The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling Page #5

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It's very good to have

this peaceful moment

before we get into laughing.

Man:

Scene 6-P, take one.

Right now my body is saying,

"Why do I have

your f***in' brain?"

( on-set laughter )

"Why couldn't I have the brain

of a singer?" my body said.

A f***in' comic.

Means I got to f***in'

pace back and forth

and be constantly thinking

about sh*t to say,

or I feel inadequate.

( laughter )

F***in' neurotic f***.

Get Dr. Kevorkian's number.

Let's get this over with.

I'm ready to come back.

Come back in the f***in' body

of a dog, I'd be happier.

At least I wouldn't

be licking my balls as much.

( laughter )

Man:

We are back from commercial!

- Shandling:
We're back?

- ( bell rings )

Apatow:

You know, Garry's exhausted

and making the show.

He terminated Linda's contract

when they broke up as a couple.

And so she sues him

for wrongful termination.

The lawsuit was settled.

But at some point in going

through contracts

and money

to deal with that,

everyone becomes aware that

the commissions are not kosher.

- The Brad Grey commissions?

- Apatow:
Yes.

Yeah, that's right.

And... and, the lawyer

that Garry had engaged

asked Brad's group, "Hey, can

we see these contacts?

Whatever it is

that Garry signed."

And the general response

from Brad was,

"You don't want to ask

this question."

Apatow:

And that's when Brad Grey

dropped him as a client.

Gavin DeBecker:

Yeah.

And that opened up

a huge can of worms.

Bill Isaacson:

When Garry was starting

in stand-up,

Brad Grey was representing him

and helping him get gigs,

and they were

very close friends.

And as Garry succeeded,

so did Brad.

Then Brad became 50% owner

of "Larry Sanders Show."

At the same time,

he's the manager,

so he receives commissions.

And he's the producer,

so he gets producer fees.

And he began to use

his reputation

that he was getting from that

to spin off into other shows

and then to do

production deals.

I don't think it actually

occurred to people

that your business manager

should not take

half of your show.

- Mm-hmm.

- And all of a sudden,

the writers

from "Larry Sanders"

were being offered

deals at other shows.

So, you're sitting there saying,

my producer and my co-owner

is taking away our talent

and taking it away over there,

which was a part

of the conflicts that--

that, you know,

really upset Garry.

Because anything that made

the job more difficult

or took creative people

that he wanted to work with

away from him,

was taking away

from "Larry Sanders Show."

But it just came down

the core of,

your manager is taking

a commission

to represent your interests,

and not supposed to be

representing his interests.

This person had a duty

of loyalty to me.

( music playing )

Lawsuit's filed

January 1998.

The last season

of "Larry Sanders"

starts in March,

which is really

about the lawsuit.

It's him reacting to the whole

issue of conflicts of interest.

- Mark.

- Stevie Grant:
Hey, listen,

I know you're busy

dreaming about

your lover's cock and all,

but I think I ordered

some coffee.

Apatow:

Because on the show,

Stevie Grant

is representing

both Larry and Jon Stewart,

as Jon Stewart's trying

to get Larry's job.

Crewman:

Seventeen, take two.

I know this is awkward.

I just wanted to tell you

that I was going to be thanking

you at the top of the show

- my very first thing.

- Uh-huh.

- You don't need to do that.

- No, I so do.

- You really don't.

- I'm just going to say

how much I appreciated

your support,

and what an honor and

a challenge it's going to be

to even try...

I don't think

you need "challenge."

...and follow

in your footsteps.

That's a little overkill.

"Honor's" good.

- I'll say that one twice.

- Just say "honor."

Listen, did Stevie Grant tell

you he was going to sign me

beforehand?

We got to get the

Stevie Grant beat right.

- This is about Jon Stewart,

isn't it?

- ( laughs )

I am telling you,

ABC has just made him an offer,

and the network is just using me

as a f***ing negotiation tool.

Who represents him, anyway?

I do.

- You do?

- Yeah.

- Since when?

- Since today.

I thought you had

a photo shoot and a meeting.

I had to eat lunch, Larry.

- With Jon Stewart.

- Yeah.

I see.

Don't you think

that's a tad of a conflict?

Not for me.

Apatow:

Garry would say that he wanted

the show to be great.

And one of the reasons was,

he wanted people to know

that Brad never

did anything.

- ( laughs )

- And so he wanted it

- to be the best season

of all the seasons.

- Yeah.

So he used revenge for energy.

I'll show you.

I'll show you some real quality.

- Man:
Rolling.

- Let's go.

Man 1:

Take one.

Man 2:

Okay, let's go.

- Go, go, go.

- Man 3:
And action. Dave?

- Hey.

- Hey!

Close the f***in' door.

Jimmy:

I heard the news

about Jon Stewart.

- What, he's leaving the agency?

- Stevie:
Yeah. You know why?

He says he caught me in a lie.

( scoffs )

Right.

Oh, my God,

I told a f***in' lie!

Yeah, I told him his f***in'

show would run for 20 years.

He didn't seem

to mind that lie.

Jimmy:

Look, can I be honest with you?

He's got nothing.

I took a sh*t this morning

with more talent.

F***in' artists. They're all

crazy, neurotic babies.

( snorts )

Man:

And, we cut.

( indistinct chatter )

Bruce Grayson:

I remember being on the set

and how emotional he was.

I mean, he was so intense.

He was so intense.

Yeah.

And, you're looking at this

f***in' guy, you're coked up.

Okay? Okay.

Take your time.

Get intense at that person

you don't like.

Apatow:

Garry talked a lot about

The reason why he had

the lawsuit with Brad

was to stand up

for himself.

But ultimately it led

to what Garry felt was

a smear campaign against him.

Grayson:

And when it turned on him,

it blew his mind.

( music playing )

DeBecker:

Many of these dynamics

that went on with Garry

around difficult relationships

with people who had betrayed him

in some way, he felt,

really go back to...

to the death of Barry,

his older brother.

If you had a very close

relationship with Garry,

it would often be fraternal,

and that would be fraught.

And I think Brad

had that circumstance occur.

That dynamic and that pain

is what Brad was dancing on.

Dancing on that wound.

Leno:

You know, whenever you talk

to Garry, you always sensed

he was trying to think

of something funny to say

and come back.

And after that,

he was just never the same.

It was just like,

you know when you're a kid

and an adult does something

to disappoint you, you know?

And you're so stunned.

But, I would...

every time I saw him

I always felt the need

to cheer him up

and compliment him

more than I normally would,

just because I felt like

something had been taken

from him, you know?

The fire seemed to,

if not gone out,

somewhat diminished.

Grayson:

Betrayal was a big component

in Garry's life.

If there is an element

of betrayal or dishonesty

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