Everybody Loves Chris Rock (2021)

[bunniefuu]

Chris Rock is undoubtedly one
of the funniest

and most popular comedians
of his generation.

A talented all rounder
with vast experience

in the entertainment industry,

Chris Rock, besides standup and acting,

is also a producer, writer, and director.

What was my best line? I don't know.

My jokes are like my children.

I have no favorites.

From an early age,

He projected a great
interest in love for comedy.

Jumping into the New York club circuit

during his adolescence,
his drive and persistence

established him as a seasoned
veteran by his late teens.

I wanna do good work,
you know what I mean?

I just wanna do good work.

And if I got the right offer,

if the creators of "The
Simpsons" called me up tomorrow

or if Larry David called me up tomorrow

and said he had a great idea, I'd be open.

I get laughs, so I'll mix it up.

Comedy, drama, not totally drama.

I'm not gonna play Hannibal
Lecter or anything,

but I can do stuff like this.

Yeah, I'm always trying to
get laughs, I'll say that.

From the time when?

From the time you were like four?

From the time the doctor
smacked me on my ass

and I said, "Give me another one."

Then I go, "Hey, didn't we just meet?"

Have you ever bombed onstage

in real life? Yeah,

I b*mb all the time. Really?

When I started out, yeah.

If they paid me for
jokes that didn't work,

yeah, I'd be richer than Bill Gates.

His characters in movies

and standup leave lasting impressions

in the minds of his fans.

With standup comedy being his first love,

Chris always returns to his roots

and what he does best,
making people laugh.

I was blessed to have
a father in my life.

True, true.

I had two parent, family,
in the hood in Bed-Stuy.

Yup. Yup.

People would come
around, look at my father

like it was a science
project or something,

like put him in a glass case
someday and charge people.

Christopher Julius Rock was born

in Andrew, South Carolina
on February 7th, 1965.

Shortly after his birth,
his parents relocated

to the Crown Heights neighborhood
of Brooklyn, New York.

His mother, Rosalie, was a
teacher and social worker,

and his father, Julius, was a truck driver

and newspaper delivery man.

Chris is the oldest of his siblings

and has three younger
brothers who followed

in his footsteps in the
entertainment industry.

He has often spoken about
his main influence coming

from his paternal grandfather, Allen Rock,

who worked as a preacher.

In the late 60s, early 70s,

Brooklyn's neighborhoods
were mostly populated

by white families.

Chris has spoken about the
racial discrimination he faced

because of his skin color
during his school years.

He was regularly beaten up

and eventually stopped
attending high school for good

but still received a
general education diploma.

His bitter experience with
racism during his school years

had a large influence on
his career as a comedian.

I'm always trying to
get laughs, I'll say that.

From the time when?

From the time you were like four?

From the time the doctor
smacked me on my ass

and I said, "Give me another one."

Then I go, "Hey, didn't we just meet?"

After dropping out of school,

Chris did odd jobs at
several fast food joints

and cafeterias to make ends meet.

He laid the foundations of
his standup career in 1984

by performing in the nightclubs

and comedy clubs of New York City.

In 1985, he was in line to buy tickets

to an Eddie Murphy standup performance

at Radio City Music Hall when
he saw an ad in the newspaper

for an open mic night at the
club Catch a Rising Star.

He auditioned and scored his first gig.

Catch a Rising Star was

where many other celebrated comedians

had showed off their skills,
names such as Eddie Murphy,

Adam Sandler, and Jerry Seinfeld.

Chris Rock cleaned tables
at the Comic Strip Live,

the oldest comedy club in New York City.

He did this in order to gain
some extra onstage time.

The acclaimed comedian
and actor Eddie Murphy

spotted Chris performing
at the Comic Strip,

and being impressed by his performance,

he offered him the part
of Playboy mansion valet

in the 1987 film "Beverly Hills Cop II."

This was his debut movie role.

Yo, yo, yo, what the
is up, man? Check this out.

I get $10 for cars. I get $20 for limos.

What the hell is is?

My truck. Here's $50.

Put it next to the limo.

In 1990,
after gaining popularity,

he was selected to join
"Saturday Night Live,"

the hugely popular comedy
series that put him on par

with other newly recruited members.

