Louis C.K. On Filmmaking, Roast Beef and the Trappings of Fame in Esquire

If one thing is clear from Louis C.K.’s Esquire interview, it’s that the Louie creator and star hasn’t forgotten his success could all end tomorrow. So why not wring every drop of pleasure from it while he still can?  “When Lucky Louie went on the air, there was a one-month period where if I walked down these streets, a crowd would gather,” he remembers. “Literally. It was crazy. I loved it. I’d sometimes walk up and down MacDougal Street to instigate it.”Louis’d also love to use the success of his show to leverage his movie-making career past Pootie Tang, albeit in the most diva-licious was possible: “The only pitch I have to movie people is the same as this one: Just give me $8 million. I’m not telling you what it’s about and I’m not telling you who’s in it. Eight million bucks. It’ll take about six months to finish it. But you don’t get to know anything about it.” Public and critical clout aside, C.K. remains almost painfully aware of the fleeting nature of his artistic career, recalling a game he watched at Madison Square Garden with Chris Rock and a sweet meat spread (“‘There’s roast beef and a guy with a hat serving it.’ I wanted it so bad.”) which ended with Louie’s face plastered on the Jumbotron. He explains, “And we high-fived and we just felt so good. Both of us, we’re in our 40s — this shit could disappear instantly, never to return. And it will.”

Louis C.K. On Filmmaking, Roast Beef and the Trappings […]