the comic's comic

Pic of the day: Zach Galifianakis gets a case of Whiplash, and spins circles around a rowdy Brit

From my friend Mindy Tucker comes this snapshot from Monday night's Whiplash show at the UCB Theatre in NYC. After surprise drop-in appearances by Martin Lawrence and Bobby Slayton turned out to be fake-outs by guest host Sean Patton, Patton introduced Zach Galifianakis to the crowd. Galifianakis is back in the city filming the second season of HBO's Bored to Death. This one rowdy British woman, who was more than eager to bound onstage when challenged by Galifianakis, needed a bit of a dressing down. So he made jokes at her expense and, at one point, literally spun circles around her.

CollegeHumor tests "MacGruber" cast vs. SXSW public on a puzzle game...MacGruber!

Movie stars on the red carpet get asked plenty of silly questions. Would they like to play a game? (If you say that last sentence as a talking Radio Shack TRS-80, you get bonus points in everyone's books)

So when CollegeHumor's Jeff and Streeter had the chance to visit both SXSW in Austin, as well as the MacGruber movie premiere screening featuring SNL's Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, well, why not test their puzzle skills with a game? They say the famous comedians are better at the game than the public, but what was that in the beginning about "randomly" setting the timer? Hmmm. Anyhow. Still worth a minute or two to waste your time. Roll it!

Jay Leno tells Joy Behar that NBC screwed over Conan (and himself, obviously?)

So Joy Behar was on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno edition, don't call it a comeback. But the real dishy dish happened backstage beforehand, as Behar and her HLN (that's KFC speak for Headline News) people filmed an impromptu chat with Leno. And he was quick to answer the inevitable Conan and Kimmel questions. Yes, Leno said NBC screwed Conan over. But he also claims he was screwed over, which is still slightly hard to swallow, but not as hard as the moment in which he says a comedian should never "impede on someone else's opportunity." Watch the whole thing, including some other filler with Behar, at your leisure.

Moshe Kasher on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"

One afternoon, you're sitting in the audience next to Moshe Kasher watching an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and before you know it, you're soon watching Kasher himself on stage performing stand-up on Late Night. True story!

I first met Kasher last summer at Montreal's Just For Laughs, where his "New Faces" set was one of the more inventive and fearless of the bunch. He handed me his CD there, and that recording provides even more evidence of his commitment to being his own comedian. As you'll see in the clip from Fallon last night, Kasher has a definite style and personality, and while his rapid-fire delivery may prevent the studio audience from filling in spaces with laughs, he's not afraid or really concerned about that. Or being a set-up, punchline, hold for the laughs kind of performer. Kasher has a strong point of view, and he's most concerned about transferring it from his brain into yours, and if you're smart, you'll listen and agree with him.

If you like that and want more, do check out Moshe Kasher's CD, then look for him live. He developed his comedy in San Francisco but now is based in Los Angeles.

Buy Moshe Kasher's "Everyone You Know is Going to Die, and Then You Are!" on iTunes:

Is Lindsay Lohan unhappy about George Lopez's joke about her, or is she crying out for help?

Oh, brother. First Lindsay Lohan thought my comedy friend Glennis McMurray was joking about her in a talking baby commercial (seriously?), and now this. To close out her month, Lohan went online to get all up in George Lopez's Twitter grill because he made a joke about her powdered shoes -- and cocaine use -- on last night's edition of Lopez Tonight.

Here's a quick video recap courtesy of Access Hollywood:

Now. After the jump, look at these Twitter posts, first from Lohan, then the replies from Lopez...

Happy birthday, Pete Holmes! Let's watch most of his Comedy Central Presents!

Not mentioned during last night's introduction for Pete Holmes at Whiplash: That the stand-up has been recording his routines over multiple performances at the late-night UCB stand-up showcase for a future CD, and that, since it was after midnight, it was his birthday. Happy birthday, Pete Holmes!

To celebrate, someone should write a feature-film based on the E*Trade talking babies that you voice in their commercials? Check. Katie Dippold (writer on Parks and Recreation) is on the case, if this report is to be believed. Um, OK?

I've got a better idea. The half-hour Comedy Central Presents for Pete Holmes aired last month when I was called away from the Internet, so I couldn't post anything then -- though I was in the audience when he taped it back in November. And I realize I haven't shared much of his stand-up on the site yet. Let's fix that right now. Oh, also, Holmes has his own weekly show tonight, Punch Up Your Life, so if you're in NYC, go see that. Alrighty, roll the clips! Here's his recent opener:

On Facebook as Big Brother:

More after the jump...