Himself, along with Adam
Sandler, David Spade,

Rob Schneider, and Chris
Farley became known

as the bad boys of SNL.

The following year, he came up

with his first comedy album
titled "Born Suspect."

He appeared in a total of 59 episodes

of "Saturday Night
Live" from 1990 to 1993,

and in these three years,
he earned a nationwide fame

and recognition as a comedian.

His striking and evocative
portrayal of Pookie,

a cocaine addict in the
movie "New Jack City,"

was lauded by his fans and film critics.

Chris was quietly planning to
quit "SNL" following the end

of the 1992-93 season, but he was laid off

and dropped unceremoniously much

before the season came to an end.

He was then featured as
a guest actor in a total

of six episodes in the 1993-94 season

of the comedy series "In Living Color,"

but the serial's broadcasting

was discontinued shortly after.

In 1993, Chris Rock scripted

and co-produced the comedy film "CB4,"

as well as played a
double role in the movie.

The movie was about a guy
who makes a documentary

on a rap group called CB4.

Now CB4 is one of
the hottest hip hop groups

to come on the scene in
a very, very long time.

I'm MC Gusto, but in
prison, I'm known as 97-KY.

"CB4," which was
made on a shoestring budget,

was a modest blockbuster, earning revenues

nearly three times the movie budget.

Chris went on to appear in a string

of comedy specials endorsed
by HBO from 1994 to 2008

that brought him unprecedented success

and made him a household name
in the entertainment industry.

He first appeared in the
HBO-sponsored comedy special,

"Big Ass Jokes," in 1994
followed by the special,

"Bring the Pain," in 1996.

I'm just at another point in my life.

Time to settle down. Time to settle down.

That's what time it is,
time to settle down.

Women always ready to settle down.

And see, a woman go and your date.

She's like, "Why are we?"

"What are you waiting for?"

Men never ready to settle down.

Men don't settle down. We surrender.

"All right, I'll marry
your ass, all right?"

His moving performance

in "Bring the Pain"
merited him two Emmy awards

and established him as one

of the most accomplished satirists
in the US comedy circuit.

He won two Emmy awards for the special

and gained large critical acclaim.

What does it say about the Emmy?

I would say they really listen.

They really watched it carefully,

and I think they really listened,

and they weren't swayed
by profanity or anything.

They just really got into the content

of what I was trying to say.

It was just me. It wasn't
a big show or anything.

It was just me and a microphone,

and I didn't beat, but they
chose me over huge productions

and the Oscars and the Bette Midler thing.

And a lot of people don't
respect standup comedy

as something hard.

I never in my wildest dreams
thought I would be up here

with two Emmy awards, even
get nominated for an Emmy.

Adding to his popularity

was his much publicized
role as a commentator

for Comedy Central's
"Politically Incorrect"

during the 1996 presidential elections,

for which he earned
another Emmy nomination.

Chris also was the voice
for the Little Penny puppet

who was the alter ego to
basketball star Penny Hardaway

in a series of Nike shoe
commercials from 1994 to 1998.

Game last night. Let
me just put it this way.

You're the best player in the NBA.

Those spin moves and the dunks, oh!

Ooh, swish, slam the glass side,

and do some Tai Chi to calm himself down.

Man, you are having a party.

I swear, if you and your sloppy
friends messing up my house-

Ah, thanks, baby. Meet me by the pool.

Hello?
Hey, hey! I can't talk now.

I driving through a tunnel.
Hello?

In 1996,

Chris married his longtime
girlfriend, Malaak Compton.

The couple lived together
in Alpine, New Jersey.

Malaak gave birth to his
first daughter, Lola Simone,

in 2002, and their second daughter,

Zahra Savannah, was born in 2004.

I think I said this
before with the black shows.

I was raised in an era to
believe if you're black,

you have to do things twice as good

as the white man in order to succeed.

And the shows that are on now,
like when "Sanford and Son"

was on, it's way better than
every white show that was on

at the time and "The
Jeffersons" and everything.

And right now, some brothers
are submitting shows

that are as good as white people's,

and you gotta you gotta be better.

This show's better
than "Mr. Show."

If it was as good, I wouldn't win.

Chris Rock's immense success
as a standup comedian

towards the end of the 1990s helped him

to bag crucial roles in feature films,

many of which went on
to become blockbusters.

