After well over 100 comedy short films have graced the screen of the Downtown Independent Theater, complete with plenty of laughter and applause, The 4th Annual LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival has come to a close. The blocks of films from days 3 and 4 along with the fascinating panels  of comedy stars and comedy new media (Funny or Die, College Humor, and more) rounded out the second half of the festival just as well as the first half. On top of that, the festival had a legitimate awards ceremony hosted by Alonzo Bodden worthy of much bigger film festivals such as Tribeca, as presenter David Higgins (The Wrong Guy) initially “thought” it was when presenting an award.

Here’s a quick rundown of what happened for days 3 and 4 and the awards presentation:

-The “short” short (under 5 min.) still proved to be the crowd favorites as well as some of the films we enjoyed the most.  Christopher Larsen’s Jesus Doppelganger (a man has to decide which Jesus to shoot) and Jeremy Brull’s Honourable Discharge (a infantry man’s fiance gets the worst news she could get) played their one joke brilliantly to uproarious laughter.

-Many of the shorts nailed the note of sheer absurdity. Award winner Speruchet Pan Tournegos by Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman, and Scott Yacyshyn, a sort-of absurd revenge action pho-drama, was intentionally done in a completely made-up language (we apologize in advance if it was an obscure Eastern European dialect that was being spoken). Frequent character in Christopher Guest films John Michael Higgins played an absolutely ridiculous cross-dressing therapist in Dave Rock’s very funny People People. Matt Smulker’s Hiccup also deserves a mention here for leading the audience down that path of a road movie that stops abruptly at the out-of-nowhere twist, which we’re not going to give away (just trust us, it was damn funny).

-There was a celebrity panel on Saturday morning of Carlos Alazraqui, EG Daily, Niecy Nash, John Michael Higgins, and Yeardley Smith, which was especially fascinating considering John Michael Higgins revealed that he wasn’t a big fan of doing improv and Yeardley Smith has been acting right out of high school all the way to her current job on The Simpsons.

-At the new media panel, featuring Funny or Die, College Humor, Fremantle Media, and Break Media, it was absolutely startling and engrossing to hear that they all collectively fear agents and unions more so than CISPA or SOPA.

-Other memorable quotes from the New Media Panel:
“We hope to contribute something to it and the story to hopefully make it not so much about dick jokes, when it’s really about boob jokes.” -Matt Johnson, Fremantle Media, Atomic Wedgie TV
“I know how to make a viral video: fake celebrity sex videos.” -Ally Hord, Funny or Die
“We’re hoping the over-40 demographic will die real soon. It’s a big part of our business plan.” -Spencer Griffin, College Humor

-We heard Funny or Die on HBO is in season 3 of production and the second season of Billy on the Street on FUSE is on its way.

-Something you probably won’t get to see at many other film festivals that was great to see at LA Comedy Shorts was webisodes. David Morgasen’s David Blaine’s Street Magic (spoof of Blaine’s street magic), Hayden Black’s Goodnite Burbank (an attempt at local news in Burbank out of a garage), and Jon Stahl’s Teechers (The Office meets an elementary school) [which should be a web series] gave a great look into the possibilities reality of episodic comedy on the web.

-Dark comedy had an interesting showing during the festival. Both Bob Ray’s Sacked and Darrell C. Hazelrig’s The Dark Companion really walked the line quite cleverly of not being a gritty drama by having puppets be the subject to psychological afflictions or gruesome murder and revenge. James Logan’s Terminator: Termination also pulled the humor off quite well by its spoof of Terminator featuring a toy robot.

Thugs the Musical Trailer

-The Winners of the 2012 LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival Awards
Commie Award (Honorary Award in Comedic Excellence)-Scott Thompson
Best Comedy Short Script-Mary & Louise-Amy Staats
Best Half-Hour Pilot-Rooster & Sons-Drew Mackintosh
Best Comedy Feature Script-White’s Trash-Gregory Porter
Best Animated Comedy Short-Stuper Powers-Rise of the Chipmunk-Greg Bro
Best Comedy Student Film-Mr. Bear-Andres Rosende
Best Comedy Short Shortie (5 min. and under)-Comedy Jam-Bryan Robbins
Best Comedy Short-Speruchet Pan Tournegos by Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman, and Scott Yacyshyn
Audience Award-Thugs the Musical-Kevin Avery
State Tax Credit Exchange’s Best of Fest-The Immigrant-Josh Levy

thisbetterbefunny:

In the inaugural episode of the “This Better Be Funny” Podcast, host, creator, writer/comedian Jake Kroeger, co-host, writer/comedian Jeremy Paul, comedienne and Cristiana delve into deep conversation involving the pitching of jokes/sketches/bits to each other and the subsequent approval or rejection of them. Taking place at some cafe in Hollywood, the three go down the comedy rabbit hole and wonder if they just walked one of the coffee shop’s patrons.

