Hicks On The Big Screen: Destined For Greatness Or Failure?
June 12, 2008 · Print This Article
Ricardo Lewis stops by the show once again, and that can only mean one thing, a sweet Simon Cowel impression is in the works. Ricardo gives his state of the British comedy union address, and talks about why comics and booze love each other so damn much.
Other topics include not understanding the most obvious of satires, B-Mo’s list draws fire from a neighbor to the north, could a Bill Hicks bio-pic be a commercial success, and a well established comic comes to the defense on Last Comic Standing. He’s gonna be a pedophile when he grows up.
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
Hicks On The Big Screen: Destined For Greatness Or Failure? [66:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Hey Bmo, something thats never been discussed are segues. How you do em? When? Why? How does everyone else on the boards do em
Man, it really depends I like grandfathering most of my elements so its a bit of a callback (to use the lingo) when I bring them up later as bits it doesn’t seem that out of place, so when I do go for an abrupt change there is even more of a disconnect between what I was doing earlier and what I’m doing now.
The grandfathering thing is something I got the idea of because I hate that sitcom Important character/object of the week which is never mentioned again thing, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I don’t even know if the audience notices it though, I like to think they do, because I’m narcissistic, like a lolicon tranny.
… Wait, did Brian just say Middle School bring your father to work day? Like, you go to work with your ten year old son who is being forced to work in some sort of hellish Nevada casino where he dances for tips like some sort of lolicon tranny?
Man, typing while listening is harder work than it should be, Ricardo has a really nice voice, its like sherry. I shouldn’t talk about alcohol, because of the substance abuse thing this show is talking about and I’m really hung over, like a lolicon tranny.
Meant to say school, but in my case, this kid is going to be working by age 9. Daddy’s got a dream!
Thanks for fuckin up my name Brian
You have to say Wagner like it’s a V, it’s German… But I gotta agree, my name sound pretty gay and stupid!
Hey Brian, have you ever made a list of must have stand up dvd’s? Cause I’m a big collector and I’m curious about wich one you recommand. Something like a top 5 must have, top 5 new releases and you can even add a top 5 “to avoid at all cost!”
Has anyone seen the promo ads for the Dana Carvey HBO Special? Here’s a link from HBO site:
http://www.hbo.com/events/dana-carvey/index.html?ntrack_para1=feat_main_image
What’s up with Dana’s face? Has he had major work done or is the ad just heavily airbrushed? Or is he going for a “Dane Cook” look? In any event he looks like a creepy motherfucker.
I was really looking forward to the special, but I’ve got some doubts about it now.
Oh man that is creepy as shit. He looks like Glenn Close.
Hey great show. Ok so this week I placed in Houston’s Funniest person contest. Now that in conjunction with the little blip I had on last comic standing I think I maybe have something to bs a resume. I mean I’ve been featuring hear and there for about a year and a half now but im just not good at selling myself. Now that it seems maybe i have some decent selling points Im interested on how I go about parleying it into more shows. Suggestions
The greatest tool you have are the people you have worked with. A solid tape and professional press kit got me approximately 3 gigs in almost a decade. A recommendation from a comic or booker has landed me just about everything else.
Hey Nick…I try to think of certain bits that would go well together and try to group them as such. Like I have a dozen jokes that involve being in my car or cars in some way so I’ll write down the setups and the punchlines and try to see if there are any obvious common denominators with certain punchlines and setups so I can use a line or two to create a segue. The shorter your segue the better. I try to lump my material into chunks. I do a chunk on cars and then a chunk on vegas and then a chunk on childhood stories.
Categorizing my material helped me most of all. Find common threads between the bits and then mash them together. It’s okay to lie a little bit. I have 2 short stories that happened at different times but I just merge them into one story that is much easier and more interesting to tell/listen to.
Does that help? Or am I just being redundant?
yeah, I get the whole ‘grouping’ thing - I suppose its really where you want to take you act as a comic either be a rapid fire one liner guy on one end of the spectrum and a storyteller on the other.
I suppose segues are harder when you have to keep changing how long you do your act. What does a comic do when on a 5 minute showcase vs an hour long set.
I noticed some comics like to ironically point out the lack of, or bad segues. Like when Dave Attell says somethign pretty creepy then turns around and says ‘I guess what I saying is I miss my dad……’ or when Eddie Izzard goes from TV to sharks and goes ‘Well, sharks are often on TV.’
Interesting you say DVDs rather than CDs Guillame, we already have had a top list of comedy albums but the DVD is a different creature maybe worth a mention…..more popular in the UK for comics than CDs.
That’s what I think Nick. Cds are great, I heard the top list but DVDs are interesting too. It’s the best medium for physical comedy and you see things you can’t see in a comedy album like where is the show taking place, what the crowd look like, what is the level of energy of the performer.
