By Kristin Marguerite Doidge
For most shows, editing begins after the writing is finished. But on Larry David’s new historical sketch series for HBO, “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America,” editing is the writing. On screen, David’s comedy often feels spontaneous, messy, and gloriously unfiltered. Off screen, it requires a highly organized post-production machine.
According to veteran picture editors Steve Rasch, ACE, and Roger Nygard, ACE, the seven-episode limited series — described as “‘Curb’ in costume” by longtime collaborator and co-executive producer/ co-writer Jeff Schaffer — was built upon the foundation the team refined during “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” their previous HBO hit series, and includes a three-stage creative process: outlines, improvisation, and a final rewrite in post-production.
With overlapping dialogue, shifting performances, and dozens of standalone sketches set across different eras in American history, the cutting room became less a finishing department than the place where scenes found their final shape.
“The work Larry and I do with Steve and Roger is what makes the show,” Schaffer said. “Not just editing to create a rhythm, but creating what the sketch actually is. They aren’t just looking at two takes and picking a favorite. Every take is different, and there are so many choices to be made about what topics even go in the scene, not to mention all the weaving and stitching magic they have to do to make it all feel seamless.”
CineMontage sat down with the editorial team, which includes assistant editors Brian Jones and Anthony Smedile, to break down how they sculpted improvised material, managed complex multi-character audio, and emphasized the rhythm of David’s one-of-a-kind comedy, frame by frame.
Q: What did it take to get Larry out of retirement after “Curb Your Enthusiasm” ended?
Steve Rasch: Larry’s not the guy who gets excited about things as much as he’s the guy who’s bored at home, tired of playing golf, and wants some stimulation. Then his mind starts working and he gets ideas. It might be stimulated by his day-today movements through the Westside of LA, in and out of the golf course, going to the store, having poker games, or meeting with people, which is how “Curb” was often generated. But in this case, I think he was delving more into his intellectual pursuit as an armchair historian. He loves history. And he likes coming to work, and we get the benefit of that.
The form of the material we would inherit is from an outline and dependent on actors who are imperfect and trying to a) be funny and b) follow the story. There are often digressions we have to eliminate, so we look for the good stuff and cut out the bad stuff.
Roger Nygard: I think one reason the show came to be is that retirement is not an option for creative people; instead, their creativity takes new forms. Steve and I will get a phone call or an email when something’s in the works, and there’ll be a time period we’ll want to hold open because Larry and Jeff are writing. When the rewriting process, also called editing, begins, they’ll need us.
Q: How early does editing begin on a project like this?
Rasch: They know about three months out when they want to begin, and they’re very proactive about a schedule and who’s available. A lot of that’s based on HBO’s greenlight, but Larry gets a bigger greenlight than anyone I’ve ever worked for.
Nygard: Jeff Schaffer called the process “comedy geometry.” They write the show three times. The first time is the outline. The second time is on the set, improvising, and they’re writing the scene and changing everything. The final rewrite is in the editing room, and that’s when the improv is made great by the rewrite process. I would consider writing as the most important aspect of any project, because without a script, you’ve got nothing, and editing is part of that process.
Q: With so much footage to choose from, how do you know what you’re looking for?
Rasch: I use the 80% rule. If I can make an editor’s cut with the story intact and funny, and it’s 80% of what Jeff and Larry intended or thought was funny, I’m good. They will find the last 20% or maybe rewrite the sketch in the edit room and cut it in half. But they’re like anyone: they want to hit play and sit there for the half hour — or in this case, for 8- to 10-minute sketches — and be entertained. So the audio has to be right, with temp music and sound effects, and you want to entertain them and make them laugh.
If you can achieve that, then they relax, get to work, and start tearing up what you’ve done. But that’s OK, because they’re usually ahead of us in terms of their intentions, even though it might not have been in the outline.
Nygard: As long as we pick the right takes, we still have a job. There’s certainly a difference between editing an improv show and a fully scripted show. Fully scripted shows are cut according to the script; use the circled takes and cut it exactly as written because producer-writers tend to like their words. If you deviate from what was written, they prefer to restore it to the original version.
