Too Tough Looking for Comedy??

Firstly, why did no one ever tell me Alec Baldwin was a comedian?

These two guys, Rob Riggle and Alec Baldwin must be toughest looking guys in comedy. Think about it, a lot of male comedians are either pretty short (ahem... Kevin Hart) or they are really thin and gangly. Even though these two are funny and everything, they just look like they could beat you up. Easily.

I think there was actually an interview of...some comedian (sorry, I've forgotten who) with Howard stern where they had said that you can't get too buff for comedy or people would just be staring at your muscles instead of listening to the jokes.

Rob Riggle, (SNL, Dumb and Dumber To, 21 Jump Street, The Lorax, and heaps of other cameos) looks like he should be fighter or something. I know used to be in the army, so I guess that's why he's so buff. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, Cat in the Hat, ...other stuff? Idk) on the other hand, what's his excuse for being so buff? I don't think he's been in the army. Also i just want to point out I'm not trying to be ,ean or anything. These guys are two of my favourites, they're really funny.

I'm sure at this point you're probably thinking, 'What on earth are you even talking about this for???' Well my friend.... That's a good question. I don't know. No, really though, a lot of other comedians look all done up and nice. These are the only two I can think of that look like they don't really belong as comedians they just look too much like very manly men. I don't even know what that means.

I wait for the day when someone males a prison movie with these two as the main characters, I swear it would be the best funniest thing ever. You know what, maybe I'll just write one, and call it Prison Riot, about two buff guys who are framed as murderers and get sent to prison but they're are actually wimps. Man, that is a million dollar idea right there. Big Hollywood directors and producers reading this (I doubt there are but just in case) you've gotta make it!

Now, what do you guys think? Are Rob Riggle and Alec Baldwin too manly for comedy? Or do you think it works in their favour? On SNL they seemed to always cast Alec as a gay man (watch Canteen Boy here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8SiFV0reYg It's very... creepy :/ ) to juxtapose his manliness. I think it works, sort of... Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Writing Jokes...Why Bother?

A lot of comics will argue that writing a comedy is much more difficult than writing drama. You know what? I have to say, I totally agree with them.

Have you ever tried writing a joke? Trust me it really isn't that easy. Well, it's easy to write a joke, but getting a laugh out of people, that's the hard part. Whether it's for stand up, sketch, a movie, or whatever else a joke can be in. It is difficult.

Now compare that with drama where you would write the dialogue pretty straight, as in you'd most likely write it like a normal, serious conversation. (I had to put 'serious' there because none of my conversations are ever serious. Just in case someone else has that issue.)

I study Film Production at university, and as you may have guessed, that pretty much covers everything. One of the things that we have recently covered is the 'Kuleshov Effect'. Now, (not to get technical or anything), but pretty much this means that our brains react to an image based on what we saw in the previous image. So no matter how bad the writing, editing, or acting is, (well... maybe that stuff is important. Usually it is.) our brains will still tell us that something has happened or is about to happen.

 

 

You can still do this type of thing in comedy of course, but I think the outcome would be more serious than comical. So that's why comedians have to take so long to come up with gags, or jokes. Comedy doesn't have this magical brain thing that drama producers can use.

 

 

Does anyone else find that unfair? Just me? Ok....

 

So why do comics even bother with working so hard on writing jokes? I don't know! Maybe they're crazy. But I guess then that makes me crazy since I write jokes too. :/  Not to mention trying to get more laughs by changing the timing, nature, or tone of the joke on each take. People in drama Just have to look at the opposing actor with a straight face and suddenly the audience think they want to kill each other. Ok, that was a bit extreme. I won't even go into the whole discussion on how the Oscars don't consider comedies for anything. I'll leave that argument for someone like Howard Stern. Doesn't he make great points about everything? That was so sarcastic. Sorry.

 

Think about it this way, if we didn't have comedy, we would be so unhappy and gloomy. There would be no SNL, no Seth Rogan making silly movies, no stupid Foo Fighters music videos. What would the world come to? I'm sure we would survive, but we would be very depressed. I think that's why comics keep trying to make us laugh, and keep writing even though its argued to be harder than writing or acting in drama.

 

Are you an actor or writer? What do you prefer comedy or drama and which is more difficult? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Until Next Time...

Morgan ^^ 

National Lampoon's Vacation...The Original.

