Rob Kutner talks The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting
Rob Kutner spills the laughs and history behind his book, *The Jews: 5000 Years and Counting!*
Emmy-winning comedy writer Rob Kutner discussed the genesis behind his new book, The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting, and so much more.
It’s a very different book from Look Out for the Little Guy, which Kutner co-authored with Scott Lang. What we have here is a book that touches just about every facet of Jewish history. There’s everything from Patriarchs and Matriarchs in group therapy to King David as a rock star King Solomon as a stand-up comic to a Chanukah marketing meeting. Of course, there’s only so much history that one can pack into spanning just over 200 pages.
But wait, there’s more! Kutner even gets a head start on Fiddlers on the Run, the American-set sequel to Fiddler on the Roof. We get a who’s who of badass Jews in history, the Jews who started Hollywood, and so much more. Sorry but there wasn’t any room for the notable Jews crucial in bringing comic books to life.
Nu, let me tell you, you need The Jews in your life more than you realize!
The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting is available wherever books are sold.
It's so good to talk with you again. How are things going?
Rob Kutner: Can't complain. But I'm a Jew -- so I will.
I found The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting to be a very quick read. What was the genesis of the book?
Rob Kutner: I was hired by Wicked Son Press, a Jewish imprint, to create a version of the 1970s spoof of British history 1066 And All That, but for Jewish history.
You dedicated this book to all the Jews because we could all use a laugh right now. Aside from writing the book, what's been helping you the most in getting through the past 17+ months?
Rob Kutner: Making sure my passport's up-to-date.
Other than antisemites, who is going to be the most offended?
Rob Kutner: Ha! If I've done my job, every flavor of Jew will find something to grouse about. I take shots at every kind of Jew and institution.
I treat sacred cows the way Moses did the first time he came down Mt. Sinai.
I've spoken to several filmmakers about what they decide to keep in and cut for time during the editing process. There's over 5,000 years of history here. Was there anything that almost made it into the book but got cut at some point?
Rob Kutner: So much! But I did more of a "pre-cut" to keep the task manageable. I made a lot of conscious decisions not to delve further into topics like religion, theology, and rabbinics because those fall outside the scope of "history." I like to think of this as a "Berg's Eye View."
The Chanukah marketing meeting is so on point. I mean, it really hits close to home!
Rob Kutner: Glad you liked it. As a Jewish kid growing up in the South and attending a Christian school, there was no shortage of Christmas envy in my life.
The section on the Jews who made the movies is written as a very short comic. Am I to assume that the film script about the history of Jews in comics was cut?
Rob Kutner: Ha! I actually did write this chapter as a screenplay at first, but realized it might be hard for a non-Hollywoodite to read. So I hired an amazing (and devoutly Christian!) artist named Tim Wolkiewicz to bring it to life.
How did the history of military wars turn into a sports broadcast and how did you decide on Moshe Dayan and Joshua Ben Nun as the commentators?
Rob Kutner: I'd originally just made it just JBN taking a hard look from millennia ago about how his OG military project was going. But my editor suggested having a dialogue with a modern, and in a lighter format, would help lighten the grimness of the subject.
I've seen The Last Laugh so I know how Holocaust humor has to walk a very fine line since it is very dark period in modern Jewish history. How did you decide to approach this section in particular?
Rob Kutner: At first I wanted to make it just a page stating "This Page Intentionally Left Blank." But my editor challenged me to engage.
So I made it more of a meta commentary on the difficulty of finding humor in it -- and roped the editor into it as the foil!
Should we expect an audiobook in the near future?
Rob Kutner: There already is one, voiced by the very talented Peter Berkrot.
What do you hope readers take away from reading the book?
Rob Kutner: Taking a step back from this horrible moment and looking at the big picture of Jewish history was incredibly therapeutic. This is bad, no doubt, but we've been through so much bad, yet we always make it through. Always with a joke.