Not one, but two "new" rare interviews with, of, and about Bill Hicks

Sometimes you come down with a case of the Mondays, but the Internet certainly wanted to change that tune yesterday as it unveiled two completely different yet equally insightful interviews of and about the late stand-up comedian Bill Hicks.

When British comic Nick Doody was in college, he had the chance to chat up Hicks in late 1992 before he performed overseas. That full interview appeared online on Doubling Up, the podcast Doody does now with Rob Heeney (thanks to Chortle for the tip). Hicks talks about his career, the 1992 presidential election, his place in comedy, and more. Doody said he was embarrassed to listen to it all of these years later, but it's only the ending that gets a little weird. But he lets us hear it all in its entirety. Enjoy!

Nick Doody interviews Bill Hicks, late 1992

Also yesterday, Jesse Thorn of The Sound of Young America put up a video interview he conducted at SXSW with Steve Hicks, Bill's "boring accountant" brother, and director Matt Harlock about his new documentary, American: The Bill Hicks Story. Also includes some classic and rare video footage of Hicks onstage. Roll it!

Watch Brooke Van Poppelen tutor Mikey Teutul on "American Chopper" at the UCB and Comix

In case you missed it, season six of TLC's American Chopper found Mikey Teutel pursuing one of his non-biker dreams of being a stand-up comedian. If at first you don't succeed, try asking some actual comics for help and advice.

Which Mikey did, and as you can see in these clips, he visited the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre twice to meet up with Brooke Van Poppelen. BVP (See our Meet Me In New York for more Qs and As with BVP) also had Roger Hailes and Andrea Wallace play an improv game with Mikey and offer him moral support. Then, it was time for Mikey to perform at a live show at Comix (looked like one of their bringer shows? objection! sustained due to lack of relevance). Roll it!

Montreal mixes up the schedule for Just For Laughs

Just For Laughs has announced the first slate of galas and headlining shows for this summer's annual comedy festival in Montreal (July 2-25), with tickets going on sale March 31. But before you go ahead and make your travel and lodging reservations, too, let me just tell all of the Americans (and Brits, Australians and other English-speaking visitors) that they've done a switcheroo on the usual plan -- this summer, the English-speaking shows aren't closing the fest. Instead, they'll be right in the middle, from July 6-18. The televised Galas will take place July 14-18.

And from the initial slate, I can also tell you that Montreal and JFL are throwing their full support behind The Marriage Ref, because the first Gala on July 14 is a special Relationship Gala hosted by Brad Garrett and featuring the show's host, Tom Papa.

Cheech & Chong get a Gala on July 16, there will be a pair of "Late Night Galas" (hmmm) on July 16-17, and the "All-Star Gala" on July 18. As always, the Galas are filmed for broadcast across Canada later, with short sets from a handful of stand-ups and other comedic entertainers from around the globe.

What else? Aziz Ansari, who performed a series of popular black-box theater shows last summer, is back, bringing his "Dangerously Delicious" tour to Montreal for one night only July 15 at Metropolis.

John Pinette will present a new one-man show at Theatre Jean-Duceppe from July 13-17.

The creators of "Mom's The Word," a hit at Montreal in 2001, return with "Mom's The Word 2: Unhinged," at the Centaur Theatre from July 6-18.

As for the club shows. Just as they'll do in Chicago in June, Greg Giraldo will host the Nasty Show, with Jim Norton along for the ride as well as yet-to-be-named stand-ups. Whitney Cummings, meanwhile, will host the Nasty Girls showcases.

Other shows include The Ethnic Show -- Ethnical Difficulties, featuring Jo Koy (who got big buzz from Montreal in 2007), the U.K. acts get Britcom, while O'Comics and Late Night Down Under will combine for "Double Threat," featuring extended sets from two comics from Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The Best of the Uptown Comics moves to Club Soda. Also returning for another round at Montreal, Bubbling With Laughter (a grab-bag of stand-ups), Homegrown Comics (Canadians!), The Masters, New Faces, The Alternative Comedy Show hosted by Andy Kindler, and Amp'd -- The Music Comedy Show.

Gerard Butler helps Godfrey with a heckler?!? Strange but true, caught at the Comedy Cellar

When I saw my friend Mandy Stadtmiller Tweet that she was having fun at the Comedy Cellar on Thursday night, I thought to myself, hey, I'm heading that way. Except I ended up staying in instead. Bad move on my part. Because I missed seeing this strange-but-true incident late in the evening, in which Godfrey called up actor Gerard Butler to help quiet a pesky heckler. What? Yes. That happened.

