comedy news

Morning Debriefing 5/8/12

1) The Sklar Brothers’ United Stats of America is on the History Channel tonight 10PM and The NY Times approves.

2) NBC appearing to get ready to make a wholesale change with their comedy line-up with the slew of shows they just picked up and giving short episode orders to fan favorites that get .gifs.  

3) Chris Gethard is hitchhiking to Bonnaroo without a bindle. He’s going to need your help.

4) Tonight on late night:
Casey Wilson on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC 12AM)

Last night on late night:
Matt Walsh expounded on the history of monkeys in comedy on Conan
Admiral General Aladeen checked Jon Stewart’s bush on the Daily Show

5) Pre-order Jonah Ray’s Hello Mr. Magic Plane Person on 10" white vinyl here.

6) Don Draper raps about his love of Taxi with Reggie Watts on Comedy Bang Bang.

7) The very funny Matt Dwyer is going to have a podcast where he doesn’t interview comedians, but rather interesting people like Marijuana Defense Lawyers.

8) Applications for the LA Improv Comedy Festival are due this Friday…

9) The Super Serious Show went to the Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival and Austin loved it again.

10) Rory Scovel’s Half Hour is happening this Friday on Comedy Central at 11PM despite what this promo with Todd Glass might lead you to believe.

11) If Vegas took odds on such a thing, the odds would most likely be that whatever jokes trying to tie MCA’s and Maurice Sendak’s death together aren’t going to be funny. 

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Morning Debriefing 5/7/12

1) Umm, you guys know that This American Life will be performing an episode this Thursday in movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada and Australia, right? 

2) Episode 1 of Paul F. Tompkins uber-classy interview with cocktails show Speakeasy with guest Ty Burrell.

3) Following his Between Two Ferns special that aired last night (which you can now watch online), Zach Galifianakis is now in a political smear-off with Will Ferrell…

4) Tonight on late night:
Admiral General Aladeen (Sascha Baron Cohen) on The Daily Show (Comedy Central 11PM) 
Matt Walsh on Conan (TBS 11PM)
5 Second Films on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC 1:35AM) 

5) Girls’ Lena Dunham on her critics on NPR…

6) Sketch group Dead Kevin doesn’t know how to not do an interview, maybe, right, OK?

7) Comedy abroad-ish:
Dan Telfer @ The Comedy Attic May 10th-12th $12

8) In addition to comedians releasing their own specials, comedy albums on vinyl seem to be taking off as Hannibal Buress will be joining Kyle Kinane and Jonah Ray in releasing his latest special Animal Furnace also on vinyl.

9) On today’s Puddin’, Eddie Pepitone + lemons + Patton Oswalt trying not to break + cameo by David Koechner = a better May 5th, 2012.

10) If you think you have writer’s block, you probably just don’t give a shit about what you’re writing/don’t think what you’re writing is funny.

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Morning Debriefing 5/6/12

1) The 2nd Annual Comedy Awards airs tonight on Comedy Central at 9PM (meaning you’ll see snarky tweets at 6PM EST) following the Between Two Ferns Special 8:30PM (with celebratory tweets at 5:30PM EST)

2) Get a look at tonight’s Comedy Awards red carpet with Julie Klausner…

3) ALSO, if you wanted a program even though you’re not attending The Comedy Awards tonight because it’s already taped, here’s Laughspin’s liveblog and a list of winners from the Laugh Button

4) Freak Dance the movie is taking the nation by storm…

5) Claudia Cogan is taping an album at the The Little Modern Theater in June. Translation: Please attend for great amounts of laughter.

6) Comedy abroad-ish:
Sean O’Connor & Nick Turner @ Starline Performance Venue (Fresno, CA) TONIGHT 8:30PM $10
The Walsh Brothers @ The Gothic Theatre (Denver, CO) Thurs. May 17th 8PM $12
Pete Holmes @ Wiseguys Trolley Square (Salt Lake City, UT) Sat. May 19th 7PM $18/1 item min.