Many folks wanted us to start a podcast talking comedy. In our opinion, there are way too many of those and, honestly, we can’t do better than Marc Maron and WTF. Instead, we’re doing what hasn’t been done by any other comedy podcast (if it has, then please let us know as we’d love to hear it), which is get to the crux of the comedic creative process. It’s the process that Jerry Seinfeld’s documentary Comedian gave a brief glimpse of, but never fully explored.

Specifically, the This Better Be Funny Podcast will have comedians pitching what they think is funny to each and going down the comedy “rabbit hole” in search for the truly funny. In the spirit of the podcast, it’s not recorded at someone’s efficiency apartment in Echo Park where someone has to apologize for the mess and offer milk. This is recorded wherever comedians actually huddle together like dive bars, coffee shops, taco stands, and more and ask each other “Is this funny?”

Hosted by Jake Kroeger, the Director of the Comedy Bureau along with comedian Jeremy Paul who claims the only credit he needs is that he’s from Peoria, Il every week and a myriad of guests that range from “big time” to “about to break” to “funniest person that no one knows”, but ones that will always be funny.

Listen, laugh, be enlightened at horrible comedians can be to each other.

comedynerdsunited:

go ask him something!

setlistcomedy:

Rick Overton opened almost every show at the Edinburgh Fringe, and gained a following for his mad Set List skills.  Rick will also be opening the shows at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank EVERY Sunday at 9pm starting Sept. 18.  

Hear that? Set List is back in town after touring the world and Rick Overton’s opening every show at Flappers on Sundays. It’s improvised stand-up the way it should be done and none of you should miss it.

holyfuckcomedy:

If you are a comedian in LA (or even if you’re not and you just wanted to say things amplified and people have to listen) at an outdoor public arena on a megaphone, now you can. 

Thanks to Jason Van Glass and Rob Schultz and the Verdugo Park in Burbank, the Floodlamp Open “Meg” is one of the newest open mics in LA for comedians to try out their material. According to the Todd Glass parameters of comedy venues (see: I Am Comic), “the Floodlamp” breaks nearly every rule, which understandably worries anyone thinking about trying their material at an “Open Meg”.

Photo by Megan Baker

There are no ceilings or walls. There is no stage. There is no mic or mic stand. There are passing pedestrians that sometimes have strollers with babies in them. There is passing traffic as well as kids that ride by on their BMX bikes. Also, it’s completely outside (in case you haven’t figured that out by now). The single floodlamp does, however, provide a pretty decent light for the performer.

Still, Jason and Rob have managed to put together an open mic that’s both more attentive and supportive than most. In fact, some of those kids stop riding their bikes and quietly listen to the person on the “meg”.

There is no cover, minimum, and the peaceful element of the park brings sort of a calm that isn’t often found in dive bars, coffee shops, laundry mats, or any other unconventional place where there’s a comedy open mic. Sure, a tent and a stage and more would be nice, but an attentive crowd watching the performer are the basis for a good comedy open mic.

The Floodlamp’s 5th show is at sundown this Friday around 7PM at 3201 W. Verdugo Ave., Burbank, CA. Sign-up is by lottery. Alloted time is determined by how many people sign-up. If you’re really making a go at comedy, “welcoming” shouldn’t be a word that you should always looking for, but the Floodlamp Open Meg is indeed a welcoming and safe place for comedians to expand themselves artistically. 

Also, it’s really nice to be outside in LA at night, or in our case, outside in general.

the11thhourshow:

Show tonight!!!!

TRANSSIBERIAN BBQ - Patrick Dailey, Sasha Feiler, Colleen Lindt, Jeremy McKiernan, Jaffer Rai, Samm Rasnake, and Ethan Rosenberg

JUNGLE JOE - Casey Feigh, Joe Hartzler, Johnny Meeks, Dave Theune, and Jim Woods

and very special guests…

JON & SETH - Jon Daly and Seth Morris
 
followed by The Midnight Jam (get on stage and play!)

Hosted by Imaginary Friends

Artworks Theatre & Studios6583 Santa Monica Blvd. (Studio A)Los Angeles, CA11pm

FREE ADMISSION
FREE BEER & WATER
FREE PARKING (in our lot)

**we run on your donations, so please give what you can**

Poster designed by Danny Cohen. If you would like to order one please visit our Etsy Store

steveagee:

Hardwick, Comedy Tent, FYF Fest - Los Angeles 2011

thelaughbutton:

According to EW.com, Queens Of The Stone Age got more than they bargained for at a recent Zach Galifianakis stand-up show. The band had apparently asked the comedian/Hangover star’s manager for free tickets to his sold out show in LA Wednesday night (August 31). While Josh Homme, Troy…

holyfuckcomedy: