[rove home] [rove episode guide] [rove transcripts] [rove/pete/corinne/dave pics] INTELLECTUALLY STARVED? - SCOTT CAPPURO INTERVIEW (AND ROVE BASHING SESSION) - LARGE MAGAZINE - BY REBECCA MARCH, STEVE PROPOSCH, JONATHAN LOBBAN (05/01) Searching for meaningful debate and sociological contemplation? Come rest your scholary slippers at the heels of Large's resident academic editors, Steve Proposch and Jonathan Lobban , as they address and digest society's bigger issues. Chapter 2 : Provocation as a publicity tool : Effective marketing 101 Johnathan : Hello Steve, may I compliment you on the choice of topic this evening. One could say it is a subject too rarely discussed these days, considering its frequency. Steven : Bravo, Jonno. Certainly media fringe dwellers like John Saffron would be nowhere today without it. In order to bypass mediocrity, a good dose of controversy can help one's cause far more effectively than a rambunctious publicist. Scott : Hi guys. May I say how unphotogenic you both look. Steven : Thank you Scott. Are you always so in your face or do you try to curb your performance according to audience reactions? Scott : Yeah, I sure do. I was actually holding back on Rove. In fact, I made sure that my material was approved by Channel Ten before I went on air. I told the head of the station my most shocking joke right before I went on and he said that it was fine; he was very supportive of it. Johnathan : But not so supportive the next morning, I hear? Scott : Not at all. Apparently there were a lot of angry calls after the show, and I guess Channel Ten didn't want to get blamed for anything. I don't know Steven : Sounds like you've been screwed over big time. Scott : Well yeah! They've made it like : 'beware of the big bad homo!'. I just don't understand why they would ask me to come on and do what I do, then turn around the next day and tell me that I'm 'offensive'. I felt like, you know the type of comedy I do, you've seen it, so if you don't like it or find it offensive then don't invite me on the show. Johnathon : How bad has this reaction been on the scale of bad reactions for you? I could imagine that you've had to endure quite a few. Scott : This one's up there with the worst. I've been fending off the press all morning. Steven : But you've had worse? Scott : Slightly. There was this kid who tried to kill me once. He came to see one of my shows - he was cute too - anyway, during the show I spoke to his father over the phone and told him about a few unsavoury things that his son was trying to do to me. His father disowned the boy on the spot, which may have caused some of the kids's craziness, I don't know. Anyway, as I was walking out of the venue after the show, the kid confronted me and said he'd heard three voices telling me that I had to die. Then he tried to strangle me. Johnathan : He was actually trying to kill you? Scott : Yeah, and in such a long, drawn out way too. Seriously, if anyone out there is planning my assassination, you can just fucking shoot me or something so we can get it over with? For Christ's sake! Steven : Are there any places you've performed at where everyone actually likes you? Scott : I love going to Ireland. They have great senses of humour there. Not at all like Scotland, where people were throwing beers and walking out (which is something that makes Scots angry 'cause they've paid to see the show) when I make a few comments about Princess Di getting what she deserved. Johnathan : I could imagine some people finding that pretty offensive. Are you always such a prick? Scott : (laughs) I honestly don't think of myself as offensive. What I find offensive are comedians who aren't willing to talk about certain things because they don't feel their audience can handle it. I want to be able to broach any subject matter, and I want to be able to do it in a clever, funny way. I just presume that audiences want me to elevate my act to their level, not talk to them like children. It's a compliment. I noticed with the whole Comedy Festival thing that no one wants to offend anyone else, and you just get bland crap all the time. I never encountered anything like this in London. Johnathon : They're a little more accepting of the edgy stuff over there? Scott : Yeah, well the reason I'm here is because I did a show at the Edinburgh Festival this year that did really well. People freaked out over there too, but for a different reason. Steven : Which was? Scott : Oh, when I made fun of the Holocaust. I mean, it's like a gold mine of material! No one wants to touch it. I don't know why. Johnathan : So what happened? Scott : Well, you know, I did my act and it went okay, then one night some girls came to the show and started crying and, well, the press got a hold of it and it became kinda big and whatever, you know, they cried. I actually thought it might be a problem here, but no ones talked about me making fun of the Holocaust in their reviews. No one gives a s*it about the Jews here, but they're 'up in arms' because I made fun of Rove on his tv show! I just can't believe it. It's so childish. Steven : Do you use what the Herald Sun calls 'offensiveness' as a publicity tool? Scott : That's why Channel Ten wanted me on the show in the first place! There were plenty of other comics they could've asked, but they chose me after seeing my tape because they knew it would create controversy and get people watching. Johnathan : Do you think that Craig Campbell. The Rove producer, was fired in the name of publicity? Scott : For sure. It's all just press stuff. He 'resigned' by moving to another project and remaining with the company. The Rove people are bad at producing a show, but they're good at getting crowds. They just rip off other shows, create some controversy, and there's your ratings. Johnathan : What did you say on the show anyway? Scott : Oh look, I said, 'Suck it Jesus!' Steven : Right, yesYou said a few things about how going to a Catholic school made you gay and how you wanted to f*ck jesus too, right? Do you think that might've had something to do with the 'outrage' you've caused, you big bad homo? Scott : Well I think the reaction definitely has something to do with me being queer. I mean Judith Lucy talked about sh*tting and sex. She was much more vulgar than I was and she didn't even get her hand slapped. It's weird, but you know what? It's great. To get people to respond to things, get them out of their chairs, yelling and screaming and mad; to get any reaction is fantastic. It turns me on so much! I mean, this is what it's all about. This is my job. I'm paid to have no discretion. I'm an iconclast. I think what the Herald Sun people and the Rove people don't understand is that I'm a comedian. This is a comedy festival, I'm kidding! 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