Has Last Comic Standing Finally Figured It Out?
June 5, 2008 · Print This Article
Topics of the day include reworking your act for infants, shaving your head for cancer material, hacks “living on the edge”, the definitive 25 funniest people in America, and comics stepping up to defend LCS. What’s the deal with the Wiggles?
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
No download button? Hmmn, maybe I should refresh in a minute or so.
No download button here, but the rss feed has updated with the link to download. The show is here:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BehindTheBricks/~5/305224760/btb80.mp3
Hey B-Mo, about that Colbert Report comment (about people liking it for different reasons)… I went with a female friend to hang out at her friend’s house, and they got all excited at 11:30 when The Colbert Report came on, and ignoring The Daily Show. I asked why they didn’t want to watch TDS, and they were seriously like “Jon Stewart is just an arm of the liberal media, but Stephen Colbert is actually funny and isn’t biased.” I thought they were kidding, but they were absolutely serious, not a shred of sarcasm. So yes, there are people like that out there.
chur B-Co, chur.
I’ve heard Stephen Colbert doesn’t even let his kids watch the show because he doesn’t want them to get confused about his political views.
I don’t know if it’s true or not. It’s just what I’ve heard.
No worries about ditching me by the way B-Mo. I just figured since this was the second time that this one was the “hint” to go fuck myself.
Sorry to post 3 in a row but I’m putting this in as I listen since I have a horrible short term memory.
I want to agree with the judges comment about them not knowing anything about comedy. I worked with Fred Willard for one week on a film and he was a very nice guy. I will tell you he is incredibly nice and very supportive and very talented at what he does. But he has ‘old man’ mind. He forgets who you are within minutes and he says the same things to you everyday because he just seems to have ’senior moments.’ For example: I told him on many times that I was a stand up as well as an actor and he would see me making a table of people laugh and he’d keep stopping me and asking me if I’d ever thought about doing stand up. It was really disheartening, because I feel he’s brilliant.
Also, I hear (I can’t remember where i heard it but I believe it to be true) that the judges have a producer talking to them in their ear telling them who to put through and who not to. The judges have as much power as the Queen of England. They are just figureheads. If you watch the show you can see how edited to shit it is. I don’t doubt that there are some suits in the back that are telling them who they think will make for ‘good tv.’
In the words of George Carlin’s manager, “Let’s go do some show business.”
Sina.
Fuck me Sina, that’s sick stuff (although not totally unbelievable)
If they want/have to do that and pick the entrants through producers and the judges are figureheads why don’t they just do it Big Brother style. Get people to audition or send in a tape and go through that process rather than the charade of the judges.
I know why they’d still have judges; cause its good TV. Not honest, just good. I’d have more respect for the show if they just did that, be honest. Then went onto a BB style vote off; keep it consistent.
It reminds me of when you Brian used to complain that LCS doesn’t know what it wants to be. Talent show/Real World.
Speaking of Big Brother, it’s just started in the UK; and other pile of assholes have descended onto my screen being watched by even more assholes. I hope this year they just lock the door and keep ‘em in. Assholes!
I agree with both of you on the judge topic. They should just have the producers judge because they are clearly the ones making the decisions. It’s not like the judges add anything. We’re not talking about Simon Cowell here. They are pretty useless and not entertaining, and when they try to be entertaining (ie Ant) they come across as irritating. Just take them out of the process.
Here’s a link to the IMDb page for LCS. On the trivia page it mentions what I’m talking about.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364829/trivia
I started doubting this myself until I remembered where I saw it.
Sina.
Yeah B-mo, I mean to say thats and ATTEMPT at good tv!
BTW, when is LCS played in the US? Its on at 7.30pm on a Sat in the UK although not on a premier channel; its on Paramount Comedy over here. i.e. is it pushed for good ratings/ the American Idol lovin’ nimrod crowd?
so im eagerly awaiting/cowering under my bed for dana carveys stand up special. i know that alot of his act deals with impressions and my relationship with impressionests has always been rocky at best. on the other hand carvey is a certifiable comedic genius when he wants to be. im really hoping it goes well.
in other news Adam sandler’s nexy movie is going to be about stand up in some way. it will be a joint with judd apatow and honestly that has me really confident it will be done well. say what you will but Apatow has always been very positive about stand up in interviews. plus with guys like apatow and sandler behind it maybe the general public will be introduced to what stand up really is.
