Buy and Watch ‘I Am Road Comic’ Now
I Am Road Comic will be the follow up to Jordan Brady’s documentary I Am Comic that follows the travels of comedians performing on what is commonly referred to as “the road” with all of its peaks and valleys.
Tales and words of wisdom will come from comedy road veterans such as Maria Bamford, Doug Benson, Wayne Federman, Pete Holmes, Kyle Kinane, TJ Miller, Marc Maron, Jen Kirkman, Judah Friedlander, Nikki Glaser, Tom Rhodes, W. Kamau Bell, Traci Skene, Auggie Smith, Alysia Wood, and more.
Watch The Premiere of Stand Up Planet Tonight
International stand up documentary special, Stand Up Planet hosted by Hasan Minhaj, is premiering tonight on KCET, Pivot, and LinkTV (find local listings and times at link).
We got a chance to see it and how it found great stand up comedians in India and South Africa doing material about their countries most vital issues much like many great comedians in America do. So, really, do watch it as it’s hilarious, eye-opening, and should be made into a series.
Comedy Central Airing The Improv: 50 Years Behind The Brick Wall
Tonight at midnight, Comedy Central will have a TV special following the the timeline of the legendary Improv starting all the way back in the early sixties in Hell’s Kitchen.
The Improv: 50 Years Behind The Brick Wall will feature stories from Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, Judd Apatow, and more about the Improv and how it influenced them.
Jason Bateman To Narrate New Lego Documentary
In addition to doing some announcing for The Dodgers, the voice of Jason Bateman will now narrate a new documentary on the world of Lego.
We’re not sure how involved he will be with the project, but one can only hope that he’s bring a little of his sensibilities from Bad Words to his narration for this doc.
Mike DeStefano was one of the funniest people around when he was with us, but unfortunately he passed away from this world too early.
Please support this Kickstarter that’s going for $75,000 over the next two months for a documentary chronicling his unbelievable life and comedy, which need to be remembered.
Set to premiere at SXSW, The Harmontown documentary, which follows one of a few select podcasts that could pull off a nationwide tour as well putting together a feature length film on it, finally has a trailer.
Not only does it follow the podcast, but Dan Harmon’s personal journey with his fans, his creations, his battles, and everything else that has made him the trailblazing firebrand that he is.
Watch the trailer here at Nerdist’s YouTube Channel.
You’ve heard plenty about how podcasting is a burgeoning medium, especially when it comes to comedy. Well, now there will be a whole documentary about how far reaching and powerful it is for both the podcaster and their listeners in Ear Buds, a documentary on podcasting.
Chris Mancini and Graham Elwood of Comedy Film Nerds need your help to finish this documentary via Kickstarter that will feature the likes of Marc Maron, Jimmy Pardo, Welcome to Nightvale, Aisha Tyler, Scott Aukerman, Doug Benson, and so much more.
As of this post, there’s less than 70 hours to help them reach their goal, so please donate to make it happen.
One of the more fascinating things in comedy over the last several years has definitely been Charlie Todd and his happy cohorts known as Improv Everywhere. They blur the lines between performance art/flash mob/live comedy and have done so very well with things like the No Pants Subway Ride or pranking a TED talk.
Now, there’s a whole documentary about them called We Cause Scenes: The Rise of Improv Everywhere that you’ll probably buy after you watch this trailer.
Wonderful humorist David Rees has not only brought joy to many through his writing, but has also enlightened us all on the discipline of artisanal pencil sharpening. His book How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical & Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening for Writers, Artists, Contractors, Flange Turners, Anglesmiths, & Civil Servants
Luckily, How To Sharpen Pencils has been made into a short mini doc that is both actually informative as well as damn funny and has been making the rounds at film festivals.
Watch How to Sharpen Pencils as directed by Kenneth Price and written by David Rees himself now.
Rich Vos talks his road to recovery from crack addiction, which he amazingly went cold turkey from decades ago, in this latest episode of Scott Moran’s Modern Comedian at PBS Digital and how that fuels his comedy and everything else in his life.
You might not know this, but life is hard even after it’s over. Being a ghost and haunting folks might not be all the adrenaline rush that you think it might cracked up to be.
Just watch this interview by director/humorist Alex Winfrey with a “real” ghost to see what the afterlife is “really like”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbpB8w5HOz4
HBO Picks Up ‘Herblock’ Documentary On Pulitzer-Winning Washington Post Cartoonist
Along with the upcoming documentary Dear Mr. Watterson on the man behind the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, there might be a new documentary trend forming with “Herblock” a documentary on another cartoonist, published in the Washington Post, as, perhaps, we’ve exhausted documentaries on fishing/sea life/the ocean.
Colin Quinn has recently stepped up in his comedy career by putting together a touring one man show called Unconstitutional about the United States Constitution and while that seems simple enough, they’re so many subtleties that go into doing such a thing from just playing a comedy club.
