the black list – The Comedy Bureau

TCB Debriefing 12/14 & 12/15/23: Blair Socci, Poor Things, Carol and the End of the World, Critics Choice/Spirit Awards/Black List, You’re Dating a Narcissist

December 15, 2023

blair socci, carol and the end of the world, comedy special, critics choice awards, dan guterman, emma stone, martha kelly, netflix, poor things, ramy youssef, spirit awards, the black list, yorgos lanthimos, you're dating a narcissist

1. The voice and the attitude alone make Blair Socci the sort of comedian that you can’t ignore, whether you’re paying for two drinks to sit at a cramped comedy club table or hanging in the back as a comedian. Socci’s delightful cartoon-esque voice and penchant for unfiltered truth are kind of a perfect comedic contrast. In her first hour special, Blair goes in hard on the follies of men, the Disney hegemony versus Only Fans, and, of course, the crime that is the existence of Triscuits and we’re willing to bet that you’d enjoy even if you’re the target of the joke because Blair is just that undeniably funny. Thank goodness a crisp, minimalist special Live from the Big Dog (even though it was shot at Hollywood’s Bourbon Room) is here to give the shine that Blair has deserved for far too long. Blair Socci: Live from the Big Dog is streaming on demand on Veeps. Peep it here.

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2. To say something is Yorgos Lanthimos‘ most ambitious work to date is truly saying something considering landmark dark comedies The Lobster and The Favourite are also in his filmography. Yet, Poor Things boldly stands tall and dreams as absurdly big as possible, highlighting everything beautiful and grotesque in truly being alive (a la being reanimated by a obsessive surgeon), especially as a woman in 19th century Europe, or a pastel colored, dreamy nightmare version of it anyway. Emma Stone delivers yet another performance of a life time as Bella Baxter and Lanthimos sagely utilizes the talents of comedians Ramy Youssef and Jerrod Carmichael for the 2023 comedy that will stick with you, having you stew about all of it’s incisive and fiery commentary on, well, everything in life/society/culture/existence for weeks (and probably months) after the credits roll. Poor Things is playing in limited release now and opens wider on 12/22. Oh, you probably won’t hear a more unique score in any other movie this year thanks to Jerskin Fendrix.

3. Martha Kelly could very well be the voice of us all in the impending end times (and the lead voice in the Dan Guterman Netflix animated series Carol and the End of the World–get your first look here; due out Dec. 15th)

4. All hail Barbie and American Fiction for nominations at The Critics Choice Awards and Spirit Awards coming next year. Honorable mention for Poor Things and Bottoms as well. Comedy is running real strong this awards season.

5. Whole bunch of clear cut (and often dark) comedy in this year’s Black List, the annual list of the best/most popular unproduced screenplays, including the top script which follows a rescue dog suspecting his owner is a serial killer, Bad Boy by Travis Braun, and Alex Kavutskiy & Ryan Perez‘s super meta High Concept. Peep the whole list here.

6. Marisa Tomei, Sherry Cola, and Ciara Bravo are starring in an upcoming rom-com that hones in on a psychologist trying to talk a daughter out of marrying a narcissist, aptly called You’re Dating a Narcissist (THR). The marquee trio is enough to peak interest here, but the atypical rom com structure has us colored very intrigued.

7. We’ll leave you with this: OK everyone, how much longer are we going to woo and cheer for Nicole Kidman during the AMC pre-roll? It’s getting tiresome, especially if it’s coming right before something like Godzilla Minus One.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 90: Sean Casey & Making Works in Progress Cozy

December 15, 2021

News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

glendale room, los angeles comedy, mask mandate, sean casey, the black list

At this side of the pandemic, there’s a whole row of exciting new comedy venues that have popped up in the stead of all the ones that have closed, one of them being The Glendale Room, located in the vibrant streets of Downtown Glendale. This week’s TCB Field Report has the founder of The Glendale Room, Sean Casey, chat with us about providing a crucial space that can be comfy for those on the rise in comedy or those with success, a place to be a “work in progress”. On top of all of that, it might be the coziest venue in town with its bookstore vibe.

Also, “hot” takes on comedy The Black List, CA’s new universal indoor mask mandate, and more.

Follow The Glendale Room @theglendaleroom on IG and Twitter.

