<
https://www.cracked.com/article_40871_penn-jillette-wants-to-talk-it-all-out.html>
"Penn Jillette has a large, framed French-language poster of
Renaldo and
Clara behind him. Most people wouldn’t know what that is, but as a Bob Dylan
fan, I do — it’s his largely forgotten, widely panned 1978 film that he wrote,
directed and starred in. Only real Dylan obsessives talk about it, and Jillette
is one of them. I’m speaking to him over Zoom — I’m in Los Angeles, he’s in Las
Vegas — and when I mention the poster, it makes him smile.
“It’s funny: I was at the Dylan Center in Tulsa and they asked to interview me
about Dylan, and they got the cameras all set up and stuff,” he recalls. “And I
said, ‘I’m a little taken aback because I’ve never done an interview that
didn’t mention Dylan — but this is the first time I’ve been asked to talk about
Dylan.’” The singer-songwriter is one of his heroes, and Jillette is tickled
that I’ve brought Dylan up rather than him having to for once. “I bring in
Dylan to explain everything,” he says.
Turning 69 in March, Jillette not only worships Dylan but in some ways has
tried to emulate his career. Both of them grew up in middle-class families,
both of them became showmen, both of them have done a little bit of everything.
The world knows Jillette best from his long-running magic/comedy duo Penn &
Teller, but he’s also written books, acted and spoken out about political
issues. He’s been on Broadway, and his latest television program,
Penn &
Teller: Fool Us, is now in its 10th season.
Teller famously never talks during their routines, leaving Jillette to be their
spokesperson, and in real life, Jillette talks a lot, too. I knew going in that
he has opinions on everything from Taylor Swift to religion, but during our
hour-long interview he never came across as a know-it-all. Rather, his views
were often offered modestly, complete with disclaimers or self-deprecating
jokes. He thinks a lot about a lot of things, but he’s not sure he’s right
about any of them. That’s where talking comes in for Jillette — it allows him
to try a rough draft of a stance that maybe he’ll later refine. In other words,
he’s someone who can change his mind — like when he recently renounced
Libertarianism after long being one of its most public champions.
As we head into this election year, I was curious how he was feeling about the
country, Joe Biden, his former
Celebrity Apprentice sparring partner Donald
Trump and the general direction of things. But we also discussed magic and
comedy — which, he argues, can help explain politics. Penn Jillette knows he
doesn’t have all the answers, but that won’t stop him from asking the
questions."
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