7) Jesse Popp’s The Half Hour will air Fri. June 15th on Comedy Central

8) There will be a live premiere party for BOTH The Eric Andre Show and Hannibal Buress’ upcoming special Animal Furnace at the Knitting Factory in NYC. You can’t look at the poster and not go…

   

9) Really disappointed in not finding any amazing Super Moon jokes on Twitter last night, which really means I’m disappointed in myself for yet again not talking to a real person.

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Morning Debriefing 5/5/12

1) Not to worry (or think that you’re petition on Facebook really had anything to do with it) NBC’s bringing Best Friends Forever back June 1st. Maybe NBC brass just get a real kick out of torturing kids on the Internet?

2) Late World with Zach Galifianakis 3.0?

3) The Midnight Show album "Wow, Whaddya Know!“ is here… 

4) Brendon Walsh’s The Half Hour will air Fri. May 25th 11PM on Comedy Central.

5) A new promo for Bunk with Kurt Braunohler on IFC in which Kurt touches the faces of contestants and more.

6) Advanced screenings of Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America playing at the Downtown Independent Theater on May 11th-17th and a TBD free screening on May 9th at the New Beverly Cinema

7) Comedy abroad-ish:
Ron Funches @ The Comedy Underground May 11th-12th 8:30PM $20
Chris Fairbanks in Denver May 23rd-25th
Hari Kondabolu in the Pacific Northwest throughout May
Stripped Stories @ Union Transfer (Philadelphia, PA) Tues. Jun. 19th 8PM $15 

8) What’s What’s Monty (Davey Johnson) shows that we’re celebrating the wrong Cinco De Mayo.

9) Jonas Polsky, known to many for arguing with Myq Kaplan about how to create jokes, wonderfully defends nothing being off limits on comedy… 

10) At an open mic at a bar, few things are funnier than the faces of non-comics that walk in at the sound of "I’m going to rape you unless you say no.”

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Morning Debriefing 5/4/12

1) Pete Holmes was on TMZ. Is that what qualifies making it in Tinseltown now? Also, does anyone still call it Tinseltown? ALSO, is TMZ going to ambush Drew Carey at UCB tonight? These are questions we want answered.

2) Last night on late night:
Stephen Colbert worried about Lena Dunham
Colbert talked Super PAC with Letterman 

3) Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus chatted with NPR and HBO Connect…

4) The hilarious Jackie Kashian simultaneously gave all the answers to most interviews that she’ll get as well as laying some wonderful truth about comedy including a great answer for what she would do if she wasn’t doing comedy. Please read.

5) Greg Barris imagines his ideal of real love in this completely sincere web video…

6) When Set List: The Improvised Stand-Up Show is over, it still isn’t over as Kumail Nanjiani tried to do an interview following his set, while “no one”, possibly Reggie Watts, was watching him.

7) There’s a trailer now for the Feelings Comedy Tour with Dave Ross, Jake Weisman, and Matt Ingebretson.

8) Ep. 15 of Louis vs. Rick, the story of a man who taught his cat to use instant messaging.

9) If you’re wondering what the latest emoticons that kids are into these days, let Jake Weisman fill you in.

10) I’d like to think there’d be a day where they will be nothing more to adapt into a movie, but originality without a built-in market is always a risky business model, right Hollywood?

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Morning Debriefing 5/3/12

1) Tenacious D’s music video for their first single from their new album “Rize of the Fenix” got an applause break from us.

2) Jonah Ray is releasing his new album, Hello, Mr. Magic Plane Person, Hello, on 10" white vinyl with dropcard for a free digital download on May 15th. Better beat everyone else to the flea markets for a record player over the next two weekends.

3) A preview of the Between Two Ferns special this weekend with Jon Stewart…

4) Apparently, TMZ thought it was really cool when Robin Williams dropped in at the Nerdist Theater, “a small comedy club on Sunset Blvd.”, last night, but didn’t bother with Patton Oswalt dropping into the Best Fish Taco in Ensenada on Tues.

