ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Unfrosted director and star Jerry Seinfeld and star Jim Gaffigan about the upcoming comedy movie. The duo spoke about directing comedy and the Gaffigan’s intense character. Unfrosted is set to release on the streaming platform on Friday, May 3.
“Michigan, 1963. Kellogg’s and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast,” reads the film‘s synopsis. “A tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar, and menacing milkmen, Unfrosted stars Jerry Seinfeld in his directorial debut.”
Tyler Treese: So Jerry, this is your feature debut as a director. You’ve obviously had so much success in comedy and acting, so how has that experience been — learning new skills and applying old skills in a fresh way here?
Jerry Seinfeld: Well, if I was directing right now, I would say the little head popping out of your head is perfect. Let’s lock these cameras off. I love this shot. It looks like you have a little puppet head on top of your head. Can you see what I’m seeing?
Yes!
Seinfeld: Yeah. So those are the comedic skills of directing. You have to know when you’ve got the right framing and a funny shot. This is a funny shot. A guy trying to do an interview with a little head on top of his head. [Laughs].
Jim, you have so many great scenes in this film — especially with Amy Schumer. You’re trying to seduce her with the twist. What stood out about working with her?
Jim Gaffigan: I guess what stood out is Amy’s a pro, you know? There was a calmness and she knew exactly what we were going to do, and it was kind of fun. There was no question surrounding our character. Our relationship wasn’t confusing at all. We both were on the same page. So I think that’s really what stood out is that we both … I don’t even know if we really discussed it. We kind of just knew exactly what the relationship was. Knowing Amy, it’s like the status and the romantic aspect of it. There were no real question marks, so it was kind of … I guess it was just in the script, too.
Seinfeld: It was pretty simple. We wanted to keep the ideas simple.
There are some really great spots where you get to deliver some classic Seinfeld rants. I love this part where you’re talking about reaching the moon and you say, “Just leave the moon alone. There’s no reason for us to be messing around up there.” How was it finding those spots in the script and placing in those observational jokes?
Seinfeld: That’s pretty easy. That’s really what we know we do best. We loved writing the monologue for Jim about Milky Cashman, the first man who spilled milk into a bowl of cereal. [Laughs]. That was a really fun scene because we wanted Jim to be a little distraught that no one knows the whereabouts of this great man. It was Moe Greene from The Godfather — the man who built Las Vegas, and he never received the recognition. So in our movie, that was Milky Cashman — the first man to spill milk on cereal. [Laughs].
Jim, there’s such a great intensity to your performance in certain spots, like the “I know how to talk to kids” scene. How was it ratcheting it up and showing this intense side that we don’t see a lot from you?
Seinfeld: Jim came up with that. I said, “Let me say, ‘I know how to talk to kids,’ and then you go over to the kid and lose it.” And he picked the kid up and just started yelling, “I’m going to kill your grandmother and your whole family!” That was all Jim. [Laughs]. I didn’t know what he was going to do.
Gaffigan: It just seemed like the most inappropriate thing for Edsel to do. [Laughs]. And he was just such an inept third person in that team. The last thing you would do is threaten a child’s grandparents. [Laughs]. So I just thought it would be the most hysterical thing to do, and to physically put hands on the children. Obviously, you should never do that, but that’s some of the ’60s. Edsel’s this guy that comes from money and doesn’t have the patience to utilize coercion.
