By his own admission, Adam Resnick hates most people. To both his and our benefit, though, Resnick — a veteran comedy writer who has worked for “Late Night With David Letterman,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Larry Sanders Show” and more — is adept at turning his misery into comedy. His new book, “Will Not Attend: Lively Stories of Detachment and Isolation,” is a collection of hilarious true-life tales that show just how awkward he can be, whether he’s screwing with Scientologists, dealing with his blinding hatred for Disney or ruining his chances with a childhood crush by finding a pornographic picture during an Easter egg hunt. Resnick spoke with The Post about the book and some of his famous collaborators.
Much of the book deals with your childhood awkwardness. When did you realize that you were a different kind of kid?
If you mean, when did I realize I didn’t relate to other kids and didn’t enjoy hanging out with them? That was pretty immediate — like, nursery school. I also had an immediate dislike for teachers and most adults — anyone in a position of authority.
You wrote for David Letterman in the ’80s. What was he like to work for?
The best. From the moment I first saw Dave on television, I felt some kind of connection. Not only did I think I’d end up working for him one day, I knew it was the only thing I could do. Dave turned out to be exactly the guy I thought he’d be, and he changed my life. It was the first time I’d ever felt good about myself. Of course, that feeling wore off a long time ago.
How involved was Dave in the creative process?
Dave was deeply involved in all the writing, and he was the final word on everything. Practically every syllable had to be tailored to his voice and sensibility. He and Merrill Markoe [Letterman’s girlfriend and head writer at the time] basically created the show, but it all came from who Dave was — and I think he was pretty much the same guy going back to Indiana.
Chris Elliott was a writer on the show, too, and you went on to work on other projects together. What’s your relationship like?
Chris and I hit it off almost right away when I was an intern. I was a huge fan of his, so it was strange becoming friends with him. We collaborated on a lot of his pieces. We’re like brothers now.
What was it like working on his Fox sitcom, “Get a Life”?
I think we both sort of hated it. Because we were “green,” they forced a showrunner on us that neither of us liked very much. It was our first taste of Hollywood, in all its clichéd awfulness. When we worked for Dave, we were shielded from that.
The 1994 film “Cabin Boy” — which Chris starred in, you directed and the two of you wrote together — became a fairly notorious flop. Where do you think it went wrong?
It went wrong from the moment I became the director. “Cabin Boy” was originally written for Tim Burton and his sensibility. He really loved the script. He wanted to do a small, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” type movie after shooting the second Batman [movie]. The three of us hatched “Cabin Boy.” It would’ve been great . . . if Tim had gone through with it, but he changed his mind at the last minute.
When he and his producers came to me and encouraged me to take it over, I refused. I didn’t know anything about directing. If I was going to write a script for me to direct, the last thing I would’ve come up with was “Cabin Boy.” Yet everyone was telling me it was the opportunity of a lifetime . . . and that I’d be able to write my own ticket afterward. The big lesson I learned was, never do anything for the opportunity. Or, to quote one of the survivors of the Donner Party, “Just keep to the path and don’t take no shortcuts.”