documentary – The Comedy Bureau

“It Started As A Joke” Documentary About Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival Gets a Trailer and Apr. 3rd Release Date

March 20, 2020

documentary, eugene mirman, eugene mirman comedy festival, trailer

As you quickly work through binging stuff you had been thinking about watching for weeks, months, years in these weird times, you undoubtedly will be looking forward to something entirely new to watch.

Unless you managed to catch It Started as a Joke at SXSW last year, there will be a never-before-seen insiders look into the decade long run of the beloved Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, helmed by, of course, the one and only Eugene Mirman. As far as comedy festivals go, that’s more than an impressive run and, in this doc, you’ll get to see exclusive interviews with Michael Ian Black, Kristen, Schaal, Wyatt Cenac, Ira Glass, John Hodgman, Kumail Nanjiani, Reggie Watts and Michael Showalter and performances by Daniel Kitson, Janeane Garofalo, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Glaser, Mike Birbiglia, Bobcat Goldthwait, and more.

You’ll only have to wait until April 3rd to stream on Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, FandangoNow, Sony, and Microsoft Xbox. You can pre-order It Started As A Joke via Apple right now.

Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up Trailer Dives Deep Into the Life of a Superstar Comedian

December 17, 2019

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documentary, kevin hart, netflix

A documentary series following the life of a superstar comedian as it has happened in the very recent past and continuing on forward (as opposed to decades after their legacy has been sealed) might be without precedent.

That’s what’s so intriguing about Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up that follows Hart’s life at the top of comedy and being one of the most successful entertainers working today. The trailer shows that it doesn’t shy away from Hart’s controversies with his infidelity and the Oscars hosting debacle.

In fact, it seems they are the focal points of the doc coupled with his recounting his rise to the top. There are docs like this for big time musicians to be sure, but it’ll be fascinating to see the comedian version of peeking into the life of being at the top.

This docu-series Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up begins streaming on Netflix on Fri. Dec. 27th.

Comedy Central and All Things Comedy to Make a Patrice O’Neal Documentary

October 23, 2019

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all things comedy, comedy central, documentary, patrice o'neal

Comedy Central and All Things Comedy to Make a Patrice O’Neal Documentary

It’s curious to think of how Patrice O’Neal and his comedy would be handled in 2019 if he were still alive. One might jump to a conclusion that the revered comedian who passed away in 2011 might be crucified. However, O’Neal might have ended up like his contemporary Bill Burr whose last special Paper Tiger was received fairly positively for Burr’s extensive self-examination after a very contrarian opening. There’s no way to truly tell, but O’Neal will be held up as a comedy legend for years to come even with much of his controversial material.

The prospect of a Patrice O’Neal documentary examining his life and legacy is fascinating and we can’t wait to see it.

“Laughing Matters: The Funny Business of Being Sad” Doc Short Follows Many of Your Favorite Comedy Folks and Their Journey in Dealing with Depression

October 10, 2019

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anna akana, aparna nancherla, baron vaughn, chris gethard, docu short, documentary, funny business of being sad, laughing matters, neal brennan, rachel bloom, rainn wilson, riki lindhome, sara benincasa, sarah silverman, wayne brady, world mental health day

This very riveting documentary short Laughing Matters: The Funny Business of Being Sad from SoulPancake, Funny or Die, director Mike Bernstein, and producer/editor Georgia Koch shows how depression has woven its way through the lives of many of your favorite comedic writers, actors, and stand-ups and how they’ve managed to cope.

Included in the doc are harrowing stories of such celebrated funny people Chris Gethard, Sarah Silverman, Rachel Bloom, Baron Vaughn, Neal Brennan, Aparna Nancherla, Rainn Wilson, Sara Benincasa, Riki Lindhome, Wayne Brady, and Anna Akana.

It is indeed #WorldMentalHealthDay and it’s especially worth watching today, but how Laughing Matters effectively navigates the thread of everyone journey with depression, anxiety, and more in this doc is pretty amazing and worth a watch at any time. It’s yet another reminder of how prolific issues with mental health are and why it’s important to take care of it and to know that you’re not alone in how you feel (even though it might feel that way)

You can (and should) watch it here.

Enjoy Trailer for Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins

August 31, 2019

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Razor sharp, unapologetic, outspoken, and often, brutally funny, it almost comes as a surprise that renowned journalist Molly Ivins never found her way into stand-up. Ivins made herself into a famous iconolast with her vast collection of writing whether it be for a Texas publication or The New York Times.

