did you lot read this article in the ny times about the new hollywood comedy power brokers?
Mr. Ferrell, Mr. Apatow and Ben Stiller are among the club’s kingpins. Mr. McKay, Owen Wilson, Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn and Jack Black belong, as do Nick Stevens, a United Talent agent who represents Mr. Carrey and Mr. Stiller, and Mr. Gold and Mr. Miller, who have much of the group in their stable.
The funnymen appear in one another’s movies, from “Dodgeball” to “Anchorman” to “Elf” to “Zoolander,” creating a wheel-of-comedy effect that can leave viewers wondering just whose movie they’re watching. What’s more, the stars and their representatives live, work and play in a continuum that has virtually shut the studios out of the development process. By coming up with their own concepts, finding screenwriters and then offering the whole package for production – script, director and cast, take it or leave it – this group is reshaping screen humor to their liking.
whatever happened to janeane garofalo and sarah silverman?
Oddly, there is an article about Garofalo on the same page, and Sarah Silverman recently directed a movie that premiered at Sundance (if I am remembering that correctly).
Sarah Silverman’s film is her stand-up act with soome musical numbers. Called Jesus is Magic. While I am looking forward to it, there is the fact that when she is a guest on Conan’s show, it’s excellent because her material gets nastier and more offensive until she’s lost everyone – Conan included.
Bill Hicks used to do the same thing with Letterman, before Letterman canned him from appearing on the show. But that tension is what’s missing from Hicks’ CDs, and will likely be missing from Silverman’s movie – the willingness to have a crowd embrace you (out of politeness for being a guset on a late-night talk show) and then turn them against you – not for meanness directed at them, but because of political, sexual, racial jokes. If you pay money to see a comedian you’re a lot less likely to be offended than if you go to see David Letterman or Conan.
This also made Triumph’s comedy album very unfunny.
i wasn’t actually asking what had physically/professionally become of garofalo or silverman–i was wondering instead why this comedy in-crowd doesn’t include either of them. especially since garofalo was on stiller’s show and by all accounts used to be a good buddy. i am glad, however, that andy dick seems to be excluded.
“old school”, “starsky and hutch”, “anchorman” etc.: it is certainly true that none of these movies really have roles for women, except as straight foils or good sports.
have any of you checked out channel101.com from the links on the right? that’s another group of in-crowd’ish l.a comedians, working many levels of success and visibility below this lot. a lot of great shorts there, and a great concept. mark, have you ever been to any of their screenings?
I havent been to the screenings, but i’ve watched nearly everything on the channel 101 site. My favorites are the ‘BU, Nintendo Cartton Hour and Adventurous und Magick Haus. That last one is made by someone named David Hartman. Mike, do you remember a David Hartman from the “Embassy”? He was a funny, sleazy guy in the filmmaking dept. I kept in touch with him for a while after I finished at USC, and right before I left for Chicago he was living in East Santa Monica and making porn. He was funny as hell, and I’m wondering if this is the same guy,
Silverman is very much part of a comedy “crowd,” just not that one. Her crowd is Jimmy Kimmell, Adam Carrola, David Cross, etc. Basically people that did NOT start as movie stars or SNL cast.
Garoffalo – I would say this – She realized that her politics were overwhelming her comedy sensibilities, and took the right step – she’s on-air 5 days a week on Air America, and her show is good. It wouldn’t be good as straight comedy, but it’s good in the Al Franken kind of way.
Mark–the David you’re thinking of was David Friedman, wasn’t it? Looked kind of like R.Crumb, if you shaved his moustache.
Maybe it was David Friedman; they all look the same to me… I mean DAVIDS! All DAVIDS look the same to me!
Crank Yankers is deadly unfunny for one reason: They ACT OUT the phone pranks. It’s like explaining a joke. It forces it to be unfunny. Having said that, try taping the show and then just listen to it without the fucking puppets. Suddenly: Funny.
I bring this up b/c flipping channels last night Sarah Silverman was on the show talking to a stripper/porn store – something like that – trying to buy Nazi regalia “A little mustache? You know, with like a black halter top?” It was great.