Want to watch that clip that got passed around the Internet on Monday afternoon of Zach Galifianakis doing "Between Two Ferns" with NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, which he conducted live over the weekend at the Nantucket Film Festival? Sorry you missed it. You may have to wait until Funny or Die decides to upload its own clip. If it even decides to do so.
Because Funny or Die is serious about owning its content, and Monday night slapped a copyright infringement on the person who uploaded a clip from it on YouTube. And so the war between comedians and audience members with cameras continues...
We all know that Zach Galifianakis is a 21st Century Renaissance Man, and this "red carpet" picture from earlier this evening is only more evidence than that. According to the American Ballet Theatre, "Zachary Galifianakis is the first to arrive" for the ABT's Opening Gala tonight. I know I personally enjoy seeing a funny man who can rock a full beard with the black-tie tuxedo look.
The ShoWest comedy star of the year, Zach Galifianakis, has a new movie that has its world premiere tonight, in North Carolina, and you've likely heard very little to nothing about it. What gives? ActionFest, that's what. The weekend tribute to action movies kicked off last night in Asheville, N.C., and boasts an appearance by Chuck Norris to complement screenings of his classic movies and a panel discussion on his stunts.
Action movies certainly include a certain amount of intentional and unintentional comedy.
But tonight's world premiere of Operation: Endgame jumps out as a comedy-driven action flick. Formerly called Rogue's Gallery, the film was picked up a couple of months ago for distribution by Anchor Bay and renamed Operation: Endgame. Along with Galifianakis, the movie also co-stars Rob Corrdry, Bob Odenkirk, Adam Scott, Ellen Barkin, Ving Rhames, Emilie de Ravin, Jeffrey Tambor and Brandon T. Jackson. It's set to be released wider this fall. As the ActionFest people note in their description: It's "just a giant ball of fun on the big screen, and we're hoping the word of mouth catches on about it so we can say we helped put it on the map."
You could argue that since Galifianakis maintains a farm in North Carolina, it makes perfect sense for the state to host the premiere.
But why haven't we seen anything about it yet? What's wrong with you, Internet? You can find the other ActionFest films and schedule here. There's not even any footage from Operation: Endgame in the ActionFest trailer. Argh. But if you want to see some action clips mashed up, here you go:
What happens when you take a French film, get Andy Borowitz to adapt a contemporary American screenplay for it, have Jay Roach direct it, and cast Paul Rudd and Steve Carell as the leads, with Rudd playing that "Paul Rudd" character and Carell playing that shades of "Michael Scott" character? It's called Dinner for Schmucks, and it hits a cinema near you this July.
The plot is pretty straightforward, if you read the title and know what a schmuck is. Do you know what a schmuck is? Do Zach Galifianakis and Jeff Dunham both count equally as schmucks? This trailer also features Kristen Schaal, Andrea Savage, Larry Wilmore and Ron Livingston. That should be more than a satisfactory amount of information before you watch the darned clip. So watch the darned clip!
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.
The genius is in the details, people. We all knew this episode was coming -- they teased it last week, even! -- but still, so funny. It's Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, and his guest is Ben Stiller. Whether you've seen it before or not is irrelevant, because you'll laugh again and again. Enjoy!
Why were there people who thought that Zach Galifianakis didn't shave his beard, or never had a beard, when the proof was right there in front of your very eyes last night on Saturday Night Live?
Galifianakis made the bold decision to take an electric razor to his bushy facial hair after introducing Vampire Weekend for its second musical performance, hustled back onstage for the final sketch of the evening with Jenny Slate, then ducked backstage once more to have a fake beard applied for the goodnights. It was all made even funnier by the fact that neither Galifianakis nor anyone else mentioned the changing hairstyle. But if you really don't believe me, just watch the video footage. Showbiz magic!
I know my hopes were up, your hopes were up, comedy nerds everywhere held their collective breaths last night to see what would happen when Zach Galifianakis hosted SNL. It wasn't his first time hanging out there -- he'd been there as a writer for a fleeting moment many years ago -- and there was a sense on many people's parts (his included) that his sense of humor was, to borrow a phrase from the show's early years, too "wild and crazy" for the show. And yet. There he was. So let us recap.
Last night, I gave a first impression during the show that everything that included Galifianakis was amazing and awesome, and that all of the "skitches" without him were not quite so much. So how about that cold open? The C-SPAN presidential address from Barack Obama (Fred Armisen) on health-care reform, and repeating the mistakes of the Clintons, with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Kristen Wiig) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Will Forte) was so cold, you could hear the studio creaking when Armisen paused for what he had been told would be laughter. Watching the actual health-care debate might actually be funnier than this. Nope.
