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 brothers 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 couldnt 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. Isnt that crazy?
MC: Thats crazy. Hes my friend. Thats sad. I havent 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 hes great. Oh, thats so awful.
DRE: What made you shoot your film in Washington, DC?
MC: I love working in DC and the shows really political. DC is such a good place to go and talk about politics because everybodys there in it and doing it. Its 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: Ive been doing it for a long time but I guess its still difficult. I cant really tell but this is my fourth one so people know what Im doing and know how its going to do because a lot of people that see my shows come back and see them again. So its great.
DRE: Have you met any conservatives that like your act?
MC: Yeah, I have. Its weird because theyre people who cant deny its funny even though they dont believe in what Im talking about. They have to admit that thats its funny to say that Laura Bushs pussy tastes like Lysol. Thats just ridiculous. They have to laugh and I think thats 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 thats out there and educate people a little bit?
MC: I try to do both. I dont really actually consciously go with a theme, I just do whatever I can. I try to make it as good as I can. If its a theme, thats great. This one actually fit well because its all very political based. I dont 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 its interesting. Its what Im thinking about and its natural to me. Thats 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 shes 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. Shes 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. Its not exaggerated. Its pretty pure. Its not like anything Ive made up really because shes 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. Im sure youve received bad emails before, but these seem like the worst.
MC: I think that theyre the most offensive if you were thinking about racist kind of shit. Theyre the most gross. Theres always bad stuff. People are stupid. I like that sort of hate mail because it makes me feel like Im doing something good.
DRE: It certainly proves everything you say true.
MC: Yeah. Its all about theyre mad at me because Im challenging their opinions and they cant come back at me with anything but racist bullshit. So I think its funny.
DRE: It is kind of funny but its so horrible at the same time.
MC: Its horrible, but its so dumb its like I cant even get mad about it. Its just dumb.
DRE: Have you ever had any problems in person?
MC: No, they dont show up or anything. Theyre such chicken shit. Theyre all big on email but they cant say anything in person. They never show up. They never deliver.
DRE: Do you consider comedians the modern day assassins?
MC: I think so. Its all about awareness. Im hoping that people are more into fighting for things like gay marriage. I think thats sort of taken hold a little bit. I have a website called Love is Love is Love. Its a marriage equality resource and a really good resource for people to go and look at whats happening in their state. Thats taking off, which is great.
DRE: I spoke with Patton Oswalt and he writes movies and acts on a sitcom but he says that its all to get to do more standup. Do you feel the same way?
MC: Yeah, ultimately thats the best thing to do. Thats the thing that all comics love to do. But theres also this incredible pressure out there to do other stuff too like TV or whatever. I guess Im 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 its really proof. Its waking everybody up to how bad Bush is. Its 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 thats amazing. Thats an amazing gift. I cant say that theres anything that I would be offended by as long as its really funny and clever. There are people that can be charming and get away with stuff that other people cant.
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. Thats like the best kind of girls. Theyre the cutest. I dont 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 dont know when it will be out, probably next year or something.
DRE: Whats it about?
MC: Its a fag and fag hag road picture which I wrote and star in.
DRE: Was that your first screenplay?
MC: No, Ive written a couple of other screenplays. This is the first one that Ive produced. I have another one that Id like to make. Its a big belly dance movie. So thats 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 dont know. I like it and I really love Bam Bam and Celeste. Its 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. Its really hard for women too. I have to kind of commandeer my own stuff.
DRE: Whats the next thing that youre working on too?
MC: Lets see. I dont know. Im kind of thinking about doing TV, but then my belly dance movie, thats kind of my next big project.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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 brothers 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 couldnt 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. Isnt that crazy?
MC: Thats crazy. Hes my friend. Thats sad. I havent 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 hes great. Oh, thats so awful.
DRE: What made you shoot your film in Washington, DC?
MC: I love working in DC and the shows really political. DC is such a good place to go and talk about politics because everybodys there in it and doing it. Its 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: Ive been doing it for a long time but I guess its still difficult. I cant really tell but this is my fourth one so people know what Im doing and know how its going to do because a lot of people that see my shows come back and see them again. So its great.
DRE: Have you met any conservatives that like your act?
MC: Yeah, I have. Its weird because theyre people who cant deny its funny even though they dont believe in what Im talking about. They have to admit that thats its funny to say that Laura Bushs pussy tastes like Lysol. Thats just ridiculous. They have to laugh and I think thats 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 thats out there and educate people a little bit?
MC: I try to do both. I dont really actually consciously go with a theme, I just do whatever I can. I try to make it as good as I can. If its a theme, thats great. This one actually fit well because its all very political based. I dont 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 its interesting. Its what Im thinking about and its natural to me. Thats 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 shes 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. Shes 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. Its not exaggerated. Its pretty pure. Its not like anything Ive made up really because shes 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. Im sure youve received bad emails before, but these seem like the worst.
MC: I think that theyre the most offensive if you were thinking about racist kind of shit. Theyre the most gross. Theres always bad stuff. People are stupid. I like that sort of hate mail because it makes me feel like Im doing something good.
DRE: It certainly proves everything you say true.
MC: Yeah. Its all about theyre mad at me because Im challenging their opinions and they cant come back at me with anything but racist bullshit. So I think its funny.
DRE: It is kind of funny but its so horrible at the same time.
MC: Its horrible, but its so dumb its like I cant even get mad about it. Its just dumb.
DRE: Have you ever had any problems in person?
MC: No, they dont show up or anything. Theyre such chicken shit. Theyre all big on email but they cant say anything in person. They never show up. They never deliver.
DRE: Do you consider comedians the modern day assassins?
MC: I think so. Its all about awareness. Im hoping that people are more into fighting for things like gay marriage. I think thats sort of taken hold a little bit. I have a website called Love is Love is Love. Its a marriage equality resource and a really good resource for people to go and look at whats happening in their state. Thats taking off, which is great.
DRE: I spoke with Patton Oswalt and he writes movies and acts on a sitcom but he says that its all to get to do more standup. Do you feel the same way?
MC: Yeah, ultimately thats the best thing to do. Thats the thing that all comics love to do. But theres also this incredible pressure out there to do other stuff too like TV or whatever. I guess Im 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 its really proof. Its waking everybody up to how bad Bush is. Its 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 thats amazing. Thats an amazing gift. I cant say that theres anything that I would be offended by as long as its really funny and clever. There are people that can be charming and get away with stuff that other people cant.
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. Thats like the best kind of girls. Theyre the cutest. I dont 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 dont know when it will be out, probably next year or something.
DRE: Whats it about?
MC: Its a fag and fag hag road picture which I wrote and star in.
DRE: Was that your first screenplay?
MC: No, Ive written a couple of other screenplays. This is the first one that Ive produced. I have another one that Id like to make. Its a big belly dance movie. So thats 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 dont know. I like it and I really love Bam Bam and Celeste. Its 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. Its really hard for women too. I have to kind of commandeer my own stuff.
DRE: Whats the next thing that youre working on too?
MC: Lets see. I dont know. Im kind of thinking about doing TV, but then my belly dance movie, thats kind of my next big project.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
rexnickles2:
why are the apostrophes rectangles?
motorfirebox:
older interviews (and maybe other articles) were formatted in MS Word or something, so they use special characters that aren't available in the text encoding used by most web browsers.