The Chris Arnold Show
JUNE 11, 1998 (KTCK)

The W.N.B.A. Sucks

CORBY DAVIDSON: Chatting with us now on sports radio 1310 The Ticket, and by the way Norm, don't think this is weird because it's a sports radio station. It's very normal.

NORM: Sports is my life.

CORBY: Very good. This the GREAT, and I can't stress the adjective "great" enough. The great Norm Macdonald. Thanks for joining us. How ya doing, Norm?

NORM: I'm doing great, Corby. How are you?

CORBY: I'm doing very well. ... This is your first starring role and you're having to do a bunch of publicity things. ... Now, you're doing the kinda lower-rung radio thing. Are you kind of beaten down by all this, or are you getting used to it?

NORM: No, no, I love it. And I love sports!

CORBY: What kind of sports are you into?

NORM: I'm into every sport that has a line. [Laughter.] I'd watch the WNBA if [there were] a line on it.

CORBY: No, that's a lie. That's a lie.

NORM: No, I will not watch the WNBA.

CORBY: Good. God bless you.

NORM: I hate the WNBA. ... Why should there be a league, where the best player in the league could not play in the NBA?

CORBY: Have you seen that chick that they have. She's like a 7-foot-6 Chinese lady?

NORM: Yeah! She's a freak! [Laughter.] She plays for the L.A. Lizards or something -- the L.A. Stars. You know what's amazing, ... they have to pretend it's great. They'll show like replays -- and they're all just little underhanded layups. It's crazy.

CORBY: Yeah, it's bad basketball.

NORM: It's not good basketball. ... The Washington Generals could beat these girls.

Bob Saget

CORBY: I know you've been catching alot of flack over Bob Saget directing ["Dirty Work"].

NORM: Yeah, alot of my friends leave messages.

CORBY: You've got to admit, when you think of Bob Saget, you think of that little girls show he did the "Full House" show. And then he did that "America's Funniest Videos" or whatever. Which wasn't very funny.

NORM: No, no. The videos were funny. But he wasn't funny.

CORBY: Well, yeah, but he wasn't funny. Was he funny in this movie?

NORM: Yeah, he's a very funny guy. I saw him -- he was the first club comic I ever saw, when I was like 13 years old in Canada. He came through, and he was really a funny guy. His act was very edgy and kind of dirty and stuff. So, I always told people about him. It's funny -- and then, he does all these bad shows. And people go, "What? Are you crazy?!" And I go, "No, I swear he's funny." So, when I was looking for a director, he showed me this film he made in college -- he actually won a [Student] Academy Award for -- that was very funny. And, he knows alot about film making, and he's a funny guy in person. And, uhhhh [laughs to himself, pauses]. People do hate him. [Laughter.] It was funny when we were filming [the movie.] He's an incredibly famous guy. Everyone recognizes him. But, no one compliments him. They just go, "You're Bob Saget!" They never say, "You're great!" They just identify him.

CORBY: But, he's one of the richest guys in the world. He must have made so much cash off those two shows.

NORM: I know. I hated him. He's just so wealthy. It shows it must have been really easy to do.

Chris Farley

NORM: People think of him as a guy that falls down and stuff. But, he just had a brilliant comic mind, he was a great writer, a real student of comedy that knew all the great guys. He patterned himself after Aykroyd, and Belushi, and Bill Murray. He knew all the moves, and ... I think he would have been like the greatest.

CORBY: Yeah. Did you ever consider casting him in Artie Lange's role?

NORM: Chris wanted to do that role, actually. But, he was too expensive. He wanted to do it for nothing and his management wouldn't allow it. [Laughs.]

CORBY: Really? That sucks.

NORM: Yeah, it does suck.

Being 'Norm'al

CORBY: You're at the point now where, I think everybody cracks up at almost every single thing you say. And, I don't think you're even meaning to be funny. Is that a fair assessment?

NORM: [Laughs.] Yeah, it's true. [Laughs.]

CORBY: I mean, you just seem like this totally normal guy who just happens to be really funny -- just everything he says.

NORM: Yeah, I don't try very hard. [Laughter.] And, when I do try, it's always bad. [Laughs.] So, it's better when I just talk.

CORBY: Are you a hard worker, or would you consider yourself kind of a slacker?

NORM: I work hard when I'm writing. And, I'm very lazy when I'm performing.

The Future

CORBY: What have you got coming up next? There's alot of rumors about you maybe hooking up with Stern ... I know all the networks are pawing at you to come do stuff for them ...

NORM: Yeah, I'm not doing Stern. I'll be a guest on his show, but I don't feel comfortable going up against "Saturday Night Live," because they gave me my start. I don't like the idea of that. ... The networks want me to do something, but I have no ideas, you know? And, they have no ideas. Their idea is, "Yeah, just sign and we'll find something." I'd like to think of an idea first.

Six Days, Seven Nights

NORM: I'll tell you one thing we don't have in this movie, that's good.

CORBY: What?

NORM: We don't have a lesbian pretending not to be one! [Laughter.]

CORBY: That's very nice. No Anne Heche, huh?

NORM: Exactly, exactly.