Initially, he fulfilled
supporting parts in movies

like "Beverly Hills
Ninja," "Lethal w*apon 4,"

"Nurse Betty," "Sgt.
Bilko," and "The Immortals."

"Lethal w*apon 4" was one

of his most recognizable early roles,

as it was already a larger franchise.

The guy you chased through Chinatown?

Yeah.

The g*n he dropped match
slugs on the body on the boat.

That's your sh**t.

Son of a
bitch that got away from me.

Oh, he didn't get too far.

They found him on a
rooftop nearby, strangled.

And get this, pigeons ate his eyeballs.

Chris later had
two more HBO comedy specials,

"Bigger and Blacker" in 1999
and "Never Scared" in 2004.

Articles relating to both specials

called Chris "the funniest man in America"

in "Time" Magazine and
"Entertainment Weekly."

Oh, I am not the funniest
man alive, not by a long shot.

I think Adam Sandler's got receipts

that prove he's a little funnier.

Eddie Murphy? Eddie Murphy,

Will Smith, when he wants
to make people laugh,

can really do it well.

I'm just the funniest guy that showed up

to talk to you today.

Brilliant.
Well, thank you very much.

HBO also aired his talk show,

"The Chris Rock Show," which
gained critical acclaim

for his interviews with
celebrities and politicians.

The show won an Emmy for writing.

His television work has won him a total

of three Emmy awards and 15 nominations.

By the end of the decade,
Rock was established

as one of the preeminent standup comedians

and comic minds of his generation.

During this time, Rock
also translated his comedy

into print form in the book "Rock This!"

and release the Grammy
award-winning comedy albums,

"Roll with the New," "Bigger and Blacker,"

and "Never Scared."

His fifth HBO special,
"k*ll the Messenger,"

premiered on September 27th,


for outstanding writing for
a variety or music program.

Chris Rock also hosted the


in 2005.

The decision to have Chris host
the awards was seen by some

as a change to bring
some edge to the ceremony

and make it more appealing
to younger audiences.

The older Oscar officials
were reportedly displeased

with Chris's performance,
as he chose to make jokes

towards A-list actors before
turning the jokes on himself.

The controversy never
really affected me.

I didn't really think about it.

I don't know. It seemed
made up, put it that way.

I tour the country, and I'm out

across America more than most writers,

as much as you guys, anyway,
and I'm in the whole country.

So my fans are black and
white and gay and straight,

and I didn't feel like there
was any controversy at all.

Part

of this whole Oscar experience for you?

The hardest part.

Just getting the material ready

without the press putting every joke

in a magazine or on the internet, yeah.

And also,
do I have a good luck charm?

Do I have a good luck charm?

I keep my dad's picture and
close by, stuff like that, but.





Hey, Stephanie.

What did you feel

was your best line of the night,

and how'd you feel seeing
all that color in the room?

What was my best line? I don't know.

My jokes are like my children.

I have no favorites,

but I like the the Sean Penn comeback.

I just like anytime you
can get something funny

that we didn't have coming into the show,

you take a little more pride in that.

Always feels good to see
some color in the room

that don't have mops, so it's good.



Chris, over here on your right.

You had said before this that it's a room

like any other room and that, in fact,

you've played bigger arenas.

I have.
But having been out there

in front of them and been part of it,

what is different about this audience?

What's different?

You know what the only difference is?

It's the lighting and the
dresses and all that stuff.

When I play LA, it's almost like that,

last time I played,
anyway, at the amphitheater.

You get a lot of famous
people, and I don't know,

it's TV, and you can't curse.

The audience is an audience.

It's just what you're allowed
to do to the audience,

so there were some language restrictions

that were placed on me,
but everything worked out,

Five seconds before I went on air.



You try to approach it like another show

'cause the things that'll
make you suck doing this

are the same things that'll make you suck

when you do a normal concert.

So you go there and you say,

"Okay, I've been working
on this for a long time.

I know my lines. Let's bring it."

It's like you talk to
yourself next to yourself.

"Hey, let's do, all right?"

And you get up there.

It was not until the success

of his standup in the late 1990s

that Chris Rock began receiving
leading man status in films.

