Jerry Seinfeld has been making an ass out of himself in recent interviews, crying about “extreme left PC crap” and lamenting the lost era of “dominant masculinity.” Seinfeld seems to be in the same rut as many stale, pale and male comedians: unable to change with the times and do the work of evolving as a comedian for today’s audience. Weirdly, Seinfeld is still close to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has arguably had the best post-Seinfeld career. Julia understands that the sh-t that went down thirty years ago probably shouldn’t go down today. Julia is currently promoting Tuesday (what looks like a huge bummer movie). She’s also part of the Marvel world now, and she’s currently shooting Thunderbolts. She chatted with the NY Times about Tuesday, about still being an in-demand actress in her 60s and about the real threat to comedy and art. Some highlights:

How does she feel about being part of the MCU: “I look at it gratefully. Look, there’s no guarantee that just because a movie is in a franchise, it’s going to work. There’s scores of examples of exactly that. And even in the Marvel universe, they’ve had some clunkers. So I’m not sure that the size of a franchise is the problem with the entertainment business. Corporations eating up corporations eating up corporations may be more of the problem, but not the franchise itself, if that makes sense.

Too much C-suite involvement in movies: “And lots of cooks and lots of people with opinions. And so a new idea or an independent idea or an outside-the-box idea is harder to sell, to make, it seems.”

She’s open to doing another TV series: “Yes, I am. Maybe a limited series might be a little more doable right now, because to get locked into an eight-year run on something might be a little daunting, but people aren’t doing that anymore anyway. You know, everything is much shorter-lived, it seems, entertainmentwise.

Could “Seinfeld” be made now? Probably not. I mean, what the hell is happening in network television anymore? When “Seinfeld” was made, it was really unlike anything that was on at the time. It was just a bunch of losers hanging out. So I would say one main reason it wouldn’t be made now is because it’s hard to get anything different recognized. Particularly nowadays, everyone’s sort of running scared.

What she thinks about what Jerry Seinfeld said about political correctness: “If you look back on comedy and drama both, let’s say 30 years ago, through the lens of today, you might find bits and pieces that don’t age well. And I think to have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result. When I hear people starting to complain about political correctness — and I understand why people might push back on it — but to me that’s a red flag, because it sometimes means something else. I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing. I don’t know how else to say it.

More on political correctness-in-comedy: “I wanted to make sure that I answered this whole idea of political correctness correctly, and I can’t really remember what I said. So I wanted to go back to that and be very clear about where I stand. My feeling about all of it is that political correctness, insofar as it equates to tolerance, is obviously fantastic. And of course I reserve the right to boo anyone who says anything that offends me, while also respecting their right to free speech, right? But the bigger problem — and I think the true threat to art and the creation of art — is the consolidation of money and power. All this siloing of studios and outlets and streamers and distributors — I don’t think it’s good for the creative voice. So that’s what I want to say in terms of the threat to art.

[From The NY Times]

“When I hear people starting to complain about political correctness…to me that’s a red flag, because it sometimes means something else.” 100%. The “anti-PC” stuff is code for “but I want to be racist/bigoted/hateful” and “I want to punch down on marginalized groups without facing personal or professional repercussions.” I love “I reserve the right to boo anyone who says anything that offends me, while also respecting their right to free speech.” Exactly – free speech goes both ways. You can say offensive sh-t, and I can boo you and say you’re a terrible comedian. This is also completely accurate: “I think the true threat to art and the creation of art — is the consolidation of money and power.” How does Julia get it so right and Jerry Seinfeld does not?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.