Would be great to have a top list
Here’s a story related to the biopic thread. I’m not calling it in because it’s not really a joke, but it is true and kind of funny in a creepy way.
Back in early 2000 I wrote a screenplay called “Killing Stephen King” (yeah I hate those kinds of titles too, now), in which an over-educated, alcoholic young poet named Stephen King decides to trek to Maine to kill the master of horror. When I finished it, I knew I had zero chance of selling it if I didn’t at least have King’s permission to use his likeness. So my brother in LA got a buddy who was an entertainment lawyer to send the script to King’s assistant. Within a couple months the assistant emailed back to say that King liked the idea but did not want to be any part of it should we actually sell it.
The next step was to get that in writing in a legally valid form, so the lawyer sent that request back to the assistant. Months went by. There was word that King was ill for a while, blah blah, so we were patient. Months turned into a year and then a year and a half. Finally, we learned that in that time King and his family had had a pretty serious stalker situation, to the point where they felt their safety was threatened. When that got resolved, King had his family vote on whether to allow us to pursue KSK, and they voted NO - “too close to home” I think the email said, and that put the official kibosh on that. True story. I’m sharing this because I’m thinking I might take a stab at a Hicks script - not because I have any chance of selling it, but if I do it right, maybe I can bring him back to life
That’s an awesome story…..and certainly illustrates the problems with getting anythign done in the entertainment industry! It would be awesome if you had a go at that script, I’m sure everyone on BTB would be on call to pitch in and give you a hand.
Hey guys, I wanna read one of Bill Hicks bio. Which one do you recommend?
And while we’re at it, do you know any good stand up bio books? I know Brian talked about the book of Steve Martin on the show. Any other suggestions? Pryor? Bruce?
I’ve red the bio of Andy Kaufman by Bob Schmuda and it’s really one of my favorite. Great insight on this complex man
How to talk dirty and influence people (Lenny Bruce) is really good. Interesting to hear his point of view on his addiction. He claims he only took pain killers and there was a prescription for everything. I also heard that Kurt Cobain did heroin to combat his acid reflux.
I read Jay Leno’s book Leading With My Chin and thought it was good. I dont really think hes a funny comic these days, but man after reading that book I have a tremendous amount of respect for his rise to fame.
There’s an interesting part in there where he talks about how after every show, he would run off stage and hide in the bathroom stalls and listen to people as they came in to see what they truly thought about his performance. And getting that honest feedback helped him hone his craft
Hmmm…I’ll have to read Leno’s book. I love reading about peoples’ journeys to fame. It’s interesting he used to do that. I have thought about doing something like that but I’ve decided that I don’t think I really want to know what people think. Being in stand up for a while has made me respect the common man’s opinion quite a bit less than I used to. I know that makes me sound like some sort of elitist but I know when I’m good and when I’m not and it has nothing to do with audience reaction.
I might be on my own with this one. I’ll definitely go buy Leno’s book though. Thanks for the recommend.
In shorter sets, I say “screw segues.” If I use them, I try to make them ridiculous. Like I’ll have a joke about babies and then say “Speaking of food…” and go into a joke about buffalo wings. Segues and callbacks are definitely easier in longer sets.
On Hicks bio, I hate to sound like a bit of a dick but both American Scream and Agent of Evolution are good; American Scream is more of your standard bio and Agent is half bio/half stories from friends and families on periods in his life. It would depend on what you want.
But honestly, I prefer Agent of Evolution if you have to make the choice. It feels more personal and deeper. What I also like about it is that often his friends don’t venerate him as a hero or a saint; they’re pretty realsitic. It makes him more human; the one thing about Hicks that pisses me off is how he’s made/seen as this transcendent comedy figure. He was just HUMAN; a great one/ a mad one but human none the less.
As before Love All the People is awesome too; transcripts of EVERY recorded stand up Hicks did, including interviews, writings and letters to The NEw Yorker and LEno and LEtterman.
Enjoy!
That’s a great point Joel, I quite like it when comics refer to aspects of stand up like segues….it can be quite funny.
Thanks for the recommandations. I already have love all the people, good read.
I really wonder if Pryor convictions is any good. Here’s a guy who has an interesting/weird/tragic/fucked up story.
I will read Leno and agent of evolution.
Great show as always Bmo, and good to hear from fellow Brit Ricardo, would be good to hear his opinions on the British scene……
Guillaume - being as DVDs are my big thing as they are bigger in the UK rather than Cd’s heres my top 5
1. Lee Evans - Live at her Majestys ( old but still Great )
2. Eddie Izzard - Unrepeatable
3. Steven Wright - I have a Pony
4. Ross Noble - Unrealtime
5. Peter Kay - Live at the top of the tower
6. Mark Thomas - Serious organised Criminal
Apologies of half of these are meaningless to most but i don’t get many US ones, and i know its 6 but i remebered No6 at the last minute but didn’t want to get rid of any, and Mark Thomas is more Political Activist in a Stand up world
To all the UK guys on this comment thread, how big is Russell Brand in the UK? I saw him on Leno last week and was dying laughing. I never heard of him before and now I’m youtubing just about anything I can get my hands on with him in it.
