David Crosses The River
BG: So what led you to Brooklyn?
DC: Well, I was in London working on The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, and I came home to a huge stack of mail. Normally I’d just toss some of it, but I went through it all mechanically for some reason, opened every envelope, and there was one of those letters from a realtor. You know: “Hi, I’m Jim from Coldwell Banker, and I have some news for you about what your apartment might be worth.” This one seemed more specific, somehow: it had specific information about my building, and about the apartment, which I owned. So I called back, and the next thing I know, my girlfriend and I are getting all our stuff and shoving it into bags or closets so the realtor can show the apartment. We went out with the dog, and 25 minutes later we got a call that the apartment had been shown. It turned out there was a serious offer. These people just had a baby, and they had been on the rental side of the building, and they wanted to stay and own. So that’s it. I sold. When we started to look, we thought we might buy a place. We looked in Park Slope and other neighborhoods. In the end, though, we settled on DUMBO. We’re renting for a year, and then after that we’ll see whether we stay or not.
BG: How is it different from Manhattan?
DC: Some of the ways are obvious. There’s more space. It’s quieter. I sleep better.
BG: Do the people seem different?
DC: As I said, we’ve only been there a few months, so I wouldn’t want to generalize, but I have noticed there are some differences. I have a certain amount of celebrity. It doesn’t mean I get recognized, really; often I’m just That Guy. You know: “Hey, it’s that guy.” So far here, there’s none of that at all. People just go about their business and you go about yours. But I’m looking forward to spending some time there. I haven’t been at home much yet. It was like that in the East Village, too: in ten years I was probably there not more than three months at any one time. My schedule for the last two months has been crazy: I went to Los Angeles, to San Francisco. I’m going to Hawaii. It’s not a bad thing. I’m used to it. But it is tiring in its own way.
BG: You’ve done many projects over the years. Much has been good, not only in the sense that it’s been critically acclaimed, but in the sense that it’s clearly something that has been cared for by writers and directors and actors. Other projects have been more generic. It’s hard to say that one thing is better…
DC: You can say something is better. I mean, obviously it’s subjective, but given that, there’s pretty good agreement that some projects are better than others.
BG: Ok. So what if the things that are better fall into obscurity and the things that are worse somehow succeed? At this point in your career, does that bother you?
DC: You can’t worry about it. It’s out of your control. If you look at all the work I’ve done, for example, most people would agree that Mr. Show and Arrested Development are right near the top. In those two cases, they weren’t especially successful shows when they first came out. They have gained some popularity over time. I think that the same process might happen with Todd Margaret. And yes, it’s gratifying when time brings that appreciation. It’s not really about standing on a mountain and saying, “I am a genius,” though. It’s about getting the opportunity to do more good work.