If you’re a Larry David fan, like I am, you’re probably looking forward to The Larry David Story, a two-part documentary that was announced a few weeks ago and scheduled to debut tonight on HBO and HBO Max. The project, from director and past David collaborator Larry Charles, features a long interview with L.D. in which he chronicles his early career as a struggling stand-up comic, co-creating Seinfeld with Jerry Seinfeld, and becoming an unlikely television star as the creator and misanthropic lead of the long-running hit HBO show, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Alas, in perhaps the most Larry David move ever, I’m told David has pulled his own documentary on the eve of its premiere. Turns out he didn’t love it, so he wants it re-done, and it’s been shelved indefinitely, according to sources. HBO acknowledged the move in a tweet. A rep for David did not immediately comment.
I’m told that David, who doesn’t do a lot of personal press, agreed to participate in the film as a favor to Charles, a longtime friend, who initially planned a small-scale interview project that wouldn’t necessarily air on HBO. But the film grew in scope, and David, while initially supportive of the project, ultimately decided that if they were going to make a long, career-spanning documentary of his own life, he wanted to do it right, and the centerpiece interview should be in front of an audience. But that was after the project was scheduled and HBO dropped a trailer.
David isn’t afraid to work on his own timeline and walk away from projects, and his decades of creative and commercial success have earned him the right to do pretty much whatever he wants. His idiosyncrasies are a part of his art and legend, itself. Years have lapsed between seasons of Curb. And Jeff Schaffer, his Curb collaborator, recently said that David had bailed on multiple commercials before finally shooting the well-received ad for the FTX crypto platform that aired during the Super Bowl in February.
Charles is apparently frustrated over the situation. But hey, frustration is part of working with Larry David, I suppose. And it’s his life, anyway, after all.