He had made his onscreen
debut with supporting roles

in previous films but went
on to star in films such

as "Bad Company" in 2002 and
"The Longest Yard" in 2005.

Chris also worked increasingly
behind the camera, too,

as a writer and director
for "Head of State" in 2003

and "I Think I Love My Wife" in 2007.



He took on the part of Marty the zebra

in the Dreamworks animated
film, "Madagascar."

The plot follows a group of zoo animals

who find themselves
washed up on the island

of Madagascar after a series
of unfortunate events.

We've been ratted out, boys.

Good evening officers.

Now they're
being set way out of town.

Oh great. This is just great.

This could be the best thing
that's ever happened to us.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

His voice acting
was instantly recognizable,

and he brought his own
comedy flare to the role.

You have to use your voice a lot,

so sometimes you can like work too much

and then you can't talk and
you get laryngitis and stuff

like that, especially a
lot of the screaming stuff.

You gotta scream over
and over and over again.

Hey, what am I complaining for?

The film received
mixed reviews from critics

but was a success at the box office

and was one of the highest
grossing films of 2005.

Also in 2005, UPN TV network
premiered a comedy series

called "Everybody Hates Chris,"

loosely based on Chris Rock's school days.

He was the executive
producer and narrator.

Show is like a "Wonder Year."

It's like a "Malcolm X in the Middle."

And you're narrating? Yes.

"Everybody Hates
Chris" was a parody take

of the popular sitcom series
"Everybody Loves Raymond."

Hey, you need a VCR?
I got one already.

Fell off the truck this morning.

Really? I'll take two.

I never realized
the only stuff that sold

on the street in my
neighborhood was stolen stuff.

Cookies! Cookies for sale.

Chocolate chip! Peanut butter Do Si Do!

Chocolate mint? I got cookies.

They just fell off
the truck this morning.

Why didn't you say
so? Give me two boxes!

The show garnered both critical

and ratings success.

The series was nominated for
a Golden Globe Award in 2006

for best TV series, musical, or comedy

and also received nominations

for People's Choice awards
and two Emmy awards.

In 200, due to the
popularity of the first film,

"Madagascar 2: Escape
to Africa" was released

with Chris reprising his role as Marty.

New Madagascar.
What can we expect?

'Cause I'm excited.
So good, best "Madagascar."

I'm not making that up.
It's the best "Madagascar."

It looks amazing. We buy a circus.

We join a Russian circus.

When you see it, you're not
gonna believe how good it looks.

It's like a David LaChapelle portrait

or something like, you know what I mean?

Like Salvador Dalí did it
or something. It's amazing.

Well, I think we got
a better movie this time

than the last, and
that's saying something.

The last one was pretty great,
but the cast is all back,

we've got some new people
in it and it's a lot of fun.

Great for the whole family.

Now, how
does the whole team work?

Do the actors get more
involved in the parts-

Well, they do 'cause now they
know the characters so well,

and I think Ben and Chris had
some great chemistry going,

and they got into the studio
together a little bit this time

which is unusual.

They did great work.

Do you think it gets bigger

and better an experience?

Yeah, sometimes.

The right scenes, they can
really play off of one another

now that they know the characters so well.

Me and Ben actually recorded some

of it together, which was pretty cool.

So when you get to work
with another comedian,

it's always good.

Yeah, we did that one
day, which was really fun

'cause he's so good, and
to see him improvise,

it was very inspiring and
a little bit intimidating

'cause he comes up with
a lot of funny lines.

His ratio of funny lines
that he comes up with

is much more than mine.

Have a lot people said

that the second one is
better than the first one.

It's a lot better than the first one,

and it's not like the first one was bad.

I don't know.

Scripts are a little
tighter, less guesswork.

The film mostly continues on

from the first installment,

following the same characters
that audiences love.

The franchise was a family favorite.

Well, we make these films
for ourselves to make us laugh,

and we're probably
pretty juvenile at heart.

But the goal is so parents
can take their kids to a movie

and not be bored and
wait for it to be done

so they can take the kids home,

but everyone can go and enjoy it together.

That's always the goal
with "Madagascar" movies.

Now, as
far as the cast, normally,

they just go into the
studio and read their lines.

