TBS Just for Laughs Chicago offers an all new digital experience for fans

America’s largest comedy festival, TBS’s Just for Laughs Chicago, will give comedy fans every where an all access pass. There will be a digital comedy hub @ Stage 773 that fans will be able to access any time for free! The hub will be on several platforms, such as Team Coco, Dailymotion, Yahoo!, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, The Nerdist, Broadway Video’s Above Average, Instagram, Pandora, SiriusXM, Chill.com, Set List, and of course the festival’s website.

“Through live streaming ‘@ Stage 773’ comedy fans around the country will be able to enjoy some of the amazing comedy from TBS Just for Laughs Chicago” said Dennis Adamovich, senior vice president of digital, affiliate, lifestyle and enterprise commerce for TBS, TNT, and Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

The Festival runs from Tuesday, June 11th to Sunday, June 16th. Some of the highlights that will be featured through the digital hub are: Read the rest of this entry

Comedy legend Mel Brooks sits down with Judd Apatow for fan Q&A

The other day, Mel Brooks sat down with director/writer Judd Apatow for an intimate Q&A session with a live audience as part of SiriusXM’s “Town Hall” series.

Featured on the limited-run channel “Mel Brooks Radio,” (which launched this weekend) the session was an interesting, casual look at Brooks’ long-lasting career. The Spaceballs creator discussed his most satisfying production, his argument of being the Quentin Tarantino of his day, and his funniest non-celebrity friend.

On the radio performance, “I grew up listening to the radio, so it holds a special place in my heart. I’m thrilled to be on SiriusXM and only wish I could have listened to ‘Mel Brooks Radio’ when I was a kid, but of course physics got in the way,” said Mel Brooks.

SiriusXM’s “Town Hall” series has featured previous intimate gatherings with iconic entertainment figures like Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Billy Crystal, and Dave Grohl. Read the rest of this entry

Comedy Central is launching a five day Twitter Comedy Festival next week (poll)

Next week, Comedy Central will host a five-day comedy festival brought to you entirely through social media like Twitter and Vine. There will not be a festival lineup or tickets to purchase or even a schedule of events. It’s a social media experiment that will function by Twitter subscribers using the hashtag, #ComedyFest.

You might be scratching your head trying to figure out how such a feat is possible.

The festival will find some of your favorite comedians posting video clips of routines, panel discussions, and 140-character jokes using the hashtag #ComedyFest. Kicking off on Monday, April 29th, a live #ComedyFest event will take place in front of an audience at The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles. Hosted by Judd Aapatow and Carl Reiner, the event will be a live discussion of the two comedians trying to persuade the technology-oblivious Mel Brooks to create a Twitter account. Director Paul Feig and Amy Schumer will also act as hosts for the Twitter-based event, according to The New York Times. Read the rest of this entry

Dispatches from the first annual Jersey City Comedy Festival

JC Comedy Festival The backyard to the TLB Towers happens to be Jersey City. So when we heard there was going to be a Jersey City Comedy Festival there was no way we were going to miss out on our chance to catch some sets around the corner.

It was the first year of the event so we didn’t know what to expect headed into it. What we got was a really enthusiastic group of comedians, fans, and organizers that are onto something bigger with the festival. With some DIY setups in everything from art galleries to the side rooms of bars, where there was a cool space, there was a show.

Wednesday night we set out to the Distillery Gallery & Art Space in the heights where we saw many new faces like Selena Coppock, Danny Palmer, Chrissie Mayr, and Rich Kiamco before the one and only Nikki Glaser took the stage.

