Current:Home > ContactJerry Seinfeld on "Unfrosted," the made-up origin tale of Pop-Tarts -CapitalWay
Jerry Seinfeld on "Unfrosted," the made-up origin tale of Pop-Tarts
View
Date:2025-04-16 05:52:34
It started with a stand-up bit, from Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix special, "23 Hours to Kill": "When they invented the Pop-Tart, the back of my head blew right off!"
And like all good comedy, it was based in truth. In 1964, when the Pop-Tart was introduced, 10-year-old Jerry Seinfeld fell hard.
Asked if he had a favorite flavor from the start, Seinfeld replied, "Brown sugar cinnamon, obviously."
"I'm surprised that it took them that long to add frosting," said Rocca. "It was two or three years."
"Why? You think that's obvious, frosting?"
"Well, they look a little drab to me when they're not frosted."
"You're a tough audience!" laughed Seinfeld. "I thought they were absolutely sensational instantly. But I did not know – and my parents did not know – these things are not food!"
It should come as little surprise that the man who headlined a sitcom about nothing has managed to build a whole movie out of that routine. His new Netflix film "Unfrosted" is a mostly made-up origin story of the processed food favorite.
Seinfeld said, "The real story that we started with (and I think it's the only real thing in the movie) is that Post came up with this idea, Kellogg's heard about it very late, and decided to try and catch up."
To watch a trailer for "Unfrosted" click on the video player below:
"Sunday Morning" contributor Jim Gaffigan plays Edsel Kellogg. When Seinfeld asked him to sign on, he was there: "I would never bet against Jerry Seinfeld," he said. "You know, sometimes comedians can be funny for a decade, or maybe a decade or two, but Jerry seems to have transcended, you know, four, five decades now."
In addition to writing and acting, Seinfeld stepped behind the camera for the first time, as a director. "I thought, what would be the least work?" he said. "The least work is for me to just tell the actor how to say it, instead of me telling the director, and then the director telling the actor."
Casting, he said, "was so much fun. And Hugh Grant [who plays a certain tiger] was the guy who made the movie."
Seinfeld called on a bunch of his comedian friends, from Amy Schumer and Melissa McCarthy to Sarah Cooper
Asked what surprised her about Seinfeld as a director, Cooper replied, "He was very specific with what he wanted. There was a moment where Tom Lennon had to do this line where he had to do this, 'Voila!' And he did a take. And then Jerry came over and adjusted his hands just slightly. And everybody's like, 'How is that making it better?' But then he did it, and it actually was better!"
"I'm precise," Seinfeld said. "But for my thing, and what I do, I have to be that way."
Director Seinfeld walked us through a Kellogg's-style funeral for a "taste pilot" who blew up during the creation of the Pop-Tart. (And yes, that part is made up.) "You always wanna be in very serious places in comedy, 'cause it makes it easier to be funny."
Why? "The more you're supposed to act right, when you act wrong, it's funny," he said.
He referred to himself during the funeral scene: "If you look at my face there, this is what's hard about acting and directing at the same time. I'm directing here; I'm just watching, 'Are they doing this right?' I have completely dropped my character. Luckily, I don't take my work as an actor at all seriously!"
But he did make sure the other actors felt taken care of. Cooper said, "There was actually a moment on set that I think it was the only moment I saw somebody get a little bit tense, and Jerry was just like, 'Guys, we're making a movie about a Pop-Tart!' You know, he put it all in perspective so quickly."
According to Gaffigan, the director also gave speeches that he called "pretty inspiring. He would just say, like, 'I really appreciate you guys, your contribution. This is a really exciting thing for me.' And he would speak from his heart."
Seinfeld admitted being a speechmaker: "Sure, yeah. I'm a comedian, so I'm used to talking to people in an uncomfortable situation. That's what standup is. This is a very uncomfortable situation. We're expecting to laugh; you're expecting to be funny. That's not that different from a movie set. This is all awkward. And everyone's nervous."
Since this is "Sunday Morning"'s Money Issue, we had to ask whether Kellogg's was in on the action with "Unfrosted." "Kellogg's did not have anything to do with this movie," Seinfeld said. "When you see the movie, you will understand. No company would want a movie made about their product like this!"
For more info:
- "Unfrosted" debuts on Netflix May 3
- Pop-Tarts (Official site)
Story produced by Reid Orvedahl. Editor: Lauren Barnello.
- In:
- Jerry Seinfeld
veryGood! (1576)
Related
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Theater Review: Not everyone will be ‘Fallin’ over Alicia Keys’ Broadway musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
- Joel Embiid returns after injury scare, but Knicks take Game 1 against 76ers
- Councilwoman chosen as new Fort Wayne mayor, its 1st Black leader, in caucus to replace late mayor
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Autoworkers union celebrates breakthrough win in Tennessee and takes aim at more plants in the South
- Researchers at Michigan Tech Want to Create a High-Tech Wood Product Called Cross-Laminated Timber From the State’s Hardwood Trees
- Volkswagen workers vote for union in Tennessee — a major win for organized labor
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Who will win the NBA Finals? Predictions for 2024 NBA playoffs bracket
Ranking
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- NBA games today: Everything to know about playoff schedule on Sunday
- Mark Zuckerberg Reacts to His Photoshopped Thirst Trap Photo
- Taylor Swift fans speculate her songs are about Matty Healy and Joe Alwyn – who are they?
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- New York lawmakers pass $237 billion budget addressing housing construction and migrants
- Swiftie couple recreates Taylor Swift album covers
- Campbell “Pookie” Puckett and Jett Puckett’s Fire Date Night Looks Are Surprisingly Affordable
Recommendation
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
New York Attorney General Letitia James opposes company holding Trump's $175 million bond in civil fraud case
'CSI: Vegas' revival canceled by CBS after three seasons. Which other shows are ending?
Former Red Sox Player Dave McCarty Dead at 54
Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets Department' and when lyrics about dying, grief, heartbreak trigger you
Who will win the NBA Finals? Predictions for 2024 NBA playoffs bracket
Taylor Swift’s New PDA Video With Travis Kelce Puts Their Alchemy on Display