Comedy Crawl & Open Mic Run Updated For Next Week 9/19/16
Comedy Crawl & Open Mic Run Updated For Next Week 9/19/16
Listings for stand-up, sketch, improv, experimental comedy shows and open mics now updated for the next week in the Greater LA area!
The Black List Starts to Open Database to Student Producers and Directors
The Black List Starts to Open Database to Student Producers and Directors
At participating universities, you can now get a chance to get in on Hollywood’s hot list for non-produced screenplays, The Black List.
It’s a move that’s only going to open the floodgates open for more different, intriguing voices that, possibly, haven’t been quite bent to the will of the current studio system. That just might just be what Hollywood needs right now.
Bill Murray Will Be Bartending at His Son’s Bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Bill Murray Will Be Bartending at His Son’s Bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
“Suntory Time”, anyone?
Though false rumors about the next public appearance of Bill Murray have been spread in the past, the possibility of getting dragged into a night with Bill Murray in it is still great to imagine.
This Friday and Saturday, it’s being said that Murray will be tending bar at his son Homer’s bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Unfortunately, it’s a guest list only sort of night, so you’ll probably have to enjoy seeing whatever actually takes place on social media. Well, that actually all depends on whether Bill Murray will even allow for that to happen as so many Bill Murray stories that we’ve heard do involve no pictures or video being taken.
Don’t let that stop your imagination from running wild and thinking of another young couple receiving advice on getting hitched from Murray.
‘SNL’ Hires Seven New Writers for Season 42
‘SNL’ Hires Seven New Writers for Season 42
Zack Bornstein, Anna Drezen, BriTANick (Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher), Joanna Bradley, Julio Torres, and Kristen Bartlett will be the seven new writers for season 42 of SNL.
With this new row of writers, we hope, based on their previous works including Reductress and any Britanick sketch that SNL gets weirder and more feminist.
Mel Brooks To Get a National Medal Of Arts From The White House
Mel Brooks To Get a National Medal Of Arts From The White House
It’s hard to think of a lifetime achievement in the arts award that Mel Brooks doesn’t deserve.
NBC Buys Antarctica Office Comedy From Steven Davis and Kelvin Yu
NBC Buys Antarctica Office Comedy From Steven Davis and Kelvin Yu
Perhaps, it’s a Northern Exposure for 2016 set in Antarctica with a female lead?
Kurt Braunohler Is Now Documenting His Writing Process with Oblique Strategies
Kurt Braunohler Is Now Documenting His Writing Process with Oblique Strategies
It’s rare that you’ll get a comedian at Kurt’s level to let you into their creative process so intimately, but, then again, that’s an integral part of what makes Kurt Braunohler so great.
Kurt has gotten Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s famous box of cards known as Oblique Strategies that serve as ways to push creative thinking and inspiration and has opted to share his writing that comes from each card on a blog.
So far, he’s only a couple of days in, but it’s kind of an unprecedented and fascinating look into how Kurt’s thought process leading up to how he twists things, observations, experiences, etc. into humor and jokes even before they’re presented in their rawest, live form on stage.
While this is Kurt’s process and possibly Kurt’s process only, you might just be able to catch a glimpse of how comedic notions come into being.
SNL Adds Melissa Villasenor, Alex Moffat, and Mikey Day as Featured Players
SNL Adds Melissa Villasenor, Alex Moffat, and Mikey Day as Featured Players
Melissa Villasenor being on SNL has been a long time coming as far as we’re concerned.
This marks the newest additions to the Saturday Night Live cast before this upcoming 42nd season. With Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah out, you might wonder if more current cast members might be let go and new ones brought in. As the season premiere is less than a month away, we’ll all find out soon.
Open Mic Run Updated for Next Week 9/12/16
Open Mic Run Updated for Next Week 9/12/16
Stand-up, improv jams, sketch open mics, etc. etc. all throughout the Greater LA area.
Comedy Crawl Updated for Next Week 9/11
Comedy Crawl Updated for Next Week 9/11
Stand-up, sketch, improv, storytelling, podcasts, experimental comedy, and everything else in between.