5) Tonight on late night:
Lena Dunham on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central 11:30PM)
Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS 11:35PM)

Last night on late night:
Amy Poehler played 5 Second Impression or Die with Jimmy Fallon 

6) A big congratulations goes to one of our favorite funny people, Erin Gibson, on becoming a writer for Funny or Die!

7) Horatio Sanz dressed up as a luchador tries to fight drogas in NYC in his new web series Espanto. That’s all we need to say besides WATCH.

8) Ashton Kutcher dressed up as a Bollywood director for Pop Chips and it didn’t work out nearly as well…

9) There is a thing called Network Awesome and they’re looking for ‘video people’.

10) Long-ish reads on comedy:
Serial Optimist interview with Ian Edwards
“Say It One More Time and See What Happens” our latest essay at the Nerdist
““YOUR REVIEW OF THAT REVIEW OF THAT REVIEW OF “GIRLS” WAS AWESOME!” by Matt Champagne

11) Comedy abroad-ish:
In Arizona: Marc Maron TONIGHT, Taylor Williamson this weekend, and Jen Kirkman.
Baron Vaughn TONIGHT at Acme Comedy Co. in Minneapolis, MN
Harland Williams at the Jukebox in Peoria TOMORROW 
The Beards of Comedy in Iowa 

12) I wonder who would get more heavily criticized this weekend: the person who writes how they thought the Avengers "suckd ballz” or the comedian who tries to make Junior Seau jokes?

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Morning Debriefing 5/2/12

1) You can feed the hysterical star of Puddin’ Eddie Pepitone today at the Arby’s just west of the 101 on Sunset Blvd. Just check out today’s episode…

2) Stream Tenacious D’s Rize of the Fenix RIGHT F’N NOW! Then read Jack Black’s AV Club interview discussing the rise of the D…

3) Air Dates:
Hannibal Buress’ Comedy Central Special ‘Animal Furnace debuts May 20th 11PM
The Eric Andre Show on Adult Swim premieres May 20th 12:30AM (which Hannibal is also on)

4) Ken Marino does a pitch perfect send up of the Bachelor in Burning Love…

5) Following their doc on Woody Allen, PBS lines up one for Johnny Carson…

6) Comedy abroad-ish:
Jim Jeffries and Eddie Ifft’s Talkin’ Shit in Las Vegas in June
Paul F. Tompkins in Minneapolis and Austin
Hannibal Buress in London
The Feelings Comedy Tour with Jake Weisman, Dave Ross, and Matt Ingebretson
TJ Miller Taping at the Comedy Attic in Bloomington, IN
The Midnight Show around the U.S.

                     

7) Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World with Steve Carell to premiere at The LA Film Festival.

8) Tonight on late night:
Amy Poehler on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC 12:35AM)

9) Genius comedy writer Armando Iananucci confirmed Alan Partidge movie with Steve Coogan…

10) All that you need to know about this video is that Jon Dore and Maria Bamford are in it. Now watch.

11) Our picks for the 5 Most Intentionally Funny Videos This Week for the Nerdist.

12) Amazon is looking to make some comedy…

13) I literally made someone roll on the floor laughing last night. It was a sight to see especially considering it was a filthy carpeted floor. I don’t think I’ll ever be funnier than that.

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Morning Debriefing 5/1/12

1) HBO renewed Girls and Veep for another season!

2) Comedy getting its props:
Bridesmaids and 21 Jump Street round up nominations at the MTV Movie Awards
Funny or Die and Louis CK win big at Webby Awards

3) Tonight on late night:
Seth Meyers on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS 11:35PM)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Lennon Parham on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS 12:35AM)
Jim Gaffigan on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC 1:35AM)

Last night on late night:
Steve Martin does the best self-promotion ever on Leno 

4) Kyle Kinane’s Death of the Party is officially on vinyl through Stand Up! Records today…

5) Paul F. Tompkins will be chatting with comedians/celebrities in a new web series, Speak Easy, on MadeMan.com

6) Check out the first look at the return of Futurama on Comedy Central.

