Bötschi asks punchline writer André Küttel "Throwing your writing partner under the bus shows little decency"
André Küttel is one of the most sought-after scriptwriters and joke writers in Switzerland. A conversation about the local comedy scene, the creation of a punchline and productive desperation.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- André Küttel has been working as a screenwriter for almost 30 years, inventing punchlines and jokes for Swiss comedians.
- Two films in which the 56-year-old was involved are currently showing in Swiss cinemas: Küttel wrote the screenplay for "Hallo Betty" and worked as a script consultant on "Ewigi Liebi".
- "The punchline writer is like the drummer in a band - quite often nobody is interested in him," says Küttel in conversation.
- He continues: "Vitamin B plays a role in Switzerland simply because the film industry is small and almost everyone knows each other."
André Küttel, I'm going to ask you as many questions as possible over the next 45 minutes. And please answer as briefly and quickly as possible. If a question doesn't suit you, you can also say "go on" once.
That's good for me.
Winter or spring?
Spring - because it's finally getting warmer again.
Introverted or extroverted?
Introverted.
What is your earliest childhood memory that has to do with jokes?
When relatives came to visit, I often played funny games for them as a little boy.
Is it normal today for comedians' jokes to come from authors - or are there still some who write their own stage programs?
There are still comedians who write their punchlines themselves - and those who prefer to develop a new program together with sparring partners.
Let's assume you are a sparring partner for a comedian: how does that work?
Some like a ping-pong-like exchange of texts, others you only meet every few weeks to brainstorm and they then write themselves. Either way, it has never happened to me that a text was my idea alone. That's a good thing. For comedians, a punchline has to fit like a tailor-made dress.
About the author: Bruno Bötschi
blue News editor Bruno Bötschi regularly talks to well-known personalities from Switzerland and abroad for the question-and-answer game "Bötschi fragt". He asks them lots of questions - always direct, often funny and sometimes profound. It always remains open until the very last question as to where the fast-paced ping-pong will lead.
Can the public know which comedians you help to develop their stage programs?
That's no secret - I'm currently working with Anet Corti and Michael Elsener.
Let's assume for a moment: Anet Corti wants to work with you on a new full-length program. How long does that take?
As a rule, the preparation for a new program begins a year before the premiere with the first brainstorming sessions.
What happens there?
During these meetings there is often a lot of fooling around because at the beginning it is not yet clear where the journey should go. Over time, the ideas become more concrete, the first numbers are born and the framework of the new program slowly emerges. This is often also the time when the comedian goes on stage for the first time and tests the new numbers in front of an audience in so-called tryout performances. On these evenings, I often sit in the auditorium and make meticulous notes: which punchlines make the audience laugh - and which ones cause yawning boredom.
Is it really true that up to 50 percent of a comedy program is changed or even deleted after the first rehearsal performances?
Anything can happen after the rehearsal performances - from minimal adjustments to the complete rewriting or rewriting of numbers.
On the ORF late-night talk show "Willkommen Österreich", Christoph Grissemann always makes fun of the punchline writers and blames them if the audience in the TV studio doesn't laugh. Has that ever happened to you?
Fortunately not. The comedians I work with are far too polite to do something like that. Throwing your writing partner under the bus in public is not nice - and in my opinion shows a lack of decency.
Swiss people of all ages laugh at your jokes. Why are your punchlines funny?
It has to do with experience. I've been writing punchlines for almost 30 years. In that time, I've also written countless jokes that didn't work. It happens to me again and again that the search for a joke turns out to be extremely complicated.
And then ...
... I have to revise, revise and revise again.
I maintain that humor is brutally hard work.
Brutal might be a harsh word, but I like doing it too much. But yes, it is certainly hard work. Sometimes I can spend hours tinkering with a single line.
When writing, do you sometimes sense immediately that a joke is going to work?
It's true that while I'm writing, I'm occasionally sure that a punchline will make the audience laugh. But it's always particularly exciting when people laugh in a different place than I expected.
When I told the blue News editorial team that I would be interviewing you today, everyone was at a loss and couldn't make any sense of your name - even though my editorial colleagues know the comedians you work for. Do you often feel like this?
The punchline writer is like the drummer in a band - very often nobody is interested in him.
How bad is it that you as a joke writer do the work in the background, but the comedians on stage reap laughs and success with your jokes?
