Larry David script leaks online: read ‘Prognosis: negative’

Before “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” there was “Prognosis: Negative,” a movie script written by Larry David in the 1980s that was never produced.

Thanks to a Reddit user from Rochester, NY, a draft of the 1983 screenplay has been uploaded to the Internet. (Read a PDF here.) The 24-year-old, named Jeremy Smith, bought the script on eBay from a seller who offered unpublished scripts; it is unclear how “Prognosis: Negative” was obtained in the first place.

The existence of “Prognosis: Negative” has long been known (the title was a recurring joke on “Seinfeld”), but the screenplay had never been available to read until now.

“Prognosis: Negative” follows a man named Leo Black, who is unable to commit to women. When he discovers that an ex-girlfriend is dying, he decides to rekindle their relationship. After all, she won’t be around much longer.

Of course, the premise sounds straight out of an episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ or ‘Seinfeld’. And it’s worth noting that the main character’s name sounds strikingly similar to JB Smoove’s “Curb” sidekick Leon Black.

Robert B. Weide, who would later serve as producer and director of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” was an early advocate for “Prognosis: Negative” when he was head of development at a Hollywood agency that specialized in comedy. In one interview with the New York Timessaid Weide that “Prognosis: Negative” was “probably the funniest script I read during my tenure there.”

Weide said he took the script to the agency’s partners – Jack Rollins, Larry Brezner, Buddy Morra and Charles Joffe – and encouraged them to meet David in 1983. At that meeting, the partners said the script had potential but was not yet ready to be sold to studios. According to notes taken during that meeting, the agency’s partners believed that “the fundamental problem” was that “the main character, Leo, is not sympathetic at all.” They also noted that Leo was “too ethnic” – too Jewish/neurotic,” Weide said.

Weide remembered Brezner asking David if there was a way to make Leo more sympathetic. “Larry David thought about it and thought about it a little bit in his head,” Weide said. “And then he looked at Brezner and said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ And that was it.”

David refused to copy the agency notes and a ‘Prognosis: Negative’ was never made. “I look at the notes from that meeting now and my stomach turns to Larry from 1983,” Weide told the Times in an email. “The idea of ​​having to implement comments you don’t agree with in order to possibly get something made is a terrible position to be in if you have any creative integrity. And Larry certainly could have used the money at the time.”

Of course, David went on to build one of television’s most illustrious careers, playing characters who are often arrogant, petty and unlikable by traditional media standards. “Leo Black is Larry David,” Weide said. “Just like George would eventually be Larry David on ‘Seinfeld’ and Larry would later be Larry David on ‘Curb.’ There is a clear through line. It’s the personality. It is his attitude towards life. The point is that we do not suffer fools gladly.”

Weide said he brought up “Prognosis: Negative” with David about 15 years ago and asked him if he would ever consider shopping it around again. At this point in David’s career, he certainly could have found a studio partner for the project. David replied, “I think I’ve outgrown that script.”