Just two days ago, I watched National Lampoon's Vacation for the first time in my life. Now, let me tell you, I have viewed at least a hundred comedy movies, but this one was by far the funniest, most clever thing I've ever watched.

I loved it.

I have watched the National Lampoon's Christmas one before, but I didn't really get it, maybe I was too young or something. Who knows. But, my god, this was so so SO funny! Surely everyone out there has watched it, I was probably the last person on earth to have not watched it.

I think now that I'm going to have to watch the rest of the vacation series.

There's a new movie called Vacation, and is a sequel to this one that I just saw. But I still find it unclear if it actually is a National Lampoon's instalment, or if it's just some random guys who want to remake their favourite movie. You know, because all of the other ones have "National Lampoons" in the title. Oh look at this - "Though it involves intellectual property from the original, the movie was produced independent of any National Lampoon involvement. The company that gave birth to the Vacation franchise had no creative input in its reboot."

 

So, it pretty much has nothing to do with the Lampoon...which went out of business in 1998. if you want to read more about how this new movie is in relation to the old ones, click here! for a history lesson. I bet no one would ever be like, 'Yay! History lesson! Time to learn stuff.' But seriously....it's interesting.

I wonder if this new movie will have the 'Holiday Road' song in it, because let me tell you, ever since I watched Lampoon's Vacation it has been stuck in my head, and it won't get out! It's driving me mad. But it's a pretty catching song.

(UPDATE: I just found out that this movie has a soundtrack album....aannnndddd Holiday Road is on it. A nice, new cover by the Zac Brown Band. It is very good, a bit different from the original song, but good in it's own way. Want to hear it? Click here!)

 

If you want to check out the trailer for the new one click here! (I warn you, this trailer link is the 'red band' one. Watch at your own risk.....It's not that bad. If you want to see this movie, you may as well watch this trailer so you're prepared.) If you want to see the old 1983 trailer for the original National Lampoon's Vacation, click here! It's hilarious.

What do you think? Will you go see the new Vacation movie? I think I want to, it looks good. But at the same time I just read what the plot is and it sounds a little bit weird. But then again, you never know.

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

David Letterman's Top Ten

The Top Ten List is such an iconic thing to comedy, and late night TV. But now that Dave is no longer on air, neither are his top ten lists.

Most of the time they were really stupid, but through that silliness we could all see something funny, and that's what made these lists so special. Dave Letterman and his writers have created something that has gone down in history, and something that future and current comedians and writers can look back on.

 

Many people in the TV and comedy business have said that they used to write top ten lists to practice their joke writing. One of whom is Dan Schneider, the creator of Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh, iCarly, Kenan & Kel, etc. He said in a interview once that when he was younger and had become interested in comedy that he used to write out top ten lists and fax them to Letterman's show. He also said thought that none of them were ever used, but it's still good to practice with.

Since so many writers always say that you need to practice our writing skills every day (like my creative writing lecturer. he wouldn't shut up about it), and so many comedians and comical writers seem to always suggest doing top ten lists, I though I would give it a go. One of those who've suggested it is Joe Toplyn, maybe you've heard of him? He's a comedy writer who actually has a book about writing for Late Night shows and preparing a packet for the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop (which I can never do because I'm a million miles away from New York -_- ). If you're interested in finding out more about his work you can check out his twitter for more info. He says that writing every day and practicing with these lists is important.

So, here we go. A few of my own original Top Ten Lists.

Top Ten - Offensive Family Feud Topics:

10. Name a celebrity with no talent starting with a 'K'
9. Name something you see a lot of in Hooters.
8. Fill in the blank: 'A woman should not judge a man by his _______'
7. We asked 100 men: Why are women so annoying?
6. Tell me a word that rhymes with 'Duck'
5.Name a person that the world would be better off without.
4. Tell me something that is terrible besides marriage.
3. Give me sign that you are eating too much.
2. Tell me one word to describe your boss.
1. Give me another name for 'mother-in-law'

Just saying, not all of them are so great. But if something is funny, then that's awesome!!

Top Ten - Unknown SNL Sketches:

10. Sarah Palin's Diary.
9. Invention Convention.
8. The Relationship.
7. 101 Flamingos.
6. Dead Men Are Dead.
5. CSI: Oklahoma.
4. Unusual Crafts with Betty Baths.
3. Nature Calls.
2. Tools.
1. Meets the Jones!

If any of these are in any way similar to any of Letterman's top ten lists, please let me know via email or the comment section below. I haven't seen or heard that many top ten lists, so just letting you know there may be an overlap. But hopefully not.