That's not a bad thing. My fame and recognition within the industry are enough for me. I'm even glad that I don't have to go on stage.
Why is that?
I couldn't handle the pressure. You may remember the political satire show "Late Update" by Michael Elsener, which was broadcast on Swiss television from 2018. I was part of the editorial team back then. Complaints or even threats of legal action are a regular occurrence in satirical programs. That's why I was always amazed and amazed at how Michael didn't let anything get to him during the show - no matter how hectic the days or hours leading up to it were.
In your second job as a screenwriter, you struggle with the same problem as a joke writer: the finished films are hardly ever associated with the writer, but with the filmmakers or the main actors. Be honest: every now and then this annoys the hell out of you.
No, it doesn't. For me, it's completely clear and okay that the actors and actresses who can be seen on the big screen get more attention. People want to see a good movie and enjoy it - and certainly not the vanity of the author. But you're right in that respect: I'm often asked about this topic.
What do you answer in each case?
I always say: Director Steven Spielberg became world-famous with the movie "E.T.". But who wrote the story? Very few people know that. It was the screenwriter Melissa Mathison.
You leave the credit for your work to other people: Are you such a generous person in other areas of life?
(Laughs out loud) No. My generosity in my job probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was already aware at the start of my career that I couldn't become world-famous as a punchline writer and screenwriter. And anyway, it's more important to me that I have a job that I enjoy.
During your work as a screenwriter, are you a friend of classic script development with the steps of exposé, treatment and screenplay?
It makes sense to do it that way in most cases. If I were to write the screenplay straight away, it wouldn't be efficient - especially if the production company or TV editors weren't interested in the story. That's why I always write an exposé for the first pitch, i.e. a kind of retelling of the plot on three or four pages. If I get the okay for this, I then write a treatment. This divides the story into individual, already formulated scenes - but still without dialog. These are then added to the script.
How many scenes do you write for the wastepaper basket?
50 percent.
What has been your greatest moment of despair in writing so far?
I don't think there's ever been a project where I wasn't gripped by sheer despair at some point. Anet Corti calls this moment "the valley of tears". An expression that I also like to use again and again.
Can despair also be helpful when writing?
Absolutely. Despair and uncertainty in writing can trigger a lot of good things. The only thing worse is believing you've written a brilliant screenplay - and therefore no longer questioning yourself or accepting criticism.
There are currently two films in Swiss cinemas in which you were involved:You wrote the screenplayfor "HalloBetty" and you worked as a script consultant on "Ewigi Liebi". How does that feel?
Of course it feels good when I'm asked about it. Otherwise, I just did my job (laughs).
Do your scripts and punchlines sometimes keep you awake?
That's a problem probably familiar to many people whose job requires creativity and passion.
How do you combat your insomnia?
I usually read something or watch YouTube videos - until my eyes close by themselves.
Which project is currently preventing you from sleeping well?
I'm currently working on the TV series "The Death of Sherlock Holmes", which I developed together with producer Claudia Bluemhuber and director Pierre Monnard for Sky Switzerland, SRF and ARD Degeto. The kickoff meeting for this film project took place in October 2024. Simone Schmid and I then wrote the scripts. And because we worked at a fast pace - at least by Swiss standards - the world's most famous detective often kept me up at night. That will continue to be the case in the near future, at least until filming starts next spring.
"Platzspitzbaby","Wilder", "Hello Betty" and soon "The Death of Sherlock Holmes": director Pierre Monnard and you have made several successful films and series together in recent years. What is the secret of your success?
It's important to say that I was only involved in "Wilder" as a co-writer. But it's true: Pierre and I often enjoy working together and we also get on well in our private lives. We are friends. And as passionate cinephiles, we love films of all kinds - from arthouse movies to Hollywood blockbusters.
How do you sound when you have differences of opinion?
Of course, Pierre and I have loud discussions from time to time. But we've never really argued - we simply like each other too much as people.
Who really decides what works in the Swiss film industry - funding, talent or vitamin B?
It's a mixture of all three. Vitamin B plays a role in Switzerland simply because the film industry is small and almost everyone knows each other. Personally, I also prefer to work with people I already know from other projects - that way I know where I stand with them.
When you hear the word "Switzerland", what do you think of?
