Blogs and Stories
New York's Cult Literary Hero, Jonathan Ames, Hits It Big
How does it feel to watch the characters in your head become real people?
It’s a lot of fun watching these people speak my words. I like the whole experience: the catering, the electricians, the truck drivers, the cameramen…All these people have jobs because I wrote something. It makes me feel good.
What was hardest thing to learn about working in TV?
I don’t want to sound grandiose, but I caught on very quickly. I don’t know the technical terms for some things on the set and I’m a bit weak when it comes to wardrobe.
Who else is writing on the show?
Donick Carey, Martin Gero, and Samantha McIntyre.
How did you pick them?
It wasn’t an easy process, and I don’t really want to get into it because I don’t want other writers to feel like they were rejected.
Did you know any of them previously?
No.
Does this process make you want to write another book, or are you sweet on TV now?
I want to write more novels. I’ve always jumped around, from novels and a column and back to novels. I perform a lot in cabaret shows, which was very good experience for working on TV. It’s nice that everything feels like Summer Stock theater, people coming together to make something that will amuse other human beings.
Was getting a TV show all part of your plan?
There’s been no plan. It’s been stumbling in a fog. I’m glad how things are going. I always just wanted to pay the rent as a writer.
Have you bought yourself a present lately?
I went to the dentist for the first time in 20 years. I never had insurance but now I do. I had been practicing self-dentistry for years—I bought this thing at the drugstore to scrape teeth. When I told the dentist I had not been since I was a teenager, she said, ‘Oh God, it may take two sessions to clean you up,’ but she was really pleased with my self-dentistry.
What TV shows do you like?
I don’t watch any shows. I only got a TV a few months ago, and got cable. Having been a struggling writer for years in New York, there were certain things I just didn’t have, like cable and a dentist. In the past, when I would go to my parents’ house, I would enjoy shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Flight of the Conchords, Six Feet Under, and Deadwood.
Am I allowed to ask if you’re dating Fiona Apple?
We’re still together.
Are you going to have a cameo in your show?
I haven’t wanted to wreck it with my ugly mug. But I am in The Great Buck Howard, a movie coming out in March. I have a scene with John Malkovich. I play a writer.
Named Jonathan Ames?
No, but when I showed up, they were like, ‘Wow, you look like a writer.’ I wore my own stuff.
Deborah Schoeneman has been a columnist for The New York Observer, New York magazine, and Condé Nast Portfolio and served as editor-in-chief of Hampton Style magazine. Deborah's the author of the novel 4% Famous and moved to Los Angeles last year to break into Hollywood writing and learn how to surf.
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Clevedark
Jonathan Ames writes such funny stuff, I'm amazed at how boring this interview is. Of course he's at the mercy of the interviewer.
Why is everyone patterning their interviews after Deborah Solomon's in the Times magazine? Schoeneman isn't as rude and confrontation, but it does follow the same pattern of annoying non sequitors.
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