I hope you at least one thing funny, if not, well, I tried. I thought they were alright. They're just practice ones anyway, so if I didn't put them on here they'd just be doing nothing in my notebook. So may as well put them on here.

I really hope you enjoyed them!

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Comedian Apperances

There is nothing I love more than watching some random movie or TV show, and seeing a comedian. Sometimes they are even right in front of us, even though we don't even realise it. (This is why I always watch the credits at the end. A lot of people don't like me doing that. They think its weird. Oh well.)

For example, have you seen the Adam Sandler movie Jack and Jill? Did you know that Dana Carvey has a cameo in it? He's the awkward intestine puppeteer that's towards the beggining of the movie.

Another one that I really like, is if you have ever listened to the commentary for Jim Carrey's movie Liar Liar, you would've heard Tom Shadyac point out Jim's In Living Color character, Fire Marshall Bill. Jim dressed up as his character and stood in the background of a shot that his character for the actual movie (Fletcher Reed) wasn't in. By The Way, if you haven't ever heard of In Living Color before you seriously have to check it out. Its awesome.

Of course, we know that so many comical icons do voiceovers for kids animated movies. Robin Williams was the Genie in Aladdin, Jim Carrey was Horton in Horton Hears a Who, Bill Hader has done not only the new Inside out Movie, but also Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs along with Andy Samberg. There are so many more I want to mention it would take the rest of forever to write them out.

There is one though that I never even knew until today. Did you know that David Spade was the voice of Kuzco in The Emperor's New Groove? Because let me tell you, when I found the out this morning, it felt as if my whole life had been a lie. I never knew that.

This kind of thing where these comics have really random cameos or unpromoted roles in films really make me happy. Hey, what about Bill Murray in Dumb and Dumber To? He was there. The surprise of seeing a familiar face when no one says that they're in there makes the whole thing like ten times funnier in my opinion.

What's your favorite movie that has a comedian cameo, or an animated film you didn't realise was the voice of someone who was a comedian?
Did you know that Master of Disguise (Dana Carvey) was produced by Adam Sandler? I almost feel as if this was one massive fun fact post...I hope you enjoyed it though!

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Trainwreck...was a trainwreck?

Before I even start saying mean stuff (Just kidding! I never would....or would I?) I have to point out that I still haven't seen this movie.

Amy Schumer' movie has, in many reviews, been judjed very critically for not being as good as what everyone had thought it was going to be. Now, I think that reason for this is that we know Amy Schumer and the other lead, Bill Hader for being comedians. But a lot of people making these reviews say it wasn't all that funny.

Even some of my friends who have seen it say that it wasn't terribly funny.

However, I know what the problem was.

We have two comics, together in a movie, so naturally, you would think that its going to be a very funny comedy. The trailer had funny bits right? Well I think what has happened here is that whoever distributes the movie has promoted it in the wrong way. They've told comedy lovers to go see it, whereas they probably should've said 'Hey, do you like comical stories with life lessons and love? Then you should totally see this movie!' With the trailer showing funny parts as well I don't think helped the situation. But then again, that may have been the way that Amy Schumer had wanted it to be.

 

One of my friends said that they even cried during one part of this movie. So I'm kind of thinking that whatever happens in it isn't too funny.

It actually makes me want to see the film more though. I want, no, I need to know what happens. I think that it might actually be a somewhat good comedy/drama.

Have you seen it? What do you think?

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Comedy News!

It's time for comedy news! It's the kind of post where I found a heap of little articles about comedy but they weren't big enough to make a full post! (This is the part you read with a game show hosts voice in your head.)

Wow. Over enthusiastic much.

So today, if you don't mind, I have found a few small news articles in relation to comedy, but they just weren't enough to make an actual post about. Yet I couldn't just leave them, they were too good to do that.

Without further ado, here's the comedy news!


Comedy News Story Number 1 - Jimmy Fallon had his contract extended?!

Yep. Jimmy Fallon the host of The Tonight Show has had his contract to host the Tonight Show extended until 2021. He will be on our screens for at least the next six years. Originally it was only a three year deal, but he must be just too popular.

I really feel myself turning into one of those YouTube news hosts, just from writing this. Sorry, my bad.

Anyway, since Jimmy is going to have another six years, hopefully he can get six after that. A lot of older celebrities always seem to say interviews that he is a lot like Johnny Carson. But who knows.