If any of you guys wanna see Russell Brand on Leno (its about 20-25 mins into the clip), click here:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/22439/the-tonight-show-mon-jun-9-2008#s-p1-so-i0
What do all the British listeners here think about Russell Brand? I saw him for the first time last week on the Tonight Show and thought he was hysterical. I hadnt heard of him before and I’ve been YouTubing videos of him nonstop.
Apparently he was in the Forgetting Sarah Marshall movie, and has roles coming up in another Judd Apatow movie and an Adam Sandler one coming up.
You can watch the episode of Russell Brand on Leno here (its about 20-25 mins in).
http://www.hulu.com/watch/22439/the-tonight-show-mon-jun-9-2008#s-p1-so-i0
oops sorry about the multiple postings. whomever is moderating this can delete the extra one
well i just saw the dana carvey special and it was good, not great but good.
CJack,
sorry but I just can’t get into Peter Kay. He really does nothing for me.
‘Cup of tea?’ Yeah, thats the shape your hand makes when you ask people that. Get over it!
Whats the deal with him? Am I missing something?
What do the UK people here think about Russell Brand? I had never heard of him before, until I saw him on the Tonight Show last week. I thought he was hysterical and now I’ve been frantically trying to YouTube everything I can find on him.
How big is he in the UK? Apparently he was in the recent Forgetting Sarah Marshall movie which I havent seen, and in an upcoming movie with Adam Sandler
He’s HUGE in the UK; I’m not a big fan to be honest but he’s done pretty well for himself.
My thoughts on Russell Brand are similar to what I think about Ricky Gervais. Not all that great of a standup comic, but really funny personality in roles he plays
Ok after that conversation on comics and alcohol I totally get how so many comics get sober or have huge alcohol/drug problems. It’s the type of person that the industry demands. I imagine part of it is the delayed adulthood that comes with stand up?
Many comics are either teetotal or have got sober after having a problem. I’ve put together a list…..anyone got any more?
Sarah Silverman
Brett Butler
Greg Giraldo
Bill Hicks
Rich Vos
Glenn Wool
Peter Kay
Richard Pryor
Frank Skinner
Dane Cook
Paula Poundstone
Richard Lewis
Robin Williams
Jim Norton
Colin Quinn
Rick Shaprio
And I would assume Dave Chappelle with him being Muslim?
And Jackie the Joke Man?
“What do the UK people here think about Russell Brand?”
I did actually have Russell Brand written down as the 3rd topic to chat with Brian on the Uk comedy scene podcast after Ricky Gervais and Little Britain - Brand being kind of relevant to the US scene after the box office success of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the fact he’s based in Hollywood right now trying to make a name for himself in the States.
I personally find Brand a mixed bag comedy-wise. I don’t find much of his solo stand-up that funny, but he’s undeniably brilliant at riffing and improvising, especially on chat shows.
And I can’t see his comedy stylings ever capturing American hearts and minds. Half of his act that made him a hit in the UK was his mix of flowery Victorian language and obscure British slang, and I really don’t know if typical phrases of his like “I laughed so hard that an ickle bit of wee-wee water came out of me tummy banana!” will play that well in the Midwest…
I could be wrong though..
.
.
I dunno, Brand is quite good when he interviews people and his kind of charismatic oddness that he displays plays well where ever I see him.
To be honest I was hoping for more of your (Ricardo) take on the British stand up scene in the podcast. You can read a bunch of irritating people whinging on chortle, but that doesn’t really help that much.
Are touring bands of stand ups popping up more often over there?
What’s your take on the entire on the entire Gina Yashere racism thing?
Is there anything that is just kind of interesting or neat going around up in the mother land that you’ve never really seen before?
Ricardo, I agree with you totally about Russell Brand. He’s really enjoyable to watch on talk shows (I found two leno clips of him and one Letterman one) but not all that good of a standup.
I wouldnt call his role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall a box office success tho, at least not here in the U.S.. Again, I havent seen the movie so I cant tell you if it was good or not, but from what I understand it wasnt a blockbuster comedy compared to Judd Apatow’s other movies like Knocked Up, Superbad, 40 Year Old Virgin, etc.
From what I can tell, it has finally become popular to dislike Apatalow and co; which is something that tends to happen after what, three? Four? Films put out by any one comedian/comedy group. The way that people suddenly fall out of love with a comic lead is amazing. Its so sudden too, and often signals the inevitable slide into that comedy for children paint by numbers pap too.
