To say that the first part of Stephen Colbert’s interview with “Where the Wild Things Are” author Maurice Sendak was a rollicking riot of an interview would be a gross understatement. In fact, it may be the funniest thing Colbert’s ever done on his show. The formula just works so well: pompous, self-important, over-the-top, blowhard fake journalist meets grumpy, brutally honest old man who may or may not be in on the joke at any given moment. It was sort of magical, actually.
So to say that the bar was set high for part two of the interview, which aired last night, would also be an understatement of great proportion, but it held up to the greatness of part one and maybe even exceeded it.
How awesome was it? Well, when Colbert asked Sendak for advice on how to prepare to be a successful children’s book author, Sendak replied seriously, “You started already by being an idiot.” The two later got high on Magic Markers together while drawing pictures. Seriously, just watch…