Comedy News Story Number 2. - Adam Sandler is going to have yet another movie!

Apparently Adam Sandler and David Spade (who was also in Grown Ups/2 with Adam) are in a new movie together called "The Do Over", which to me kind of sounds somewhat like Adam's other movie Click (2006).

But I could be wrong. I'm just speculating, the article didn't even say what it was about.

Ok, it's actually about two guys who fake their deaths so they can start live again. Which sounds terrible, but very interesting. If you want to find out more about it here's the IMDB page, but it doesn't really say much yet.


Comedy News Story Number 3. - Jay Leno is NOT happy with Jimmy Kimmel??

Jay Leno said that Jimmy Kimmel is mean. pretty much that's it.

No, but seriously. I really do like Jay and I like Jimmy Kimmel, and thought they were two of the nicest guys in comedy, so to see them not so happy is just weird to me. Because of this I won't really go into the story too much but if you really have to the actual article I read is here.

By the way, did you know that Jay Leno's real name is James? Because I sure didn't. I just found out. James seems to be 'the comedians name'. Think of them all.


Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

New TV Show for Jim Carrey

In a report just this week, Jim Carrey has been said to have signed on to a new television show being produced for Showtime.

It's called "I'm Dying Up Here".

The show is to be set in the 1970's, in the Los Angeles stand up comedy scene. At the moment it seems to be unclear of what Jim's role in this will be, as only a pilot has been ordered for now. I hope that it does well enough to get at least one season. I think that it will be a ve interesting show.


Think about it, comedy in the 1970s is where its at. SNL had just started in '75 with the likes of John Beluschi, Bill Murray, and Dan Akroyd; Robin Williams was starting to gain popularity from Mork and Mindy, Johnny Carson was in his prime. Not to mention a slew of now popular stand up comedians were starting out and/or beginning to get get tv spots; including Steve Martin, Jay Leno, Andy Kaufman, David Letterman, and hey, even Jim Carrey himself. And of course a ton more, but that might take the rest of the week to write out.

This show I'm hoping will make references to some of these things, and I think that Jim is the perfect match for this show. He was there, starting out in his late teens and early twenties, struggling to get noticed. Although, when you're Jim Carrey it can't be too hard to get noticed. I sort of hope that maybe he'll have a mentor or manager type of role. I think that would suit him best.

The show is yet to have a release date (I think it might being filmed at the moment or in the very near future.) but I'm thinking it might be sometime at the end of this year to early 2016. As happy as I am for this show, I'm kind of feeling that if this show gets green lit for one or more seasons, Jim Carrey won't be in any new films for at least two or three more years.

Please excuse me whilst I go cry.

I don't mean to sound stupid (but I do), I just really enjoy watching Jim in his movies. Hopefully this show can live up to them. I think it might. No, I hope it might. It's uncertain if Jim will actually act in the show, however it has been reported that he is the executive producer, but then again there are some other articlethat say hes an actor in it. So we'll just have to wait, and all will be revealed. Want to read more of the details? Click here. I have also read many more but they all say different things.

What do you think about this? Let's be honest I'm pretty much just excited for 70's references.

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

The Wonderful World of Late Night Shows

Have you ever watched a late night show? Chances are, you have. And you know what? Once you seen one, you've seen them all.

They're a part of American history and culture, from today's Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O"Brien, and Seth Meyers, to back when David Letterman, Johnny Carson, and even back to Jack Parr ruled the late night television slot.

Haven't you noticed that they all have the same format? I guess though that it's because they wanted to stay with the original idea of what a late night show should be. So that it be a historic setup type of thing.

I actually like how sometimes they change things up with their different segments. For example how Jimmy Fallon will sometimes play games with his guests, or how Conan does remotes and makes fun of his Associate Producer Jordan Schlansky. But the fact is that the format of two guests and one music act/stand up act is forever stuck in my mind and I can't unlearn it. I don't care how many fun games or remotes they put in the shows, I'm still going to be unhappy when the music act comes on because I know he show is nearly over.

Just from that sentence alone, you can clearly see I have no life other than watching TV.

Now, I don't know if anyone else has ever noticed this before, but Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show is the first incarnation of the Tonight Show to not have any plants on the set. Fun fact right there. It actually annoys me a little bit because it's different from what we're used to on these shows. After all I've said about all of these shows being the same...