7) A new issue of very funny nerdy, comedy quarterly magazine, Devastator, is out!

8) Comedy interviews:
Lizz Winstead in Vulture
Jon Daly in Serial Optimist
Steven Wright in Esquire

9) Comedy abroad-ish:
Tickets are still available for MaxFunCon in June
James Adomian in Atlanta this weekend

10) Our contributions beyond the Bureau:
Part 2 of our interview with Janeane Garofalo for HAHAJK.com at Bridgetown
Recap of Days 3 and 4 of the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival

11) This probably sounds horribly self-centered and reinforcing of that SNL sketch about Californians, but today’s general strike also means no traffic, right?

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Morning Debriefing 4/30/12

1) Jimmy Kimmel and Barack Obama put in solid sets at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

2) Eric Andre knows how to do promos as evidenced by this one for his upcoming Eric Andre Show on Adult Swim.

3) Comedy Bang Bang, the podcast, celebrates their 3 year anniversary with, none other than a bang featuring Paul F. Tompkins, Nick Kroll, Harris Wittels, James Adomian, and even St. Vincent. Comedy Bang Bang, the show, got this awesome double-team billboard in NYC…

4) The results of last night’s Channel 101 Screening are in…

5) Tonight on late night:
Don Rickles on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS 11:35PM)
Steve Martin and Mario Joyner on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC 11:35PM)
Jim Gaffigan on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS 12:35AM)

6) Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival coverage from Laughspin:
Nick Offerman
Seth Meyers 

8) The hysterical sketch group, Dead Kevin, demonstrating the art of vomiting.

9) Comedy abroad-ish:
Jarrod Harris in Mississippi TOMORROW 
Iron Comic at the Punchline in SF with Kyle Kinane, Guy Branum, and more TOMORROW 

10) Check out our monthly column at the Serial Optimist, This Is What You Need To Know About Comedy in [Current Month], and us interviewing Janeane Garofalo for HAHAJK at Bridgetown

11) 3 min. or less is a great length for a comedy short film/sketch/web video for anyone wondering.

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Morning Debriefing 4/29/12

1) The Comedy Awards taped last night and both Laughspin and Deadfrog liveblogged it.

2) Louis CK in front of the press after the Comedy Awards and winning his multiple awards…

3) PETE HOLMES IS A JEOPARDY CATEGORY!

4) Days 1 and 2 of the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival.

5) Steven Wright chatted with the Austin Chronicle while down at Moontower…

6) McSweeney’s got an open letter about “respecting” the audience during an improv show.

7) Jeff Dye’s Money From Strangers to feature Kurt Braunohler, Eric Andre, and more to make people in NYC do their bidding for a cash prize. This comes just in time for all who are grieving the loss of Cash Cab.

8) Comedy abroad-ish:
Reggie Watts around the U.S.
The Jon Hodgman/Kasper Hauser Reunion Special at Cobbs TONIGHT

9) Comedians Davey Johnson and Curt Neill supported the National March Against the War on Women yesterday…

10) Of course, you can joke about people who just died, but just know that you’re going to seem like a real piece of shit if it isn’t funny.

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Morning Debriefing 4/28/12

1) Keith Apicary killin it on KTLA Morning News.

2) Best Friends Forever was taken off of NBC’s schedule. At least it still has not set the same records as CW’s LA Complex (the repeat of the premiere had better numbers than the premiere).

3) The trailer for Judd Apatow’s next project/kind-of sequel to Knocked Up, This Is 40 with Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann…

4) Both Bernie and Five Year Engagement both opened in theaters this weekend and, perhaps, you should go see them before the Summer rush at your local multiplex starts.

5) Neil De Grasse Tyson’s show, Star Talk Radio, just had Paul F. Tompkins, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, and Wil Wheaton. And you’re not listening now, why?

6) Comedy abroad-ish:
Todd Barry

 

7) Bob’s Burgers on KCRW!

8) We’re at the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival all weekend at the Downtown Independent Theater watching comedy shorts, panels, and more until we can’t see anymore (a point that doesn’t exist). So look out for recaps coming soon.