Alas, once the credits rolled, we got our first glimpse of Galifianakis. From the first words: "Stop clapping!" To his thanks for "being back hosting Saturday Night Live again," to the rapid-fire jokes. Yes. If you're a big fan, you may have heard one or two of these lines before. But have you ever seen him say any of this on live network television? No. No you hadn't. I could tell he was even a little bit nervous about it all, but damn did he pull it off. Loved, loved how he turned the audience immediately by saying how he lives in Brooklyn, but hates it, and without saying Williamsburg, accurately described the skinny hipsters and mocked them with his subway calls. "Hey, everybody, here comes the choo-choo!" The way he does this, and then announces he will "go to the piano and talk about myself," followed by "I don't really know what I'm doing here." It's just so great. Even greater is how he sells some of his more dangerous punchlines by looking up from the piano and staring directly into the camera. Then barking at the SNL house band. And the Hoobastank line. It was one of those times you could watch SNL and the Live part really came alive.
Look. I'm excited, you're excited, we're all pretty much excited to see Zach Galifianakis host Saturday Night Live this coming Saturday. His appearance last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon did nothing to diminish this mutual glee. In fact, it just proved that 30 Rock (the building) is home of fun times, USA, this week.
First, Fallon and an unbilled Galifianakis performed in the sketch routine, "Let Us Play With Your Look."
Then, after a commercial break, Galifianakis talked to Fallon about hosting SNL. Is it "sketches" or "skitches"? Roll the clip!
I'm very excited about the new HBO series collaborating with Funny or Die, who in turn is unleashing lots of great comedians to do their things on cable TV. Here are four new teaser trailers for sketches from the series Funny or Die Presents, which debuts at midnight Friday, Feb. 19.
The first features the latest installment of "Drunk History," which won an award at the Sundance Film Festival and cast Will Ferrell and Don Cheadle to re-enact the drunken ramblings of Jen Kirkman. She really does look drunk, you guys! Roll it.
And the second clip shows us a reunion of sorts, as Zach Galifianakis joins Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim in a bit called "Just 3 Boyz." Looks like someone really could use a horse massage?
But wait. There's more!
Here's a clip from the short film, "Designated Driver: Office Prank," that includes Rob Riggle, Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel.
And there's a fourth clip. This is called "Hold Up," starring Ed Helms, Thomas Lennon, Malin Akerman, Rachael Harris, Huebel again, and Creed from The Office acting like Creed from The Office. "C'mon. It's open season on jive turkey." Perfect? From what I gathered from Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, this one is his handiwork, and also includes Jerry Minor, Brandon Johnson, Ian Roberts, Rich Fulcher and Kate Walsh. Roll it and see:
My expectations aren't exactly high for this week's episode of Saturday Night Live, even though Ashton Kutcher has hosted the program before. I don't know. Maybe it's all of his Twitter "fame" and his camera commercials that makes me suspicious that something has gone awry in his sense of humor area place.
But I come not to bury his SNL prematurely, but to praise even more prematurely the next two SNLs to come after a two-week break for the Winter Olympics.
And the week after that, Zach Galifianakis -- who told me in September he thought SNL might never let him host -- is going do be doing just that in what should be a very special episode on March 6, 2010. Musical guest for that week still to be determined. I'd talked to Galifianakis over the weekend and confirmed his hosting date, but didn't want to jinx it in any way -- his Twitter handler posted something this afternoon, so we're all set to go. Hooray!
When I visited Los Angeles last month, I had the unique opportunity to visit the set of the upcoming movie, Due Date, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. During the lunch break, Galifianakis invited me back to his trailer, where I'd get an exclusive interview with him as comedians Bobby Tisdale and Brody Stevens (both of whom also have small roles in the film) watched. And then Galifianakis took over The Comic's Comic, and decided instead to interview Tisdale and Stevens. This is some of the edited footage. Now even more timely, since the previous Phillips film starring Galifianakis, The Hangover, is out today on DVD and just got nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Comedy! Congrats! Roll the clip!
Fun fact? A reporter from Entertainment Weekly also had a "date" to speak with Galifianakis. So if you're wondering where this photo and information below came from, know that the EW reporter had to pick up the pieces after our silliness.
Ladies and germination fans, it's time once again for a new episode of "Between Two Ferns," the Funny or Die talk show that puts host Zach Galifianakis between two ferns with a special guest. In today's installment, Galifianakis welcomes Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter to the studio. O'Brien wants to crack jokes, but Galifianakis is not having any of it. He has questions. And he goes to dinner with Richter and learns things. "Andy and I have the same trainer."
If you enjoyed the previous episodes with Jon Hamm, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Jimmy Kimmel and Michael Cera, then, well, you already know you'll like this. Cue the crickets on tumbleweeds, hold onto your hats and wait until the end for the M. Nighty Night plot twist. Ready, set, roll the clip!
The Internet tells us all sorts of curious, wonderful and curiously wonderful things. Such as. This morning, I woke up and the Internet (through its legion of paid, subsidized and volunteer messengers) told me that Zach Galifianakis was turning 40 today. Happy Birthday, Zach! Then the Internet showed me this: Back in 2002, when he was hosting a short-lived late-night talk-show on Video-Hits-1, Galifianakis had an amusing chat session with Bradley Cooper. Someone should put these two guys in a big-screen comedy seven years later! (Not a spoiler alert) Roll the clip!