Only Brian can make his pain so funny.The Baby laughing cracked me up.
1. Tim Allen
2. Larry the Cable guy
3. Alan Alda
4. Kevin Pierrra
5. Brian Mollica (Lately B-mo has been slacking off)
6.Bill Cosby
7, John Candy
8. Whoppi Goldberg
9. Herold Perry
10. David Letterman
11/12 Laurel and Hardy
13/14/15/16 3 stooges
17. Jack Black
18. Eddie Murphy
19. David spade
20. Bill Murray
1. This sucks: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2005/03/66964
but like most fads it will probably blow over.
2. I read yet another internet rumor that the Bill Hicks biopic is in the works and that the actor most likely to do the role is (drumroll please) Russell Crowe. Yeah, I had the same reaction, but when I went looking at pics, I became convinced that he at least could look the part. But I’ve always thought John Cusack the better candidate. I’ve searched several times to see who has the rights, who might be writing the script, etc., and have always found nothing. Anyone got any dirt on this?
3. LCS. I auditioned in Chicago two years ago at the encouragement of one very funny dude, Tommy Drake, who I had met at a pro-am just a few weeks before. Awful experience. It was early March, and because the auditions were at Zanies, which holds about 37 people, we had to line up outside. Even after being herded in like cattle 10 at a time and made to wait single file in the back, when I went on stage I couldn’t feel my feet. I got a laugh out of the camera man and then got the good cop/bad cop routine from the producers. Not that I had any business being on TV then - or even now - but you could just feel the bullshit vibe of the whole process. After I was shown the door I ran into Tommy, who was waiting for his “appointment.” When I found out later that even he didn’t make it, I wrote off the whole thing. The only time I ever watched more than 30 seconds of the show was when I found the myspace page for April Macie, who is FUCKING HOTT. So I watched her LCS clip and…
…immediately went limp. Hey April, if we ever meet on the road, I will be more than happy to eat your ass after the show, on the condition that I don’t have to watch your act. If I do have to watch you perform, I get to video-tape me yanking your hair and spanking you while you look right into the camera and call yourself Toby.
I have never wanted off a funniest person list more that right now. I mean if I can’t beat the comedy juggernaut of Alan Alda in the year 2008, why bother?
Hmm… my top 5 intentionally funny people off the top of the head.
1. Doug Stanhope
2. Patton Oswalt -Werewolves and Lollipops and all of his other content make me laugh hard. besides his comedy central presents special, he’s fricken awesome.
3. Keith Malley- he puts out a touch more content than you brian.
4. Brian Mollica -still waiting for your second CD
5. Hugh Laurie/Writers of the show House. Amazingly, i laugh more during House than any episode of LCS, and most sitcoms.
I tried posting a link earlier but it wouldn’t let me post for some reason. So I’ll just tell you guys to go to IMDb.com and look under the trivia section of Last Comic Standing. That’s where I read about the ‘behind the scenes’ judges of Last Comic.
And I concur with Maverick. Your Baby Laughing bit was hysterical B-Mo. I’d definitely take that one to the stage.
DAn, a Hicks biopic would be awesome. John Cusak is a good shot…he not only looks like him but he’s got alot of the same views.
Jeez, finally caught up from falling behind on like 3 BTB episodes.
Sina, to answer your comment about Colbert not letting his kids watch his show, that is true. He said it on 60 Minutes and on Larry King. But what he said was he doesnt let them watch because the kids are young and dont understand sarcasm yet, so he doesnt want to confuse them into thinking their dad believes all those things.
Here’s my top 5 funny people list.
5. Maureen Dowd. Columnist for the NY Times if you dont know. Shes one of the only newspaper writers I know that I actually laugh out loud when I read her.