Security, wealth and ... a lot of sluggishness.
What do you mean by sluggishness?
We've always done it this way - why should we do it any differently in the future?
In crime thrillers, scriptwriters often reveal who the murderer is after just a few minutes. Does the structure of jokes work in a similar way?
To be honest, I've never really thought about it that way: Are punchlines dramaturgically structured in a similar way to crime thrillers? Perhaps. Jokes actually also have three acts: Intro, story and then showdown. But can you hint at a punchline right at the beginning like the perpetrators in a crime scene? Maybe. Punchlines often play with the audience's expectations. Only to present something completely different at the end.
You once trained as a graphic designer and later founded an advertising agency - when did you start writing?
I wanted to write a novel as a teenager - but I didn't get any further than page four. I grew up in a working-class family and had no role models in my immediate environment that I could have emulated. Maybe that's why it took me a while to start playing with words professionally and become a punchline writer and screenwriter.
Who is your role model today?
I'm a fan of film director and screenwriter Alexander Payne. He made the drama "Nebraska", among others, and won an Oscar in 2004 with the film "Sideways".
Which women have influenced you?
I appreciate the work of Nora Ephron. She wrote many great screenplays. The best known is probably the romantic comedy "Harry and Sally".
Are you more of a worker or an artist?
I keep pretending that I'm an artist - but the fact is that my job primarily involves a lot of stressful work.
What talents are in demand as a joke writer?
A talent for writing and the joy of juggling words and sentences are essential.
I read on SRF that you started your career as a punchline writer with the book "The Comic Toolbox. How To Be Funny, Even if You're Not " by US screenwriter and comedy expert John Vorhaus helped you a lot.
That's true. I even had two workshops with him. He is a legend. But there was also a lot of learning by doing - partly because there was no university in Switzerland at the time that taught screenwriting and comedy. There were two paths for people of my generation: Going to study abroad or working their way up in the industry. I did the latter.
What is a punchline?
When people laugh at it.
I'm sure you have a better answer than that ...
Go on for once. Maybe I'll come up with another one.
The Austrian joke writer Jürgen Marschal says in an interview with the magazine "Falter": "A punchline is like an orgasm that you work towards. It comes at the end of the process. And sometimes it's awesome, sometimes not."
This explanation is too flowery for me. I look at punchlines in a more objective, technical way. Perhaps more like hammering in nails. In English it's also called "punch line".
Why don't you tell your jokes yourself?
In my private life, I like to tell jokes and entertain my friends. But I don't deliberately seek out these situations - they just happen. And yes, my friends say I have a certain talent as a joke teller. But I still don't want to go on stage.
Have you really never wanted to tell your punch lines on stage?
Okay, I admit there were times when I thought about going on stage myself. In the end, however, I've always answered the question with a resounding no - probably also because I keep seeing what it takes to succeed as a comedian. Many people can learn how to write a good joke. But not everyone can tell it well in front of an audience.
Do you get annoyed by the eternal question of where the limits of humor are?
No - because I think this question should always be renegotiated. What used to be funny may no longer be, and vice versa.
Where do you draw the line between public and non-public jokes?
It always depends on the context. In fact, not every joke that I tell to a good friend in private would also work in public.
Does it make a difference whether you write jokes for a female comedian or a male comedian?
It has less to do with gender and more to do with the person I'm writing the punchline for.
In personal ads, a humorous man is often sought, but hardly ever a humorous woman. Do women consume humor while men produce it?
Is that the case?
During my analysis of personal ads in various newspapers over the last few weeks - which is of course not representative - I noticed this.
That would be a great topic for a column ...
... or for a punchline by one of your comedians. I'll leave the specifics to you.
I could suggest it to Michael Elsener.
You're welcome to do that. Is it more difficult to make people cry or laugh?
Definitely to make them laugh. Drama as an emotion is often very universal: sadness, pain, fear ... But humor is very individual. Not everyone laughs at the same thing. Also, timing is extremely important in humor. Sometimes a punchline doesn't hit just because a word is mispronounced.
When was the last time you stopped laughing?
At the moment, unfortunately, every morning when I read the news. But at least I can then deal with the frustration in a satirical way. Writing jokes about it is perhaps a bit like scream therapy. Ah, and now you have another answer to the question of what a punchline is: an outlet.
