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" First time films are hard. Even with some of the greatest directors, you look back at their first film, and you are just going, 'That movie is kind of bad.' "
Mike Birbiglia
You
Time
Back
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" It's interesting how sleepwalking in a certain way becomes an accumulation of your outside stimuli that's actually there and what's happening in your brain. "
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" One of my favorite comedies of all time is 'Terms of Endearment;' that's my pace. "
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" I think because I've been working in front of audiences for so many years, I'm able to take in the input, good or bad, and just say, 'This is the part I agree with that you're saying, and these are the parts I don't agree with.' "
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" I'm incapable of feeling any joy. "
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" Nothing that you want ever is what you think it is. "
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" My wife and I always comment that our lives are relatively mundane. She's a writer as well, I'm a writer, we spend most of our time writing, and kind of going to yoga in Brooklyn. "
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" I grew up in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and went to college in Washington D.C. "
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" The economy of film forces you to make choices. "
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" Every comedian comes to a fork in the road where they have to decide if they're going to make jokes about other people or make jokes about themselves. I chose myself. "
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" Dopamine is a chemical released in your brain and your body when you sleep that paralyzes your body so you don't act out your dreams. "
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" I'm a comedian, and the other comedians are played by comedians, the same way that in 'Once' there are the musicians that hang out together. "
Mike Birbiglia
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" Film is so immersive. "
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" Essentially, retweets are like laughs. "
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" I actually wasn't really the class clown growing up. The class clown was always the mean guy who walked up and was like, 'You're fat. You're gay. I'm outta here!' I was always more kind of awkward and introspective. "
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You
Kind
" I was a screenwriting major at Georgetown, and I was in class with some really strong writers like Jonathan Nolan, who co-wrote 'The Dark Knight' with Chris, his brother. He wrote 'The Prestige,' the story for 'Memento.' "
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Who
Class
" The ability to workshop in stand-up comedy is incomparable to any art form, in my opinion. "
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Art
Opinion
Workshop
" In terms of comedy, there was a Seinfeldian era of comedy that I love but got played out. Seinfeld was great, but then after him it was people acting like Seinfeld and making observations that we felt like we'd kind of heard before, and then you're seeing Seinfeldian comedy in commercials. Suddenly everything is observational funniness. "
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Comedy
Acting
You
" I've found, being in Los Angeles, it's like living in a live-action Planet Hollywood. "
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Hollywood
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Los Angeles
" I listened to this interview once with Jerry Seinfeld that really influenced my comedy and all of my writing, which is that when you're starting out in comedy, it's the audience that tells you what's funny about you. And you need to listen to that and make a note of that. "
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Out
" I end up talking about really mundane things with my fans, and then they're kind of like, 'This is boring. I want to go talk to somebody else.' I think I bore my fans to death by over-talking to them. "
Mike Birbiglia
Kind
End
Death
" I am diagnosed with what's called 'REM behavior disorder.' As far as the disorder goes, there's no cure, but it's going pretty well as far as these things go. I see a sleep doctor, take medication, etc. "
Mike Birbiglia
See
I Am
Behavior
" I love 'Bullets Over Broadway,' but I'm pretty sure Woody Allen hasn't killed somebody. "
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Broadway
Bullets
Pretty
" You don't really see sleepwalking in films that often. It's weird; I feel like in popular culture we have the perception of sitcom, arms-in-front-of-your-body sleepwalking, and then maybe Olive Oil and Popeye when she sleepwalks through the construction site. But it's all very cartoonish, in some cases literally. "
Mike Birbiglia
Perception
Construction
Culture
" I majored in screenwriting and playwriting in school - and wanted to make films as a career. But when I directed my first short in college - which was called 'Extras' - I lost thousands of dollars and made an unsatisfying and incomplete film. "
Mike Birbiglia
Lost
College
Career
" When I moved to New York, I was wide-eyed. I was nice to everyone, which comedians hate. "
Mike Birbiglia
Everyone
New
Hate
" Directing a movie is a little bit like being back in student government and putting on the homecoming dance. You're like, 'You put up the streamers, and you hire the DJ, and you get the punch bowl.' Some people are just like, 'This dance sucks.' And you're like, 'No no, this dance is awesome!' You have to be really positive. "
Mike Birbiglia
You
People
Government
" When I started out, I really struggled as a comic because no one knew who I was, and sometimes I was telling stories, so it would take a while for people to get on board for things. "
Mike Birbiglia
People
Started
Out
" Over the years, I managed to develop this comedy career, went from opening act to headliner at comedy clubs, to playing concert halls, and had an off-Broadway show with 'Sleepwalk With Me.' "
Mike Birbiglia
Me
Concert
Opening
" I've read that Steven Wright's style was born out of genuine nervousness. "
Mike Birbiglia
Read
Style
Steven
" The Comedy Central CDs combined with the TV specials are what led to my stuff being traded and passed around, and a lot more people knowing my jokes than I thought. "
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