4. John Oliver. Great guy on the Daily Show, and it wasnt until I saw his Comedy Central special and when I worked with him at Comix in NY when I realized hes also an outstanding comic.
3. Larry David. Hes one of those guys who almost doesnt need to say anything to get a laugh out of me.
2. Katt Williams. Like Brian said, really underrated. He differentiates himself from the stereotypical black comics that just make fun of white people dancing by bringing fresh perspectives.
1. Paul F. Tompkins. Talk about a great storytelling comic. For goodness sake, the guy killed with a 6 minute bit about Peanut Brittle on his CD. Sure he’s on the hacky VH1 Best Week Ever show, but his stuff on Mr. Show back in the day was great, not to mention he had one of the best comedy albums last year.
theyre have been hicks biopic rumors for years but lets be honest, a movie revolving around bill hicks would be incredibly hard to do. for one hicks is only really well known in the comedy enthusiast community. and for all we know it could turn into a giant clusterfuck like “Wired”. but i have to agree Cusack would be good, but they should maybe try to get some one younger considering hicks didnt make it past forty.
Talking about what kinds of jokes are appropriate among various groups I work with Disabled Students and the jokes about each other’s disabilities are pretty hair raising. Each disability is unique and combination of different needs when you have a group of people where some of the people are hearing impaired and having the what is spoke hand interpreted while at the same time there are blind people etc.
It’s true that a Hicks biopic would not likely have the broad appeal that would make a major studio jump at it, but I definitely think the Bush years were the time to make the thing - I mean, if you listen to the England sets, especially the posthumously released ones from a couple years ago - called Salvation - it would have been dead on. Hicks died at 32, but I still think Cusack could pull it off with a minimum amount of “movie magic.”
I gotta agree with Smiley about how hard it would be to market a Bill Hicks movie. Outside of the concentrated comedy junkie community, he’s a no-name.
Look at the Andy Kauffman movie Jim Carrey did. The movie tanked. Despite all the publicity and news stories out there trying to show people who Andy Kauffman was, the movie really didnt have spectacular numbers at the box office. And I saw it, it wasnt all that bad of a flick. Its just hard to market.
Then again, you can get people to see anything if you market it correctly. I just think it would be really hard to sell a Bill Hicks movie.
Agree a Bill Hicks movie might seem a hard sell - but then a successful movie biopic about someone like like Johnny Cash might have seemed an unlikely box-office hit, but Walk the Line was a fantastic movie, and won loads of awards too.
I’m pretty sure there’s 100’s of great actors right now who would love the opportunity to play Hicks - and if they do as great a job as Joquain Phoenix as Johnny Cash, it’ll be a great movie too.
Well, the Johnny Cash movie came right after the heels of his death, where he was still fresh on many people’s minds. Hicks died almost 14 years ago.
Again, I’m not trying to say its impossible to market a Bill Hicks movie, I’m just saying its really really hard to.
But if I had to fantasize who would play a good Bill Hicks, I’d say Kevin Spacey. I just did a quick Google Image Search on Hicks and noticed Spacey sorta looks like him. Not to mention Spacey is an amazing actor.
I agree with you Aman but I’d also argue that Hicks is far more popular now because of the internet than he ever was when he was alive. I still think his fans are probably a fringe group of the population. I don’t know if it would be as successful as a Johnny Cash movie.
Spacey would definitely be a great Hicks though.
I have to agree with the nay sayers here. I would be first in line to see a Hicks bio pic. And that would be easy because I would be the only one in line. I just finished Hick’s biography, and while I loved every page, I’m not sure how much of it would translate to a film. It would take a very passionate Hicks lover with money to boot to make it happen. Johnny Cash was in a whole other bracket of fame. Not even fair to compare the 2.
The thing is though Hicks’ story is pretty wild. I wouldn’t say hicks himself has massive appeal but its how you tell the story.