A lot of my favourite bits have come from Dave Letterman to be honest, he truly has the funniest remotes. I'm unsure if they are scripted or just some spontaneous acting, but I really, really like them.

 

I was actually watching a rerun of the Late Show today and David Letterman was just about to do his infamous Top Ten list. Just before he started, Paul Shaffer says "Why are doing this again?" and Dave replies, "Oh...Just to kill some time."

Cue the audience laughter.

So, that made me wonder, do talk show hosts do these bits, purely for that reason? I'm sure they could get more guests if they wanted to, but then it could get a bit boring perhaps. Or is it because that's just how whoever wrote the first script for Steve Allen (Tonight Show, 1954) said it was to be and so that's how it's always been with every late night style show?

I find it quite interesting to think about this.

But anyway, I thought I would share with you a funny bit that I saw on a Late Show rerun the other day. If you want to watch click here! It is unbelievably stupid, but oh so funny.

You know what, upon looking for this clip just now, I have just realised that the official 'Late Show with David Letterman' YouTube channel NO LONGER EXISTS! I guess because the show has finished they got rid of it, but I mean, Johnny Carson even has an official YouTube Channel..?!What even?!

Also, just for fun, you should totally check out this clip of George Segal on the Tonight Show (1974) where he's trying to teach Johnny Carson how to play the ukulele. I can honestly say this must be the funniest thing I've ever seen on late night TV. It's hilarious.

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Ode to Jimmy Fallon

Ok, maybe not an ode, but I have to give him credit for this. And of course his writers for coming up with the concept of Thankyou Notes.

Many comedy writers always seem to say in interviews, books, whatever, that doing practice exercises such as Jimmy's Thankyou Notes, or Dave Letterman's Top Ten are helpful when coming up with more elaborate jokes (I suppose jokes that you could use for stand up or a sketch?). So today I thought that I would give it a shot an put some of my own 'notes' on here. After all, what else were they going to do? Sit in my notebook and never be seen by anyone? Most Likely.

So here are just a few of the Thankyou Notes that I've written, when I'm practicing jokes. I'll warn you now that some really aren't that great, but hey, you've got to start somewhere.

Thankyou Notes:

+ Thankyou, bleach blonde hair dye, for making dark haired people end up looking like Conan O'Brien

+ Thankyou, second storey windows, for giving me something to do when I'm bored. After all, where else would I put my two week old egg salad sandwich?

+ Thankyou, Farrelly Brothers, for being so gross out funny all the time. My mum hates you guys.

+ Thankyou, random people on the street, for being so unbelievably funny when asked stupid questions on late night shows. Apparently I put to much thought and effort into writing jokes.

+ Thankyou, Dave Letterman, for having a tie collection that looks like you went through Bozo the Clown's closet. I think he wants his ties back.

+ Thankyou, SNL, for creating "Kissing Family". I used to think my family needed to be closer, but now I don't think so.

+ Thankyou, inhaler, for making it look like I have a tampon shoved up my nose every time I'm sick.

+Thankyou, bottle cap, for being the water bowl of the mice world.


Well. There you have it. Trust me when I say I have three pages full of these jokes, I just shared some of my favourites.

Also I recognise that I have only been watching Jimmy Fallon for about a year, so if there has been any similarities in thankyou notes, please let me know in the comment section below. I don't mean for there to be. He's been doing them since Late Night so there may be some overlap of ones that I haven't heard or seen before.

Anyhow, I hope that you enjoyed them. And I hope that they can improve over time. Just got to keep writing, don't I?

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

We Still Miss You Robin...

One whole year ago, at this very time, we lost a man, who I think was and is the world's greatest comedian. I'm very sorry to say that today marks the one year anniversary of Robin Williams death.

I'm sure, as many other people out there probably do, I still really don't want to believe that he's gone.

He was too good at what he did to be gone. But at least we can still have his memories, that he has left behind in his stand up, TV shows, and movies.

 

In the past year, I've watched the entire 4 seasons of Mork and Mindy. All episodes, except the very last. I don't want it to finish, because then it'll just be gone. Sure I can re-watch them, but I'll know what's coming, and to re-watch Robin Williams do something seems like a crime.

That's why I believe that he was our favourite. Because whenever he would do an interview, or a take on set of a movie (so the behind the scenes people say), He would always do something different. No one would become bored.

He was an entertainer.

No matter how many times he was asked the same old boring question (if people actually got the chance to ask a question), he would always give a different answer. Well, the same answer but worded differently.

