power and basic communicating. It's a good way to talk back to the world.

Black audiences are probably the toughest for me to make laugh. I've gotten pretty good at performing for them, but it's still a challenge.

What I love is getting a new joke, or a premise like a sketch idea or a movie idea. That's the best feeling for a comedian.

It's way more fun to tell jokes for an hour than it is to sit in a room and bash your head against the wall trying to think of sketches.

Why marry myself to an entire album? I don't have to. If I download four songs from somebody on an iTunes sojourn, that's about as good as it gets.

My entryway into hip-hop was - my biggest introduction was obviously like, you know, the Def Jam, Run D.M.C., Beastie Boys, like, that conglomerate.

'Jersey Shore' is one of the best shows of all time. They had so many hooks.

I think anything is possible if the jokes are good.

The hardest part of comedy is writing the jokes, and the second-hardest part is telling the jokes. To me, everything else is significantly easier.