Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho

By Daniel Robert Epstein
Nov 11, 2005

Margaret Cho has been causing controversy with her standup comedy since the beginning of her career. The fact that she has started producing films of her standup has endeared her even more to her fans. Her latest act, "Margaret Cho - Assassin," is her most politically charged comedic tirade to date. It has just been released on DVD.

Buy the DVD of Margaret Cho - Assassin

Daniel Robert Epstein: Hi Margaret, just to get this out of the way. Someone you know almost ruined my brother’s bachelor party.
Margaret Cho: Why?
DRE:
Because he was drunk. It was Mike Landry.
MC:
Oh no. What happened?
DRE:
First of all, he had a broken leg so we couldn’t make him shut up. He was just screaming and he got really drunk.
MC:
When was that?
DRE:
That was about four years ago.
MC:
Oh how terrible.
DRE:
I know. Isn’t that crazy?
MC:
That’s crazy. He’s my friend. That’s sad. I haven’t seen him for a really long time.
DRE:
I heard that you used to talk about him in your act a little bit.
MC:
Not really but he’s great. Oh, that’s so awful.
DRE:
What made you shoot your film in Washington, DC?
MC:
I love working in DC and the show’s really political. DC is such a good place to go and talk about politics because everybody’s there in it and doing it. It’s a really cool place to perform and I wanted to do something different compared to what I had been doing in the past. So that was great.
DRE:
Assassin seemed to have a shorter theatrical release than your previous films.
MC:
Well, it was out in theaters and it was a part of a big benefit thing where all the proceeds went to the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce. So we had a theatrical run in a number of cities and that was at the beginning of September.
DRE:
How tough is it to get these films out?
MC:
I’ve been doing it for a long time but I guess it’s still difficult. I can’t really tell but this is my fourth one so people know what I’m doing and know how it’s going to do because a lot of people that see my shows come back and see them again. So it’s great.
DRE:
Have you met any conservatives that like your act?
MC:
Yeah, I have. It’s weird because they’re people who can’t deny it’s funny even though they don’t believe in what I’m talking about. They have to admit that that’s it’s funny to say that Laura Bush’s pussy tastes like Lysol. That’s just ridiculous. They have to laugh and I think that’s really great.
DRE:
Do you feel like you have a theme to your act in terms of each show or do you just take the funniest stuff that’s out there and educate people a little bit?
MC:
I try to do both. I don’t really actually consciously go with a theme, I just do whatever I can. I try to make it as good as I can. If it’s a theme, that’s great. This one actually fit well because it’s all very political based. I don’t intentionally set out to have this very structured, thematic show, but in this case I got lucky.
DRE:
Is it just impossible to avoid talking about politics right now or did you specifically want to do something that was a little more political?
MC:
To me it’s interesting. It’s what I’m thinking about and it’s natural to me. That’s why I wanted to do the show they way I did.
DRE:
You had less jokes about your mom. Was that because of her heart attack?
MC:
Yeah, that was difficult. But she’s still a big presence in the show.
DRE:
What does your mom think of the act?
MC:
Yeah, she sees all the movies. She loves it. She’s really into it. She laughs a lot and she gives me lots of suggestions on what I should talk about and talk about her.
DRE:
How much do you need to exaggerate with her?
MC:
None at all. It’s not exaggerated. It’s pretty pure. It’s not like anything I’ve made up really because she’s just really funny naturally.
DRE:
I looked on your website in preparing for this interview. The emails people send you that you posted are insane. I’m sure you’ve received bad emails before, but these seem like the worst.
MC:
I think that they’re the most offensive if you were thinking about racist kind of shit. They’re the most gross. There’s always bad stuff. People are stupid. I like that sort of hate mail because it makes me feel like I’m doing something good.
DRE:
It certainly proves everything you say true.
MC:
Yeah. It’s all about they’re mad at me because I’m challenging their opinions and they can’t come back at me with anything but racist bullshit. So I think it’s funny.
DRE:
It is kind of funny but it’s so horrible at the same time.
MC:
It’s horrible, but it’s so dumb it’s like I can’t even get mad about it. It’s just dumb.
DRE:
Have you ever had any problems in person?
MC:
No, they don’t show up or anything. They’re such chicken shit. They’re all big on email but they can’t say anything in person. They never show up. They never deliver.
DRE:
Do you consider comedians the modern day assassins?
MC:
I think so. It’s all about awareness. I’m hoping that people are more into fighting for things like gay marriage. I think that’s sort of taken hold a little bit. I have a website called Love is Love is Love. It’s a marriage equality resource and a really good resource for people to go and look at what’s happening in their state. That’s taking off, which is great.
DRE:
I spoke with Patton Oswalt and he writes movies and acts on a sitcom but he says that it’s all to get to do more standup. Do you feel the same way?
MC:
Yeah, ultimately that’s the best thing to do. That’s the thing that all comics love to do. But there’s also this incredible pressure out there to do other stuff too like TV or whatever. I guess I’m just trying to expand.
DRE:
You talked a lot about the tsunami but this was obviously filmed before the hurricanes in the south, have you incorporated that?
MC:
Oh yeah because it’s really proof. It’s waking everybody up to how bad Bush is. It’s so sickening.
DRE:
What subjects are offensive to you, comedy wise?
MC:
Nothing really, if you can find a way to make anything funny, then that’s amazing. That’s an amazing gift. I can’t say that there’s anything that I would be offended by as long as it’s really funny and clever. There are people that can be charming and get away with stuff that other people can’t.
DRE:
What do you think of SuicideGirls?
MC:
When I had a SuicideGirls membership, there was this girl on there that everybody thought was me. She did look just like me but with red bangs and Bettie Page hair. She was like Japanese or something. I would tell people that was me because she was so flattering.
DRE:
Were you ever into these kinds of girls?
MC:
Absolutely. That’s like the best kind of girls. They’re the cutest. I don’t think Playboy and whatever is sexy but SuicideGirls are.
DRE:
You still do some acting but it seems like it is mostly independent films.
MC:
Yeah. I made a film called Bam Bam and Celeste, which was in the Toronto Film Festival. I don’t know when it will be out, probably next year or something.
DRE:
What’s it about?
MC:
It’s a fag and fag hag road picture which I wrote and star in.
DRE:
Was that your first screenplay?
MC:
No, I’ve written a couple of other screenplays. This is the first one that I’ve produced. I have another one that I’d like to make. It’s a big belly dance movie. So that’s my next film project.
DRE:
Would you be in that one too?
MC:
Yeah, I hope so.
DRE:
Was acting ever going to be your big main thing?
MC:
I don’t know. I like it and I really love Bam Bam and Celeste. It’s something that I hope I can do more of.
DRE:
Do you still audition for roles in Hollywood?
MC:
Not really. I mostly just think about writing for myself because it is such a weird world to work in. It’s really hard for women too. I have to kind of commandeer my own stuff.
DRE:
What’s the next thing that you’re working on too?
MC:
Let’s see. I don’t know. I’m kind of thinking about doing TV, but then my belly dance movie, that’s kind of my next big project.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

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