Pauly Shore From his MTV days, to his long list of hilarious movies, to his latest venture “Minding the Store” on TBS, Pauly is a stagnant name in comedy. Pauly stops by WHO?MAG to talk about his ups and downs and ups and his new comedy/reality show.
Interview by Rob Schwartz
WHO?MAG: What is the basis for “Minding the Store?” PAULY SHORE: Saving my family business and what my mom created. She created a beautiful thing and I am trying to keep what she started going. The Comedy Store is an artist colony and I want to keep her vision alive.
WHO?MAG: Do you plot out your scripts and agendas for your program or is the show more spontaneous? PAULY SHORE: We have the story plots, but mostly it’s all improve.
WHO?MAG: What made you come up with the concept for “Minding the Store?” PAULY SHORE: It was time for me to get back on TV and I was just trying to come up with the right premise for me. I thought me and TV worked, but it needed to be done in a different way. I think that educating people that I grew up around Richard Pryor, David Letterman, Robin Williams, and all these other guys makes it a little more interesting as opposed to just my own show like The Osbornes so we base it of something where we use the comedy club as a backbone.
WHO?MAG: How does someone go about pitching a pilot for a TV show to a network? PAULY SHORE: You need to hook up with a producing team that has television shows on the air. Those are the producers that the networks usually get in bed with. You have to get in bed with someone who has shows going on all the time.
WHO?MAG: Do you prefer stand-up, movies, or television? PAULY SHORE: I prefer everything. This week I am at Caroline’s in New York, so I’m getting psyched up for that. But after the show comes out, I want to write some more stuff. I don’t know, doing it all is what I like and they are all under the same umbrella.
WHO?MAG: Do you feel comedy has changed over the last 10 years and how? PAULY SHORE: I feel that people are getting more real. There are fewer gimmicks and less shticks. Back in the day, everyone kind of had a hook. There’s less of that and more of people just talking.
WHO?MAG: What was your toughest situation you had to face in career? PAULY SHORE: Probably after my sitcom got cancelled on Fox. That made me realize it was time to step away for a little while. Letting go was probably the toughest situation.
WHO?MAG: What would you like to see changed in the comedy business? PAULY SHORE: I think the business is going pretty good. It would be cool if people gave comedians more opportunities to do dramatic scenes. I think when you think of comedians, you don’t think of “dramatic”, you think more comedy. It would be cool to flip the script. Go the other way.
WHO?MAG: What advice can you give an upcoming comedian trying to get into this business? PAULY SHORE: It’s almost like a way of life. It’s almost like the mafia. Don’t do it unless you breathe it. Don’t do it unless it’s a seven day a week 24 hour thing because it takes that to survive and to make it properly. It takes a lot of rigor and a lot of hard work and it’s not as easy as it looks so you have to first ask yourself if this is something that you want to make a lifestyle. If it’s not, then don’t waste your time.
WHO?MAG: What does the future hold for Pauly Shore? PAULY SHORE: Go to Europe on vacation, sit on a boat in Greece, drink margaritas, and play checkers in my Speedos.