While it’s not unusual to see stand-up comedy at a bar, Dorrian’s definitely wasn’t a typical bar venue for entertainment on Thursday. While the side room was isolated enough from the crowded restaurant where the comedians didn’t get drowned in sound, the dimmed lights made it feel more like a local showcase than a city-wide comedy fest. It was obvious that even the comedians noticed that, as jokes about the unusual set up were made at least once during each set. Regardless, this didn’t stop Ben Kronberg, Ray Devito and Brett Druck from pulling off great sets. Also giving strong performances were Jimmie Allinder, Carrie Gravenson, Kevin Dombrowski, Steve Leventhal and the evening’s host Rachael Parenta. More importantly, though, the room was filled with a crowd that genuinely seemed to enjoy themselves (despite the unusual setting). Read the rest of this entry

Friars Club Roast honoring Jack Black, the view from the red carpet

Jack Black Roast The historical Friars Club roasted Mr. Jack Black to celebrate his many achievements. Roastmaster Bob Saget was one of the many stars to show up for the occasion, others in attendance included Artie Lange, Richard Marx, Oliver Platt, Carrie Keagan, Jeff Ross, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Amiee Mann, Michael McKean, Gene Simmons, Dee Snider, and The Spin Doctors. I had the privilege of meeting up with some of them on the red carpet to catch their thoughts on the roast.

First I met up with Jeff Ross, the king of roasts, and asked if anything was off limits for the roast. “Oh no. Today we’re roasting a comedian, so nothings off limits. We’re going to go full roast tonight.” He continued by saying, “I worked for days on this, I take this seriously, its like going to battle. I’m beyond excited and Jack told me last night not to hold back. I’m going to rip into him super, super hard.” Before moving on to another interview he gave us a taste by saying “Yea, well he can take it. He’s got some thick skin under all that blubber.”

I was then able to get Amy Schumer, who is known for never holding back, and found out her angle on attacking Jack. “I’m going to accuse him of having Down syndrome.” So, Amy is taking the clever, witty angel approach.

TV personality Carrie Keagan gave her input on the roast as well saying, “Well we had a little taste of it last night, we had a pre-dinner for the show. They were all historical but I know that Amy Schumer is going to rip him a new a*s hole. It’s going to be amazing. I think she’s genius.” Read the rest of this entry

Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and Wayne’s World director reuniting for panel

Wayne's World We’ll have to wait a little while longer for another Wayne’s World film. However, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Mike Myers and Dana Carvey will reunite for a panel and screening of the film based on their famous Saturday Night Live sketch in Beverly Hills on April 23. Hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, producer Lorne Michaels and director Penelope Spheeris will also take part in the panel.

The fact that Wayne and Garth themselves are involved is a big deal in and of itself (though the two did reunite on SNL back in 2011). However, the fact that Spheeris will be in the same room with Myers is surprising as well. In an expose Entertainment Weekly ran about Myers in 2008, Spheeris admitted that she had many war stories that arose from working with the comedic actor on Wayne’s World. “You should have heard him bitching when I was trying to do that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ scene: ‘I can’t move my neck like that! Why do we have to do this so many times? No one is going to laugh at that!,’” claimed the director. Read the rest of this entry

David Cross announces the full Bonnaroo comedy lineup (video)

Standing in front of the Brooklyn Bridge on a serene spring day, David Cross announced the entire Bonnaroo Comedy lineup via the festival’s YouTube Channel today.

The guys over at Bonnaroo previously used Weird Al and a host of other comedians to announce this year’s music lineup. Gotta say, we dig the use of comedians announcing major news. Comedians announcing more festival news, presidencies, popes? We approve.

The innagural Jersey City Comedy Festival hosts Todd Barry, Myq Kaplan, Nikki Glaser and more

Promising “The Funniest Week of New Jersey’s Life,” The Jersey City Comedy Festival is a week-long event during April 1st to 6th that will celebrate the art of comedy.

Taking place in 20 different Jersey City venues, the festival will feature over 100 comedians including Todd Barry, Myq Kaplan, Nikki Glaser, Dan Soder, Kyle Grooms, Ben Kronburg, and Mike Lawrence.

The city-wide festival will also honor art depicting comedy. “Broad Humor: A Tribue To Women in Comedy” will feature artwork celebrating funny females. Another group art show, “Funny Business,” will display illustrations of comedic actors, sitcoms, comedy movies, podcasts, and stand-ups.

A full list of shows and events is available on The Jersey City Comedy Festival’s website. Tickets for the show are currently available here.