9) Jamie Lee and Shawn Pearlman’s anachronistic vlog Anne, Frankly looks for a replacement for Anne Frank with Myq Kaplan, Pete Holmes, Aparna Nancherla, Guy Branum, and Jesse Case. Just know that a lot of hilarious people are doing a really funny webisode for a really funny web series.

10) How many times should I tell myself “There’s no such thing as too much comedy,” to make it true, at least, in the part of brain required for watching too much comedy?

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Morning Debriefing 4/27/12

1) The Midnight Show is coming out with their own comedy album of their best sketches on May 5th. Mark your damn calendars for the release of “Wow, Whaddya Know!” NOW.

2) 30 Rock went live last night. Spend your entire Friday comparing the West Coast episode to the East Coast episode, but try not to take it to seriously when you inevitably pick a side of which coast is better.

3) Comedy from Deadline:
Will Ferrell to host SNL…
Adam McKay to direct remake of Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier’s Uptown Saturday Night…
The Duplass Brothers team with Todd Phillips to adapt Mule… 

4) Tonight on late night:
Patton Oswalt on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS 12:35AM) 

5) More air dates for Comedy Central’s The Half Hour:
Rory Scovel May 11th 11PM
Nick Vaterott May 25th 11:30PM
Garfunkel and Oates June 8th 11:30PM

6) Comedy pioneer Ernie Kovacs’ album “Percy Dovetonsils Thpeaks” to be released on June 19th.

7) Futurama returns to Comedy Central Wed. June 20th 10PM…

8) Check out Tenacious D feature in Rolling Stone and an exclusive video on why their new album Rize of the Fenix might exacerbate tinnitus.

9) Comedy abroad-ish:
Drew Carey and the Midnight Show at the American Comedy Co. in San Diego THIS WEEKEND
Lauren Ashley Bishop at Comedy Bar Chicago THIS WEEKEND
Rob Delaney has new dates around the U.S.

10) Performing after someone I barely knew, but everyone in the room knew much better than I did, was pronounced dead 10 minutes before my set is something I now can cross off my non-existent bucket list of things I’d rather avoid in comedy. In case you’re wondering, it is, indeed, absolutely weird. 

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Morning Debriefing 4/26/12

1) Black Dynamite 2 has hopes of shooting at the end of this year!

2) Susan Sarandon whipped around a dildo for Unite Women and their upcoming march in this hilarious Funny or Die video featuring Casey Wilson, Steve Agee, Drew Droege and written by JC Coccoli.

3) Tonight on late night:
Jack Black on Conan (TBS 11PM)
Robin Williams on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS 11:35PM)
Jason Segel on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC 12:35AM) 

Last night on late night:
Jason Segel gettin’ sincere on the Daily Show 

4) Headlines in comedy from Deadline:
Kelly Oxford sells spec comedy script to Warner Bros…
Ben Schwartz sells pitch for romantic comedy to Universal…
Robot Chicken to skewer DC Superheroes next…

5) Comedy abroad-ish:
No Pun Intendo at Ground Kontrol TONIGHT in Portland, OR
Snob Theater 2 Year Anniversary with James Adomian in San Francisco TOMORROW
The Super Serious Show at The Moontower Comedy Festival in Austin, TX this weekend

6) Here’s six clips of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom to geek out over.

7) The Comedy Awards announced their line-up of presenters…

8) Tom Hanks will be narrating Stephen Colbert’s upcoming children’s book “I Am A Pole (And So Can You)”.

9) An interview with Yacht Rock creator JD Ryznar.

10) Ron Babcock’s fantastic Concocted Conversations just became part of MTV Clutch!

11) To submit to:
The Maine Comedy Festival
Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX

12) I imagine, if comedy wasn’t hard, then more than half of comedians wouldn’t be comedians.

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Morning Debriefing 4/25/12

1) President of the United States Barack Obama slow-jammed the news on Fallon last night. Also, he gave props to Key & Peele on their Luther sketch. 

