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TCB Debriefing 3/9-3/11/24: Oscars, Kevin Casey White, Comedy Central, Fahim Anwar, Wicked Little Letters, Deadspin

March 11, 2024

censorship, comedy central, deadspin, fahim anwar, kevin casey white, oscars, stand up comedy, wicked little letters

1. Welp, the 2024 Oscars are in the books and while comedy probably got more nominations than it ever has in the history of AMPAS, it didn’t win as big as we had hoped (or like it did last year with Everything Everywhere All at Once). Best Picture went to a more traditional Oscar type movie with Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer, a biopic dedicated to Robert J. Oppenheimer, a man who might have altered the course of human history as much as any historical figure on record.

For the major categories, here are the comedy Oscar winners for this year:

Best Actress-Emma Stone, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actress-Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Best Adapted Screenplay-Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
Best Live Action Short Film-Wes Anderson, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

To see all the winners of the 2024 Oscars, take a gander at them here.

2. For all the years that go into getting good enough to do a stand-up comedy special, then the additional year(s) or so that it would take to get ready for that special, there’s is so very much riding on the night of taping for a comedian to get through their hour flawlessly and stick the landing. That said, that dynamic often differs vastly from what actually makes a great night of live stand-up comedy, full of vibrant connection with the audience and truly unplanned surprises mined by a seasoned comedian.

NYC comedian Kevin Casey White, in a refreshing move against the grain, really goes for broke and letting chaos ride in his just released special, Harangue. To be clear, it’s not all crowd work (which so often feels manufactured at this point too, especially if you’re telling the audience, then the subsequent viewers at home that it’s a “crowd work” special) or a large swath of the audience heckling. White has plenty of great material about his rambunctious life choices.

That said, he puts his money where his mouth is and goes as deep as he can with an audience member who got stood up on a date that was supposed to happen at his taping. The jumping back and forth between succinct material and what is a really wild audience interaction (NOT born out of heckling) isn’t something that could have been entirely foreseen in the months White prepped for the special. And yet, he’s so present on stage and so quick to follow the comedy in the moment that the journey is so damn fun. Harangue showcases that perfectly and is one of those rare specials these days that not only clues somebody as to how much damn fun a night of comedy could be as well as capturing that ever elusive “lighting in a bottle”.

Kevin Casey White: Harangue is now streaming on YouTube. Please enjoy it here.

3. Comedy Central’s latest batch of digital only, short form sets, Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring has the latest batch (season 15) coming very soon; Wednesday this week to be exact. Take a gander at the likes of Sean Patton, Amberia Allen, Morgan Jay, Amy Silverberg, Logan Guntzelman, and more recorded live at LA’s Lodge Room here.

4. Fahim Anwar’s latest hour special seems to have been flagged by YouTube after Anwar thought he took all the necessary precautions, even going so far as to have someone at YouTube to make sure everything is up to code. Despite all his efforts, Anwar’s special was algorithmically slowed down causing Fahim and his team to scramble to cut a cleaner version of his special and retitling the original video as the “uncut version”. Fahim goes into great detail about how all of this happened over, pretty much, just one bit (that he was willing to cut) where he says a certain slur.

5. Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley will be swearing the most that ever have on screen in their entire careers with their upcoming film, Wicked Little Letters. A period piece with two celebrated actresses cursing up a storm? We’re fully on board. Take your first look and listen to Wicked Little Letters with the film’s first trailer here.

6. Deadspin, the often alt-comedic voice in sports, had already been sold and bought and turned inside out once, but is going through yet another regime change that has resulted in their entire staff being let go (Variety). The irreverence of the brand will supposedly still be intact, but we shall see. Maybe they’ll get Katie Nolan to do Garbage Time again?

7. We’ll leave you with this: If there is a single issue to bolster voter turnout, maybe it will be finally abolishing Daylight Savings?

TCB Debriefing 1/19/24-1/24/24: Jon Stewart, Oscars, Paul Danke, Ramy, Steven Wright, SNL 1975, Jean Claude Van Damme, Richard Pryor

January 24, 2024

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colbert, jean claude van damme, jon stewart, late show, oscars, paul danke, ramy youssef, richard pryor, snl 1975, steven wright

1. Jon Stewart is returning to the role that made him the voice of a generation, kind of. Stewart will resume hosting duties at The Daily Show on Mondays and then serving as an EP all the other days, leaving the rest of the correspondents to switch off hosting duties (NPR). There’s a lot to hope for here as Stewart is returning in an election year when he, somewhat infamously, left during the 2016 election cycle with a potential to have to deal with Trump running under the GOP banner. Also, we’re to assume that he’ll be able to talk freely about China and AI, seemingly two topics that seemed to be dicey while he was at AppleTV+ with The Problem with Jon Stewart.

