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One of the most successful stand up comedians of all time and the star of the funniest US sitcom ever made, Jerry Seinfeld couldn't care less about big screen glory. "It just doesn't hold much interest for me," he reveals, "because it requires a lot of work." The fabulously wealthy 54-year-old does admit, however, to a fondness for cartoons, and after catching a nature documentary all about them, to bees as well. If only there was some way he could have brought those interests together, say during a cosy little lunch with Mr Hollywood himself, Steven Spielberg.
"I just remarked that Bee Movie would be a funny title for a movie about bees. It wasn't a pitch, like something I thought he should seriously consider. I thought I was just making jaunty conversation, but he goes, 'That's a great idea for a movie!' To be honest, I think he says that no matter what you say to him!"Offered the opportunity to write and star in a digitally animated masterpiece of his very own, Jerry eventually agreed to do the work, and threw himself into a perilous research process. "I guess I don't know what's in the mind of a bee, no matter how much I pretend that I do," he begins. "I went to a beehive, one of those man-made wooden boxes that farmers use, as I wanted to see what they looked like, and also learn a little about bees from a beekeeper. And this particular beekeeper, a French chap by the way, felt you didn't particularly need protective stuff like head gear, and if you just handled the bees properly you didn't have to worry. But what he neglected to consider was that even bee keepers want to impress celebrities.
"So we're looking at the bees, and he goes, 'Would you like to see the queen?' And I said, 'Well, okay, I guess'. So he starts rifling through these frames. The bees all live in there, and he's picking one up going, 'Nope, no queen there'. And of course the bees get a little irritated. And when they get annoyed, there's a sound, because they all work together. That's the beauty of bees - they're very harmonious. So all the bees, in unison go from a happy bee sound to an irritated bee sound.
"So he looks at me. The two of us standing there just in t-shirts and shorts. And he goes, 'You know what, maybe we should get going'. I go, 'Okay'. And he goes, 'In fact, you should go right now'. So I did, but not fast enough. And there was a little bee that was given the mission to get me! So I'm running across this field, and I take my hat and I'm swatting at this bee with my hat. But no matter how I run or where I go, I can't shake him. He's quick, ya know, and eventually he got me, right on the end of my nose."
Seinfeld isn't sorry he visited the bees though, as "it's good for promotion". A good story being worth a sting or two. Speaking of Sting, given his appropriate name, it may come as no surprise to you to learn he has a cameo in the movie, along with a frankly crazed Ray Liotta, playing a wild and crazy version of himself as an evil honey mogul.
"Ray walked in to the recording studio like it was a normal day, even though I don't think he'd ever played himself before, let alone playing himself as a total buffoon. We made up some stuff that he thought was totally fantastic, and came up with some stuff of his own that made him look even crazier! That was our good fortune as not everyone has such a great sense of humour. He didn't seem at all surprised or thrown by anything. In fact he couldn't wait to do it. He gave it so much energy, he was sweating!"
The tale of a disillusioned bee who befriends a florist, played by Renee Zellweger, and sues humanity for eating honey, Bee Movie developed into a labour of love for Seinfeld, who obsessed over every line. So much so, that even after completing the film, he still wasn't completely satisfied.
"I'm changing a line for the DVD," he says. "Then I'll be happy. Just one line that I thought I could do a little better with. I'm not gonna tell which line it is though, as that's how we're gonna sell the DVD, as The Special Jerry Seinfeld Cut!" Add Bee Movie to your list today and see if you can find Jerry's special line.
Regardless of his fondness for doing nothing, Jerry admits that he actually has quite a busy year ahead. "Next year I'll be doing my stand-up comedy shows in the states, in Las Vegas, and I'm going to be writing and developing a bunch of new things to do in that show and taking it around the country, but I don't really think of that as work. Actually it's kind of relaxation for me.
"It's certainly not like making a movie. There are no meetings, no discussions about what jokes to include. You just do it and the audience likes it or they don't like it and then you're off to dinner. There's no stress involved. It's very pure. A movie is like being the captain of a ship, which is nice, but when I perform by myself it's more like surfing. That's how I like it. It's my natural thing."
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