From Nick on June 16th, 2008 12:57 pm
“CJack,
sorry but I just can’t get into Peter Kay. He really does nothing for me…”
Ahh now Peter Kay, I thought he was brilliant at first, very silly quick gags so i loved that first DVD, LMAO as it were, but thats not to say i find him brilliantly funny now, especially when his last DVD was ( as i Understand it ) a best of his previous 3 so i thought that was a real con.
Russell Brand, i really enjoyed his stuff on Big Brother, he’s really come along and totally re-vamped his image over the years but i can only stand so much of him, 5-10 mins then i just get bored, as Ricardo said, the flowery language he uses makes it different.
I like Ricky Gervais again for the Office and Extras, I enjoyed his stand up DVDs but don’t feel they are proper stand up, more like a lecture…….but i love his podcasts, think they are hilerious
Well that was a long one for me, better go back into lurk mode for a few months……
Yeah, actually amongst all this I should mention that neither Peter Kay or Russell Brand drink……Kay has never drank as far as I know and Russell Brand is sober after being a junkie for a few years.
I think I get what you’re saying about them both, C-Jack. Peter Kay has that common touch and the cheeky grin; that makes him popular with the ‘common man’; young and old. Russell Brand is just charming, like all British men; it’s a question of shelf life. Will we be listening to them in 5,10,15 years time?
Sando - I was hesitant talking about people on the UK stand up scene as I wasn’t sure how many listeners would be aware of any acts I mentioned - unlike say, Gervais or the Little Britain show coming to HBO.
(You’re spot on about Chortle being a no-go area for sensibly discussing this - the trolls have taken over that site. )
I wouldn’t say there’s anything revolutionary going on in the UK scene rat the moment. Most acts are gearing up for taking their new shows to the Edinburgh Festival, which means a lot of comedy clubs right now have famous names dropping by to try out their new material, which is cool.. But one trend I’ve noticed on the UK circuit over the last few years is a lot of sketch troupes springing up consisting of comedians rather than drama students. Some are great - 3 guys called We Are Klang are definitely worth checking out and are tipped to be huge.
oh - and by the way - regarding Gina Yashere, I was gobsmacked when she claimed she wasn’t getting the breaks she deserved because of racism. I’ve seen her several times and if anything’s holding her back, it’s because her act is a masterclass in lazy hack observational stand-up. I once saw her do a routine that started “what’s the deal with the Captain’s announcements on plane jouneys? can you imagine if the Captain was Nigerian instead? It would sound like this….”…etc that made me want to run out of the club screaming.
And what made her comments about how being black was stopping her playing big theatres sound particuarly stupid was at the time she made them, Chris Rock was touring the UK and breaking box office records everywhere.
Ricardo, at the risk of sounding like an asshole troll I second that notion . She is a shitty comic! She’s also always on those fucking panel shows you mentioned…….she’ll die reasonably rich without ever having contributed much to the world of stand up. Ugh!
BTW, did you say you were planning on the Fringe this year? I’ll be going. The programme is out, or does losing £8,000 not turn you on?
Amen, Nick,.
Gina Yashere has had 15 years in the spotlight to make her mark on the Uk comedy scene. She’s also done tons of high profile TV shows most comedians wanting a big break in the UK would swap a kidney for, but still she fails to win the heart of the Britsh comedy public.
( just watch her complete lack of talent at off-the-cuff comedic skills on a show like Mock The Week - she looks like a panelist who was mistakingly booked to appear on another show like Loose Women instead.)
And anyone who plays the race card just because their career isn’t going the way they want is not a cool person.
Gina Yashere played the race card, i must’ve missed that bit of comedy news. Like you guys i’ve seen her on all the panel shows over the years and have never considered her very good at all, always seems to be the same things she says, always putting a black spin on things…..yawn been done a million times before.
So we are all agreed then, she ain’t that great, and no one but her is fooled.
Man, Bill Bailey is finally coming and performing Tinsel Worm in NZ, originally it was going to be an early performance of it, but then something happened with sickness so now he’s performing the worm after the dvd is already out here. Still totally psyched, even though I can’t watch that tantalising dvd that sits at the local video store, taunting me.
Okay Brian. (And everyone else)
I finally watched a couple late shows in a row (thank you tivo)
and i understand what people mean by letterman still has it. although his monologues mostly suck, he does have his moments of brilliance, where I laugh at some of the segments he does. Prime example, he talks about this kid who got into all 18 schools he applied to, then talks about this kid who got rejected from all 22 schools he applied to, and proceeds to bring him out on stage. i think im explaining this wrong, but i was laughing my balls out.
essentially, im saying letterman isnt as shitty as i originally thought he was.