2. This year’s Oscars might be the most comedy highlighted one in history with American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers, and Poor Things all garnering Best Picture nominations and accompanying noms in Best Acting, Writing, and Directing categories. Perhaps, a tip of the cap is deserved to last year’s Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once taking home all the awards to make high art comedies be taken seriously.

Also, Greta and Margot getting snubbed in their respective categories for Barbie is pretty objectively wrong.

See the full list of Oscar nominations, announced this morning, here.

3. Paul Danke has been one of the most reliable fixtures in LA’s vast, decentralized stand-up scene. For several years, Danke has only refined what was already an exacting comedy sensibility that finesses rhythm, specificity, attitude, and self-awareness that he has taken to stages DIY and pristine all over LA county (and CA and, well, the country). He has a knack for making specificity in observation accessible whether it be regarding the fate of the Dodger Dog or Jimmy Buffet’s legacy because of his unassailable cool even if he is taping an hour at a place as “out there” as Humboldt, CA. You can hear all of that and some 70’s soaked tunes on his brand new album, Mad River, fresh off the AST presses. Please enjoy Mad River right now right here.

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4. Ramy Youssef will have “more feelings” (on a new A24/HBO special) that will (probably) not have a solid British accent from the acclaimed Poor Things actor (and celebrated 21st century comedian).

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5. Steven vs. Stephen is quite the fun time and a reminder that Steven Wright is one of the best last night guests. Feel free to go down a YouTube rabbit hole to watch Steven Wright on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson after watching his Late Show interview here.

6. Rachel Sennott will be one of the stars of an SNL origin film from Jason Reitman, SNL 1975 (Deadline). If one of the cast of this movie ends up hosting SNL to promote this movie, it should stand to reason that they just redo 1970s SNL sketches for today.

7. The Muscles from Brussels, Jean Claude Van Damme is seemingly sticking with comedy (after his lauded, self-reflexive movie JCVD) with Le jardinier (Variety). Possible crossover with Le jardinier and The Beekeeper in the not so distant future?

8. After decades of trying to get some sort of biographical adaptation of comedy icon Richard Pryor’s life on screen, it looks like Kenya Barris might be the one to do with it an upcoming 10 part series (Variety). At this point, an entire doc could be made on trying to doing some sort of biopic on Pryor’s life.

9. We’ll leave you with this: Kids heckling clowns, the serious kind, is priceless.

TCB Debriefing 11/14 & 11/15/23: David Drake, Chicken Run, John Oliver/Pūteketeke, Jon Stewart, Coyote vs. Acme, Jimmy Kimmel/Oscars, Kevin Hart

November 15, 2023

News

aardman, annapurna, chicken run, coyote vs acme, david drake, jimmy kimmel, john oliver, jon stewart, kevin hart, mark twain prize, netflix, oscars

1. Though self-deprecation is one of the most common modes of stand-up comedy, very few comedians are actually good enough to pull it off as an entire facet of their onstage persona. This is where NYC staple David Drake thrives. Drake’s debut hour, That’s It, special showcases the precarious balance that he achieves of savagely making fun of how crestfallen his life is, but being cool, calm, and collected about it all the same time. Drake’s career as an under-the-table mover or an existential love crisis involving some M or AO rated video game is shared with enough candor, but enough comedic/emotional distance to illicit big laughs/applause for the whole hour. Essentially, the simple, but very hard trick of making fun of yourself as a comedian is getting the audience, on an unconscious level, to know that you’re actually OK (but not so OK that it sounds like you’re flat out lying). A la the name of the special, ‘that’s it’ and Drake does that pretty flawlessly. Enjoy That’s It now for free at your convenience on YouTube here.

2. The charm of Aardman remains undeniable as the sequel to Chicken Run, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, unveils its first official trailer. Their charm as a studio is so strong with stop animation and delightful British sensibilities that we’d wager this will probably fare better than the MCU’s The Marvels and Pixar’s Elemental when all is said and done.

3. John Oliver succeeded in running away with New Zealand’s Bird of the Century contest as the Pūteketeke won with a resounding landslide to the tune of 300K votes (2nd place didn’t cross the threshold of 20K votes) (NPR) after doing a segment on Last Week Tonight, buying billboards all across the planet, and appearing on Fallon to promote. This is proof positive that American/British meddling in the rest of the world is alive and well.

4. Apple might not get away with citing “creative differences” in cancelling The Problem with Jon Stewart this year (Reuters). Stewart’s commentary on China and Apple’s business ties in China might amount to some very (deserved) hot water in Congress for the tech giant.