Nevertheless, this documentary about the fireband Texas-raised liberal pundit/journalist/humorist called Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins from director Janice Engel looks pretty damned entertaining.

See for yourself in the trailer for Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins here.

FYI, the doc is set for a theatrical release in September and portions of every ticket sold will benefit the ACLU.

Trailer for SoulPancake and Funny or Die’s Mental Health Doc “It’s Not That Funny”

June 4, 2019

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chris gethard, depression, documentary, funny or die, mental health, sara benincasa, sarah silverman, wayne brady

Though the thumbnail here says that “comedy won’t save you”, we will say that comedy has done a lot to shine a light on the importance of mental health via the struggles of many a comedian (though it’s not a pre-requisite to be depressed to do comedy) with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder, etc.

SoulPancake and Funny or Die are continuing with that notion with this documentary It’s Not That Funny featuring Sarah Silverman, Chris Gethard, Wayne Brady, Sara Benincasa, and more talking frankly about how they’ve managed and dealt with their mental health while in comedy.

See a bit of it for yourself with this trailer.

We’re guessing if you’re a fan of the Hilarious World of Depression, this will be right up your alley. Look for It’s Not That Funny to release soon via SoulPancake and Funny or Die.

Too Soon: The Comedy of 9/11 Doc Finally Gets a Trailer

February 15, 2019

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9/11, 9/11 jokes, controversial comedy, documentary, edgy comedy, film independent, taboo

It’s almost 20 years since 9/11 and, in that time, there have been a plethora of comedy referencing one of the most horrific events in U.S. history. It’s an inevitable way to process the grief surrounding the memory of 9/11 and comedians have definitely delivered that over the years.

Too Soon: The Comedy of 9/11 attempts to tap into this phenomenon and explain why there is in an inclination to joke about such a massive tragedy and a reciprocal desire to get an emotional release through laughter. There was already a great excerpt that covered how The Onion dealt with 9/11 that made our top 100 list from last year.

Here’s a trailer that gives a better scope of what this doc from Nick Fituri Scown and Julie Seabaugh will be covering (that includes interviews with Lewis Black, David Cross, Doug Stanhope, Gilbert Gottfried, Lizz Winstead, Laurie Kilmartin, and Ian Edwards, and of course plenty of 9/11 jokes).

Find out more about and when the release date will be for Too Soon at TooSoonDoc.com.

Later This Year, There Apparently Will Be a Doc About Rory Scovel Doing an Entirely Improvised Performance

January 12, 2019

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documentary, improvised, rory scovel, stand up

There are few details as we only heard this mentioned briefly in passing on the latest episode of the delightful podcast Pen Pals with Daniel and Rory (#GrowTheShow), but, apparently, there is a documentary in the works following the one and only Rory Scovel doing an entire performance (we’re assuming an hour) of stand-up entirely made up on the spot.

It was shot in Atlanta and Scovel called it a doc rather than a traditional comedy special, which leaves a lot to the imagination. Fortunately, when it comes to imagining what Rory does untethered to material, the possibilities are endless (and usually one of the funniest things you’ve ever seen like the time we saw him riff on concrete for 10 minutes).

The picture above is not from the doc, but just something we snapped recently because Rory came out on stage with a Bible he found backstage and was threatening to make the comedy show a Bible study of sorts. It’s the sort of magic that Rory is just great at creating.

We’ll keep you in the loop as more details emerge.

Watch Trailer for Documentary on Silent Comedy Legend Buster Keaton, “The Great Buster: A Celebration”

September 24, 2018

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Outside the realms of cinema and comedy, Buster Keaton often doesn’t get as much credit as his contemporaries like Charlie Chaplin for the foundations that he set up for directing, performing, and, overall, being a star.

Peter Bogdanovich has set out to make up for this with a feature length documentary following Keaton’s life and the auteurs and performers (that includes anybody from Quentin Tarantino to Johnny Knoxville) that he had an indelible mark on in this millennium.

Get a taste of it with this trailer and look for The Great Buster in select theaters starting October 5th.

Please Watch This Docu-Short (and Excerpt from an Upcoming Doc on Comedy and 9/11) “The Onion Issue” About How The Onion Dealt with Making Their First Issue Right After 9/11

August 31, 2018

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9/11, carol kolb, comedy of 9/11, documentary, documentary short, julie seabaugh, nick scown, robert siegel, the onion, todd hanson, too soon

This week, legendary satirical publication The Onion marked their 30th year as one of the premier institutions of satire in our culture today. When it comes to topical humor, their ingenious headlines and articles have blazed a trail having them be a household name (even though it wasn’t too long ago that people were still mistaking Onion headlines as real news).