Stadtmiller caught part of it on tape (normally, I'd be conflicted about this, because we're not big fans of audience members whipping out their cell phones and cameras in comedy clubs -- but Stadtmiller told me she had the club's OK, and so long as you have permission from the club and/or comedian, go for it). She also got Butler and Godfrey to talk about being buddies outside afterward. It all appeared today on Page Six of the New York Post, where Stadtmiller works. Kudos on the scoop! Now roll the clips.

Attack of the Show offers glimpse of inaugural Laughing Skull Comedy Fest

Thanks to Steve Hofstetter, one of the comedians who helped put together the inaugural Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta earlier this month, G4's Attack of the Show aired scenes from the festival's stand-up competition. Margaret Cho was there. I saw fest winner Josh Gondelman there, too, as well as Carmen Lynch, Seaton Smith, Karl Hess, Michael Palascak.

Roll the clip!

Watch Pete Holmes flummox Matt McCarthy as his grocery store cashier

It's really quite something to see the success of all three primary members of Front Page Films -- filmmaker Oren Brimer recently started working as a segment producer on The Daily Show, Pete Holmes debuted his first half-hour Comedy Central Presents special last month, and Matt McCarthy has a stand-up comedy CD on the way this spring.

In their latest series, "Cashier," McCarthy plays the straight man (opposite of how you usually see him in the many Verizon TV commercials) to Holmes as the cashier. If you saw their previous series of shorts, "Hotel" on Atom.com, then you know what you're in for, which is a series of slightly NSFW funnies. But first, McCarthy has to learn how to use the conveyor belt properly. Roll it!

Next, Holmes schools McCarthy on the perennial "paper or plastic" debate.

Pic of the day: Mitch Hedberg, "Jeopardy" answer

Today's snapshot comes to us via Mike Birbiglia via Lynn Shawcroft. Earlier this week, Jeopardy used a classic joke from the late Mitch Hedberg for an answer. You know the question? Of course you do.

 

David Cross: Bigger and Blackerer, coming to CD, DVD in May; but on EpixHD in two weeks

Sub Pop announced yesterday it was releasing the first new stand-up comedy special from David Cross in seven years, with the upcoming "Bigger and Blackerer" CD and DVD coming out on May 25.

As Sub Pop explained (see the track listing here):

The new David Cross album and DVD Bigger and Blackerer was taped during two shows, back-to-back on the same evening at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre. As will be obvious by the packaging (and maybe some of the words here), this title applies to both a CD and a DVD; separate releases in separate formats with the same name. Though both media are housed on a shiny, silver five-inch disc, each is an entity unto itself. And while there is some overlap, each is full of material that appears solely on one or the other. Only by watching the DVD will you learn of Cross’ unique relationship with the deaf community, share his canny insights into the editorial machinations behind the Bible, and marvel at how well a bald, middle-aged white guy can fill out a pair of jeans. Yet one must listen to the CD in order to hear about gastro-intestinal misadventures with his dog Ollie Red Sox, or sing along with “The Sultan’s Revenge,” the swinging, Vegas-style opening number composed by Cross and his good friend Mark Rivers (author of the theme to Mr. Show).

But if your cable/satellite TV provider has EpixHD, you'll only have to wait until April 9 to see an hour-long version of the show taped at the Wilbur Theater in Boston. EpixHD has a countdown clock, plus a couple of teaser videos -- one is a straight promo of Cross' Bigger and Blackerer, while the other shows Cross mocking drinkers of Coors Light for not only needing wide-mouth cans, but also blue coloring to let them know if the can is cold. Neither video appears to be embeddable just yet, though. Hmmm.

Women in Comedy Festival celebrates, supports women in comedy

The second "Women in Comedy Festival" kicked off last night in the Boston area, with shows continuing through the weekend at Improv Boston in Cambridge and Mottley's Comedy Club in Boston.

It could easily be another gimmicky thing. But to the credit of festival co-director Maria Ciampa and her fellow organizers, it's not. For one thing, it's not trying to exclude men. “The ‘women’ in Women in Comedy Festival refers to the fact that WICF is directed by, produced by, and features comedy by the ladies,” Ciampa says. “However, men do comedy too, and we don’t want to exclude anyone. The festival's mission is to create a forum for people to experience the comedic expression of women, see strong female performers and, most importantly, to entertain.”

So, yes, they've booked funny ladies such as Maria Bamford, Jackie Kashian, Bonnie McFarlane, Kelly McFarland and Giuila Rozzi, in addition to dozens of other comedians (including a few men) for stand-up, improv and sketch shows each night.