NBC Buys Coming-Of-Age Comedy From Kourtney Kang, Nahnatchka Khan, and Fred Savage as Put Pilot
NBC Buys Coming-Of-Age Comedy From Kourtney Kang, Nahnatchka Khan, and Fred Savage as Put Pilot
Wonder Years, but from the perspective of a mixed teenage girl from Philly?
A lot of sitcom forces are coming together here as Fresh Off The Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan and co-executive producer Kourtney Kang are teaming up with Kevin Arnold Fred Savage to make a new coming-of-age comedy that follows Kang’s experiences as a girl in a mixed-race family in the Philadelphia suburbs.
NBC seems to have just checked the boxes for both diversity and nostalgia in one fell swoop.
“Heathers” TV Adaptation Gets Pilot Order at TV Land
“Heathers” TV Adaptation Gets Pilot Order at TV Land
In its dive into original programming, TV Land is definitely distancing themselves, in regards to tone, content, etc., from the old reruns more and more.
The latest development for original comedy over at TV Land is the upgrade of a TV adaptation of the 1988 dark comedy Heathers from a script order to a full pilot order. Interestingly, it’ll be an anthology series as opposed to following a single group of ‘heathers’ and be written by Jason Micallef, the writer of the dark comedy Butter.
Given Winona Ryder’s recent return to the limelight from Stranger Things, we also have to imagine that she’ll make some sort of cameo.
Archer and @midnight with Chris Hardwick, Win Interactive Media Emmys
Archer and @midnight with Chris Hardwick, Win Interactive Media Emmys
There are so many Emmy categories that some have to be announced on separate days in advance, especially when it comes to new categories like Multiplatform Storytelling or Social TV Experience.
These awards went to Archer and @midnight with Chris Hardwick respectively and are the signs of the Emmy Awards acknowledging the changing landscape of television.
It makes you wonder when, not if, will The Streamys and Primetime Emmys have a bunch of crossover.
Taika Waititi’s ‘Hunt For The Wilderpeople’ Heading To VOD on 9/13 with One-Week iTunes Exclusive Deal
Without a doubt, Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople is one of the best comedies of 2016.
If you didn’t get a chance to see it in its limited theatrical run, fret not. It’ll be on iTunes next Tuesday, September 13th, then on other VOD platforms a week after that.
This is definitely that feel good comedy you want to watch over and over, so keep next Tuesday in mind.
In Memory of Gene Wilder, ‘Young Frankenstein’ Will Screen in Over 500 Theaters With a Live Introduction from Mel Brooks
Thanks to Fathom Events, this might be the most special one-night only screening of Young Frankenstein other than the premiere.
On Wednesday, October 5th, Mel Brooks and longtime friend and collaborator of Gene Wilder’s will introduce, live, one of their greatest works together, Young Frankenstein screening over half a thousand theater screens around the country.
If you didn’t get to catch Brooks at Radio City Music Hall recently, this might be the next best thing.
Chris Gethard’s Solo Show “Career Suicide”, Now Presented by Judd Apatow, Is Going Off-Broadway
Chris Gethard’s Solo Show “Career Suicide”, Now Presented by Judd Apatow, Is Going Off-Broadway
From UCB in NYC to Edinburgh to Off-Broadway, Chris Gethard’s Career Suicide, is the latest comedian solo show to climb its way up the ladder to Off-Broadway. Apatow’s name being attached here is another sign of the growing trend of comedians hitting Off Broadway (and even actual Broadway in the case of Oh, Hello).
Look for shows to start on October 5th at The Lynn Redgrave Theater.
Richard Linklater Is Making Sequel to Hal Ashby’s The Last Detail with Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Carell
Amazon Studios will be footing the bill here and, in doing so, is continuing their push to be a prestige studio.
The Last Detail was a dramedic adaptation of Daryl Ponicsan’s novel of the same name by Hal Ashby back in 1973. Ponicsan wrote a follow-up in 2005 called The Last Flag, which is being adapted now by the very capable hands of Richard Linklater with Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Carell in talks to play the roles originally played by Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, and Randy Quaid.