You’ve got the going into comedy at a young age (14), getting into the LA scene at barely 20, getting shit faced when he first drank, alcoholism and drugs, New Age lifestyle, The Outlaw Comics, living it large in Houston, Sam Kinison, losing everything and getting booted off Letterman the first time, Rodney Dangerfield and Andrew Dice Clay, getting sober at 26, railing against the government, Bush et al, falling out with leno, getting big in the UK, then at 31 being diagnosed with cancer and having a mad year of getting as much as possible squeezed in, a TV show in the works, getting booted of Letterman again for those pro-life jokes, and just as his star was rising he died at 32.
As I can see, the story also has a great backdrop in Houston which the outlaws considered the Third Coast, as well as the comedy boom of the eighties and the war in Iraq and Bush and corporatism.
If you frame it like that it does have an interest for today.
I’d say it’s a great rags-to-almost riches story set in a backdrop of a weird time for the West. Also, you have to remember that Hicks has two documentaries and three books dedicated to him; TV movie at least anyone?
BTW, B-mo what biography have you read of his? I must have read both about 12 times!
I’m bringing you into my next pitch meeting Nick. Well done! I feel like getting a loan and having you direct this flick!
I just finished American Scream. Excellent book. I thought I knew about Hick’s back story but I clearly didn’t until reading this book. I agree that the most fascinating part was his interactions with other celebrities. It never really occurred to me that he flew in the same circle as other famous comics (except Kineson of course), so hearing about his history with Leno, and going to the clubs to watch Pryor perform were amazing.
Nick raises some excellent points, especially that Kineson and others who people do know well figure into the story. Then again a lot of folks might ask: why not a Kineson biopic, since he was more famous?
My guess is that someone is sitting on the rights (or the rumors probably wouldn’t persist). Could be his folks, could be Kevin Booth, could be some legal wrangling.
Reading the above comments still makes me think a Hick’s biopic is still worthy of an Oscar winning movie
And I think Oliver Stone would be the perfect director for any Hicks biopic.
With Stone, you’d have a fucked-up but obvious hero in Hicks (possibly played by Tim Robbins.)
Then you’d have other real-life characters all played by leading Hollywood actors, like
Sam Kinison - played by Jack Black
Jay Leno - played by Will Ferrell
And Dennis Leary - played by…..help me here, folks….
(what leading American actor would be best at portraying the sleazy gag-stealing Leary as the villain of the movie? Steve Carell in a blonde spiky wig maybe?)
(I also forgot to mention that the reason i believe the Andy Kaufman Man In The Moon movie died at the box-office was due to Jim Carrey starring. Carrey did a fantastic job as Kaufman, but I think the reason the movie flopped was due to mainly Carrey fans coming to see the movie and expecting another Ace Ventura/Dumb And Dumber comedy movie, rather than a sensitively shot biopic about one of the most original comedians ever. )
And I genuinlely believe a movie about an obscure opinionated comedian dying way too young could still be an award winner.
Would you want to see another movie about some young chick getting pregnant way too early? Me neither.
But then a clever movie about with brilliant dialogue about the above topic like JUNO comes along and sweeps up at both the box-office and Award ceremonies all over the world.
With the right director and actor, I don’t see how a Hicks movie can’t do the same.
YEs, American Scream is excellent……also Agent of Evolution is fantastic…..it’s almost half bio/half interviews from friends and family on Hicks….I think you really get deeper into his cricle and how real he was.What I like about Agent of Evolution is how human he is in it and how his friends don’t talk about him like he’s fucking superman…..Kevin Booth is pretty frank about when he and Bill fell out for example but thats great cuase it makes it richer.
Love All the People is also essential reading…it’s a collection of the traniscription os all his recorded sets and LOADS of his writings including letters to Letterman and Leno about when he got kicked off.
I’m ambivalent about a Hicks biopic. I’ma huge fan of his work, but i’ve ssen too many biopics not come off well. Its really hard it seems to have an actor play a convincing stand up. I think Dustin Hoffman is brialliant and I really liked Lenny but he’s not a comedian and it really shows in that film. He really doesn’t do justice to Bruce’s ability and talents.
Russell Crowe..are you kiding me? Cusack maybe. It would be best if some unknown actor stepped into that role.