If you've ever seen Robin Williams in an interview, which I'm sure you have, you would know that he was insanely talented. One of my favourite interviews is with James Lipton on the show Inside the Actor's Studio. Robin, thinking on his feet asks for a lady's scarf from the audience. What he does next is incredible. Improvisation at it's best. Not only is what he does with the scarf unbelievably funny, but it is also so clever. If you want to see that part of the interview, click here.

Please do watch that video, you will not regret it. I am telling you, it is the best thing I've ever seen a human do. Ever.

I hope that Robin Williams will forever be in our memories as one of the world's greatest comics, just as Elvis Presley in etched in our minds as the most famous musician of all time. (Wow. Was that a really bad analogy? I don't know...sorry.)

From the very first thing that Robin ever did to the very last thing he ever did, we will always remember him for giving us so much laughter and joy. I think it's just
terrible that he couldn't feel the same way.

Until Next Time...
Morgan.

How To Write Satire?!

So, here I am, sitting at my desk, trying to write a post for my blog and I pretty much just realised that I have never in my entire life written satire.

Now I don't know if you know but satire is the basis of.....like......everything in comedy.

Saturday Night Live uses it in every show. It's in the monologues of Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, James Corden, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen Degeneres, and the list goes on.



Look, number 9!

Just putting it out there once again, I've never written satire in my entire life. Sure, I've written jokes before, and even created characters for comedy sketches (or skits, if you will), but never this superior, intellectual writing device.

To be totally honest with you, the first time I had ever even heard of satire was in my 11th grade English class, where our teacher kept going on about how satire was utilised throughout Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Firstly, I had no idea what the heck our teacher was telling us (you know, since I didn't know what satire was) and secondly, I didn't exactly read the whole book (like the first 50 pages or so. I don't like reading that much.) so pretty much I was stuffed either way.

I actually had no idea what satire was until I heard (I think it was..) Dana Carvey talking about it in an interview probably two years after this English class incident.

Just so we're all on the same page here, satire is defined as "The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticise people's stupidity or vices."

So, I guess, in the long run, I've learned something here. That firstly, I am quite obviously not the best at writing satire, although by writing stuff like this I'll get better, right? And secondly, I've just written a whole self depreciating satirical blog post.

I don't know how that just happened, but it did.

Until Next Time....
Morgan ^^

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Things I've learned from the Farrelly Brothers that they don't teach you in Film School

It is possible you've watched a Farrelly Brothers movie like Dumb and Dumber or There's Something About Mary, and maybe you've noticed that they are slightly different from other comedies. Or not. Either way, they are different.


Since I've started studying film production, my lecturers have basically told my classes the exact opposite of what the Farrelly's say in their interviews.

Of course I'm not saying that my lecturers are lying to me (They might be, who knows.), but I've noticed that they just have very different opinions when it comes to how to make a good film.

For example, in my screenplay class, we were told by our lecturer (Who in fact is a cinematographer.) that a good movie always has an arc; and if the characters are still the same at the end of the film, then it is most likely that no one will buy it.

I have to admit, if the movie weren't to be a comedy, then yes this would apply. But really, characters in comedies are usually to dumb to grow. Yes they might conquer whatever was in front of them, but mentally they're most likely the same.

...Ahem.....Zoolander.

The Farrelly's have the perfect example of this though, with Harry and Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber (2). Even after 20 years they are still idiots. But we love them. Or at least I do. In this interview, Peter and Bobby Farrelly discuss how their characters are still the same.

Another thing that I've learned from the Farrelly brothers is that if you want to have your characters do horrible things to each other, you need to make a point of showing them having some type of emotional scene or anything that shows them being kind. That way the audience will like them enough to keep watching them through whatever awful things they do throughout the rest of the movie.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly talk about this in a YouTube workshop type of thing (Sorry, I don't know what you would call it.), discussing these types of scenes in There's Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber.

Have you ever seen Wolf of Wall Street? (If you haven't, please don't. You will be scarred for life.) If you have seen it, maybe now you would notice that there is no establishing scene that helps you to like the main character who's played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Maybe the filmmakers though having him in the movie was enough, since he has a lot of fans. But I'm just speculating. Anyhow, I really did not like it, and neither did my friends. So in my opinion, the Farrelly's tip on making an important emotional scene must work.

The lecturers at my school haven't said anything about this. Yet.