5. After being shelved as a tax write-off and drawing the ire of a strike-weary Tinseltown and Internet, Warner Discovery has changed course on the live action/animation hybrid Coyote vs. Acme being shopped around for another distributor, which should mean that the general public will get to see it somewhere in the not so distant future (Deadline). To add insult to injury to AMPTP poster boy, David Zaslav, preview screenings from Hollywood/comedy luminaries Phil Lord and Chris Miller only garnered praise making the attempted write-off seem even more brazen and ridiculous.

6. Jimmy Kimmel will return to host The Oscars in 2024 marking his 4th time hosting the legendary awards ceremony (Variety). That still leaves plenty of room to catch up to Billy Crystal and Bob Hope, but we honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Jimmy surpasses both of them (after all, his studio is only across the street from where the awards have happened for so long).

7. Kevin Hart will be the latest recipient for the Mark Twain Prize for Humor, one of comedy’s most prestigious awards, specifically awarded to a comedian that can be credited with changing public discourse with their comedy. Any takers on how many presenters will bring up The Oscars in their speeches “honoring” Hart?

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8. We’ll leave you with this: We’d like to wholeheartedly remind you that comedy is, truly and very deeply, subjective.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Wins Everything (Almost) at Oscars and Let’s Hope Movies Get the Message

March 13, 2023

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everything everywhere all at once, oscars

There’s a lot to be celebrated for the amount of Asian representation that Daniels’ brilliant Everything, Everywhere, All at Once so gloriously illuminates after capping a masterful awards season run with 7 Oscar wins including Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Directing, and, of course, Best Picture. They won every category they were nominated in except for one, Best Song. In fact, there’s a lot to be celebrated for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once becoming the most decorated movie to come out in 2022.

It’s an an original movie (and an indie one at that) that proved to be an undeniable box office hit (though not at the magnitude of Top Gun: Maverick… yet?). Heading out of lockdown, the fate of original movies on the big screen seemed grim, but, as fate would have it, the movie that wrapped principal photography the day before COVID-19 was announced as global pandemic would be the perfect balance of escape, maximalism, absurdism, and family tenderness that would capture the hearts and minds of audiences around the globe. With populist movies such as Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick looming large as appointed saviors of the movie industry and finding their way into the Best Picture category at The Oscars, one could only wonder how many more cinematic universes would be treated to had either of them won. We’re still going to very much be subject to the MCU, DCEU, Fast & Furious, Blade Runner, Ghostbusters, Mission Impossible, James Bond, Star Wars, and yes, probably Top Gun, but there’s a glimmer of hope in the sheen of A24’s landmark 2022 that included not only Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, but also the acclaimed/nominated/award winning Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and The Whale. The independent spirit is still alive and well, so long as audiences keep watching those films after being let down by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Also, not enough is said for Everything Everywhere All at Once being a comedy and, very likely, the wackiest movie that has every won a Best Picture Oscar. The entire pantheon of Best Picture winners that can be categorized, even somewhat, as comedies include such classics as It Happened One Night, Annie Hall, Gigi, Birdman, and The Artist. None of them had a multi-verse or hot dog fingers or numerous sex toy jokes or glue-on googly-eyes on rocks, just a sampling of the magical soup in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. The most “out-there” movie to win Best Picture before this year might be The Shape of Water, a noir-thriller romance where a woman falls in love with a fish god. The mash-up of sincerity and slapstick revelry is something that hasn’t really graced the Academy’s consideration, but this historic win (apparently, more above-the-line wins than any other movie in Oscars history) might just be the shake-up/sign that things for one of cinema’s oldest institutions is maybe catching up with the times.

More so than probably anything else that came out last year, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once should be a testament to the artistry in comedy and let’s hope no one ever forgets that anywhere, ever again.

Pick of the Day: AND THE OSCAR GOES TO… (in NYC) 3/14

March 6, 2023

News

acceptance speeches, ilana michelle rubin, nikki palumbo, nyc comedy, oscars, parody

The Oscars are less than a week away and don’t be surprised if things are way more buttoned down compared to what might be one of the most infamous Oscars of all time with Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the middle of the telecast just a year ago. Suffice it to say that there should be almost no surprises (especially with Everything Everywhere All at Once sweeping the awards season this year).

