A comedian friend posted this quote on Facebook. I couldn’t find the source, so who knows if Gottfried actually said it. Either way, I think the quote is pretty funny.
“I think standup comedy these days should come with instructions for people that’s all…if u think it’s funny laugh, if u don’t don’t laugh.” – Gilbert Gottfried
Do you like funny music? Have you heard of Reggie Watts? He might be my favorite musical comedian because of his ridiculous, fresh approach to comedy.
If you’ve never seen him before, you need to see his Netflix special, Why Shit So Crazy. He uses a looping machine to beatbox entire songs of himself singing and playing on the keyboard. It’s a lot of “whoa, that’s awesome” moments mixed with “what the fuck is he doing, this is hilarious” moments. It isn’t just music that’s special, though. He starts out the set by just rambling on stage pretty incoherently for a while, saying “crazy shit” that doesn’t really make much sense until people start to laugh at it. Was “incoherent” and “doesn’t really make sense” redundant? Well now it certainly is.
One of my favorite parts in the special is where he fumbles around with his microphone for several minutes straight. You can find the video on YouTube currently, although who knows how long those videos will last.
Usually, I’m not a huge fan of separating men and women comedians. And that’s why I actually really enjoyed this documentary. Usually, the point of a documentary like this would be to go: “Oh wow, look how much of a path woman have blazed for other women in comedy.” But this documentary isn’t like that.
Yes, it’s all about women comedians and what they’ve accomplished in comedy. But what I enjoyed about it the most is the ending. The documentary gradually moves towards saying something to the effect of: “There is no difference between men and women in comedy anymore.” Which, I think, is really healthy. Sure, there are still some slight differences between men and women in comedy today, as there are always bound to be. But, those differences just aren’t worth bringing up anymore for the sake of moving past them. And that’s pretty much the consensus among every woman who is interviewed in the documentary.
Sarah Silverman, one of the last to share her two cents at the end, pretty much sums it up.
“The last relic of it being hard for women in comedy is the question – is the question: ‘What’s it like being a woman in a man’s world?’ And you go, ‘Oh, that question is the last thing left of it, because women run comedy.'”
The documentary was produced by Makers and you can watch it here. Sorry, I can’t find a way to embed it here because they used some weird format – probably precisely for that reason.
If you found this interesting, you can read more about my thoughts on women in comedy here.
A comedian friend posted this on Facebook saying that he’d seen it a few times before, but that looking at his bank account balance while sleeping on the couch made him remember it.
Here’s why I’m not a sad computer programmer, for instance:
Realize that sleeping on a futon when you’re 30 is not the worst thing. You know what’s worse, sleeping in a king bed next to a wife you’re not really in love with but for some reason you married, and you got a couple kids, and a job you hate. You’ll be laying there fantasizing about sleeping on a futon. There’s no risk when you go after a dream. There’s a tremendous amount of risk to playing it safe.
I just found this website called The Comedy Nerds and it’s a pretty darn cool little site dedicated to all different types of comedy. That’s right: stand up, sketch, improv – you name it. Seriously, name it. Okay, fine. Don’t.
So The Comedy Nerds has thousands of podcast episodes talking about everything comedy. On cool topics like “Were the 80’s the golden age of comedy movies?” I feel like I’ll spend a lot of time exploring the site.
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve added a “Things I Like” page to the site. Pretty self-explanatory. These are really just a bunch of links to things I like in the comedy world. Mostly great websites and stuff for people who are interested in comedy. Like, comedy nerds. This one’s been added to the list!
The Writers’ Room on Netflix and The Writers’ Room Podcast offer a glimpse into what goes on in the heads of the people who pen the most popular and interesting television scripts out there today.
I first found the show through a screenwriting class (cool, right?) and then rediscovered it on Netflix recently, prompting me to watch all six episodes in quick succession. If you’re curious about what it’s like to write for Breaking Bad, Parks and Recreation, Dexter, New Girl, Game of Thrones, American Horror Story, and more, definitely take a look. It’s not just about comedy; it’s about the beautiful, lovely craft of writing!
Here’s a taste…
Do you need some tips to help your writing stand out to agents looking for the next big thing? No? Me neither, never mind.
Here are some ideas to get you thinking about scriptwriting in a different way. Although it bills itself as a “for getting an agent” thing, this is really a useful read for learning about screenwriting in general. I mean, if you think about it, writing that will impress an agent is darn close to the same writing that will impress producers and other writers. So these are pretty good writing tips for any screenwriter.
I really need to set aside more time for screenwriting. I guess I’ll do that.
The featured picture shows the intersection of Macdougal and 3rd Streets in the West Village. Ben’s Pizzeria can be seen in the opening credits of the show Louie, where Louis CK grabs a bite of pizza and a passer-by flips him off. It’s also the scene for a first date in the pilot episode. The pizza is pretty good.
As a lot of conversations among comedians start, I was on the train with my friend Mark. I asked him if he’d seen Master of None (MoN) on Netflix yet. He said, “Yeah! I thought it was awful – I couldn’t watch past the first episode.” And of course I was like, “What?! That’s crazy! I think it’s awesome!”
I lied: his real name isn’t Mark. Way to lose the reader’s trust 15 seconds in.
Hey, remember that summer blockbuster Trainwreck that Amy Schumer wrote and starred in? That happened because Judd Apatow went up to Amy Schumer and was all, “We should do a movie together” and she was like, “Yeah defs, Judd.” That’s the kind of power Apatow has.
For people who don’t really care about behind-the-camera stuff much are probably like “I don’t know who that guy is,” but you should. Before I knew anything about movies or television (now I know a few things, maybe), I never really thought too much about writers or directors. Most people, me included, only focus on the actors because that’s who is there. That’s who you see. They’re usually the ones credited with the roles rather than the people who really invented the parts.
Apatow is one of the best comedy screenwriter/producer/directors out there and he came from comedy. Which means that he started by doing stand up. I think that’s a really unique point that most people don’t notice or pick up on. A lot of “humor” screenwriters have never actually done stand up before: they’re just writers. Apatow is also a performer, so it’s cool to see him come back to stand up again and come full circle, in a way.
This reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian documentary, which was about his comeback to stand up after Seinfeld. Maybe it’s not quite the same thing, but it has reminded me to post about that documentary at some point, so that’s good!
I got roped into this Apatow stuff by listening to the Todd Barry Podcast, on which Apatow was a guest this week. You can read about Apatow’s comeback here and listen to the podcast episode here (Ep. 111).
One other side thing that I heard about in the podcast was a pilot that Apatow is working on with Pete Holmes. It’s called Crashing and it’s a semi-autobiographical, single-camera comedy that has Holmes crashing on the couches of NYC comics. It sounds awesome and I’m hoping that it gets picked up by HBO because I want to see it. Who is Pete Holmes? He hosted The Pete Holmes Show, which ran on TBS from 2013 to 2014. Also, he purchased like 5 breakfast bars in front of me at the Denver airport once. You can find out more about that project here.
Once in a while I’ll look to share a cool stand up set from a comic I find cool or interesting. This is one of those times. Right, now. It’s happening, people!
This set that Randy Liedtke did on Conan was not your typical late night set, which I think makes it really cool. For part of it, he grabs his iPad and plays his “audiobook.”
Not your typical stuff. Check it out! Liedtke recently recorded his Comedy Central album. You can learn more about Liedtke here.
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