Steve Martin and Martin Short on friendship, comedy, and their fabulous success

The full extended interview. This was a fun one. Way back in 2018, I had the chance to interview Steve Martin and Martin Short while they were touring their live special. It’s one of the rare interviews where a camera was actually pointed at me asking questions. We typically hide the interviewer in BBS, making a point of having our subjects contextualize their answers so the viewer can step into their shoes. But given our limited window with The Martins, I didn’t want to burn through precious time producing the way we normally do. The plan was to have Steve and Martin walk onto our makeshift set seconds before we rolled. Lots of emphasis on getting them in and getting them out. There was a publicist whose primary job was to ensure exactly that. So imagine my surprise when Steve Martin walks in alone, about an hour ahead of schedule. I’m sitting in a kitchen nook reviewing notes and this wild-and-crazy guy just appears. I tell him how happy we are to have him, gently mention he’s an hour early, and explain that Martin will be joining later. I add that I’m just making some notes at this little table and, to my surprise, he says something like, “Okay, maybe I’ll sit down and go over some notes too.” And so we sit down in this tiny kitchen nook, as he takes out a journal and starts making notes, while I pretend to make notes in my book but am really keeping one eye on him in disbelief that the guy my father loved on SNL, with the arrow through his head, who wrote all those smart books that turned into arthouse films, and made all those massive films we all saw over and over, sits beside me. This quiet scene ended loudly and magnificently when Martin Short entered the apartment. He felt immediately familiar, like a hilarious uncle you try to keep up with but can’t. Maybe he felt familiar because we’re both Canadian and instantly started naming other Canadians we might know in common, the way Canadians always do. And with that, we sat down, rolled camera, and it became the most fun I’ve ever had doing this kind of thing. I still can’t believe it happened. On the ride home, I called my dad and told him everything. Follow Brief But Spectacular on our Socials: Instagram:   / briefbutspectacular   Tiktok:   / briefbutspectacular   Brief But Spectacular is an Emmy-nominated interview series that airs weekly on PBS NewsHour. These short-form episodes present an in-depth look at a variety of compelling guests and ideas. Since 2015, the series has profiled over 300 subjects on a variety of topics, such as the healthcare crisis, immigration, mass incarceration, systemic racism, and mental illness. These powerful narratives put personal faces on complex issues and provide a window into the human condition. The intention of the series is to elicit empathy from the viewer by presenting original voices on universal subjects and inviting the audience to walk in someone else’s shoes. Learn more about the team behind these amazing interviews: https://www.secondpeninsula.com/work/... #BriefButSpectacular #Documentaries #Interviews