So, to make the Oscars more fun Nikki Palumbo, Ilana Michelle Rubin, and producer Adam Gold are assembling dozens of NYC comedy’s finest to do their own acceptance speeches (and probably find a fun way to contend with getting played off) for what they’re calling And The Oscar Goes To…. Thus far, the folks slated to accept a fictional Oscar (or practice for the future) will be:

Chanel Ali
Jenny Arimoto
Charlie Bardey
Michelle Chan Bennett
Lauren Brickman
Justin Catchens
Neil D’Astolfo
Alon Elian
Emily Evans
Brandon Follick
Matt Friend
Devin Gant
Alex Iona
Luisa Lange
Glennis LaRoe
Gara Lonning
Alise Morales
Mila Myles
Charlie O’Connor
Nikki Palumbo
Richard Perez
Reid Pope
Kathryn Margaret Rose
Jesse Roth
Ilana Michelle Rubin
Sami Schwaeber
Kate Sisk
Karolena Theresa
Shenuque Tessera
Jeff Wright
Sabrina Wu

Also, you won’t have to worry about whether to watch The Oscars or And The Oscar Goes To… as this will happen well after the last afterparty wraps and the winner of your Oscar betting pool is done gloating on Tues. Mar. 14th at 8PM at Littlefield in Brooklyn.

Tickets are $15.54 right now and you can (and should) get them here.

Tiffany Haddish Wins a Grammy and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Gets 2 Oscar Noms

March 15, 2021

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borat subsequent moviefilm, grammys, oscars, tiffany haddish

Though the Grammys and the Oscars aren’t anywhere nearly dedicated to celebrating comedy in any really big way, there was some good news from both for the art form of comedy.

First off, Tiffany Haddish won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album for the audio version of her Netflix special, Black Mitzvah. Haddish is the first black woman since Whoopi Goldberg won in 1986, a fact that gets adorably revealed here during a taping of Haddish’s current gig as host of Kids Say the Darndest Things. Of the big comedy specials that get Grammy consideration for Best Comedy Album, Haddish definitely earned her Grammy.

How I found out I won a Grammy while working on @KidsSayDarndest I am so Honored to share with the kids. Full situation is on my YouTube page. pic.twitter.com/pYzmt4nIgo

— Tiffany Haddish (@TiffanyHaddish) March 15, 2021

Earlier this morning, the nominations for this year’s Oscars were revealed and while there is a lot of talk about the amount of diversity and inclusion throughout all of the nominees. It should also be noted that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm‘s breakout co-star Maria Bakalova earned herself a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination alongside the film’s Best Adapted Screenplay nomination (going to Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Nina Pedrad, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, and Lee Kern). It’s sort of wild to think of something like Borat Subsequent Moviefilm given the still crowded field of heart-wrenching prestige dramas, yet, here we are.

So, even though awards season presents a bunch of the entertainment biz congratulating itself, it does seem like it’s getting marginally better.

TCB Debriefing 3/9-3/11/24: Oscars, Kevin Casey White, Comedy Central, Fahim Anwar, Wicked Little Letters, Deadspin

TCB Debriefing 1/19/24-1/24/24: Jon Stewart, Oscars, Paul Danke, Ramy, Steven Wright, SNL 1975, Jean Claude Van Damme, Richard Pryor

TCB Debriefing 11/14 & 11/15/23: David Drake, Chicken Run, John Oliver/Pūteketeke, Jon Stewart, Coyote vs. Acme, Jimmy Kimmel/Oscars, Kevin Hart

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Wins Everything (Almost) at Oscars and Let’s Hope Movies Get the Message

Pick of the Day: AND THE OSCAR GOES TO… (in NYC) 3/14

Tiffany Haddish Wins a Grammy and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Gets 2 Oscar Noms

As Green Book Won Best Picture, This Desus & Mero Parody Became Just a Little More Vital/Important/Spot On

Comedy Gets Plenty of Nominations for This Year’s Oscars Thanks to Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I, Tonya The Disaster Artist, The Big Sick, and The Sqaure

Jimmy Kimmel Will Return as Host of The Oscars

Jimmy Kimmel Works In His Ongoing Feud with Matt Damon Into The Oscars

Florence Foster Jenkins, 20th Century Women, and The Lobster Score Oscar Noms, But None for Deadpool

Jimmy Kimmel Will Host 2017 Academy Awards

Chris Rock Is Still Hosting This Year’s Oscars

Chris Rock to Host The Oscars Again in 2016

Watch Mark David Christenson Get Everything For Free Pretending To Be an Oscar Winner

Tig Notaro Throws Her Name In For Consideration To Host Next Year’s Oscars

Jimmy Kimmel Presents The Jim Kimmel School of Perfect Acting Complete With Matt Damon Snub

Watch Trailer For Oscar Nominated Argentina Comedy Revenge Anthology “Wild Tales”

Jack Black and The Lonely Island Will Be Performing at The Oscars

Neil Patrick Harris to Host Oscars

‘Shameless’ To Hop Emmy Categories From Drama to Comedy

Barbara Gray Finds “Real Life” Adele Dazeem To Sing Frozen’s Let It Go

Paul F. Tompkins Will Live Tweet Esquire’s Oscars Coverage

Steve Martin Was Awarded an Honorary Oscar Last Night