Humor is just another defense against the universe.
Look at Jewish history. Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable. So, for every ten Jews beating their breasts, God designated one to be crazy and amuse the breast-beaters. By the time I was five I knew I was that one.
Humour is just another defence against the universe.
Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin. The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to other characters living with him.
I've been accused of vulgarity. I say that's bullshit.
Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.
I have always been a huge admirer of my own work. I'm one of the funniest and most entertaining writers I know.
As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes.
Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.
A brushstroke of vanity is good to add into the mix, to balance your timidity. We're all blessed with a lot of timidity and a lot of worry and anxiety, and vanity is a good antidote.
The brilliance of Max Brooks is that he always quotes authorities at the back of his books that never existed. Like a Russian professor he made up that validates a story or character.
Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said.
But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.
I'll accept bad taste in a minute, as long as there's some great comedy minds and performances.
You got to be brave. If you feel something, you've really got to risk it.
When you come to Germany as a Jew you have an uneasy feeling, but I've always felt okay in Berlin.
As far as songwriters, I've always been a fan of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin; those guys mean a lot to me.
I wish I was better looking.
There's an army story in me, and I think there's a WWII Brooks film somewhere.
Immortality is a by-product of good work.