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

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

This Year’s Black List Has Plenty of Comedy on It (as, Perhaps, a Sign of the Times)

December 13, 2021

News

2021, the black list

Every year, The Black List publishes a list of the best, amongst producers and reps, screenplays that haven’t been produced yet. Often, there are a myriad of dramas at varying degrees of seriousness that would hint at a possible Oscar run if the script made it to the big screen. It has happened more than a few times that a screenplay on The Black List actually did make a huge splash in the awards season including Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s Speech, Argo, and Spotlight.

Because of the prevailing darkness and chaos of these times, the need for a laugh seems more imperative than ever and that notion might be reflected pretty strongly in this year’s Black List.

If you take a gander at the 73 screenplays mentioned and their accompanying log lines, you’ll notice stories about the rise of William Hung, Dennis Rodman’s infamous 48 hours in Vegas, an alien invasion comedy between a Grindr hookup gone awry, the Vagina Monologues done at a Catholic School, a dating app rom com between a Chinatown store clerk and a CEO, a viral solo Bachelor Party Weekend, dating for new friends as an adult, a biopic that culminates at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner (after which Trump ran for POTUS), hot girl summer drug ring, the worst dinner ever, Martin Shkreli, and a divorce party gone wild just to highlight a few.

We haven’t gotten a chance to read these scripts, but you can see the whole list for yourself and clearly see a very robust chunk of comedy coming up for the 2021 Black List.

Fingers crossed that the Shkreli biopic has the tone of Adam McKay’s VICE if it ever gets made.

Desus & Mero Bring the Hype in Announcing This Year’s Black List

December 14, 2020

News

announcement, boon jo ho, desus nice, franklin leonard, kid mero, taika waititi, the black list

Every year around this time, The Black List announces the most popular screenplays around Tinseltown that have yet to be produced into actual movies. Normally, it would just be announced on social media and a .PDF would make the rounds with titles, names, and loglines.

Yet, Franklin Leonard, the creator of The Black List, has opted for a much slicker announcement, even slicker than most award shows by tapping Desus Nice & The Kid Mero. Awards shows like The Emmys and The Oscars have a couple celebrities get dressed up way too early in the morning and plainly read nominees. In contrast, Desus & Nice bring the signature riffing off-the-cuff while reading off all the screenplays that made it into the 2020 edition of The Black List.

Leonard himself predicts that Desus & Mero will host The Oscars and we sincerely, deeply hope that he’s right.

Please enjoy the whole Black List announcement with Desus & Mero here.

Read the entirety of this year’s Black List here.

March 14, 2018

Uncategorized

alan tudyk, comedy event, comedy show, daniel dae kim, jay ellis, justina machado, live read, martin starr, patton oswalt, rob riggle, the black list, thomas mann, warby paker

Ben Schwartz’s That Kind of a War, a comedy about Bob Hope trying to entertain troops at The Korean War, will be doing a live read with a top notch cast next week (just look at that cast above), Saturday, March 24th at The Montalban Theater.

We’re pretty sure this will sell out soon. Tickets are $20-$25 and you really ought to get them ASAP here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Take a Look at the Comedies in the 2015 Black List

December 15, 2015

Uncategorized

2015, francis and the godfather, lucia aniello, paul downs, screenplays, the black list, wretched emily erringer

The Black List comprises the screenplays that have made the rounds that have been favored by industry brass and yet, have not begun production this year. As a result, it’s a collection of some of the most intriguing scripts that haven’t been made into a movie including, as far as comedy is concerned, a teen serial killer comedy and the story behind the making of The Godfather, and a screenplay from Broad City writing duo Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello.

Just take a look at the rest of the comedies in this year’s Black List:

Reagan written by Mike Rosolio

Logline: When Ronald Reagan falls into dementia at the start of his second term, an ambitious intern is tasked with
convincing the commander-in-chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie.

Septillion to One written by Adam Perlman and Graham Sack

Logline: A former FBI agent working the fraud unit of the Texas State lottery falls in love with a woman he’s
investigating after she mysteriously hits the jackpot three times.

Hammerspace written by Mike Van Waes
Logline: A terminally-ill teenager looking for answers about his missing father finds a key that unlocks an opening to an
alternate animated dimension, and a new friend helps him repair his broken family.

