You shot this movie in the Bay Area in Northern California.
Gabriel Iglesias: I go there quite a bit. I have enough knowledge to cover the basics of every city of every state, but a little bit past the five minute mark then I’m like, “Uh…” I’ve tried all the local restaurants and all the freakin’ popular streets and the tourist attractions and stuff like that, but then getting into the actual meat and potatoes of the city and stuff like that it’s like okay, I’ve been here long enough. I get to visit every place for a day or maybe two.
What made you decide on the Bay Area as the location to make this concert movie?
Gabriel Iglesias: San Jose is one of those cities that I was always very popular in, and the shows were always very good. I was always part of that comedy show that happens at the Shoreline Amphitheater, and so every year they had this huge comedy show where they would have like Dave Chappelle and Kat Williams and Chris Tucker and Carlos Mencia and George Lopez.
All these big names would perform on one stage together in front of 19,000 people, and so every year they’d do it. So I did that show for ten years and then after ten years I said, “You know what? I’m good. I did ten in a row, I got a plaque, it was cool.” So I was like, I’m going to stay away from the area for a little while and then pick the right time to come back.
Fortunately, I had gotten that offer to do the film and I was like what if I wait until the date that we want to shoot it on. It’ll be exactly two years, so it was a perfect time. I was gone long enough and it’s a very popular city and I had nice roots there. I first started doing stand-up there so it made sense, and the turnout was amazing.
There’s a great scene at the beginning where we see you as a kid watching Eddie Murphy’s concert movie Raw. How old were you when you first watched Raw?
Gabriel Iglesias: Ten. And that kid (who played me) was right there. It was money. That kid, his name is Juliocesar Chavez, is not just some regular kid from off the street. He’s a really good actor, he really is. You’re going to see a lot more of him. I’m lucky that I got him right now, cheap, before his parents realize how much he’s worth.
What comedians have had the biggest effect on you?
Gabriel Iglesias: Definitely Robin Williams, definitely Eddie Murphy and I like Billy Crystal. Modern not so much; I like Chris Rock and his fearlessness on stage, not so much his material because I don’t get political. I don’t get into that vein, but I’m a huge fan. I just got to meet him a couple weeks ago at Chelsea Handler’s show and I’m like, “OH MY GOD, CHRIS ROCK!” I was like a little chick. Jim Jefferies I’m a big fan of, Joey Diaz I’m a big fan of, and all these guys that go into veins that I don’t touch because again I just try to keep the show broad, keep it friendly and don’t ruffle any feathers. Sometimes it sucks because every now and then I just want to go off the handle, but I gotta realize that’s not what people want to see from me.
That concludes our interview, but I’d like to thank Gabriel Iglesias very much for his time. Be sure to catch The Fluffy Movie when it opens on July 25th!