I hear that they have a bit
more involvement this time.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.
How does that work?

Well, that's what's great
about working with these guys.

They are incredible comedians, actors,

improvisers, even filmmakers, directors.

And so to collaborate with these guys,

which is really what we do when we're

in the recording studio with them,

is just a great opportunity
to make the movie better.

And you get Sasha Baron Cohen in a room,

and he starts improvising
in front of the microphone.

Ben Stiller and Chris
Rock we brought together

so they could play off one another

and work off the page
and go beyond the page,

and so it's just better for
the film all the way around.

We have the best
seats in the house, too,

when it comes to these comedians.

We're sitting in the booth
just cracking up most

of the time.

They're a whole lot of
fun, and it's for the kids.

Yeah. How about both?

It is both, actually, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah. It's a lot of fun.

It's fun to do something that
you are a part of the whole

You're part of a process.

Winning team. Yeah.

It was released
on November 7th, 2008

and was the sixth-highest
grossing film of that year.

In 2010, Chris Rock starred
in "Death at a Funeral,"

a comedy about a funeral ceremony
that turns into a debacle

of exposed family secrets
and misplaced bodies.

So sorry to hear about your dad.

Were you guys friends?
Something like that.

You're telling me our
father was on the down low?

Way down.

Now the guy wants $30,000 or he's

gonna start showing pictures
of them doing stuff.

Nah, nah, I don't believe that.

Oh! Daddy!

The film is a remake

of a 2007 British film of the same name.

It was a British
film to start with,

and so how did you change
it for the American cast

and for American audiences?

We don't talk about tea as much.

We took out all mention of
darts. Nobody says pavement.

Making the film and
changing it for the Americans,

did you think it made it
more obvious the differences

between British and American humor?

It's weird.

Me personally, I don't
find a big difference

between British and American humor.

When I was over here doing
on tour as a standup,

I didn't really have to change anything.

I thought everybody got everything.

'Cause some people say that Americans

are slightly more crude than the English.

Do you think that's fair?
Americans

are slightly more crude than the.

The English.

The English are more literate people.

You guys read a little more.

Yeah, and we don't
talk about toilet humor

in quite the same way,

I don't think maybe.
Not quite the same way, no.

It is totally over the top,

but it does show that all families,

most families are completely
bonkers, aren't they?

Yes! So everyone

can relate to something in it.

Yes, you will see your
family in this funeral.

It's a family movie, actually.

It's so weird that it is, but it is.

It's a movie for the whole family.

Who would have thought
funerals would be so funny?

Funerals are hysterical.

Don't you always find yourself
giggling at a funeral?

Do you? It was difficult.

It was difficult, especially
like when you're around a guy

like Tracy Morgan that it's
not really a big difference

between what he does on the
screen and off the screen,

and he's always funny, so
yeah, it was really hard.

When you have
that level of comedians,

is there a rivalry between you?

Do you say, "Oh, you had
more jokes in your scene"?

No, we don't really have rivalry.

Now when we were younger,
there was a rivalry.

Now we're just glad to be working.

We've seen so many guys fall off.

We're like, "Ooh."

"Death at a Funeral"

received mostly positive
reviews on critic sites.


in the film "Grown Ups"

alongside his friend, Adam Sandler.

Guys, congratulations,

first of all, on the movie.

Yeah! I laughed my head off

when I saw it last week.

It was brilliant. Okay.

Really, really good fun.

I imagine for you, it
was a very tough call

of whether to be involved in this film,

hanging out for the summer,
sunshine with your friends.

What was that call like
when Adam calls you

and says, "Come and be a part of this"?

I thought he was lying.

He does that to me,
teases me every six months,

offers me a movie, and then goes, "Psych!"

"Hey, you wanna be in 'Click'?"

Nah. Nah.

"What you doing?" "Nothing."

"Ooh, you're not working, are you?"

"No, not working at all."

I felt by saying no to all
the other movies he asked me

that You had to do this.

I felt stupid. Now it's
starting to get weird.

Was it good fun on the set

'cause all your families were
there as well, weren't they?

Your children and-
Yes, yes, absolutely.

We had a great time
with everybody's family.

All the kids got to know
each other pretty good.

David, we kept him off meth
for two months straight.

Two months.
It was fun to see that.

