ai – The Comedy Bureau

TCB Debriefing 1/25/24-1/26/24: Jacqueline Novak, George Carlin/AI, Rachel Kaly, JFL Moontower Austin, Solar Opposites, Honey Don’t

January 26, 2024

ai, george carlin, honey don't, jacqueline novak, jfl moontower, netflix, rachel kaly, solar opposites

1. Over the last several years, we have had the expressed privilege of seeing the profound comedic mind of one Jacquline Novak fine tune what is now a transcendent victory lap of the most poetic defense of a certain type of fellatio (and female agency within sexual congress). The first iterations of Get On Your Knees started pre-pandemic, then, well, the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and then, after some time, Jacqueline embarked on and off again with this brilliant, most poetic hour of comedy, doused in heather gray, a simple canvas to Jackie’s exuberance and litany of philosophies behind blowjobs and everything else in the orbit of BJs. The special edition of Get on Your Knees is the culmination of years of Novak’s unstoppable enthusiasm, a true testament to her will as a performer and the splendor of this particular hour.

Even though we’ve seen it live three times already, we still laughed heartily right out the gate with “the Hound’s Way”. So, without further delay, please enjoy Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees on Netflix now.

2. The George Carlin Estate is officially suing over the AI generated George Carlin special that came out earlier this month (NBC News). Undoubtedly, this will set precedent for AI generated comedy and, honestly, it only makes sense that Carlin is still setting benchmarks well after he’s left this mortal coil.

3. Rachel Kaly impromptu free-styling (or kind of just talking?) over a Hamilton karaoke after blistering rounds of crowd work is kind of pure joy. Please enjoy it here.

4. Moontower Just For Laughs Austin, MFJLA, the amalgamation of Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival and JFL, just announced their 2024 line-up. What a world we live in where Andrew Schulz and Shane Gillis get a bigger font than The State. Badges are on sale right now.

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5. Last year, it was Harley Quinn, this year it’s Solar Opposites that have you covered if you’re apathetic about Valentine’s Day. Take a gander at the trailer for the Solar Opposites Valentine’s Day Special, set to premiere on Feb. 5th exclusively on Hulu.

6. If Aubrey Plaza, Margaret Qualley, and one of the Coen Brothers are making a comedy together, the question one might be wondering is how dark will this comedy be? Guess we shall see soon enough with Honey Don’t (Deadline).

7. We’ll leave you with this: Who knew that George Carlin and Taylor Swift would be fighting on a united front?

TCB Debriefing 1/14/24: Critics Choice Awards, AI Carlin, Get on Your Knees, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Laurie Kilmartin, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jenny Slate, Wes Anderson, Laid, Snowflakes, Drew Barrymore

January 14, 2024

News

ai, critics choice awards, curb your enthusiasm, donald glover, drew barrymore, george carlin, jacqueline novak, jenny slate, kelly carlin, laid, laurie kilmartin, maya erskine, mr and mrs smith, snowflakes, stephanie hsu, wes anderson

1. Barbie and The Bear win for Best Comedy, film and TV show respectively, for the Critics Choice Awards. Barbenheimer was Summer 2023 and Winter 2024 will be “The Barbear”?.

2. AI tried impersonating George Carlin for a whole hour and called it a “George Carlin special” only to offer a disclaimer that it was an impersonation. Suffice it to say, it didn’t go well (stick to original, human Carlin) and Kelly Carlin responded in “kind”.

3. Witness the poesy of fellatio in the celebrated Jacqueline Novak solo show Get On Your Knees that’s due out as a Netflix special on 1/23.

4. The Donald Glover/Maya Erskine version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith is different than the Brad and Angelina version (and definitely the Hitchcock one), but, then again, is it? (it is, it’s more grounded and they’re not such expert level spies) Take a gander at the first full-length trailer here, then look for it on Amazon Prime starting Feb. 2nd.

5. Laurie Kilmartin is coming out with her latest special, the wonderfully named Cis Woke Grief Slut on Jan. 30th, which will probably make it the first noteworthy special of 2024 (sorry Pete Davidson).

6. Here’s the trailer for season 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is supposedly the final season, but, then again, how many Cher farewell tours were there? Look for what might be the final episodes of Larry David on Curb starting Feb. 4th on Max.

7. Jenny Slate makes shorts classy as they’ve ever been in the first look of her new special Seasoned Professional. Take a gander here, then look for it on Amazon Prime on Feb. 23rd.

8. Wes Anderson already has a cast so stacked that it would be more than enough star power as is with Bill Murray, Michael Cera, and Benecio Del Toro (Deadline). Expect at least 10 more of Hollywood’s biggest stars to sign on.

9. Stephanie Hsu will be the star of Peacock’s latest comedy series, Laid, from Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna (Variety). Since it’s a comedy that involves confronting the past as a result of all of her former lovers dying all of a sudden, it’s a pretty nice middle ground for Hsu between Everything Everywhere All At Once and Joy Ride.

10. Since Atlanta is over and who knows exactly when the next round of What We Do in The Shadows will be coming, you might be wondering what’s going on with comedy at FX. Cue in the Nick Kroll produced pilot from Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, Snowflakes (THR).