Those sequel fatigue might be more and more palpable for the big screen, Last Flag Flying might be one sequel worth getting on board for.
Fox Developing an X-Files Parody of Sorts ‘Ghosted’ Starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson
Fox Developing an X-Files Parody of Sorts ‘Ghosted’ Starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson
A pairing of Adam Scott and Craig Robinson could be a hit in a multitude of scenarios, but this parody of Fox’s classic series X-Files from Tom Gormican is definitely intriguing.
Also, since this could potentially be on the same network as the X-Files (as well as Fringe), there can be plenty of fun pot shots at both shows as well as Fox itself.
There’s Now a $100,000 “Hey John Oliver! Back Off My Charter School!” Contest
There’s Now a $100,000 “Hey John Oliver! Back Off My Charter School!” Contest
This has to be one of the more intriguing reactions to a Last Week Tonight with John Oliver piece including that time Oliver had to shut down his church over what was being sent to him in the mail.
While people will probably never stop debating whether Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is more a civics class parading as satirical comedy show or vice versa, the issues that he deep dives into really do get some people heated.
The recent piece on how some charter schools (and Oliver is clear about ‘some’ and ‘not all’ and that he is not against charter schools as a whole) are poorly run has inevitably upset some of those on the side of charter schools. Their anger has been the fuel for this video contest that calls for a response from charter schools to respond to Oliver’s segment and will award $100,000 to the best one.
Such actions make you wonder how the public has blurred the line between of Oliver being a comedian and a journalist even though Oliver, time and time again, denies there being a “John Oliver effect”.
Open Mic Run Updated for Next Week 9/5
Open Mic Run Updated for Next Week 9/5
This includes listings for which mics are and aren’t happening on Labor Day.
Comedy Crawl Updated for Next Week 9/4
Comedy Crawl Updated for Next Week 9/4
Alex & Ariel’s Six Flags Magic Mountain, BriTANick, Neal Brennan 3 Mics, My Diary, and more.
Season 3 of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail Premieres on September 28th
Season 3 of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail Premieres on September 28th
As it’s September 1st today, it’s less than a month away before a whole brand spankin’ new season of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail.
If you can’t wait for four more weeks and not able to get your fix at the weekly live show, you could just catch up/rewatch past seasons here.
Connor Ratliff’s Presidential Run Is Going to Name a New and Different VP Pick Everyday for a Month
Connor Ratliff’s Presidential Run Is Going to Name a New and Different VP Pick Everyday for a Month
A move like this almost approaches being as ridiculous as Trump’s flip-flopping.
Weeks ago, comedian Connor Rafliff announced that he was running for President merely as a joke and with no intention of winning. He actually endorses Hillary Clinton while continuing his campaign.
So, his latest attention-grabbing stunt is to make different a pick for his potential vice presidential running mate for 30 consecutive days.
We think he’s off to a great start with picking every living VP that has served assembled into a “Suicide Squad”.
Eva Anderson and Stephen Falk Are Developing a Comedy About a YouTube Channel of Thirtysomethings That Go Too Far
In the quest of views, YouTube personalities will often times ignore the laws of decency and taste or actual on-the-books laws to pull off something “viral”. Eva Anderson has created the comedy project Radicalocity with Stephen Falk at FX to examine the absurdity of this phenomenon. We hope this goes to series just to see where they go with it.
By the way, this is the third comedy project that Falk has currently going over at FX from an overall deal on top of his critically acclaimed You’re The Worst.
Several AMC Theaters to Play Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory This Weekend
Several AMC Theaters to Play Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory This Weekend
Dozens of AMC theaters have requested prints of the classic Gene Wilder films Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory to play this Labor Day Weekend and will be screening either film in limited engagements on Saturday and Sunday.
Whether you’ve seen them already or not, you should go watch both in theaters and experience that Gene Wilder magic twice more.