Then I was right back.
That's good. That's fine.

I knew you'd-
It was a good fun thing

'cause you keep the trailers together.

So it's still work. It's still hard.

You have to get up at five,
but it was nice to know people

around there to make the
days go a little quicker.

You always had someone to talk to.

Selma was there. These guys were there.

If they're working, then-

It was like a summer
camp for overpaid actors.

Sounds good fun to be a part of.

And with so many comedians on set,

do you have moments where you're trying

to outdo each other's jokes
so you can be the funniest?

Yes. Have competitions?

Except Adam's 'cause he'll cut you out.

Or take what you said.
Or take what you said.

Let's do it one more time

where I say what Rock just says.

Let's try one that way. Exactly.

Makes more sense to the story.

We'll see what it looks like.

In 2011, Chris
Rock appeared on Broadway

in the play "The Mother
with the Hat,"

which saw him nominated for
a Drama League award based

on his performance.

In an interview with "Vibe" Magazine,

Chris stated that he chose to do Broadway

because he wanted more
people to see him really act.

What's it like
being on Broadway? Come on.

It's nice.

It's like being on 29th
Street, but it's Broadway.

What is it like
to be honored by the Tonys,

all these nominations?

Hey, man, it's a good play.

The most important thing
is that people like it.

Then in 2012, Chris Rock starred

in "Two Days in New York"
alongside actress Julie Delpy,

which was a sequel to her
film, "Two Days in Paris."

Me, I play a guy named Mingus.

I'm a writer, a columnist, a disc jockey.

I live with the lovely Julie
Delpy, my French woman,

and my in-laws are coming for the week,

and then hilarity ensues.

There you go.

I said I wasn't gonna get mad.

What the heck's

going on with you?
Okay, you know what?

Ever since your family got here,

you've become another person.

Mingus family!

You gotta kiss him, or he gets mad.

That's my mother. No tongue.

Has your dad ever keyed a car?

Of course not.

Well, there's gonna be an
angry limo driver outside

that wants to press charges.
Well that's a, really?

The character was better written,

even than the movies I write for myself.

I learned a lot, like, "Oh, okay."

The character's a real person,

a real grownup who's been married

and divorced and has children,

and so it was fun to play a grownup.

It's very funny.

I think the film is not like indie

in a sense of hard to get into.

The jokes are very straightforward,
you know what I mean?

It could be a broader comedy.

It just happens to be an indie comedy

because of this financial setup,

but it's actually not not
funny, you know what I mean?

The whole film is comedy

from beginning to end.
It's really funny.

It's so much funnier than "The Avengers."

It's funnier than "Battleship."

Rihanna's asked that.

I'm not sure about that, yeah.

You sure? Yeah.

Oh, Rihanna's asked.
I'm not sure

Is her ass in "Battleship"?
"Battleship".

No, they don't. It's.

Oh, see? They couldn't blow that up.

It worked. It worked.

I had a good time. She was good.

She had to give me a
little extra, whatever,

attention 'cause I
didn't speak any French,

so she had to explain a lot to me.

Was it funny working with her

and her dad on the set?

Yeah, yeah 'cause they
would have real fights,

like real father-daughter
fights in French,

so that was fun to watch.

And what do you
want audiences to take away?

I just want audiences to
realize this is a comedy.

A lot of people, it's like,
"Ugh, you're in an art movie."

I'm like, "Yeah, I
guess you can say that,"

but it's really funny.

It's funnier than you think, so.

Thanks, Chris. Take care.

In this year, he also starred

in the third film in the
"Madagascar" franchise,

"Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted."

I think Alex has sort of
been trying to figure out

through all the movies, and he, again,

gets in this situation with Gia

where he's saying he's
something that he isn't

or someone that he isn't.

And I feel like the the theme of the films

is really about finding out, for Alex,

finding out who he is
and also the friendship

of everybody there being
there for each other.

And when we finally get to New York,

we realize that we're not the
people who we thought we were,

and then we get trapped in the zoo again.

And there's something, I guess,

in the story about how we're
always there for each other,

and that, to me, is the
thing that Alex gets

is that his friends are there for him.

He's there for his friends, and.

Just like the
others in the franchise,

the film did really
well at the box office,

as it was the eighth top
grossing film in 2012.