If a Hicks movie were ever made, do you think they’d mention the whole Denis Leary joke-stealing topic or ignore it? I’m not saying Leary still wields a ton of clout, but who knows if it’s enough to apply some pressure on producers. Either way, I’d argue that a Hicks/Leary rivalry would draw more of an audience.
Love all the people is an amazing book, unfourtanetly its only sold in the UK so i had to specialty order it. it was a great resource for me. it tuaght me 2 things: 1) I will never be Hicks or as good as him. he was an american original like Hunter S Thompson or the Ramones. and 2) although i’ll never be hicks i actively try to inject the truth into every joke i write.
Anyway, in refrence to story teller month i feel compelled to ask for christopher titus. i came across his Norman Rockwell special a few nights ago on the secret stash and it still makes me laugh. it was also a very good resource because ive currently been trying to incorporate more storytelling into my act. so there you go.
Dennis Kucinich is trying to impeach Bush right now live on television.
Turn on C-Span or go to Cspan.org
This is crazy.
Nick, I’m sold.
Let’s make this fucker then!
“If a Hicks movie were ever made, do you think they’d mention the whole Denis Leary joke-stealing topic or ignore it?”
Even though the proof that Leary did “pay homage” to Hick’s material is so strong, I doubt if any movie maker’s would mention Leary by name, at least while he’s still alive just for the legal problems it would cause. They’d probably have a gag-stealing character that was based on Leary, called Lennie Deary or something.
im with yah nick, as hard as it would be i would jump through fire for the chance to honer hicks.
Hi guy’s I’m a french comedian from Montreal so my english kinda sucks. i’m a big fan of the podcast, new to the board.
First of all the Bill Hicks movie thing made me laugh. Russell Crowe?! Really?! Funny to think that Bill Hicks would probably be the first to puke on that kind of movie. Everybody is talking about how this movie will not sell in the mainstream… Bill Hicks never cared about the mainstream!!! If they are going to make a movie about Hicks it has to be made by passionnate people who don’t care about the paycheck, not big studios who see’s oportunity for an Oscar or something.
Second, Chris Rock out of the top 25?! What??!! I can let everything slide about that top 25 but to left out the most important comic of his generation is ridiculous. I agree, his movies sucks but he’s one of the most brilliant comic touring right now!! He could at least bump that hacky Sarah Silverman who thinks that shocking people is an act. Yes you have to surprise people to make them laugh but to have some joke-writing hability is also appreciated.
Sorry if my first post sounds a bit condescendante (and full of grammatical errors) but I had to let that one out.
On a more positive note here is my personnal top 5 right now :
5. Bill Burr : Really underrated in my opinion. Everybody saw him snap in Philly, classic! But his normal material is great to
4. Patton Oswalt: He’s been mentionned. Great great comedian
3. Patrice Oneal: Incredible stage presence. Ballsy, arrogant, funny guy!
2. Louis Ck: He’s on his prime. In my opinion, the next cult comic
1. Doug Stanhope: Simply the most brilliant comic today. when he’s not too drunk and dont fall too much in unnessecary vulgarity, he’s the best.
Tim Robbins, there’s one I hadn’t considered. For the answer to who should play Leary, go here:
http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/news/070625/denis_leary.jpg
Well the top 25 funniest refers to funniest people today, as in right at the moment. Chris Rock is a legend, no question. Unfortunately, his last smash hit was his Never Scared special on HBO in 2004. I know he just did a huge tour and taped an HBO special, but the past four years he hasnt really done too much.
I’m not saying “hey he should be in nobody’s list.” I’m just saying I can understand why people arent
I don’t really understand that “rule”. It’s not well defined. There’s a bunch of people on the list who hasnt done much lately. Chris Rock is selling enormous theatres accross the country! I know another guy who is doing exactly that but on a smaller scale, his name is Jim Gaffigan and he’s number 1!!