The Wretched Emily Erringer written by Chris Thomas Devlin

Logline: Gleefully terrifying her small town as a serial killer known as “The Misfit Butcher,” 13-year-old Emily Derringer
becomes annoyed when a new killer comes to town and residents begin attributing his sloppy murders to the
Misfit Butcher. In a macabre coming of age story, Emily must deal with her competition while also taking on
the other trials and tribulations of junior high school life.

Pandemonium, Splendidly Managed written by Brett Conrad

Logline: A local Phoenix newscaster at the pinnacle of local celebrity slowly descends into the depths of madness
while trying to become a game show host in Los Angeles.

Cut and Run, written by Zoe McCarthy

Logline: A female urologist and a retired hooker form an unlikely friendship when they team up to take down a notorious
sex trafficker in Miami.

Move That Body written by Lucia Aniello and Paul W Downs

Logline: Five friends rent a beach house in Miami for a bachelorette weekend and accidentally kill a male stripper.

Set It Up written by Katie Silberman

Logline: Two young assistants realize they can get more free time if they occupy their bosses’ time by setting them
up on a date.

Tomorrow on the Runway written by Frederick Seton

Logline: Kermit St. Lucy has a ridiculous name and is ridiculously ill-equipped to deal with adult responsibilities. After
a tragedy shakes him to his essence, Kermit takes it upon himself to look after and raise two young children

A Life Fantastic written by Natalie Antoci

Logline: A single mother with a terminal diagnosis embarks on a road trip with her eccentric nine-year-old son and
nanny to find a loving and progressive family that will accept him for whoever he may grow up to be.

Lou written by Maggie McGowan Cohn

Logline: An elderly woman who hacks out a rough existence on a remote island is forced to help her dimwitted neighbor
rescue her daughter from her ex who has kidnapped her and run off into the woods.

Preconception written by Jake Morse and Scott Wolman

Logline: A couple on the verge of parenthood embarks on a pre-baby bucket list.

Senior Year written by Andrew Knauer and Arthur Pielli

Logline: A cheerleader wakes up after a twenty year coma and returns to sit at the cool table and try to become
prom queen, as a thirty seven year-old woman.

Francis and The Godfather written by Andrew Farotte

Logline: Facing financial ruin, auteur filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is forced to direct the adaptation of Mario Puzo’s
pulp novel The Godfather, pitting him against legendary mega-producer Robert Evans in this comedy about
art versus commerce.

To see the entire Black List, which includes a Michael Jackson drama told from the perspective of Bubbles the chimp, go here.

Our apologies if we missed a comedy in the list as genre is generally not specified in the listings.

The Black List and Paul Scheer Are Teaming Up For a New Podcast

April 14, 2015

Uncategorized

paul scheer, podcast, screenplay, the black list, wolfpop

This has nothing to do with James Spader or spies (well, at least the ones that are on NBC).

As you very well know, so few original scripts get the shine that movies that are adapted from a book, tv show, children’s toy, app, etc. these days. That’s why it’s great that such a thing as The Black List that showcases the best in unproduced screenplays.

So, as it is still hard to make those movies and show them to a wide audience, Paul Scheer and The Black List are now collaborating on a podcast where the episodes are based on those featured unproduced screenplays.

With Scheer involved, there’s probably going to be a bit of heightening involved, but we’re more than looking forward to what most of Hollywood is missing out on being presented in audio form.

This new podcast premieres Thurs. on Wolfpop.

Screenplays from Bo Burnham and Leo Allen Made The Black List

December 16, 2013

Uncategorized

bo burnham, leo allen, the black list

The hot unproduced screenplay list, widely known as The Black List was just announced its latest edition and we’re happy to say that Gay Kid and Fat Chick by Bo Burnham and Superbrat by Leo Allen and Eric Slovin made the cut.

More details to come when The Black List releases fully compiled list complete with log lines, but just be happy that these two projects will hopefully be made into a movie soon.

The Black List Expands to Include Television, Web Series, and Series Pilots

November 24, 2013

Uncategorized

pilot, the black list, web series

The Black List Expands to Include Television, Web Series, and Series Pilots

What used to be the word-of-mouth hot list of unproduced screenplays known as The Black List has expanded into an entire of network that allows for blind submissions, professional evaluation services of shorter form screenwriting that includes TV, web content, and more.

As to whether your comedy web series pilot has potential to make it to the actual highly publicized and circulated Black List has yet to be seen, but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.