Watch this latest episode Scott Moran’s Modern Comedian to see what those subtleties are and more.
Open mics are an unavoidable part of being a comedian. They’re often brutal and, in fact, you shouldn’t think of them any other way, but they are also crucial to developing your voice as a comedian so when you do a big show, you don’t fuck it up (hopefully).
Scott Moran’s amazing series Modern Comedian for PBS Digital follows up and coming comedian Subhah Agarwal who grinds it out at open mics in NYC as much as humanly possible and exhibits how hard work and focus can be quite rewarding in comedy. Watch the episode here.
You Can Now Watch ‘Tell Your Friends! The Concert Film’ on Hulu
A couple of years ago, Liam McEneaney made concert film/doc about his great comedy show in Brooklyn Tell Your Friends! and for awhile you could only see a trailer or maybe get the DVD of it (which includes a soundtrack if you’re interested), but now you can watch it for free on Hulu.
It has Reggie Watts, Christian Finnegan, Kurt & Kristen, Leo Allen along with interviews with Jim Gaffigan, Marc Maron, Janeane Garofolo, and more.
Whether you’re waiting for FYF or can’t go, it’s a pretty nice way to spend 80 min. this Sunday.
It’s been years since the great behind the mic documentary I Am Comic from director and comedian Jordan Brady; three years in fact. And now, after all that time, Brady is coming out with the follow up to I Am Comic in I Am Road Comic following the tales and travels of comedians that do the road and perform wherever they can get paid to talk into a microphone and discovering ultimately why they do it.
Watch this teaser with TJ Miller, Jen Kirkman, Judah Friedlander, and Doug Benson.
Every now and again, especially if you’re listening to a comedy podcast or watching comedians talk about comedy of the past, you might hear them reference “the Catskills”. It was a whole period in stand up comedy that largely took place at resorts in the Catskills Mountains where Sid Caesar, Mort Sahl, Jerry Stiller, and more came up.
In the documentary ‘When Comedy Went to School’, not only is this period covered, but the likes of Marc Maron and Jerry Seinfeld and how it affected their comedy.
Watch the trailer here and look for a limited release next week on Jul. 31st.
For those interested in the mysteries of Reggie Watts and how the connective tissue of his performance comes about, watch the latest episode of Scott Moran’s Modern Comedian at PBS Digital. Watts’ curiosities on time travel, the feasibility, what period he would go to seeps into his subconscious and he’s figured out a way to make all work in his improvised performances.
The latest episode of Scott Moran’s Modern Comedian at PBS Digital features prolific writer and comedian Bonnie McFarlane on her journey through stand-up as primarily someone who loves writing much more than being on stage. The obsession with writing has brought her to write everyday and gives a little insight behind her seemingly non-stop output for comedy.
Watch Fascinating Documentary on ‘The Business of Comedy’
Here’s a whole 48 min. documentary on the business side of comedy from Scott Sobel and Gary Licker if you’ve ever wondered about the history of people going from just telling jokes to making it a something that’s financially viable to the opposite of that to today where it’s definitely on the upswing.
It’s especially interesting considering nowadays there are less and less huge touring headliners, but way more comedians then when people started performing stand-up.
One of our favorite comedy festivals in the world is The Bridgetown Comedy Festival for so many reasons and there is a documentary now being made about it as well as the thriving comedy scene up in Portland, OR.
They’re shooting for $11,500 over the next month and we’d love this to be made and more people find out about what is oft referred to as “comedy summer camp”. Just look at the clip of Todd Glass in this sizzle reel and tell us that isn’t fun.
Showtime Making Tig Notaro Documentary Following Her Comedy Tour Through Houses, Backyards, Etc.
‘Knock Knock, It’s Tig Notaro’ as it is titled by Showtime for now will follow Tig as she makes her way across the country performing in people’s houses, on their roofs, in their backyards, and more. In fact, that could be your house, roof, or backyard if you have the most creative entry to have Tig perform at your house over at this submissions page.
If you’re not already thrilled at this news, please do so now because this will be pretty great.
Yes, there is an Air Sex Championship going on since 2008 and if you’re thinking that it’s pretty much as advertised with people competing against each other in how well they act out sex by themselves on stage, then you’re right on the money. A documentary is being made exploring this phenomenon and we think you should support as it’s pretty funny, especially if you get over your prudish American ways, assuming that’s the case, and watch people try to mime sex for a high score.
Watch their Kickstarter video/donate here.
Filmmaker, Writer, and UCB’s Creative Director Todd Bieber got a never before seen look into what goes into one of the most legendary improv shows in the world of improv, ASSSSCAT. It’s one of the longest running and most well known long form improv shows now running on both in NYC and LA. Amy Poehler, one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, gives a tour through UCB Chelsea on a typical night of ASSSSCAT with the likes of Chris Gethard, Zach Woods, Horatio Sanz, Ms. Poehler herself, Jon Hamm, all being in the same room.