COSPLAY: Larry David in “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America.” PHOTO: HBO
But on an improv show like this, they dump a bunch of footage on you, and as Jeff Schaffer once said, it’s like “dumping a baby on your doorstep, and we’ll come back when he’s in college.” We have to revise, rewrite, and find a way to make something work. Sometimes we create links that didn’t exist, or if the setup or an idea is imprecise or unclear, or the actors swallowed the words, we fix it.
One of our tools is ADR. Steve and I write new lines to patch, fix, or improve things. Sometimes we need to get through a setup more quickly and concisely than it came out in the improv, where it’s a free-for-all.
Q: Brian and Anthony, what was it like to join the LD universe?
Anthony Smedile: I know a really great editor, Nena Erb, ACE, who was gracious enough to put me in touch with Steve because she knew he was looking for an AE.
After I got the job, I googled Larry, and it came up in the trades that the show was a go with HBO. Steve texted Jeff, who said, “Yeah, it looks like it’s happening.” Before we knew it, we were starting this new show, which to me is like hitting the super lotto of gigs.
The workflow is unique and was refined during “Curb,” so Steve and Roger are versed in this. Steve’s previous assistant, James Brewer, got me up to speed, which was lucky for me because an improv dialogue show is a whole different animal.
Brian Jones: After being bumped up to editor for two seasons of “Raising Kanan,” I returned to assisting for the opportunity to work with Larry David. From working with Roger on two pilots, I trusted that he would encourage me to contribute creatively.
We utilize editing duels by cutting the same scene concurrently. We view our respective edits after we finish our first cuts. We present our scenes, share feedback, and offer constructive criticism. Due to the morass of improvised footage, our scenes varied considerably, even when following the same story premise. Comparing and contrasting our edits enabled us to glean more ideas and concepts from the footage.
“Learn story,” Nygard (right, with Rasch) counsels young editors. PHOTO: JAY CLENDENIN
Q: You mentioned you focus more on audio than picture to find the best combined take?
Rasch: My job is to make good sentences. Roger’s a writer. He’s written several books. I was an English major in college, and one of the other editors, Jon Corn, ACE, who did several seasons of “Curb,” was an English major, as well. I think that helps with this massive jumble of words that come from improv actors who, like us talking here, may stumble — there may be unintentional awkward pauses or sentences that aren’t well thought out, and the actors are trying to be funny on the set, as well. All of that often interferes with logic, so our job is to make good sentences out of different takes.
Q: Speaking of words and sentences, you mentioned there could be a 200-page transcript for a 10-minute sketch. How do you transform that much raw material into something concise and funny?
Jones: A 10-minute sketch would have upwards of 200 transcribed pages of dailies. Jeff and Larry often don’t know what the sketch will be specifically until they craft it in the edit room. Many of their favorite jokes require the editors to detour from the story thread. Using the transcriptions enables us to identify moments that connect various jokes in the footage. I’d liken the footage to jazz improvisation versus “scripted” notated music.
Smedile: Another interesting part of the workflow that’s unique to this show is that if you have two or three 20-minute improvised takes, Steve will ask me for a string-out of certain reactions. When you’re searching for dialogue, you use scripts, but with expressions, you’re watching in real time; you’re looking for just the right needle in a haystack. When you see how they’re cut in, you realize it’s changing the scene. Steve and Roger know how to pull together stuff from random interactions, and those two-second clips and other little moments can be big game-changers.
Q: President Obama appears in the show. What can you share about that part of the experience?
Smedile: It was surreal to have President Obama in a sketch with Larry. He was great as an actor. I was surprised at how natural he was and how funny they were together.
Jones: President Obama is accustomed to leading. Obama’s on-set suggestions spurred Larry to adjust his improvising. Obama did have some ideas and jokes of his own that made it into the final cut. He has comedic instincts. Larry and Obama have an earnest friendship. I enjoyed observing their banter between the takes.
Q: Any advice for other up-and-coming comedy editors?
Schaffer: You should like comedy. And ideally have a good sense of humor. Also, have a nicely shaped back of the head — people will be looking at it a lot. I have watched Roger and Steve press buttons for about 20 years now, yet if I walked up to their keyboard, I don’t think I could do a damn thing.
Nygard: When people ask me what classes they should take to become an editor, my answer is always an English class or a literature class. Learn story. Anyone can learn to press buttons, but very few have a grasp of storytelling.
Good writing is concise writing. Good editing is concise editing. It’s the same thing, so study the language and then learn the buttons.
