What’s your take on immigration?

Immigration? For me it was always weird when Arnold was initially talking about dealing with immigration by building a wall. And even the Chinese go, 'that will not work. Because who will build you wall? The people you're trying to keep out?' It's very weird when they try and close the borders in America, you realize, every one of us, unless you're a full-blooded Sioux, is an immigrant. And there was that one candidate that they got pissed at for actually put flyers out in Spanish. Ask the Canadians. If you go to Canada, they only have one province where all the French are, which is a great idea. That way they can all go, 'I hate being here. It's crazy, fuck you, I don't want to be here. I want to break away from country, but somehow I want to keep the cash. Much like a college student being like I don't want to be with your family, but please keep sending us money.' There's sings all over Canada in French. In California, the state is 60 percent if not more Hispanic. And we have an Austrian governer. He was essentially elected because, 'I see his movies.' With immigration I think there is this idea of how do you have some control legal immigrants, illegal immigrants, or the idea of incorporating, which is even what Bush is taking a lot of shit for. Oh, can we say Bush? And we mean it in the old sense. That the idea of incorporating or a program of assimilation, but I think this country lives off of assimilating new energies. It's like we get this chance to have this injection with waves of immigrants in the 70s there were a lot of Russian immigrants, Russian-Jewish immigrants, African immigrants, all of us have come here. And the idea of shutting the borders I think it quite frightening. Does it create labor problems? Will Durst, who's a comic, said, 'If you're really worried that guy's going to take your job selling fruit on the highway.' Here's the other thing, if you really close off the borders you better invent some self-picking fruit. At the same time you say if all these people are working for sub-standard wages you have to find a way of dealing with that, too. Hence, the years ago Cesar Chavez going, 'you have to take care of this idea.' I know a lot of people go, 'we shouldn't have controls.' Why? Because you get a total, a labor pool that you can pay substandard. But at the same time, we're outsourcing. This is an interesting thing while we'r doing a comedy. We're outsourcing most of the work for a lot of places where they're going 'there are a lot of people that could be doing this work' but a lot of companies outsource. There's a lot to discuss but it should be discussed openly. But it's very hard because a lot of people go, 'I've lived here come on now.' But your dad didn't. Or your grandfather didn't. And they came here a long time ago.

Did you do another take on the Gloria Diaz wedding?

Did I do another take? I don't know. I think they kept it the same. Pretty much about getting her citizenship and the idea. Which has been a standard thing for a lot of people to marry someone to stay. Especially for political asylum. There's a lot people being sent back to dangerous places and claiming amnesty. 'Please, we came here for that, we're hoping for that.' And that's another difficult issue, but in the midst of a comedy we should talk about that.

Have you decided which candidate you’re going to support in 2008?

Which candidate? No, I think you've got to let it play out. Right now, if you're in the South and you're realizing as a Democrat your choices are black man or a woman, they're going 'I'm going to have a beer.' I think it's time to get some interesting candidates going. Everyone says that if Al Gore loses weight he's going to run. I just want someone to run who can actually, number 1, speak in complete sentences, deal with issues honestly, directly. I mean even the Republican party, I think they should take their own party back. I think that they've even felt that they've been hijacked. I mean, I can't look at everything and say 'things are going great.' It's pretty wild how things are and I think there's a great dissatisfaction. As an alcoholic, when I was drinking, there's something called a blackout, which is more like sleepwalking with activities. I feel like, as a country, we've been through 6 years of a blackout where you kind of woke up and go 'what did we do?' What have we allowed to happen? And people are coming back going, 'how do we deal with this?' Right now, in the Middle East if you're in Palestine, it's hit the fan. And every day in Iraq, it's just insane. And yet you have to find some solution whether than just going 'what did you say?' Politically, I don't care what party you're from offer a point of view and let's see what happens. And really debate the issues instead of personal attacks. Really talk about it. Talk about immigration. Talk about education. Talk about pollution. Try to go in the ocean right now without getting fecal express. There's a lot of signs out there and there are only two Germans in the water going 'what's wrong? This water smells to different. It's wild how the fist are just brown.' We're going to have an issue soon, screw gas, water's going to really important.  In Northern California they get 20 percent snowfall compared to, it's going to come down to, 'what are you going to drink, smart boy?' You didn't used to have to pay for it, but hey. Yeah, there's a lot going on. And the candidates, I don't see, they're starting to pan out. But it's weird that this whole process causes you to have so much, you go after each other so much that by the end it's literally, who's got the cash? And who can do the long game and who can spend out the other one. And if you're a Mormon you could tithe.