There are so many ways you can metaphorically (or literally) raise a glass to this achievement, but we would urge you to watch this short film The Onion Issue about how they handled making jokes right after 9/11 to celebrate this anniversary.

Take note that this short is, as mentioned above, part of a feature length documentary called Too Soon: The Comedy of 9/11 coming out in 2021 from Nick Scown and Julie Seabaugh. From the looks of it, that documentary will be probably end up being required viewing for any and all in and around comedy.

Amazon to Do a 6 Part Documentary Series on Getting JFL Montreal’s New Faces

June 14, 2018

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amazon, docu series, documentary, jfl, new faces of comedy

Amazon to Do a 6 Part Documentary Series on Getting JFL Montreal’s New Faces

For decades, one of the most sought out milestones in comedy when coming up has been and still is getting selected to be part of Just For Laughs Montreal’s New Faces of Comedy.

So, Amazon has decided to do a docu-series on the process and following comedians in trying to secure a slot on the renowned festival’s New Faces line-up, which will show how much stress and work goes in to essentially doing what’s supposed to be a life-changing set in front of members of the industry.

As there are cameras rolling, maybe all those picked as New Faces will actually get something out of the whole thing besides just doing a few shows in Montreal and taking a few general meetings.

We’re guessing this will drop on Amazon a bit after JFL Montreal happens this Summer.

“Sklars and Stripes” Audio Documentary Series Shows How Sklar Brothers Come Up with Material for Whichever City They’re Playing

April 6, 2018

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audible, documentary, sklar brothers, stand up

Coming up with jokes will always be a mystifying, magical process. Every comedian does it differently and their inspiration can range from anything including molecules to the entirety of the known universe.

The Sklar Brothers are fantastic comedians that definitely have a knack for the craft of joke writing itself. As such, Audible Comedy recorded an audio documentary series that followed Jason and Randy through their gigs across the U.S. Specifically, their actual observations about a place and time are juxtaposed with the distilled jokes that they tell later on. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a facet of the comedic process of two of the quickest wits in comedy.

Sklars and Stripes spans 12 chapters across 10 different cities, which includes a chapter where they had to perform the week after the 2016 election, and is definitely worth a listen. Get it all and hear it on Audible here.

Here’s the Trailer for Judd Apatow’s HBO Documentary “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling”

February 23, 2018

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documentary, garry shandling, hbo, judd apatow, zen diaries

One of the first really big gigs that Judd Apatow got was coming aboard The Larry Sanders Show. As such, Garry Shandling played a significant role in his life beyond just being a big time fixture in comedy to admire from afar.

The passing of Shandling came and went quickly, without very much warning, but Garry’s life and career are something to marvel at.

To show people how marvelous it really was, he made an in-depth documentary featuring personal journals, video, etc. coupled with conversations with those closest to Shandling.

The result is The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling. You can get a taste of how deep Apatow goes with this trailer.

Look for the premiere on Mon., March 26 at 8PM on HBO.

Hari Kondabolu’s Documentary “The Problem with Apu” Premieres Tonight

November 19, 2017

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documentary, hari kondabolu, simpsons, trutv, tv special

Tonight, Hari Kondabolu will take a cue from Adam Conover from Adam Ruins Everything and present the problematic nature of Apu, the Indian Simpsons character voiced by famed white voice actor, Hank Azaria.

The Problem with Apu premieres tonight on TruTV and, given how the last year has really hit the point home that one should listen to groups that are underrepresented, misrepresented, or oppressed, you should give it a watch.

“Too Funny to Fail: The Life and Death of the Dana Carvey Show” Now Streaming at Hulu

October 21, 2017

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comedy history, dana carvey, dana carvey show, documentary, hulu, jon glaser, louis ck, robert smigel, stephen colbert, steve carell, too funny to fail

Over a score and a year ago, a sketch show called The Dana Carvey Show premiered in primetime on broadcast network television. The show itself boasts some of the most revered comedic minds today including Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Louis CK, Robert Smigel, Jon Glaser, and many more.

Somehow, they didn’t even last a couple of months, much less a full season.

Too Funny to Fail: The Life and Death of the Dana Carvey Show tells the story of how that came to be. This documentary started streaming on Hulu today.

Get a taste of how this whole ordeal went down with this trailer.

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