They enjoy the movies,

but it's really fun to have that to share

with them. Oh, it's amazing.

The first movie I ever took
my youngest daughter Zahra

to see was "Madagascar


And I remember we watched
it at the Dreamworks campus,

and she turns to me and
goes, "Daddy, is that you?"

And it was just such a great day.

The script's great, but as a director,

I always like people that are too big

'cause it's so much easier to get 'em down

than to get somebody who is too small up.

That's like, oh, that's
the most frustrating thing

in the world.

So I improv all the freaking time

until they tell me to stop, and they go,

"Okay, we gotta get this line.

You gotta say circus."

And I make sure, after a lot of improvs,

that I see exactly what they
want me to say, but I try to.

"Grown Ups" also
got a sequel, "Grown Ups 2,"

which premiered in 2013.

The film received some
negative reviews compared

to the first in the franchise.

In 2014, Chris filed for divorce

from his wife Malaak Compton Rock.

Chris admitted to
infidelity in the marriage

as well as addiction issues.

Their divorce was finalized
on August 22nd, 2016.

On October 21st, 2015,

the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences

announced Rock would host
the 88th Academy Awards.

When the subsequent acting
nominations turned out

to include no racial minorities,
Chris was called upon

to join a boycott of the ceremony.

However, he declined,
stating at the ceremony

that it would have accomplished
little since the show

would have proceeded anyway
with him simply replaced.

No black nominees, and people are like,

"Chris, you should boycott.

Chris, you should quit. You should quit."

How come it's only unemployed people

that tell you to quit something, huh?

No one with a job ever tells you to quit.

So I thought about quitting.

I thought about it real hard,

but I realized they're gonna
have the Oscars anyway.

They're not gonna cancel
the Oscars because I quit.

And the last thing I need is

to lose another job to Kevin Hart, okay?

Instead, Rock spoke of his
concerns about the lack

of diversity in AMPAS at
various times during the show,

closing by saying, "Black lives matter."

I don't know. Chris
got his message across.

It was all good.

Everybody understood what he was saying

and how he was saying it, and it was fun.

And what more
do you want the Academy

and the industry to do about diversity?

I don't think the
Academy can do any more.

Let's see what everybody's talking about

in a month and a half, see if
it's still in the zeitgeist,

and then we'll know if
we have something there.

If nobody's talking about it in a month,

I'll see you here next year,
talking the the same stuff.

'Cause it's more about
the industry making a stand

than the Academy.

It's gotta come from
the bottom, hasn't it?

Well, it has to come
from the people who cast,

and it's not just casting black actors.

It's Asian actors and Hispanic actors.

It's not just one thing.

It's that a change has to happen,

and it either will or it won't.

We'll see. So much, thank you.

Now generally, his
discussions about diversity,

do you think it went
down well in the hold?

It's very complex in
the middle of a ceremony

that is a celebration
that is not a meeting,

to do what he has done.

He didn't have it easy here.

He's being spicy in some moments.

He be kicking around.

Some people have maybe
hurt by what he said

and put the finger in the wound.

Eventually, he made us laugh eventually.

Sometimes everybody was like,

"Oh my God, is he going too far?"

But in the overall, I think
it's all very well situation.

It was not easy, yeah.

Thank you. Enjoy your evening.

Thank you.

During the years 2015 to 2018,

Chris Rock made many different appearances

and television shows as himself,

not really starring in
anything in particular.

He was taking a break from the spotlight.

On October 30th, 2016,
Netflix announced they

would be releasing two new
standup comedy specials

from Chris Rock.

The first special,
"Chris Rock: Tambourine,"

was released on Netflix
on February 14th, 2018.

The specials marked the
comedian's first concert specials

released in 10 years.

Then in 2018, Chris Rock
start in "The Week Of"

alongside longtime friend, Adam Sandler.

Got a big one, Dr. C?

Another day, another life.

Hello? Father of the groom!

You got a sec?

Yeah.

Its gotta be a decent hotel, like a-

Oh, I thought we talked about this.

I told you we can handle it,
It's just that we

, pal. Let me get the phone.

Dr. Cordice, I got The Plaza.

We can cancel that.
Thanks for all your help.

