the comic's comic

What Zach Galifianakis told Scott Aukerman about high school, versus what his yearbook photo looks like

IFC has filmed a new round of interstitial bits with Scott Aukerman for IFC's Comedy Death-Ray, and in this little bit, Aukerman asks his friend and colleague in comedy -- Zach Galifianakis -- about his experiences in high school. Because they're supposedly in an ad break during an episode of Freaks and Geeks on IFC.

You get it.

Hey, look. Here's a photo of Zach Galifianakis in his high school yearbook in North Carolina from 1988. Can you glean anything from this photo and make a prediction? OK. Now that you've formulated 1,000 words from this picture...

What did Galifianakis say high school was like for him? Roll the clip!

Zach Galifianakis finally gets Will Ferrell "Between Two Ferns"

Zach Galifianakis finally gets Will Ferrell to sit down for a chat "Between Two Ferns" in this new installment of his Webby Award-winning series.

Watch them eat cherries and cherry tomatoes. What's Jon Hamm doing here? Don't worry. That's not a spoiler. Nothing could spoil this.

Roll the clip!

 

Zach Galifianakis drops by the set; life (MSNBC) imitates art (SNL Digital Short)

When Zach Galifianakis first hosted Saturday Night Live last season, he starred in a digital short called "Zach Drops By The Set" that featured unexpected cameos by the comedian on various TV shows. The first scene has him wheeling around in a chair behind Brian Williams during a news update.

Cut to last weekend, when Galifianakis literally dropped by the set of MSNBC after watching his Hangover co-star Ed Helms host SNL. Just as he did in the SNL Digital Short, but for real this time, Galifianakis wheeled around in a chair behind the MSNBC anchor, in this case Veronica De La Cruz, during an overnight news update. Bonus: Sitting on either side of Galifianakis are Nick Kroll and Al Madrigal.

Here's the art...

Official movie poster, trailer for The Hangover: Part II

You may have seen spoilers and whatnot about the upcoming movie sequel, The Hangover: Part II.

Well, here's the official poster, out today, showing how Bangkok and a monkey in a jean jacket seem to have gotten the best of them.

Bradley Cooper is laid out on the floor. Ed Helms has a face tattoo (clearly a link back to Mike Tyson from the first film!), while Zach Galifianakis has the top of his head shaved. Hmmm.

Perhaps this official movie trailer puts it all into perspective? Roll it.

 

No? Well, you'll have to wait until Memorial Day weekend to find out what's what in a cinema near you.

SNL #36.17 RECAP: Host Zach Galifianakis, musical guest Jessie J.

Wasn't anywhere near a TV when Saturday Night Live brought Zach Galifianakis back to host for his second time on the March 12, 2011, episode, so I'm just catching up with it now in full. Well, then, let's get started!

 

The cold open is not overtly political, playing off of that week's "Selection Sunday" for the NCAA men's basketball tournament on CBS, with Kenan Thompson as Greg Gumbel and Jason Sudeikis playing Jim Nantz. But wait. They've taken basketball's March Madness and combined it with the world's "Actual Madness." Good call. Interestingly, when they reveal the brackets, they substitute Fred Armisen's face for Libya's Gaddafi, but keep the real faces for Egypt's Mubarak and the others in North Africa. I guess it's so as not to confuse the dummies watching on TV when they cut to Armisen as Gaddafi on set, being interviewed by Nasim Pedrad as CBS sports correspondent Tracy Wolfson. The D.C. bracket gets in both politicians and TV anchors, then cuts to Andy Samberg as Dick Vitale. Um, OK. You know that everybody who has ever watched college hoops has a Dick Vitale impersonation (and in the past few years, developed a Gus Johnson voice, TOO!!!!). The Hollywood bracket fits in all of the wacked-out celebs. Kristen Wiig keeps delivering Melissa Leo's Oscar speech. And Bill Hader is back as Charlie Sheen broadcasting live online. They fit a lot in the first five minutes, didn't they? Hoping these leaves room for plenty of absurdist stuff with Galifianakis.