11. Guy Maddin, the mind behind one of the trippiest documentaries/meta pieces of art we’ve ever seen (My Winnipeg), has a G7 comedy in the works called Rumours with Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander already attached (Deadline).

12. Drew Barrymore is getting a fifth season of her daytime talk show (Variety). Daytime is still way more diverse than late night. Weird, isn’t it?

13. We’ll leave you with this: Maybe Jo Koy should have opened with AI written jokes to set expectations lower before launching into his Barbie joke?

TCB Debriefing 7/20/23: Krapopolis, Ben Roy, They Cloned Tyrone, Minx, Praise Petey

July 20, 2023

News

ai, ben roy, hulu, krapopolis, minx, netflix, praise petey, they cloned tyrone

1. It seems like Dan Harmon’s latest work, Krapoplis, has been teased for years at this point, especially since it has scored a third season without even having premiered, but the arrival of a group of petty gods trying to guide civilization is nigh. Please enjoy the first official trailer here, then just wait a bit more for Sun. Sept 24th for its actual premier on Fox, then streaming on Hulu the next day.

2. Ben Roy‘s fantastic new hour, Hyena, is available to rent here as a special (which includes a digital copy of the album version) right now from 800 Pound Gorilla, and then will be able to stream on YouTube, free for your convenience beginning Thurs. Aug. 10th. Per usual, Roy’s prismatically expressive looks into his own life and the lives around him are, yet again, a reliably refreshing jolt from one of comedy’s most arresting performers. More detailed review to come soon.

3. FYI, if you’re out of luck of seeing Barbie and/or Oppenheimer this weekend, you’ll be glad to know that you can catch the slick sci-fi thriller comedy They Cloned Tyrone on Netflix and season 2 of Minx on Starz beginning this Friday.

4. The series premiere of Freeform‘s latest comedy (to hopefully make up for cancelling their critical darling Single Drunk Female) Praise Petey is also this Fri., Jul. 21st (next day on Hulu). Take a gander at the comedy following the most unlikely, reluctant of cult leaders from the brilliant Anna Drezen here,

5. Anyone think that movies and TV will soon be marketed as “AI Free” or “a Completely Original Story”?

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 173: Allison Goldberg & Taking on Patriarchy & AI Through Fun

July 19, 2023

News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

ai, allison goldberg, comedians vs ai, comedy game shows, love isn't blind

Allison Goldberg, creator of things to be enjoyed comedically, not only has a knack for showing a crowd a cracking good time through her own comedy driven game shows, but making a point with them at the same time. Goldberg pointedly made a feminist twist on the classic Dating Game format with her show, Love Isn’t Blind, where the bachelors aren’t allowed to speak and is exploring the extent (or limits) of AI when it comes to doing comedy with Comedians vs. AI. This week’s TCB Field Report explores Goldberg’s journey with addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time, but doing so with the tasty, tasty sugar of comedy.

Follow Allison @alli_goldi on IG and check on everything that she is up to at allisongoldberg.com. Tickets for Comedians vs. AI @ 7/20 available at comediansvsai.com.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

TCB Debriefing 7/18/23: Liz Miele’s JET-LAGGED, Rebel Wilson’s Bride Hard, This Fool S2, Jena Friedman/AI

July 18, 2023

News

abortion jokes, ai, jena friedman, liz miele, rebel wilson, this fool

1. The delightful Liz Miele captured a beautiful snapshot of what exactly it’s like to 1) tour as a comedian on your own, 2) tour internationally, even in non-English speaking countries, and 3) what it’s like to “do crime” abroad with her docu-series JET-LAGGED. Watch, learn, and enjoy here.

2. Though the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have effectively shut down all of Hollywood, a handful of indie productions can apply for waivers to continue. Rebel Wilson’s Bride Hard was just granted said waiver from SAG-AFTRA (THR). Bride Hard sounds like a studio rom com and we’re thoroughly curious what Wilson has up her sleeve with this being an indie (maybe it’s a little more wonderfully chaotic?).

3. In case you’ve got caught in strike news, don’t forget that the second season of the already critically acclaimed This Fool is due out on Jul. 28th on Hulu. Get your first taste of what should be an Emmys contender very soon here.

4. Jena Friedman, a comedian who has written some of the best abortion jokes in all of comedy, asks AI to write abortion jokes and here’s what happened.

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5. If you’re thinking about buying tickets to a comedy show, please do so sooner rather than later. Comedians/comedy producers love pre-sales and get anxious about people buying tickets last minute.

Honest Trailers Makes an Honest Trailer Completely Written By a Robot

May 1, 2018

Uncategorized

ai, artificial intelligence, honest trailer, screen junkies

Via a script generated by an AI that analyzed every previous Honest Trailer, the Honest Trailers folks at Screen Junkies made probably the most absurd, mind bending honest trailer for a movie full of tangential references that all don’t exist even though it’s an amalgamation of some of the most well known movies in cinema history.

It’s a really deep dive into the uncanny valley, but pretty fun once you realize that AI doesn’t really know what the hell it’s doing.

Watch, if you dare, here.