I don't sound like that!

You do a little.

The movie was made as part

of Adam Sandler's deal with Netflix.

The film was about two fathers

with opposing personalities
coming together

to celebrate the wedding
of their children.

It's an amazing comedy about
two families coming together,

a father trying to pay
for his daughter's wedding

without any help, and the lengths he'll go

to pay for it all by
himself without the help

of Chris Rock's character,
the groom's father.

And it explorers family relationships,

two wildly different
families are coming together

and meshing together so beautifully,

and also the dynamics of a
father-daughter relationship

and how loving that is and
what's really important

at the end of the day, which
I don't think is money at all,

so. Oh, okay, awesome.

I'm gonna be honest. The
anticipation was worse.

When I met them, they're
all so down to earth,

really, really funny.

Adam and I would sing a
lot on a set together.

He's a musical theater fan,

and I started my career on Broadway.

Steve Buscemi taught me so many lessons.

He's such a grounding presence.

Chris Rock is so elegant,
comical, always telling jokes.

Rachel Dratch is beautiful, kind.

He brings the most comedy genius.

It's his movie. I'm there.

I'm just helping out,
setting picks.

Adam's the lead. I play tambourine.

I play a mean tambourine, though.

I get a solo and everything.

Of course, you just get
jittery here a couple of days

before it comes out, but we like it.

We like it.

Hopefully, people connect with
it and that's why you do it.

The film received mixed reviews

and didn't make it up there
with some of Chris's best work.

In 2019, Chris Rock starred
in "Dolemite is My Name"

alongside former mentor and
longtime friend, Eddie Murphy.

Uniquely inspirational story.

There's nobody else like him.
Nobody else did it like him.

This one came together when
I was finished resting.

This was came together,

and that's why we wound up doing it.

We've got a little secret w*apon

that's suddenly gonna be unleashed,

in that w*apon is a big, ol' m*ssile

of excitement called Rudy Ray Moore.

I think everybody that sees the movie,

they get excited about his story,

and I think it's just extra special

because it's Eddie
Murphy telling his story.

Everyday was a joy to come to work.

Everybody wanted to be there.

They all felt this purpose
to tell this story.

But also, I think it was just
you get that many funny people

together that have been doing
the comedy circuit that long.

They're gonna be talking
about old stories,

talking about people in clubs

that they remember back in the day.

The film
surrounds the real life legend,

Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer.

The film received positive reviews

and was praised by critics.

In 2020, Chris voiced a
character and was the narrator

in the remake of the
classic film "The Witches."

The film was a success at the box office

and was praised for its remake.


characteristic for Chris Rock

as he took on a more serious
role in season four of "Fargo."

He plays Loy Cannon, a
Kansas city crime boss,

a more serious role than he's used to

but still manages to give
a stellar performance.

You sure about this?

You remember what happened to the Irish?

Italians, they're the past.

We're the future. They
just don't know it yet.

We're the g*dd*mn Roman Empire.

Critics praised him

for playing against his normal type,

and he is tipped to win an Emmy award

for his performance in the series.

On September 18th, 2020,
Chris publicly revealed

that he has been diagnosed

with a nonverbal learning disorder,

something he wants to raise
awareness for in the future.

In October, 2020, Chris returned
to "Saturday Night Live"

to host a show once again.

Fans were happy to see
him back on their screens

with another set of topical jokes relevant

to today's society.

The world is insane right now,

but one thing we can agree upon,
COVID has ruined our plans.

We all used to have plans before COVID.

Remember you used to
be able to plan stuff?

Man, my sister was getting
married, man, getting.

I paid Bell Biv DeVoe $80,000, man,

and I can't get it back.

I had tickets to Coachella, man.

I know 200,000 Americans are dead,

but I'm not seeing Rage Against
the Machine this year, man.

Chris Rock
has been making roomfuls

of people laugh for
more than three decades,

something he still does best.

One of the most hardworking
entertainers today,

his standup routines never disappoint

and have kept his fans interested

in his career and life for many years

and will continue to do
so for many years to come.

From showing his serious
side with the role in "Fargo"

to developing new standup routines,

Chris Rock continues to rise to the top

of American comedians and has teased

that he doesn't intend on
disappearing anytime soon.