2) The amazing Reggie Watts is having a special he did in Central Park air on Comedy Central on May 11th, going on tour, and releasing a couple of new records. Just another typical month for Watts, right?

3) Tonight on late night:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brian Posehn on Conan (TBS 11PM)
Jason Segel on The Daily Show (Comedy Central 11PM)

Late night on late night:
Amy Poehler talked up her awesome kids on Letterman
Jack Black talked up his awesome kids on Leno 

4) HBO renewed Real Time with Bill Maher for 2 more seasons…

5) What’s happening on the set of Comedy Central’s upcoming Mash-Up?

6) Bernie director Richard Linklater talked how to do dark comedy with the AV Club…

7) The Humor Code panel at Bridgetown was one of the most fun panel discussions ever. Listen to it at Wired.

8) Check out this week’s 5 Most Intentional Funny Videos featuring such sketches as The Get Go’s latest Publisher’s Clearing House.

9) Interesting angles on comedy:
The NY Times likes both Jon Dore and Levi Macdougall even though they call Jon a ‘club comic’, and Levi, an ‘alternative comic’
Anthony Jeselnik told his most racy jokes and what he thinks of Jon Lovitz to Huffington Post Comedy.
The AV Club suggests we should stop saying “white people problems” as a pejorative.

10) Comedy abroad-ish:
THE MOONTOWER COMEDY & ODDITY FESTIVAL in Austin, TX tonight through this weekend
Jay Larson at the Mall of America this weekend
Nato Green album taping in Oakland
The Jukebox Comedy Club in Peoria, Il has both Tom Segura and Kyle Kinane coming up

11) Sometimes, in comedy, you’ll have to decide whether you want to pay for parking and do another set or eat dinner/your only meal of the day.

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Morning Debriefing 4/24/12

1) The DVDs for Paul F. Tompkins Laboring Under Delusions AND Patton Oswalt’s Finest Hour are now available for puchase. Also, some interesting facts about the hours of podcast time recorded by Tompkins and where human history could have gone…

2) Comedian Randy Kagan was attacked during a set at the Melrose Improv. People still forget that they’re watching comedy at a comedy club, we guess. Also, the linked clip doesn’t feel like the whole story…

3) Tonight on late night:
Amy Poehler on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS 11:35PM)
Jack Black on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC 11:35PM)

Last night on late night:
Erin Foley on Conan 

4) Comedy Central’s first episode of the The Half Hour on June 8th is Joe Mande.

5) Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Morgan Spurlock explore what is means to be a man today with the new documentary Mansome.

6) The cast of the Office is ready for more…

7) Interviews on comedy:
Kyle Kinane in Serial Optimist
Anna Chlumsky (Veep, In the Loop) in New York Magazine

8) Looks like eHarmony is a worthy Twitter opponent for Rob Delaney…

9) Comedy abroad-ish:
Conan is coming to Chicago in June

10) Portlandia got its own craft beer.

11) Hopefully, there will be a day, not too far off from now, where people will find a way to see comedy as hard as comedians find a way to do comedy.

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Morning Debriefing 4/23/12

1) Between Two Ferns is coming to a television near you (right before the Comedy Awards)!

2) Empire Magazine has exclusive details from Adam McKay on Anchorman 2…

3) Tonight on late night:
Erin Foley on Conan (TBS 11PM)
Jason Segel on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS 11:35PM)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC 12AM)

4) Interviews on comedy:
Jack Black on NPR’s Fresh Air
Hudson Hongo, the man behind Literally Unbelievable, on Oh Internet

5) Conan O’Brien made UCSD into the Conan O’Brien College on 4/20 and also got his head smacked into…

6) Recorded from The Bridgetown Comedy Festival:
Who Charted 
The Risk Storytelling Show
Roast the Week 

7) Woody Allen’s “To Rome With Love” has strong box office opening in Italy.

8) Want free tickets to The Comedy Awards? Of course, you do.

9) Nicely done, Simpsons. Very nicely done.

