May 5, 2015

Dear People In Charge of Marketing Poltergeist: Please Stop Scaring Me

Do you have a fear of clowns? Or dolls? Or clown dolls? Or demonic clown dolls that come to life and apparently attack your soul? You do? Well, then this is not going to be a good couple of months for you. Because the return of Poltergeist in theaters this July means two more months of the creepy clown doll that is appearing on all their marketing material.
May 1, 2015

Monty Python Returns To The Stage For Film Festival

Friday continued Tribeca Film Festival’s 40th Anniversary salute to the British (+1 American) comedy sketch group Monty Python. The five surviving Pythons made their appearance at the New York Beacon Theater, filled with fans who had just watched their beloved (and arguably most popular) film “Monty Python and the Search of the Holy Grail.” The crowd were full of people who clearly loved the film, and knew more than a few lines by heart...plus me.
February 21, 2015

The Top 87 Oscar Nominated Comedy Performances. Ranked.

The 87th Annual Oscars are upon us, and with that comes the common debate as to whether the Oscars don’t give comedy their due. The argument can certainly be made that there is a definite type of film which always receives nominations described as “Oscar bait”; the films which seem to have been made with a checklist of “how to get nominated.” But in the 87 years since the Oscars have been around, there have more than a few times that the Oscars genuinely loved comedy. After all, the first film to get nominated in the top five AND the first film to receive nominations in all for acting categories were both comedies (It Happened One Night (1934) & My Man Godfrey (1936)). And despite seeing more than a few times that the Oscars somehow overlooked great comic performances or only nominated comedians when they went serious (Cary Grant’s two nominations were both in dramas), a few times they showed they had a sense of humor. With that said, here are my picks for the 87 funniest film performances which ever got nominated, ranked.
December 25, 2014

Heather Lawless Talks With Us About Switching Between Comedy and Drama

How many times have we heard the press talk about being amazed by a comic who is able to “pull-off” dramatic performances?Stand-up comic and actress Heather Lawless is one of those actresses who pulls off dramatic acting performances effortlessly, partially because she doesn’t approach comedic and dramatic acting differently. The soft-spoken comedian spoke to us recently about her career as a stand-up and her two very different projects; Adult Swim’s The Heart, She Holler as Hambroisia and Angus MacLachian’s directorial debut Goodbye to All That opposite Paul Schneider.
November 30, 2014

Reframing Bing Crosby as An American Master

Robert Trachtenberg is a celebrity portrait photographer and documentarian who has given more than a few comics the respect and appreciation they deserve. From his two documentaries and an intimate look at icon Gene Wilder. He’s also worked Elvis Mitchel’s terrific series, Under the Influence, and had directed five original episodes of American Masters of undisputed icons, including George Cukor, Gene Kelly and Cary Grant, Robert.
November 22, 2014

New Fox Comedies Debut in March, Bumping Hit Shows

It looks like Fox has decided Tuesday and Sunday are their comedy nights. And with that in mind, their new series Weird Loners and Last Man on Earth have to fit into those schedules. It looks like the Mulany season will wrap in March, and Fox is holding their left of center comedies until then.
November 17, 2014

Why Does Will Arnett Have So Many Failed Comedies?

Over the past 4 years, Will Arnett has starred in 5 series; "Running Wilde", "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret", "Up All Night", "The Millers", and the limited series of "Arrested Development" (after that 10 year break). "The Millers" was the only one to have a second season. And yet, since 2006, he’s received 5 Emmy nominations, once for the third season of "Arrested Development" and the other four as guest actor for "30 Rock". So why is an actor as talented as Will Arnett, not making hit TV series? What is the divide? What isn’t working?
November 17, 2014

Intersteller Becomes the First Big Movie to Sell an Unlimited Ticket

Did you love Interstellar? Do you think you need to see it again to get all that science stuff? Have you been putting it off? Well, here is your chance to watch it over and over again, as many times as you want...if you see it in an AMC theater. This morning it was announced by Paramount Pictures that they are partnering with AMC Stubs Membership to give the first ever "unlimited tickets" to Interstellar.
November 3, 2014

Coming Soon: Furious 7

Well, the titles certainly have gotten lazy, but there seems to be as many explosions, fights, guns, boobs and fast driving as we've come to expect from this franchise.
October 31, 2014

Coming Soon: Ex Machina

Novelist (The Beach, Coma) and sci-fi screenwriter (28 Says Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go) Alex Garland marks his directing debut with Ex Machina and he certainly seems to have learned something from collaborator Danny Boyle.