What are the films and people that make you laugh? And can you watch your own films?

You know it's weird, I went to see a movie and one of trailers for this and I was 'how's it doing?' And it played okay. It was fun. It's weird if you see a trailer and people go 'hiss' or people talk shit to your movie. 'Uh-uh.' It's rough. Once I was a movie and there was a trailer for a movie about a seal and I was in San Francisco and people started to do the 'hiss' And I'm like, 'what pissed you off?' 'It's about a seal, it's ugly. Aren't you wearing a seal skin coat? Yes.' What makes me laugh? A lot of stuff.  'Knocked Up' made me laugh. I went to see a great Japanese cartoon called 'Paprika.' 'Away from Her' it didn't make me laugh it just blew me away. Getting older and when I start to go 'one down.' And a lot of things, a lot of comics. I saw a great young guy last night named Dave Hill. Who's really funny. He's got a site on You Tube. And there's a lot of good stuff and I have a good time just going and seeing films. It's fun for me to go just to see a lot of different stuff. It's weird as the theaters get smaller and smaller it's like the Cineplex. The sad thing for me in San Francisco a lot of the big theaters are gone. They're turned into gyms. It's weird, 'isn't this? Why are we working on slant.' And then you go to the cineplexes, which have the great seats, but they're still cineplexes. And you end up looking at a screen going  'this is about as big as my TV.' I've been having fun seeing those. What makes me laugh? Pretty much everything right now. Any press conference. Especially if W speaks for more than a minute. He says great things  like  'a lot of our imports come from other countries.' And the question that is never asked, 'is our children learning?' At that point you just go, thank you lord. And the fact that Mel got busted by the only Jewish highway patrolman. I think you have to know there is a God. I saw 'The Passion' here's a little irony.

Do I have to choose whether to do comedy or drama?

You have to. It's like 'Sophie's Choice.' Pick a baby. You can do the dramatic comedies, you can do, go into standup, you'll have a good time.

What do you choose?

What do I choose? The difference? I like doing all of it. I like having the idea of doing a movie like this, a comedy with really fun  people. I like doing standup. For me, it's like with all the things going on to trying and find some perspective on it. And just to find a way that addresses the full gamut of the craziness from both sides. I like both. The dramas for me allow me to explore more behavioral, deeper psychological things. But the comedies allow me to explore the idea of working off other people. I'm having more fun doing that now. And at the age of 55 I'm a character actor, you know? The idea of an older, furry love interest, unless you're doing Gorillas in the Mist: The Musical.' This year we have 'Transformers' the movie and then there's 'Lego: The Musical.' But I think it'll be like, I just want to keep working and all of them are fun for me. Fun, even doing hardcore dramas, are fun because you really get to explore something like 'One Hour Photo' where  I get to explore behavior that normally would get me put in jail. But you get to be slightly sociopathic. Or psychopathic on weekends.

Is there anything else you want to do?

I want to dance on ice. After seeing 'Blades of Glory', I believe that I could do...

Artistically?

Artistically? Sculpture. As an actor what do I want to do? I think just...

Musical?

Musical? Oh, I've done those in cartoons. I could do a musical that would be fun. A musical of Freud's life called, 'It's Your Mother.' Line two. 'Jung At Heart.' You could do musicals pretty much based on anything. Pick a subject you could do a musical on it. 'Gandhi: The Musical.' That'd be fun. The Gandhi man can.

Do you sing in August Rush?

No, I don't I'm actually an old rock and roll, kind of strange like a former rock and roller who has these kids. It's like Fagin meets Ted Nugent, but without the bow and arrow.