Blackbird Fly • Jesse on 30 Minutes or Less

Jesse on 30 Minutes or Less

INTERVIEWER:	When a comedy is this raunchy, is there such a thing as going too far?
JESSE EISENBERG:	There is stuff in this movie that I’m uncomfortable with. I don’t like to use the “R” word, for example. Rape, for example. I’m very uncomfortable with that word, personally because I do work with domestic violence organisations and I’m very aware of the alarming statistics of women who are abused. So I’m very uncomfortable with that. I’m not uncomfortable with the sexual jokes. Sometimes I think they’re less funny than others, I don’t care about that, cos it doesn’t harm anybody. I’m uncomfortable with saying “rape,” I don’t like saying that, I never say it in my life. If somebody says it, I cringe. I don’t like it when people make jokes about that word. I’m a little bit uncomfortable with it, but I was hired to do a job. I thought most of the movie was good and kind of respectful to people in general. The movies that really bother me are rich white people lamenting their lives when they have, like, a million dollars. That to me is more offensive than sexual humour. A rich, white person lamenting their million-dollar kitchen and the audience is supposed to sympathise with that character, to me, that’s pathetic. Whereas, in this movie I thought the characters were real and my job was to take my character seriously.

INTERVIEWER:

When a comedy is this raunchy, is there such a thing as going too far?

JESSE EISENBERG:

There is stuff in this movie that I’m uncomfortable with. I don’t like to use the “R” word, for example. Rape, for example. I’m very uncomfortable with that word, personally because I do work with domestic violence organisations and I’m very aware of the alarming statistics of women who are abused. So I’m very uncomfortable with that. I’m not uncomfortable with the sexual jokes. Sometimes I think they’re less funny than others, I don’t care about that, cos it doesn’t harm anybody. I’m uncomfortable with saying “rape,” I don’t like saying that, I never say it in my life. If somebody says it, I cringe. I don’t like it when people make jokes about that word. I’m a little bit uncomfortable with it, but I was hired to do a job. I thought most of the movie was good and kind of respectful to people in general. The movies that really bother me are rich white people lamenting their lives when they have, like, a million dollars. That to me is more offensive than sexual humour. A rich, white person lamenting their million-dollar kitchen and the audience is supposed to sympathise with that character, to me, that’s pathetic. Whereas, in this movie I thought the characters were real and my job was to take my character seriously.