Related: See how Zach Galifianakis revolutionizes talk shows with his ongoing series, Between Two Ferns, on Funny or Die.
I had the opportunity last night to watch the first two episodes of HBO's new series, Bored to Death, which debuts on Sept. 20, and had a red-carpet premiere screening Thursday night in Manhattan. I didn't try to lobby all sorts of questions at the celebs who attended, although I did take a brief moment to pull out my Flip cam for a snapshot of the stars -- Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson -- when they posed with author/screenwriter Jonathan Ames and HBO execs. You can see a full assortment of official red-carpet and party photos via Wire Image.
Schwartzman plays a fictional version of Ames as a Brooklyn novelist and sometime-magazine writer who, reeling from getting dumped by his girlfriend (Olivia Thirlby), decides to post an ad on Craigslist posing as a private investigator. He's read tons of detective stories, so how hard could it be, right?
When he's not haphazardly tracking down missing persons or stalking a guy to find out if he's cheating on his ex (played by Kristen Wiig in episode two), the fictional Ames is hanging out with his cartoonist friend, Ray (Galifianakis) or bringing pot and providing moral support (?) to his magazine editor, George (Danson). Is it a noir comedy? Do dead men still wear plaid? Not in Brooklyn! Is it a dramedy, then? The real-life Ames, who wrote the initial short story that sold HBO on the project and followed up by writing the screenplays for Bored to Death, said that this series is true to his lifelong association with Brooklyn. As someone who lives in Brooklyn, but for far less time than Ames, I can attest to that. The borough, with all of its brownstone beauty, demographic mashups and quirks, shines through here. There's even a scene of Jonathan and Ray getting kicked out of their coffee shop hang because of a stroller brigade. I saw one early review compare Ames and his depiction of New York City to that of Woody Allen. Here, though, the neurosis is a bit more subtle. And that's a good thing. The acting performances are all great. Plus, as Ames said in introducing the screening, this series will show people not only how funny Galifianakis is, but also how good of an actor he is in the quieter moments. Patton Oswalt, Parker Posey, Jenny Slate and Oliver Platt all are due to appear in future episodes. HBO entertainment chief Sue Naegle told the screening audience last night that "this was the happiest set we visited" in the past year. It shows.
Hey, lookie here! It's a new extended trailer. Watch:
And more! Here is a full-length background "making of" video:
Your Tuesday afternoon has been my Tuesday morning, which means you may have seen this already. If not, though, please allow me to introduce you to the latest episode of "Between Two Ferns," the always-entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny play on talk shows, starring Zach Galifianakis. His guest today is Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron, who one-ups Galifianakis with both her humor and her sexuality. I should also note that Galifianakis will be starring in the new HBO series, Bored To Death, which debuts Sept. 20. OK. Roll the clip!
It has become increasingly clear that the summer of 2009 will be the moment in which everyone else learns what everyone who reads this site already knows: Zach Galifianakis will bemuse and bedazzle you with his wondrous sense of humor and comic timing.
The New York Times magazine did a big spread on him yesterday; The Wall Street Journal profiled him last week, too. All because of his scene-stealing performance in The Hangover, which opens this Friday (June 5). It's certain to get a lot of new people looking up his stand-up clips. But that's not all. His more arty film, Visioneers, gets screened June 3 at the 92YTribeca. Galifianakis also will star this summer in a big 3-D Disney live-action/animated comedy with secret agent guinea pigs, G-Force. Hopefully this will give Galifianakis the opportunities to do what he wants, and bring more of his projects to a wider audience. If they can handle laughing that much, that is.
You have had to have seen at least one of the funny trailers for the upcoming summer comedy, The Hangover, and you already have June 5 circled on your calendar to go to the cineplex to see it. Wait no more, however, for this latest installment of Zach Galifianakis' anti-talk show, Between Two Ferns, in which he gets slap-happy with his co-star, Bradley Cooper. And yes. As the title above suggests, there shall also be some Carrot Top action. (Note: Video does contain profanities, and Carrot Top). Enjoy!
The latest installment of the funniest talk show to hit the Internets, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, is up and ready for viewing. Galifianakis has Natalie Portman in his sights, and her little dog, too. Slightly NSFW. Slightly.
Today is Administrative Professionals Day, so bosses will remember to be extra nice to their administrative assistants, receptionists, secretaries and front desk workers. But will they write a song for them? Zach Galifianakis did. Or rather, his character from the upcoming movie, Visioneers, did. Enjoy?
But will we ever see Visioneers, the movie? The site says they have acquired a distribution deal, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I wonder how many comedians and entertainers continue to also toil away at a day job as an administrative professional. Did you know there's an International Association of Administrative Professionals?
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