10) Comedy abroad-ish:
Kyle Kinane at Vitus Oakland next month

11) Would you support a Kickstarter for a guy named Nick, cough yeah right cough, a Nickstarter?

12) Whether this bickering about how to do comedy ever comes or even what constitutes comedy vs. performance art to an end (which it probably won’t), people will still just want to laugh at something. 

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Morning Debriefing 4/22/12

1) The world premiere of Armando Ianucci’s Veep starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus is tonight (HBO 10PM) and let’s just keep our fingers crossed that the Internet will behave itself for this next HBO comedy premiere.

2) Pete Holmes has one of the best items of comedian merch based off a bit ever…

3) Even though The Life and Times of Tim is cancelled, you can still catch the entire series on HBOGO. This is a great excuse to talk to your friends that can afford HBO.

4) A brief tour of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom by its narrator Bob Balaban…

5) We thought we all got past this alt/mainstream/club comedy divisive non-sense already. Apparently, we haven’t.

6) Book trailers have been putting movies to shame lately. Look to the one for Kevin Moffet’s Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events for proof.

7) Comedy abroad-ish:
Justin Ian Daniels at the Baltimore Comedy Factory in May
Eli Braden in San Francisco and Portland AND Seattle

8) The East Bay Express wrote up their hometown boy Moshe Kasher and his Kasher in the Rye.

9) On a graceful note (right before our super snarky esoteric “on comedy” remark), Paul F. Tompkins’ encore at the end of his latest special Laboring Under Delusions of Danny Boy with Eban Schletter along with a funny note on the history of pianos and more.

10) If you’re looking for a place to write, do not pick a scenic, lovely neighborhood full of beautiful people walking around. You will not get anything done. That’s right, I’m talking to you Franklin Village.

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Morning Debriefing 4/21/12

1) Paste Magazine comes out with an awesome Comedy Issue!

2) Within aforementioned Paste’s comedy issue, Marc Maron gave Nate Bargatze, Sean Patton, Brent Weinbach, Mary Mack, and Myq Kaplan props. Nicely done all around.

3) HBO drops Life and Times of Tim after 3 seasons. Veep and Girls, we guess, now has more riding on it.

4) TONIGHT: WATCH PATTON OSWALT’S FINEST HOUR AT 10PM & PAUL F. TOMPKINS LABORING UNDER DELUSIONS AT 11PM ON COMEDY CENTRAL. IT’S OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.

5) Jimmy Fallon represents for comedy on Record Store Day….

6) Our big ol’ wrap-up of the 2012 Bridgetown Comedy Festival for HAHAJK.com.

7) Hari and Ashok Kondabolu go international and get written up in Rolling Stone India.

8) Bobcat Goldthwait got more ink about his upcoming film God Bless America in LA Weekly like he absolutely should.

9) The identity of the man behind Peepers, a canticle revealed…

10) Comedy abroadish:
The Super Serious Show at the Moontower Comedy & Oddities Festival
Set List in Edinburgh in August
Hannibal Buress around the WORLD

11) There is no such thing as “writer’s block”. There are only cases of one not caring about what one is trying to write.

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Morning Debriefing 4/20/12

1) The hilarious Erin Gibson righteously responded to critics focused on the looks of female comedians rather than the comedy of female comedians.

2) Our own righteous comedy piece on the Nerdist: Can Comedy Stay Punk?

3) Not that it’s surprising anyone, but Armando Ianucci’s Veep with Julia Louis-Dreyfus is apparently going to be really good according to the Hollywood Reporter.

4) A new live show is starting in LA affording the opportunity for audiences to see comedians about to do the road to put on the show that they would actually do on the road. Launchpad, a more traditional format of host, opener, feature, and headliner will debut Sun. Apr. 29th at Dangerfield’s 3. It’s one of the rare instances where “headliner” actually means what it’s supposed to mean in LA.

