Louis Morissette recently gave an interview for the radio show Paul Arcandat 98.5 to talk about his imitation Martin Matt during Bye Bye 2023, but also the future of traditional television.
A sketch by Louis that attracted a lot of attention, but not by Martin, who was now radio silent and refrained from commenting and highlighting this end-of-year moment.
“Tell me, does a comedian have a sense of humor? Have you heard of Martin Matte?” asks Paul Arcand.
“(laughs) Well, I haven't heard from Martin Matte yet, but I don't need to hear from Martin Matte either! The good question for Paul is: Do comedians have a sense of humor? Historically, in my experience, there are quite a few people who have the slightest sense of humor. It's like comedians like to laugh at people, but not the people who laugh the most at themselves. And that famous line: “It’s an honor to be parodied in a Bye Bye…well, there’s a context. There are times when it is a greater honor than others. So I don't expect that Martin had a great time and then stumbled. So it's okay that he doesn't call me either. But at the same time he has experience, he must have suspected that there would be a sketch on his talk show on Bye Bye,” reveals Louis Morissette in complete transparency.
Louis admitted that he had also wondered whether Martin would have made such a sketch. And when he came to the conclusion that yes, he did not hesitate to play the role of comedian and new presenter in a caricatured way.
Louis then talked about the future of traditional television… and in his opinion, it's bleak.
“How do you see the next months, the next years?” asks Paul Arcand.
“I refer to week and month, Paul. Because I'm even surprised… I actually notice that the descent is more accelerated than I expected. We could find ourselves in a dead end pretty quickly (…) I think that Quebec culture is in danger sooner than we can even imagine,” admits the man, now also a producer emeritus, bluntly.
He also discussed the importance of government subsidies for culture, as well as for battery factories and other important sectors in Quebec.
“Culture also defines who we are as Quebecers. Who we want to be as Quebecers. Do we want to have a French-speaking culture, speak French? Do we have a French-speaking system here or do we want to become like the rest of Canada? Just an American branch? And here we are at this stage! Do we as a society and as Quebecers still want to support and support this culture?,” he emphasizes.
The producer, actor and comedian revealed that he would also be in favor of doing fewer small-budget shows and more larger, well-executed productions, without just looking at the profitability of advertising.
“There we don’t value creation, we don’t value something that is good. We're advertising something that works, we're advertising sausage (…) In the best of all worlds, Paul, we would regroup and then do bigger series. We would give ourselves the chance to enter the international market. But coming together means putting everyone at the same table. Then there are some who will never sit at the world table (…),” estimates Louis Morissette.
And you, what do you think about the future of traditional television?
The full interview can be found on the official 98.5 website.