 

For his second stint as host, Galifianakis already seems a little bit more comfortable at the top of his monologue as he took in the audience cheers and applause. What's so great about Zach, among many things, is knowing that he writes his own monologues. And that he's willing to take risks with it on live network television. He took at least three here. Can you spot them? Yes. Yes you can. And that was before he broke out into lip-sync song.

In great moments in odd timing, the first TV ad break during SNL on this night begins with AFLAC, otherwise known as the company that fired Gilbert Gottfried as its talking-duck spokesduck because he made jokes at the expense of Japan's ongoing catastrophe in the wake of earthquakes, a tsunami and nuclear meltdowns. Was this his last ad for them?

About that pilot presentation for HBO starring Brody Stevens, and guest-starring Zach Galifianakis

So news is being spread today about the deal Zach Galifanakis made with HBO for a pilot presentation starring his friend Brody Stevens.

About that: Steven Brody Stevens and his TV crew were filming in New York City a couple of weeks ago as Galifianakis was hosting SNL. They also followed Brody over to the Tell Your Friends! show, where he launched into his traditionally meta stand-up. Brody told me that the presentation episode takes us through a day in his life, from his chance encounters with Major League Baseball players and celebrities to stand-up showcases, with a plot revolving around a relative's birthday.

Think of it as a Curb Your Enthusiasm with a twist.

If you read The Comic's Comic, then you get it. If you need help, then watch this video interview Galifanakis did with Stevens in his movie trailer during the filming of Due Date. Consider this the prelude to the pilot presentation. Roll it!

 

Between Two Ferns: Zach Galifianakis makes Jennifer Aniston play second fiddle to Tila Tequila. Enjoy it!

Surprise! Zach Galifianakis and his Hangover sequel hairdo have re-emerged with a brand-new episode of Between Two Ferns, his hysterically popular Funny or Die series produced by Scott Aukerman and friends. In today's episode Galifianakis welcomes two guests. The first is Tila Tequlia. I know, right? The second is Jennifer Aniston, who had hoped to promote her new film with Adam Sandler, Just Go With It, but she didn't seem to want to go with it as Galifianakis focused on Tequila instead.

Also, say hi to Brody Stevens as a larger-than-life Speed Stick.

Enjoy it!

 

See the portrait that prompted Zach Galifianakis to write an apology within a thank-you note

If you haven't yet been to the Gallery1988 exhibit, "Is This Thing On?," then you must not be anywhere near Los Angeles. Because that's where that is.

Thanks to the Internet, however, you can view -- and even buy originals and prints from the awesome collection of artwork inspired by comedians. Mike Mitchell, the man who inspired Team Coco with his image of Conan O'Brien, pictured Zach Galifianakis as "Marijuana Santa Claus." It's out of stock, in case you wanted to buy the print from Gallery1988. But you can stare at this all day long if you like:

Galifianakis wrote a thank-you note to Mitchell, and managed to be self-deprecating in just a few words by apologizing for his own face. Aww. And you can see that, too!

Zach Galifianakis pulls another hairdo stunt on TV, this time on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Remember when Zach Galifianakis hosted SNL last season, and toward the end of the show, he ran backstage during a commercial and shaved off his beard? Fun times. Fun times.

Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Galifianakis showed off his new hairdo. What do you think? You like? Very dashing. If you cannot see it on Hulu, try seeing it via NBC.com.

 

Zach Galifianakis made a point with his joint on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," unlike other toker jokers

On Friday night, the audience for HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher gasped and cheered when comedian Zach Galifianakis pulled a marijuana joint from his jacket pocket, lit it, smoked it and offered to pass it around. The clip was copied and flourished over the weekend on many YouTube accounts.

