Day: February 14, 2008

NYC Underground Comedy Fest sets 2008 dates

Posted by | Feb 14, 2008 | |

The New York Underground Comedy Festival will return this year, specifically from Oct. 3-12, and even more specifically, announcing its focus will be on serving the industry. Another sign of a post-Aspen comedy world, perhaps? The festival will accept submissions from comics in two categories: Professional Comic and Emerging Comic. The Emerging Comics take part in a contest, and it’s limited to stand-ups without TV credits. The rest of your questions may be answered from this MySpace bulletin…after the jump. Does this mean I don’t have to defend my title as New York’s Funniest Reporter? This submission info comes straight from the festival: For the PROFESSIONAL COMIC: Send in a DVD of 20 minutes or more, plus a recommendation letter from an industry professional (agent, manager, or club owner), between March 1 and June 30. No fee. But recommendations will be verified. For the EMERGING COMIC’S CONTEST: Send a DVD of at least five minutes. Fee of $25 before July 1. Fee goes up to $40 in August. Lineup announced Sept. 15. Questions about the rules or the festival? Email info@nycundergroundcomedy.com (NOTE: Already heard from at least one comedian who said this email link is bouncy-bouncy-no-worky. BUT! They’ve updated with an actual physical address to send DVDs and $…to…Hubris Entertainment, Box 200697, South Ozone Park, NY...

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Damon Wayans and WayOutTV

Posted by | Feb 14, 2008 | |

When I last spoke with Damon Wayans a few months ago, I already knew of his plans to launch his own online humor site, WayOutTV. He told me in November: "I’m trying to perfect YouTube. Instead of people uploading whatever they want, I’m filtering what people produce in entertainment…It’ll start in comedy. In that arena. Eventually it’ll branch out into all forms of artisitic expression…It’s called wayout because I’m looking for a way out for artists." No cute Way-in, Way-out wordplay there. And in his press release today, Wayans maintains his talking points and likens his new site to "In Living Color 2.O." On his YouTube page, he further describes his brainchild as "an incubator to develop innovative television shows for the internet." So what do the six videos released for his launch suggest about the innovative second-edition In Living Color? Well, that innovation means looking back 11 years to a short film about pimps and hos. That his son, Damon Jr., is going to be the next big star, thanks to the easiest prison-makes-you-gay premise and the prominent repetition of that word that starts with an "n" and ends with "igger." The other four videos feature Vincent Oshana, and three of them are TV ad spoofs, one which says "I can’t hear you now, because I’m deaf and somehow still holding a cell phone to my ear," another...

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Valentine Video Roundup

Posted by | Feb 14, 2008 | |

Valentine’s Day is today, and in the grand tradition of parallel thinking in comedy, several videos are ready for your viewing pleasure to get through this "holiday," no matter your relationship status. Let’s take a look. The Onion News Network might be thought as callous for going after lonely women, but they always manage to turn a topic on its head. And quite professionally, too. It’s almost like a real local TV news report. Which is the point of this parody production. Online Dating Helping Pathetic Women Get Their Hopes Crushed More Efficiently Funny or Die devotes the top half of its main page to Valentine’s Day vids. Of course, this site’s niche is the roster of celebrity cohorts, so they invariably go to that well again today. Happy VD! on FunnyOrDie.com Super Deluxe: Ah, Super Deluxe. I embedded a video earlier this week from Dave Hill. Here’s another little gem of a sketch, this time from Ben...

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Jimmy Kimmel, back with writers

Posted by | Feb 14, 2008 | |

I almost forgot Jimmy Kimmel. My bad. Kimmel returned to the airwaves, too, last night, and mentioned the writers right off the bat. Confetti dropped. Horns blared. "So sit back and get ready for top-notch professionally-made comedy," Kimmel said. "And I’ll let you know when it kicks in." He talked about how writers had to watch all of this craziness happen without being able to joke about it. "Another gift from the comedy gods: Roger Clemens," he said. Which led to jokes and clips and a Carrot Top joke. "Welcome back, writers!" He said that’s when the confetti was supposed to fall. "Are other people on strike now?" he asked. "Are they on shifts?" Which reminds me, I didn’t include this earlier, and you may have seen it, but still. Recently, Sarah Silverman produced this anniversary gift for her boyfriend, Kimmel. Yes, this is the Matt Damon revenge...

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The Colbert Report, back with writers

Posted by | Feb 14, 2008 | |

Barack Obama has hope? "I hope I can get through this script," Stephen Colbert declares in the intro to Wednesday night’s show. Something he learned? "Reading is a muscle. And it can go soft on you." Also? "I was able to shave my strike beard. (pause for laughs) Downtown." And just as I wondered when any of the late-night guys were going to publicly acknowledge their writers, Colbert introduces them onstage one by one, handing them pens in some weird spin on a graduation processional, and somehow Tiki Barber is included in the mix. So, too, Kevin Bacon. And The Met! All of the actual Colbert Report writers got their proper due, as well. "I got my prompter back," Colbert said. They cut to the prompter: "Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow." And then onto the news to be spun. Would he already have a "Word" ready? Colbert has said previously that this is the most writer-intensive part of the show (I’ve heard him say it). But first, a guest. Then a new segment, "Stephen Colbert’s Fallback Position." It’s about backup careers in case he’s no longer wanted as a pundit. Taped segment, most probably. Still funny, though, because it allowed Colbert to exercise his improv muscles learning astrophysics at the Hayden Planetarium. No need to rush a new "Word" out of the writers. Enough to celebrate them and give them...

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