But wait, there's more.

The final thing I've learned from watching the Farrelly's interviews is that they always write their films in such a way that you will have no idea how it is going to end until pretty much the very last minute.


And this my friends, is why I love Peter and Bobby Farrelly so much.

Don't you hate it when you're watching a movie or TV show and about halfway through, you realise what is going to happen at the end of it? A recent example of this is Get Hard (Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart). It is hilarious movie, but the problem with it is that you know exactly who framed James (Will Ferrell) from about less than halfway through the movie. It's just too obvious. But again, it is a good, funny movie. Watch it.

The Farrelly's seem to always talk about how much effort they put into writing their movies so that the audience won't know the 'winner' or outcome until the very last scene. I think that this is really important. If your audience already knows what will happen, then why would they want to keep watching?

Until Next Time....
Morgan ^^

There's Something About Mary

I know. Its almost 20 years old, but I litterally just watched Something About Mary for the first time ever.


Seriously, if you haven't ever seen it you need to watch it right now. Really. Just drop whatever you're doing, find an illegal upload of it on the internet (of course paying is always better, but illegal is quicker) and watch it.


You can thank me later.


The way the Farrelly's have written it is so good that you don't know who Mary is going to end up with until like the very last minute of the movie. That's why I love the Farrelly brothers so much because they always leave you guessing, or hanging in suspense. And their movies are pretty good too.


I know it's meant to be a comedy (or was it meant to be a rom-com?) but I didn't really find many parts of it funny, however the storyline is good enough to make up for that. Maybe I'm just being too critical and I'm comparing it to other Farrelly Brothers movies (like The Three Stooges, or Me, Myself and Irene), it was still pretty good though.


Have you watched it? There's probably a 95% chance you have, but if you haven't...seriously, next time you want to watch a good movie, you know what to watch now.


Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

That College Life Though...

If you've ever been to University or College, or something equivalent, you would most definitely know that people in their late teens to early twenties really enjoy partying. Or at least that's how it is where I am.

It just so happens that this week is my University's orientation week, and so the partying is going off at the moment. I'm not one for partying or drinking, so I don't really have much to do with these types of events.

My roommates came and knocked on my door and when I opened it they yelled out 'HAPPY O WEEK!!!'. Hashtag literally my life. Not to mention they were both holding cans of beer and it was only two in the afternoon.

You see, my advantage not drinking is that I don't make an unwanted public fool of myself and I get to laugh at everyone else. Just yesterday another one of my roommates showed me a snap chat video of  one of our other roommates (Yes, there's lots of roommates. Four to be exact.) who was so far past drunk that she was doing heaps of crazy stuff that no one would ever want to see or hear. Also at the end of the video she was lying on our kitchen table. And that's out there on the internet where quite a few people can see it. At least she can provide entertainment for the rest of us.

Have you ever been to college or are you in college? stupid stuff happens all the time here. Honestly there should be a sitcom called "My University" or something.

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Saturday Night Live...in 360?

If you've looked at SNL's YouTube page recently, you would have probably noticed they've uploaded videos from the 40th anniversary show... But they are sort of a behind the scenes view of everything. It's super cool. Ok, so maybe not so recent, but hey, sometimes people think that two months ago was just like yesterday (And basically I just realised this.)

I really like the way that they've done this, it gives a really good look at how the show actually works. You can see the cue card holders frantically rushing around so that everything is delivered on time, and the different cameras for each section of the sketches. I find it to be quite amazing.

 

These videos really show just how much hard work goes into SNL, from the actors, down to the coordinators. Not only that, but you can also see the actors setting up for any physical humour that's about to happen. I think that Lorne Michaels should do this more often. It's especially helpful for those of us who want some kind career doing a similar thing, being able to see the 'behind the scenes' goings on. It lets you know and see that, not everything is always as perfectly set out and planned as you may have thought was.

Do you want see what I'm talking about? To view the SNL '360 degree camera angles' Click here! and click here!


Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Living Alone. It's Not That Great.

Usually, if you are a normal human being, there will be a time in your life that you are living by yourself. Trust it's not fun. But maybe that's just because I'm lazy. I don't know.

When you are living alone, you have to cook stuff (which in my case its most likely burnt 99% of the time), vacuum, make beds, clean the bathroom, and other stuff like that that I despise. But no one else is there to do it for you. They don't tell you that when you move away to go to college.

