There’s nothing PC about author John Hodgman
Actor from Apple TV ads is also on ‘The Daily Show’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Before he was the ever-inferior PC personification on those famous Apple TV ads, or the condescending expert on “The Daily Show,” John Hodgman was a compiler of fake facts and weird wisdom.
His first book, “The Areas of My Expertise,” included a list of the nine U.S. presidents who had hooks for hands. His second, “More Information Than You Require,” offers valuable information on mole-men, how to make money from hermit crab racing, and the exact recipe of the Nutrient Slime that is fed to the members of the Electoral College.
‘A great comedic influence, actually a minor deity to me, is Peter Cook, the British comedian who is a master of deadpan. I similarly love Bob Newhart,’ says actor and writer John Hodgman, who appears as PC on the the Apple TV ads.
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RECENT HEADLINESConfused? At least you can be reassured by his calm, exquisitely precise manner of speaking. Hodgman spoke with the AJC recently while on a train trip on the West Coast; these are the parts of the conversation that made the most sense.
Q. Have you been recognized on the train?
A. In the station, someone did ask if I was PC. And I said yes. Usually it sort of stalls out at that point. People who know me from the Apple ads, and I would say that’s most people, usually only require verification that I am that person. They don’t know my name. People who know me from “The Daily Show” are the most likely to approach me. They tend to have a very personal relationship with “The Daily Show” and want to talk about that.
And then very, very occasionally, the smallest subset of all are the people who know me from my books of fake trivia. In which case the subject turns to mole-men or hobos very quickly.
Q. Have you had the experience of people who think you’re the guy on “The Daily Show,” but then they buy the book and say “What is this?” Because the book is not as linear as you are on “The Daily Show.”
A. My book is not designed to be read linearly. Indeed, it’s designed not to be read at all. If you purchase the book, it frees you from the obligation to read it. But if you have not yet bought my book, you are required to read it.
Even my editor has largely ceased to edit me at this point, whereas “The Daily Show” is an exercise in hard discipline, writing to a very challenging length of three or four minutes. And they insist I allow Jon Stewart time to talk also. So that cuts into my time dramatically.
Q. You’re wonderful at being deadpan. What makes you actually laugh out loud?
A. A great comedic influence, actually a minor deity to me, is Peter Cook, the British comedian who is a master of deadpan. I similarly love Bob Newhart. Probably the comedian who makes me laugh the most these days is a fellow named Paul F. Tompkins, a journeyman stand-up comedian and a very dapper dandy to boot. He wears beautiful suits, which causes me much envy.
And I am ashamed to admit that my own jokes make me laugh. When I’m writing the book, this deranged emanation from my brain, it’s largely designed to amuse myself with hopes that there other poor souls out there who might enjoy it too.
Q. Non sequiturs can be a tough form of humor to judge. How do you decide which ones are keepers?
A. I feel that your critique is reasonable insofar as a lot of the references and allusions I’m making are so esoteric that even I don’t know what I’m talking about. However, the idea of just inserting something random and crazy, I do not think is as funny as building an absurd lie out of an actual absurd truth.
When I began writing in this voice of the deranged authority on all things was in an advice column for McSweeneys.net called Ask a Former Professional Literary Agent. I understood why people thought my humor was random nonsense, but as Dave Eggers himself put it, what I’m aiming for is not Tourette’s-like craziness, shouting out random stuff, but rather the meticulous consistency of the deranged.