5) The LA Indie Improv Festival is taking submissions…

6) Promos for upcoming comedy channel things:
Comedy Central’s The Half-Hour
Adult Swim Gold

7) Buzz Feed gives a list of 10 British comedians that we should know about including Ricky Gervais, but leaves out Gina Yahsere, Andi Osho, Russell Howard, and even ex-pat Reginald D. Hunter.

8) In case you haven’t heard, Paul F. Tompkins’ Laboring Under Delusions is debuting on Comedy Central tomorrow at 11PM. Hear more about at the AV Club or at Laughspin or from the dapper tale teller himself.

9) Laughspin also chatted with The League’s very funny Steve Rannazzisi.

10) Comedy abroad-ish:
Snob Theater 2 Year Anniversary with James Adomian in San Francisco next week

11) Thank goodness that I’m my own boss because if I told anyone else that I’m “working on fucking around”, I probably wouldn’t even get severance pay.

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Morning Debriefing 4/19/12

1) Just set aside your weekend for comedy because both seasons of The Green Room with Paul Provenza are now available from Amazon!

2) Paul F. Tompkins wondering about Matt Damon’s mysterious on-set food on Conan…

3) Todd Barry gave Black Book some of his road stories…

4) Rob Riggle will host the ESPYs.

5) More Bridgetown Comedy Festival coverage:
From comedian Barbara Holm via Huffington Post
From comedian Robert Buscemi
Portland Mecury
The Spit Take 
& ours from HAHAJK.com 

6) New Humblebrag rankings are up and, of course, Tyler the Creator from Odd Future is #1.

7) There is a live comedy show called Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction. An edition of it took place in Portland during Bridgetown. If you were lame like us and missed it, luckily, the hilarious Adam Cayton Holland posted his raunchy take on Friday Night Lights.

8) There’s a book featuring Chris Kattan’s Mr. Peepers not written by Chris Kattan…

9) The Hollywood Film Festival is now taking submissions.

10) Comedy abroad-ish:
Baron Vaughn in Atlanta this week
Jay Larson around the U.S.
Christina Pazsitzky in Chicago
Jim Gaffigan around the U.S.
Marc Maron in Portland tonight and this weekend 

11) The Creepy Caress Kickstarter has almost reached it’s goal and ends tomorrow morning. Give just one last little push, whether it be creepy and/or caress-y, to them if you can.

12) The 5 Most Intentionally Funny Videos This Week 4/18

13) Went to 3 comedy shows last night and didn’t hear a single Dick Clark joke. I guess that’s what it takes to surprise me these days.

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Morning Debriefing 4/18/12

1) Netflix isn’t messing around: All 10 new episodes of Arrested Development to be released at once.

2) Kind of big deal lists:
Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World featuring Louis CK, Kristin Wiig, and Stephen Colbert
50 Funniest New Yorkers by Time Out New York

3) Last night on late night:
Patton Oswalt on Conan
Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the Daily Show
Bo Burnham on Conan 

Tonight on late night:
Paul F. Tompkins on Conan (TBS 11PM)
Michael Ian Black on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS 12:35AM)

4) Louie Season 3 promo. Also, CK will be releasing stuff on LouisCK.com in Mid-May like his Carnegie Hall “audio type comedy thing” WORD. Please accept our apologies for not RT’ing immediately 6 days ago.

5) Speaking of Louis CK and influence, he’s inspired Brendon Small to join the fold of DIY comedy projects…

6) Clips of upcoming IFC comedy series involving dogs that are awesome:
Kurt Braunohler’s Bunk
Zach Galifianakis on Comedy Bang Bang 

7) Just in case you forgot about how excited we are about Wes Anderson’s upcoming Moonrise Kingdom, here’s a boatload of character posters.

8) Rick Shapiro is recovering from a ‘cardiac event’…

9) In case you missed it, a bunch of Channel 101 folks did their own rendition of The Who’s Tommy live and Vice wrote it up.

10) Last night I saw two cars getting towed and subsequently chased by their owners, two ambulances going opposite directions, two police car chases, and a man having a nervous breakdown at a Coffee Bean. Glad to be home LA.

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