But take another look at it in context. Bill Maher, himself a very visible supporter of legalizing marijuana, had mentioned a news story in which a kid got put into social services after telling cops to arrest his parents for pot smoking. Then Maher asked his panelists -- Republican pundit (and great-granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover) Margaret Hoover, the National Review's Reihan Salam, and MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell -- how they felt about California's Prop 19, which puts to a vote Tuesday whether the state should make marijuana even more legitimate and taxable.

To which Galifianakis said, "It's a tricky thing politically to jump on that bandwagon, because I think maybe, people see it as taboo still." Then he shows that it shouldn't be. Most YouTube clips stop there. But after everyone gets a kick out of his stunt on live TV, Galifianakis later interrupts the debate by shouting, "Oh my God! Look at those dragons!" He then points out that that's how some people mistakenly think pot smokers act and behave. Which, at least based on the friends and comedians I've observed over the years, is not true.

Now watch the clip again:

 

Of course, this wasn't the first time someone, let alone a comedian/actor, toked up on live television. A couple of years ago, Seth Rogen and James Franco pulled a stunt during the 2008 MTV Movie Awards, in which they said they were smoking "fake weed" from a giant bag of "fake weed." Whether it was fake or not was in dispute, as MTV tried to explain later. You'll also see that this idea came from comedian Jordan Rubin. Roll it.

 

As for Prop 19, comedian Rob Cantrell offers his own insight on marijuana in this new video he produced for Atom.com in which he plays General Potton. Get it?

From his "Due Date" trailer, Zach Galifianakis interviews Brody Stevens about his comedy career

A year ago, I had the privilege of visiting the set of the upcoming movie, Due Date, starring Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr.

I watched as director Todd Phillips shot the "meet-cute" scene early in the film -- with the airport in Ontario, Calif., subbing for the airport in Atlanta -- as Zach and RDJ get into a fender-bender outside the terminal. They're both passengers, and their drivers are played by comedians Bobby Tisdale and Brody Stevens. After the scene played out over several takes to allow Zach and RDJ to improvise some introductory zingers toward one another, they took a break for lunch.

Inside Zach's trailer, he kindly offered to interview Brody on my behalf. Brody talks about how he started in comedy, as well as his secrets to warming up a studio audience at a TV taping. This is the full uncut footage I shot of that. Roll it!

 

When the TV newsman thinks he's the comedian. Who coped better: Zach Galifianakis or Ben Bailey?

As a reporter who also has been a comedian, I know all too well how delicate the line is between clever, stupid and just plain wrong when the reporter interviews a comedian and tries too hard to prove the reporter is funny, too.

This morning, Ben Bailey, whom many know and love as the host of Cash Cab, went on WPIX Ch. 11's morning show here in New York City to promote his weekend stint at Carolines. The TV newsman interviewing Bailey forced him to sit behind a fake taxi for the entire interview, and also confessed much too much about his wife's love of the show. Did I mention this was live TV? Roll it.

Not this morning, but taped earlier and shown on WFAA in Dallas, a guy who gets to sit down at movie junkets sat down for the junket for It's Kind of a Funny Story with Zach Galifianakis, and then thought he'd give Galifianakis a bit of his own Between Two Ferns medicine. Whether Galifianakis wanted it or not. Roll it.

 

Comedians often do press they don't particularly want to do -- whether it's TV or morning radio, or junkets -- precisely for reasons like these two guys.

I've had great and not-so great experiences on live radio and TV appearances myself. I usually try to be in the moment and roll with whatever happens, although in my younger days, I can recall more than one time on early-morning TV when the anchor asked me something that wasn't even close to the topic we were discussing, and me wondering how many viewers may have changed the channel before I answered. Of course, it could have just felt more awkward to me because I was there. And I should say that in my case, the inattentive anchor was a woman. So it's not always the newsman who is the problem.

What's your method for dealing with TV and radio people when you know it's going to be hostile? How do you cope with this kind of hostility when you're not expecting it?