No disrespect to Jim, one of my favorite but it’s not even in the same league. Chris Rock is bigger, better… an shockingly blacker
We are looking for what? Guy’s with a big following? Comedians on the come up? Comics who’ve hit big in 2008? Cause I can’t see no connection between Steven Wright (who has 2 cds in 20 years), Lisa Lampenelli (whos only doing roast) and Lewis Black (whos having a bad bad year).
Help me out because it really sound like a list of “my personnal favorites” and have nothing to do with “the funniest”.
Personnally I would’nt include a lot of tv personnalites. TV is too formated to let the funny out of a person. Of course theres exceptions but… I just cant compare a tv guy who is making me chuckle by making a funny innofensive line with a comedian with gutsy, raw material who’s making me cry tears of laughter. Sorry
We have to clarify the point of the list. I have nothing against the people on the list, almost all funny people but the “funniest in the world”?!
Guillaume, your English is better than ours!
Always interested to know about other languages , how big is the stand up scene in the French speaking world? What’s the comedy like there? I;’ve spoken to other Europeans who say English people like me are quick and witty which is probably about right. (Iknow there’ll be different issues over your way)
B-mo, you should totally have this mec on the show!
Nick
“For the answer to who should play Leary, go here:
http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/news/070625/denis_leary.jpg”
Definitely a resemblance there. But I thought the physical similarity between Leary and this other famous stand-up is even spookier:
http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/Image/ellen(5).jpg
Shit - that didn’t work - go here for Leary’s secret comedian lookalike instead:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/10/18/PH2007101800082.jpg
.
Hey Guillaume. First of all, welcome my friend. The list was my take on the Entertainment Weekly article of the 25 funniest people in America in 2008. I had to force myself to expand the list out of stand up, because that’s what EW did. I could easily put together an all comic list. As for your disagreement with the people on my list, that’s what lists are for. They mean nothing and all they do is fire people up and get them talking, so if it got you here I’m happy with the list.
I definitely mean no disrespect to Rock. Top 5 all time and producer of the best single hour of comedy ever. But as Aman said, I haven’t heard much from him the past year other than his movies, which haven’t been up to the standard I hold him. I think Gaffigan has come into his own the past year and established himself in the mainstream as a comic, which is why I gave him the top spot.
Yeah the list that Entertainment Weekly put together (shoddily might I add) was simply taking a thermometer reading at the current moment. I’d be insane to not have Chris Rock in my favorite comics of all time list.
All I was saying at the absolute current moment, he’s not at the top of anyone’s list. Even though he’s an incredible comic, he’s not gracing any magazine covers for his show Everyone Hates Chris or the movie I Think I Love My Wife.
But I know he’ll be back in the limelight again in no time. He’s in his early 40s (I think?) and still brings that edge he’s been bringing for 15-20 years. Definitely looking forward to that HBO special he taped.
Anybody have any idea when that thing is coming out?
All right so (correct me if I’m wrong Brian) the list is the list you would have want to see in the entertainement weekly. With no underground comedians, only guy’s with big expsosure. If that’s so, I understand the list better.
@ Nick:
The stand up comedy scene is pretty big in Quebec compared to our demography. After all, montreal is the place where the just for laugh festival was born. A lot of people don’t know that but just for laugh have a french division (juste pour rire), in fact the whole festival started in french. It’s the same concept, only in french. This summer I’m doing a televised gala in front of 2000 people in the same theatre where Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chapelle and Chris Rock made hit.
Aproximately 20 comedians are touring accross the province selling out big theatres. The comedy club concept is not popular so instead you have to play in front of 1000 people each night… what a bummer
As for Europe, I just went a couple of months ago and the comedy scene is not well structured at all. In France you’re either making millions out of your comedy or nothing at all. And you’re are totally right Nick, the french have no edge. It’s all theatrical shit. Imagine a country where everybody is doing shows like Christopher Titus except with less talent. The stand up is not really popular in France.
By the way to get back with the subject, just for laugh organised not long ago a “last comic standing” in french, it sucked. I did the show, it was horrible.They are making the same mistake of putting judges who don’t know shit about stand up. This show sucks around the world!
So Last Comic Standing is merde in other languages….what a surprise!