Then again, I guess there are perks of living alone. Things like watching TV until it's way past what once was your bedtime, being able to eat what ever you want when you want (once again, it'll probably be burnt.) At this rate I know what you're thinking.

 

(Yes, I actually cooked this. Burning stuff is my speciality. If you're wondering, it was supposed to be fish.)

Living alone means you'll turn into a fat, dirty, lethargic slob. Don't worry, I haven't. Yet.

You've been warned...

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

FIRST ZOOLANDER 2 TRAILER!?

I am actually so excited for this, even though the first movie was...ehh, I believe in Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson to give us a better movie this time. It must be better though, since the first one was terrible in the box office. Why would they give them a second chance if this one wasn't perfect?

So apparently the very first trailer for Zoolander 2 was released yesterday, but then soon after pulled off of YouTube? A couple of news reports said it was a leak...

Want to read more about it? Click Here! (Hey look at that I learned how to link stuff ^^)

Hopefully we get the official trailer soon. I can't wait!

UPDATE: It. Is. Here. This is so great, Click here to watch it.

 

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

The Life of a Writer

Writing. How I love to hate you. Obviously, when you want to perform any kind of standup or sketch comedy, you've really got only yourself to rely on for material. Unless of course you know a writer. That would be helpful.


However, over the almost two years that I've been writing comedy standup and sketches, I've learned a lot from myself. I mean, two years isn't much, but its a start right? I've learned that no matter how much you write per day and/or per page, you are still going to wake up the next day with same writing abilities. It just takes time to get good at it. Which is super annoying. If I had a superpower, I'd choose pro writer. Is that even a thing?


To all of the writers out there, I feel you man. All those drafts, just to realise that what you've written makes no sense, or is extremely boring. In comedy I find that that is the worst possible outcome, when you've put hours of work into a joke, or a sketch, and it turns out to be totally unfunny. But I guess that's why there aren't too many writers out there. Because it takes time and effort, two things that a lot of people don't want to take part in.


In comedy, when you realise your jokes aren't funny, at least you know for sure, and you can change them into something that works. Writing isn't all that difficult, it's just something that needs a lot of tweaking. I mean, look at the page I just wrote. It wasn't that bad. (Ok, maybe it was, but I didn't give up on it. QUITTERS NEVER WIN!)


Until Next Time....
Morgan ^^

Conan has been Accused of Stealing Jokes?!

In a news report I read yesterday, it said that Conan O'Brien has been accused of stealing jokes from some guy on twitter??


Apparently a 'wannabe' comic writes jokes on twitter and he states that Conan told a very similar joke on his TBS show.


Seriously, has he never heard of the phone joke? I'm pretty sure every comedian has their own version of it. Sometimes people just come up with similar things at the same time. It happens!


Apparently the guy who tweeted the jokes filed a law suit over the ordeal....but I think it has been cleared. So it's good.


Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^

Steve Carell and Tina Fey - Date Night

Yes it's from 2010, but I had never heard of it until last night when I watched it.  Let me say, I have never seen such a good action movie before.

Ok. So maybe there are actually better action films than this, but this movie was just different. It was comedy, mixed with action. It was as if two really good comics were thrown into the middle of a superhero movie just so they could make fun of everything

Wow I'm bad at explaining things. This didn't even have superheros, what am I saying?

This movie though... oh man it was great. If you've seen it before, congrats! If you haven't, you really have to see it. Especially if you like mystery/action films. i don't want to give too much away for those of you who haven't seen it, but there is a hilarious scene in it where there is a massive car chase with police and the bad guys.

Check out the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aspBKFz2dBI

ITS JUST SO GOOD!

Until Next Time....


Morgan ^^

Peter Helliar's Totes Grouse Balls

Not so long ago, I went to see Peter Helliar's show Totes Grouseballs. Now, if you are from America or Europe, there is a high chance you've probably never heard of Peter Helliar. Maybe even if you're Australian, you may have never heard of him. But let's get this straight. He is absolutely hilarious.

If you ever get the chance definently go to his show, and if you don't have a chance to get on a jet plane, fly half way around the world to a large but not very populated island in the middle of nowhere, (no seriously, that's basically Australia for you.) then you should definently try to find some YouTube videos of his stand up.

Here's a short clip of one of his stand up bits. Its a bit old but its still ok. And trust me when i saw his full show it was about 20x better than this little bit. Click here --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-hTG-OR9Do

I really do think he's one of Australia's best.

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^