Zach Galifianakis gets hot under the collar for a special "Between Two Ferns" interview with Bruce Willis

Wake up, kiddies! It's time for the latest installment of "Between Two Ferns," the talk show that's more than just a talk show, as host Zach Galifianakis sits down with a celebrity between two ferns, as it were, and things get uncomfortable. This time, it's Bruce Willis in the hot seat, although Galifianakis is in the hotter seat, after questions about Ashton Kutcher and bad movies get spurned in favor of nostalgia and something rather odd. And by odd, I mean hot. Too much information?

Roll the clip!

 

Vanity Fair's "Zach Galifianakis Swimsuit Calendar" is missing 11 months, and then some

I feel cheated and used after clicking on the multiple pages for Vanity Fair's slideshow this afternoon that accompanied the headline "The Zach Galifianakis Swimsuit Calendar."

For one thing: Galifianakis looks dashing in a suit suit on the intro post for Vanity Fair's slideshow.

For a second thing: All of the pics in the slideshow are in the same one-piece bathing suit. Where are the other 11 months for this calendar that does not actually exist, so how dare you magazine, how, dare, you?

For Zach Galifianakis, on his birthday, a remix video on Funny or Die and an insightful NPR interview

Happy birthday, Zach Galifianakis!

Coincidentally, a fan has mashed up clips of your Funny or Die series, Between Two Ferns, with the trailer for the new movie, The Social Network. Roll it.

Also this week, we got to hear more about your background, including such tidbits as working in a strip club with his roommate (whom you may also know!), how his uncle ran for Congress against Jesse Helms, and the origins of his twin brother, Seth. All of this, and more, comes up when Galifianakis spoke with NPR's Terry Gross for "Fresh Air." The segment aired earlier this week. Read the transcript. Listen to Zach Galifianakis on Fresh Air.

Zach Galifianakis will not fall for the Snooki bait on Jimmy Kimmel Live, not this time. Not this time.

Friend of The Comic's Comic and friend of all people who enjoy comedy, Zach Galifianakis appeared last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live to help promote both his new movie, It's Kind of A Funny Story, as well as the second season of HBO's Bored to Death.

Galifianakis walked onstage with a sight gag, and showed his disdain for the MTV trainwreck Jersey Shore with his comments about "Snorky" and the gang. In the opening minutes, Kimmel prodded him for answers about why he'd spend his summer on his North Carolina farm. Galifianakis explains:

As the conversation continues, he jokes more about what he does on the farm, spending the next month in Los Angeles on a movie, and working with Ted Danson. In part three, he talks about researching his part in the new movie.

After the break, the show has Galifianakis stick around to sit next to "Snooki" and hopes that magic happens. Does it? Did it? So nice to see our TV shows put talent next to no-talent as if they were equally worthy of your viewing. Roll the clip.

Seth, "brother" of Zach Galifianakis, has Sean Penn "Between Two Ferns"

Just when you least expect it, there's a brand-new episode of "Between Two Ferns," the hit series that's not quite a talk show but is most definitely starring Zach Galifianakis -- or, in this case, his "twin brother" Seth -- and featuring Sean Penn. Penn says that talking about himself and being a movie star ain't all it's cracked up to be, which I'm sure comes as a shocker to Seth. Thank you, Comedy Death-Ray!

Stop dancing, Ted Danson! Enjoy this preview of season two of HBO's "Bored to Death"

Would you like to see what happens when the Bored to Death characters played by Ted Danson, Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galifianakis end up in a police lineup?

Well, here you go, then! Season two of the series debuts on HBO on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010. Time to watch me eat the doughnuts. Roll the clip!

Steve Carell turns the tables on Zach Galifianakis in a schmucky episode of Between Two Ferns

Even a movie promotion cannot stop this new episode of "Between Two Ferns" from being surprisingly funny, but then again, when both Zach Galifianakis and Steve Carell star in the movie Dinner with Schmucks, and they both are funny in pretty much every situation they choose to be, then this will all work out just fine. You're fat! You have a big nose! See? We're all good. Roll the clip!