Bonnie McFarlane is currently filming a documentary about women in comedy -- I saw her and her husband, stand-up Rich Vos, interviewing Chris Rock for the project recently at the Comedy Cellar, and know she'll be working more on that this weekend. Here's an interesting shot Vos took of McFarlane earlier this week, when she donned a disguise as man to perform at Stand-Up NY. It'll be interesting to learn how the audience perceived her jokes as a man, compared to how they'd react to her as herself. But that's just one aspect of what it's like to be a woman in comedy.

Perhaps more important than the shows themselves are the workshops and the panel -- and even theWICF blog -- because that's where the women in comedy can truly celebrate and support one another.

Jane Morris, founder of the Second City ETC stage in Chicago, hosts an improv workshop on Friday.

On Saturday, Jackie Kashian talks about getting road work and dealing with bookers, Zabeth Russell helps you simplify improv scenework, Maria Bamford takes part in a free afternoon open mic, and a free panel discussion talks and takes questions about the comedy business.

On Sunday, Cameron Esposito leads a workshop on the confidence and skills women could use in starting a stand-up career, Giulia Rozzi leads a storytelling workshop, and Loretta LaRoche will talk about the business of comedy.

Pic of the day: "Are We There Yet?" Not quite, TBS.

Comedian Christian Finnegan shared this snapshot from a publicity moment for his upcoming TBS sitcom adaptation of the movie, Are We There Yet? His caption: "Here's a shot from my recent family reunion."

Haha. Funny. We get it, in a one of these things is not like the others kind of way.

But does TBS get it? I checked the TBS site for Are We There Yet?, debuting in June, to find out more about the show. Turns out it stars Terry Crews and Essence Atkins, with recurring roles from Telma Hopkins, Keesha Sharp, Ice Cube, and comedian Christian Fenigan. So we're not quite there just yet. So close, though. So. Close. At least they didn't call him Chad (Finnegan's character when he was the white guy in a Chappelle's Show sketch).

HBO will animate another season of old Ricky Gervais podcasts

HBO announced late yesterday that the pay-cable network had ordered a second season of The Ricky Gervais Show, which animates years-old podcasts that Gervais recorded with comedy partner Stephen Merchant and radio foil Karl Pilkington. The re-animated workings in this first season -- which debuted in February -- haven't exactly raked in big ratings. But the show, and Gervais & Merchant, still have HBO's support.

Here's a video of Merchant, Gervais and Pilkington explaining the show, and it tells you everything you essentially need to know about it. Roll the clip.

The Laugh Factory and Jamie Masada sing "Happy Birthday" to Dane Cook

Here's something you don't see every day. A famous comedian performing in his "home" club on his birthday, and getting serenaded by the club's owner and the audience. And yet, that was Dane Cook, last week, at The Laugh Factory, with club owner Jamie Masada and a very appreciative audience. Roll the clip.

Pic of the day: Chris Rock working out new material in a nearly empty Comedy Store

Here's a snapshot my friend in comedy Brody Stevens took last night at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, after he got bumped so Chris Rock could test out some new jokes on an unsuspecting audience. And a small crowd at that. As Stevens wrote to accompany his Twitpic: "Chris on stage, less than 10 people in crowd, working out fresh material. Just like me!"

Just like us.

Quite a difference from when Chris Rock performed to an estimated 65,000 people in Bonnaroo.

Al Yankovic gets his own flash-sideways biopic in the very funny trailer for "Weird"

Look. I have a very basic understanding of how the Internet works, and one thing I do know is that when a video debuts on an already popular site around dawn, by late afternoon, if it's funny, it gets circulated to other popular sites. And maybe you weren't like me and slept in after being out late, so you may have seen this. But it deserves to be seen!

Funny or Die's Eric Appel has written, directed and edited a trailer for what appears to be the flash-sideways version of "Weird" Al Yankovic's story. Yes, I just dropped a Lost reference. Please pick it up, and watch this funny feature, starring Aaron Paul as Weird Al, Olivia Wilde as Madonna, Patton Oswalt as Dr. Demento, Mary Steenburgen and Gary Cole as Ma and Pa Yankovic, with appearances by Leeza Gibbons, Brian Huskey, Paul Scheer, Charlie Sanders, Curtis Gwinn, Chris Kula, Jonah Ray, Matt Jones, Johnny Meeks and Andy Bloch. Oh, and Yankovic himself in a cameo! Roll the clip already!